Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change)

Flux is a progressive podcast platform, with daily content from shows like Theory of Change, Doomscroll, and The Electorette.

Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change) is a news podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 223 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change), a news show with 223 episodes published.

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  Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change)

  Non-religious people still need to think about meaning and selfhood

  Sep 8, 202659 min

  Across multiple surveys, about 30 percent of Americans say they have no religious beliefs , and for the past several years, a majority of people say they “seldom or never” attend religious services. People are free to think whatever they want to about philosophy and metaphysics, of course, but are they actually doing so? I have my doubts . Whether you agree with religions or not, they at least get people thinking something about minds, selfhood, and ethics. Daoism, Buddhism and some other Eastern religions figured out centuries ago that you don’t need to believe in gods in order to think deeply about these topics. But here in the West, we never developed non-theistic epistemic traditions to any real degree, and so many non-believers here are philosophically impoverished, and don’t have much to say about minds and ethics. Luckily for us, however, my guest on this episode, Eric Oliver, has been doing a lot of his thinking in this regard, and he’s written a great new book about it called How to Know Your Self: The Art & Science of Discovering Who You Really Are . You might recall Eric from his first appearance on Theory of Change and the fact that we also distribute his podcast on the Flux network called Knowing: With Eric Oliver . He’s a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and author of six different books. This one is based on a very popular course he teaches there called The Intelligible Self that’s based on his extensive research in philosophy, psychology, religion, and cognitive science. If you’re interested in supporting Theory of Change, we are doing a fundraising drive for the show and for Flux on GoFundMe . I’d really appreciate your support. You can also become a paid supporter on Patreon or on Substack . Thank you so much for your help. I cannot do this work without you. This episode is audio only. The full transcript is available. You can subscribe to Theory of Change and other Flux podcasts on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Podcasts , YouTube , Patreon , Substack , and elsewhere. Audio Chapters 00:00 — Introduction 09:18 — Erich Fromm, love, and the terror of agency 17:44 — Transcendence for non-religious people? 26:04 — Abstract reasoning made humans much more intellectually powerful, but also more vulnerable to delusion 31:04 — AI and why the narrative self depends upon the living self 39:28 — Secular ethics and the meaning of life 43:33 — Energy use and ethics 46:36 — Deriving group ethics from nature 54:18 — Balancing acceptance with making the world better About the Show Theory of Change is hosted by Matthew Sheffield about larger trends and intersections of politics, religion, media, and technology. It's part of the Flux network, a new content community of podcasters and writers. Please visit us at flux.community to learn more and to tell us about what you're doing. We're constantly growing and learning from the great people we meet. Theory of Change on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheoryChange Matthew Sheffield on Social Media Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@mattsheffield Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattsheffield Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/matthew.flux.community This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plus.flux.community/subscribe

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  Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change)

  How scientists are fighting back against the Trump administration’s attempts to science them

  Aug 19, 20261h 8m

  We’ve talked a lot on the program about the Trump administration’s wars on science and education and why they’re doing as part of a larger far-right attack on the achievements of modernity . This month, the president announced that a change to federal immunization guidance for infants to reduce the number of recommended shots . He cited no actual evidence, just his ludicrous belief that doctors were pumping infants with a liter of vaccine liquids . I wish I was joking. In addition to the harms to public health and science that Trump and his Health and Human Services secretary Robert Kennedy Junior are creating, the destruction is wreaking havoc on real people’s lives at the scientific and government agencies. My guests on this episode are two people who have been on the frontlines of these battles. Both are former employees at the National Institutes of Health, which has seen massive layoffs and its scientific recommendations ignored and censored by Kennedy and its director Jay Bhattacharya — after he made his career claiming to oppose censorship of science . They also have a great essay out about the Trump administration’s attacks on science and how to fight them. Alexa Romberg was former deputy chief at the Prevention Research Branch at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Sylvia Chou was program director in the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute and is a scholar of linguistics and health communication. Both are members of 27 UNIHTED , an organization supporting employees who have been laid off or resigned from the National Institutes of Health. Our conversation focuses on the how people have been impacted, the hypocrisy of Bhattacharya, and why scientists are having to learn to be more political with their livelihoods under attack. If you’re interested in supporting Theory of Change, we are doing a fundraising drive for the show and for Flux on GoFundMe . I’d really appreciate your support. You can also become a paid supporter on Patreon or on Substack . Thank you so much for your help. I cannot do this work without you. The video of this conversation is available. Access the episode page to get the full transcript. You can subscribe to Theory of Change and other Flux podcasts on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Podcasts , YouTube , Patreon , Substack , and elsewhere. Audio Chapters 00:00 — Introduction 08:12 — The people behind the worst Covid-19 ideas are running Trump’s health policies 14:39 — The gross hypocrisy of Jay Bhattacharya, Trump’s NIH director 19:37 “Wellness” advocates and the need to debate bad medical advice purveyors 28:47 — How tobacco companies set the template for today’s anti-science attacks 35:41 — The importance of community in helping people understand science 38:06 — Civic virtue and excellence as necessary for democracy and science 44:29 — Scientists have not been used to being political, but they must be now 51:14 — Science has always been linked to politics, even if you didn’t realize it About the Show Theory of Change is hosted by Matthew Sheffield about larger trends and intersections of politics, religion, media, and technology. It's part of the Flux network, a new content community of podcasters and writers. Please visit us at flux.community to learn more and to tell us about what you're doing. We're constantly growing and learning from the great people we meet. Theory of Change on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheoryChange Matthew Sheffield on Social Media Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@mattsheffield Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattsheffield Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/matthew.flux.community This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plus.flux.community/subscribe

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  Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change)

  How corporations radicalized via America’s legal system

  Jul 22, 20261h 3m

  Opposition to vaccines in the United States and around the world was a fringe view for a very long time, but it’s not anymore now, thanks to people like Donald Trump and his Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr. While this type of thinking has proliferated in the age of social media, in fact, being anti-vax is as old as the vaccines themselves. It’s a history worth exploring and knowing about, not just so that you can have better arguments for why vaccines work, but also so that you can understand that the arguments against inoculations are basically unchanged since the early 18th century when they became commonplace in the West. Thomas Levenson, my guest in today’s episode, has written a very fascinating history of vaccines called A Pox on Fools , that is the focus of our discussion today. He’s a professor of science writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He’s also the author of several other books, including Einstein in Berlin and Newton and the Counterfeiter . If you’re interested in supporting Theory of Change, we are doing a fundraising drive for the show and for Flux on GoFundMe . I’d really appreciate your support. You can also become a paid supporter on Patreon or on Substack . Thank you so much for your help. I cannot do this work without you. The video of this conversation is available. Access the episode page to get the full transcript. You can subscribe to Theory of Change and other Flux podcasts on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Podcasts , YouTube , Patreon , Substack , and elsewhere. Protecting and supporting democracy is a team effort! We need your help to keep going. Please support my work with a paid or free subscription! Audio Chapters 00:00 — Introduction07:01 — Inoculation is a ‘newfangled’ idea that is three centuries old13:16 — Vaccine opposition as a form of eugenics19:10 — Cotton Mather’s Christian argument for inoculation25:14 — Vaccines are a political technology, because they cannot work without it33:26 — Nazi ‘Deutsche Physik’ and Russian Lysenkoism39:30 — How the pro-science consensus was built in the postwar U.S.53:31 — Business leaders uniformly agreed on the necessity of science as a civic culture Related Content —Why science and democracy need each other —Robert Kennedy’s MAHA cult is making America sicker —How the sex and drugs counterculture fell in love with Donald Trump and Jesus —Study: Disinformation belief is more about defying societal norms than preferring incorrect views —RFK Junior and the naturalistic fallacy at the heart of the pseudo-scientific medical industry —How Republicans are making the internet a safe space for misinformation —Uncertainty makes science powerful — and incredibly vulnerable About the Show Theory of Change is hosted by Matthew Sheffield about larger trends and intersections of politics, religion, media, and technology. It's part of the Flux network, a new content community of podcasters and writers. Please visit us at flux.community to learn more and to tell us about what you're doing. We're constantly growing and learning from the great people we meet. Theory of Change on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheoryChange Matthew Sheffield on Social Media Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@mattsheffield Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattsheffield Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/matthew.flux.community This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plus.flux.community/subscribe

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  Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change)

  Liberals want Trump gone, but what do they want instead?

  Jul 14, 20261h 17m

  As November draws nearer, Democrats’ electoral prospects are looking very similar to how they were in 2018 before the party swept to victory in many congressional and statewide seats. 2028 is much further away, of course, but there is a very real possibility that Democrats could gain trifecta control of the presidency, Senate, and House. If the recent past is any indicator though, in just two years’ time, voters will swing wildly in the opposite direction, handing control back to Republicans. American voters ( and elsewhere ) are clearly very dissatisfied with what political parties are offering them, but thus far, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have taken the message. Public opinion surveys keep indicating that people want major societal reforms, including one from last September which found that 77 percent of American adults wanted major political changes, that included 24 percent saying they wanted “complete reform.” Democrats are disadvantaged by the current political system, so it’s in both their ideological and electoral interest to change things. But what would major changes look like? That is the project that Adam Gurri, my guest on today’s program. He’s the publisher of Liberal Currents, an online magazine has just put out a new book on this very topic. It’s an anthology of policy proposals and system reforms called The Reconstruction Papers , that is in a lot of ways similar to the Mandate for Leadership a book that’s more informally known as Project 2025, the collection of policy proposals that has become the centerpiece of the second Trump administration’s agenda. The Reconstruction Papers has a lot of great and interesting ideas, and we get into several of them, but today’s discussion also focuses on the larger question of what liberalism is or should be, which as you might imagine, the publisher of Liberal Currents has thought about quite a bit. If you’re interested in supporting Theory of Change, we are doing a fundraising drive for the show and for Flux on GoFundMe . The video of this conversation is available. Access the episode page to get the full transcript. You can subscribe to Theory of Change and other Flux podcasts on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Podcasts , YouTube , Patreon , Substack , and elsewhere. Audio Chapters 00:00 — Introduction 07:45 — Defining liberalism 11:21 — A liberal version of Project 2025? 16:22 — Liberalism must be able to take its own side 17:42 — Fixing federalism 26:19 — The importance of more than two parties 31:17 — Reforming the Senate and adding more states 40:01 — The vital importance of judicial reform to protect democracy 47:10 — Restraining the president 52:14 — Reforming higher education and promoting national service 59:22 — The importance of public mixing institutions 01:03:34 — Reclaiming national greatness from the far right 01:06:38 — Housing needs to be cheaper and more plentiful Related Content — As Republicans have radicalized, Democrats have become more passive —and less successful electorally — The economy has collapsed for the middle class , Democrats must admit this and act accordingly — Anglo-American liberal elites have lost the ability to argue for their own principles — Democrats get lots of bad advice, particularly the idea that most voters are ideological — As Trump’s popularity has declined, Democrats’ polls are up, but not their brand-name , why? — Keir Starmer is a cautionary tale for politicians who only want to play it safe About the Show Theory of Change is hosted by Matthew Sheffield about larger trends and intersections of politics, religion, media, and technology. It's part of the Flux network, a new content community of podcasters and writers. Please visit us at flux.community to learn more and to tell us about what you're doing. We're constantly growing and learning from the great people we meet. Theory of Change on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheoryChange Matthew Sheffield on Social Media Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@mattsheffield Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattsheffield Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/matthew.flux.community This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plus.flux.community/subscribe

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  Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change)

  How Jeffrey Epstein did it

  Jul 7, 202658 min

  The life and crimes of Jeffrey Epstein were so complex that 5 years after his death, there is much about him that remains yet unknown. The system of sexual violence and exploitation that he devised is as infamous as it is uncovered. The financial structures he set up for himself were so complex that it takes hours to list them all, and his political and business connections were so vast and mysterious that to describe them in detail makes you sound like a conspiracy theorist. But knowing and sharing the Epstein details is important because the late billionaire was part of a larger class of business oligarchs who have teamed up with each other against democracy, in the United States and around the world. Greg Olear, my guest for this episode, knows a lot about all of this. He has written the book on it, in fact, and it’s out now under the title, “Another Wonderful Secret,” which is a reference to a birthday greeting that Donald Trump sent to Epstein that has since become infamous. Greg is also the host of two podcasts, “ Prevail ” and “ The Five 8 .” If you’re interested in supporting Theory of Change, we are doing a fundraising drive for the show and for Flux on GoFundMe . I’d really appreciate your support. You can also become a paid supporter on Patreon or on Substack . Thank you so much for your help. I cannot do this work without you. The video of this conversation is available. Access the episode page to get the full transcript. You can subscribe to Theory of Change and other Flux podcasts on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Podcasts , YouTube , Patreon , Substack , and elsewhere. Audio Chapters 00:00 — Introduction 07:46 — Epstein’s early years as a teacher and then money manager 14:41 — Epstein and Robert Maxwell, father of Ghislaine Maxwell 21:02 — Epstein’s decades of close friendship with Donald Trump 24:51 — Sexual harassment and abuse as social networking for the Epstein Class 30:46 — Epstein’s temporary fallout with Trump and 2016 reconciliation via Steve Bannon 35:30 — After his prison release, Epstein became much more reactionary 38:16 — The mystery surrounding Epstein’s death 40:36 — Joe Biden and Merrick Garland failed to expose the truth about Epstein’s crimes 46:28 — Conclusion Related Content —Jeffrey Epstein became the hero of creepy right-wing men before he died —Newly released documents show that Jeffrey Epstein was obsessed with blocking women scientists —Covered-up abuse in far-right Christian churches and the origins of Pizzagate and QAnon —Jeffrey Epstein and the crisis of elite impunity — Secular post-libertarianism and the Epstein class — Science fiction and the reactionary mind Support Democracy Today If you’re interested in supporting Theory of Change, we are doing a fundraising drive for the show and for Flux on GoFundMe . I’d really appreciate your support. You can also become a paid supporter on Patreon or on Substack . Thank you so much for your help. About the Show Theory of Change is hosted by Matthew Sheffield about larger trends and intersections of politics, religion, media, and technology. It's part of the Flux network, a new content community of podcasters and writers. Please visit us at flux.community to learn more and to tell us about what you're doing. We're constantly growing and learning from the great people we meet. Theory of Change on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheoryChange Matthew Sheffield on Social Media Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@mattsheffield Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattsheffield Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/matthew.flux.community This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plus.flux.community/subscribe

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