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What happens when your world crumbles? When all the things you hold dear are snatched away from you? Most of us would give up and despair. And, yet, though he awaited an unjust execution, Roman senator and philosopher Boethius penned these hopeful words:

“The world in constant change maintains a harmony. And elements keep peace whose nature is to war.”

Faced with his coming death, Boethius reflected upon his life of contemplation and philosophy, writing one of the greatest works of the medieval age on facing suffering: The Consolation of Philosophy.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Thomas Ward to discuss Boethius’ magnum opus and Dr. Ward’s latest book, After Stoicism: Last Words of the Last Roman Philosopher. Dr. Ward and I examine what Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy can tell us about how to approach life in the midst of suffering.

Topics:

• Who Was Boethius and Why He Matters
• Why The Consolation of Philosophy Endured
• Lady Fortune, The Wheel, and Approachability
• Boethius’ Illness and Philosophy’s Diagnosis
• Forgetting Who We Are
• Modern Stoicism’s Appeal and Limits
• After Stoicism: Hope, God, and Joy
• Love as the Order of the Cosmos
• Eros and Caritas: What Love Means
• Daily Practices for Recollection
• How to Live Like Boethius: Suffering, Virtue, and a Transcendent Order
• "What books have had an impact on you?"
• "What advice do you have for teenagers?"

Bio:

Thomas M. Ward is Associate Professor of Philosophy at The University of Texas at Austin, in the School of Civic Leadership. He is the author of After Stoicism: Last Words of the Last Roman Philosopher (Word on Fire, 2024), which won the Catholic Media Association Book Award for History (First Place). He studied philosophy at Biola University (BA 2004) and UCLA (PhD, 2011) and theology at Oxford University (M.Phil 2006).

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Lessons from Interesting People substack: https://taylorbledsoe.substack.com/

Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/

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With the development of artificial intelligence on the rise, we are at a crossroads. How will we continue our innovations and regulations of this new technology? But, this is more than a technological question. As my guest, Verity Harding states, “AI needs you.”

In this episode, I sit down with Verity Harding to discuss her book, AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI’s Future and Save Our Own.

How we apply AI is a multi-disciplinary issue. We need everyone, from tech people to teachers, to students, to nurses and doctors, and to everyone else.

Topics:

• Why AI Needs Everyone
• Technology's Shadow Self
• The Socio-Technical Approach to AI
• "What books have had an impact on you?"
• "What advice do you have for teenagers?

Bio:

One of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, Verity Harding is director of the AI & Geopolitics Project at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge and founder of Formation Advisory, a consultancy firm that advises on the future of technology and society. She worked for many years as Global Head of Policy for Google DeepMind and as a political adviser to Britain’s deputy prime minister.

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Lessons from Interesting People substack: https://taylorbledsoe.substack.com/

Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4Moon

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What's the meaning of life? Why is there pain and suffering? How do you balance justice and love? These "accursed questions" have haunted humanity for centuries. Fyodor Dostoevsky sought to answer these questions through his characters' lives. His answers are prophetic for our time.

In this episode, I sit down with Northwestern University professor of Russian literature Gary Saul Morson. We discuss what Dostoevsky reveals about developing intellectual honesty, how to deal with suffering and brokenness, as well as his arguments for and against God.

His latest book, Wonder Confronts Certainty: Russian Writers on the Timeless Questions and Why Their Answers Matter, sets the stage for this interview.

Topics:

• The "Accursed Questions" of Russian Literature
• Dostoevsky's Intellectual Honesty with Faith
• Battle-Testing Worldviews through Fiction
• The Dangers of Abstracting Individuals
• Notes from Underground: Human Freedom vs Determinism
• The Core of Ethics: Human Surprisingness
• "What books have had an impact on you?"
• "What advice do you have for teenagers?

Bio:

Gary Saul Morson is Lawrence B. Dumas Professor of the Arts and Humanities and Professor of Russian Literature at Northwestern University. His 21 authored or edited volumes and 300 shorter publications have examined major Russian writers, the philosophy of time, the role of quotations in culture, great aphorisms, and the ultimate questions about life taken seriously in Russian literature. His classes on Russian writers in translation have enrolled over 500 students, and he is the recipient of numerous teaching and research awards. Morson writes regularly for numerous national publications, including The New York Review of Books, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, First Things, Mosaic, and several others. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1995

Prof. Morson on the best Dostoevsky translations:

“The best translations of Dostoevsky are by Constance Garnett or revisions of Garnett. For Notes from Underground, use Garnett revised by Ralph Matlaw; for The Brothers Karamazov, Garnett revised by Susan McReynolds; and for The Possessed (Demons)be sure to use the Modern Library version of the Garnett translation with appendixes containing versions of a chapter he was not allowed to publish.”

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Lessons from Interesting People substack: https://taylorbledsoe.substack.com/

Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4Moon