Philosophy's Not Boring
A groundbreaking podcast for curious kids aged 4-12, and the grown-ups listening with them, that proves philosophy, psychology and religion are anything but dull.
Join our fictional AI hosts Mira, a brilliant 9-year-old, and her younger brother Finn, age 7, as they explore philosophy, psychology and religion as one big family of questions about how we make sense of things. Each episode takes a real thinker or idea seriously, from what makes you the same person you were as a baby to why people across the world believe such different things about the soul, and then lands it somewhere in your actual life.
We don't hand you the answer and move on. Some questions have one; some have several worth comparing; some nobody has ever settled, and we'll tell you which is which. On matters of faith we stay even-handed: we describe what people believe from the outside, and never tell you what to believe yourself. Because philosophy isn't a pile of hard words to memorize. It's learning to ask a better question, and to sit with it honestly, even when it's uncomfortable.
A note on why we use AI. For us, AI allows us to deliver learning at a scale and quality that previously would have been too expensive. If we make the odd technical error, or the sound goes a bit funny, bear with us, we're trying our best. We hope you enjoy the show!
Philosophy's Not Boring
What was the Sermon on the Mount?
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Welcome to Philosophy is not boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira! And I'm Finn! Hey Finn, I want you to picture something. Imagine you're at the playground, minding your own business, building the most epic sandcastle ever. Or it would have a moat and dragon towers. Exactly! But suddenly another kid comes over, kicks your castle over, and calls you a mean name. What is the very first thing you want to do?
SPEAKER_00Well, I want to kick their sandcastle over and call them a mean name back. That's just fair.
SPEAKER_01That is exactly what almost anyone would feel. It is human nature to want to hit back when someone hurts us. But what if someone told you that the best, most amazing thing you could do in that moment is to actually love that kid.
SPEAKER_00Wait, what? Love them? The kid who just kicked my dragon tower? No way. Why would anyone say that?
SPEAKER_01That is what we are exploring today. Around 2,000 years ago, a teacher sat on a hillside and gave a speech full of instructions that were so surprising and so upside down, they changed history.
SPEAKER_00Upside down instructions, like doing handstands.
SPEAKER_01Not handstands, upside down ideas, like loving your enemies instead of hating them. Today, those ideas are the heart of Christianity, one of the biggest religions in the world. But back then, they sounded absolutely crazy.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I need to know how loving your enemies makes any sense.
SPEAKER_01To understand why these ideas were so shocking, we have to travel back in time. 2,000 years ago, to the ancient Middle East, in a place called Galilee. Who was in charge there? The Roman Empire. And the Romans were all about power. They had giant armies, big swords, and strict rules. If you wanted to be important in the Roman world, you had to be strong, wealthy, and scary.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I definitely wouldn't want to mess with a Roman soldier.
SPEAKER_01Right. Everyone thought that true greatness meant crushing your enemies. But then, a teacher named Jesus of Nazareth gathered a huge crowd of regular people, fishermen, farmers, families, on the side of a mountain. Oh, is this the famous speech? The one on the hillside? Yes, today it's known as the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus started telling them who the most important people really were. But he didn't point to the soldiers or the kings. Who did he point to? He said, Blessed are the gentle, blessed are the humble, blessed are the peacemakers, and the people who are merciful. He told his followers that these quiet, peaceful people were the ones who truly mattered. Wait, but the Romans would just squish them.
SPEAKER_00That's terrible advice if you want to be powerful.
SPEAKER_01That's exactly why it's called an upside-down kingdom. He was saying that true greatness isn't about how many people you can push around. It's about how much kindness and peace you can bring.
SPEAKER_00Huh. I guess that sounds nice, but it also sounds really, really hard. Especially if people are being mean to you.
SPEAKER_01You are absolutely right, and it's about to get even harder, because next, Jesus talked about exactly what to do when someone is unkind to you. Before the Sermon on the Mount, there was a very old rule that people lived by. It was called an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Ew, what does that mean? People were stealing teeth? No, it was a rule about fairness. It meant if someone knocked your tooth out, the punishment was that they lost a tooth. But only one tooth. You weren't allowed to knock out all their teeth.
SPEAKER_00It was supposed to stop people from taking too much revenge. Okay, that kind of makes sense. It keeps things even. Fair is fair.
SPEAKER_01Right. But Jesus told his followers not to use that rule anymore. He gave them a new instruction. He said, if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
SPEAKER_00Wait, what? Turn the other cheek. So they can hit me again? No way!
SPEAKER_01I know! It sounds completely wild! But let's puzzle it out together. If someone hits you and you hit them back, what happens next?
SPEAKER_00Well, they're going to be super mad, so they'll probably hit me again, but harder.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. And then what do you do?
SPEAKER_00I guess I hit them even harder. It's like a never-ending ping pong game of punching.
SPEAKER_01Yes! A ping pong game of anger. The anger just bounces back and forth forever. If both people demand an eye for an eye, eventually everyone goes blind.
SPEAKER_00Whoa, I never thought about it like that.
SPEAKER_01So when Jesus taught his followers to turn the other cheek, he was talking about breaking the cycle. Someone has to be brave enough to put the paddle down and say, I'm not playing this angry game anymore. But doesn't that just mean you lose? Doesn't it make you look weak? That is the biggest question of all, Finn. Is it weakness or is it strength? Let's think about it. Hitting back when you're mad is really easy, right? It's your very first instinct.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you don't even have to think about it. Your arms just do it.
SPEAKER_01But stopping yourself, looking at someone who was just terribly mean to you, and deciding not to hurt them back. That takes a massive amount of self-control. Some people think it's the strongest thing a person can do.
SPEAKER_00Hmm. It's like having a superpower to freeze your own anger.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. And Jesus took it even one step further. He didn't just say, don't hit back. He told his followers, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Love them? But I don't even like them. How can you love a bully? This is where we have to understand what love means here. It doesn't mean feeling warm and fuzzy inside, like how you love your best friend or how you love pizza. It doesn't? No. In this teaching, love is an action, not a feeling. It means choosing to want good things for them and treating them with respect, even when they don't deserve it.
SPEAKER_00That still sounds impossible.
SPEAKER_01It is deeply hard, but Jesus summed it up in one famous instruction, which we now call the Golden Rule. He said, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. Oh, I know that rule. Treat other people the way you want to be treated. Yes, and notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say, treat people well if they treat you well first. It says treat them the way you want to be treated, period. No matter what they do to you.
SPEAKER_00So if my sister breaks my favourite toy on purpose, my instinct is to break hers. But the golden rule says I shouldn't, because I wouldn't want my toy broken. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01You choose to act with kindness, even when the other person didn't. That is how the cycle of breaking toys, or breaking hearts, finally stops.
SPEAKER_00Next time I get into an argument, I'm going to think about the ping pong game of anger. It's actually kind of cool to be the one who stops it.
SPEAKER_01It is incredibly cool. And here is a mind-bending fact for you. People have been reading and arguing about the Sermon on the Mount for 2,000 years. And it hasn't just influenced Christians.
SPEAKER_00Really?
SPEAKER_01Who else? Some of the most famous peacemakers in history. Mahachma Gandhi, who helped India win its independence without fighting a war, wasn't a Christian. But he studied the Sermon on the Mount and said it deeply inspired his peaceful protests. Whoa, really? Yes. And Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the great civil rights leader, used these exact teachings to encourage his followers to face hatred with love and violence with peace. They believed that non-violence wasn't weak at all.
SPEAKER_00They believed it was the most powerful weapon on earth. That is seriously amazing. A speech on a hillside changed the whole world.
SPEAKER_01It really did. Today, billions of people follow Christianity. And these upside-down ideas are right at the very centre of it all. Alright, Finn, I think it is time for the quiz. Are you ready to test your memory? I think so.
SPEAKER_00Hit me with your best questions.
SPEAKER_01First question. Next one. Roughly how many years ago did this famous speech happen? Question 3. Instead of demanding an eye for an eye, what did the teacher say you should do if someone slaps you on the right cheek? Here's number four. What did he teach his followers to do to their enemies? Last question. What is the famous rule that says you should treat others the way you want to be treated? Great job! Let's see how you did. The first answer is Jesus of Nazareth. For question two, it happened around 2,000 years ago. The answer to question three is turn the other cheek. For question four, he said to love your enemies. And the final answer is the golden rule.
SPEAKER_00You know, I'm still thinking about that ping pong game of anger. It's really hard to just walk away, but I definitely don't want to be playing it forever.
SPEAKER_01Me neither. It leaves you with a huge question to chew on. Is choosing not to hit back a sign of weakness? Or is it actually the bravest thing a person can do? Nobody says it's easy.
SPEAKER_00It's definitely something I'm going to be wondering about for a while.
SPEAKER_01If today's episode made you think, we would love it if you could leave us a five-star review. Just scroll down on your podcast app and tap the stars. It really helps other curious kids find the show.
SPEAKER_00Oh, and don't forget to check out our site, kidopoly.com. We've got tons of amazing learning games and fun activities for you to explore.
SPEAKER_01And if you want a shout out on the show, or just want to say hi and tell us what you think of the Golden Rule, email us at hello at kidopoly.com.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for wandering with us today.
SPEAKER_01See you next time on Philosophy is not boring. Bye everyone.