Episode 230: In an era when every major news event seems to demand an immediate opinion, “The Ethical Life” podcast asks a harder question: When is speaking up a moral obligation, and when is silence the wiser choice?

In this episode, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore the growing pressure to publicly comment on political controversies, social justice issues and breaking news — especially on social media, where silence is often treated as consent. The conversation is rooted in recent national debates sparked by aggressive immigration enforcement actions in the Twin Cities and the intense online reactions that followed.

The hosts examine why the urge to speak can feel so urgent, even when facts are incomplete or emotions are raw. They question whether constant public commentary actually persuades anyone, or whether it more often deepens division by rewarding outrage and certainty over patience and understanding.

The discussion draws a careful distinction between private and public speech, noting that social media exists in a murky space between the two. Kyte argues that while working through ideas aloud can be valuable in trusted relationships, public platforms are often poorly suited for nuance, uncertainty or moral reflection.

The hosts also revisit lessons from the civil rights movement, including the example of Martin Luther King Jr., not just as a model of moral courage but of discipline, preparation and restraint. They contrast that approach with today’s expectation that everyone should weigh in on every controversy, often without time to listen or reflect.

Episode 229: Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada are off this week, so we looked back through our show archives and are sharing four of our favorite ethical dilemmas from the past several months.

Topics include whether it’s OK to correct the actions of other people’s children, what advice you’d give your friend who won a lottery jackpot, the ethics around quick conversations and the proper etiquette when staying at an Airbnb.

Episode 228: In early January, advice is everywhere. Friends offer encouragement. Social media fills with tidy aphorisms. But beneath the flood of guidance sits an uncomfortable question we rarely confront: How much of what happens to us is actually within our control?

Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take on that question by examining the role chance plays in shaping lives — and how ignoring it can distort the way people judge themselves and others.

The conversation begins with a familiar moment: times of transition. New jobs, moves, health scares and relationship changes often leave people searching for direction. Those moments, Rada notes, are when advice feels most powerful — and most dangerous. Kyte argues that advice often sounds wiser in hindsight than it truly is, especially when people mistake favorable outcomes for proof that certain paths were inevitable.

Throughout the episode, the hosts explore why stories of achievement tend to emphasize effort and intention while quietly overlooking randomness, timing, and circumstance. That omission, they suggest, fuels harsh self-judgment and unfair assumptions about others. When things go well, people feel deserving. When they do not, blame comes easily.

Kyte draws on philosophy, behavioral research and personal experience to explain how probability, preparation and habit matter — but never operate alone. A discussion of health decisions, including lifestyle changes prompted by medical warning signs, illustrates how agency and uncertainty coexist rather than compete. Doing the “right” things, Kyte says, increases odds but never guarantees results.