A podcast about rhetoric and current events hosted by M. Elizabeth Thorpe, PhD. In this podcast we explore the way big ideas from the world of rhetoric apply to every day life. We focus on major events that are shaping the world today and consider how those things that sometimes seem like they belong in the ivory tower can actually help us make sense of the life we are living. This isn’t a podcast for the experts. This is a podcast for the intellectually curious.
Episodes
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Wednesday May 27, 2020
In this episode we discuss the basics of post-modernity and post-structuralism by giving a brief overview of Lyotard, Derrida, and Foucault. We then review the evolution of the conservative movement over the last 45 years. We argue that the modern conservative movement is a post-modern/post-structural phenomenon and that Donald Trump is the exemplary post-modern President. Read the blog of this episode at https://kairoticast.com/episode-five-classical-education/. Learn more about Kairoticast at https://kairoticast.com. Music in this episode is "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first licensed under CC-BY.
Wednesday May 20, 2020
Wednesday May 20, 2020
Today we’re tackling what I think is one of the most important topics facing us as a society today – education. Now, I’m probably biased because I work in education and I come from a family of educators. But let’s think about what education does for us for a minute. Read the blog of this episode at https://kairoticast.com/episode-five-classical-education/. Learn more about Kairoticast at https://kairoticast.com. Music in this episode is "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first licensed under CC-BY.
Wednesday May 13, 2020
Wednesday May 13, 2020
Truth is not just a subject for philosophers and theologians. The definitions of truth and the application of rhetoric affect each other in observable ways as well. In this episode we discuss a few different ways of understanding truth, focusing on Locke, Nietzsche, and Foucault, and discuss what that means for rhetoric. We discuss the ways definitions of truth have changed over time. Finally, we look at how this is evident today in the current phenomenon of conspiracy theories. Read the blog post of this episode at https://kairoticast.com/episode-four-truth-and-conspiracy/. Learn more about Kairoticast at https://kairoticast.com. Music in this episode is "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first licensed under CC-BY.
Wednesday May 06, 2020
Wednesday May 06, 2020
We get back to fundamentals in this episode. Public address has perhaps never been more important than it is right now. We are looking to our public leaders to provide information, guidance, hope, a sense of calm, and maybe even some company. In a time of isolation public speech brings us together. The rhetorical is incredibly important. But that raises an important issue for this podcast - what IS rhetoric? In this episode we discuss various definitions of rhetoric, focusing on Aristotle and Kenneth Burke, and provide an example of public speech (an address from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer) and show how it exemplifies these definitions. Read the blog post of this episode at https://kairoticast.com/episode-three-what-is-rhetoric/. Learn more about Kairoticast at https://kairoticast.com. Music in this episode is "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first licensed under CC-BY.
Wednesday Apr 29, 2020
Wednesday Apr 29, 2020
The COVID crisis has made it abundantly clear that we cannot understand our world through one perspective or discipline. We need science, the social sciences, and the humanities to tackle current problems. This episode discusses the work of Descartes and Vico, two thinkers who had divergent views of methods of inquiry, but have a lot of insight into the kinds of thinking we need to address the problems we face in the modern era. We need both the objective facts and the relational understanding of the humanities to understand our world. Read the blog post of this episode at https://kairoticast.com/episode-two-covid-the-arts-and-the-sciences/. Learn more about Kairoticast at https://kairoticast.com. Music in this episode is "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first licensed under CC-BY.
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
In this episode we introduce ourselves and describe the idea of kairos, or creating truth by saying the right thing at the right time, and explain why we have chosen that name. We explain that our goal is to take ideas from rhetorical studies and show how they are applicable to every day life. Then we describe the concepts of logos, pathos, and ethos and describe how those appeals can be used to understand Cuomo's and Trump's press conferences from March and April. Ultimately, we show how some find one man more believable than the other because of appeals to logic and/or credibility. Read the blog post for this episode at https://kairoticast.com/episode-one-logos-pathos-ethos-and-press-conferences/. Learn more about Kairoticast at https://kairoticast.com. Music in this episode is "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first licensed under CC-BY.