Episode 16 – Decker and Philosophy

Hard to Believe #016 – Kevin S. Decker – Pop Culture and Philosophy

Kevin S. Decker is a professor of philosophy at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, WA. In his classes, he works from science fiction, comic books, and other popular culture reference points to explore and explain concepts of philosophy to his students.

He has also contributed to and edited a number of books from the “…and Philosophy” series, including Alien and Philosophy, Star Wars and Philosophy, Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant, and Terminator and Philosophy: I’ll Be Back, Therefore I Am. He is also a devoted Whovian, and the author of Who is Who, an exploration of philosophy in Doctor Who.

For this episode, John is joined by Nico Vasilo, from CageClub podcasts .html and X is for Podcast.

Why the End is Always Near – with Dr. Lisa Vox – Hard to Believe

Western history is marked by two curious truths – one is that people continue to insist the end of the world is imminent for whatever reason, and two that they are invariably wrong. Whether it's Y2K or the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse, whether it's The Walking Dead or Left Behind, we can't seem to shake our obsession with the end of the world. Why? And how have both the specifics and the stakes of the end times narrative shifted in a world driven by science, technology, and reason? Dr. Lisa Vox is the author of Existential Threats: American Apocalyptic Beliefs in the Technological Era. She joins John to share her expertise on the subject. Vox teaches both History and Environmental History with a focus on race-related issues, and she presents online lectures for Lesley University, the University of Massachusetts–Boston, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and at the University of Boston–Lowell. She also acts as an adjunct instructor of History for Young Harris College. Dr. Vox is on Twitter @Lisa_Vox

Hard to Believe

Official Site of the Podcast – by John Brooks