The Ethical Life

Episode 154: Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada are both off this week, so we looked back through our show’s archives and picked four of our favorite ethical dilemmas from the past year. This recurring weekly feature can be found at the end of each of our episodes.  Topics include how to respond to a suspected bicycle thief, the ethics behind surprise parties and wedding gift etiquette....

Episode 153: The number of U.S. births declined last year to the lowest level since 1979, and the rate of American women of childbearing age having babies is the lowest on record. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss the many economic and cultural factors driving this downward trend, and whether this cyclical decline should be a cause for joy or concern.  

Episode 152: As the back-to-school season nears, we turn our attention to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center that provides a comprehensive look at what it’s like to be a teacher in America today. The findings are revealing and concerning, showing the significant challenges and stressors educators face. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about the current state of the teaching pro...

Episode 151: Summer jobs are a rite of passage for many teens, offering a first taste of independence and responsibility. But these jobs come with their own set of benefits and challenges. On the one hand, they can teach valuable skills and provide financial independence. On the other hand, they can lead to stress, exploitation, and a delicate balancing act between work and personal life. Hosts Ri...

Episode 150: From best-selling books to motivational seminars, self-help has become a billion-dollar industry, promising personal transformation and success. But behind the allure of self-improvement, there are significant ethical questions. How do self-help gurus and authors profit from people’s vulnerabilities? What responsibilities do these leaders have towards their followers? And, as se...

Episode 149: As the fall election creeps closer, most of us think of our political divide as Red America vs. Blue America. But another way to view our nation’s fractured landscape is to sort people into two camps: idealists and pragmatists. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss these two political philosophies, the benefits of each and whether one approach is stronger. Links to stories d...

Episode 148: On last week’s episode , we celebrated the release of Richard Kyte's new book,  “Finding Your Third Place: Building Happier Communities and Making Great Friends Along the Way.”  But this is such an important topic, we thought we’d dig into it a bit more. For those who don’t know, third places are those community spots, like coffee shops, parks a...

Episode 147: Richard Kyte’s new book, “Finding Your Third Place: Building Happier Communities (and Making Great Friends Along the Way),” is hitting bookstore shelves this month, and he talks with Scott Rada about why we all need to find somewhere where everyone knows our name. About the hosts Scott Rada  is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the d...

Episode 146: A recent study found that just 53% of American adults read at least one fiction or nonfiction book in the past 12 months, the lowest level on record. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss why instilling a love for reading early is important and why avid readers are better critical thinkers who can focus more deeply. Links to stories discussed during the podcast Why aren't young pe...

Episode 145: A recent article in The Atlantic by Arthur C. Brooks says that the people whose lives are the happiest are able to find a balance between having enough important, mission-driven things to do in their lives without feeling overwhelmed by stress. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about how to find that middle ground so you can have a healthier life. Links to stories discussed durin...

Episode 144: There was a period of time in America, roughly 1940 to 2000, during which we were largely part of a monoculture. Most of us watched the same TV shows and movies, read the same newspapers, and listened to the same radio stations. Today, however, because of the Internet, that's clearly not the case. And although this feels new to many of us, over the long arc of history, most people hav...

Episode 143:   Americans’ love affair with sports is stronger than ever. According to a poll earlier this year by Pew Research , about half of Americans say they took part in organized, competitive sports in high school or college; most Americans who played sports in high school or college say their athletic experiences improved their physical health and confidence; and nearly 4-in-10 A...

Episode 142: Most economists say that the U.S. economy is in a relatively strong position. Although inflation is still a concern, overall GDP numbers are strong, the unemployment rate is low, and wages are rising. Yet in a  poll from earlier this year , just 28 percent of Americans rated national economic conditions as excellent or good. There are many reasons for this disconnect, but one is...

Episode 141: Our lives are dependent on the choices we make, and in most cases, we have more choices than ever. A  study by Harvard University shows that having fewer choices can promote happiness because the more options you have, the more opportunities you have to regret the choice you've made. There is also a  term called the “parallelizing paradox,” which is when people w...

Episode 140: Nearly seven months after the Israel-Hamas war began, many campuses across the country are dealing with pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments. Some college presidents have chosen to involve the police, which has led to hundreds of students being arrested. In addition, these protests have again stirred up a debate about the limits of free speech, as some think the messaging ha...

Episode 139: If you were making a list of superstar psychologists, Carl Jung would be toward the top. According to a recent story by Arthur C. Brooks in The Atlantic, the one-time associate of Sigmund Freud coined the terms extravert and introvert, along with many of the other words we use to describe mental health today. One topic he thought a lot about was happiness, and how difficult it was to...

Episode 138: There are 137 episodes of The Ethical Life podcast, and that means there are more than 6,000 minutes of hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talking about various ethical issues. This also means that AI can stitch together all this information and create replicas that would sound — and possibly even think — like them. Some people already are using such technologies to attempt...

Episode 137: With more data accumulating about us each day, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about whether privacy is still important — or even possible. Links to stories discussed during the podcast: What Gen Z really cares about when it comes to privacy , David Ruiz, Malwarebytes AI hustlers stole women’s faces to put in ads. The law can’t help them, by Nitasha Tiku and P...

Episode 136: Earlier this year, James and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted, in separate trials, of involuntary manslaughter. In 2021, their son, then 15, shot and killed four students at his Michigan high school. Six more students and a faculty member were wounded. He is serving a life sentence, with no possibility of parole. The Crumbleys were accused of failing to take critical steps, including...

Episode 135: It’s common to hear people say they’ve reached the point in life where they don’t care what others think about them. This can either sound like someone who is firm in their convictions, or it can give the impression that they don't value feedback from others about their actions and beliefs. Host Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss when it's appropriate to give advice...

Episode 134: It used to be that, with a few exceptions, actors and musicians were simply performers. Yes, we might have had an occasional look into their private lives, but most people simply enjoyed their films and their music. But for better or worse, social media has turned performers into brands — and they often find themselves in the middle of our political and cultural storms. Today, i...

Episode 133: Last month, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that three couples who had frozen embryos accidentally destroyed in a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits. After the ruling, three major providers of in vitro fertilization temporarily paused those services in the state because of concerns about civil liability. Those  treatments have since resumed after legislative ac...

Episode 132: The 2020 presidential election had the highest voter turnout in 120 years, with 66.8 percent of citizens 18 and older voting in that election. But that still means that 1 out of every 3 eligible adults — that’s 80 million people — stayed home. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss why people choose not to participate and whether the need for chaos drives some vot...

Episode 131: Two popular columnists recently wrote about travel, and they had dramatically different views. Agnes Collard wrote for The New Yorker that travel turns us into the worst version of ourselves, while Matt Yglesias wrote about the many benefits of tourism , especially on the economies of the places that are most-often visited. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss the benefits of tra...

Episode 130: Higher education has been in the news a lot lately, and the news isn’t the kind college administrators are hoping to see. Questions about what’s being taught in the classroom, and how that affects admissions and free speech, are all making headlines at campuses across this nation. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss how the role of universities has changed over the p...