The Serious Pod Network

Thomas and Lydia

Serious Pod is an independent podcast network that takes the questions seriously, even when the answers are funny.

The Podcasts

Opening Arguments Where There's Woke Serious Inquiries Only Gavel Gavel Dear Old Dads

Latest Episodes

Can You Sue a Drug Company When You Don't Know Which One Made the Pill?

We're on a winning streak! ...because we picked the winners. This week we cover two cases where the little guy comes out on top against the big corporation, and learn some key torts concepts along the way. Maybe your neighborhood billboard personal injury attorney isn't such a bad guy after all. Sources: Election Protection Hotline Brennan Center statement/information on ICE at the polls The SALUTE reporting method Civil litigation statistics Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories Mobil v Ellender Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.

OA1306 · Oct 19, 2026 · 52 min · With Thomas Smith

WTW151: Remember the Anti-Woke Amazon? Yeah, Us Neither.

Remember Public Square, the self-declared "anti-woke Amazon" that promised conservatives shopping without funding a rainbow flag? Yeah that didn't work. But not for lack of trying! Lydia has the history and also the business that DID work out: infinite grift and corruption. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke! You get ad-free episodes and patron-only bonus episodes.

Oct 9, 2026 · 49 min · With Thomas Smith & Lydia Smith

SIO531: Your Brain Is Actually Two Separate Organs, According to a New Stanford Study

We welcome back Dr. Eric Jaffe to help us understand a really cool, groundbreaking scientific discovery! Our brains are not one organ! Turns out your forebrain and your hindbrain might be two completely separate lineages that never actually came from each other, more like two kids in a trench coat than one continuous evolution. Why does that matter for ALS research? And how far back in evolution does the split actually go? Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show at patreon.com/seriouspod! You get ad-free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

Oct 7, 2026 · 57 min · With Thomas Smith

GG89: NY Defense Attorney Calls the Tompkins County DA's Cornell Decision "Truly Stunning"

Part 3. Thomas and Lydia welcome back criminal defense attorney Liz Skeen to break down the Tompkins County DA's decision not to prosecute the Cornell Chi Phi case, line by line. Why did the DA's own press release say his office "confirmed" with campus police that there was no crime, instead of investigating it themselves? What does a six page, hand-corrected witness statement actually prove, and why did nobody ever sit down with Jane Doe to ask a single follow-up question? Liz walks through New York's three degrees of rape, the strange voluntary-versus-involuntary intoxication rule, and whether a motion to remove Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor has any real teeth. Content note for sexual assault throughout. Patrons at patreon.com/gavelpod get episodes early and ad-free!

Oct 16, 2026 · 56 min · With Thomas Smith & Lydia Smith

Best of Tom: The Car Wash Fight Club (December 2022 Bonus)

Best of Tom continues, and this one has never been on the public feed. It's a patron bonus from December 2022, and it holds the story we've called back more than any other: Tom's first job, at the car wash fight club. It's a repeat for patrons, and every download helps keep Tom's share of the show coming while he's out. We work through a backlog of listener questions: what activities we'd want for our kids, how hard to push them into sports, finding a kid's "thing", and who their role models should be. Thomas tells the story of Arlo and Phoebe's Christmas recital, Tom refuses to be the turkey, and then Tom finally tells the whole car wash story: ex-cons, drugs sold through car windows, new hires fighting for money in the detail bay, and the day management robbed the place and vanished. Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com For extended episodes, bonus content, and most importantly, for an AD FREE SHOW, make sure to pledge on Patreon!

Oct 16, 2026 · 68 min · With Thomas Smith, Eli Bosnick & Tom Curry