The man behind the robot vacuum has developed something new—”The Familiar,” an AI-powered robot “pet” designed to bond with its owner.
While the product itself is interesting or weird, depending on how you look at it, its existence highlights deeper issues in American society today, including…
The growing loneliness problem
Falling fertility rates and an aging society
The lie that autonomy leads to fulfillment
And more.
Listen to understand how we should think about many of the new AI products being pushed on everyday people and how we can build a society where AI friends, companions, and “familiars” aren’t needed.
More Resources:
The Roomba Guy’s Second Act: A Robot You’ll Want to Snuggle
A recent survey said that 60% of Gen Zers and 50% of Millennials cut someone out of their life in the last year. In the reasons given, many survey respondents listed reasons that had to do with conflict and disagreement.
At the same time, young adults report the highest rates of loneliness and poor mental health.
If we’re cutting out the people who stress us out, shouldn’t our mental health improve?
Liberty argues that young adults were raised in environments that eliminated friction, and that this has harmed expectations about conflict in relationships, and is harming young people today by isolating them from the people they need.
Sam Altman talks about uploading his brain to the cloud. Elon Musks says humans should merge biological intelligence with digital intelligence. Peter Thiel isn’t sure if the human race should continue without that kind of human-tech merger. What do these tech leaders have in common? Transhumanism—the idea that humans should be able to change, or even eradicate, their physical bodies by merging with technology.
This may sound sci-fi, but the core tenets of transhumanism aren’t actually new. In fact, humans have been moving toward this idea for a long time. Some even predicted it.
In this episode, Liberty discusses how ancient and classic literature and thinkers of the past, including J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, can help us understand transhumanism and the “brave new world” we find ourselves in.
More Resources:
Do You Want to Live Forever? A Tolkienian Critique of Transhumanism by Julie Miller
Is the American Dream dead for Millennials and Gen Z? Is there a version of traditional success that’s still attainable? How are young adults redefining their life dreams in the face of economic instability and loss of trust in institutions?
This week on the Know Why Podcast, Cole Douglas Claybourn and Liberty discuss all this and more. A journalist and former English teacher, Cole talks about fighting back against the lies we are prone to believe on his Substack blog “The Road Home” and on his In No Hurry podcast.
Both Millennials with similar backgrounds, Cole and Liberty break down why the traditional American Dream isn’t panning out for many young adults who are still struggling to pay off college loans, buy a house, and start a family.
They also contrast the expectations Millennials and Gen Z grew up with—change the world, go far in life, do great things—with the realities of what makes life more fulfilling, like local connection and a slower pace of living.
In short: Millennials and Gen Z are steeped in what feels like a never-ending hustle culture due to economic pressures and a cultural obsession with productivity. And it’s negatively affecting everything from our diets to our creativity to our families.
If you’re a young adult wondering if you’re the only one struggling to feel successful in life, or if you’re a listener who wants to better understand the challenges facing Millennials and Gen Z, this episode is for you.
First Lady Melania Trump recently asked Americans to imagine a humanoid robot tutor named “Plato.” Meanwhile, many schools are already incorporating AI into the classroom, in some cases eliminating human teachers altogether. Can AI help solve America’s education problems? Or should we draw a line and protect the classroom from AI encroachment?
In this episode, Liberty offers three reasons why AI doesn’t belong in education. First, from a Christian perspective, education is discipleship, and AI can’t disciple. Second, education requires relationship, which research confirms, and AI can’t truly relate. Third, studies are already showing evidence of cognitive decline in AI users, and education technology has, in general, been a large failure.
Learn more about these arguments in the full episode, where Liberty also shares some practical tips for parents to make sure their kids are truly learning to think in the age of AI. Dig in deeper by checking out the resources below, cited in the episode.
More Resources:
Ed Tech is Profitable. It is Also Mostly Useless. (The Economist) https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/01/22/ed-tech-is-profitable-it-is-also-mostly-useless?utm_campaign=shared_article
Did Jesus really do the impossible—come back to life? In this interview, reposted in honor of Holy Week, Stand to Reason apologist Robby Lashua walks listeners through the historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, including what non-Christian historians have to say about the event.
More Resources
See the following resources recommended by Robby for more historical scholarship regarding the resurrection:
GaryHabermas.com
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas
The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach by Michael Licona
The Resurrection of the Son of God by N. T. Wright
A recent story in The Wall Street Journal includes predictions that in 20 years, AI-augmented entertainment will be so customizable that people can watch the same show and choose their own endings—or even entire plot paths—via “unobstrusive” devices like contact lenses or BCIs.
While this prediction may sound futuristic or outlandish to some, it’s consistent with a trend we’re already seeing: the perception of art as entertainment, a matter of personal taste rather than formation of character. Does it matter that our culture largely views art this way? Yes, and in this episode, Liberty shares reasons why.
If you care about art, our understanding of humanity, the formation of moral character, and the preservation of a culture’s “collective memories,” listen to this episode and comment with your thoughts about where the entertainment industry is headed.
Why do some social movements seem religious in nature? Why do some even seem like a cult, where questioning the narrative is not allowed? Looking at others’ actions—and our own lives—through the lens of story can help us understand. Everyone lives within a story of reality that they are either telling themselves, or that they have accepted as true. Often, we don’t even realize which “story” we’re living in; we just absorb the story the culture around us tells. That story is our worldview. Every story tries to answer three fundamental questions. If things aren’t making sense, it’s probably because you’re trying to live within a false story of reality.
In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, Liberty draws on philosophical insight from Nancy Pearcey’s popular book, Total Truth, to analyze the different stories in our culture. She argues that there is one true story, and when we acknowledge it, the world makes sense. What story are you telling yourself? Is it true?
Did you notice the ads for sports betting apps during the Super Bowl? Maybe you’ve seen them pop up on your favorite social media platform or YouTube streamer’s videos. In this episode featuring returning Know Why Podcast guest Philip Bunn, we answer questions about the online sports phenomenon, including…
Why does it seem like sports betting is suddenly everywhere? How popular is online sports betting?
What are some of the individual and cultural side effects of pervasive gambling?
How is the men’s loneliness epidemic connected to the rise in online gambling?
Why should Christians, including pastors, care about addressing this issue?
Listen for a conversation that addresses the legal background of legalized sports betting, the “why” behind many states’ support for legalized gambling, a Christian angle on the issue, and more.
James Talarico is a Texas State Representative and senatorial primary candidate, a Democrat, and a Christian. In recent viral podcast interviews with both Joe Rogan and The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, Mr. Talarico sparked some controversy with his claims about religion, Jesus, and the nature of truth.
Mr. Talarico’s comments garnered attention in part because he has made his Christian faith a large part of his progressive political platform. But they’re worth examining, because his comments touch on sincere questions that many people have about faith in general and Christianity in particular.
For instance… Is ultimate truth a mystery, or can it be known? Are all religions ultimately pointing to the same universal truth, just (to use Mr. Talarico’s metaphor) in different languages? What’s most important to understand about Jesus? And what is the point of religion, anyway? Is it to understand the story of reality—or to understand the story within ourselves?
Atheist-turned-Christian apologist Jon Noyes joins the Know Why Podcast to examine these questions closely and reveal that ultimate truth can be known, and share why finding it matters.
