The Prometheans - Podcast Details

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Let’s Discuss #89: Does God’s Foreknowledge Destroy Human Freedom? | Katherin RogersIf God infallibly knows what you will do tomorrow, can you genuinely choose otherwise?This is one of the deepest problems in the philosophy of religion: if God cannot be wrong about our future choices, in what sense are those choices truly free?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka speaks with philosopher Prof. Katherin “Kate” Rogers about her influential Anselmian approach to divine foreknowledge, eternity, and libertarian free will.Drawing on the thought of Anselm and Boethius, Rogers argues that God does not...

2026-10-2333 min

Let’s Discuss #88: Rethinking Existentialism: Freedom, Meaning, and the Search for Authenticity | Jonathan WebberWas Jean-Paul Sartre wrong about freedom? Professor Jonathan Webber — Cardiff University philosopher and President of the UK Sartre Society — joins The Prometheans to argue that existentialism is not the vague literary mood most people think it is, but a rigorous ethical theory with a precise argument at its core: that human freedom is the foundation of all value.We trace the real philosophical drama behind the term "existentialism" — from Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir's 1945 "existentialist offensive," through Beauvoir's rival theory of "sedimentation" (which Sartre himself would later come to accept), to Frantz Fanon's Black Skin...

2026-10-2041 min

Let’s Discuss #87: 500+ Theories of Mind, 9 Levels of Nothing: Robert Lawrence Kuhn on Reality's Last MysteriesWhy is there something rather than nothing? What is consciousness? And could the deepest mystery of reality be that anything exists at all — including the experience of being you?In this special episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) speaks with Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn, creator and host of Closer To Truth, the long-running public television and digital series exploring the deepest questions in science, philosophy, and religion.Kuhn has spent more than 25 years bringing leading scientists, philosophers, and theologians into conversations about existence, consciousness, God, the mind, and the nature of re...

2026-10-161h 28

Let’s Discuss #86: Viktor Frankl: Can Suffering Have Meaning? | Alexander BatthyányWhat makes life worth living when suffering, loss, death and uncertainty seem to strip everything away?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka speaks with Prof. Alexander Batthyány, director of the Viktor Frankl Institute and Viktor Frankl Archives in Vienna and first editor of Viktor Frankl's 14-volume Collected Works, about one of the most important—and controversial—questions in modern psychology and philosophy:Can human beings find meaning even in suffering?Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and founder of logotherapy, argued that the d...

2026-10-1051 min

Let’s Discuss #85: What Is Madness? Psychiatry, Power & the Human Mind — Andrew ScullWhat is madness?Is mental illness something medicine discovers—or something societies define? Who gets to decide what counts as abnormal? And what happens when institutions acquire the authority to define, diagnose and treat the human mind?In this episode of The Prometheans, I speak with Andrew Scull, one of the leading historians of psychiatry, about the long and troubled history of humanity's attempts to understand madness.From religious interpretations of possession and divine madness to the asylum, psychoanalysis, lobotomy, electroconvulsive therapy, psychopharmacology and mo...

2026-10-071h 22

Let’s Discuss #84: The Historical Muhammad ﷺ: Prophet, Politician, Warrior — Can Faith & Critical History Agree?What happens when the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is examined not only through the lens of faith, but through the methods of critical history?In this episode of The Prometheans, I sit down with Professor Joel Hayward, military historian, strategic-studies scholar, and author of The Leadership of Muhammad: A Historical Reconstruction and The Warrior Prophet: Muhammad and War.Hayward approaches the historical Muhammad ﷺ from a distinctive position: he is a committed Muslim, yet argues that devotion and historical methodology are not the same thing. His work attempts to brin...

2026-10-0559 min

Let’s Discuss #83: What Makes Humans Different from AI? Consciousness, and the Future of Humanity | Mihretu GutaWhat makes a human being different from an artificial intelligence?As AI systems become increasingly sophisticated, they can write, reason, create images, solve problems, code, and sustain remarkably convincing conversations. But does impressive performance amount to genuine understanding? Could a machine ever become conscious—or even become a person?In this episode of The Prometheans, I speak with philosopher Dr. Mihretu P. Guta about consciousness, artificial intelligence, personhood, the soul, and the future of humanity.Dr. Guta is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics at...

2026-09-301h 01

Let’s Discuss #82: Martin Luther: Revolutionary or Medieval? The Real Roots of the Reformation | Dr. Volker LeppinWas the Reformation actually... medieval? Historian Dr. Volker Leppin (Yale Divinity School) joins us to make a case that unsettles both Protestant and Catholic accounts of Martin Luther: that Luther's core ideas — justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, even his critique of the papacy — were already alive in late medieval piety and mysticism before he ever wrote a word against Rome.We trace the real chain of influence: Luther's confessor Johann von Staupitz, the mystic Johannes Tauler, and the anonymous Theologia Deutsch that Luther himself named and published. We also tackle a lege...

2026-09-2632 min

Let’s Discuss 81: Is Life Really Meaningless? Camus, the Absurd & the Search for Meaning | Anthony J. RuddIs life really meaningless?Albert Camus famously confronted one of philosophy's most unsettling questions: what should we do if human beings desperately seek meaning, yet the universe appears to offer none?But is Camus's philosophy as straightforward as “life is meaningless, so we must simply embrace the absurd”?In this episode of The Prometheans, we are joined by philosopher Anthony Rudd, Associate Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at St Olaf College and author of The Philosophy of Camus: Through a Kierkegaardian Lens (Oxford University Press, 2024).

2026-09-2453 min

Let’s Discuss #80: Fate, the Oracle & Free Will: Did the Greeks Believe in Genuine Agency? Prof. Esther EidinowWhat did the ancient Greeks actually believe about fate, free will, luck and human agency?Were our lives understood as predetermined by the gods and fate—or did ordinary Greeks believe that their choices could genuinely change the future?In this episode of The Prometheans, I’m joined by Professor Esther Eidinow, Professor of Ancient History at the University of Bristol and Fellow of the British Academy, to explore the fascinating relationship between fate, uncertainty and human agency in ancient Greek culture.Drawing on her...

2026-09-1738 min

Let’s Discuss #79: Are Miracles Being Suppressed? Dale Allison on NDEs, ESP & the SupernaturalAre miracles real — and if they are, why do so many people refuse to take the evidence seriously?In this episode of The Prometheans, I sit down with Dale C. Allison Jr., Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary and author of Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age.Allison has spent decades studying the historical Jesus, early Christianity, the resurrection and Second Temple Judaism. But in Encountering Mystery, he turns to a very different question: what should we make of extraordinary religious and paranormal experiences that mo...

2026-09-1550 min

Let’s Discuss #78: Beyond Broicism: What Seneca, Epictetus & Marcus Aurelius Actually Taught | Dr. Gregory SadlerWhat Would a Stoic Actually Do? The Practical Wisdom of Seneca, Epictetus & Marcus AureliusEveryone's seen "Stoicism" turned into ice baths, cold showers, and "no excuses" bro-wisdom. Dr. Gregory Sadler — philosopher, editor of Stoicism Today, and one of the most prolific Stoic teachers on the internet — has spent over a decade fighting exactly that misreading. He calls it "Broicism," and in this conversation he tells us why it gets Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius almost exactly backwards.We go past the quote-graphics and into the actual discipline: Epictetus's dichotomy of control, done properly — not as a slog...

2026-09-1158 min

Let’s Discuss #77: Was Freud Right All Along? Neuroscientist Mark Solms Reopens the CaseFor most of the last 50 years, Sigmund Freud has been treated as a discredited relic — unscientific, unfalsifiable, a historical curiosity kept alive only by literary critics. Neuropsychologist Mark Solms disagrees, and he has the credentials to make the case: Chair of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town, discoverer of the actual brain mechanism behind dreaming, and translator of the 24-volume Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud.In his new book "The Only Cure: Freud and the Neuroscience of Mental Healing," Solms argues that modern neuroscience is independently confirming se...

2026-09-0652 min

Let’s Discuss #76: What If Matter Doesn't Exist? Howard Robinson on IdealismIs Reality Fundamentally Mental? Howard Robinson on Idealism, Consciousness, and RealityWhat if the physical world is not ultimately what we think it is?In this episode of The Prometheans, we are joined by philosopher Howard Robinson for a deep exploration of one of philosophy's most fundamental questions: Is reality fundamentally mental?Robinson is Professor Emeritus in Philosophy at Central European University and the author of Matter and Sense, Perception, From the Knowledge Argument to Mental Substance: Resurrecting the Mind, and Perception and Idealism...

2026-09-0133 min

Let’s Discuss #75: The Death of Magic: Modernity, Myth, and the Disenchanted World | Sharon BlackieThe world was once alive — every river, tree, and threshold humming with meaning. Then, somewhere between Descartes and the Scientific Revolution, the West performed an exorcism on its own imagination. We call it progress. Psychologist and mythologist Dr Sharon Blackie calls it disenchantment — and in this conversation, we ask whether it was ever truly inevitable, and whether it can be undone.Dr Blackie — a former neuroscientist turned mythologist, and bestselling author of The Enchanted Life and If Women Rose Rooted — joins The Prometheans to trace how the West traded a participatory, storied cosmos for a measurable, mechanical one. We...

2026-08-3130 min

Let’s Discuss #74: Frantz Fanon: Why Colonialism Still Lives in Our Minds | Lewis GordonFrantz Fanon was a psychiatrist who treated both the tortured and the torturers of colonial Algeria — and concluded that colonialism doesn't just occupy land, it occupies the mind. In this episode, philosopher Lewis Gordon, one of the world's foremost interpreters of Fanon and a leading voice in Africana philosophy, joins The Prometheans to unpack how colonial power gets internalized — psychologically, culturally, and politically — and why Fanon's diagnosis still explains the world seventy years later.We go inside Fanon's key ideas: the "zone of nonbeing," the "epidermalization" of inferiority, the Manichean logic of colonizer and colonized, and the contro...

2026-08-261h 12

Let’s Discuss #73: Is the Rumi You Know Even Rumi? | 25 Years Translating the Masnavi — Jawid MojaddediIs the Rumi quoted on Instagram the same Rumi who wrote the Masnavi?For 25 years, Rutgers scholar Jawid Mojaddedi has been doing something no one had ever done before: translating all six books of Rumi's 26,000-verse masterwork, the Masnavi, into English verse — faithfully, completely, and for the first time ever unabridged. In 2025, he finished it.In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka sits down with Professor Mojaddedi to talk about what it actually took to finish a quarter-century translation project, what the Masnavi is really saying beneath its most famous opening image — the reed flut...

2026-08-2444 min

The Halo Historian: A Military History of the Halo Universe Prometheans: Composed Soldiers and Forerunner MachinesThe Prometheans encountered by modern humanity are the surviving military instruments of the Didact’s war against the Flood and his later campaign against humanity. This episode examines Promethean Knights, Soldiers, Crawlers, Watchers, and the Forerunner systems that allow them to fight as a highly networked machine army. The most disturbing element lies inside some of the Knights: human minds transformed through the Composer and imprisoned within mechanical war bodies intended to resist Flood infection. The result combines the persistence of machines with traces of once-living soldiers stripped of ordinary human existence. Promethean units use teleportation, hard-light weapons, autonomous support co...

2026-08-2325 min

Let’s Discuss #72: Where Did the Greek Gods Come From? The World Before Zeus | Jenny Strauss ClayWhere did the Greek gods come from? What existed before Zeus—and how did the cosmos itself come into being?In this episode of The Prometheans, we sit down with distinguished classicist Professor Jenny Strauss Clay, author of Hesiod’s Cosmos, to explore one of the earliest surviving Greek attempts to explain the origins of the gods and the structure of reality.Beginning with Hesiod’s Theogony, we trace the emergence of Chaos, Gaia, Ouranos, the Titans, Kronos, and ultimately Zeus, examining how a divine order develops through generation, confli...

2026-08-2048 min

Let’s Discuss #71: Revelations of the Unseen | ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Jilani, & the Spiritual Path | Dr. Louay FatoohiWho was Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Jilani, and why is he regarded as one of the most influential spiritual masters in Islamic history?In this episode of The Prometheans, I am joined by Dr. Louay Fatoohi to explore Revelations of the Unseen (Futuh al-Ghayb)—one of the most celebrated works of Islamic spirituality. We discuss the true meaning of Tasawwuf (Sufism), the purification of the soul (tazkiyah), the struggle against the ego (nafs), trust in Allah (tawakkul), sainthood (awliya), miracles (karamat), and why the teachings of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Jilani continue to inspire millions of Muslims around the worl...

2026-08-1653 min

Let’s Discuss #70: Socrates in the Apology | C.D.C. ReeveWas Socrates a sincere philosopher condemned for his honesty — or a master ironist who talked his way into a death sentence? In this episode of The Prometheans, host Ali Zaka sits down with C.D.C. Reeve, Delta Kappa Epsilon Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of the landmark study Socrates in the Apology: An Essay on Plato's Apology of Socrates (Hackett, 1989), to reconstruct one of the most consequential courtroom speeches in Western history.Reeve — also the translator behind some of the most widely read English editions of Plat...

2026-08-1433 min

Let’s Discuss #69: The Waste Land: The Poem That Changed Literature Forever | Prof. Jayme StayerOne hundred years after its publication, T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land remains one of the most quoted, most difficult, and most argued-over poems in the English language. In this episode of The Prometheans, I sit down with Fr. Jayme Stayer, S.J. — professor of English at Loyola University Chicago, past president of the International T. S. Eliot Society, and author of Becoming T. S. Eliot — to trace how the poem actually came into being: Eliot's breakdown and recovery in Margate and Lausanne, Ezra Pound's radical editorial cuts, and the 1971 rediscovery of the original drafts that rewrote everything scholars thou...

2026-08-1441 min

Let’s Discuss #68: Is Sufism the Soul of Islam? The Hidden Path to God and the Self | Filip HolmWhat is the deepest layer of Islam — beneath the law, beneath the theology, beneath the rituals? That is the question Sufism has been trying to answer for over a thousand years.In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Filip Holm — Swedish religious scholar, host of the million-subscriber channel Let's Talk Religion, and one of the most trusted academic voices on Islam and Sufism on the internet — to explore the hidden interior of the Islamic tradition.We go deep: the origins of tasawwuf, the spiritual path of fana' and baqa' (annihilation and su...

2026-08-0858 min

Let’s Discuss #67: Is Something Good Because God Commands It? | Nicholas D. Smith on Plato's EuthyphroFor 2,400 years, one question has quietly sat underneath almost every religious and philosophical debate about right and wrong: does God command something because it's good — or is it good simply because God commands it?Plato staged this question in the Euthyphro, a short dialogue written just before Socrates' trial for impiety. In this episode, Socrates scholar Nicholas D. Smith — James F. Miller Professor Emeritus of Humanities at Lewis & Clark College and co-author of some of the most cited modern studies of Socratic philosophy — joins The Prometheans to unpack the dilemma that still structures debates in Christian natural law th...

2026-08-0640 min

Let’s Discuss #66: Should AI Have Rights? | David J. GunkelCan a machine be wronged? Should a robot ever be treated as more than property? In this episode of The Prometheans, we sit down with philosopher David J. Gunkel — the scholar who, more than anyone alive, has made "robot rights" a serious philosophical question rather than a punchline.David Gunkel is Presidential Research, Scholarship, and Artistry Professor in the Department of Communication at Northern Illinois University and a professor at Lazarski University in Warsaw, Poland. He is the author of over a dozen books, including "The Machine Question" (2012), "Robot Rights" (2018), and — most recently — "Communicative AI: A Critical Introd...

2026-07-3149 min

Let’s Discuss #65: The Biggest Lie About Thomas Hobbes & the Origins of Leviathan | A. P. MartinichWas Thomas Hobbes the cold, godless materialist he's remembered as — or something far stranger? A. P. Martinich, one of the world's leading Hobbes scholars, joins The Prometheans to make the case that Leviathan is a fundamentally religious book, and that Hobbes's sovereign — the "Mortal God" — is built on the architecture of covenant theology, not secular engineering.We trace the state of nature, the social contract, and absolute sovereignty back to their theological roots, then bring Hobbes's 17th-century fear of religious civil war into conversation with a strikingly similar anxiety in the Islamic political tradition — the dread of fitna, c...

2026-07-3131 min

Let’s Discuss #64: Evil Doesn't Need Monsters" Hannah Arendt & The Banality of Evil | Roger BerkowitzWhat if the most monstrous crimes in human history weren't committed by monsters?In 1961, philosopher Hannah Arendt attended the trial of Adolf Eichmann — the Nazi officer who organized the logistics of the Holocaust. She expected a demon. What she found was a bureaucrat: pompous, cliché-ridden, and utterly incapable of independent thought. That observation produced one of the most explosive and controversial ideas of the 20th century: the banality of evil.In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka sits down with Roger Berkowitz — founder of the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, winner of the H...

2026-07-271h 00

Let’s Discuss #63: Does Morality Require God? Kant's Categorical Imperative Explained | Prof. John E. HareWhat did Immanuel Kant — the philosopher most credited with founding a purely rational, secular ethics — actually believe about God?In this episode, Ali Zaka sits down with Prof. John E. Hare, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology at Yale, to unravel one of the most misunderstood arguments in the history of moral philosophy. Hare is the scholar most responsible for recovering the theological Kant — arguing that Kant's own ethics, taken on its own terms, cannot stand without God.We cover:What Kant's Categorical Imperative actually says, in plain languageHare's concep...

2026-07-2536 min

Let’s Discuss #62: The Religion of Socrates | Mark McPherran on the God-Haunted RationalistWas Socrates — the founding father of Western rational inquiry — actually a deeply religious man? In this episode of The Prometheans, we sit down with philosopher Mark L. McPherran, author of The Religion of Socrates (Penn State Press), to unravel one of the most persistent misreadings in the history of philosophy: the idea that Socrates's rationalism and his religiosity were somehow opposed.We dig into Socrates's daimonion — the mysterious inner "divine sign" that warned him away from certain actions — and ask whether his trust in it looks more like blind revelation or reasoned, evidence-based trust. We explore the Euthyphr...

2026-07-2533 min

Let’s Discuss #61: Are We More Than Our Brains? Free Will and the Nature of Reality | Dr. Nathan HawkinsIs consciousness the foundation of reality? Or is it merely a by-product of the brain? And if free will is an illusion, what happens to morality, responsibility, and rational thought?In this episode of The Prometheans, I sit down with Dr. Nathan Hawkins, philosopher at the University of Cambridge, for a deep dive into two of philosophy's most fascinating debates: metaphysical idealism and free will.Dr. Hawkins presents the case for idealism—the view that consciousness is more fundamental than matter. He critiques physicalism for its inability to fully explain subjective experience, morality, reason, and ae...

2026-07-2546 min

Let’s Discuss #60: Do Near-Death Experiences Prove the Afterlife? | Dr. Max Baker-HytchWhat happens when we die? It is perhaps the oldest question in human history — and now, for the first time, philosophers are subjecting near-death experiences to rigorous evidential analysis. In this episode, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Dr. Max Baker-Hytch, philosopher at Oxford University's Wycliffe Hall, to examine whether NDEs constitute genuine evidence for life after death.Dr. Baker-Hytch's groundbreaking 2025 paper "Glimpses into the Great Beyond?" maps three distinct philosophical pathways from NDE data to the conclusion that an afterlife exists. Together, we interrogate each one: the puzzle of consciousness persisting during cardiac arrest, the phenomenon of...

2026-07-2537 min

Let’s Discuss #59: Maududi & the Making of Political Islam: Theo-Democracy, & the Islamic State | Humeira IqtidarWhat does it mean for God to be sovereign — not just in the heart, but in the law, the state, the constitution?This question sits at the centre of one of the most consequential and misunderstood political philosophies of the 20th century. In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Prof. Humeira Iqtidar (King's College London) — the world's leading scholar on Abul A'la Maududi's political thought — to undertake a rigorous, fair, and intellectually fearless examination of the man who, more than any other thinker, gave political Islam its modern architecture.Maududi (1903–1979) founded...

2026-07-251h 11

Let’s Discuss #58: Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and War: A Historian's Verdict | Prof. Joel HaywardProphet Muhammad ﷺ led 80 military missions in 10 years — and personally commanded 27 of them. Yet centuries of pious biography have produced a portrait of near-pacifism that, according to one of the world's leading military historians, cannot survive contact with the earliest Arabic sources.Professor Joel Hayward — a committed Muslim, a Shaykh with formal Islamic teaching authorizations in theology and Sirah, and one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world — joins The Prometheans to ask what the historical record actually shows.What does an honest reading of al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Hishām, and al-Wāqidī reveal about the Prophet's...

2026-07-251h 55

Let’s Discuss #57: The Philosophy of Confucius: Virtue, Wisdom & the Good Life | Prof. Stephen AngleWhat does it actually mean to live well — and can a philosopher who died 2,500 years ago still give us a serious answer?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka sits down with Professor Stephen C. Angle — Mansfield Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies and Professor of Philosophy at Wesleyan University, and one of the foremost Confucian philosophers writing in English today — to explore why Confucianism is not a museum piece but a living, arguable philosophy with something urgent to say about how we form ourselves, relate to one another, and build a good life.They d...

2026-07-2539 min

Let’s Discuss #56: Kierkegaard on Anxiety, Despair, Faith, and How to Live | Gordon MarinoPhilosopher Gordon Marino says Kierkegaard's hardest lesson isn't really about God — it's about the lies we tell ourselves to avoid doing what we already know is right. In this episode, the longtime Director of the Hong Kierkegaard Library breaks down anxiety, despair, and faith for the modern crisis of meaning.In this episode:What Kierkegaard means by anxiety as "the dizziness of freedom"Why despair often hides inside outward success, not visible failureKierkegaard on self-deception — the excuses we make to our own conscienceFaith as courage, not certainty: the...

2026-07-2551 min

Let’s Discuss #55: 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the WestFor over a thousand years, Constantinople stood as "the city" — the last living capital of the Roman Empire, the wealthiest and most fortified place on earth. On 29 May 1453, after a 53-day siege, it fell. In this episode of The Prometheans, we sit down with historian Roger Crowley, author of 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West, to walk through one of history's great hinge moments — the siege that ended the Byzantine Empire and reshaped the medieval world.We trace the story from the unlikely rise of the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II, to t...

2026-07-251h 09

Let’s Discuss #54: Are We Creating the Next Gods? | James TartagliaWhat if the philosophy that built the modern technological world is the same philosophy making us powerless to control it? In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Professor James Tartaglia — Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at Keele University and one of the UK's most original philosophical voices — to unpack his landmark book Philosophy in a Technological World: Gods and Titans (Bloomsbury, 2020). Tartaglia's argument is as bold as it is unsettling: the philosophy of materialism — the unexamined belief-system of our secular age — taught us to turn away from the gods and seek help from the Titans instead...

2026-07-2543 min

Let’s Discuss #53: The Brothers Karamazov: God, Evil, and the Price of Human Freedom | Gregory SadlerWhat happens when the greatest novelist in history gives the atheist the strongest possible argument — and then tries to answer it?In The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky did exactly that. Ivan Karamazov's rebellion against God is not a denial of His existence — it is a moral refusal. The suffering of innocent children, Ivan argues, cannot be redeemed by any future harmony. No eternal paradise justifies the tears of a single tortured child. It is the most devastating formulation of the problem of evil in all of world literature.And then Dostoevsky attempts an answer.In t...

2026-07-251h 14

Let’s Discuss #52: Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson | Matt McManusIs Jordan Peterson a prophet of the secular age — or a symptom of its deepest contradictions?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with philosopher and political theorist Matt McManus — co-author of Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson (Zero Books, with an introduction by Slavoj Žižek) — for a rigorous, sympathetic, and unflinching examination of one of the most influential and contested thinkers of our time.Peterson rocketed to global fame on the back of YouTube lectures, 12 Rules for Life, and a culture-war persona that made him both a hero t...

2026-07-2547 min

Let’s Discuss #51: Spirits Are Real — A Philosopher's Case | Dr. Hans van Eyghen on The Epistemology of SpiritsWhat if believing in demons, ghosts, and spirits isn't superstition — but is actually rational? That's exactly what philosopher Dr. Hans van Eyghen argues in his book The Epistemology of Spirit Beliefs (Routledge, 2023).In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka sits down with Dr. Hans van Eyghen — philosopher of religion at Tilburg University — for one of the most unusual and intellectually serious conversations we've ever had on this channel.The question sounds simple: why do humans across every culture and every era believe in spirits, demons, ancestors, jinn, and supernatural agents?The answer is any...

2026-07-2544 min

Let’s Discuss #50: On Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot | Prof. Nick MountWhat does it mean to wait — and what does that waiting reveal about what it means to be human?In this episode of The Prometheans, I sit down with Professor Nick Mount to explore Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot — one of the most celebrated and misunderstood plays of the 20th century.When the play premiered in Paris and London, sophisticated audiences walked out in anger. But when it was performed for 1,400 inmates at San Quentin Prison in 1957, the prisoners unde...

2026-07-2554 min

Let’s Discuss #49: Emancipation After Hegel: Achieving a Contradictory Revolution | Todd McGowanWhat if everything you thought you knew about Hegel was wrong — and what if getting Hegel right is the most urgent philosophical task of our time?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Todd McGowan — Professor at the University of Vermont, co-editor of the Diaeresis series at Northwestern University Press alongside Slavoj Žižek, and author of over 15 books — to explore his landmark work: Emancipation After Hegel: Achieving a Contradictory Revolution (Columbia University Press, 2019).Forget thesis-antithesis-synthesis. That formula is a caricature. McGowan's Hegel has one cent...

2026-07-2546 min

Let’s Discuss #48: Islam Built Europe — Then Europe Erased It | Tharik HussainFor over 1,400 years, Islam has been woven into the fabric of Europe — yet this history has been systematically erased. In this conversation, award-winning historian and author Tharik Hussain joins Ali Zaka on The Prometheans to reveal the forgotten story of Muslim Europe: from the Prophet's family arriving in Cyprus in 647 AD, to the Islamic roots of the European Renaissance, to why this erasure still shapes politics — and Muslim identity — today.Tharik's book *Muslim Europe* (Viking/Penguin, 2025) has been called "perspective-shattering" and "v...

2026-07-251h 00

Let’s Discuss #47: Is Morality Objective? | David EnochWhat makes something truly wrong — not just uncomfortable, or culturally disapproved, but objectively, universally wrong?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka sits down with Professor David Enoch — one of the world's leading moral philosophers, Oxford Professor of the Philosophy of Law, and author of Taking Morality Seriously: A Defense of Robust Realism — to tackle one of the oldest questions in philosophy:Is morality objective, or is it all relative?Professor Enoch defends Robust Realism — the radical claim that moral truths exist independently of culture, religion, evolution, or human opinion. This isn't a comfor...

2026-07-2548 min

Let’s Discuss #46: Jung & God: Does Psychology Explain Religion or Confirm It? | Dr. Murray SteinWhat if God isn't dead — but hiding inside you?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka sits down with Dr. Murray Stein — one of the world's foremost Jungian analysts, former president of the International Association for Analytical Psychology, and author of the landmark Jung's Map of the Soul (published in 13 languages) — to ask one of the most unsettling questions at the intersection of faith and science: does psychology explain religion away, or does it confirm something religion always knew?Dr. Stein's life is itself a clue to the answer. Born to a Baptist preacher, traine...

2026-07-2555 min

Let’s Discuss #45: Dr. Darren Staloff on Nietzsche's Critique of Historical ConsciousnessWhat does it mean to be a prisoner of the past — and how do you break free?In this landmark episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka sits down with Dr. Darren Staloff — Columbia-trained historian, professor at the University of Florida's Hamilton Center, and one of the principal lecturers of the legendary Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition series alongside the late Dr. Michael Sugrue.Together, they explore one of the most urgent questions in all of philosophy: Does history serve life, or slowly suffocate it?At the center of the conversation is Frie...

2026-07-2551 min

Let’s Discuss #44: Islamic Worldview vs Modern Worldview | Dr. Carl Sharif El-TobguiIslamic Worldview vs Modern Worldview | ft. Dr. Carl Sharif El-Tobgui | The PrometheansWhat lens are you using to see the world — and does it hold up to scrutiny?In this profound and wide-ranging conversation, Ali Zaka sits down with Dr. Carl Sharif El-Tobgui — Associate Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies at Brandeis University, PhD from McGill, and one of the most rigorous Muslim intellectuals engaging Islam and modernity today — for a deep philosophical exploration of worldview, its architecture, and what's at stake when two civilizational frameworks collide.Dr. El-Tobgui begins by unpacking what a worldv...

2026-07-251h 31

Let’s Discuss #43: From Monastery to Mosque: A Catholic Priest's 20-Year Journey to Islam | Said Abdul LatifFor twenty years, he served at the altar. He took vows. He wore the robe. He was planning to build a monastery. And through all of it — quietly, privately, overwhelmingly — Islam was calling him home.In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Said Abdul Latif, formerly known as Father Hilarion Heagy — Eastern Catholic priest, Byzantine monk, and one of the most talked-about conversion stories of our time. His announcement in February 2023 trended on Google across the Arab world and shook both Christian and Muslim communities globally.This is not a debate...

2026-07-251h 01

Let’s Discuss #42: The Best Argument for the Existence of God? | Kenneth PearceWhat is the strongest argument for the existence of God?In this thought-provoking conversation, I sit down with philosopher Kenneth L. Pearce to explore one of the deepest questions in philosophy, theology, and human existence. Together, we dive into the Contingency Argument, the Principle of Sufficient Reason, and whether reality itself demands a necessary foundation.Is the universe a brute fact—or does it point beyond itself?Can science ever answer the question of why there is something rather than nothing?And does rejecting ultimate explanations come at a philosophical cost?...

2026-07-2541 min

Let’s Discuss #41: Does God Exist? 5 Arguments That Have Defined the Debate | Kevin CarnahanWhat does it actually take to make a good argument about whether God exists — and what separates a rigorous case from a philosophical dead end?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Dr. Kevin Carnahan — Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Central Methodist University, PhD from Southern Methodist University, former co-editor of the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, and one of the most intellectually honest voices at the intersection of academic theology and public discourse — to do something rarely done well: weigh the strongest arguments on both sides with full philos...

2026-07-251h 11

Let’s Discuss #40: Islam Doesn't Need Feminism — Here's Why | Dr. Haifaa JawadWhat if the debate between Islam and feminism is built on a misunderstanding?Ali sits down with Dr. Haifaa Jawad — author of The Rights of Women in Islam: An Authentic Approach and one of Britain's foremost scholars of Islamic gender discourse — to ask the question that neither traditional Islam nor mainstream feminism wants answered on the other's terms.Drawing on decades of scholarship in Islamic studies, gender discourse, and socio-political analysis, Dr. Jawad challenges simplistic narratives and examines:— Whether Islam historically empowered women or restricted them— The difference between Islamic teachings and cult...

2026-07-2536 min

Let’s Discuss #39: You Don't Exist — Can Jay Garfield Convince You?Do you actually exist? Not your body, not your thoughts — but you. The unified, continuous self you have always assumed was there.Buddhist philosophy says no. And one of the world's leading philosophers is here to make the case.In this episode of The Prometheans, I sit down with Professor Jay L. Garfield — philosopher at Yale-NUS College and Harvard Divinity School, and one of the foremost Western interpreters of Buddhist philosophy — to explore one of the most radical and consequential ideas in the history of human thought: that the self i...

2026-07-2534 min

Let’s Discuss #38: David Bentley Hart: What Atheism Has Never Actually ChallengedWhat if atheism’s most celebrated arguments — Dawkins on complexity, Hitchens on morality, Harris on science — were never aimed at God at all, but at a caricature so philosophically crude that no serious theologian in history would recognise it? That is the central provocation of one of the most intellectually formidable theologians alive today. In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka sits down with David Bentley Hart — Eastern Orthodox philosopher-theologian, author of over 1,000 essays and 24 books, winner of the Michael Ramsey Prize in Theology awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the man whom The Guardian called the author o...

2026-04-191h 00

Let’s Discuss #37: Can Muslims Accept Evolution and Darwinism? | Subboor AhmadDoes Darwin's theory of evolution challenge Islam — or is that a myth we've been sold?In this landmark episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Subboor Ahmad — public intellectual, debater, philosopher of science, and one of the most formidable Muslim voices engaging with New Atheism and Darwinism today.Subboor holds a BSc in Engineering and both an MA and PgCert in Philosophy from Birkbeck College, University of London, and is currently specializing in the philosophy of biology (Al Balagh Academy) — making him uniquely equipped to address this debate at its deepest level.T...

2026-04-181h 09

Let’s Discuss #36: Carl Jung on God and the Inner Life | Mark VernonIn this thought-provoking conversation, we explore the profound psychological and spiritual insights of Carl Jung and ask a timeless question: Is the divine something we discover within ourselves?Jung did not treat God merely as a theological concept, but as a living psychological reality—an inner experience emerging from the depths of the psyche. Through ideas like the collective unconscious, archetypes, and the process of individuation, Jung argued that the journey inward is simultaneously a journey toward the Divine.We discuss Jung’s radical claim that religious experience is not inherited belief, but direct encounter—what h...

2026-04-1624 min

Let’s Discuss #35: What Friedrich Nietzsche Really Meant by ‘God Is Dead’ (It’s Not What You Think)Friedrich Nietzsche declared God dead — and the modern world largely agreed. But what happens when neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive science begin validating the very ideas Nietzsche used to challenge religion? And what does religious thought make of a man who, in trying to destroy it, may have understood it better than most believers?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka sits down with Zachary Strong to explore the strange convergence of Nietzsche's philosophy with contemporary science — and what that convergence reveals about meaning, morality, the will, and the sacred. From the will to power as a prec...

2026-04-1642 min

Let’s Discuss #34: Are You Living the Wrong Life? Nicomachean Ethics Explained | C. D. C. ReeveWhat does it mean to truly flourish as a human being? Over 2,300 years ago, Aristotle wrote the most compelling answer ever put to paper — the Nicomachean Ethics. In this episode of The Prometheans, we sit down with Professor C.D.C. Reeve (UNC Chapel Hill) — one of the world's foremost Aristotle scholars and the translator of the Nicomachean Ethics (Hackett, 2nd ed.) — to unpack Aristotle's vision of the good life: happiness, virtue, practical wisdom, and what it means to live well.From eudaimonia to phronēsis, from the golden mean to the contemplative life — we ask whether Aristotle...

2026-04-1145 min

Let’s Discuss #33: The Hunger That Never Ends: Lacan on Desire: Todd McGowanHave you ever achieved something you desperately wanted — and felt empty almost immediately after? That restlessness isn't a flaw in your character. According to the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, it is the very structure of being human.In this episode of The Prometheans, host Ali sits down with Professor Todd McGowan — philosopher, Lacanian psychoanalyst, and author of over fifteen books including Capitalism and Desire, Embracing Alienation, and The Cambridge Introduction to Jacques Lacan — to explore one of the most radical and liberating ideas in modern thought: that satisfaction is not merely difficult to achieve. It is structurally imposs...

2026-04-1038 min

Let’s Discuss #32: Chosen Nations? America, Israel, and the Biblical Origins of Exceptionalism | Dr. Louay FatoohiIn this episode of Let’s Discuss, host Ali Zaka sits down with Louay Fatoohi to explore a provocative and deeply historical question: Are the roots of American support for Israel theological rather than political?Dr. Fatoohi argues that modern American identity is profoundly shaped by the worldview of the Hebrew Bible—particularly the idea of a “chosen nation.” From the Puritan vision of a “City on a Hill” to the rhetoric of leaders like Ronald Reagan, this episode examines how religious narratives have influenced American exceptionalism and foreign policy.We also discuss:The concept...

2026-04-081h 28

Let’s Discuss #31: Did Descartes Prove God’s Existence? John CottinghamCan reason alone prove God exists? And did Descartes — the father of modern philosophy — actually build his entire system of knowledge on the existence of God?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Professor John Cottingham — one of the world's most influential living philosophers, Professor Emeritus at the University of Reading, Honorary Fellow of St John's College Oxford, and the translator of the definitive three-volume Cambridge edition of Descartes's philosophical writings.The topic: Descartes, God, and the Search for Certainty in a Doubtful World.

2026-04-0741 min

Let’s Discuss #30: Everyone Gets Nietzsche Wrong | Matthew McManusFriedrich Nietzsche is perhaps the most weaponized philosopher in modern political discourse — and the most misunderstood. The right invokes him to diagnose civilizational decadence. The left borrows him to dismantle power structures. Both, argues today's guest, are projecting.In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Matt McManus — political scientist, author, and one of the most rigorous scholars working on the intersection of Nietzsche and contemporary politics — to untangle the real Nietzsche from the ideological caricature.On the right, figures like Jordan Peterson and Dinesh D'Souza read Nietzsche as the great diagno...

2026-04-0657 min

Let’s Discuss #29: Plato Was Wrong About Justice? | C. D. C. ReeveWhat would you do if you could act unjustly with zero consequences? Plato asked this question over 2,000 years ago — and his answer still cuts to the heart of what it means to be human.In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with C.D.C. Reeve — Professor of Philosophy at UNC Chapel Hill and one of the world's leading translators and interpreters of Plato — to explore what the Republic really teaches us about justice, the soul, and the good life.They discuss:🔹 Thrasymachus' challenge: Is justice just the advantage of the st...

2026-04-0550 min

Let’s Discuss #28: Do Muslims, Christians & Jews Worship the Same God? | Prof. Gabriel Said ReynoldsDoes the Qur'an know the Bible? Do Islam, Christianity, and Judaism worship the same God — or are these three traditions more different than they appear?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Professor Gabriel Said Reynolds — one of the world's leading Qur'anic scholars, professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Vatican advisor on interreligious dialogue, and author of The Qur'an and the Bible and Christianity and the Qur'an (Yale University Press, 2025).Together, they explore the hidden biblical world inside the Qur'an — how figures like Abraham, Jonah...

2026-04-0441 min

Let’s Discuss #27: Why an Oxford Philosopher Chose Islam | Jacob WilliamsIn this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Jacob Williams — Oxford PhD candidate researching postliberalism, Head of Domestic Policy at the UK think tank Pickthall House, and one of the most intellectually compelling voices on Islam and Western civilisation writing today.Jacob converted to Islam in 2017, not from a place of spiritual emptiness alone, but through a rigorous philosophical journey. Raised in Britain, educated at Oxford, and deeply formed by Western literature and conservative thought, Jacob found in Islam not a rejection of his heritage — but its most coherent completion. His conversion story, publ...

2026-03-3133 min

Let’s Discuss #26: Is Atheism Really Rational? | Prof. Kelly James ClarkIs atheism the rational default — or is that claim itself irrational?In this episode of The Prometheans, Ali Zaka (AZD) sits down with Prof. Kelly James Clark — Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Ibn Haldun University, former student of Alvin Plantinga at Notre Dame, and author of God and the Brain: The Rationality of Belief — to dismantle one of the central assumptions of the New Atheist movement.Prof. Clark argues that humans are natural-born believers, and that religious belief doesn't require formal evidence to be perfectly rational. Drawing on Reformed Epistemology, the Cognitive Science of Religion, and Pl...

2026-03-3054 min

Let’s Discuss #25: If Life is Meaningless, Why do we Live? | Nihilism vs ExistentialismIs existentialism the cure for nihilism?In a world where many people feel that life has lost its meaning, the philosophical debate between nihilism and existentialism has become more relevant than ever.Nihilism argues that life ultimately has no objective meaning, value, or purpose. But existentialist philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Søren Kierkegaard offer a radically different response: even if the universe has no predetermined meaning, human beings have the freedom and responsibility to create meaning through their choices and actions. In this conversation, p...

2026-03-2957 min

Let’s Discuss #24: Is Darwinian Evolution Really Unguided? Dr. Erkki KojonenIn this groundbreaking conversation, we unpack one of the most misunderstood questions in science and philosophy:👉 Is evolution truly unguided — or is that simply a myth?👉 What does “random” really mean in Darwinian evolution?👉 How do natural selection and mutations actually work?👉 And can intelligent design meaningfully coexist with modern biology?Today’s guest, Dr. Rope Kojonen provides expert insight into: ✔ How natural selection filters variation rather than creating it.✔ What scientists mean (and don’t mean) when they say mutations are “random.”✔ Whether evolution genuinely excludes purpose or gu...

2026-03-1352 min

Let’s Discuss #23: Does God Exist? Prof. Graham Oppy Says Neither Side Can Prove itCan anyone actually PROVE God exists — or doesn't? Most people assume the debate has clear winners and losers. Professor Graham Oppy, one of the world's leading philosophers of religion, says it's far more complicated than that.In this episode, we sit down with Prof. Graham Oppy (Monash University, author of "Arguing About Gods" and "Atheism: The Basics") to explore why neither theists nor atheists have produced a truly convincing argument — and what that means for how we should think about belief, re...

2026-03-1249 min

Let’s Discuss #22: Is the Traditional Concept of God Coherent? | Dr. Ryan MullinsFor over 1,500 years, philosophers have described God as timeless, immutable, simple, impassible, and pure actuality.From Augustine and Aquinas to Ibn Sina and Al-Ghazali, classical theism has shaped the dominant understanding of God in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.But is this model coherent?Can a timeless being act?Can an immutable God respond to prayer?Does divine simplicity collapse into determinism?Does classical theism eliminate real contingency?In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Ryan Mullins, one of the leading contemporary critics of classical...

2026-03-1042 min

Let’s Discuss #21: Islam & Judaism: One God, Two Faiths | Rabbi Tovia SingerIn this thoughtful conversation with Rabbi Tovia Singer, we explore the deep theological connections between Islam and Judaism — from absolute monotheism to divine law, prophecy, and scripture.In a time of global tension and misunderstanding, can Jews and Muslims find common ground in theology?In this powerful and respectful conversation, Rabbi Tovia Singer explores the deep similarities between Islam and Judaism — from absolute monotheism and divine law to prophecy, scripture, and moral responsibility.Are Tawhid and the Shema pointing to the same uncompromising oneness of God?How similar are...

2026-03-0948 min

Let’s Discuss #20: Are We on the Brink of WWIII? | Iran-US & Pakistan-Afghanistan ExplainedAre we truly on the brink of World War III? In this urgent geopolitical analysis, we break down the latest developments in the US–Israel vs Iran conflict, including the aftermath of major strikes and regional tensions that have set off global alarms. We also explore the escalating Pakistan–Afghanistan war, border clashes, and the broader implications for global security, diplomacy, and the balance of power in 2026.In this video, we cover: 🔹 Recent US–Israel military action and regional retaliation involving Iran — what it means for global peace and security🔹 Pakistan and Afghanistan in open conflict — cau...

2026-03-0754 min

Let’s Discuss #19: From Taliban Takeover to Open Conflict: The Pakistan-Afghanistan Crisis ExplainedFrom Taliban Takeover to Open Conflict: Pakistan–Afghanistan CrisisPakistan and Afghanistan are once again at the brink. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated from diplomatic strain to cross-border clashes — and now open confrontation in 2026.In this in-depth podcast, we unpack:The historical roots of the Durand Line disputeThe Taliban’s return to power in 2021 and shifting regional alliancesPakistan’s security concerns over Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)Border clashes from 2022–2025Airstrikes, retaliation, and rising military tensions i...

2026-03-0738 min

Let’s Discuss #18: Can a Muslim accept Evolution and still remain orthodox? Ft. Dr. Usama HasanIs evolution compatible with Islam? Or is it a direct challenge to faith?In this deep conversation, we critically examine the arguments presented by Usama Hasan on evolution and religion. Does accepting Darwinian evolution undermine belief in Adam? Can science and revelation coexist — or are we forcing a harmony that doesn’t exist?We go beyond emotional reactions and dive into philosophy, theology, and science:• Human evolution vs Adam in Islam• Are Muslims misreading scripture?• Scientific evidence — interpretation or assumption?• The real conflict: biology vs metaphysics• Can a beli...

2026-03-041h 48

Let’s Discuss #17: After “Is Atheism Worth it?” - The Real Discussion begins.After our last discussion “Is Atheism Worth It?” — the real debate didn’t end… it began in the comments.Over 100 thoughtful replies from atheists, agnostics, and believers challenged assumptions about morality, meaning, suffering, and the existence of God.In this video, we respond to the strongest arguments — not strawmen.No shouting.No echo chamber.Just ideas vs ideas.We discuss:• Can morality exist without God?• Does suffering disprove God?• Is religion psychological comfort?• Does atheism actually solve existential anxiety?• Is meaning ob...

2026-02-2551 min

Let’s Discuss #16: Does the Qur’an Deny the Crucifixion of Jesus (PBUH)? | With Dr. Louay Fatoohi.Does the Qur’an Deny the Crucifixion of Jesus (pbuh)? | With Prof. Louay FatoohiIn this lecture-style discussion, Professor Louay Fatoohi and I explore a deeply debated topic in interfaith scholarship: Does the Qur’an deny the crucifixion of Jesus (peace be upon him)? We examine the Qur’anic verses traditionally understood as denying the crucifixion, how classical Muslim scholars interpreted them, and why some modern thinkers see these verses as ambiguous. Whether you’re Muslim, Christian, or a student of religion, this discussion aims to bring clarity, respect, and insight.These are the...

2026-02-021h 55

Let’s Discuss #15: Is Atheism Worth it? A Discussion with Dr. Faraz SiddiquiWhat does atheism really offer—philosophically, psychologically, and existentially?In this calm and respectful discussion, I sit down with a close friend who is an ex-Muslim and an atheist. Instead of debating slogans, we explore the real reasons people reject belief in God, and what follows once faith is abandoned.We discuss:Whether atheism is driven by the problem of evil and sufferingThe role of absolute freedom and sexual liberation, echoing Aldous Huxley’s famous confessionThe difference between militant atheism, agnosticism, and philosophical atheism (Oppy, Mackie)Do...

2026-01-3155 min

Let’s Discuss #14: Is the Uk still Worth it After New Immigration & Visa Rule Changes.UK immigration rules 2025 have changed everything for international students. From UK student visa changes to work permit and permanent settlement realities — is the UK still worth it after the new immigration rules?In this honest podcast, we discuss UK student life: expectations vs reality, the new UK immigration rules, their impact on post-study work visas, job opportunities, and permanent settlement (ILR).With real experiences from a student currently living in the UK, we unpack what agents don’t tell you — rising costs, limited work permits, visa pressure, mental health struggles, and the shrinking pathway to settle...

2026-01-3034 min

Let’s Discuss #13: Is Anything Truly Right or Wrong? Absolute vs Relative Morality.Is morality universal… or is it just a social construct?In this explosive episode, Ali Zaka dives deep into one of the most controversial philosophical debates of all time: Absolute Morality vs. Relative Morality.Is something always right or wrong — no matter the culture, time, or situation? Or does morality change from society to society?From genocide, theft, and justice to culture, religion, and modern social debates — this conversation challenges everything you think you know about right and wrong.🔥 If morality is relative, can we condemn evil?🔥 If morality is absolute...

2026-01-3033 min

Let’s Discuss #12: What is Poetry? A Conversation with Prof. Riaz Gohar.What is poetry—mere beauty, or a vessel for uncomfortable truths?In this episode, Ali Zaka sits down with his mentor and renowned poet, the author of Brave Souls—a powerful poetry collection dedicated to the Palestinians. Together, they explore poetry not just as an art form, but as a moral, emotional, and philosophical act.This conversation moves through timeless questions:Is poetry a safe space for difficult truths?Does a poet have a responsibility to society?Should poets be teachers—or simply witnesses?Can beauty coexist with r...

2026-01-3027 min

Let’s Discuss #11: AI: Tool or Master? Creativity, Control & the Future of Humanity.In this in-depth podcast, we explore the rise of Artificial Intelligence through both a historical and philosophical lens. Beginning with the early dreams of AI in the mid-20th century—from Alan Turing’s question “Can machines think?” to the early rule-based systems—we trace how AI evolved from a controlled tool into increasingly autonomous systems capable of learning, predicting, and influencing human behavior.We then turn to the darker side of AI’s history: moments where systems behaved unpredictably, reflected human biases, or “went rogue” due to misalignment between human intent and machine objectives. From flawed recommendation a...

2026-01-2945 min

Let’s Discuss #10: Marriage Laws in Pakistan: Women’s Rights, Divorce, and Court Marriage Explained.In this episode, we examine marriage laws in Pakistan from a legal and academic perspective, focusing on whether the existing legal framework supports and empowers women while remaining fair to men.The discussion covers:What Pakistani law says about marriage and court marriageLegal procedures for divorce, khula, and mutual separationRights and responsibilities of spouses under family lawThe legal status of live-in relationships in PakistanWhy some men today feel hesitant about marriage—and whether this fear is grounded in law or misconceptionTh...

2026-01-2933 min

Let’s Discuss #09: Does God Exist? Analysing the Mufti Shamail vs Javed Akhtar Debate.Join Maryam Zaka (PhD Islamic Studies) and Ali Zaka as they unpack the viral debate “Does God Exist?” between poet-lyricist and atheist Javed Akhtar and Islamic scholar Mufti Shamail Nadwi. This high-profile, two-hour exchange in New Delhi drew a packed audience and “spilled beyond the hall, sparking sharp reactions online. We’ll break down the key arguments – from Akhtar’s pointed references to human suffering (notably the Gaza conflict) questioning an all-powerful God, to Mufti Shamail’s logical defense (e.g. the contingency argument and a free-will explanation of evil). Along the way, we highlight the viral moments and social buzz: v...

2026-01-2946 min

Let’s Discuss #08: WWE: Real or Fake? Pro Wrestling vs Sports Entertainment Explained. WWE real… or is it all fake?And why do fans still care so deeply?In this explosive podcast episode, we break down one of the most misunderstood debates in modern pop culture:👉 Professional Wrestling vs Sports EntertainmentWe dive deep into questions wrestling fans have argued about for decades:🔥 Is WWE scripted — and does that mean it’s fake?🔥 What’s the REAL difference between professional wrestling and sports entertainment?🔥 Why did WWE move away from “wrestling” as a term?🔥 How AEW...

2026-01-2940 min

Let’s Discuss #07: Can Art Ever Remain Neutral: A Conversation with a Debut Playwright.Can art ever be neutral when silence itself becomes political?In this episode, we sit down with a young playwright and performer to explore the boundaries between art for art’s sake and art for life’s sake. Using her controversial debut play The Book of Sibyl as a lens, we discuss how theatre confronts power, faith, gender, justice, and truth — especially in societies where speaking can be dangerous and silence is often rewarded.This conversation moves beyond performance into questions that matter: Who gets believed?When does f...

2026-01-2837 min

Let’s Discuss #06: Black Magic - Myth or Reality?Black magic — myth or reality? In this powerful and balanced episode, Ali Zaka and his co-host dive deep into one of the most feared and misunderstood topics across history. From Islam’s clear stance on sihr to Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and African perspectives, this episode uncovers how religions in general and Islam in particular interpret supernatural harm.We also explore cultural beliefs in Pakistan, India, the Arab world, Africa, and the West — and what psychology says about fear, superstition, and suggestion.Most importantly, we discuss how to deal with black magic if it exists: Islamic ruqyah...

2025-12-2844 min

Let’s Discuss #05: This Podcast Will Change How You See Books, Art and MeaningFiction teaches the heart. Non-fiction teaches the mind.But which one actually changes your life?In today’s explosive podcast, we dive deep into one of the greatest debates in literature:👉 Does fiction teach better than non-fiction?👉 Why do stories shape cultures more than facts?👉 Why do novels like 1984, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Circe impact us more than history books?And in the second half, we battle another timeless question:🎨 Art for Art’s Sake vs Art for Life’s Sake — Shou...

2025-12-2539 min

Let’s Discuss #04: Why Don't We Help? Human Nature vs MoralityIn this episode, Ali Zaka and Abubakar Zaka explore Peter Singer’s influential essay “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” — and then push the debate further. Are humans truly moral, or are we naturally selfish and even capable of evil? Is Singer’s demand for radical altruism realistic?Through philosophy, psychology, religion, real-world examples, and deep ethical analysis, this podcast challenges Singer’s arguments, examines human nature, and presents a balanced view of morality in a world of poverty, famine, and inequality.A must-listen for students, teachers, philosophers, and anyone interested in ethics, charity, and the darker side of huma...

2025-12-1640 min

Let’s Discuss #03: We are not ready for the AI Takeover.Are we truly prepared for the AI revolution — or are we sleepwalking into a future we cannot control?In this explosive podcast, Ali Zaka and Abubakar Zaka dive deep into the uncomfortable truth: AI is evolving faster than humans can comprehend, and we may not survive the consequences.From blue- and white-collar job extinction to AI outperforming humans in efficiency, accuracy, and emotional neutrality, we explore how society may soon prefer artificial intelligence over real people.We discuss:How AI...

2025-12-0940 min

Let’s Discuss #02: Is Feminism Compatible With Islam? | With Dr. Maryam ZakaIs Islam compatible with feminism?In this episode, Ali Zaka sits down with his sister, Dr. [Maryam Zaka], PhD in Islamic Studies (thesis: Feminism in the Contemporary Era), to explore one of the most pressing questions of our time:• What do Muslim women’s rights look like in 7th-century Islam and today?• How does modern feminism compare and contrast with Islam’s moral framework?• Can a meaningful “Islamic feminism” exist — or are the two at odds?We draw on classical Qur’anic principles, feminist theory, a...

2025-11-2645 min

Let’s Discuss #01: Can There Be Objective Morality Without God?Can There Be Objective Morality Without God? | Nietzsche, Hume, Dostoyevsky, Sam Harris In this thought-provoking episode, we dive deep into one of philosophy’s oldest and most divisive questions — is there such a thing as objective morality in a godless universe?Featuring references to Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky, Hume, William Lane Craig, Sam Harris, Voltaire, and Christopher Hitchens, we explore the clash between moral relativism, utilitarianism, and objective ethics. Topics Discussed:• Hume’s Guillotine – The “Is-Ought” Problem• Nietzsche’s “God is Dead” and Moral Nihilism...

2025-11-2345 min

Survival: Beyond the Bug-Out Bag Staying Safe and Vigilant: Mastering Situational AwarenessSend us Fan MailBuckle up with me, Bill Bateman, as I guide you through the art of situational awareness, helping to ensure you're never caught off guard. Shaking up your routine is more than a mere change of scenery—it's a critical strategy to keep your senses razor-sharp. This chat isn't just about making it safely from point A to point B; it's a deeper dive into the psychology of vigilance, from smarter parking choices to the nuances of seasonal safety shifts. I'll share firsthand why varying your drive and keeping your neighborhood in check can ma...

2024-03-1120 min

Lore To Sleep To Halo - Chapter 05: Return of the Prometheans (FINALE)Halo - Chapter 05: Return of the Prometheans (FINALE)

2023-07-171h 00

The Library: Halo Lorecast - Halo Video Game and Universe Lore Podcast 12 - The Prometheans - History's Greatest Warriors or Fate Worse Than Death?When the Didact's plan fell through, all he had left were his army of Prometheans to lead the charge against the Flood onslaught. Were these Prometheans always digital warriors? You'll want to sit down for this one.The Library: Halo Lorecast is a JumperScape Media production created by Austin Murphy."Keep What You Steal" composed by Jafet Meza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2023-07-061h 03

Grab Your Favorite Audiobook Collection Today The Lord Pretender | Sawyer NorthPlease visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/660009 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Lord Pretender Author: Sawyer North Narrator: Julia Anthony Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 13 minutes Release date: April 11, 2023 Genres: Historical Publisher's Summary: Step 1: Come up with the perfect plan Emma Watts was almost the perfect lady. That is, until her father joined the notorious Prometheans' Club and gambled away all her prospects. Now, cast out of society, and with only her name intact, Emma will do what a young, intelligent lady can when she is thwarted by circumstance. Take revenge, of...

2023-04-129h 13

Audiobooks Transform Commutes Into Exciting Opportunities for Discovery and Emotional Connection The Lord Pretender Audiobook by Sawyer NorthListen to full audiobook for free :https://litupbook.com/freeTitle: The Lord PretenderCategories: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Regency, RomanceAuthor: Sawyer NorthNarrator: Julia AnthonyPublisher: Tantor AudioRelease date: 04-11-2023Language: EnglishSummary:Step 1: Come up with the perfect plan Emma Watts was almost the perfect lady. That is, until her father joined the notorious Prometheans' Club and gambled away all her prospects. Now, cast out of society, and with only her name intact, Emma will do what a young, intelligent lady can when she...

2023-04-1100 min

The Liberal Soul Prometheus - The OG Liberal SoulThis episode is a little bit more personal than most of the previous solo ones. In this episode, I discuss the Greek myth of Prometheus. I subsequently talk about my concept of a Promethean and how they relate to the liberal soul. After, I relay a few honorable mentions, plus my top five Prometheans that have given me fire in my life. There is no source text for this episode (other than the myth itself), so it's a little bit more spontaneous than most of the solo episodes. I hope you enjoy it. Some of the specifics of this...

2021-08-291h 09

Really True Fiction Prometheus - The OG Liberal SoulThis episode is a little bit more personal than most of the previous solo ones. In this episode, I discuss the Greek myth of Prometheus. I subsequently talk about my concept of a Promethean and how they relate to the liberal soul. After, I relay a few honorable mentions, plus my top five Prometheans that have given me fire in my life. There is no source text for this episode (other than the myth itself), so it's a little bit more spontaneous than most of the solo episodes. I hope you enjoy it. Some of the specifics of this...

2021-08-291h 10

OnBrand with Sarah Grace McCandless Setting Your Brand Apart Through Purpose with Prometheus“I don’t just work for a company, I work for a company that cares. I work for a company that really cares about not just about the Neighborhoods that we manage, but the neighborhoods beyond our Neighborhoods.” – Oscar Ayala, Senior Director of Learning & Development at Prometheus Apartments “’Good living for the greater good’ really reflects our give-back to the community. … We provide good living, and we provide greater good for our Neighbors, but we also do that for everyone else that’s out there.” – Savannah Van Voorhis, Senior Manager of Brand Experience & Neighbor Insights at Prom...

2021-02-0836 min

OnBrand Setting Your Brand Apart Through Purpose with Prometheus“I don’t just work for a company, I work for a company that cares. I work for a company that really cares about not just about the Neighborhoods that we manage, but the neighborhoods beyond our Neighborhoods.” – Oscar Ayala, Senior Director of Learning & Development at Prometheus Apartments “’Good living for the greater good’ really reflects our give-back to the community. … We provide good living, and we provide greater good for our Neighbors, but we also do that for everyone else that’s out there.” – Savannah Van Voorhis, Senior Manager of Brand Experience & Neighbor Insights at Prom...

2021-02-0836 min

Top episodes /26/ Prometheans United ft. Leigh Phillips Podcast: Bungacast (LS 49 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: /26/ Prometheans United ft. Leigh PhillipsPub date: 2018-01-27Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationBonus! In which Leigh stays with us to discuss innovation, automation, UBI... & why the wages are too damn low.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Bungacast, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

2019-01-2937 min