#245 - Can We Talk About Scary Ideas?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Peter Singer, Francesca Minerva, and Jeff McMahan about the newly launched <em><a href="http://journalofcontroversialideas.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Journal of Controversial Ideas</a></em>. They discuss the ethics of discussing dangerous ideas, the possibility of having a market in vaccines, the taboo around the topic of race and IQ, the relationship between activism and academia, the shallow-pond argument for doing good, and other topics.</span></p> <p><strong>Peter Singer</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a professor of bioethics at Princeton University. He focuses on practical ethics, and is best known for his book </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3s6T6tW" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Animal Liberation</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and for his writings about global poverty.</span></p> <p><strong>Francesca Minerva</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a research fellow at the University of Milan and a co-founder and co-editor of the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Journal of Controversial Ideas</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Her research focuses on applied ethics, medical and bioethics, discrimination, and academic freedom.</span></p> <p><strong>Jeff McMahan</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a professor of Moral Philosophy at Oxford University. He focuses on a range of issues related to harm and benefit&mdash;including war, self- and other-defense, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, personal identity, the moral status of animals, causing people to exist, disability, philanthropy, and other topics.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: </span><a href="https://petersinger.info/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://petersinger.info/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://francescaminerva.com/" target=