Seated In Action

In part one of this episode, Ryan and Andrew discuss military advisor Bethany Lerch’s Ted Talk, “There are Wrong Ways to Help: Examples from Afghanistan.” Lerch’s talk explores the notion of action and its inherent consequences; in doing so, she questions whether or not it is advisable to act in any given geopolitical situation. Should we act when the stakes are sufficiently high? What must we take into consideration before acting? Ryan and Andrew dive into these questions and try their best to provide sound answers.In the second half of the episode, Ryan and Andrew address the current conversational climate in the public—and social media—sphere; they provide three basic rules or guiding principles for having better conversations with people you might not agree with (even though they admit that they fail miserably at adhering to the rules 100% of the time).