Thinkin' Bros Podcast

*New Episode Every Week* Thinkin’ Bros Podcast is hosted by intellectual phenomena Alex and Chris. We have informal discussions about psychology and philosophy and make it accessible to the non-scientist and find ways to integrate into our lives and that of our listeners to hopefully make it better. In this episode, we start by discussing Freud's original discussion of Freudian slips. Specific...

*New Episode Every Week* Thinkin’ Bros Podcast is hosted by intellectual phenomena Alex and Chris. We have informal discussions about psychology and philosophy and make it accessible to the non-scientist and find ways to integrate into our lives and that of our listeners to make it better. Today we discuss Alan Watts' "The Way of Zen". Specifically we analyze a chapter called "S...

*New Episode Every Week* Thinkin’ Bros Podcast is hosted by intellectual phenomena Alex and Chris. We have informal discussions about psychology and philosophy and make it accessible to the non-scientist. Our goal is to find ways to integrate into our lives and that of our listeners to make it better. In this episode we attempt to discuss our planned article on the power of stories or generosity a...

*New Episode Every Week* In the opening segment we discuss Anna Lambke’s Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. While recently dopamine has gotten a lot of coverage and attention, we dive into a peculiar method of voluntary pain to stimulate pleasure. No masochism required. In the main segment, we discuss quite a fascinating philosophical paper. Perhaps the only philosophical p...

*New Episode Every Week* We begin our episode with a discussion of the classic marshmallow experiment by Walter Mischel, which theorizes that ability to delay gratification may be due to the use of specific strategies. In the main segment, we discuss Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground. While Chris usually appears to have things figured out, we may have found his kryptonite. In addition to all...

*New Episode Every Week* In this new, revolutionary (stolen from Very Bad Wizards), format, we begin our episode by discussing the famous Bystander Effect. We first summarize it, and then suggest how to bypass it to achieve a more moral and socially profitable outcome. In the main segment, we discuss Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, labeled "the only practical philosophy" by stoic fanat...

*New Episode Every Week*   Religion or philosophy: a debate that had been going on for hundreds of years. But, is it even a debate? As a priest once told me, all religions and philosophies are trails to the same mountain top. Our conclusions in this episode and the next seem to reflect this view, but a few questions are still left unanswered. Can Phil prevail in his talk with two philosophers? Fin...

*New Episode Every Week*   Religion or philosophy: a debate that had been going on for hundreds of years. But, is it even a debate? As a priest once told me, all religions and philosophies are trails to the same mountain top. Our conclusions in this episode and the next seem to reflect this view, but a few questions are still left unanswered. Can Phil prevail in his talk with two philosophers? Fin...

*New Episode Every Week*   What is authenticity? How do you reach it? We delve into Nietzsche, ancient Buddhism and the sayings of the great Alan Watts. In this episode on authenticity, we do some conceptual analysis and lay the groundwork for some other fundamental questions yet to come. On our way towards a conclusion, we even delve into some social criticism. Join us for this week's episode...

*New Episode Every Week* What is respect? Despite a large portion of the podcast being dedicated to a tangent, we arrive at a more concrete view of respect. Does it correlate with common decency? Is respect always earned? Can you not like someone yet respect them? All of these questions are answered in this episode, with a surprising bonus about the subjectivity of morality.   “Figured it Out” rat...

*New Episode Every Week*   How is intelligence different from knowledge? Does a lack of geographical or historical knowledge make you less intelligent? Does being good at school make you intelligent? All of these questions, and more, are answered throughout the episode. With a less planned structure, we had the chance to dive into personal experiences and thought experiments a little bit more. Joi...

*New Episode Every Week* What is the meaning of life? In this highly anticipated episode, we attempt to break down popular views on the matter. From utilitarianism to Christianity and Buddhism, we skim over the historical perspective and find their flaws in the goal of coming up with our own theory. Were we successful in finding the truth about the universe? Listen to find out. “Figured it Out” ra...

*New Episode Every Week* What makes a person interesting? You certainly won't find out in this episode. From going off-subject to joking around (this episode was edited down from 1h40), it seemed as though this wasn't the day to come to philosophical conclusions. This did not mean we could not have fun though, and throughout the fun some of the subjects of what it takes to be interesting w...

*New Episode Every Week* This week, we analyze philosophy's most perplexing conundrums. Historical paradoxes that philosophers have not figured out for hundreds of years, all solved in one podcast! Kind of... Also our first video podcast. From Zeno's paradox to self-driving car AI programs, join us this week to demystify philosophy. We forgot to give a rating during the podcast, but we agr...

*New Episode Every Week*   What is the point of philosophy? What are we trying to accomplish with our podcast? When should we say "sorry"? A long overdue episode delving into the problems with the historical approach to philosophy, what we think it should be and what our strategy will be to accomplish it. We are hoping this will introduce some structure to our sometimes chaotic episodes...

*New Episode Every Week* What do we deserve? In the positive view, do people who work harder deserve more? In the negative one, do we deserve the injustices of the world? Superficially, those might seem like easy questions to answer, but they have much deeper implications on accountability and uncontrollable events than one might think. Join us on this intellectual journey where we'll serve up...

*New Episode Every Week* Should you care about a critic's opinion before watching a movie? What about after you watch it? In this episode, we dive into a conundrum that had bothered us for a long time (but is really just Chris' personal vendetta): if critics are supposed to rate the quality of movies, how is it possible for them to disagree with the audience about the movie rating? As usua...

*New Episode Every Week* Does intentionality matter in art? What about ethics? We tackle the age old question: does it matter what the artist intended the art piece to accomplish? At least from the perspective of the art enjoyer. We seem to agree on a lot, but, as usual, we have some fundamental disagreements about the overall conclusion. We still believe to have brought up some fascinating points...

*New Episode Every Week*   Do drugs have a place in the pursuit of a happy life? More precisely, can they align with one's goal in life? We attempt to answer this question with the help of our knowledgeable guest. We believe to have aptly illustrated both sides of the debate and raised the correct questions. The people on both sides of the argument shifted towards a less extreme version of the...

*New Episode Every Week* To what extent are our actions a reflection of societal expectations as opposed to our true self? We use our knowledge of psychology and philosophy to try to establish the limitations societal pressures, especially in the modern world, put on our quest for authenticity. We agree on many points, and hope that this episode will set a precedent for our discussion of authentic...

*New Episode Every Week* "You wouldn't understand." A seemingly harmless phrase everyone has either said or heard in their lives. We attempt to establish how inappropriate and harmful this phrase can be in reality. How it creates separation between humans where there shouldn't be. As usual, we start with different visions, but this is the first episode we are extremely satisfied...

Leaders in casual philosophy, Alex and Chris gradually extrapolate their minor degrees in philosophy to establish theories about everything life has to offer. From more standard philosophy topics such as happiness and honor to more modern subjects like movie critics and social media, we want to figure it all out. Want to be part of the conversation? Contact us: thinkinbros@gmail.com or https://thi...

*New Episode Every Week* What is happiness? Perhaps one of the most fundamental questions of life and certainly a necessary question to answer in a philosophy podcast. We use an AI-generated prompt to investigate the question. Although some people believe that this is a mysterious and complex topic, we are satisfied with our conclusions from this episode. “Figured it Out” rating: 8/10 Do you agree...

*New Episode Every Week* AI vs. Medicine. What are the implications of the evolution of AI for the future of medicine. Will we use it as a tool to complement medicine, or will it take over completely? Do humans have anything that AI can never have that has a special meaning for medicine and psychology? With the help of our guest, we answer a few of these questions, but, as Sam insightfully mention...

*New Episode Every Week* What is the difference between experience and competence? We often attribute a lot of credibility to experts in a field upon seeing their qualifications. Is that credibility warranted? We attempt (and fail) to have a structured conversation about this complex topic at 6 am (due to time restrictions), and you can not only hear our morning voices, but also witness the rambli...