Ethics Untangled

Jim Baxter
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Ethics Untangled is a series of conversations about the ethical issues that affect all of us, with academics who have spent some time thinking about them. It is brought to you by the IDEA Centre, a specialist unit for teaching, research, training and consultancy in Applied Ethics at the University of Leeds. Find out more about IDEA, including our Masters programmes in Healthcare Ethics and Applied and Professional Ethics, our PhDs and our consultancy services, here:ahc.leeds.ac.uk/ethicsEthics Untangled is edited by Mark Smith at Leeds Media Services. Music is by Kate Wood.

  1. 2D AGO

    55. Should pornography be authentic? With Rosa Vince

    Content note: This episode discusses pornography in an academic context, focusing on ethical and philosophical arguments. Feminist critiques of pornography have a long history and take many different forms. One influential line of critique focuses on claims about authenticity and the suggestion that certain forms of representation may be ethically problematic, particularly for women. In response, some producers and commentators have argued for the value of ‘authentic’ pornography, appealing to a mixture of ethical and aesthetic considerations and sometimes blurring the distinction between the two. In this episode, Rosa Vince, a philosopher based at IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds, examines these arguments and explains why she finds the ethical case for authenticity in pornography unconvincing. The discussion explores questions about representation, discrimination and harm. Some further reading recommended by Rosa: Willis, Ellen. 2014. “Feminism Moralism and Pornography.” In The Essential Ellen Willis, edited by Nona Willis Aronowitz, 94–101. University Of Minnesota Press.Taormino, Tristan. 2013. “Calling the Shots: Feminist Porn in Theory and Practice” in The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure edited by Tristan Taormino, Celine Parreñas Shimizu, Constance Penley, Mireille Miller-Young. The Feminist PressRooster, Hello. 2021. “From Victim to Activist: The Road to Ethical Porn” in We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival, edited by Natalie West with Tina Horn. Feminist Press. 148–154.Mac, Juno, Hello Rooster, Misha Mayfair, and Lina Bembe. 2019. “Aesthetics vs Ethics: Expanding Definitions of Feminist Porn.” In A Decriminalised Future: Sex Workers’ Festival of Resistance. Recording available at: https://decriminalisedfutures.org/aesthetics-vs-ethics-expanding-definitions-of-feminist-porn Macleod, P J. 2021.“How feminists pick porn: Troubling the link between ‘authenticity’ and production ethics” in Sexualities Volume 24, Issue 4.Gallant, Chanelle. 2017. “Why I Started The Feminist Porn Awards 10 Years Ago” Huffpost. Available at: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-i-started-the-feminist-porn-awards-ten-years-ago_b_587559afe4b0f8a725448343Crutcher, Emily E. 2015. ““She’s Totally Faking it!”: The Politics of Authentic Female Pleasure in Pornography” in New Views on Pornography: Sexuality, Politics, and the Law ed. Lynn Comella and Shira Tarrant. Praeger. Pp.319-334Berg, Heather. “Porn Work, Feminist Critique, and the Market for Authenticity.” Signs, Spring 2017, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Spring 2017), pp. 669-692Ethics Untangled is produced by IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds. Bluesky: @ethicsuntangled.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ideacetl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idea-ethics-centre/

    39 min

  2. FEB 2

    54. Do we need more time? With Lisa Herzog

    Lisa Herzog is Professor of Philosophy at the Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The subject of this conversation is time, not in the abstract but how much of it we have, and what we might choose to do with it. We start by discussing whether people in general are lacking in free time. And then we move on to why it might be important to try to give people more time, not just for their own health and happiness, but also because of the costs to society and democracy of people being too time-poor. At the end, we get onto some specific policy measures that might help. The conversation is based on a chapter of Lisa's latest book, which you can get here.  Some links to further reading as mentioned in the conversation: Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life by Theda Skocpol. Anderson, E. (2025). Local Knowledge in Institutional Epistemology1. Australasian Philosophical Review, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/24740500.2024.2422551 Ethics Untangled is produced by IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds. Bluesky: @ethicsuntangled.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ideacetl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idea-ethics-centre/

    39 min

  3. JAN 19

    53. How should social media platforms regulate AI-generated content? With Jeffrey Howard

    AI-generated content is a familiar and increasingly prevalent feature of social media. Users post text, video, audio and images which have been created by AI, sometimes being clear that this is what they're doing, sometimes not. This isn’t always a problem, but some ways of using AI-generated content do raise significant dangers. So do social media platforms need to have policies in place specifically to deal with this form of content? Jeffrey Howard is professor of political philosophy and public policy at University College London. In a paper co-authored with Sarah Fisher and Beatriz Kira, he argues that policies that target AI-generated content specifically aren't necessary or helpful. It was great to get the chance to talk to him about why he thinks this, and how platforms should moderate this type of content without shutting down valuable free speech. Ethics Untangled is produced by IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds. Bluesky: @ethicsuntangled.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ideacetl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idea-ethics-centre/

    44 min

  4. JAN 5

    52. Should we all be activists? With Josh Hobbs

    Josh Hobbs is back in this episode for his second appearance. Again the subject is political. This time we're discussing whether we should all be activists. More specifically, does the existence of global structural injustice give us a responsibility to respond to those injustices, and should that response take the form of activism? Josh thinks there are reasons to think not everyone could or should be an activist, and introduces some other ways in which people can contribute, including something he calls 'scaffolding activism'. Here's Josh's article on the topic: Between activism and apathy: global structural injustice and ordinary citizens Further reading: With Power Comes Responsibility: The Politics of Structural Injustice — Maeve McKeown What is My Role in Changing the System? A New Model of Responsibility for Structural Injustice The Politics of Politeness: Citizenship, Civility, and the Democracy of Everyday Life | Oxford Academic Ethics Untangled is produced by IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds. Bluesky: @ethicsuntangled.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ideacetl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idea-ethics-centre/

    37 min

  5. 12/15/2025

    51. What can a shallow pond teach us about ethics? With David Edmonds

    Imagine this: You’re walking past a shallow pond and spot a toddler thrashing around in the water, in obvious danger of drowning. You look around for her parents, but nobody is there. You’re the only person who can save her and you must act immediately. But as you approach the pond you remember that you’re wearing your most expensive shoes. Wading into the water will ruin them - and might make you late for a meeting. Should you let the child drown? The philosopher Peter Singer published this thought experiment in 1972, arguing that allowing people in the developing world to die, when we could easily help them by giving money to charity, is as morally reprehensible as saving our shoes instead of the drowning child. Can this possibly be true? In Death in a Shallow Pond, David Edmonds tells the remarkable story of Singer and his controversial idea, tracing how it radically changed the way many think about poverty - but also how it has provoked scathing criticisms. David Edmonds is a brilliant philosophical and biographical writer, not to mention an OG philosophy podcaster - if you haven't checked out any of Philosophy Bites's nearly 400 episodes then you definitely should - and ex-BBC broadcaster. His latest book is about the fascinating history of a philosophical thought experiment, from its origins in the work of Peter Singer through its influence on the Effective Altruism movement. In this conversation we focus on some of the philosophical questions surrounding this thought experiment: is it, as Singer claims, analogous to our own position with regard to distant others, and does it have the practical implications that he and the Effective Altruists have taken it to have? Ethics Untangled is produced by IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds. Bluesky: @ethicsuntangled.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ideacetl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idea-ethics-centre/

    42 min

  6. 12/01/2025

    50. What can comics such as Heartstopper teach us about ethics? With Simon Meisch

    A really interesting conversation with Simon Meisch this week. Simon is a Senior Lecturer for Applied Ethics at the Ethics Centre of the University of Tubingen, and until recently was also a visiting scholar here at IDEA. It's an unusual episode of the podcast in that we aren't talking about a specific ethical issue. Instead, we talk about a particular way of highlighting ethical issues and encouraging discussion of them. That's through engaging with serial narratives, including comic books and TV series. We focused on one particular comic book series, which has been adapted for TV, which is Heartstopper. Aside from enlightening me about that series, Simon makes a convincing case that this is a good way to get at a range of ethical issues, in a way that is complex, subtle and grounded in recognisable situations. Here's the Heartstopper webcomic. Here's Simon's webpage. And here are some other relevant links recommended by Simon: Ben Argon: Philosophy ComicsTim Smyth: Teaching with Comics and Graphic NovelsScott McCloud: Understanding ComicsAaron Meskin: The Philosophy of ComicsAaron Meskin: Teaching & Learning Guide for: The Philosophy of ComicsEthics Untangled is produced by IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds. Bluesky: @ethicsuntangled.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ideacetl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idea-ethics-centre/

    40 min

  7. 11/17/2025

    49. Are We Deceiving Future Generations About Environmental Crises? With Catriona McKinnon

    In this episode I talk to Professor Catriona McKinnon, a political philosopher based at the University of Exeter. The topic is the various environmental crises facing humanity today. Obviously lots to discuss there, but Catriona wants to highlight one issue in particular, which is the way one generation can, with or without knowing it, conceal information from future generations about the depth and nature of a crisis. This an issue of intergenerational justice, and its one that Catriona thinks deserves more attention. Some links: RENEW: Renewing biodiversity through a people-in-nature approach https://renewbiodiversity.org.uk/ Catriona's University of Exeter site: https://experts.exeter.ac.uk/32795-Catriona-McKinnon Catriona’s book Climate Change and Political Theory https://www.waterstones.com/book/climate-change-and-political-theory/catriona-mckinnon/9781509521661 A lecture by Catriona on postericide Endangering Humanity: An International Crime: https://youtu.be/htQwrrURVOQ?si=DA17u9hBR6qn-iQm. Her book on postericide will be published in 2026 by MIT Press. Ethics Untangled is produced by IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds. Bluesky: @ethicsuntangled.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ideacetl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idea-ethics-centre/

    46 min

  8. 11/03/2025

    48. How should you act as an in-house lawyer? With Sharon Bridglalsingh

    For the last year and a half, Jim Baxter and the consulting team at IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds, have been working with the Law Society of England and Wales on a project looking at the ethics of in-house law. That project has involved talking to lots of lawyers who are both passionate and insightful about the job and the ethical challenges it presents. None more so than Sharon Bridglalsingh, Director of Law and Governance at Milton Keynes City Council. Sharon was kind enough to come on the podcast and share some of her insights in this wide-ranging conversation.  The In-House Ethics Framework which IDEA produced for the Law Society is here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/in-house/in-house-ethics-framework/. Ethics Untangled is produced by IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds. Bluesky: @ethicsuntangled.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ideacetl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idea-ethics-centre/

    43 min
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About

Ethics Untangled is a series of conversations about the ethical issues that affect all of us, with academics who have spent some time thinking about them. It is brought to you by the IDEA Centre, a specialist unit for teaching, research, training and consultancy in Applied Ethics at the University of Leeds. Find out more about IDEA, including our Masters programmes in Healthcare Ethics and Applied and Professional Ethics, our PhDs and our consultancy services, here:ahc.leeds.ac.uk/ethicsEthics Untangled is edited by Mark Smith at Leeds Media Services. Music is by Kate Wood.

Information

  • Creator
    Jim Baxter
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    93
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ethics Untangled
  • Show Website
    Ethics Untangled

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