Converging Dialogues

Latest Episodes:

#391 - The Evolutionary Story of Fathers: A Dialogue with Sarah B. Hrdy Dec 08, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sarah B. Hrdy about a natural history of fathers. They discuss fathers as caregivers, different roles, role of prolactin with male care, decrease of testosterone in new fathers, alloparenting, grandmother hypothesis, attachment in fathers, fatherhood in the 21st century, and many more topics.

Sarah B. Hrdy is an anthropologist and primatologist who is professor emerita at the University of California-Davis. She has her PhD in Anthropology from Harvard University. She is a former Guggenheim fellow and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the California Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. She is the author of numerous award-winning books such as That Woman That Never Evolved, Mother Nature, Mothers and Others, and her most recent, Father Time.

Website: https://www.citrona.com/hrdy

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#390 - A Military History of the Vietnam War: A Dialogue with Geoffrey Wawro Dec 05, 2024

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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Geoffrey Wawro about the Vietnam War. They discuss why the U.S. chose to get involved in Vietnam, Eisenhower’s approach, JFK’s approach, and the attempted coups in Vietnam. They talk about the domino theory, McNamara, U.S. involvement in Vietnam in 1964/1965, the draft, high casualties of 1967/1968, public sentiment, LBJ not running for re-election, Nixon’s approach, legacy of the Vietnam War, and many other topics.

Geoffrey Wawro is Distinguished Research Professor of Military History and Founding Director of the Military History Center at the University of North Texas. He has previously served as professor of strategy & policy, and strategic studies at the U.S. Naval War College and was a Fullbright Scholar in Vienna. He has his Bachelors from Brown University, his MPhil and PhD from Yale University. He is the author of several books, including the most recent, The Vietnam War: A Military History.

Website: https://geoffreywawro.com/

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#389 - The Eastern Front of World War I: A Dialogue with Nick Lloyd Dec 01, 2024

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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nick Lloyd about the Eastern Front of World War I. They discuss the Eastern Front and why it has been neglected in popular understanding, major players and landscape of the Eastern Front, and the role of Galicia. They discuss 1915 and fall of Serbia, impact of the Russian Revolution, final years of the war, and many more topics.

Nick Lloyd is Professor of Modern Warfare at King's College London based at the Joint Services Command & Staff College in Shrivenham, Wiltshire. He has PhD from the University of Birmingham. He is the author of five books including the most recent book, The Eastern Front: A History of The Great War, 1914-1918.

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#388 - Aesop's Fables: A Dialogue with Robin Waterfield Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Robin Waterfield about his new English translation of Aesop’s Fables. They discuss the timeless nature of Aesop’s fables, translating the fables, selecting the 400 fables, and authorship of the fables. They also discuss categorizing the fables, their structure, morals and ethics in the fables, comparisons with other fables, and many other topics.

Robin Waterfield is a British classical scholar, translator, and editor, specializing in Ancient Greek philosophy. He has written and/or translated many works, including the recent English translation of Aesop’s Fables.

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#387 - Ancient Christianities: A Dialogue with Paula Fredriksen Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Paula Fredriksen about the various Christianities in the early 1st and 2nd centuries. They discuss how there are many Christianities, contradictions within the New Testament, integration of Jews and pagans in the Mediterranean in the 1st century, and Jewish diaspora. They also talk about the crucifixion of Jesus, the idea of Israel, and persecution of early Christians. They discuss early eschatology, early church fathers, Constantine, Asceticism, and many more topics.

Paula Fredriksen is fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Aurelio Professor of Scripture emerita at Boston University and Distinguished Visiting Professor emerita in the Department of Comparative Religions at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has degrees from Wellesley College, Oxford University and Princeton University and is published widely on the social and intellectual history of ancient Christianity and on pagan-Jewish-Christian relations in the Roman Empire. She is the author of numerous books, including the most recent, Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years.

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#386 - Road Ecology: A Dialogue with Ben Goldfarb Nov 21, 2024

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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Ben Goldfarb about road ecology. They define road ecology, discuss current landscape of roadways in the U.S., and discuss road crossings. They talk about the human impact of animal roadkill, Banff National park, current state of road crossings, Federal and State involvement, road crossings in cities, future of road crossings, and many more topics.

Ben Goldfarb is an independent conservation journalist who has written fiction and non-fiction in various outlets such as The Atlantic, Science, The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, The Guardian, Outside Magazine, Smithsonian, Audubon Magazine, Scientific American, and other publications. His non-fiction work was also anthologized in The Best American Science and Nature Writing. He is the author Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, winner of the 2019 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and the recent book, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping The Future of Our Planet, named one of the best books of 2023 by the New York Times.

Website: https://www.bengoldfarb.com/

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#385 - A History of Cyprus: A Dialogue with Alex Christofi Nov 18, 2024

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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Alex Christofi about the history of Cyprus. They discuss Cypriot identity, Greek and Turkish involvement, and the origins and mythology of Cyprus. They talk about olive culture and royal purple, Cyprus in the Bible, Islam, the Ottomans, British involvement, independence, the 1974 coup d’etat, present and future of Cyprus, and many more topics.

Alex Christofi is Editorial Director at Transworld Publishers. He is the author of numerous essays, reviews, and short pieces that have appeared in the Guardian, New Humanist, Prospect, New European, The White Review, The Brixton Review of Books and The London Magazine. He is the author of Dostoevsky In Love and the latest, Cypria: A Journey to the heart of the Mediterranean.

Website: https://alexchristofi.com/

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#384 - The MAGA Red Wave: Thoughts on the 2024 U.S. Elections: A Dialogue with Ben Winegard Nov 10, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Benjamin Winegard about the 2024 U.S. Elections. They discuss their overall thoughts, examine the results and the county shifts nationwide, and talk about Trump and Trump-lite candidates. They talk about split-ticket voting, current state of MAGA, Latinos, gender, ballot measures, Trump’s 2nd term, how Democrats reset their agenda, and many more topics.

Benjamin Winegard is an Assistant Professor of psychology at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. He holds a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology with an emphasis on evolution. His current interests are on human progress, polarization, and political issues.

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#383 - Shame and Pride In Appalachia: A Dialogue with Arlie Hochschild Nov 06, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Arlie Hochschild about pride and shame in Appalachia. They discuss the political Right in Appalachia and framework of pride and shame, demographic makeup of the population in Appalachia, current challenges in Appalachia, and the emotions of pride, shame, and guilt. They talk about the appeal of the far Right, immigration and nationalism, liberals abandoning the working class, how we repair the politics divides, and many other topics.

Arlie Hochschild is writer and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California-Berkeley, where she also earned her PhD. Her main interests have been on social relationships with politics, emotions, and culture. She is the author of numerous books, including Strangers In Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, and the most recent, Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right.

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#382 - Erasing History: A Dialogue with Jason Stanley Nov 03, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jason Stanley about the importance of preserving history. They talked about why authoritarians attempt to erase history, fascist ideas, nationalism, immigration, book burning, classical education, how to defend history, and many other topics.

Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and honorary professor at the Kyiv School of Economics. Before coming to Yale in 2013, he was Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University and was also Professor at the University of Michigan (2000-4) and Cornell University (1995-2000). He has his PhD in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT and his BA from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is the author of seven books, which include How Propaganda Works, How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them , and the newest book, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future.

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