Philosophy For Our Times

Blue Labour | Maurice Glasman

Tue, 13 Oct 2026

Description

Does the left really need to be more conservative? What is the difference between capital C and lowercase c conservatism? Is the Blue Labour movement the best tool against the MAGA agenda and right wing nationalism?

Maurice Glasman is the founder of the Blue Labour movement, a conservative strand of socialism that champions tradition, community, and civic association. In his view, we’ve come to the end of an era. From Thatcher and Reagan, through Blair and Clinton, we used to live in a period of open borders, globalisation and the rule of capital. Trump and MAGA show that the electorate is fed up with this. But what comes after MAGA? Glasman argues Blue Labour is the politics of the future.

Political theorist, Labour life peer, and a member of the House of Lords, Maurice Glasman founded the Blue Labour movement in 2009.

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Evidence in the Dock | Nick Enfield, Timothy Williamson, Genia Schönbaumsfeld

Tue, 13 Oct 2026

Should we give up seeing evidence as the truth and instead see it as a persuasive argument? Does evidence settle the matter or is a counter-narrative always possible? And if evidence is not the truth, how are we to choose between competing perspectives and models of the world?

We turn to evidence to settle the matter. And we imagine it is evidence that confirms a scientific theory, or the guilt of an accused. But perspective can result in evidence being interpreted radically differently. One person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. More broadly some argue all so-called 'facts' are context or theory dependent. And if evidence depends on perspective, it is no longer clear what counts as evidence in the first place. Unlike the French legal system, that assumes evidence determines truth, the English system embeds opposing narratives, each employing their own 'evidence' to support a case. The same is true when physicists operate with different models of reality, recognising that alternative frameworks can be used.

Nick Enfield is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sydney and Director of the Sydney Centre for Language Research. He is the author of Language vs Reality.

Analytic philosopher and author of Knowledge and Its Limits, Timothy Williamson is a Senior Research Fellow at New College, Oxford and former Wykeham Professor of Logic.

Genia Schönbaumsfeld is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton and the author of several books – most recently, Wittgenstein on Religious Belief. In 2023, Genia was awarded a highly prestigious ERC Advanced Grant for her project entitled ‘The Ethics of Doubt – Kierkegaard, Scepticism and Conspiracy Theory’.

Jay Shapiro hosts.

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To witness such talks live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/

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You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes

Bonus Episode: The Philosophy of Action

Fri, 15 Jun 2018

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Can philosophy help us make real life decisions? Can actions speak louder than words? Our producer interviews philosophers Bence Nanay, Angie Hobbs, Christopher Hamilton, Barry Smith, Shahidha Bari, and performance artist Emma Sulkowicz about the power of ideas in their lives.

There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=bonus-episode-the-philosophy-of-action

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The big ideas we choose to believe in | Dallas Campbell

Tue, 16 Nov 2021

Why do Flat Earthers believe the world is flat even when confronted with scientific evidence? Why don't anti-vaxxers "trust the science"? Listen to find out.

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Dallas Campbell is one of the most celebrated science television presenters in the UK. He has been communicating complicated ideas to the nation for years. But what does it really take to mediate between scientists and the public? In this interview, Dallas shares his insights into the scientific community and sheds light on why we choose to believe what we believe. Gunes Taylor hosts.

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Our delusions about reality | Iain McGilchrist

Tue, 26 Jul 2022

How our brains lie to us and science follows.

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With a background in psychiatry, neuroimaging, and philosophy, Iain McGilchrist has a unique perspective on the world, the mind, and everything in between. Here, he discusses his new book, The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World.

Iain McGilchrist is psychiatrist, writer, and former Oxford literary scholar. He is committed to the idea that the mind and brain can be understood only by seeing them in the broadest possible context, a notion which is fundamental to his two most famous works: The Master and his Emissary, and The Matter With Things

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