Announcing a new four-part documentary podcast, Motherhood vs The Machine, where hosts Chine McDonald and Dr Madeleine Pennington look at what motherhood teaches us about what it means to be human.The work of motherhood has always been changed by technological advancement: from the nipple shield to the feeding bottle and breast pump. But as technological advancement accelerates and a future of artificial wombs and ‘bio bags’ does not seem as far-fetched as it once did, what of the humanity of motherhood might be lost if it is outsourced to machines? What might we miss when the maternal doorway is closed to profound and rarely expressed spiritual ideas - such as sacrifice, love, care, value, dignity, and hope?Out weekly from 13 March. Find it on all podcasting platforms.🎙️ Follow Chine McDonald: @ChineMcDonald🎙️ Follow Dr Madeleine Pennington: @mlmpennington💡 Produced by the @thinktanktheos www.theosthinktank.co.uk/
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1:30
Bookends: Unpacking Series 9 of Reading Our Times
With series 9 of Reading Our Times coming to an end, Nick Spencer takes a look back on the series and shares his thoughts on the ideas espoused by the various guests.
Should Britain pay slavery reparations?
Are 'leftism' and 'wokeism' compatible?
What do all these topics tell us about what it means to be human?
Join us for all this and more!
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12:33
How has our evolutionary past shaped us? In conversation with Harvey Whitehouse
The claim that evolution can help us understand, even explain, the modern world and modern mind has not always had a happy history, veering between overclaim and catastrophe. But the opposite idea - that everything is culture and nothing nature - is hardly more convincing.
So, can we threat this needle? Can we have nuanced and realistic understanding of the impact of evolution on us today without going down the rabbit hole of determinism.
So, what impact has evolution had on us - our communities and societies, our morality and our religion.
Purchase Harvey's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inheritance-Evolutionary-Origins-Modern-World/dp/1529152224/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0
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48:39
What is (The) Enlightenment? In conversation with Jonathan Clark
The Enlightenment has become weaponised over recent years. Numerous public figures, not all of them historians, have lined up to state defiantly that it needs protecting from... postmodernity? populism? religion?... take your pick.
But what is - or was - The Enlightenment? What are we being called to defend here? Is The Enlightenment actually a thing? Was it even “a thing” in the first place? And if not, when did we start talking about it, and why?
Purchase a copy of Jonathan's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Enlightenment-Idea-Its-History/dp/0198916280
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52:38
Should Britain pay reparations for slavery? In conversation with Michael Banner
The demand for post-colonial nations to pay reparations to, and for their treatment of, their former colonies has grown increasingly loud over recent years. And although many dismiss the idea as textbook liberal guilt and bandwagon wokery, there are some serious claims behind it.
The topic kicks up some big moral issues. You can’t talk about colonial reparations without working through what you think about moral responsibility, collective identity, and the effect of time on liability, all of which reflect on the underlying question of how we see ourselves.
So, what is the nature of our relationship to other countries, to the past and to whatever moral norms we pride ourselves on?
The demand for post-colonial nations to pay reparations to, and for their treatment of, their former colonies has grown increasingly loud over recent years. And although many dismiss the idea as textbook liberal guilt and bandwagon wokery, there are some serious claims behind it.
The topic kicks up some big moral issues. You can’t talk about colonial reparations without working through what you think about moral responsibility, collective identity, and the effect of time on liability, all of which reflect on the underlying question of how we see ourselves.
So, what is the nature of our relationship to other countries, to the past and to whatever moral norms we pride ourselves on?
Purchase Michael's book here: https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780198889441/britains-slavery-debt
Reading Our Times is the podcast that explores the books and the ideas that are shaping us today. It is hosted by Nick Spencer, Senior Fellow at the think tank, Theos.
We’re going to be talking to some of the world’s leading authors about issues like meritocracy, justice, populism, human rights, the brain, liberalism, and religion.
Above all, we'll be exploring what these books have to say about the times we live in and about the people we are.
So listen with us, and we’ll introduce you to authors, books and ideas that illuminate ourselves and our world today.
For more information about the people and ideas behind the podcast, visit https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/about/who-we-are or follow us on Twitter @theosthinktank and @theosnick.
Australia