Serious Inquiries Only

October 18, 2022March 6, 2023

SIO343: Excess Republican COVID Deaths Are Massive. But Not Surprising.

Science denialism kills. Anti-vax conspiracy theory kills. This was obvious. But what are the numbers? How many more Republicans died of COVID than might have anyway? A new study has done a rigorous job answering that question, and the answer is grim. Very grim.

Links: Wallace et al. (2022) Excess Death Rates for Republicans and Democrats During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Pink et al. (2021) Vaccine endorsement from Republican leaders increases vaccine intentions in Republicans, Allcott et al (2020) Partisan differences in social distancing and transmission rates, KFF poll on partisan gap in COVID-19 vaccination status, Estimates of unnecessary deaths due to unvaccinated adults (Brown School of Public Health)

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October 12, 2022March 6, 2023

SIO342: New Study on Sedentary Lifestyle and Health

So many of us in this day and age are stuck at our desks, or at our homes, or both, and not getting enough movement. It doesn’t take a certified science thingy person to know that’s probably not great. But how bad is it? And what levels of exercise or movement make a difference? Find out!

Links:

Farrahi et al. (2022) Joint Profiles of Sedentary Time and Physical Activity in Adults and their Associations with Cardiometabolic Health, Matthews et al. (2021) Sedentary Behavior in US Adults: Fall 2019, Matthews et al. (2008) Amount of Time Spent in Sedentary Behaviors in the US, 2003-2004, Evenson et al. (2015) Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Patterns Using Accelerometry from a National Sample of US Adults, Pomeroy (Feb. 2022) Does Sex Count As Exercise? , METs for Common Recreational Activities, METs for 800+ Activities

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October 4, 2022March 6, 2023

September QnA!

Thanks so much for the questions! Lots of personal ones, plus some behind the scenes stuff.

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September 30, 2022March 6, 2023

SIO341: Does Belief in Astrology Correlate with Narcissism?

It’s a science thingy, but more fun! A recently published study claims that belief in Astrology correlates with some negative personality traits, like narcissism. But, is it a Good Science Thingy(tm)? Or did Mars being in retrograde cause the researchers to overstate their conclusions? It’s definitely one or the other!

Links: Andersson et al (2022) Even the stars think that I am superior: Personality, intelligence, and belief in astrology, Pew Report (2018) “New Age’ Beliefs Common Among Both Religious and Nonreligious Americans, YouGovAmerica Poll Report (2022) One in four Americans say they believe in Astrology, Mosher (1966) – Paper about sex guilt and belief in psychic abilities , Longest & Smith (2011) Finding about astrology belief prevalence in a cohort of millennials

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September 14, 2022March 6, 2023

SIO340: Are Most Late Term Abortions for Health Reasons? Actually… No

It’s an often cited statistic that a high percentage of late term abortions are to protect the health of the mother, or due to some complication. As it turns out… this is one example of a left wing talking point that just… isn’t substantiated. But importantly, it does not matter. In part 2 of our series on The Turnaway Studies, Lindsey takes us through the data on later term abortions. If you plan on trying to change the minds of pro-lifers, this is a great episode to prepare you. Learn what the data say, and why even though the traditional pro-choice talking point may be incorrect, it doesn’t actually affect the argument.

Links: Foster & Kimport (2013) Who Seeks Abortions at or After 20 Weeks?, Jones & Kooistra (2011) Abortion Incidence and Access to Services In The US, 2008, Foster et al. (2012) Attitudes and Decision Making Among Women Seeking Abortions at One US Clinic, Questions and Answers on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors (Pro-life article about later abortion), Foster & Biggs (2021) Timing of Pregnancy Discovery Among Women Seeking Abortion, Upadhyay et al. (2014) Denial of Abortion Because of Provider Gestational Age Limits in the US

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September 8, 2022March 6, 2023

SIO339: The Turnaway Studies, Part 1

What happens to people who seek abortions but cannot get them? I imagine listeners to this show know the outcomes aren’t good. But the Turnaway Studies put real, tangible data into the picture. Your arguments for abortion access will be made much sharper by listening to Lindsey break down the science.

Links: The Turnaway Study overview, Annotated bibliography of The Turnaway Study publications, The Turnaway Study Book info, Biggs, Gould, & Foster (2013) Understanding why women seek abortions in the US

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August 31, 2022March 6, 2023

SIO338: Is Depression ‘Just a Chemical Imbalance?’ with Dr. Dean Burnett

Recently a study made the rounds that sought to cast doubt on the efficacy of antidepressants. At the core of this misleading study was a real truth – that depression isn’t merely a question of “not enough serotonin.” But what exactly does that mean? Is this a new discovery? And why doesn’t that mean that medication focused on serotonin doesn’t work?
Explaining this brilliantly and with singular charm is Dr. Dean Burnett!

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August 27, 2022March 6, 2023

SIO337: Major Announcement! Academia Has Lost a Science Person…

But SIO has gained one! That’s right, Lindsey has left her job as a professor and has entered our hearts as (hopefully) a full time science communicator person! We discuss the change and the reasons for Lindsey’s departure.

Pretty please help the show afford to pay Lindsey! patreon.com/seriouspod!

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July 30, 2022March 6, 2023

SIO336: How Night People Suffer in a Morning Person World

It’s part 2! This time we talk about melatonin, and then go on through the many negative outcomes associated with being a night person in this horrible morning person world. It’s a lot. But there’s like one good thing so that’s cool.

Links: Li et al (2019) – Melatonin to treat secondary sleep disorders, Brzezinski et al (2005) – Melatonin and sleep, Schrire (2021) – Safety of high dose melatonin in adults, Wei et al (2020) – Safety and efficacy of melatonin for children, Grigg-Damberger & Ianakieva (2017) Poor quality control of OTC melatonin, Yam et al (2014) Morning employees are perceived as better employees, Hepburn, Ortiz, & Locksley (1984) Stereotypes of evening types, Zielinska et al (2021) Political orientation and chronotype, Norbury (2021) Depression and chronotype, Antypa et al (2015) Anxiety and chronotype , Cox & Olatunji (2019) Anxiety and chronotype, Durmus et al (2017) ADHD and sleep, McGowan et al (2016) ADHD and sleep in adults, Preckel et al (2011) Cognitive ability, and academic achievement, Gorgol et al (2018) IQ, conscientiousness, and chronotype, Bhar et al (2022) Type 2 Diabetes and Insulin Resistance, Lotti et al (2022) Cardiometabolic Risk, Cancer, and Depression, Hasler et al (2013) Chronotype and reward response, Ahrens & Ahmed (2019) Sleep deprivation, reward circuitry, and addiction, Kivela et al (2018) Chronotype and psychiatric disorders, Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, Kantermann et al (2007) Transition to DST, Allebrandt et al (2014) Chronotype and seasonal sleep duration

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July 29, 2022March 6, 2023

SIO335: Are There Morning People and Night People? What the Science Says

Day man! Fighter of the night man! As someone who has never been able to wake up in the morning, I’ve always been curious how much of that was determined and how much I might have control over it. What does the science say? Dr. Lindsey Osterman is here to teach us! There are a lot of interesting factors that go into it.
Links:
Bear, Wolf, Lion, & Dolphin Sleep Types, Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, Adan & Almirall (1991) Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire: A reduced scale, Munich ChronoType Questionnaire, Roenneberg (2019) Chronotype and social jetlag: A (self-) critical review, Yetish et al (2015) Natural sleep and its seasonal variations in three pre-industrial societies, Kalmbach et al (2017) Genetic basis of chronotype in humans, Roenneberg et al (2007) Epidemiology of the human circadian clock, Hagenauer & Lee (2013) Adolescent sleep patterns in humans and laboratory animals, Shawa, Rae, & Roden (2018) Impact of seasons on an individual’s chronotype

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