Shows
Wisdom of Crowds[REUPPED] Community, Freedom and the PolisYesterday, the philosopher Michael Sandel won this year’s prestigious Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture. The million-dollar prize is a lifetime-achievement award given to an individual “whose ideas have profoundly shaped human self-understanding and advancement.” We were lucky to have Professor Sandel on our podcast last summer, along with his son, fellow-philosopher Adam Sandel, and Wisdom of Crowds’ resident philosopher, Samuel Kimbriel. To celebrate Professor Sandel’s award, we are re-releasing the episode. Enjoy!— Santiago Ramos, executive editorA special treat from the Aspen Ideas Festival: a panel discussion about American community and politics, featuring a...
2025-10-1449 min
How God Works: The Science Behind SpiritualityThe Friendship CureWe say friends are what make life worth living. But if that’s true, why are so many of us struggling to find and keep them these days? And what can we do to cultivate better friendships?Join us as we talk to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger about the importance of friendship to our health and happiness, and to philosopher Samuel Kimbriel about the keys to forming meaningful friendships and the helpful advice spiritual traditions offer. Along the way, we’ll also ask what it means to be a good friend… and what that means for society as a whole...
2025-10-0540 min
Wisdom of CrowdsPiety and PoliticsThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveLast week, Wisdom of Crowds philosopher-in-residence Samuel Kimbriel wrote an essay about the political use of Christianity within MAGA, contrasting the sincerity of Erika Kirk’s piety with the propagandistic use of the Lord’s Prayer in a recent military recruitment video. Shadi Hamid reflected on Samuel’s piece and more, writing a column about it for the Washington Post. Today, we bring both men together to discuss the central questions of both articles: do Christianity and politics mix?Damir Marusi...
2025-10-0454 min
Wisdom of CrowdsCommunity, Freedom and the PolisA special treat from the Aspen Ideas Festival: a panel discussion about American community and politics, featuring a father–son philosophical duo.Michael J. Sandel is a professor at Harvard University, where he teaches political philosophy. His famous “Justice” course has been viewed by tens of millions worldwide. His son, Adam Sandel, is a philosopher, award-winning teacher, and holder of the Guinness World Record for most pull-ups in one minute. Together with Samuel Kimbriel, Wisdom of Crowds’ in-house philosopher, they discuss community, democracy, the evolving nature of justice, the importance of constructive visions for community, and the role of...
2025-08-2949 min
Wisdom of CrowdsWhat is Happiness?What is happiness? Why are so many Americans — by their own admission — unhappy? These are the central questions in this special episode, live from the Aspen Ideas Festival. At the festival, our house philosopher, Dr. Samuel Kimbriel, hosted a discussion with three distinguished thinkers. Adam Sandel is a philosopher and assistant district attorney in Brooklyn whose latest book is titled Happiness in Action: A Philosopher’s Guide to the Good Life. Agnes Callard is a philosophy professor at the University of Chicago who just published Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life. Finally, David Brooks is a well...
2025-07-1953 min
Wisdom of CrowdsThe Future of AI and the Future of HumanityThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveIs tech replacing humanity? Or is it sharpening the question of what it means to be human? What does it mean to live a good life — as opposed to passable life? What features of humanity become more important by contrast and necessity in the technological age? Is it possible to find a higher version of humanity in order to thrive?For this week’s episode — a live taping of Wisdom of Crowds — we invited Santi Ruiz to discuss these questions, and more...
2025-06-0140 min
Wisdom of CrowdsTrust Your Mind!This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis episode is a bit “meta”: it’s about what it means to keep an open mind, how to trust your conscience, why we should all avoid groupthink, and the phenomenon of “self silencing” — keeping your views to yourself when you’re afraid it might be too costly to say them out loud. But of course, this being Wisdom of Crowds, we link these meta-topics to the politics of the day. Jenara Nerenberg is a journalist, producer, speaker, and founder of...
2025-04-2644 min
Wisdom of CrowdsHow to Get Un-StuckThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveIs it possible to move up in this world? Are Americans stuck? Our guest today is Yoni Appelbaum, an American historian and staff writer at The Atlantic magazine. His new book, Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity, explores the various ways the American dream has been stymied — by the consolidation of property and wealth, the abuse of environmental regulations, the legacy of redlining, among other factors. But the book is not a diatribe; it offers a...
2025-04-1850 min
Wisdom of CrowdsThe Romanticism DebateThis week, we tried an experiment: a Substack live event! Matthew Gasda wrote a popular article about Romanticism, his contribution to an ongoing debate. Samuel Kimbriel had a few disagreements with Gasda’s piece. In the spirit of Wisdom of Crowds, we hosted our first-ever live-streamed Substack debate.It went pretty well! We hope to host more. By popular demand, here is a video recording of that debate. Please continue the discussion in the comments below!— Santiago Ramos, executive editorRequired Reading:* Matthew Gasda, “A Few Doubts About Neo-Romanticism” (WoC).
2025-03-2845 min
Wisdom of CrowdsHow Will the Left Respond to Trump?This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveLast week’s episode dealt with the state of the American Right post-election. Today we ask: Where is the American Left going? How will it respond to Trump? “There is a palpable sense of passivity on the Left,” says Damir Marusic. “What I’ve seen is resignation or weird, detached analysis,” says Samuel Kimbriel. Is there more going on than we see? We invited WoC contributor Osita Nwanevu, writer for the New Republic and author of an upcoming book about American democracy, to tell us m...
2025-01-2646 min
Wisdom of CrowdsFreedom, Justice and McDonald'sThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveFor some people, “liberal socialism” sounds like an oxymoron. Liberalism is a political idea that promises to protect individual rights. Socialism, on the other hand, is about collective power: the power of workers to organize and, if not quite seize, at least have a say in the administration of the means of production. Liberalism is about freedom, while socialism is about equality. Not so, argues Matthew McManus, political science professor at the University of Michigan. In his new book, The Poli...
2024-12-2950 min
Wisdom of CrowdsLive Episode: Rebellion or Realignment?As election data analysis continues to pour in, we can be sure of one thing: a large number of working class votes which traditionally would have gone to the Democrats shifted in 2024 toward the GOP. As CNN reported last week: “Trump ran up large margins among White voters without a college degree who belong to labor unions and also significantly improved among unionized non-White workers without advanced education.”So, did Trump’s victory signal a realignment for the working class? Or was it a one-off thing, an act of rebellion against a complacent Democratic establishment? In terms of fir...
2024-12-191h 03
Wisdom of CrowdsThe Player and the RefereeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveOfficial WoC house philosopher Samuel Kimbriel joins Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic to discuss the role that ideas had in the recent elections. Specifically, they focus on whether it was bad ideas or bad political strategy that doomed the Dems.Sam insists that the Democrats failed because liberalism as we understand it has become weak, devoid of ideas and moral persuasion. Liberals, Sam insists, constantly shift from wanting to be a player in the political contest, to a referee of...
2024-11-1754 min
Wisdom of CrowdsHappiness and Misery in AmericaOn October 21 in Washington, DC, Wisdom of Crowds hosted a special live taping of the podcast. WoC editor-at-large Samuel Kimbriel joined WoC contributor and New Republic journalist Osita Nwanevu, along with Georgetown political theory professor Joshua Mitchell, to discuss “Happiness and Misery in America” on the eve of the general elections. Joshua spoke from a more communitarian and conservative point of view, citing the drawbacks that come with the growth of the state: “When you have a regime founded on small government and mediating institutions, you have to develop personal and collective competence. … Early on, happiness is linked t...
2024-11-031h 04
Wisdom of CrowdsCharles Taylor on the Need for Cosmic ConnectionA very special episode this week, completely free for all listeners. The world-famous philosopher Charles Taylor joins Wisdom of Crowds editors Samuel Kimbriel and Santiago Ramos for a conversation about his new book, Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment. Professor Taylor has spent a long and fruitful career trying to understand the basic questions of modern life. What does it mean to be a modern person? How do we form our sense of identity? How do we relate to the sacred? What does it mean to be secular? What happened to religion? In Cosmic Connections...
2024-09-071h 02
Wisdom of CrowdsEnding Summer on Violence and DespairThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveElon Musk just started tweeting about the Iliad. But our guest, Twitter’s Audrey Horne, has been talking about Homer with Samuel Kimbriel and Damir Marusic for at least two weeks now — well before Elon turned his attention to these kinds of things. We figured this was an excuse to share some of the offline chatter with the Crowd. If Elon’s interested in it, it has to be relevant, right?Christians and Greeks both agree that the world is cruel...
2024-08-2558 min
Wisdom of Crowds(Why) Do We Love Violence (and Sex)?This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week, Wisdom of Crowds hosts a fluid discussion about violence and sex in movies, where the “shoulds” of life come from, and whether liberal values can be based on something other than religion. The discussion is more meditative than contentious, an exploration prompted by recent pop culture hits and a probing comment from the Crowd.Violence is entertaining. That’s the conclusion that Damir draws after watching the movie, Civil War, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Christine questions Damir about his ta...
2024-06-071h 01
Beauty At WorkIs Democracy Beautiful? (Part 2 of 2)What, if anything, is beautiful about democracy? Is it meaningful to talk about beauty when it comes to politics? These questions were discussed (and even fiercely debated) in our final plenary session of the Beauty at Work international symposium held at The Catholic University of America, May 27, 2023. This episode is the second part of the discussion. Please listen to the first part here if you haven't already: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2043099/15128215Panelists for the session were Hélène Landemore (Yale University), Shadi Hamid (The Atlantic), and Osita Nwanevu (The New Republic)Th...
2024-05-3146 min
Beauty At WorkIs Democracy Beautiful? (Part 1 of 2)What, if anything, is beautiful about democracy? Is it meaningful to talk about beauty when it comes to politics? These questions were discussed (and even fiercely debated) in our final plenary session of the Beauty at Work international symposium held at The Catholic University of America, May 27, 2023. We will share this session with you over the next couple of episodes. Panelists for the session were Hélène Landemore (Yale University), Shadi Hamid (The Atlantic), and Osita Nwanevu (The New Republic)The panel was moderated by Samuel Kimbriel, Aspen Institute.You...
2024-05-2436 min
Wisdom of CrowdsThe Rich and the UnhappyThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week, our in-house philosopher and very own Editor-at-Large Samuel Kimbriel returns to the podcast for a one-on-one discussion with Shadi Hamid about wealth, ambition and whether they are the paths toward happiness.How do societal values, especially those in American culture, influence our sense of fulfillment? The guys probe why those who are perceived as the most successful — like tech entrepreneurs and posh weekend travelers — seem to be the least happy. This opens up questions about how those who face...
2023-12-1042 min
Wisdom of CrowdsWhat's the Meaning of Meaning?This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWe’re living in the most prosperous time in human history with more material abundance and comfort — and yet something just feels… off. This week, Shadi Hamid and Samuel Kimbriel take a trip to the heartland to find out what that something is.In this special live recording from the Lyceum Movement’s Tallgrass Ideas Festival in Iowa, Shadi and Sam join political theorist Susan Laehn to grapple with whether a sense of meaning precedes or succeeds happiness. With the live aud...
2023-08-1247 min
Wisdom of CrowdsIs American Decline Inevitable?Shadi, Christine, and Sam head to Aspen to record a live episode of the show. The crowd gets involved.The broad topic of the conversation was decline. We don’t always know how to express it, but many of us feel it: There’s something wrong with America today. The mood is tense. More Americans say they won’t have children because of climate change and other future catastrophes. But are things really as bad as they seem? Is decline something we need to accept—or is there a case for a new optimism?You won’t wa...
2023-06-301h 05
Brain in a VatFriendship is Magic | Samuel KimbrielAre human beings social creatures? Do social groups have an important role to play in political life? Can hermits lead meaningful lives?
2023-06-041h 06
Wisdom of CrowdsAre Big Ideas Still Possible? With Ross DouthatThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveAre big ideas still possible? Are there any “new” ideas left—and what makes an idea new in the first place? If we need new ideas to shake ourselves out of decadence, we should be careful what we wish for. Wokeness is one such “comprehensive framework.” Others might prove similarly frightening.This week, Shadi is joined by New York Times columnist and author of The Decadent Society Ross Douthat and the political philosopher Samuel Kimbriel. Recently, Sam wrote an essay “...
2023-05-2143 min
Wisdom of CrowdsChatGPT and the Consciousness TrapThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWith artificial intelligence threatening to take over our imaginations, Shadi and Damir this week decided to talk through some of the philosophical quandaries with none other than political philosopher and Wisdom of Crowds contributing writer Samuel Kimbriel. The Crowd takes on ChatGPT, existential risk, "the simulation", navigating uncertainty and whether we can know what is real.After a recent encounter with ChatGPT, Damir is impressed that AI is now well on its way to modeling language, an advancement he thinks...
2023-03-2046 min
Wisdom of CrowdsPhilosophy, Ukraine, and the Return of FinitudeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWhat’s the nature of our enemy in Ukraine? Is it Putin, Russia, or authoritarianism? What are the sources of the West’s strength and its capacities for revival? And how should we think about evil in the world? The political philosopher Samuel Kimbriel joins Shadi and Damir to help unpack these questions, and many others in a wide-ranging philosophical discussion.In the subscriber-only portion of the episode, the debate intensifies around whether finitude entails a more confrontational American foreign poli...
2022-03-181h 18
Wisdom of CrowdsEpisode 52: Who Counts As "The People"?On today's show, Jason Willick of the Wall Street Journal's Editorial Page stops by to discuss all things representation: Does the filibuster still serve a beneficial purpose? How can we balance both rural and urban interests? Should representatives mirror their voters' preferences or rely on their personal judgment? And how does the rise of Big Tech factor into all this? Required Reading: The Politics of Size: Representation in the United States, 1776–1850, by Rosemarie Zagarri (Amazon) Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide, by Jonathan A. Rodden (Amazon) Inventing the People: The Rise of...
2021-03-241h 05
Wisdom of CrowdsEpisode 51: Civility and Consensus Are Overrated Too many commentators today want a "return to civility" in political discourse. Osita Nwanevu, a staff writer at The New Republic, and Samuel Kimbriel, a political philosopher, think that's misguided—rather than ignoring our fundamental disagreements, we should be arguing about them much more honestly. This episode's example: Osita's proposal to abolish the U.S. Constitution. Required Reading: Friendship as Sacred Knowing: Overcoming Isolation, by Samuel Kimbriel (Oxford University Press) “The Constitution Is the Crisis,” by Osita Nwanevu (The New Republic) "The Democracy Essays," by Samuel Kimbriel and Osita Nwanevu (Wisdom of Crowds) This is a p...
2021-03-131h 19
Faith 2020Some Things Change, Some Things Don’tIn this week’s episode, Michael talks with Adam Serwer about his new essay for The Atlantic Magazine on “The New Reconstruction.” Michael also talks with political philosopher Samuel Kimbriel about how society holds together under political stress and division.
2020-09-231h 02