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The Minefield

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In a world marked by wicked social problems, The Minefield helps you negotiate the ethical dilemmas, contradictory claims and unacknowledged complicities of modern life.

#239

Right verdict, wrong case? The political dangers of Trump’s felony conviction

On 30 May 2024, after two days of deliberation following a five-week trial and hearing the testimony of 22 witnesses, a jury of 12 New Yorkers found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony charges. But do the facts of the case brought against him, and the overriding fact it was brought in an election year, present insurmountable political risks? ... Read more

19 Jun 2024

53 MINS

53:59

19 Jun 2024

#238

Is the rise of the far right in Europe inevitable? It’s complicated

The results of the recent European Parliament elections have only fuelled the growing concern across the member nations of the European Union that far-right, radical right, Eurosceptic and otherwise anti-immigrant parties are, once again, on the rise. ... Read more

12 Jun 2024

54 MINS

54:30

12 Jun 2024

#237

Is it wrong to "rank" works of art?

Apple Music recently released its list of the “100 Best Albums”. It was, without question, a clever marketing technique — but one that raises the problem of whether it’s appropriate to rank works of high human achievement in the first place. ... Read more

05 Jun 2024

54 MINS

54:30

05 Jun 2024

#236

Is international law powerless in the face of conflicts like Gaza?

At a time when so many eyes are on international courts, is their apparent failure to protect civilians in Gaza — or to punish the perpetrators of 7 October — further damaging an already shaky public confidence in the concept of international law? ... Read more

29 May 2024

53 MINS

53:50

29 May 2024

#235

If chatbots are polluting the commons of human communication, what are the moral consequences?

It’s 18 months since the technology company OpenAI made its wildly popular interface with an advanced large language model — GPT-4 — available to the public. What has ChatGPT done to the habits of thought and consideration that produce distinctly human expression? ... Read more

22 May 2024

53 MINS

53:45

22 May 2024

#234

What are the ethical, and legal, limits of protests at Australian universities?

Protests are, by their nature, unequivocal and univocal. They tend to avoid nuance or fine distinctions, and most often do not invite dialogue. They make demands. Does the particular vocation of universities place ethical limits on the forms of expression available to protestors? ... Read more

15 May 2024

53 MINS

53:42

15 May 2024

#233

The decency of everyday life — are unwritten rules enough to sustain a good society?

Reciprocity, cooperation, kindness, turn-taking, forbearance, empathy, experimentation — can these counter the decidedly illiberal, impatient, anti-pluralistic, well-nigh apocalyptic energies that now seem resurgent in parts of the West? ... Read more

08 May 2024

54 MINS

54:07

08 May 2024

#232

What will endure? The ethics of “Groundhog Day”

During the pandemic, there was a sudden renewal of interest in Harold Ramis’s 1993 film “Groundhog Day” — especially its bleaker aspects. But this missed its sophistication and humanity, to say nothing of its acute depiction of moral growth. ... Read more

01 May 2024

55 MINS

55:15

01 May 2024

#231

After the stabbings in Sydney — Grief? Anger? Revenge?

Residents of Sydney have found themselves understandably overwhelmed by the compound traumas of two stabbing attacks in three days. How are we to make sense of the cycling-through of emotions in response to shocking public violence? ... Read more

24 Apr 2024

53 MINS

53:13

24 Apr 2024

#230

What’s fueling the tension between the courts and the media?

There has been an odd confluence of events over the past couple weeks that has managed to intensify the sense of a conflict between two of our most important democratic institutions: the law and the media. ... Read more

17 Apr 2024

53 MINS

53:56

17 Apr 2024

#229

What would the moral obligation to avoid civilian deaths look like in Gaza?

Does the failure on the part of Israel to enable the provision of humanitarian aid or to do everything in its power to prevent civilian casualties suggest “a blameworthy indifference to Palestinian lives”? ... Read more

10 Apr 2024

53 MINS

53:13

10 Apr 2024

#228

Ramadan — the rediscovery of society

It is important to remember that Thoreau’s motivation for withdrawing was neither escapism nor apolitical quietism. The fact that he departed on 4 July signals an invitation to discover a different way of living together. ... Read more

03 Apr 2024

53 MINS

53:54

03 Apr 2024

#227

Ramadan — the importance of friendship

If Thoreau regards withdrawal and solitude as means by which we learn to escape self-deception, then they may well be little more than preparation for the moral demands friends make of one another. ... Read more

27 Mar 2024

53 MINS

53:25

27 Mar 2024

#226

Ramadan — the discipline of solitude

Solitude is neither alone-ness nor idleness. It is strenuous and takes practice. Solitude does not simply happen in the way that isolation or loneliness does — it must be inhabited. ... Read more

20 Mar 2024

53 MINS

53:27

20 Mar 2024

#225

Ramadan — the necessity of withdrawing

Are periodic bouts of withdrawal from life’s urgent demands and heated debates necessary to regain a sense of our shared humanity, and to renew the commitments that sustain the moral life? ... Read more

13 Mar 2024

54 MINS

54:01

13 Mar 2024

#224

Q+A on “the wisdom of crowds”

Waleed Aly, Scott Stephens and philosopher Stephanie Collins field questions from a live studio audience on crowd-behaviour, conformity and the importance of dissent. ... Read more

06 Mar 2024

53 MINS

53:19

06 Mar 2024

#223

How much credence should we give to “the wisdom of crowds”?

Ever since Plato, “crowds” have been associated with irrationality, emotivism, conformism, short-term thinking, and herd-like behaviour. But what if it turns out that crowds are collectively more intelligent than their individual members? ... Read more

28 Feb 2024

52 MINS

52:47

28 Feb 2024

#222

When is it right to call some act – or someone – “evil”?

What are we trying to convey when we reach for a word like “evil”? Is it something about a person’s actions or character? Is it what they do or the manner in which they do it? ... Read more

21 Feb 2024

53 MINS

53:34

21 Feb 2024

#221

From Beyoncé to Taylor Swift — what’s behind the mass appeal of live music events?

It is worth reflecting, not just on what is singular about Taylor Swift at this particular cultural moment — why she attracts both the loyalty and the animus that she does — but on what it is about live music events that now draw millions of people to them. ... Read more

14 Feb 2024

54 MINS

54:21

14 Feb 2024

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#239

Right verdict, wrong case? The political dangers of Trump’s felony conviction

#238

Is the rise of the far right in Europe inevitable? It’s complicated

#237

Is it wrong to "rank" works of art?

#236

Is international law powerless in the face of conflicts like Gaza?

#235

If chatbots are polluting the commons of human communication, what are the moral consequences?

#234

What are the ethical, and legal, limits of protests at Australian universities?

#233

The decency of everyday life — are unwritten rules enough to sustain a good society?

#232

What will endure? The ethics of “Groundhog Day”

#231

After the stabbings in Sydney — Grief? Anger? Revenge?

#230

What’s fueling the tension between the courts and the media?

#229

What would the moral obligation to avoid civilian deaths look like in Gaza?

#228

Ramadan — the rediscovery of society

#227

Ramadan — the importance of friendship

#226

Ramadan — the discipline of solitude

#225

Ramadan — the necessity of withdrawing

#224

Q+A on “the wisdom of crowds”

#223

How much credence should we give to “the wisdom of crowds”?

#222

When is it right to call some act – or someone – “evil”?

#221

From Beyoncé to Taylor Swift — what’s behind the mass appeal of live music events?