Don't miss Maria L. La Ganga's Column One piece in today's LAT about the weekly radio show, Philosophy Talk.
The top 10 radio audiences in America today, according to Talkers magazine, largely belong to the likes of Limbaugh, the king of conservative talk radio, and Michael Savage, author of "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder."It airs in only a few radio markets. Through the magic of the internet, you can download and listen to the shows at philosophytalk.org.
But Taylor believes that there are millions of listeners out there looking for something more, and that if he and Perry could offer a thoughtful and reflective hour, they would come. Or as they opined on their 100th program:
Taylor: "I think that our culture, our public discourse especially, is utterly debased. . . . It's meant to manipulate rather than enlighten and inform. . . . It's a disease that we've caught. Philosophy is one elixir, one magical elixir for helping to cure that disease."
Perry: "Ken, I knew Socrates. And you're no Socrates. But we do our best."
I am much more optimistic about the influence of the internet on culture than Nicholas Carr (Is Google Making Us Stupid?) and Mark Bauerlein (The Dumbest Generation). The culture of the internet is produced by the collective. What are you doing to make the internet a more collegial and information-dense place?
I agree with this guy's take.
Thank you for the link to Philosophy Talk. I think I will be listening. I disagree with Nicholas Carr, the internet is filled with possibility but you can only get what you are willing to take. Perhaps it is life, or culture, or just the individuals. I agree with your last link but won't go into a diatribe about that.
ReplyDeleteAnyway it seems that so much in life conspires to make us stupid (or is that just my life?) and the internet opens a door, if we are willing to use it.