Welcome to the Colette Podcast. My name is Claire Lehman and I am editor and chief of Colette.

Colette is where Free Thought lives. We are an independent grassroots platform for heterodox ideas and fearless commentary.

Our podcast is a team effort and is jointly hosted by myself,

associate editor Toby Young and Canadian editor Jonathan Kay. You can support our podcast by

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Welcome to the Colette Podcast.

I'm Jonathan Kay.

Everyone laments the demise of civil discourse.

A Portland State University philosophy professor Peter Bagosian has decided to do something

about it. Along with his co-author James Lindsay, he's written a forthcoming book called

How to Have Impossible Conversations, a very practical guide. The book spans life

lessons both high and low, from the wisdom of Plato to such basic instructions as

don't be an asshole on social media. This week he spoke to me over the phone from

Portland about his new book and as an extra treat for Colette podcast

listeners our discussion features several dramatic moments in which Peter and I role play arguments described in his book,

a milestone that marks my own first foray into the theatrical arts.

One word of caution though, Peter did this interview from his backyard, and

so our discussion was interrupted at several points by the calling of a large bird, much like

the crow and Game of Thrones which made an appearance every time

someone was about to get thrown off a castle. If there are any knowledgeable birders out there

who can identify the creature, please let me know. And now here are excerpts of my conversation

...