Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Peter Russell about Sovereignty. They discuss a definition of sovereignty and the historical arc on the claim of sovereignty. They discuss the idea of a deity giving sovereignty and the importance of Westphalia shifting from deity to state. They talk about what perfecting sovereignty is and the importance of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau on Sovereignty. They discuss popular sovereignty with the American and French revolutions along with the tragic history of sovereignty with indigenous peoples. They talk about federalism and the future of sovereignty. Peter Russell is a Canadian Political Scientist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, where he taught political science from 1958-1997. a Rhodes Scholar and Officer of the Order of Canada, he has served as the Director of Research for the McDonald Commission on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He was also a member of the Federal Task Force on Comprehensive Land Claims, President of the Canadian Political Science Association, and Chair of the Research Advisory Committee for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. He is the author of numerous books, including his most recent, Sovereignty: The Biography of A Claim, which can be purchased here. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Coltan Scrivner about morbid curiosity. They define curiosity and morbid curiosity along with the origins of morbid curiosity with critiques on terror management theory and negative trait bias. They discuss state vs. trait morbid curiosity and how morbid curiosity correlates with personality. They talk about his measure of morbid curiosity, what factors he found, and why he used factor analysis. They engage on horror films and why many people are invested in this genre. They also talk about the potential clinical implications and challenges that horror could have on disorders such as anxiety and many other topics.Coltan Scrivner is a PhD Candidate and researcher at the University of Chicago in the Department of Comparative Human Development and a Fellow at the Institute for Mind and Biology. His research areas are on horror, and morbid curiosity and why people find enjoyment in fictionally dangerous scenarios. You can find all of his articles and popular writing at his website. Twitter: @morbidpsych Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Laura Galloway about her memoir where she details her experience of living in the Arctic Tundra. They discuss her professional background and reasoning for writing a memoir. They talk about the psychological impact of the death of her mother and how the relationship with her father evolved. They discuss her time in Los Angeles and New York City and how she decided to move to the Arctic Tundra in Norway. They talk about what the Arctic was like and how the Sami people lived. They talk about her motivation for staying there for six years along with her themes of loss, abandonment, and belonging.Laura Galloway is a writer and communications strategist. She has a Bachelors in Political Science and Masters in Indigenous Journalism. She has worked for the Los Angeles Times and many other outlets. Her memoir, Dalvi: Six Years in the Arctic Tundra is available here. You can visit her at her website which can be found here. Twitter: @lauragalloway Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with George Bonanno on the many aspects of trauma. They discuss the many pitfalls of trauma and a working definition of trauma. They explain what potentially traumatic events (PTE) and acute stress reactions are and some of their differences. They describe the difference between PTSD and clinical trauma and trauma stressors. They also discuss risk factors and environmental variables along with complex and multi-generational trauma. They discuss resilience and the pros and cons of coping skills and emotional regulation strategies. They explain the flexibility sequence and mindset, goal directed self-talk, the challenges of pop psychology using trauma, and many other topics. George Bonanno is a professor of Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is the Lab Director of the Loss, Trauma, and Emotion Lab at Columbia University. He is an expert on bereavement, loss, and trauma. He is well-published and cited within the scientific literature and is the recipient of the lifetime achievement awards from both the Association of Psychological Science (APS) and the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA). His most recent book, The End of Trauma, is available here. You can find his research and lab work here. Twitter: @giorgiobee Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sarah Richardson about the history of maternal-fetal effects. They discuss why human developmental plasticity is important for intrauterine growth and how this impacts the evolution of post-natal growth. The talk about the importance of Weismann's philosophy of science for maternal health. They mention maternal impressions theories and the complicated history of eugenics with maternal health. They discuss the importance of animal studies to understand maternal-fetal effects and the ongoing emphasis on birth weight. They discuss the unfinished story on epigenetics and many of its challenges along with some pragmatic considerations on maternal-fetal effects. Sarah Richardson is Professor of the History of Science and of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University. She directs the Harvard GenderSci Lab and her interests are in gender, sexuality, and reproduction. She has been published in many scientific journals and in popular media outlets. Her latest book, The Maternal Imprint: The Contested Science of Maternal-Fetal Effects can be published here. You can also find her work here. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Henry Gee about the history of the earth. They start by discussing Henry's background and reasons for writing the book. They discuss the big bang and origins of the earth along with how the sun and planets formed in our solar system. They talk about the importance of gravity and how early life started in the oceans. They explain how life went from unicellular to multicellular and the formation of sponges. They discuss how life formed the anus to forming a digestive tract to teeth to protective shells. They talk about the Cambrian explosion that was monumental for many lifeforms. They discuss how fish evolved into vertebrates and moved from water to land. They explain the importance of tetrapods and how plants began on the earth. They mention the importance of the Triassic and Jurassic periods on the anatomy of dinosaurs and the evolution of mammals. They talk about the importance of Homo Erectus, different human species on the earth, the future of the planet, and many other topics. Henry Gee is a Paleontologist and is the Senior Editor for the scientific journal Nature. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge. Along with many articles, he is the author of numerous books including his most recent book, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Pithy Chapters, which you can purchase here. You can find his blog here. Twitter: @endofthepier Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Samantha Rose Hill about the life and philosophy of Hannah Arendt. They begin by mapping out some of Arendt's early childhood and life experiences, specifically the death of her father. They discuss her various romantic relationships including the very complicated relationship with Martin Heidegger. They explore the differences between loneliness and isolation and talk about Arendt's work on totalitarianism. They also discuss Arendt's work on private and public realms, the banality of evil, race, feminism, and many other topics. Samantha Rose Hill is a senior fellow at the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities and associate faculty at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. Her writing has been in Aeon, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Public Seminar, among other places. She is the author of Hannah Arendt and is currently working on Hannah Arendt's Poems, a book on loneliness, and a memoir. You can find her writing and much of work at her website. Twitter: @samantharhill Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Paul Bloom concerning suffering, pleasure, and meaning. They discuss the reasoning for Paul writing his new book on the darker side of pleasure and make the distinction between chosen and unchosen suffering. They question whether one should always finding meaning in suffering and talk about some of the illusions of reality. They talk about the notion of contrast and discuss the importance of aversive fictions and the role of imagination. They define meaning and how people aim to seek meaning and value from different types of suffering. They also discuss Paul's previous book on empathy and provide distinctions between cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and compassion. They talk about how one can view empathy in different aspects of clinical therapeutic practice. They also discuss having more balanced ways of seeing the complexities of humanity and many other topics. Paul Bloom is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University. Paul's interests are on morality, pleasure, and development. He is the past president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology and co-editor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. He has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic. He is the author of numerous books such as Against Empathy and his latest book, The Sweet Spot, which you can purchase here. You can find much of his research and writing at his website. Twitter: @paulbloomatyale Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Arvid Ågren about the genetic implications of evolution. The discuss his background and reasons for writing his book. They explain the gene's-eye view of natural selection and how one can still understand evolution without genetics. They also discuss how genes are "immortal" and "selfish" and still cooperate together. They talk about adaptation and this concept's history along with the challenges of creationism and intelligent design. They also provide some ideas about group selection and its merits. Genes, chromosomes, DNA, and proteins are introduced and discussed. They engage about "types" and "tokens" along with "replicators" and "vehicles." They talk about "memes" and how they impact cultural evolution. They spend time discussing the five difficulties of the selfish gene, Hamilton's rule, and inclusive fitness. They also mention the interaction of Hamilton's rule with cooperation, kin selection, and interdependence and many other topics.Arvid Ågren is an Evolutionary Biologist who studies the causes and consequences of genomic conflicts. He has a Bachelors in Biology from the University of Edinburgh and his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Toronto. He completed his Postdoc in Andy Clark's lab for Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University. He also did a fellowship at the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University hosted by David Haig. Currently, he conducts research at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University in Sweden. His new book, The Gene's-Eye View of Evolution can be purchased here. You can find his research at his website. Twitter: @arvidagren Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Batya Ungar-Sargon about journalism and the working class. They begin by discussing the history of journalism and the past emphasis of the working class being the main audience. They discuss why mass media has become highly polarized and the evolution of media being for elites. They talk about some of the incentives of media and speculate about some of the potential psychological explanations for the polarization in society. They discuss the impact of social media on media overall along with some of the differences in conservative and liberal media. They also talk about individual journalism and if institutions can be saved and many other topics.Batya Ungar-Sargon is the Deputy Opinion Editor of Newsweek. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. You can purchase her book here. Twitter: @bungarsargon Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Charles Murray about statistics, cognitive abilities, and social-political issues. They begin by providing a statistical overview of the bell curve, standard deviations, and the overlap of group mean averages. They discuss meta analyses and factor analyses and why they are important for IQ data. They also mention g and its importance for cognitive abilities. They provide definitions of terms such as race, ethnicity, and populations along with genetic concepts such as SNPs, Alleles, and Polygenetic Index scores. They outline the data on race and IQ and question whether it is important to even study group differences between races. They talk about the current social ideology and contributions to these conversations. They also mention the gene-environment interactions, how some groups use data for nefarious reasons, and many other topics.Charles Murray is the F.A. Hayek Chair Emeritus in Cultural Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He holds a BA in History from Harvard University and a PhD in Political Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has been involved with the Peace Corps and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He is the author of numerous books, including, The Bell Curve, Coming Apart, Human Diversity, and Facing Reality. You can find some of his work at his website. Twitter: @charlesmurray Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kyle Harper about the history of plague and disease on the planet. They begin by talking about his reasons for writing his latest book and the two main theses of the book. They talk about the five taxa of pathology and the importance of globalization on disease. They discuss the three components of parasitism and how the evolution of disease evolves alongside hominoids. They talk about the importance of hunter-gatherers in the Pleistocene period along with the key aspect of vector borne transmission diseases. They move to the Agrarian period and the importance of fecal-oral transmission for disease history. They talk about examples of typhoid disease and measles and how density and domesticates are implicated in respiratory diseases. They also talk about the plague and its complicated history while also mentioning zoonotic leaps from bats and rats. They also discuss the Colombian exchange the impact this period had on the spread of disease in the world. They talk about the impact of the mosquito and how modernity has continued to work on the evolution of diseases. They mention public healthy innovations in the modern ages, vaccines, and where COVID-19 sits in the history of disease.Kyle Harper is a Professor of Classics and Letters and Provost Emeritus and Senior Advisor to the President at the University of Oklahoma. He is a historian of ancient Rome and his interests are disease history, economic history, and environmental history. He is the author of four books, including his most recent book, Plagues Upon The Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History. You can purchase this book here. You can find much of his research at his website. Twitter: @oklahomaharper Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kat Rosenfield about women, men, feminism, metoo, cancel culture, and free speech issues. They begin the conversation by discussing why Kat writes about cultural issues and the current state of feminism. They explore why dissent from other women is not always accepted within many women's rights groups. They discuss women in the workplace, the patriarchy, metoo, and women in film. They talk about whether one can separate the art from the artist and if it is possible to forgive and rehabilitate people for wrong acts they do. They also talk about cancel culture and free speech and many other topics.Kat Rosenfield is a freelance pop culture writer. She is a former reporter for MTV News and has written articles for Entertainment Weekly, Unherd, Vulture, Wired, and many other places. She is the author of many books including Alliances: A Trick of Light with Stan Lee. Her newest novel is No One Will Miss Her and can be purchased here. You can find her at her website. Twitter: @katrosenfield Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Dominic Packer about group identities. They start the conversation by discussing his partnership with Jay Van Bavel and their reasons for writing the book. The define identity and why it is an important construct. They discuss the delineation between self and personality and discuss in-group vs. out-group constructs. They mention the concept of cooperation with group identities and mention some of the classic social psychology experiments. They talk about group identity with political polarization, optimal distinctiveness, and the importance of dissent. They also talk about the need for healthy group identities and many other topics. Dominic Packer is a Social Psychologist, Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in Arts and Sciences at Lehigh University. His main focus areas are on dissent, cooperation, and group identities. His book, with co-author Jay Van Bavel, is The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony, which can be purchased here. Their book also has a website. Twitter: @dominicpacker_ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nicole Barbaro about higher education. They discuss Nicole's work in higher education and the importance of mentorship for professional development. They provide a definition of education and its boundaries. They also talk about the role of the federal government (Department of Education in the USA) in overseeing and regulating education. They mention merit vs. meritocracy along with the role of standardized tests and entrance exams. They talk about the challenges of scale for a large country's education system and a public option for education. They spend some time discussing the importance of good, quality teaching in higher education. They mention the variables of synchronous and asynchronous learning/teaching. They talk about the process of formal training and education and why information gathering alone is half of the process. They discuss the alternatives of improving teaching in the classroom, DIY and "education influencers," woke activism, Critical Race Theory (CRT) curriculums, and homeschooling. They also talk about options for improving the future of education and many other topics. Nicole Barbaro holds a PhD in psychology with an emphasis on evolution and human development. She is currently a research scientist at WGU labs and continues to publish in academia on attachment. You can find all of her publications at her website. Subscribe to her substack to have weekly content on current trends within higher education. Twitter: @Nicolebarbaro Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kathryn Paige Harden about genetics and their interactions with the environment. She explains her background and reasoning for writing her book. They lay the groundwork for the conversation by considering why it is important to study human variation at all and give the framing for why genes can be seen as luck or a lottery. They discuss the differences between genetic variance vs. genetic shift and why this can be contentious at times. They discuss Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and explain the many aspects surrounding this tool and some of the opinions people have about them. They dialogue about how to separate the tools from the scientist and how this could be done appropriately. She discusses her agreements and disagreements with various camps in the genetic research world and why understanding author’s intent is important. They also talk about equality and impact the environmental interaction has on genetic data.Kathryn Paige Harden is a tenured professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin where she heads the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab and co-directs the Texas Twin project. She obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Virginia and has published over 100 scientific publications on child cognitive development, academic achievement and other familiar topics. She is the author of the book, The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality, which can be found here. You can find her various publications at her website. Twitter: @kph3k Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nick Pyenson about whales and their environment. They begin the conversation by talking about the importance of science communication and Nick's role in science communication with his research and book. They discuss the various ways in which scientists obtain whale data and talk about the evolution of whales. They talk about the two phases of whale evolution from land to water and provide a natural history of whales through different periods of the earth. They discuss the challenges with whaling and explain the taxonomy of whales. They engage about the diet of whales and how their dietary habits contribute to the ecosystems of the oceans. They talk about the impact of increased carbon dioxide and ocean acidification on the future of whale along with many other topics. Nick Pyenson is a Paleontologist, Research Geologist, and curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian's Institution's National Museum of Natural History. His scientific research has focused on the convergent evolution of marine life, including whales. He is the author of the book, Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures, which can be found here. You can find his work at his website. Twitter: @pyensonlab Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Richard Prum about aesthetics, birds, and the evolution of beauty. They provide an overview of sexual selection and the aspects of sexual ornamentation and mate choice. They discuss Fisher’s two-factor model of evolution and use the example of the great Argus pheasant to describe Richard’s idea that beauty happens. They discuss the co-evolution of beauty and how sexual selection is not only about adaptation. They mention the subjective experience of animals and theory of mind. They also discuss aesthetic radiation, phylogeny of birds, and the sound production in the wings of Manakins. They briefly discuss the colorful feathers of dinosaurs, duck sex, and aesthetic remodeling. Richard provides some of his critiques of evolutionary psychology and makes the distinction between beauty happening and pleasure happening.Richard Prum is an Evolutionary Ornithologist at Yale University. His research interests are avian biology, behavioral evolution, sexual selection, and mate choice. He has been a main contributor to the theropod dinosaur origins of birds and the evolution of avian plumage coloration. He is the Curator of Ornithology and Head Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Previously, he was the Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale. He is the author of, The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin’s Forgotten Theory of mate Choice Shapes the Animal World—and Us, which can be purchased here. You can find his scholarly publications here. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Courtney Crosby about sexual arousal, desire, and disgust. Courtney provides some of her background and how she became interested in evolutionary psychology and studying sexual disgust. They define disgust, seeing it as its own emotional system and discuss how disgust fits with other emotions. They discuss the different elements of core disgust and some of the associations between disgust and norms, judgments, and attributions. They also discuss sexuality and discuss the distinctions between sexual desire and sexual arousal. They talk about sexual disgust, its various dimensions, cross-cultural findings, and some remarks on moral disgust.Courtney Crosby is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Texas at Austin whose research is in evolutionary psychology and sexual disgust. She has published empirical research on sexual disgust and has written for Psychology Today. Find all of her scholarly research and popular pieces at her website. Twitter: @evocourtney Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Amity Shlaes about the 30th President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge. They discuss Coolidge’s background and environment raised to be frugal and fiscally conservative. They talk about his path to the presidency and his state vs national views on progressivism. They focus on how Coolidge’s emphasis as president was on a balanced budget and reducing the debt. They talk about his handling of the Mississippi floods and why he did not involve the national government for aid. They also discuss Coolidge’s weakness on foreign affairs and his overall legacy as president.Amity Shlaes is the chairwoman of the board of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. She has written four New York Times bestsellers, including Coolidge. She is the winner of the Hayek Prize and has served on the Council on Foreign Relations and the George W. Bush Presidential Center. She is the Presidential Scholar at King’s College and has previously taught at New York University’s Stern School of business. You can find all of her work at her website. Twitter: @Amityshlaes Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla had a dialogue with Jonathan Marks about liberal education and how educational institutions need reform. They discuss his main thesis of the book and why he decided to write the book. They define and discuss the origins of liberal education. They define the terms “liberal” and “conservative” and why it’s important to defend a liberal arts education. They talk about rationality and why that’s important for educational institutions. They mention the impact that rationality has on the pragmatic aspects of life. They discuss the need for a robust and integrative curriculum for students and where the future of educational institutions are headed.Jonathan Marks is chair and professor of politics at Ursinus College where he teaches political philosophy. He holds a Bachelors, Masters, and PhD from The University of Chicago. He has published articles in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of American Political Science. His articles for a wider audience can be found in Commentary Magazine and the Chronicle of Higher Education. His new book, Let’s be Reasonable: A Conservative Case for Liberal Education can be found here. Twitter: @marksjo1 Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Patrick Roberts about tropical forests and their impact on the planet and for humans. They begin with a historical overview of the earth’s periods and how tropical forests are seen in each period. They define tropical forests and describe their general composition. They talk about Pangaea and Gondwana and some of the angiosperm in the early periods that contributed to animals and life on earth. They discuss the importance of early mammals in the Jurassic period. They also talk about early Hominids in their environment and the early stages of agriculture. They talk about island forestation, human migration, and tropical forests with ancient civilizations. They discuss deforestation and reforestation and the human impact on climate change.Patrick Roberts is the Research Group Leader and Director of the Stable Isotope Laboratory in the Department of Archaeology at Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. He has a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology, a MSc in Archaeological Science, and a DPhil in Archaeological Science from the University of Oxford. His main research interests are studying tropical forests and how they impact human adaptations. Aside from his Archaeological and paleoenvironmental research, he has recently published his first book, Jungle: How Tropical Forests Shaped the World- and Us, which you can purchase here. You can find his research publications here. Twitter: @palaeotropics Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Shioma-Lei Craythorne about Body Dysmorphic Disorder and some of the research on this disorder. They provide a definition of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) along with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders– Fifth Edition (DSM-V) criteria and description. They talk about the differences between pathological and non-pathological features with one’s body and appearance. They explain some of the diagnostic differential with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Eating Disorders. They talk about the muscle dysmorphia specifier and explore some of the themes around masculinity currently. They also review some of the epidemiology and etiology of BDD and engage about the role of social media and plastic surgery on BDD.A main focus of this dialogue was on Shioma-Lei’s dissertation research examining the hermeneutics and phenomenological data on BDD using art. She provides an overview of her research and how she used art to extrapolate the subjective experiences of her participants with BDD. They discuss some of the philosophical ideas that are implicated in her research and also discuss some of the treatment for BDD.Shioma-Lei Craythorne has a PhD in Psychology from Aston University. Her research focuses on Body Dysmorphic disorder and looking at using art to explore the subjective experiences of those with BDD. She has created a website to have resources for individuals with Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Twitter: @shioma_lei Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nadia Gill concerning truth, persuasion, and culture in documentary filmmaking. They talk about her background and shift from law to documentary filmmaking. They discuss the importance of telling the truth in documentaries and whether persuasion or propaganda is implicating in some documentaries. They also talk about showing a perspective vs. describing objective truth about reality in documentaries. They ponder if the responsibility for truth lies with the filmmaker or with the viewer, who gets to tell what stories, and many other topics. Nadia Gill is a former lawyer, producer and documentary filmmaker. Her and her husband, Dominic Gill, started Encompass Films as a way to tell stories about adventure and the outdoors from a wide range of people and cultures. They have recently branched out into conservation and some political polarization. They have done work for clients such as Red Bull, Microsoft, Hendrick's Gin, and many others. Twitter: @egypxican Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Carole Hooven about the hormone Testosterone and its impact on men and within society. They discuss her new book and reasons for writing the book. They talk about sex hormones and the sexual reproductive system as well as the impact of sexual selection on both. They provide definitions of male and female within a biological framework including discussions on the genetics, hormones, and gametes. They talk about the impact of culture and environment on gender expression and biological sex. The talk about how hormones are distributed throughout the body and the importance of secondary sex characteristics. They talk about the Mullerian and Wolffian ducts and also give different examples of how hormones interact with the environment. They discuss the complexities of discussing biology and environment in current society and many other topics. Carole Hooven is a Lecturer and Co-Director of the undergraduate program in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. She has a Bachelors in Psychology from Antioch College and a PhD from Harvard University. Her main research areas are sex differences, testosterone, and hormones interaction with behaviors. She is the author of T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us which you can purchase here. You can find her at her website. Twitter: @hoovlet Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Charles Love about education, Black history, and current political challenges. The talk about his background and work in education. They talk about the challenges with the current Critical Race Theory (CRT) rhetoric that dominates conversation in education. They discuss how to have a balanced approach in teaching and learning Black history in education. They explain how learning about all aspects of Black history is very important. They review the 1619 project and some of its challenges. They also talk about heterodox thinkers and politics of today and many other topics.Charles Love is the Executive Director of Seeking Educational Excellence, a non-profit organization aimed to empower disadvantage students to excel in many domains. He is the host of The Charles Love Show on AM560 and is the co-host of the Cut the Bull podcast. He is a scholar at 1776Unites and is a contributing writer at City Journal. His new book, Race Crazy is available here. Find his website here. Twitter: @cdouglaslove3 Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Yasmine Mohammed about the complexities of Islam around the world. They begin with a synopsis of Yasmine’s story with Islam and how she responds to her story not being representative of Islam. They discuss the cultural vs. religious claims for some practices. They talk about the various interpretations of Islam and how it is best perceived as a continuum. They discuss the convergent and divergent ways that Muslims in Muslim majority countries compare with Muslims in non-Muslim majority countries. They talk about how women are treated in Muslim-majority countries along with some of the problems with head coverings and many other topics.Yasmine Mohammed is a Human Rights activist who advocates for women’s rights around the world, specifically in Muslim majority countries. She is the founder of Free Hearts Free Minds which is an organization that provides mental health services for LGBTQ+ individuals along with freethinkers in Muslim majority countries. She is the author of her memoir, Unveiled. She also serves on the board of Humanist Global Charity and Atheists for Liberty. She works with the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation and is a member of Center for Inquiry Speaker’s Bureau. Visit her website. Twitter: @yasmohammedxx Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Simon Critchley on continental and analytic philosophy, the philosophy of Levinas, and applied philosophy. They discuss what continental and analytical philosophy are and their similarities and differences. They discuss how to accurately understand postmodernism and deconstructionism. They talk about the philosophy of Levinas and his understanding of phenomenology. They mention why the biography of philosophers is important for understanding philosophical ideas. They discuss "the other" in the philosophies of Kierkegaard, Levinas, and Sartre. They talk about the ethics of Levinas and how philosophy can be applied in society today. Simon Critchley is a philosopher who is the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research. His areas of research include psychoanalysis, continental philosophy, ethics, and political theory. He has written numerous books, including the most recent, Bald: 35 Philosophical Short Cuts. You can find all of his work here. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lucy Foulkes around mental illness and some of the facts and messaging regarding this topic. They define mental illness and discuss the differences between acute and chronic symptoms. They talk about how to understand the conceptualization of mental disorders along with the distinctions between pathological and non-pathological symptoms. They spend time discussing de-stigmatization and how this works for athletes and public figures. They also engage about how de-stigmatization works with social media for many people. They also discuss treatment for individuals with mental illness and many other topics. Lucy Foulkes is a Psychologist and Honorary Lecturer in Psychology at University College, London. Her research primarily focuses on mental health and social cognition in adolescence. Her latest book, Losing Our Minds: What Mental Illness Really is and What it isn't is available here. You can find her research here. Twitter: @lfoulkesy Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Allen Buchanan about the origins of tribalism and morality. They discuss his reasons for writing about tribalism and ideology along with providing a definition of tribalism and how it manifests in society. Allen provides his critiques of the evolutionary models for morality and how he finds cooperation incomplete. They discuss the current evolutionary and psychological theories about cooperation and how they interact with his criticisms. They discuss the impact of culture and his pragmatic answers to tribalism and poor ideology and many other topics.Allen Buchanan is a philosopher and was the James B Duke Professor of Philosophy at Duke University. He was also a professor of Philosophy of International Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College, London. Currently, he teaches and conducts research at the University of Arizona. He is the author of numerous books, including his most recent, Our Moral Fate: Evolution and the Escape From Tribalism. Find him here. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with June Tangney about shame and the various components of this emotion. They provide a definition of shame and how it is a distinct emotion from guilt. They discuss how the same event can be implicated with different emotional reactions. They talk about how to understand negative shame and hubristic pride along with the differences between public and private shame. They discuss the adaptive aspects of shame and how shame may present in other cultures. They talk about shame with trauma and some of the clinical interventions that could be used in therapy for shame. They discuss how shame manifests in various medical diagnoses and how shame presents in popular culture and mainstream media. June Tangney is a Clinical Psychologist and University Professor at George Mason University. She has served as Associate Editor for Self and Identity, Consulting Editor for Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Psychological Assessment, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, and Journal of Personality, and is currently Associate Editor of American Psychologist. She has done extensive research on the moral emotions (e.g., shame, guilt, empathy) and has done work researching moral emotions with incarcerated offenders. You can find her books here. You can also find her peer-reviewed research here. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kevin Mitchell on genetics, neuroscience, and variation in development. They discuss why developmental variation is important to understanding genes and environment through the trajectory of the lifespan. They talk about how a person responds to the environment and why this is a key essential feature for gene and environment interaction. They talk about the genome as a system or program that can interact with other "noise" in the system. They make the distinctions between traits and genes and how neuropsychiatric disorders are implicated by genetic variation. The provide an example of heritability using Autism and the various genes involved in the development of Autism. They talk about how much genetic programming is set before birth and also provide a definition of environment. They use intelligence as an example to explain the differences in the nature vs. nurture debate. They talk about the importance of twin studies, use of polygenic scores, epigenetics, neuroplasticity, and many other topics.Kevin Mitchell is an Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin. He has his BA in Genetics from Trinity College Dublin and his PhD in Neurobiology from the University of California at Berkeley. His current research focuses on genetics and wiring of the brain specifically as it relates to neuropsychiatric disorders. He is the author of Innate: How the wiring of our brains shapes who we are which you can purchase here. He also has his own blog. Twitter: @wiringthebrain Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kathryn Gordon about the challenging topic of suicide. They discuss the current data and statistics on suicide in the United States. They talk about the connection between suicide and mental illness and how to spot warning signs for suicide. They discuss the appropriate ways to ask if someone is suicidal along with the differences between passive and active suicidal ideations. They distinguish what is different between a safety contract and a safety plan. They also mention the role of self-injurious behaviors and their various differences from suicidal gestures. They also talk about the dangers of discussion suicide on social media and many other topics. Kathryn Gordon is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who is a clinician and researcher. As a clinician, she specializes in conducting Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with a variety of clients. She also conducts active research on Eating Disorders. She was also an Associate Professor of Psychology at North Dakota State University. You can find her published research here. She is the author of The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook which can be purchased here. She is the co-host of the podcast, Psychodrama and write a blog for Psychology Today. Twitter: @drkathryngordon Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Inger Burnett-Ziegler about the emotional lives of Black women and how Black women can have authenticity and empowerment. They discuss Inger's background and her reasoning for writing her book. They discuss the origins of the norm that Black women must be strong and not expressive with vulnerabilities. They talk about the current internal and external barriers for Black women being able to express their positive and negative experiences. They also talk about how empowerment and authentic expressions of self are received by Black women. They describe some of the features of intergenerational trauma and how colorism impacts Black women. They end by discussing the stigma of Black women seeking mental health treatment. Inger Burnett-Zeigler is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. She has over 15 years of clinical experience providing Psychological interventions to various patients. Her research focuses on mental health disparities within the Black community. Her first book, Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen: The Emotional Lives of Black Women is available now. You can also find all relevant links to her research and appearances at her website. Twitter: @ibzpsychphd Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jonathan Rauch about the constitution of knowledge and how to defend against illiberalism. They discuss Jonathan’s background and how we have arrived to many of the societal themes today. They discuss the distinctions between truth and knowledge and how Jonathan modeled his constitution of knowledge from the US constitution. They talk about the central thesis of compromise and how it’s possible to scale the constitution of knowledge to all of society. They stress the importance and value of institutions and provide an example of how gay rights was achieved through a combination of activism and use of institutions. They talk about the components of the constitution of knowledge and the differences between positive and negative epistemic valence. They explain the need for individuals and institutions to work together and how to use the constitution of knowledge pragmatically.Jonathan Rauch is a Senior Fellow of Governance Studies at Brookings Institute. He is a journalist and author of eight books. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award. His new book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth can be found here. Find his work at his website. Twitter: @jon_Rauch Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Luis Lopez-Portillo about behavioral and cultural change for self-improvement. They begin the dialogue with an overview of Luis' personal and professional background. They talk about his background and training in journalism and communications and his switch to public relations. They talk about his time as Press Secretary for one of the former Presidents of El Salvador. They discuss his post-government work with his consulting company dealing with crisis management within companies. They also talk about his work with organizational and cultural change with various businesses.The other half of the conversation focuses on Luis' restart method for personal change and the inspiration for writing his most recent book. They discuss the major themes within the restart method and the ways it can be implemented. They talk about the pragmatic uses for his restart method and what his ultimate aim is for readers of the book. Luis Lopez-Portillo is a journalist, author, life coach, and leadership trainer. He has a Bachelors in Communications and completed a fellowship at the University of Maryland in Journalism. He was a major editor at one of the largest newspapers in El Salvador, La Prensa Grafica. He was the Press Secretary for one of the former Presidents of El Salvador for five years and is currently the CEO of his company Retheos which is a consulting company for training businesses on crisis management and organizational change. He is the author of Evolve and Restart which can be found here. Twitter: @llopezportillo Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Alentina Vardanyan about the organizational behavior and ethics of artificial intelligence (AI). They discuss her transition from psychology to behavioral approaches within AI. They define intelligence and the different forms of artificial intelligence. A brief history of AI is discussed and they dialogue about the various ethical challenges with AI. They talk about the ethics of various applications and the larger theme of reality vs. simulation. They also discuss the ethics of automation and whether technology is moving too fast. They talk about how AI is presented in science fiction and what we can expect from AI in the near future and many other topics. Alentina Vardanyan is a PhD candidate at the Cambridge Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. She studies organizational behavior, artificial intelligence, and the future of work. Her work mostly focuses on the intersection of organization behavior with AI. Follow her on youtube. Twitter: @alentina Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this special episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Angel Eduardo about many of his recent essays on starmanning, race, and Superman. They are joined by cameos from Christopher Ferguson, Wilfred Reilly, and Stephen Clouse about these topics. The first part of the conversation focuses on Angel's concept of starmanning and his origins for coming up with the term. They discuss the differences between the strawman, steelman, and starman arguments. They talk about some of the criticisms of starmanning and how to use this concept in applied practice.The second part of the conversation focuses on the current conversations surrounding Critical Race Theory (CRT). They talk about the problems of CRT and some of the ever-evolving miscommunication around CRT. They talk about the idea of whether a moral panic about CRT is warranted and what the endgame is with CRT. They spend some time discussing the impact CRT has in the education system and the differences between teaching and practice in schools. They also talk about the socioeconomic variables with CRT and the multivariate challenges within society.The third part of the episode centers on the topic of Superman. They discuss whether Superman has to be white and the ideas of a Black Superman. They talk about the challenges of representation with established stories. They described the lessons from Greek philosophy for many of the themes in superhero stories. They explain why narrative is central for myths and superhero stories and the role religion plays in these stories. They consider whether Superman's ethics map onto the Aristotelian "good." They also consider the morality from the Batman story and the idea of wanting personal particulars to superimpose the universal themes within these stories. They also talk about whether it is possible to pull away from religious overtures in modern myths and many other topics.Angel Eduardo is a writer, musician, photographer, and designer based in New York City. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from CUNY and is a staff writer at Idealist. Find the articles discussed in this episode at his website and on twitter: @strangeledweird Christopher Ferguson is a clinical psychologist, professor, and writer. He teaches psychology at Stetson University and continues to conduct research on mass media violence. He is the author of two non-fiction books. His first book, Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong and his most recent book, How Madness Shaped History: An Eccentric Array of Maniacal Rulers, Raving Narcissists, and psychotic Visionaries are both available here. You can find many links to his various publications and articles at his website. Twitter: @cjferguson1111Wilfred Reilly is a political scientist and Associate professor at Kentucky State University. He is the author of Hate Crime Hoax and Taboo both of which can be found here. Twitter: @wil_da_beast630Stephen Clouse is a political science PhD candidate with his primary focus on ancient Greek philosophy, specifically Aristotelian philosophy, along with early American political thought. You can find his writing here and here. You can also follow him on Twitter: @sclouse2 Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Susan Mattern about menopause. They start by discussing her reasons and motivations for writing her most recent book, The Slow Moon Climbs: The science, history, and meaning of menopause. They explain the two definitions of menopause and the origins of menopause. They spend considerable time discussing the importance of the grandmother hypothesis and the role of mother-in-laws. They also talk about how humans evolved into a patriarchal society during agricultural societies and how we have gendered roles of labor. They also discuss whether menopause is a cultural syndrome and the best ways to discuss menopause in modern society. Susan Mattern is a Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Georgia. Her teaching and research focuses on world history, namely, Greek, Roman, and Ancient Egypt. She has written two books on the ancient physician, Galen, and her most recent book on menopause,The Slow Moon Climbs: The science, history, and meaning of menopause. You can find her research on her website. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Joseph Henrich about WEIRD people and cultural evolution. They start the conversation by defining what WEIRD means and some of the essential features of WEIRD people. They talk about cumulative cultural evolution and how this works in tandem with natural and sexual selection. They discuss some examples of individualistic and collective cultures and some of the similarities and differences. They engage with each other about whether culture causes evolutionary change or is merely a variable that influences change. They talk about the spread of Christianity and how it has impacted cultural evolution. They also discuss the impact of cultural evolution on markets and economic systems. They also mention the impact of war and the global collective brain as a way of understanding cultural evolution in the digital age along with many other topics. Joseph Henrich is Professor and Chair of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. His research focuses on evolutionary approaches to psychology, decision-making, and culture. He has done research on topics such as cultural evolution, human sociality, prestige, and large-scale cooperation. He is the author of The Secret of Our Success: How culture is driving human evolution, domesticating our species, and making us smarter. The topics in this book and his most recent book, The WEIRDest People in the World: How the west become psychologically peculiar and particularly prosperous are discussed in this episode. You can find both books along with his research at his website. Twitter: @johenrich Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Amber Bowen about Soren Kierkegaard's philosophy. They discuss Amber's background and involvement in studying Kierkegaard and her dissertation on the phenomenological self in Kierkegaard's philosophy. They talk about the counter-intentionality and the ego, along with defining and discussing the differences between the self and ego. They engage with each other about the self and how Kierkegaard believed the "other" was essential for understanding the self. They also discuss the reasoning for Kierkegaard using religious content and analysis in his works. Additionally, they discuss his main concept "leap of faith" and how Kierkegaard discusses this philosophically and theologically, along with many other topics. Amber Bowen is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Redeemer University in Ontario, Canada. She has her Bachelor of Arts in History and Master of Arts in Philosophy of Religion from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She recently obtained her PhD in Philosophy from Trinity College at University of Aberdeen where she conducted her dissertation, Hearing, Doing, Becoming: A Kierkegaardian Phenomenology of the Self. She continues to do research on phenomenology in Kierkegaard's philosophy and also studies the Gadamer hermeneutical approach to philosophy. You can find her work in popular articles and journals here. Twitter: @amber_bowen Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jessica Tracy about the self-conscious emotion of pride. They begin the discussion by defining emotions and describing their evolutionary function. They talk about the basic emotions and the self-conscious emotions and describe the differences between affect, feelings, and emotions. They explain the challenges with the positive vs. negative emotions framework and how social emotions present in other mammals. They provide a definition of pride and how it works towards social status and rank. They talk about the two types of pride, authentic and hubristic pride, and how one could view pride as an internal system. They discuss what the self is and how pride works with an understanding of the self. They talk about pride in non-WEIRD populations and how one can recognize pride expression. They engage about the the different models of explaining pride for social dominance, hierarchy, and status along with explaining the positive and negative aspects of both types of pride. They talk about how shame and pride interact and some of the measures used to assess for shame and pride. They also discuss Jessica's research on developing a more accurate taxonomy for distinct positive emotions. Jessica Tracy is a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a Sauder Distinguished Scholar. She runs the emotion and self lab at UBC where she studies emotion, moral thinking, nonverbal expression, self-conscious emotions (e.g., pride, shame), narcissism, status and hierarchy, and trends in psychological science. She is also the Associate Editor for the journal, Affective Science. She is the author of the book, Pride: The secret of success which you can find here. You can also find all of her scientific articles at her website. Twitter: @profjesstracy Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nichola Raihani about our social instinct for cooperation. They begin by discussing the first part of her book which details the genetic aspects of making one's body function and how cooperation is within each individual. They discuss the second part of the book on cooperation within the family unit. They talk about the power of kin selection and cooperative breeding. They dialogue about menopause, the grandmother hypothesis, and why cooperative breeding is important. They continue by discussing the third part of the book on cooperation with other humans and why reciprocity and interdependence are important for prosocial interactions. They talk about inclusive fitness and some of the differences between biological altruism and psychological altruism. They discuss the fourth and final part of the book where Nichola details punishment and the threat of punishment as being important for cooperation. They mention the value of reputation and social status and some of the darker elements of cooperation. Nichola Raihani is a researcher at her lab of social evolution and behavior and professor of evolution and behavior within the field of experimental psychology at University College London. She is a royal society university research fellow and fellow of the royal society of biology. Her primary research topic is on the evolution of cooperation in nature. Nichola's new book, The social instinct: How cooperation shaped the world, is available here and here. You can find her research here. Twitter: @nicholaraihani Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Laith Al-Shawaf about common misconceptions surrounding evolution and the faulty statistical science for the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).Evolution is the first topic. They discuss the common misconceptions of evolution such as randomness, survival of the fittest, purpose and genetic determinism, and just-so stories. They discuss the importance of ethology and evolutionary psychology along with some of the common criticisms of evolutionary psychology. Next, they discuss the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and provide an overview of the test's history and origins. They give a brief overview of the important statistical concepts of reliability and validity and how the MBTI fails with these basic statistical elements. Specifically, they discuss continuous vs. discrete variables and the arbitrary boundaries imposed with the MBTI. They also talk about why people continue to use the MBTI and if there are better alternatives. They also ponder if personalities are able to change and many other topics. Laith Al-Shawaf is an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. His main areas of focus with his research are in the evolutionary origins of emotions (specifically, disgust, anger, shame, guilt, and hunger), personality, and error management theory. The two popular articles mentioned in this episode are here and here. He is well-published within the scientific journals which you can find links to his articles at his website. Twitter: @laithalshawaf Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Paul Grant and Ellen Inverso about Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R) . They provide an overview of Aaron Beck’s cognitive model both theoretically and in clinical practice. They discuss the power of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as an Evidence-Based Treatment (EBT) and why that’s important. They talk about whether one can use CBT techniques without conceptualizing. They discuss what CT-R is and how it has had an emphasis on treating the negative symptoms of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. They explain why they started with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and how the theoretical model integrates many aspects of humanism. They talk about the differences between CT-R and CBT-Psychosis (CBT-P). They also mentioned the empirical evidence and support for CT-R and how they continue to move forward in exploring other aspects of CT-R’s application.Dr. Paul M. Grant is a clinical psychologist and Co-Director of the Center for Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R). For the past 20 years, Dr. Grant, along with Aaron T. Beck, MD, originated and advanced CT-R, which is a revolutionary evidence-based approach to treating severe mental health conditions. He has extensively researched and studied the theoretical basis and application of CT-R to individuals given a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Ellen Inverso, PsyD, is Director of Clinical Training and Implementation at Beck Institute Center for Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy. She has a national reputation for advocacy and dissemination of CT-R. A co-developer of CT-R, she has created transformative CT-R programming for psychiatric inpatient units, programmatic residences, schools, and community teams, with special focus on adolescents and young adults, individuals engaging in extreme forms of self-injury, individuals considering transitions into the community following extended periods of institutionalization, and families. A licensed psychologist, Dr. Inverso supervises early career professionals in CT-R, guides her seasoned colleagues to add the approach to their armamentarium, and has co-authored curricula for training peer specialists and expert trainers in CT-R. Along with Dr. Aaron T. Beck and colleagues, she is co-author of the new book, Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy for Serious Mental Health Conditions, out through Guilford Press.You can find all of the info on CT-R here. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jeremy DeSilva about the importance of bipedalism. They discuss the evolutionary history of hominoids, hominins, and hominids. They talk about the earliest evolution of bipedalism in other species. They also discuss the importance of Lucy and Ardi and the differences and similarities between these two early Australopithecus. They talk about where Homo Erectus fits into the timeline and whether bipedalism was essential for human evolution. They engage about the elements of gait for different human species and the relevance for modern humans. They also talk about bipedalism and the aspects of birth, socialization, and many other topics. Jeremy DeSilva is a paleoanthropologist and Associate Professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College. He specializes in the locomotion of the first apes and early human ancestors. Specifically, he studies fossils of human ankles and feet to understand the evolution of bipedalism. His book, First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human is available here. You find him at his website and also on Twitter: @desilva_jerry Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Grace Lindsay about the computational approach that can be used to understand the brain. They discuss what computational neuroscience is and provide a brief overview and review of neuroanatomy. They talk about action potentials and the comparisons with an electrical circuit. They discuss the Hopfield Network as a way to understand various forms of memory in the brain, specifically within the hippocampus. They explain how early computer science research helped in creating a model for visual sequencing. They also discuss the future of computational neuroscience such as the Bayesian model, backpropagation, and many other topics. Grace Lindsay is a computational neuroscientist at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre/Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit University College London. She received her PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University. Her first book, Models of the Mind: How Physics, Engineering, and Mathematics Have Shaped Our Understanding of the Brain discusses many of the elements discussed in this episode. You can purchase that book here. You can find her at her website. Twitter: @neurograce Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Talia Welsh about feminism, existentialism, and the nature of work. They discuss feminist theory and ask if feminism adds a chapter to philosophy or should revolutionize the field? They talk about what to do with problematic artists and can one separate the art from the artist? They dialogue about defining womanhood, understanding masculinity and femininity, reforming masculinity, and reimagining the nuclear family in the 21st century. They also discuss an active life, a person's contributions to society, and redemption and forgivenessThe topic of work is something that Talia has been researching more recently. They define work and its variants from a phenomenological perspective. They discuss differences between cognition and thinking, work as meaning, and how people attempt to find value and meaning in science. They also discuss religion, criticisms about organized religion, and many other topics. Talia Welsh has a PhD in philosophy and is currently a UC Foundation professor of Philosophy and Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She spends most of her research with Merleau-Ponty and has translated his lectures given at Sorbonne in the volume, Child Psychology & Pedagogy: The Sorbonne Lectures 1949-1952. You can find her work here. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Buss about evolutionary psychology and his new book on sexual deception, harassment, and assault. They discuss his background and how he founded and developed the field of evolutionary psychology. They have a broad discussion of sexual selection, sexual differences, and different mating strategies. They talk about his new book, When Men Behave Badly, and why there is mating conflict. They explore why men are responsible for darker, predatory behaviors and some of the variance among men. They discuss the dark triad of personality and the overall dark side of human nature. They also talk about the application and future directions of evolutionary psychology. David Buss is a psychologist and one of the founders of evolutionary psychology. He is a full professor of psychology at the University of Texas and is the head of the Individual Differences and Evolutionary Psychology area. He runs a lab researching human mating strategies which includes mate selection, mate retention, and mating emotions. He is the author of numerous books which include the main textbook for evolutionary psychology, Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind and his popular science book, The Evolution of Desire. His newest book, When Men Behave Badly: The Hidden Roots of Sexual Deception, Harassment, and Assault, explores the themes discussed in this episode. You can find his scientific publications at his website. Twitter: @profdavidbuss Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Laura Wallace about source bias, trustworthiness, attitudes, and persuasion. They discuss what sources are and how bias is defined. They talk about perceived bias and its importance along with the spillover effect into other areas for a person. They mention the difference between biases and opinions. They discuss trustworthiness and some of the differences between perceived bias and perceived trustworthiness. They discuss the key component of perception as implicated in these concepts. They also talk about attitudes and attitude strength. They engage about attitudes being synonymous with opinions and how they impact certainty and persuasion along with many other topics. Laura Wallace has her PhD in Social Psychology from Ohio State University and is currently conducting research on source bias and persuasion at George Mason University. Her main research questions are how people change their minds, motivations for change, how people act on their beliefs, and how institutions promote progress. You can find her various scientific publications and other resources at her website. Twitter: @lauraewallace Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe