Things You Can Do
Peter Owens (PetePlays)
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About This Podcast
Take a thoughtful yet slightly goofy dive into ethics with your professor, Peter Owens, to discover some... things you can do.
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Recent Episodes
S2E11 "I aim to misbehave." | TYCD: Great Speeches in Ethics
In this inaugural "Great Speeches in Ethics," we'll reflect on how Mal Reynolds's resolve to speak for others represents a mode of speech in classical antiquity that French philosopher Michel…
S2E10 The Hunt for Gollum's Conscience: An LOTRAMAPOD/Things You Can Do Crossover Event
In today's episode, Matthias Austin from the Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast and I talk about Gollum. What motivates him? What's wrong with him? Should we pity him or fear him? Or something else? Come…
S2E9 TYCD: Extra Credit - Utilitarianism, Drowning Hitler, Stealing the Enterprise
In today's Extra Credit, I talk a little (okay, a LOT) more about utilitarianism, some of its strengths and weaknesses, some important thinkers in its history, and my view on why the way that we…
Teaser: "The Hunt for Gollum's Conscience" - a LOTR AMA Podcast/Things You Can Do Crossover Event!
Ever wished that I would hang out more with Matthias Austin, host of the acclaimed* podcast The Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast? Well, turns out - me too!Matthias and I sit down and talk about Gollum,…
S2E10 Dare to Use Your Own Understanding!
Today we take on the question, "Is it okay to change my values to fit in?" We talk about Utilitarian ethics, Kant's "An answer to the question: What is enlightenment?" and Rabbi Akiva bar Joseph.…
S2E9 Mini Ethic-sode #4: Ethical Relativism, Central Capabilities, and L'Wxana Troi
What is up with ethical relativism? How do you know what the right thing to do is when you have multiple conflicting ethical systems across different cultures? What is the Prime Directive?13:40:…
S2E8 TYCD: Extra Credit - Teeth, Normality, Gender
Enjoy this first crack at a new little mini episode format called "Extra Credit," where I dive a little deeper into some of the things in a recent episode that didn't make the cut for the full…
S2E7 4 out of 5 Dentists Recommend Brushing with Ethics
What do teeth have to do with ethics? Well, strap in and take a ride through my childhood, the history of dentistry, and several dozen references to 90's children's cartoons to find out!If you’ve got…
S2E6 Don't Build That Storehouse, Hand Me the Ethics!
Let's do some philosophy of our own! We'll work on some inductive arguments for why being a billionaire might be morally problematic, and what it says about us when we try to think about this stuff.…
S2E5 Mini Ethic-sode #3: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
Let's explore ethics and ethical reasoning through Hume, Alan Turing, and 16th century Japanese martial arts training!
S2E4 Billions of Ethics, or, Where to Spit
Is it morally defensible to be a billionaire? What do philosophers across history think? And how many corrupt rich rulers can a yeongno eat?References:Elaine Schwartz, Degree in a Book: Economics,…
S2E3 Mini Ethic-sode #2: Ethics is Deeply Personal
Today we talk about what I mean when I say, "Ethics is deeply personal." We'll also touch on formal logic, what "epistemology" means, and why Geordi is always ejecting perfectly good warp cores out…
S2E2 Mini Ethic-sode #1: Clifford's "The Ethics of Belief"
It's a bite-sized nugget of tasty ethics! Chew on this ten minute romp through space, time, and ethics where we discuss WK Clifford's "The Ethics of Belief," an influential 1877 paper about moral and…
S2E1 SimEthics, or, How to Imagine a Chiliagon
What is public health, and what does it have to do with philosophy?Paul Starr, "Seductions of Sim: Policy as a Simulation Game," The American Prospect no. 17 (Spring 1994): 19-29.Benjamin Svetkey,…
S1E4 Ethics Are Safe And Effective
How do you navigate the dilemma of personal liberty and social responsibility? And who is Hippocrates?References:WHO: Vaccines are safeCDC: Vaccines are safe13:52 "On the Sacred Disease" from the…
S1E3 Things You Can Do Mailbag #1: Frankenstein, Time, Swears, Chickens
A dive into the listener mailbag! THis episode deals with:- Is it wrong to bring the dead back to life?- Is it possible to go backwards, or only go the other way?- Why are swear words bad?- *muffled…
S1E2 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Creation Museum
What do Ken Ham, Bill Nye, Charlie Kirk, and Alcibiades all have in common? I'm not quite sure but I think we'll figure out on this episode of Things You Can Do."The Debate Style that Propelled…
S1E1 If You Ethics in the Game You Ethics in Real Life
How do we know which are the "okay" ways to break the rules, and which aren't? Does playing a game mean that you only follow the game's rules and don't have to act like a normal, "responsible" member…
Frequently Asked Questions
Things You Can Do has published 18 episodes since November 2025, covering topics in Philosophy, Society & Culture.
Things You Can Do is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 36m.
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