Each week I try to listen to a couple of podcasts which apply rational principles to issues of everyday life.

Philosophy in Action – Dr. Diana Hsieh and Greg Perkins discussed questions on weak vs strong atheism, weak being the view that evidence of God fails while strong is view that God cannot exist by its very nature, and the rationality of dating someone with psychological problems. One interesting comment, not about either topic, that Diana made came when they realized they had taken so much time on these topics that they did not have enough to do the third planned question. She said she would rather spend more time on fewer questions than only take 5 minutes or so on each. I certainly appreciate the extra depth she gives.

Peikoff.com: Episode 321 – Dr. Yaron Brook answers questions on whether one should feel guilty for not paying taxes, the last Shah of Iran, what would he change in American policy if he could change just one thing, is Israeli treatment of Palestinians immoral, are jihadist attacks by a country’s own citizens an act of war or just a crime, and have Jews rejected reason.

I am still working on Leonard Peikoff’s Principles of Grammar course. I have not had time to complete the “homework” and final exam, so I have not started in on the final lecture yet. This is a fantastic course and I recommend it highly. I have learned, or relearned, a lot and it is not only helping me with my writing but also in my study of Spanish. By having a more explicit understanding of English grammar it is making it easier to understand when to use different tenses and voices in Spanish which are by no means as automatized for me as English is.

During my daily commute, such as it is, I have been listening to Leonard Peikoff’s lectures The Philosophy of Objectivism, which was recorded in 1976. While his book Objectivisim: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand covers the same material, these lectures are the only full recorded presentation of it. As a bonus, Ayn Rand takes part in a number of the Q&A sessions following each lecture.