In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast

About In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast

In the CAVE: An ethics podcast, is back with Season 7 of the show! Join your hosts, Professor Paul Formosa and Distinguished Professor Wendy Rogers, from the Macquarie University Ethics and Agency Research Centre, as they explore a range of philosophical topics focused on the question of how we can live well as moral agents in an ethically complex world.

Publisher

Macquarie University Research Centre for Agency, Values, and Ethics (CAVE)

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Feb 2022

Latest episode

23 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

42 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Jun 2026

   Can bacteria make decisions? Exploring cognition in nonneural organisms, with Dr Matthew Sims

   In this podcast, Distinguished Professor Wendy Rogers and guest Dr Matthew Sims discuss the challenge of trying to determine whether organisms without neurones have cognitive capacities. The podcast features Matt’s paper, “The Principle of Dynamic Holism: Guiding Methodology for Investigating Cognition in Nonneuronal Organisms”, published in the Philosophy of Science (2024; 91: 430-448).

2. 

   16 Jun 2026

   Is pregnancy a disease? With Professor Anna Smajdor

   In this podcast, Distinguished Professor Wendy Rogers and guest Professor Anna Smajdor from the University of Oslo explore Anna’s provocative suggestion that pregnancy is a disease. The podcast features Anna’s paper, “Is pregnancy a disease? A normative approach”, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics in 2024.

3. 

   9 Jun 2026

   Strategic Human Rights Litigation in Australia, with Dr Ebony Birchall

   Strategic human rights litigation sits at the intersection of law, ethics, and politics. It promises that courts can serve as vehicles for driving social progress by giving voice to those who have been marginalised. But this promise comes with significant challenges: the absence of a federal bill of rights in Australia, the risks of backlash and bad precedent, the danger that the voices of those most impacted get lost in the legal strategy. In this podcast, Professor Paul Formosa and guest, Dr Ebony Birchall, discuss strategic human rights litigation in Australia and beyond. The podcast features Ebony’s work, including: Ebony Birchall (ed), Strategic Human Rights Litigation in Australia (Federation Press, 2025). Ebony Birchall, ‘An Introduction to Strategic Human Rights Litigation in Australia’ in Ebony Birchall (ed), Strategic Human Rights Litigation in Australia (Federation Press, 2025). Ebony Birchall, Surya Deva and Justine Nolan, The Impact of Strategic Human Rights Litigation on Corporate Behaviour (The Freedom Fund, 2023). Open access online: https://cdn.freedomfund.org/app/uploads/2024/03/LitigationImpactReport_2023.pdf

Who has been a guest on In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Christopher Lean
• Miriam Schleifer McCormick
• Dr Tom Montefiore

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 32 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

52

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.