Reconsidering explores how to navigate your career, relationships, and the values that guide you through the inevitable changes of life. Co-hosts Bob Baxley, Meredith Black, and Aarron Walter talk with deep thinkers who’ve figured a few things out about living a satisfying life filled with meaning and show you how you can too.
Episode 50: Kindness Is a Strategy, The Beekman 1802 Story
When Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell left their high-powered New York City careers for a 19th-century farm in upstate New York, they didn’t set out to build a skincare empire. But after losing their jobs during the 2008 recession—and taking in a neighbor’s herd of goats—they discovered that frugality, creativity, and a deep commitment to kindness could grow into something remarkable.
In this conversation, the founders of Beekman 1802 share the values and scrappy problem-solving that helped them turn goat milk soap into a nine-figure brand. We talk about the surprising business advantages of kindness, why constraints fuel creativity, how to stay grounded as you grow, and why success is best defined on your own terms.
Get their new book, G. O. A. T. Wisdom: How to Build a Truly Great Business--From the Founders of Beekman 1802
Show notes and resources from this episode: http://reconsidering/p/episode-50-kindness-is-a-strategy
23 Jul 2025
Episode 49: Values and what matters with Valerie Tiberius
In this episode, we sit down with philosopher Valerie Tiberius to explore the surprisingly complex topic of values—how we develop them, how they change over time, and how to align them with our actions in a chaotic world.
Valerie, a professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota, shares insights from her decades of research and writing, offering practical tools for reflecting on what matters most. We discuss the difference between values and morals, the influence of culture and technology, and why your emotional reactions might be the key to understanding your core values. She also introduces her “Lab Rat Strategy,” a refreshingly grounded approach to self-reflection.
Whether you’re rethinking your goals, raising kids, or just trying to stay sane while doomscrolling the news, this conversation will give you fresh language—and a bit of clarity—for navigating modern life.
Show notes and transcript: https://www.reconsidering.org/p/episode-49-values-and-what-matters
26 Jun 2025
Episode 48: AI, algorithms and the battle for your mind with Simon McCarthy Jones
What if the next frontier of human rights isn’t out in the streets but inside your own head? We talk with Dr. Simon McCarthy-Jones, Associate Professor of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, about the modern fight for freedom of thought.
Simon unpacks how everything from social media algorithms to brain-reading technologies are reshaping not just what we think, but how we think. We explore the psychological and legal implications of a world where our inner lives are no longer entirely private—and where even a simple Google search might be treated as a window into your mind.
We also discuss:
Why freedom of thought is an absolute right under international law—and why it’s so underdeveloped
The blurred line between thought and speech in the age of ChatGPT, Google, and digital diaries
Whether persuasive tech and personalized AI are eroding mental autonomy
What you can do to protect and reclaim your inner cognitive space
Simon also offers practical strategies for thinking more freely, from managing your attention to cultivating reflective habits—and why real thinking might be more social than solitary.
Show notes and resources: https://www.reconsidering.org/p/episode-48-ai-algorithms-and-the
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
93
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
52 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
39 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 52 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
59
Social presence
0
YouTube
63
Engagement
51
Host of Reconsidering?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
