NBN Book of the Day - The Truth About Bullshit: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary Edition of On Bullshit with Pamela Hieronymi

Today I’m thrilled to launch a brand new series for the Princeton UP Ideas Podcast. 20 years ago, Princeton University Press published a short volume with an excellent title: On Bullshit (Princeton UP, 2025). Written by philosopher Harry Frankfurt, On Bullshit was adapted from an essay that explored the meaning, uses, and consequences of bullshit.

At just 80 pages, On Bullshit became a favorite of readers, selling over 1 million copies and spending 27 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s not often that a work of philosophy breaks through to the mainstream, but readers of On Bullshit quickly discover why. Harry’s meditation on the meaning of bullshit can be read in one sitting, but the ideas have staying power. After you read Harry’s book, you start to see bullshit everywhere and recognize it’s uniquely pernicious effects on whatever’s left of the public square. Harry wrote his book long before modern social media and AI-generated slop. He was unbelievably prescient, making On Bullshit required reading for today. Harry sadly passed in 2023 at 94 years old, but his ideas live on. In this series, we’ll speak with scholars whose lives and work have been influenced by Harry and his seminal book.

To kick things off, I’ll be speaking with Pamela Hieronymi, one of Harry’s former students. Pamela is Professor of Philosophy at UCLA and a leading scholar in the field of moral philosophy. Like Harry, her work has resonated outside the academy. She served as an advisor on the sitcom, The Good Place, which brought philosophical concepts like the trolley problem to a mainstream audience. For the first episode in the series, Pamela will introduce readers to both the book and the man who wrote it. In subsequent episodes, I’ll speak with other scholars who explore Harry’s notion of bullshit in politics, science, and more. If you haven’t read On Bullshit, you should preorder the anniversary edition, which is set to release on August 5th. Now, let’s have ourselves a bull session.

Pamela Hieronymi is Professor of Philosophy at UCLA. Watch her lecture on the blame game.

Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network.

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Strict Scrutiny - Ketanji Brown Jackson Sounds the Alarm

First, Leah is joined by international law expert Bec Ingber to lay out legal issues around the use of force (aka bombing Iran). Then, Leah is joined by two guest hosts–former legal journalist Mike Sacks and Georgetown Law’s Steve Vladeck–to break down last week’s opinions from the Court. Everyone’s up to their old tricks: Coach Kavanaugh makes sports metaphors, Clarence Thomas concurs (shudder), and Sam Alito feels his feelings. Through it all, Ketanji Brown Jackson shows us what the court could–hopefully–one day be. 

Hosts’ favorite things:

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The NewsWorthy - U.S. Bombs Iran, Campus Protester Released & New NBA Champions – Monday, June 23, 2025

The news to know for Monday, June 23rd, 2025!

We’ll tell you about the U.S. attacks on Iran: why President Trump ordered the strike, and how Iran might retaliate.

Also, we discuss the heatwave affecting more than 150 million Americans.

Plus: what could become a new side-hustle for Tesla owners, how many new millionaires are minted every day in the United States, and who just won their first-ever NBA Championship.

Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes! 

 

Join us every Mon-Fri for more daily news roundups! 

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What A Day - Sen. Warner Says Congress Needs Answers After US Bombs Iran

The United States is going to war in the Middle East again… maybe. President Donald Trump announced Saturday the U.S. had bombed three of Iran’s main nuclear facilities, adding, “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” But while multiple members of the administration spent Sunday insisting the U.S. is not out for regime change, Trump later undermined them in another Truth Social post floating the idea. The extent of the damage inflicted on Iran’s nuclear capabilities also remains unclear, after Israeli and U.S. officials walked back the president’s claim Saturday that the U.S. had ‘totally obliterated’ the country’s enrichment facilities. Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, talks about what’s next for Congress and the U.S.

And in headlines: Columbia University grad student Mahmoud Khalil was released from federal immigration custody, an appeals court sided with the White House over the deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, and Harvard and the Trump administration are reportedly trying to work out their many differences.

Show Notes:

The Best One Yet - 🏄 “It’s The New Golf” — Surfing’s wave pool surge. The Infinite Workday. Disney’s Amazon ad collab.

The hot new real estate trend is giant surf parks… Wave Pools borrowed the biz model of golf.

117 emails per day? Interruptions every 2 minutes?... Microsoft data reveals your “Infinite Workday.”

Disney just hooked up with Amazon on advertising… and TV ads are about to look like Instagram.

Plus, Jeff Bezos is getting married this week… and we found his leaked wedding vows.


$DIS $AMZN $MSFT


Want more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Ferrari 🏎️


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WSJ Your Money Briefing - There Are Now Half a Million More Home Sellers Than Buyers

House hunters have struggled with mortgage rates above 6.5%, stubbornly high home prices and low inventory — but now, they may finally have the upper hand. Wall Street Journal reporter Nicole Friedman joins host Julia Carpenter to talk about what the changing number of buyers and sellers means for today’s housing market. 


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WSJ Tech News Briefing - Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian on Rebooting Social Media in the Age of AI

Sometimes the past offers a glimpse of the future. At least that’s what a pair of business partners are hoping when it comes to launching their next-generation Internet forum, a reboot of early internet aggregator Digg. Kevin Rose, co-founder of Digg, and Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, discuss their plans on stage with WSJ deputy tech and media editor Wilson Rothman at the WSJ’s Future of Everything event. Victoria Craig hosts.


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The Indicator from Planet Money - You told us how tariffs are affecting you

Americans like to spend money. In fact, we spend more per person than almost any other country in the world. So, we wanted to know how an uncertain economy is affecting that. Today on the show, we hear from consumers directly on how their spending habits have changed the past few months.

Related episodes:
How's ... everybody doing? (Apple / Spotify)
Three ways consumers are feeling the pinch (Apple / Spotify)

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Trump Bombed Iran. Are We at War?

The Trump administration bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. While the Pentagon says these facilities are severely damaged, a diplomatic end to the conflict and a nuclear disarmament agreement feel less possible than ever.

Guests:

Gregory Gause, Visiting Scholar at the ⁠Middle East Institute⁠ and Professor Emeritus of International Affairs for the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University 

David Faris, political science professor at Roosevelt University, contributing writer for Slate.

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. 

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