Eighteen years of thoughtful, non-adversarial, accessible, and welcoming philosophy.
Sometimes it feels like there isn’t any intelligent debate left in the world. All we hear is fighting: irresponsible, loud-mouthed partisanship disguised as information. For 2500 years, philosophers have tried to cut through the rhetoric, the infighting, and the abuse, but they forgot that everyone doesn’t speak in the same technicalities.
It’s time for accessible and fun philosophy. It’s time for Why? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life.
Join us each month as we engage in philosophical discussions about the most commonplace topics. From explorations of hunting to discussions about domestic violence, from classic works of art to the most cutting-edge digital media, from the American prairie to the heart of post-communist Romania, Why? Radio takes you on a journey through the great questions, the puzzling answers, and the deepest recesses of your mind.
We’re not just a podcast. We’re part of National Public Radio, so you know we have the highest standards and have earned our reputation.
Why? Radio is a partnership between Prairie Public Radio and The University of North Dakota’s College of Arts & Sciences. Our mission is to entertain while we inform and educate. Our host and guests translates even the most obscure philosophy into a language that anyone can understand. We want to convince all of our listeners that philosophy is relevant to our daily lives and that everyone is doing philosophy all the time, most people just don’t know it.
Our host
Host Dr. Jack Russell Weinstein is a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and the Director of the Institute for Philosophy in Public Life at the University of North Dakota. He is an award winning teacher, author of three books and dozens of academic and popular articles, and has edited six collections for both academics and general audiences. He is an amateur triathlete and a hobbyist baker.
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Our latest episode
“What Should We Save for Posterity?” with guest Erich Hatala Matthes
Everything that matters to us disappears eventually, whether it’s a beloved painting or a story passed down for generations. We buy, invent, and create stuff to replace it all, but some of it is worth saving, right? If so, which ones? A lot of it is disposable but we want some of it to be around for future generations because we think it’s important, or meaningful, or will connect the past and future in unique and valuable ways. On this episode, we explore which of our possessions and commitments deserve our attention and what the best ways to protect them might be.
Erich Hatala Matthes is a Professor of Philosophy at Wellesley College. He is the author of two books, Drawing the Line: What to Do with the Work of Immoral Artists from Museums to the Movies and the more recent, What to Save and Why: Identity, Authenticity, and the Ethics of Conservation, both published by Oxford University Press.
“Easily the Best I’ve encountered ★★★★★
The only problem with this podcast is that there are not enough of them. Jack Russell Weinstein is first, brilliant and second, as unbiased as a human could be. The problem i have with nearly every other philosophy podcast is the systemic negativity. I understand it is in a philosophers blood to find the failings of any affirmative position, but it gets tiring when hosts don’t even attempt to present the position being torn down fairly. J.R.W. will argue brilliantly for one side as he inhales then exhales, just as brilliantly the opposing position; all the while keeping in mind the whole point of the podcast, which is to answer the question ‘why?’”
Veritruviann iTunes Review
“Great Show About Ideas ★★★★★
At first glance, I wouldn’t think a public radio show about philosophical ideas would make it. I say this and I’m a philosopher by trade. Jack Weinstein makes it work wot a great combination of good guests, interesting topics, and great conversation. One of the marks of a great conversation is that you don’t usually notice the wheels turning. Good conversations can sound easy and effortless, but they take really good listening and thoughtfulness. Three thumbs up for this show, and I’m glad a show like this really can make it in the United States. Wahoo for Why?”
Tony Cunningham
iTunes Review
The Best Philosophy Podcast★★★★★
I’ve listened to a lot of philosophy podcasts, but this one takes the cake. Jack does an outstanding job at facilitating fascinating conversations while still being accessible and easily digestible. The guests are always a delight, and you can tell that everyone is invested in the project. Highly recommend for anyone that’s intellectually curious and wants to hear genuine conversations between genuine people! <3
— Anna478,
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More from Why? Radio
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Jack Russell Weinstein
israel, Palestine, and the trolley problem
On the futility of the search for the moral high ground
Arguments about Israel and Palestine are almost always accusatory and polemical. Rather than learning from one another, opponents jockey for the moral high ground trying to find that one attack they believe proves their side to be completely on the right, without compromise. This means Israel’s advocates dismiss Palestinian land claims without due consideration and Pro-Palestinian voices falsely accuse Israel of the most heinous modern crimes: colonialism, genocide, and apartheid. None of this is productive or healthy.
In Israel, Palestine, and the Trolley Problem: On the Futility of the Search for the Moral High Ground, philosopher Jack Russell Weinstein interweaves philosophy, history, politics, and personal experience to expose the argumentative mistakes we all make too often. Mapping out moral psychology—how we actually make moral decisions—and using the famous Trolley Problem as a metaphor, Weinstein paves the way for a new, more empathetic exchange of ideas about today’s most puzzling moral dilemma: how to find peace in the Middle East.
Jack Russell Weinstein is Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor and Director of the Institute for Philosophy in Public Life at the University of North Dakota. He is also the host of the public radio show/podcast Why? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life.
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Philsophical Currents:
A Philosopher’s Exploration of This Month’s Most Intriguing News Stories
No One Above the Law: A Philosophical Reckoning in a Time of Crisis
Craig and Jack engage in a searching and unsettling conversation about the rule of law and whether it is holding in today’s politically charged climate. Prompted by recent deadly enforcement actions in Minneapolis and conflicting official accounts, Jack unpacks what the rule of law truly means: predictability, accountability, and equal application, even, and especially, for those in power. Drawing on philosophy, history, and vivid real-world analogies, the discussion explores the difference between law and propaganda, the erosion of public trust, and the fragile line between order and chaos. At stake is a foundational question for democracy itself: when the law feels arbitrary, who is protected; and who is left powerless?
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“what is empathy for?”
The battle over empathy is more than just politics. It’s actually about nihilism, masculinity, and the stability of the American republic.
Empathy makes you weak. This is a message that Charlie Kirk is supposed to have communicated to his millions of followers. Interestingly, he never actually said this; Elon Musk is the one who did. In an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, Musk remarked that “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy. The empathy exploit. They’re exploiting a bug in Western civilization, which is the empathy response.” You should care about other people, he reluctantly concedes, but then he doubles down: “there’s so much empathy that you actually suicide yourself.”
Kirk’s comments about empathy are different but more extreme. Criticizing Bill Clinton, he opines: “I can’t stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that—it does a lot of damage.” Kirk also looks like he will concede his point by admitting that some people should, at times, feel sympathy for others, but he waves that conversation away. He is assuming that the distinction between empathy and sympathy is both clear and significant. It is not.