The Ethical Life Lee Enterprises Podcasts
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- Society & Culture
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Scott Rada, Lee Enterprises social media manager, and Richard Kyte, director of the Ethics Institute at Viterbo University, talk about the intersection of ethics and modern life.
Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify.
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What has the debate about IVF taught us about the meaning of life?
Episode 133: Last month, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that three couples who had frozen embryos accidentally destroyed in a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits. After the ruling, three major providers of in vitro fertilization temporarily paused those services in the state because of concerns about civil liability. Those treatments have since resumed after legislative action.
Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss how this case is a window into some of the most fundamental questions we face about our how life begins. -
Why do so many people choose not to vote?
Episode 132: The 2020 presidential election had the highest voter turnout in 120 years, with 66.8 percent of citizens 18 and older voting in that election. But that still means that 1 out of every 3 eligible adults — that’s 80 million people — stayed home.
Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss why people choose not to participate and whether the need for chaos drives some voters toward candidates who want to burn everything down.
Links to stories discussed during the podcast:
Poll: Despite Record Turnout, 80 Million Americans Didn't Vote. Here's Why, by Domenico Montanaro, National Public Radio
They Could Decide the 2024 Election. If They Vote, by Marcela Valdes, The New York Times Magazine
The Americans Who Need Chaos, by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic
About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books. -
What are the benefits of travel?
Episode 131: Two popular columnists recently wrote about travel, and they had dramatically different views.
Agnes Collard wrote for The New Yorker that travel turns us into the worst version of ourselves, while Matt Yglesias wrote about the many benefits of tourism, especially on the economies of the places that are most-often visited.
Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss the benefits of travel, what behaviors good tourists exhibit and why it’s in fact good to live in a place where people like to visit.
About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books. -
Have universities changed for the better over the past 40 years?
Episode 130: Higher education has been in the news a lot lately, and the news isn’t the kind college administrators are hoping to see. Questions about what’s being taught in the classroom, and how that affects admissions and free speech, are all making headlines at campuses across this nation.
Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss how the role of universities has changed over the past few decades and how more specialized workplaces are requiring a more specialized approach in the classroom.
Links to stories discussed during the podcast:
Legislation doesn't address problems with higher education, by Richard Kyte
The General Education Act Renews Liberal Education in America, by Peter Berkowitz, The Tennessee Star
Teacher are limiting lessons on political, social issues, report finds, by Hannah Natanson, The Washington Post
College is all about curiosity. And that requires free speech. by Stephen L. Carter. The New York Times Magazine
About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books. -
Why are young people taking longer to grow up?
Episode 129: There was a time, not all that long ago, when most Americans in their 20s did several things — often in quick succession. They got married, started a family, joined a church, bought a house and subscribed to the local newspaper. Once that checklist was complete, you were clearly an adult.
Today, however, things aren’t nearly so simple.
Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about how the world is changing at an ever-quickening pace, but why one of the few things that seems to be slowing down is when young people consider themselves to be an adult.
Links to stories discussed during the podcast:
Technology slows the development of young people, by Richard Kyte
Why Americans are having fewer babies, by Janet Adamy, The Wall Street Journal
Americans can't decide what it means to grow up, by Faith Hill, The Atlantic
The gender war within Gen Z, by Derek Thompson, Plain English podcast
About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books. -
Why are we at such an impasse in immigration debate?
Episode 128: There are ongoing talks about what can be done to better secure the southern border. And although almost everyone thinks this is an important topic, few expect any federal legislation on this issue before the election. The hosts look at the ethics that help frame the debate and what responsibility the federal government has to its citizens and those who want to immigrate here.
Customer Reviews
Very left leaning
The podcast has turned into a situation where Scott Rada brings the left leaning news room story of the day to the podcast, never a real ethical situation/delema. Scott’s attempt to smear Clarence Thomas in this last episode was an embarrassment. When Richard Kyte started to question looking into other justices, I verbally thanked him out loud. We all know that if Sonya Sotomayor was accused of this, it would never have been brought up as a topic. Love the concept of the show, but really getting tired of left leaning topics…
Light on ethics - immigrants.
It’s shallow on the politics. Nothing more than headlines.
What is lacking is the ethical dimension.
These questions are not addressed:
what is the moral argument for treating immigrants - the Other?
Then what is international law regarding refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers?
What are the arguments from our founding documents about immigrants?
What do the major religions say about what obligations we have to the Other?
This was a shallow back and forth on superficial politics. This is not a discussion of ethics. Nothing of any depth.
Real disappointment. Delete