Virtue - Philosophy Bites podcast review

Even though the podcast episodes of Philosophy Bites are concise and accessible, also to the not-so-well-versed in philosophy, the issues stay untouched in my playlist for a long time. Still, the podcast is for the discerning and need to be enjoyed with attention and interest. Hence it could happen that I got around listening to the issue about virtue, only a month after publication.

My favorite line about virtue is actually about vice and it comes from Rochefoucauld: L'hypocrisie est un hommage que le vice rend a la vertu (Hypocrisy is the homage which vice pays to virtue). It goes to show that in world of vices, there is still room for virtue, even if that is with the help of hypocrisy. That still leaves open the meaning of virtue. I was not aware of the role of virtue in philosophy until the podcast of Philosophy Bites.

It turns out, virtue is an important concept in the realm of moral philosophy. I was aware of the divide between consequentialism and ontologists. Which puts me on the level hosts Nigel Warburton and David Edmonds call the postage stamp philosophy, in other words: the over-simplified summary of philosophy for the average student. In this chapter virtue is introduced as yet another pointer for ethics, apart from consequences and a priori moral obligations. Close listening is advised as per normal.

More Philosophy Bites
Nietzsche,
Kierkegaard,
Machiavelli,
Rousseau,
Life on the Scales.

Hindenburg - veertien achttien podcast recensie

Het is met Paul von Hindenburg een beetje zoals met de naar hem vernoemde zeppelin. Een grote naam geplakt op een groots gevaarte dat een grootse reis aflegt en uiteindelijk in een vlammenzee, razendsnel een roemloos einde vindt. En is er alleen nog de huilende reporter, die weeklaagtover het vreselijke lot van de opvarenden. Dat is het gevoel dat ook beklijft na het horen van zijn biografie op Tom Tackens podcast Veertien Achttien.

Von Hindenburg vocht al in de Frans-Pruisische oorlog in de negentiende eeuw. Als de Grote Oorlog uitbreekt is hij eingelijk met pensioen, maar komt dan toch nog naar het fornt om Duitsland te redden tegen de Russen. Daarbij schijnt hij doorgedreven te hebben dat zijn de slag de slag bij Tannenberg werd genoemd, als verwijzing naar de middeleeuwse slag bij Tannenberg. Een man met gevoel voor historie dus.



Maar hoe goed was dat gevoel voor historie. Omkijken kon hij wel, maar vooruitkijken? De grote Hindenburg voerde de eerste wereldoorlog met alle anderen, als alle anderen. En als het misgaat weet hij het blazoen schoon te houden, al suggereert de versie van Tacken dat Hindenburg, als hij de dolkstootlegende al niet verzonnen heeft, er toch gretig van geprofiteerd heeft. Zo schopt hij het als krasse tachtiger to president van de Weimar Republiek. Hij helpt Adolf Hitler in het zadel, zij het niet van harte, maar zeker niet mwet het idee dat dit het doodvonnis van zijn Duitsland is. Al gauw sterft hij. En niet lang daarna is de ramp met de Zeppelin en daarna een nog grotere vlammenzee. Niets rest de kijker dan te weeklagen over het lot van de opvarenden.

Meer Veertien Achttien:
Oskar Potiorek,
Kato Takaaki,
Maximilian von Spee,
Khudadad Khan,
Käthe Kollwitz.

UCLA Israel Studies - podcasts reviewed

It is about a year ago, I discovered the podcast series from the UCLA institute of Israel Studies. Soon after that, the feed went off line for nearly a whole year, only to be revived very recently and be enriched with about four new lectures. (Israel studies podcast) Two of these I want to review here.

The first is a lecture by Galia Golan in which she tries to argue that a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is still possible. It has been noted in reviews on this blog also, that there is a considerable worry that neither the Israeli leaders nor the Palestinian leaders have enough authority and legitimacy to broker such a deal and successfully convince the public to accept it. Golan admits the leaders are weak, but her main point is that everybody around the conflict still steers towards such a solution (see for example the Arab peace initiative) and the populations, are so desperately longing for a settlement, they will be happy to accept a peace, even from a weak government. In this whole reasoning, Golan ignores the point made by the pessimists that the Palestinian authority has deteriorated beyond the point of being weak, they claim Palestine is a failed state (in advance of its existence) and therefore simply cannot exist. (see: Rise and demise of Palestine)

The second podcast is a lecture by former American diplomat Aaron David Miller (photo). This lecture is very similar to the one he gave on UChannel (see: The Arab-Israeli conflict). Miller has interviewed a whole range of important figures around the diplomatic channels within the conflict and has critically analyzed the history, which includes his own work, of diplomacy in the Middle East. He tried to understand why Kissinger, Carter and Baker succeeded and why Clinton and Bush failed. He discovered how ethno-centric his views always have been and how he underestimated the cultural difference between him and the Israelis and Arabs even if they looked and sounded so thoroughly western like for example Netanyahu. He also figured how religion has been neglected as a factor in diplomacy. (similar to Douglas Johnston on the podcast with SOF) What I find especially good in the lecture by Miller is this quality to be self-critical and show the open ends, even if this keeps us stuck with too few conclusions.

previously:
UCLA Israel Studies

more on Israel
The Arab-Israeli conflict,
UCSD MMW 6,
The denials of yesterday,
Rise and demise of Palestine,
The Israel lobby and US foreign policy.

The week of 24 November - Anne is a Man

There have been so many podcast I have listened to in the past days, that I have not yet reviewed, I may decide on skipping a couple or lumping them together in single posts. As to new podcasts (new for this blog) we have the following.

- A number of German podcasts. One about history, that I will take separately (Geschichtspodcast) and a couple more that I am likely to review in one post together.
- I heard the meetings podcast in a conversation with Chris Brogan
- Music Podcasts - God knows I tried to avoid these. I understand very little of music. I listen to talk talk talk on my iPod all the time, what can I possibly say of a music podcast? I have had Sunday Sundown on my list to review for a long time and In My Living Room recently joined. So I will have to delve in.
- Also from Report a Podcast is UCLA's Political Science 10

On the returning front we have
- Exploring Environmental History
- UCLA's Israel Studies
- Dan Carlin's Hardcore History with Victor Davis Hanson
- Philosophy Bites about virtue
- The Word Nerds about Irony and Satire and George Carlin
- '14-'18, the Dutch podcast Veertien Achttien

That is at least eleven posts. I am not sure if I can churn out eleven posts before Friday. Wait and see.

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History on The Run - podcast review

History on the Run is much less a history podcast than an audio blog in which the hosts, mostly a guy named Daniel Froehling expresses his views. Even though his historic sense plays an important role and there are a handful of episodes labeled 'History Lesson', the opinions and observations are the most important part.

What makes me downplay the history quality of the show is also the large amount of freedom the host allows himself to overly generalize or be quite inexact about his history. To have Napoleonic France make war on 'Germany' is not completely wrong, but inaccurate and basically anachronistic. To talk about the Dutch Tulip craze in the 17th century and not come up with exact figures, while they are readily available, is also not wrong, but certainly moves the focus from the history to the point that is being made. Another thing that struck me is that in one show Daniel proclaims to be of Belgian descent and in another of French descent.

So, the real value of following this podcast is if you find connection with the positions that are taken or if you find entertainment in the broad sweeps with which historic and current affairs are painted.

Grammar Girl - podcast review

Grammar Girl is a weekly podcast that delivers practical tips for all those that write in English. The episodes are short, pragmatic instructions that are given within the span of seven minutes. Grammar Girl does not try to teach you the linguistically correct English, but rather concentrates on a descriptive grammar. She tries to help you write the way is most generally accepted.

Over the years she has compiled some 150 tips varying from pure grammar to stylish instructions, whatever she deems relevant. The show has acquired a large following and consequently can draw upon an stream of requests, should the girl run out of ideas of her own.

The best way to handle this podcast is to pick and choose, although it is certainly instructional and possibly entertaining to indiscriminately take in the episodes. For those who are non-native speakers, there is much to learn, although occasionally one is presented with something that is too much specific for native users of English. By all means a very valuable technical guide into writing. It should therefore come as no surprise, the Grammar Girl podcast is available as a book as well.