If we take a view our lives couldn't ever have been otherwise, how will this affect the way we reflect and anticipate? Does it equally degrade our achievements and console us about disappointments? And how do we proceed if intimidated by a universe whose path we perhaps can't disrupt?

After previous episodes focused on distinctly 'societal' concerns, this finale goes for the personal and considers how a deterministic worldview will influence the way we navigate our own stories. Athletes, octogenarians, philosophers, and meditation experts bring unique perspectives.

Guest list:

• Richard Oerton - author, former lawyer and publisher
• Charlotte Thaarup - mindfulness consultant and educator
• Neil Levy - philosophy professor at Macquarie University
• Maria Prendergast - retired journalist
• Robin Kelly - singer, retired antiquarian
• Garion Priddis - doctor of philosophy
• ...and many more!

*If you find this topic too disorienting, please avoid!*

------
A link to Richard's website:
https://www.thenonsenseoffreewill.co.uk/

Would belief in determinism make a person more generous or insular? Does such a picture advantage progressives or conservatives? And could it make you go softer on those you disagree with?

Perhaps believing in a universe whose course is as good as set out confronts us with the impact of 'luck' in a way we wouldn't otherwise acknowledge. But how might such an insight be put to work in society? Two very different camps seem advantaged, but this is all highly speculative!

Guest list:

• Josh Pearl - fellow at The Ethics Centre Sydney
• Daniel Lopez - editor at Jacobin Australia
• Peter Kurti - Anglican minister, senior research fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies
• Michael Sukkar - Australian Federal Shadow Minister for Housing, NDIS and Social Services
• James Miles - author
• ...and many more!

*If you find this topic too disorienting, please avoid!*

-----
Website for James Miles:
https://jamesbmiles.com/earlier-work

How much can people be blamed for their own wrongdoing? Is it unrealistic to think we might curb the extent to which we judge one another?

If the universe is taken to be essentially determined, then surely this impacts the way everybody's behaviour should be evaluated. Very often, people's ideas on determinism and free will go straight to issues of criminal justice and 'retribution', so we'll spend a good amount of time considering these. There's also some quick religious perspectives, and discussion related to one of the great incubators of human judgement - the schoolyard.

Guest list:

• Allan McCay - lawyer, deputy director at The Sydney Institute of Criminology
• Neil Levy - philosophy professor at Macquarie University
• Dean Griffin - student wellbeing leader at Clarendon College Ballarat
• Jana Christodoulou - senior facilitator at The Reach Foundation
• Muhammad Kamal - Islamic Studies professor at the University of Melbourne
• Peter Kurti - Anglican minister, senior research fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies
• Garion Priddis - doctor of philosophy

*If you find this topic too disorienting, please avoid!*

----
Here's a link to a great article written by Allan:
https://lsj.com.au/articles/a-clockwork-orange-again/

Do you think it really would have been possible for you to have something different for breakfast this morning?

Here, we’ll be introduced to determinism via conversations with authors, professors, teachers, students, and the good folks of various footpaths. We’ll think about whether spreading such a concept is ‘risky’, how it typically affects those who freshly encounter it, and if it's more likely to have positive or negative effects on adherents.

Guest list:

• Bernard Beckett - young adult author
• Kristie Miller - philosophy professor at the University of Sydney
• Garion Priddis - doctor of philosophy
• A great many more...

*If you find this topic too disorienting, please avoid!*

----

Links to 'August' and 'Genesis' by Bernard Beckett:
https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/august
https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/genesis