Serious Inquiries Only
Join Thomas for some critical thinking on questions of science, philosophy, skepticism and politics. These serious topics are discussed with some serious guests, but in an entertaining and engaging way! This is not your typical interview podcast; it's a friendly dialogue, conducted thoughtfully and with plenty of humor. It's Serious Inquiries Only; but like, not boring or anything.
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SIO358: Tucker Carlson Fired! ... Hurray? I Think?
Racist nazi prick Tucker Carlson was fired by Fox News. But how should we feel about that? Can we have nice things? Or like sort of ok things? And how the hell did this happen? And what happens next? Will he run for president? I share my thoughts, and play a few of his shittiest hits to send him off properly.
SIO357: Quantum Computers Part 2 - Inevitable Game Changer or... Hyperloop?
Are all our password not belong to us? Part 2 of quantum computers! Our expert Anne tells us about the current landscape of actual quantum computers in the real world. It may not be what you think! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO356: Quantum Computers: How the Hell? No really
What is this wizardry? I'm joined by a semi-anonymous expert who explains all about quantum computers. How they work, how they don't work, what's a qubit, all that kind of stuff. She also explains the limitations. After that, I explain why the delay in episodes and go on an unhinged rant about my new obsession... quantum computers... They're impossible and it's amazing! Look for part 2 soon, in which Anne tells us how far away we actually are from real, working quantum computers. Are they about to crack all our passwords?
SIO355: Afroman vs Police and Clarence Thomas vs Ethics
Two stories today! First a more upbeat delightful one. The musician Afroman had his home raided by police for reasons no one seems to know for sure. He and his wife took footage, and he used that footage in music videos and on merch. The police want... a cut? Or something. And Matt also gives us a breakdown of the Clarence Thomas situation. Look we all already know there's not a damn thing we can immediately do about it, but that doesn't mean we should give up and not be angry. It truly is an astonishing breach of ethics. Follow Matt Cameron on twitter! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO354: Serial's Adnan Syed Conviction Reinstated. What Happened?
When I saw the headlines that Adnan Syed's murder conviction had been reinstated, I asked our friendly SIO legal expert Matt Cameron to take a look. We both assumed it was likely just some procedural thingy that would be quickly resolved. Well, turns out there's a lot more to it than that. Find out what happened and why Matt thinks there's a chance the conviction might not be going away after all. Follow Matt Cameron on twitter! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! Matt's footnotes: 85-page Court of Appeals decision in Lee v. State reinstating Adnan Syed's conviction (3/28/23) Mosby's Sep 14, 2022 motion to vacate Adnan Syed's conviction Judge Phinn's September 19, 2022 order on motion to vacate Attorney General Brian Frosh's statement re: SA Mosby's motion to vacate Attorney General's fiery response to Adnan Syed's motion to disqualify AG's office from representing the state of Maryland in this appeal More on the feud between the Attorney General and Baltimore City State's Attorney over the Adnan Syed conviction: "Maryland AG questions integrity of process used to exonerate Adnan Syed," Maryland Daily Record (10/25/22) Full transcription of prosecutor's handwritten note which Mosby alleged constituted Brady evidence and more information in this Baltimore Banner story: "Was Adnan Syed Note Misinterpreted?" Baltimore Banner, (11/1/2022) Appellant Young Lee's brief in Lee v. State Defendant Adnan Syed's brief in Lee v. State 2019 Court of Appeals case finding ineffective assistance of prior counsel in Adnan Syed's case, but not enough prejudice to justify a new trial: State v. Syed :: 2019 :: Maryland Court of Appeals Decisions Jay Wilds Plea Agreement (adnansyedwiki.com)
SIO353: A General Episode on Special Relativity!
Or wait... is it a special episode on General Relativity? Find out! Dr. Bryan Gillis takes us through some fascinating history on the discoveries and experiments that ultimately led to Einstein's Theory of Relativity. How did they measure the speed of light in like 18 dickety 2 or whatever? Impossible. Also why is faster than light travel equivalent to time travel? So much fun. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
TRUMP INDICTED!!!!!!!!!!!1111
HOLY SHIT WE GOT ONE JUSTICE UNIT POSSIBLY! THAT'S SO MANY MORE JUSTICE UNITS THAN WE'VE EVER RECEIVED WITH REGARD TO TRUMP! Matt was kind enough to join me for a late night emergency recording on the Trump indictments. 34 counts!!!! And Lydia makes a quick guest appearance for an indictment toast! This is going to have to take the place of the patron bonus I had planned. I'll save that for April. Only so many hours in the day!
SIO352: The Picard Maneuver... IT. COULD. WORRKKKK! Says Bryan the Astrophysicist
It's another delightful and educational journey through sci-fi! In a Star Trek Next Gen episode, we learn about the famous Picard Maneuver - where Picard made his ship appear in two places at once. As much as this may sound like unrealistic sci-fi flair, could it actually work? Dr. Bryan Gillis says yes! Kind of. Come learn cool things about astrophysics and relativity and whatnot! Make sure to pledge to get Part 2 early! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO351: Ok So About That Whole 'Trump Being Arrested' Thing
Matt's back! Ok so Trump was not arrested or indicted last week. What happened? No idea. But, Matt's here with some more in depth coverage of the cases we discussed last week. There's some fascinating stuff here and still reason for optimism. Does a letter by Michael Cohen ruin the whole Stormy case, as some pundits think? No. But is there a different, less... completely stupid reason the case might be problematic. Also, more from Georgia, and some SPEED law happened. Follow Matt Cameron on twitter!
SIO350: A Very ADHD Episode on ADHD
Today's expert is none other than Stormy Decisis himself, Dr. Alan Smerbeck! Alan heard a recent episode of Dear Old Dads in which I talked about my efforts to get an ADHD diagnosis and it raised all kinds of interesting questions. Here's the volunteer link Alan told us about! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO349: Thomas and an Astrophysicist See a Star War
Dr. Bryan Gillis breaks down some bad astrophysics in The Last Jedi, and we have some fun trying to reconstruct it to make sense! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please consider supporting SIO on Patreon! You get an ad free show, and goodies! Right now patrons are 1 episode ahead!
SIO348: Is... Is Trump Going To Be Arrested? Like... Really?
Ok I know how this sounds but like, it might actually happen. And it all links back to, no shit, Stormy Daniels. Having been a little preoccupied lately, I'm very lucky to have expert Matt Cameron on to catch me up and explain which of the eleventy billion crimes Trump has committed might actually come with consequences. Matt is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, serves on the board of the Student Immigrant Movement ("SIM"), and is an adjunct lecturer at Northeastern University. Hey go to patreon.com/seriouspod for the Star Wars episode and more to come asap!
Serious Inquiries Only Update
Hey folks, I'm excited to get the show going again! In this update, I talk about my plans with it, and I put out a call for people to be on the show. Also, let's get the Facebook group active again! Thank you so much for your support, it means the world to me and my family in these times. You're the absolute best. Heart emojis and heart eyes emojis.
Little Update
Andrew Torrez, Thomas's 50/50 partner in Opening Arguments Media, LLC has been accused of sexual misconduct and unwanted/uncomfortable behavior by many women and 1 Thomas. Thomas's allegations are here, major content warning. Here's Since then Andrew has gone off the deep end and completely stolen control of the show and company assets. Here's a drive link with tons of info. I talk about all that, how you can support me if you choose, and give a heartbreaking update: Lindsey Osterman has left SIO. So much heartbreak these past weeks. Please, pretty please, support this feed at patreon.com/seriouspod. Thank you so much, truly.
SIO347: Does Microdosing Work? Recorded LIVE at QED!
Science person and apparent druggy drug person Lindsey Osterman took us through what the science says on microdosing! Links: Cavanna et al (2022) Microdosing with Psilocybin Mushrooms, Lea et al (2020) Microdosing Psychedelics: Motivations, Subjective Effects and Harm Reduction, Goldberg et al (2021) Post-Acute Psychological Effects of Classical Serotonergic Psychedelics, Yu et al (2021) Psilocybin for End-of-Life Anxiety Symptoms Mason et al (2021) Spontaneous and Deliberate Creative Cognition During and After Psilocybin Exposure Amoroso & Workman (2016) Treating PTSD with MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy