Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Angie Pepper, moral and political philosopher at the University of Roehampton, whose research focuses on what we owe to other animals. We move past the usual question of whether an individual pet is well cared for and look at pet keeping as an institution: the norms and roles that give humans near-total control over companion animals.

We discuss why Angie argues this control can't be justified even in loving homes, how animals can express assent and dissent, and what changed between her earlier work on human–animal relationships and the abolishment of pet keeping.

About:

Angie Pepper, a moral and political philosopher and lecturer in philosophy at the University of Roehampton. Her expertise is in contemporary political philosophy, applied ethics, normative ethics, and analytic feminist philosophy. Her recent research focuses on what we owe to other animals, including animal agency.

Papers:

Pets, Power, and Legitimacy (2025)

Interspecies justice: agency, self-determination, and assent

Subscribe to the Behind the Stigma podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcast or Spotify. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestigmapodcast/

Send us Fan Mail

In this week's episode, I'm joined by Professor Karl Friston, theoretical neuroscientist at UCL, and one of the most cited neuroscientists in the world. Friston is best known for the free energy principle, a framework that has reshaped how we understand the brain as a prediction machine.

We discuss what the free energy principle actually means, how precision-weighting might help explain conditions like schizophrenia, anxiety and depression, and why trauma may be better understood as a breakdown in the brain's capacity for metastability rather than something trapped in the body.

About: Karl Friston is a theoretical neuroscientist at University College London and a leading figure in computational psychiatry, best known for developing the free energy principle and active inference. His work uses physics-inspired statistical methods to model brain function, and he is one of the most influential and widely cited neuroscientists working today.

Publications: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/2747-karl-friston/publications

Active Inference: The Free Energy Principle in Mind, Brain, and Behavior: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5299/Active-InferenceThe-Free-Energy-Principle-in-Mind

The Body Does Not Keep The Score: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2026.1812957/full

Subscribe to the Behind the Stigma podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcast or Spotify. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestigmapodcast/

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Professor Philip Goff, philosopher and professor at Durham University, explores the nature of consciousness, panpsychism, and the profound insights from his recent 5-MeO-DMT journey. We discuss some of his ideas, and how panpsychism challenges our understanding of reality and the universe.

About Philip Goff

Professor Goff is a British author, panpsychist philosopher, and professor at Durham University whose research focuses on philosophy of mind and consciousness. Specifically, it focuses on how consciousness can be part of the scientific worldview.

‘Why? The Purpose of the Universe’: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Purpose-Universe-Philip-Goff/dp/0198883765/

‘Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness’: https://www.amazon.com/Galileos-Error-Foundations-Science-Consciousness/dp/1524747963

Philip’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/@philipgoffphilosophy

Substack: https://philipgoff.substack.com/

X: https://twitter.com/Philip_Goff

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/philipgoff.bsky.social

Website: https://philipgoffphilosophy.com/

The Beliefless Spirituality Project: https://www.belieflessspirituality.com/

Key Topics:
What is consciousness
Panpsychism as a theory of consciousness
The relationship between physicalism, dualism, and panpsychism
Physics' limitations in explaining intrinsic nature Significance of neural correlates of consciousness
Role of mystical experiences in understanding reality
Ego dissolution
Philosophical implications of psychedelic experiences
The moral significance of panpsychism
Future directions in Goff's research