Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2023!

STORY SUMMARY: After Dinner Conversation editor Kolby wraps up the Season Five podcast and answers ten listener questions.

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short stories here.

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Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: In this work of philosophical short story fiction, a civilization-sized space ship has been flying to populate the surrounding solar systems. They start with a skeleton crew, use ship resources and grow their population over generations, then arrive at a new planet. They drop off the extra people, replenish their raw resources, and do it all again. All is well until a weak radio signal makes them realize they are heading towards a planet that likely already has sentient alien life. If they don’t stop, their population will burst at the seams in the ship and they will likely run out of resources before the next solar system. If they do stop, they are likely to, over time, subjugate the indigenous population. They have just weeks to decide if they plan to make a course correction.

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

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Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Zoe gets a knock on her door from the Department of Public Health. They have detected increased biochemical signatures that lead them to believe she has been having sexual intercourse without a properly filed Intimate Partnership Agreement (IPA). The IPA’s are for her protection to ensure that any potential partners are disease free. Initially, she denies the accusations, but the evidence from her Livewell stream is overwhelming. This time, it’s just a fine, but if it happens again the punishments will get more severe, all the way up to having points deducted from her social confidence rating.

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

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Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Magazine: Code “Happy” for 12 Issues/$4.95! https://www.afterdinnerconversation.com/subscribe/yearly

Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: When, if ever, is it okay to let evil win? Should all wars be fought to the bitter end, or is ending the suffering of your people more important? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the Prime Minister is a long-time military man sworn to fighting the evil aggression of the Theocratic Republic of New Anglia. The war has been going on a long time. As a military leader, he ran on the platform of ending the war in his first term. He is elected and brings his most trusted military advisors with him to office. Albert was one of those trusted advisors he brought with him. Days before a large military operation, Swift Wind, is about to take place, Albert makes a startling discovery. There is a leak in the President’s office, the Angelians know of the coming invasion. Albert rushes in to tell the Prime Minister who promptly locks him in the bathroom and tells him he is the one who is the leak. Swift Wind is meant to fail. The Prime Minster has decided that the only way to end the suffering is to lose the war.

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

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Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: What makes a “religious” holiday? Does the combination of ritual, culture, and family custom all merge together to create “religion?” Does it even matter if the historical basis for religious stories are false? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the spaceship computer AI wakes up a family in deep space hibernation to give them time to prepare for, and celebrate, Passover. There are many situations unique to being in space that must be overcome; determining the right time period when taking into consideration time dilation, not to mention missing ingredients for traditional foods. Also, they are short two people of the requisite ten and ask the computer AI to “convert” and serve the role of two additional Jewish people. Awkwardly, the computer reminds them that some of their traditional stories are not supported by archeological evidence. This all begs important questions about the complicated weaving of history, faith, culture, and family custom in religious ceremony.

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

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Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Magazine: Code “Happy” for 12 Issues/$4.95! https://www.afterdinnerconversation.com/subscribe/yearly

Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: What do we lose when we leave childhood and become adults? Is this a good thing? Can we, at least for a moment, turn back time and see the world again as a child? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Becca and Adam are members of the Fairytale Fellowship, a group of children who can still see the magic in the world and protect the world from wrong-doing magical creatures. Becca and Adam find special glasses that allow anyone, even adults, to see the invisible magical creatures around them. They rush to get the glasses to the Fellowship, but are stopped by a Faun who steals the glasses and forces them to play a game to win the glasses back. They win the game, but valuable time has passed. Becca and Adam have aged out and experienced “The Shift” all children experience into adulthood that makes them unable to see magical things. Their worst fear has happened, they have grown up.

DISCUSSION: Another really strong story, this one about growing up and what it means to grow up. That’s the main question for discussion, what does it mean to grow up? What does it mean to play, and when is the last time you can remember being able to play in a child-like way? And what is the difference with that, and playing as an adult? Is it “intent?” If you really waned to could you even play without intent again? We went round and round on this one, and never really had great answers. Perhaps, after listening to the discussion, you will have developed some answers of your own.

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

SUPPORT: Support us on Patreon.

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Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Magazine: Code “Happy” for 12 Issues/$4.95! https://www.afterdinnerconversation.com/subscribe/yearly

Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: Is it appropriate to hold politicians accountable for their past votes, their past actions, and their past opinions, even if they are not reflective of them today? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Senator McCoy is 130 years old and is considered a “national treasure” for his nearly century of public service. Shortly before his retirement he is confronted by a member of an extremist organization (that supports eugenics) who have found evidence of a paper he published in college where he supports abortion. Given the modern political climate where every person is needed to build society, this information would forever stain his legacy. Senator McCoy hires a “fixer” to find and destroy the source material and preserve his legacy. However, things go wrong and the would-be blackmailer crashes the Senators party in an attempt to expose him. The Senator is nearly killed, but is finally able to enjoy an untarnished retirement legacy free from the truth of his past.

DISCUSSION: An interesting story, for sure, and one that functions really well as a short story with a fully developed arc. There are also some really great questions in the story ripe for discussion. For example, are there votes that politicians might make that are “unforgivable?” So, are they never allowed to change with the times? And if there are unforgiveable votes, what is the thread in them that makes certain votes unable to ever be walked back, while others can be in the future if minds are changed? There is also a really interesting idea in the story about how malleable history is to fits the narrative of the day. The main person was pro-choice, but now, to fit the culture of the day, being pro-choice in the past means being pro-eugenics in the present. That reframing of history may happen far more than we would think. And finally, at least for Kolby, perhaps the biggest ethical error in the entire story is the cavalier way in which the Senator goes back and changes historical documents to secure his political legacy. Great story all around!

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

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Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Magazine: Code “Happy” for 12 Issues/$4.95! https://www.afterdinnerconversation.com/subscribe/yearly

Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: A review of “Newcomb’s paradox” and “Roko’s Basilisk,” asks the question, it is better to help build a super AI when failure to do so might later get you punished by it? This work of philosophical short story of fiction is written as a letter to a friend. The letter writer was told about, and is now working on, a computer program that will infiltrate and merge with other computers, eventually created a singularity of a super intelligent, conscious AI. This AI, the author argues, will have mastered time travel and will naturally want to go back in time and punish anyone who failed to help it come to life. The author concludes the letter by requesting $3,000 and making clear that failure to send the money might be viewed by the future AI (if it is ever created) as a punishable response for failing to help it get built.

DISCUSSION: This is a great little one-trick-pony story about general AI and the creation of a super intelligence. It’s a pretty clear short story version of Roko’s Basilisk and that’s just fine. So, if we got this letter demanding money, would we send money? We were split, Kolby said yes, Jeremy and Ashley seemed less interested. It also brings up an interesting questions about the ethics of even sending a letter like this, if you believe such things because, by sending the letter, you now have made it so your friend no longer has plausible deniability as to why they didn’t help the AI get creating. If you send out 1000 letters like this asking for $100, how many would send you the money, we guessed more than a few.

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

SUPPORT: Support us on Patreon.

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Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Magazine: Code “Happy” for 12 Issues/$4.95! https://www.afterdinnerconversation.com/subscribe/yearly

Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: Should medicine developed through privately funded research be auctioned off to the highest bidder or distributed to those most in need? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Amaya has developed a “bug” based on a rare flower that actively finds and repairs damaged cells in the human body. Her friend, and later husband, helps her bring additional funding to the project. The important flower is quite rare and after more than a decade Amaya is unable to replicate the flower’s properties. This puts her husband, and her investors, into a difficult situation of deciding if the neediest should get access to the limited treatments available, or if it should be auctioned off to the super rich. Amaya finally cracks the code and is able to replicate the flower’s properties when she dies in a mysterious lab explosion. Her daughter, Jayde, grows up fighting against selling the limited supply of medicine to the highest bidder. Over time, Jayde grows old and dies. At her funeral the truth is revealed to her husband, the company had her killed in order to perpetuate scarcity and secure increased profits.

DISCUSSION: This is a story we have seen in other variations, but this is the clearest example we have seen of the question, “How do you distribute medicine when resources are scarce?” It would seem obvious you would give them to those most in need. However, those able to pay the most mean more profits, and more resources to develop future treatments. What role, and how much, should the government have? There are no great answers for any of these questions, but they are useful fodder for discussion all the same.

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

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Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Magazine: Code “Happy” for 12 Issues/$4.95! https://www.afterdinnerconversation.com/subscribe/yearly

Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: Is acceptable to consume art that reflects the “depraved, the cruel, the violent, and the heartless” aspects humanity? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Felix doesn’t go for “moral relativism.” He believes there is good and evil, that art should not reflect the evil of the world, or enrich artists who are found wanting. Accordingly, Felix has gone about the lifelong process of removing all copies of the depraved art he can find, and afford to buy, in circulation. A police officer comes to his door because his sister in Arizona hasn’t heard from him in months and has asked for a wellness check. Felix explains his abundant video and book collection to the officer who is at first confused, but later begins to understand Felix’s reasoning.

DISCUSSION: Brings up load of great questions about how we judge art in all its forms when associated with an artist. Would you hang a painting that was done by Hitler? Isn’t there enough great music, literature, and art that doesn’t get recognized that it’s worth focusing on the obscure artists who need our support? That said, it’s tough to know if it’s the person or the situation, that makes them do these things. Would a normal person, given the money and power that comes with fame turn into a beast? And, of course, the economics of the whole idea of buying up art to remove it from circulation doesn’t work, but we are willing to suspend this point to get to the better point of the story, should we judge art the artist? Does it matter if they are alive or dead? Does it matter if they ever had the chance to even know their belief system was wrong?

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

SUPPORT: Support us on Patreon.

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Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Magazine: Code “Happy” for 12 Issues/$4.95! https://www.afterdinnerconversation.com/subscribe/yearly

Named “Top 20 Philosophy Podcast” for 2022!

STORY SUMMARY: Should a criminal suffering from the remorse of the crime he committed be permitted to be freed of that pain? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Mr. Henmore’s was convicted of a terrible crime many years ago. He served his time, and been paroled, and is genuinely remorseful for what he did. In fact, his pain is so great, even years later, he suffers severe, almost daily, mental anguish from the knowledge of what he did. His lawyer has gone before the Grand Rectification Council to ask permission to have Mr. Henmore’s memory wiped clean of the crime he committed so as to enter his suffering. After making his case on behalf of his client, it is now up to the Council, should Mr. Henmore forever remember the horrible thing he has done?

DISCUSSION: A hard story that caused us to go back and forth several times. First, can we really be sure that erasing the memory of the crime won’t alter the person so as to make it more likely they will commit the crime in the future? If we are absolutely sure of that, is there an argument to be made that the punishment of remembering the crime you committed should last forever? Counterpoint, does society have a duty to create useful people of those who are safe to integrate into society? And finally, from an emotional standpoint, don’t you want the person to committed the crime, simply to suffer with the knowledge of what they did? Lots of questions in this Gordian Knot of a story, but very few clear ethical answers.

BOOK LINK: Download the accompanying short story here.

COMPANION PODCAST: Listen to our audiobook readings of After Dinner Conversation short stories (“Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks”).

MAGAZINE: Sign up for our monthly magazine and receive short stories that ask ethical and philosophical questions. Use the discount code on our website to get the first month free or an entire year for just $4.95!

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