Best Ryan Downie Podcasts (2026)

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RA056: Marilyn McCord Adams and the Defeat of Evil 23:47

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11M ago23:47

23:47

Before her death in 2017, Marilyn McCord Adams had a long and impressive career as a philosopher and theologian. While she had many interests both philosophical and theological, the problem of evil loomed ever-present in her thinking. I intend this video as an introduction to her views on the problem of evil; specifically on the notion of axiologic…

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RA055: Pete Mandik on Materialism, Quine, and Religious Mysticism 1:55:47

11M ago1:55:47

1:55:47

In this episode, Ben Watkins sits down with Professor Pete Mandik to discuss several different ways of conceiving of materialism along with strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Professor Mandik also gives a summary of a view inspire by Quine he calls “Type-Q Materialism.” Additionally, Ben and Professor Mandik discuss various aspects of relig…

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RA054: Why Evidence Isn't Everything | Intrinsic Probability 11:26

11M ago11:26

11:26

The intrinsic probability of a theory is the probability that a theory has purely in virtue of its intrinsic features. In this video, I give a brief overview of Paul Draper's theory of intrinsic probability according to which the intrinsic probability of a theory depends only on its modesty and coherence.…

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RA053: A Dialogue on Theodicy with Kyle Alander (Christian Idealism) 4:00:29

11M ago4:00:29

4:00:29

This episode is part interview and part dialogue between Justin Schieber and Christian YouTuber Kyle Alander about Kyle's preferred approach to the problem of evil. Alander adopts a defeat-based approach along the lines of Marilyn McCord Adams, Trent Dougherty, and John Schneider. In this almost four hour long episode, they discuss how defeat is un…

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RA052: Objective Idealism and Presuppositionalist Apologetics 21:14

11M ago21:14

21:14

In this episode, Ben Watkins sits down to discuss the Van Tillian tradition of presuppositional apologetics often found online along with objective idealism— an epistemological view often associated with Post-Kantians like Hegel, Fichte, and Schelling. Two claims of Van Til are challenged using the resources of objective idealism: Those two claims …

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RA051: Hume the Atheist? A Humean Case against Theism with Paul Russell 1:21:08

11M ago1:21:08

1:21:08

In this episode, Ben Watkins sits down with Professor Paul Russell to discuss David Hume, philosophy of religion, and Dialogues concerning Natural Religion. Professor Russell is a leading Hume scholar and author of “The Riddle of Hume’s Treatise” which argues irreligion is central to understanding the naturalism and skepticism at the heart of Hume’…

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RA050: THIS is Why God Hides? (Part 8 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) 13:56

11M ago13:56

13:56

The Hiddenness Series returns. Richard Swinburne's responsibility argument aims to show it's good for God to stay hidden. That way we can investigate God's existence together. Assisting others in this endeavor, says Swinburne, is a very good deed—one we should be thankful to have the opportunity to do. In this video I discuss Swinburne's argument, …

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RA049: The End of Divine Hiddenness? (Part 7 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) 26:26

2y ago26:26

26:26

This video is a response to a recent video by Christopher Cloos at Christian Philosophy Academy. Chris' Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja9dldyWQwE&t=1445sIn his video, Cloos presents an objection to Schellenberg's divine hiddenness argument from a recent essay by Daniel Howard-Snyder which argues that, possibly, God may hide from people to a…

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RA048: A Conversation on Divine Hiddenness with Gavin Ortlund (Part 6 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) 1:24:12

2y ago1:24:12

1:24:12

In this video, Justin Schieber joins Dr. Gavin Ortlund for a friendly conversation on Schellenberg's argument from Divine Hiddenness.

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RA047: Gavin Ortlund is Wrong about Divine Hiddenness (Part 5 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) 34:11

2y ago34:11

34:11

A few weeks ago, Gavin Ortlund of Truth Unites released a video exploring the argument from divine hiddenness and giving several objections to it. While I appreciated Gavin's wrestling with the argument, I did not think his objections are successful. This video seeks to respond to those objections by clarifying aspects of Schellenberg's reasoning. …

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RA046: The Case for Nonresistant Nonbelief (Part 4 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) 18:50

2y ago18:50

18:50

Welcome back to the Hiddenness Series. In the last episode, we looked at Schellenberg's concept of a nonresistant nonbeliever which plays a central role in his argument from Divine Hiddenness. To refresh, somebody is a nonresistant nonbeliever if they (1) fail to believe that God exists and (2) that failure is not the result of their resistance to …

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RA045: What is a Nonresistant Nonbeliever, Really? (Part 3 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) 13:23

2y ago13:23

13:23

According to Schellenberg’s argument from Divine Hiddenness, a nonresistant nonbeliever is, simply put, somebody who fails to believe in God in such a way that the failure is not itself the result of resistant self-deception. A key premise of the divine hiddenness argument just is the claim that such persons exist and/or have existed in the past. F…

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RA044: The Argument from Divine Hiddenness (Part 2 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) 21:33

2y ago21:33

21:33

In this episode Justin Schieber continues the hiddenness series by presenting J.L. Schellenberg’s Argument from divine hiddenness. Since the 1993 publication of his Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason Schellenberg’s argument has received widespread attention and still generates deep engagement. This is because many atheists find it to be quite power…

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RA043: The Varieties of Hidden Experience (Part 1 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) 23:14

2y ago23:14

23:14

Broadly speaking, Arguments from Hiddenness are philosophical arguments with atheistic conclusions arising from the fact that either the felt presence of, the nature of, or the very existence of God is somewhat less clear than we might expect if God existed. As with the problem of evil, there is no single argument from hiddenness. Rather, there is …

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RA042: Kenny Pearce on Arguments and How to Have Them Productively 1:42:12

2+ y ago1:42:12

1:42:12

This is our second discussion with philosopher doctor Kenny Pearce. In this episode we pick up the conversation by discussing Pearce's thoughts on the practice of apologetics in contrast to philosophy. This led to a consideration of what arguments for or against God may need to be retired or deemphasized. In particular, Pearce explains why the mora…

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RA041: Joe Campbell on Hume's Refutation of the Cosmological Argument 1:13:14

2+ y ago1:13:14

1:13:14

In this episode Ben Watkins continues his series on Hume with a look at section IX of Hume's Dialogue's Concerning Natural Religion. Section IX finds Hume's Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes presenting and subjecting to analysis a cosmological argument for the existence of God. Ben and Dr. Joe Campbell discuss the argument as presented and the various cr…

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RA040: Jeffrey Jay Lowder on Philosophy of Religion 58:00

2+ y ago58:00

58:00

In this episode, Justin Schieber sits down with Jeffrey Jay Lowder for a wide-ranging interview. Fans of the show will no doubt be familiar with Jeff's work. From founding Infidels.org and the Secular Outpost to his contributions to The Empty Tomb and his several public debates, Jeff has earned his reputation as a fair-minded and philosophically in…

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RA039: Matthew Adelstein on Utilitarianism and Theism 42:50

2+ y ago42:50

42:50

In this episode, Ben Watkins sits down with Matthew Adelstein to discuss utilitarianism and theism. Utilitarianism, in its classical forms, claims that what we morally ought to do is act in ways that would maximize happiness and minimize suffering. This simple moral calculus is open to several important objections, but if true, has important conseq…

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RA038: Debate: Schieber and Hernandez on the Existence of God. 2:21:59

2+ y ago2:21:59

2:21:59

This debate was between Christian apologist Eric Hernandez and atheist podcaster Justin Schieber. The event was organized by Capturing Christianity and held on May 6, 2023 at the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, TX. Visit capturingchristianity.com for this and similar events.

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RA037: Bill Vanderburgh on Misinterpretations of Hume’s Of Miracles 36:03

2+ y ago36:03

36:03

As a follow up to the last episode which gave a general overview of Hume's famous essay, Ben Watkins interviews philosopher Dr. Bill Vanderburgh on his 2019 book David Hume on Miracles, Evidence, and Probability. The conversation explores some of the reasons the text is often misinterpreted. The importance of placing Hume in his historical context …

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RA036: Ben Watkins on Hume Against the Believability of Miracles 1:07:17

3y ago1:07:17

1:07:17

In this episode, Real Atheology co-host Ben Watkins takes us on a tour through parts one and two of Hume's controversial essay 'Of Miracles'. Ben begins by providing context that serves to undercut some popular but ultimately uncharitable readings of Hume's central thesis. With the infamous argument clarified, other common objections are also explo…

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RA035: Andrew Pavelich on the Moral Problem with the Free Will Defense 1:18:03

3y ago1:18:03

1:18:03

Perhaps the most common response to the problem of evil is an appeal to the goodness of free will. Free will, it is argued, is so good that it justifies God's policy of non-intervention in cases where evil is the result of the free actions of moral agents. in his 2019 article published in The Heythrop Journal titled The Moral Problem with the Free …

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RA034: Kenny Pearce on Protestantism, Catholicism, and Apologetics 57:04

3y ago57:04

57:04

In the second part of Ryan's interview with Dr. Kenny Pearce, they discuss some of the issues surrounding the debate between Protestantism and Catholicism. In the second half the discussion turns to the issue of apologetics and whether there exists a clean distinction between it and philosophy of religion.…

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RA033: Kenny Pearce on Fruitful Dialogue and the History of Philosophy 1:24:08

3y ago1:24:08

1:24:08

In this first part of Ryan Downie’s interview with Dr. Kenny Pearce, strategies for productive dialogue with those who hold opposing views are discussed. The conversation then turns to discussing the value of historical approaches to philosophy. Finally, they discuss Leibniz contributions to philosophy of religion and the strengths and weaknesses o…

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RA032: Dustin Crummett on Harmony and Hiddenness 49:11

3y ago49:11

49:11

In this, the second half of Justin's interview with Dr. Dustin Crummett, they discuss an early paper of his in which he expands on an objection to the argument from divine hiddenness. The objection, known as the responsibility objection, claims that one reason God might have to keep belief from non-resistant persons is the good of the responsibilit…

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RA031: Dustin Crummett on Suffering, Spiders, and Simulations 1:00:22

3y ago1:00:22

1:00:22

In this episode, Justin Schieber interviews philosopher Dr. Dustin Crummett (dustincrummett.com, https://www.youtube.com/@dustin.crummett, @Dustin_Crummett). Dr. Crummett received his PhD from the University of Notre Dame in 2018, and specializes in social and political philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of religion. In this first of two episodes, …

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RA030: Michael Hemmingsen on Soul-Making and Social Progress 37:45

3y ago37:45

37:45

In this episode, returning host Justin Schieber interviews Dr. Michael Hemmingsen on his 2020 paper titled Soul-Making and Social Progress which was published in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. John Hick's Soul-Making theodicy, according to which suffering exists to provide opportunities to develop our moral virtue, is a popul…

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RA029: Leibnizian Cosmological Arguments with Josh Rasmussen 1:39:24

3+ y ago1:39:24

1:39:24

We sit down with leading analytic philosopher of religion Prof. Josh Rasmussen to discuss Leibnizian cosmological arguments. We also bring on a special guest, Logos, to facilitate a dialogue with Prof. Rasmussen as we all journey together to explore the very cutting edge of this important debate. This dialogue pushes the dialectic forward in ways t…

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RA028: Ben Watkins vs Trent Horn Debate Review 2:20:13

4+ y ago2:20:13

2:20:13

In this episode, we critically review our co-host Ben Watkins's debate against Trent Horn of Catholic Answers at Capturing Christianity's conference CCv1. We are joined by esteemed guests Felipe Leon and Joe Schmid. This wide-ranging discussion covers such topics as intrinsic value, classical versus personalist models of God, the argument from moti…

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RA027, Pt. 2: Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on Atheism and Philosophy 1:43:19

4+ y ago1:43:19

1:43:19

This episode ran a bit long, so we're splitting it into two parts. Here we interview Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on his new book Atheism Considered: A Survey of the Rational Rejection of Religious Belief (2020). This book is a systematic presentation of challenges to the existence of a higher power. Rather than engaging in a polemic against a religious worl…

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RA027, Pt. 1: Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on Atheism and Philosophy 1:38:51

4+ y ago1:38:51

1:38:51

This episode ran a bit long, so we're splitting it into two parts. Here we interview Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on his new book Atheism Considered: A Survey of the Rational Rejection of Religious Belief (2020). This book is a systematic presentation of challenges to the existence of a higher power. Rather than engaging in a polemic against a religious worl…

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Chiropractic, Episode 5 - Matt Fernandez 24:53

6y ago24:53

24:53

In this episode, Danielle interviews Dr Matt Fernandez, who is a chiropractor and exercise physiologist, awarded his PhD in September 2017. His thesis was titled: back pain, comorbidities and interventions for sciatica, which resulted in several publications in international peer-reviewed journals. Matt is currently a full time lecturer at the Depa…

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Chiropractic, Episode 4 - Simon French 15:40

6y ago15:40

15:40

In this episode we talk to Professor Simon French about his paper on undertanding chiropractic practice.Simon is a Professor of Musculoskeletal Disorders at the Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University. Simon completed his PhD at the Australasian Cochrane Centre, Monash University, and undertook his post-doctoral position at the School of H…

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RA026: Aron Lucas on the Fine Tuning Argument 54:40

6+ y ago54:40

54:40

For this episode, we interview Aron Lucas about his objection to the Fine Tuning argument in his paper "Naturalism, Fine-Tuning, and Flies" that is published at https://infidels.org/library/modern/aron_lucas/flies.html

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RA025: Dr. Felipe Leon on Mitigated Modal Skepticism 1:06:15

6+ y ago1:06:15

1:06:15

For this episode, we interview philosopher Dr. Felipe Leon on the topic of Mitigated Modal Skepticism, the view that our modal knowledge is limited to the mundane. It seeks to the ground our modal knowledge in empirical sources, such as observation and observation-sensitive theory. This would mean our modal knowledge can not be extended to possibil…

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Chiropractic, Episode3, Reidar Lystad 16:10

6+ y ago16:10

16:10

In this episode, Maddison interviews Dr Reidar P. Lystad about sports injury hospitalisations in children. Dr Lystad is a Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University. He is an injury epidemiologist with a particular interest in traumatic brain injury, spinal injury,…

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Chiropractic, Episode 2, Aron Downie 23:20

6+ y ago23:20

23:20

In this episode, Luke Ross interviews Aron Downie, a health researcher and full-time lecturer at Macquarie University Department of Chiropractic, who has been in clinical practice for 23 years. He completed his Master of Philosophy in 2011 and is currently enrolled in a PhD at the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health,…

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RA024: Interview with Islamic Apologist Zach Christ 59:24

6+ y ago59:24

59:24

In this episode, the Bens get a fresh perspective from Zach Christ, a Muslim from America who now lives in Turkey. During the interview, Zach and the Bens compare and contrast the beliefs and philosophical defenses of Islam and Christianity, delving into the concepts of God, miracles, and the afterlife. They also discuss people's attitudes toward I…

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Psychology, Episode 1, Steven Most 22:46

7y ago22:46

22:46

This is the first of our Psychology episodes.In this episode, Paige talks to Dr Steven Most about his research with Myung Jin, Sandersan Onie, and Kim Curby on perceptual processing among video game players.Steven is a Senior Lecturer at UNSW's School of Psychology and is Director of the Motivated Attention & Perception Lab (https://motivatedattent…

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Chiropractic, Episode 1 - Hazel Jenkins 17:16

7y ago17:16

17:16

The first of a new series of interviews with researchers from Macquarie University's Department of Chiropractic.This episode features Hazel Jenkins, who is a Lecturer in the Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University. She has over 15 years experience as a chiropractic clinician with strong clinical interests in addressing recurrent or chronic…

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Linguistics, Episode 11 - Jean Cho 21:29

7y ago21:29

21:29

In this episode, Brendan Falvy interviews Dr Jean Cho about her paper entitled "Why do interpreters need to be beautiful? Aesthetic labour of language workers"The full reference for the paper is: Cho, J. (2017). Why do interpreters need to be beautiful? Aesthetic labour of language workers. Gender and Language, 11(4), 482–506. https://doi.org/10.15…

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Linguistics, Episode 10 - Cassi Liardet 21:06

7y ago21:06

21:06

In this episode, Paige Hawkins interviews Dr Cassi Liardet, who is a senior lecturer in linguistics and academic communication at Macquarie University. Cassi talks about her 2016 paper about Grammatical Metaphor and how students learn to navigate academic literacies, ike essay writing.The paper being discussed is:Liardét, C. L. (2016). Grammatical …

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RA023: The Argument from Motion 54:36

7y ago54:36

54:36

We're back with a new episode! This time we tackle the Argument from Motion as presented in Ed Feser's book "Five Proofs of the Existence of God".

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Linguistics, Episode 9 - Alex Grey 22:31

7y ago22:31

22:31

In this episode, Rachael McKinstry interviews Dr Alex Grey about her research on minority languages in China.The article that provides the focus or the interview isGrey, A. (2018). A polity study of minority language management in China focusing on Zhuang. Current Issues in Language Planning, 20.it can be found here:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/…

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Linguistics, Episode 8 - Maria Herke 23:27

7y ago23:27

23:27

In this episode, Dr Maria Herke and Nathaniel Keesing discuss academic writing and the key to students' succces, focusing on a new book by Jean Brick, Nick Wilson, Maria Herke and Deanna Wong, "Academic Success: A student's guide to studying at university".Book available from https://www.macmillanihe.com/page/detail/Academic-Success/?K=978135200262…

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Linguistics, Episode 7 - Loy Lising 23:26

7y ago23:26

23:26

In this episode, Dr Loy Lising talks with Brendan Falvy about her forthcoming chapter:Lising, L. (In press). Philippine Languages in Multilingual Sydney. In Benson, Chik & Moloney (Eds.) Multilingual Sydney. Routledge.0:39 My research interests and study areas. Previous studies which led me to this paper.3:00 The difficulties generating useful data…

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Linguistics, Episode 6 - Anita Szakay 23:34

7y ago23:34

23:34

In this episode, Paige Hawkins interviews Dr Anita Szakay about her paper on bilingualism:Szakay, A., Babel, M. & King, J. (2016) Social categories are shared across bilinguals’ lexicons. Journal of Phonetics 59:92–109 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2016.09.005)0:28 What about Māori languages interests me. What languages are spoken in New Zealan…

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Linguistics, Episode 5 - Livia Gerber 20:07

7y ago20:07

20:07

In this episode, Rachael McKinstry interviews Macquarie University PhD candidate Livia Gerber about an article on family language policy she has co-written with Professor Ingrid Piller.Piller, I., & Gerber, L. (2018). Family language policy between the bilingual advantage and the monolingual mindset. International Journal of Bilingual Education and…

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Linguistics, Episode 1 - Nick Wilson 36:12

7+ y ago36:12

36:12

In this pilot episode of the podcast, Paige Hawkins and Lauren Ryan interview Dr Nick Wilson about his paper: Wilson, Nick. (2018). The portable locker room: Language, space and place in rugby pre-match interaction. Communication and Sport 6: 547-569. 0:51 Nick talks about his paper: “The Portable Locker Room. Language, Space, and Place in Rugby Pr…

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Linguistics, Episode 2 - Mehdi Riazi 29:08

7+ y ago29:08

29:08

In this episode of the podcast, Paige Hawkins interviews Professor Mehdi Riazi about his paper: Riazi, A.M., & Candlin, C.N. (2014). Mixed-methods research in language teaching and learning: Opportunities, issues and challenges. Language Teaching, 47, 135-173. doi:10.1017/S0261444813000505 0:58 Mhedi explains how he became involved in the study of …