Subject was intriguing. The discussion was a bit pedantic and got mired down in terminology rather than theory.

Fun and fascinating! OK for an amateur. Also fun to see the logistics of a radio show recording session.

If this is typical of Philosophy Talk, I doubt I'll attend another one: even sitting up close it was hard to hear the speakers because they talked so fast. And it was exceedingly abstract. The guest from Singularity.org talked only in abstractions, and said such weird things as "there's about a 40% chance the human race could survive if robots had control." The music was cornball in the extreme, and the only good point was that one of the professors expressed my concern:the woman from Singularity said that robots could be programmed to express human values. But human values depend on whom you're asking. To a fundamentalist human life begins at conception, therefore if life is valuable, abortion is criminal. Even the 10 commandments "Thou shalt not kill" which would seem like a universal, could be interpreted in a way that would prohibit women's rights to abortion, or, at the other end of the spectrum, that would keep comatose and brain dead people alive for years. I was very disappointed in the quality of the discussion . Perhaps another topic would have been different. For example, I would have liked to hear the professors interviewing a very good poet, Jane Hershfield, just to see if it was different from yesterday's annoying hodgepodge.

I'm a frequent KALW listener and familiar with the program. This was my first time at a recording session. It's fascinating to see the show live. The topic was of personal interest, as was the conversation between Ken Taylor and John Perry. They work well together, demonstrating how to remain civil while articulating divergent opinions. I agree with my companion who felt the guest's contribution was minimal. The hosts could have easily carried the discussion without him, utilizing audience questions to stimulate and illuminate issues relevant to the topic.

Always stimulating and incisive. A rare opportunity in the mindless Bay Area to grapple with important issues. Afterwards a group of us went across the street to talk among ourselves.

4.5 stars really - thoughtful and interesting. I would have liked to have a conversation with each of the presenters, but I understand this format doesn't allow that. Thought inspiring for sure.

We've been fans of Philosophy Talk for some time, so it was fun to put faces to the voices. The topic as given wasn't something compelling, but the conversation proved to be both ingenious and enlightening--Poetry as a form of Knowledge, trying to define what kind of knowledge poetry offers, and how the abstract, exacting disciplines of philosophical and scientific reasoning don't address a great part of the human experience.

Took my 14 year old son and he loved it! He can't wait to go again! It also inspired me to do poetry with my students in a new way. Thanks!

This was highly entertaining, and it was so fascinating to be part of a live recording. My friend even stepped up to the mic and asked a question.
I hope to attend many more of these sessions.

I didn't realize this was a radio show when I bought the tickets, but it was interesting and fun to see how that works (audience applause cards, etc.) I also had assumed that Lakoff would be discussing something of a political nature (I wasn't familiar with the radio program), so it was something of a surprise to find myself in such heady company. But, although I think I actually understood just a little of the discussion, it was exhilarating and stimulating to catch what I could and to get a clue as to what other amazing heads are thinking and exploring. So I enjoyed it very much!

We enjoyed the live (being taped) radio show, found the material "Extended Mind" interesting, and the guest well spoken. Ian's one minute philosopher and his 2 short stories were very engaging and witty. We've listened to the Philosophy Talk for a few years and it's always got some topic to mull over, although some themes are more engrossing than others. It's nice to finally put a face to the radio voices of Ken and John....both very personable and knowledgeable.

I really enjoyed the cabaret style of performance. I found the material very stimulating; presented in a performance manner, in a fun building in Berkeley.
Very well done.

The event was ok -- but I don't think you should pay to participate as audience for a radio taping that will be aired. I would not recommend it to friends. Just catch the radio version.