The Ethical Life

Episode 229:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada are off this week, so we looked back through our show archives and are sharing four of our favorite ethical dilemmas from the past several months. Topics include whether it’s  OK to correct the actions of other people’s children , what advice you’d give your friend who won a lottery jackpot, the ethics around quick convers...

Episode 228:  In early January, advice is everywhere. Friends offer encouragement. Social media fills with tidy aphorisms. But beneath the flood of guidance sits an uncomfortable question we rarely confront: How much of what happens to us is actually within our control? Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take on that question by examining the role chance plays in shaping lives — and how...

Episode 227:  As the calendar turns and uncertainty once again shapes politics, technology and everyday life, The Ethical Life returns to a familiar exercise: looking ahead while holding the past accountable. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada are joined by Scott Milfred, Lee Enterprises’ national opinion editor, for a wide-ranging conversation about what the coming year may hold —...

Episode 226:  As Christmas approaches, memories have a way of resurfacing — sometimes warmly, sometimes painfully, often with more force than expected. In a holiday-themed episode, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take a close look at why this happens, and what it means for how people live, relate to and care for one another. The conversation centers on nostalgia — not as a vague...

Episode 225:  As digital noise continues to shape modern life, the latest episode of “The Ethical Life” turns inward, offering listeners a wide-angle look at how ancient ideas can help people navigate an era marked by distraction, isolation and growing cultural tension. Hosts Scott Rada and Richard Kyte revisit the seven-part series they released this fall based on Kyte’s pu...

Episode 224:  A recent  article by Jason Feifer  serves as the starting point for this episode of “The Ethical Life,” where hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada examine the quiet struggle many people experience when reaching out for support. Feifer’s piece argues that the fears holding us back — such as imposing on others, appearing incompetent, or being judged...

Episode 223:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take on a modern problem that feels both familiar and persistent: why so many people feel unmoored despite busier lives than ever. Their conversation explores whether stepping outside — even briefly — can provide a clearer path to reflection, balance and personal insight. The episode wraps up the show’s occasional series inspir...

Episode 222:  When a city planner mentioned that a large, developable tract of land might contain Native American artifacts, cohost Scott Rada started wondering how communities decide which parts of the past are worth protecting — and what the costs of preservation might be for the present. This week’s episode examines the tension between honoring cultural heritage and addressing...

Episode 221:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada tackle one of the most enduring moral questions — how wealth, privilege and authority shape our understanding of fairness. Kyte argues that many of society’s moral blind spots emerge not from ignorance, but from a state of comfort. “When we’re insulated by prosperity,” he says, “we lose the capacity to recogni...

Episode 220:  For decades, the phrase “follow your dream” has been stitched into graduation speeches, greeting cards and social-media pep talks. But what if that familiar advice is doing more harm than good? Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada challenge one of America’s most cherished bits of wisdom. Drawing inspiration from a  syndicated column by journalist Dick Meyer ,...

Episode 219:  In the latest episode of The Ethical Life podcast, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take on one of humanity’s oldest — and least discussed — questions: What is the soul? This episode is part of Kyte’s lecture series,  The Search for Meaning . It’s a timely conversation, released just after All Souls’ Day, yet Kyte points out that few peo...

Episode 218:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada dig into a question that touches nearly every part of modern existence: What happens when a culture built on making life easier begins to lose the very relationships that make life meaningful? From dishwashers to digital assistants, the 20th and 21st centuries have delivered one innovation after another designed to save time, reduce effort and s...

Episode 217:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada tackle a subject that’s easy to overlook — beauty. Not the kind of beauty sold in store aisles or filtered through a cellphone, but the kind that stops us in our tracks and makes us forget, for just a moment, about ourselves. Kyte recalls a recent camping trip during which he stumbled upon a scene so stunning that he instinctively re...

Episode 216:  New research suggests that  nearly 90 percent of what we do each day happens automatically . From brushing our teeth to checking our phones, most of our behavior unfolds on autopilot — a revelation that raises profound questions about freedom, morality and modern life. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada unpack what it means to live ethically in a world governed by rout...

Episode 215:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore the disconnect between our private expressions of care and the collective anger dominating politics, media and even day-to-day interactions. Drawing on Kyte’s lecture series  The Search for Meaning , the conversation centers on how the philosopher St. Augustine shaped Western ideas about moral love — and why those lesson...

Episode 214:  The killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk sent shockwaves across the country, deepening fears that political violence is becoming an entrenched part of American life. While leaders on both sides rushed to cast blame, many ordinary citizens were left with a more practical concern: How can we continue living alongside one another when the divides seem sharper than ever? Ra...

Episode 213: What does it mean to live a meaningful life? That question is at the center of the latest episode of The Ethical Life podcast, hosted by Richard Kyte and Scott Rada. The conversation begins with the story of a young kayaker who saved a stranger from drowning. Afterward, he reflected simply: “I was useful.” For Kyte, that statement underscores how rare it is for people to f...

Episode 212:  Artificial intelligence has quickly moved from science fiction to everyday life, embedded in chatbots, search engines and social media feeds that billions of people use daily. Tech companies tout these tools as helpful assistants — capable of saving time at work, speeding medical research or even offering companionship. But a growing chorus of voices is asking whether the...

Episode 211:  In an era when misinformation spreads faster than facts, what does it mean to live truthfully — and why does it matter? Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss the complicated role of truth in public life, personal relationships and digital spaces. The conversation, inspired by  Kyte’s new lecture series , “The Search for Meaning,” begins with a lo...

Episode 210:  Everyone has moments from the past they wish had unfolded differently. Some dwell on those memories, while others find ways to reinterpret them in order to move forward. But how far can people go in retelling their own stories before they risk losing sight of the truth? Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada begin the conversation with a simple piece of advice Rada found online &mdas...

Episode 209:  Work has always been about more than deadlines, meetings and paychecks. The quality of our connections with colleagues often determines whether the office feels like a community or a cold, transactional environment. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore the complex role that relationships play in shaping purpose, belonging and well-being in modern professional life. Drawing...

Episode 208: For years, experts and parents alike have debated how to get children off their devices. Limiting screen time, blocking apps and setting stricter household rules are common strategies. But what if the problem isn’t the technology itself but the loss of freedom to simply be a kid? Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada look at  a revealing report from The Atlantic  that aske...

Episode 207:  Walking is one of the simplest, healthiest, and most accessible things a person can do. It strengthens the heart, reduces stress, helps maintain a healthy weight and boosts mental well-being. Yet, in the United States, daily walking has quietly slipped out of many people’s lives. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada dig into why that happened — and why it matters far be...

Episode 206:  Bat flips. End zone dances. Trash talk amplified by social media. For some, these moments are pure joy — a celebration of hard-earned achievement. For others, they signal the slow erosion of something more important: the grace and humility once expected from those at the top of their game. In this episode, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada tackle a simple but surprisingly...

Episode 205:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada dive into one of the year’s most unexpected viral moments — not to rehash the gossip, but to explore what it reveals about the culture we live in. You’ve probably seen  the clip : a Coldplay concert in Boston, a playful moment on the jumbotron and two people who instinctively pull away from the camera. Within hours, intern...