Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with William Taubman about the complex life and career of Robert McNamara. They provide an overview of McNamara, his upbringing, temperament, and evolution. They discuss his work with the Ford Motor Company, how he organized the Defense Department, Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, World Bank, breaking his silence on Vietnam, and many more topics.
William Taubman is the Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Amherst College. His book, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is also the co-author (with Philip Taubman) of McNamara at War: A New History.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with James McDougall about a global history of Islam. They discuss the global spread and diversity of Islam, Arabia before Muhammad, succession after Muhammad, the five pillars of Islam, emphasis on law and doctrine within Islam, Hadiths, the Ottoman Empire and spread of Islam, Islamists, Islam in the 21st century, and many more topics.
James McDougall has taught history at Princeton; the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; and Oxford, where he is a Fellow of Trinity College. He is the author of numerous books including the most recent book, Worlds of Islam: A Global History.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Inger Kuin about the philosopher Diogenes. They discuss the impact of Diogenes, his personal development, embodied philosophy, human reason, interactions with Plato, suffering, pleasure, desire, and how we apply his philosophy in the modern world.
Inger N. I. Kuin is an associate professor of classics at the University of Virginia. Born in the Netherlands, she worked as a journalist before receiving an MA in philosophy from the University of Amsterdam and a PhD in classics from New York University. She is the author of the book, Diogenes.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Edmonds about thought experiments and effective altruism. They talk about the shallow pond, why thought experiments are important, the trolley problem, critiques of the shallow pond, effective altruism, charities, and many more topics.
David Edmonds is a philosopher and author. He is Distinguished Research Fellow at Oxford University. His main interests are in moral philosophy and ethics. He is also the co-host (with Nigel Warburton) of the popular podcast, Philosophy Bites. He is the author of numerous books including the most recent book, Death In A Shallow Pond.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Akhil Reed Amar about the history of the U.S. Constitution from 1840-1920. They discuss America as an idea, Madison’s notes on the constitution, 3/5s rule, electoral college, slavery, Taney and Dred Scott ruling, Emancipation Proclamation, 13, 14, 15, and 19th amendments, and many more topics.
Akhil Reed Amar is the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and the author of several books on constitutional law and history, including America’s Constitution: A Biography and The Words That Made Us and the most recent book, Born Equal.


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