Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast?

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BobbyM
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Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast?

Post by BobbyM »

The host, Grant Bartley has an incredible ability to interrupt or talk over the speaker, often for no good reason and to disagree over something that the speaker was just about to address. I like the invited guests, but the entire show is excruciating because of the host's belligerence. At times, and I am referring to the episode with David Papineau, the host just comes across as incredibly rude, often cutting off Papineau with wild, unthoughtful claims, all incredibly disrespectful. The amount of times Papineau had to say '...just let me finish' was incredible. The whole thing sounded like a very hostile interrogation than a discussion.

Compare the show to another like Philosophy Bites, or Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time and there is a world of difference. There the atmosphere is conducive to actually trying to get to the bottom of the issues, allowing the participants to finish their points before any response etc.

Does anyone agree? If Philosophy Now is going to improve, getting a new host should be first on the list.
duszek
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Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast

Post by duszek »

You are perfectly right, Bobby, such a thing is intolerable.

One could introduce a simple rule: every speaker decides himself when he has finished and passes the word over to the interlocutor. The magic phrase could be for example: I have spoken.

And the punishment if someone interrupts ?
The interrupter could be asked to make one push-up (or press-up) before the discussion goes on.
He would change his habits pretty soon.
tbieter
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Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast

Post by tbieter »

I knew a philosopher who was actually unable to engage in natural conversation as described by Michael Oakshott: http://conorpwilliams.wordpress.com/201 ... versation/

He was always annoyingly argumentative or critical of other speakers. As a professional philosopher, I submit that he is a victim of his professional training. He uncritically thinks that because he is a philosopher, he must always argue and criticize.

Once my wife and I attended a party at his colleague's home. She had never met the philosopher. On our way home, I asked her what she thought of him. She, who had a degree in philosophy and history, replied: "I think he's obnoxious"!

I submit that a truly educated person is able to engage, and he selectively engages, in different modes of speech depending upon his subject, audience and the occasion.
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Arising_uk
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Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast

Post by Arising_uk »

BobbyM wrote:The host, Grant Bartley has an incredible ability to interrupt or talk over the speaker, often for no good reason and to disagree over something that the speaker was just about to address. I like the invited guests, but the entire show is excruciating because of the host's belligerence. At times, and I am referring to the episode with David Papineau, the host just comes across as incredibly rude, often cutting off Papineau with wild, unthoughtful claims, all incredibly disrespectful. The amount of times Papineau had to say '...just let me finish' was incredible. The whole thing sounded like a very hostile interrogation than a discussion.

Compare the show to another like Philosophy Bites, or Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time and there is a world of difference. There the atmosphere is conducive to actually trying to get to the bottom of the issues, allowing the participants to finish their points before any response etc.

Does anyone agree? If Philosophy Now is going to improve, getting a new host should be first on the list.
Whilst I agree it can be painful BobbyM I think the difference is that Melvyn is a professional presenter and not a philosopher whereas Grant is a philosopher and not a professional presenter as such he is not playing the role of mediator but is an active participant in the discussion and will be hostile to those he philosophically disagrees with.
reasonvemotion
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Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast

Post by reasonvemotion »

Whilst I agree it can be painful BobbyM I think the difference is that Melvyn is a professional presenter and not a philosopher whereas Grant is a philosopher and not a professional presenter as such he is not playing the role of mediator but is an active participant in the discussion and will be hostile to those he philosophically disagrees with.
or who disagrees with him. :lol:
duszek
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Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast

Post by duszek »

People express their personalities by the way they speak.

I know a very lonely person who interrupts me very often. It is probably due to her being psychotic or schizoid. She turns around herself and does not even notice it, I suppose.

Some people interrupt because they are insecure and want to make the impression of being very secure.
Or they grab a chance to be in the focus of attention because they have very little self-esteem.

The advantage of a forum like this one: you do not need to fight in order to say something. You can have your turn any time. The problem is only to get other people´s attention. If you dare to bore someone by your posts he may never give you another chance and skip your posts mercilessly from then on.

Would not Richard Baron be a marvellous discussion leader for these PN discussions ?
He seems so polite, he would never interrupt anyone, I guess.
EDuggan3
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Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast

Post by EDuggan3 »

I've listened to two podcasts and found Grant Bartley infuriating. In the podcast entitled Mind, Science and Metaphysics he continues to interrupt Prof. Papineau throughout the podcast and, not only that, his incessant mumbles of confirmation after every few words Prof. Papineau utters are completely unnecessary and very distracting. There is no need to "Mmmm" along when the guest is speaking, and I get the impression he is doing it in the way that a person would if they were setting up their counter-argument, which Prof. Papineau, as he at one stage feels the need to point out himself, is not on the show to listen to, certainly not from so early on in the show after Mr. Bartley has interrupted him.
For the duration of the podcast about free will that I could bring myself to listen to, he was shockingly rude to Camilla Martin, not only interrupting her repeatedly but, from the outset, trying to pull the rug out from under her by telling her to "put in English" what she just said, which was nothing short of disrespectful.
As stated about, the environment he creates is not conducive to seeking a better understanding of the topic or moving closer to truth.

Phew... just had share that!
icewater
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Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast

Post by icewater »

This... this is the thread I was looking for. That I registered for.

I'm mid way through podcast #18 on existential psychotherapy. I would not be surprised if it were revealed at the end that I'd been the victim of a elaborate prank.

You could hear and feel the exasperation of the two guests. A particularly nice touch is how the interviewer would let one person get about one-fourth through a thought and then pivot to the other and say "and what about you, what do you think about that?" I'm astonished that Brian O'Gorley restrained himself from throttling the interviewer where he sat (thus far at least).

There are many interesting subjects listed on the podcast page. Sadly, I see they are all hosted by the same person. Can he not tell, simply by listening to them himself, that he should close his mouth and let his guests speak?
gaspardwinckler
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Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast?

Post by gaspardwinckler »

Yes, my guess would be that every listener has noticed this.

I just wanted to add to the previous posts that it is not just about interruptions. The host, Grant Bartley, is obviously a philosopher up for a fight. That is fine were it not for his misuse of his authority as host. He regularly makes snide remarks and veiled attacks just before moving on. Having the last word in a very childish way. A host in a philosophy interview should be genuinely curious and generous in his questions. S/he can be interrogative as well, but in no way act as caustic as GB.

Apparently the podcast series is no longer running, but what got me in here is related: In the April/May 2015 issue of Philosophy Now there is a small text by Danelle Gallo on Georges Bataille and Yves Klein. The illustration accompanying the text is a blue square. Underneath it says "One Colour by Grant Bartley, 2015". No explanation (Grant Bartley isn't contributing to the issue with anything else, it seems). I've seen hundreds of jokes based on how easy modern art is, but to find such an ignorant and infantile example in a serious philosophy magazine of all places is just baffling. How did this make it past the editors?

Excuse my English, it is not my first language.
Daktoria
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Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:14 pm

Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast?

Post by Daktoria »

I haven't listened to the podcast, but there's something to keep in mind.

Interruptions are not always bad. Sometimes, it's important to interrupt someone before someone carries on a tangent, or someone's ideas aren't well-founded. There's no point to listen to someone continue if someone's premises are unsound.

On the other hand, sometimes, listening to pointless rants enables someone to make a fool of oneself. If you're benevolent though, then you'll interrupt someone before someone does that. You shouldn't want people to make fools of themselves.
Max
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Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 8:54 am

Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast?

Post by Max »

I agree with Bobby. Grant does indeed not host the show but seems more eager to present his own views. In my view, a good host should facilitate for the invited speakers to clearly present their ideas and/or moderate a debate. A part from that - interesting show!
bagli1
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Re: Has anyone noticed this about the Philosophy Now podcast?

Post by bagli1 »

I just had the unfortunate experience of listening to my first podcast from Philosophy Now, with Grant Bartley. It was "Free Will and the Brain", radio show number 31. It was excruciating, and as someone else pointed out earlier, a very obvious indicator of a slight lack of education. By the end of the show, Grant and another contributor named Sam Coleman from the University of Hertfordshire were essentially mocking, laughing at and 'ganging up on' another guest whose views they did not agree with. It was astonishing to listen to.

My favourite part was after the highly educated and eloquent (and able to hold an intellectual conversation impeccably) Camilla Martin finished her opening propositions, the presenter scoffed and said "now can you put that in English please." Her response was a slight befuddled "I'm not sure I can put it any other way." The guy is... not a philosopher, nor a presenter. What is he doing here?
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