Episode #42: Frank Storey on Taking Down the Mob

Frank Storey (my dad) is a former FBI agent who spent over 25 years investigating, managing, and developing strategic plans to eliminate the Mafia. He first utilized the RICO law to investigate a corrupt labor union controlled by the Gambino family. The UNIRAC case led the way for the dismantling of the Philadelphia Mafia controlled by … Continue reading "Episode #42: Frank Storey on Taking Down the Mob"

Remember the Metaverse? Aaron's been there. He shares his experiences working at Meta and Google, and we explore the logistical and philosophical dimensions of building virtual worlds.

In this episode, Aaron walks us through the painful process of reinventing himself, a journey that leads him from NYC to the Midwest to LA, from the Ivory Tower to the Googleplex.

Aaron Kagan is a UX Researcher at Google, and what I would call an "Industrial Phenomenologist." Phenomenology is really just the rigorous study of experience, so who better to work on User Experience?

How can we retain our humanity in the age of A.I.? To answer that question, we first have to figure out what makes us human in the first place. Joe Vukov is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at Loyola University Chicago. His research explores questions at the intersection of ethics, neuroscience, and philosophy … Continue reading "Episode #38: Joe Vukov on Staying Human in the Age of A.I."

At some point in the last decade, you’ve probably thought to yourself: “I don’t have an ideology! But that jerk on Twitter obviously does!” Ideology is always someone else’s problem. Jason Blakely, a professor of political science at Pepperdine University, begs to differ. Our political predicament, as he argues in his new book, Lost in … Continue reading "Episode #37: Jason Blakely on Escaping the Labyrinth of Ideology"

You probably know John Mackey the business mogul, but you probably don’t know John Mackey the philosopher. In his new memoir, The Whole Story, Founder and Former CEO of Whole Foods Market John Mackey discusses his life’s journey, from existentialist to grocer to conscious capitalist. John shares the latest developments in his new venture, Love.Life, … Continue reading "Episode #36: John Mackey on Whole Foods and Conscious Capitalism"

"Atomic habits" are great, but "team habits" are better. Author, coach, consultant, philosopher, and former Army officer Charlie Gilkey explains why teams are so important and how to build them.

According to the recently released World Happiness Report, all four Nordic nations are in the top 10, with Finland and Denmark leading the way. What is the secret to their success? In 2020, David Brooks asked the same question: Progressives say it’s because they have generous welfare states. Some libertarians point out that these countries … Continue reading "Episode #34: The Bildung Option: Lene Rachel Andersen on the Nordic Secret"

During my trip to the global climate talks in Glasgow in 2021, I had a most serendipitous encounter. I was there as a member of Boston College’s first delegation to the United Nations Conference of the Parties (“COP”), and on day three, I bumped into the science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson, whose novel, The … Continue reading "Episode #33: Kim Stanley Robinson on COP26"