In this episode of The Transatlantic Book Club, Nathan and Lee descend into the dazzling, demonic, and deeply satirical world of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.

Join us as we untangle this Soviet masterpiece and ask the questions you won't hear in any literature class, including:

• Why is Mikhail Bulgakov basically Steve Bannon?
• What does a little-known company called Nvidia have to do with any of this?
• What would we do if we went to Russia?
• Why isn't food about emotions? (Or is it?)
• Did Bulgakov write some accidental homophobia into his classic?
• And what is the most arrogant nickname you can give ourselves?

Tune in for a discussion that’s as chaotic and captivating as the novel itself.

Ep 2 of 2.

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In this episode of The Transatlantic Book Club, your hosts Nathan and Lee dive headfirst into Paul Bloom’s bold and controversial book, Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion. We unpack Bloom’s central argument—that empathy, often celebrated as a moral compass, may actually lead to biased and harmful decision-making.

Join us as we explore the psychological, ethical, and philosophical layers of Bloom’s thesis, debate its real-world implications, and reflect on how it challenges common assumptions about morality and compassion. Whether you agree or disagree, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about the role of empathy in your life.

Part 4 of the full episode

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.