Civil disobedience is taught widely in American schools as an integral part of the American story. Henry David Thoreau is honored as a civil hero. Susan B. Anthony earned placement on American coinage, and Martin Luther King received a holiday in his honor. But what counts as civil disobedience? What makes it civil, and what makes it disobedient? For this episode, we explore the the concept of civil disobedience in the United States, with a special attention to the religious and philosophical contexts in which it emerged.

Guests: Alexander Livingston, associate professor at Cornell University

What makes a body ideal? Is it how it looks, what it does, or what it signifies? In this episode, we explore the ever-shifting idea of the ideal, or idealized body, with two professional dancers and professors of dance, whose work grapples daily with bodies in motion, under scrutiny, and in transformation. What kinds of ideals continue to regulate, elevate, or distort our sense of what a body should be? How are we today still possessed by these ideas?

Guests: Jennifer Deckert and André Megerdichian of USC's Blackmon Dance Program

This episode delves into the metaphor of the body as a machine, a concept deeply shaped by René Descartes in the 17th century. His comparison of the body to a mechanical system, like a clock, reflected the era's medical advancements, and helped establish a mechanistic view of human anatomy. Yet this metaphor carries profound implications. As later critics like Wendell Berry argue, it reduces the body to a mere object, stripping away its connection to nature and the land. The episode explores how this shift in thinking continues to influence modern medicine and our relationship with our own bodies.

Guest: Michael Burkett of USC Athletics