#365 - The Language Puzzle: A Dialogue with Steven Mithen

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Arlie Hochschild about pride and shame in Appalachia. They discuss the political Right in Appalachia and framework of pride and shame, demographic makeup of the population in Appalachia, current challenges in Appalachia, and the emotions of pride, shame, and guilt. They talk about the appeal of the far Right, immigration and nationalism, liberals abandoning the working class, how we repair the politics divides, and many other topics. Arlie Hochschild is writer and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California-Berkeley, where she also earned her PhD. Her main interests have been on social relationships with politics, emotions, and culture. She is the author of numerous books, including Strangers In Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, and the most recent, Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jason Stanley about the importance of preserving history. They talked about why authoritarians attempt to erase history, fascist ideas, nationalism, immigration, book burning, classical education, how to defend history, and many other topics. Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and honorary professor at the Kyiv School of Economics. Before coming to Yale in 2013, he was Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University and was also Professor at the University of Michigan (2000-4) and Cornell University (1995-2000). He has his PhD in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT and his BA from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is the author of seven books, which include How Propaganda Works, How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them , and the newest book, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Mario Livio about finding life in our universe. They define life, discuss if we are alone, and the improtance of telescopes showing galaxies. They talk about the goldilocks zone, how life began on earth, proteins and genes, and building blocks of life on other planets. They talk about tidal forces, exoplanets, UAPs, intelligent life, and many more topics. Dr. Mario Livio is an astrophysicist, author, and speaker. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has published more than 500 scientific articles and has made significant theoretical contributions to topics ranging from cosmology, supernova explosions, and black holes to extrasolar planets and the emergence of life in the universe. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his research. He is the author of eight popular science books, including the most recent in collaboration with Nobel laureate Jack Szostak, Is Earth Exceptional? Website: https://www.mario-livio.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sheena Mason about race and culture. They talk about the increased focus on race, racelessness and the wayfinder, defining race/ism and history of the categories of race. They talk about culture, history, and ethnicity, mixed race and ethnicity, anti-racism, practical ways to end racism, and many more topics. Sheena Michele Mason is an assistant professor of English at SUNY Oneonta. She holds a PhD with distinction in English from Howard University and specializes in Africana and American literature studies and philosophy of race. She is published with Oxford University Press, Palgrave MacMillan, Cambridge University Press, and the University of Warsaw among other presses. She is the innovator of the togetherness wayfinder (formerly and alternatively called the theory of racelessness) and founder of Togetherness Wayfinder, an educational firm. Her book The Raceless Antiracist: Why Ending Race Is the Future of Antiracism shows how ending our belief in “race” and practice of racialization is required toward the goal of ending the causes and effects of racialized dehumanization.Website: https://www.togethernesswayfinder.org/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Emily Herring about the life and philosophy of Henri Bergson. They discuss who he was and why he is forgotten, changes in his childhood, and how he choose philosophy. They talk about his concepts of Durée, freedom, and memory. They talk about his relationship with Proust, his global popularity, evolution, later life, his legacy, and many more topics.Emily Herring is a writer based in Paris. She has her PhD in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Leeds. Her writing has appears in Aeon and Times Literary Supplement. She is the author of the latest book, Herald Of A Restless World: How Henri Bergson Brought Philosophy to the People. Website: https://www.wellreadherring.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones about the history of the various Cleopatra queens. They discuss the 7 major Cleopatras, gender roles and norms in Egypt, and the context of the Antigonids, Ptolemies, and Seleucids. They talk about Cleopatra I, incestuous marriages, Potbelly and Cleopatra II and III. They discuss the ethnicity of Cleopatra VII, her various romantic relationships, her suicide, legacy of the Cleopatras, and many more topics. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones is Chair and Professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University. He has his PhD in Ancient History from Cardiff University and has taught previously at the University of Edinburgh. His main interests are in Greek socio-cultural history, women’s history, and ancient Persia. He is the author of many books including the most recent book, The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nathan J. Robinson about US foreign policy. They discuss his collaboration with Noam Chomsky, myth of American idealism, and positive elements of US foreign policy. They discuss US foreign policy in Latin America, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, and China. They talk about current threats of climate change and nuclear weapons and the future of US foreign policy. Nathan J. Robinson is editor of Current Affairs and a political columnist at The Guardian. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Nation, Al Jazeera America, and Salon. He has his JD from Yale Law School and PhD in Sociology and Social Policy from Harvard University. He is the author of numerous books, including the most recent (co-authored with Noam Chomsky), The Myth of American Idealism: How US Foreign Policy Endangers The World. Website: https://www.nathanjrobinson.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Melissa Eddy about the life and chancellorship of Angela Merkel. They discuss Merkel’s general themes and profile, gender and fashion, and her East German origins. They talk about her major achievements, criticisms, interactions with world leaders, her legacy, and many more topics. Melissa Eddy is a journalist based in Berlin who covers German business, economics, and politics for The New York Times. She has covered Chancellor Angela Merkel since she entered office in 2005. A Minnesota native fluent in German and French, she came to Germany as a Fulbright scholar in 1996. Before joining The International Herald Tribune, now the international edition of The New York Times, in 2015, she was a correspondent for the Associated Press in Frankfurt, Vienna, and the Balkans. She is the author of Merkel’s Law: Wisdom from the woman who led the free world. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Musa al-Gharbi about the new elite, “wokeness,” and symbolic capitalism. They discuss why we should still care about “wokeness” and cancel culture, history of the four great “awokenings,” and sincerity of those that have “woke” beliefs. They define and discuss symbolic capitalism, people denying their new elite status, defining “woke” and the history of the word. They talk about “wokeness” as a new religion, the anti-woke, DEI, and many more topics.Musa al-Gharbi is a sociologist and Assistant Professor in the School of Communication and Journalism and Fellow in Sociology at Columbia University. He has a Bachelors in Near Eastern Studies, Masters in Philosophy, Masters in Sociology, MPhil in Sociology, and PhD in Sociology. His work focuses on various social phenomena such as race relations, inequality, social movements, foreign policy and domestic U.S. political interests. He is the author of the latest book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions Of A New Elite. Website: https://musaalgharbi.com/Substack: Musa al-Gharbi Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Chaffetz about the history of the horse and impact with empires. They discuss the origins of the horse and living alongside humans, herding and horse milk, domesticating the horse and riding horses. They talk about the Steppe environment, rise of chariots, the Scythians and mounted combat, horses used within empires, and China’s relationship with horses. They talk about the Kushans, Turks, Chinggis Khan, Timur, WWI, and many more topics.David Chaffetz is a regular Asian Review of Books contributor, member of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, and author of A Journey through Afghanistan, Three Asian Divas, and Raiders, Rulers, and Traders. He has traveled extensively in Asia for more than forty years. He divides his time between Lisbon and Paris. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe