The guest has requested I take this episode down and I’m respecting that request. Apologies.
SIO33: Thinking Clearly on Syria
I support Trump’s Syria strike against the Shayrat airfield. That is the punchline of today’s episode but I encourage you to listen with an open mind as I go through the reaction to the Syria strike, what different pundits and columnists and congresspersons have said, and why I think ultimately it was a good idea. There’s a lot of muddy and motivated thinking going on in our public discourse; I’m doing my best to go where the facts lead. And as always, I’m very open to counter argument! Here are some selected sources:
How Many Bombs Obama Dropped on Syria; Breakdown of Senate Support for the Strike; Congress Syria Statements 2013 vs 2017; Blatant Republican Hypocrisy on Syria; Opinion Piece Alleging Liberals ‘Cooing’ Over Trump; Shadi Hamid Avoiding Fallacies on Syria; Possible Anti-Trump Backlash in Special Elections
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SIO32: What Happened In Syria?
I’m back from my Europe trip! And it couldn’t have come at a more news-heavy time. First I’ve got a couple quick stories to talk about – Chechnya and Susan Rice. After that I go to the main topic for this show, and unfortunately next show… which is Trump’s strike on Syria. This part one involves the backstory, what happened, how we know what we know, and some thoughts on the Putin Trump relationship. Part 2 will be available early for patrons, and it will focus on the reaction to the strike, prominent leaders’ opinions on it, and my overall take.
Shift In Trump Policy on Assad
Much more to come in part 2!!
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SIO32: What Happened In Syria?
I’m back from my Europe trip! And it couldn’t have come at a more news-heavy time. First I’ve got a couple quick stories to talk about – Chechnya and Susan Rice. After that I go to the main topic for this show, and unfortunately next show… which is Trump’s strike on Syria. This part one involves the backstory, what happened, how we know what we know, and some thoughts on the Putin Trump relationship. Part 2 will be available early for patrons, and it will focus on the reaction to the strike, prominent leaders’ opinions on it, and my overall take.
Shift In Trump Policy on Assad
Much more to come in part 2!!
Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746!
Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod
Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod
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For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com
Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com
SIO31: Why We Ignore Facts, with Sara Gorman
Joining me today is Sara Gorman! Sara is a public health expert and author based in New York. She is the co-founder of Critica, a community committed to making rational decisions about health and security. Critica’s mission is to develop and test new methods of advancing public acceptance of scientific evidence and promoting informed health decision-making.
Sara’s first book, Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us, was published in September 2016. It looks into the psychology of healthcare decision making and how people draw conclusions about perception of risk. It includes tips for the general public about how to discriminate between valid and invalid science and for public health professionals and doctors on how to communicate with people who don’t believe the best current scientific research. The book and her work have also been cited in articles about how to change people’s minds about many other things, including politics.
We discuss her book, and the possible lessons we can learn about how to convince people of things they don’t necessarily want to believe!
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SIO30: America Last, with Zachary Kiser
Joining me today is Zach Kiser, a graduate researcher and Director of Policy and Communications for the National Science Policy Group (NSPG)! Zach is here to give us some perspective on just how awful Trump’s budget proposal is and how backbreaking it might potentially be to science research in the US. Though Trump touts an America First slogan, this kind of thing is really an embarrassment and puts America behind even by Republican standards.
American Association for the Advancement of Science
If you’re interested in more information or in how to help, contact Zach directly via email here!
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SIO29: This episode is no longer available
The guest has requested I take this episode down and I’m respecting that request. Apologies.
SIO28: The Discussion With Dave Rubin That Never Was (and more bad news….)
Yeah, that excitement didn’t last too long. I was scheduled to speak to Dave Rubin at Mythinformation in Milwaukee in September, but despite everything having been agreed to and announced, Dave dropped out due to a previously overlooked scheduling conflict. In light of that, I share some thoughts on what happened, what I tried to do in response, and what the result was. I also looked back through Dave’s guest history at his alleged “liberals” he has interviewed to see whether I haven’t given him enough credit for hearing opposing views. The answer may, or may not, shock you.
After that it’s more bad news… I researched the senate races in 2018 and the results are… problematic. Find out just how problematic, and whether there is any hope to hold onto in terms of finally getting some accountability in the Trump presidency.
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SIO27: What Grounds Our Morals? With Aaron Rabi
Joining me for the second time is philosopher and now podcaster, Aaron Rabi! Aaron specializes in ethics, and I have questions. I’m fairly certain that our morality ultimately boils down to consequences, for reasons I explain, but not all philosophers see it that way. Aaron and I have a very interesting discussion on what exactly grounds our morals, given that there are problems to be found in every moral system. Does consequentialism ultimately win out, as I have previously opined? Find out!
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SIO26: The Trump Administration and Russia – An Incredible Amount of Smoke
With a heavy news week full of depositions, testimony, odd press conferences and more, today I take a look at some of the evidence of Russia-Trump collusion and what it all means. Ok, what it MIGHT mean… while trying not to descend into full on conspiracy theorist mode. It’s not exactly easy.
After that, I go into the details of a case Gorsuch decided that perfectly illustrates why the originalist/literalist method of jurisprudence leaves this podcaster cold.
Some sources used:
Nicholas Kristof on Trump-Russia
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