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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SIO317: Is Instagram Bad for Mental Health? What the Science Says Might Surprise You
The Facebook Whistleblower's testimony and interviews have made some alarming claims about social media and the harms it may cause. But do all of those claims hold up to scrutiny? Maybe not! Let's see what psychologist Dr. Lindsey Osterman has to say! Lindsay's billion links: Internal Report 1, Teen Mental Health Deep Dive, Internal Report 2, Hard Life Moments: Mental Health Deep Dive, Whistleblower Full Senate Hearing Transcript, Body image dissatisfaction in preadolescent children, Disordered eating and the transition to college: A prospective study, Prevalence of body dissatisfaction among a United States adult sample, Prevalence, Onset, and Course of Suicidal Behavior Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Germany, Lim et al (2019) Suicidality and Self Harm in Children and Adolescents, Swannell et al (2014) Prevalence of NSSI in nonclinical samples, Woods & Scott (2019) #Sleepteens, Keles et al (2002) Social Media and Depression, Anxiety, and Distress, Ferguson et al (2013) Peer, TV, and Social Media Influences on Body Dissatisfaction, ED Symptoms and Life Satisfaction in Adolescent Girl, Orben et al (2019) Social Media's Enduring Effect on Adolescent Life Satisfaction
SIO316: Spooktacular October Patreon QnA!
Is it ghosts? Dave Chappelle's boring unoriginal transphobia, rat jacket fetishes, Democratic party bashing, and more! Here's that Grandpa Joe blackface post.
SIO315: Lisa Littman's Latest Trans Study is Garbage
It's part 2 of our Littman breakdown, find out what her latest junk study says. This time it's about detransitioning and it suffers from many of the same problems as her first study we covered in part 1. Also, friend of the show Aaron Rabinowitz, host of Embrace the Void, dug up some of the questions Littman asked. Which ones were and were not included says a ton about what the answers must have been. Links: MacKinnon (2021), Littman (2021), Turban (2021)
SIO314: Lisa Littman's Bogus Trans Studies, Part 1
Recently, a study by Lisa Littman has been making the rounds among the anti-woke. You may remember Littman mentioned in the amazing 2 part series debunking The End of Gender. She is the inventor of the transphobic bull shit concept "rapid onset gender dysphoria" which is science words for "kids these days." In this two part series, Dr. Lindsey Osterman breaks down both of her bogus studies and why they are terrible science thingies.
SIO313: US Police Killings Undercounted by More than Half, According to New Study
In a vital follow up to our police bias episodes, today we break down a new study that shows police killings were undercounted by MORE THAN HALF. This confirms what many of us have suspected about the "official data" on police violence, and it's only the tip of the iceberg. Links: Lancet article, Fatal Encounters, Mapping Police Violence, The Counted
SIO312: September Patreon QnA!
We've got some great questions as always! This time we start with some personal slash whimsical stuff including what song lyrics we have been wrong about. Other great segments include sex stuff and why Jordan Peterson is wrong about evo-psych. Or just... everything. Links: Dwulit & Rzymski (2019) - Associations of Porn Use with Sexual Dysfunctions
SIO311: What the Science Actually Says on Porn Consumption
It's part 2 of our sex stuff series. Dr. Lindsey Osterman did a deep dive into porn related research. Either that or I caught her looking at porn and she proposed this series as an elaborate cover. But either way you're getting some great stuff! Does the anti-porn side of the argument have the weight of evidence on their side? Is porn actually totally fine? Find out! Links: Michael Hobbes, Human Trafficking, Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, Revenge porn laws by state, Fisher & Kohut (2017) Pornography viewing: Keep calm and carry on, Grubbs et al (2018) Pornography problems due to moral incongruence, Reward Foundation (promotes porn abstinence; one of the authors on a review article claiming that porn is bad holds a position at this foundation), Ferguson and Hartley (2020) Pornography and sexual aggression: Can meta-analysis find a link?
SIO310: Banning Sex Work and Sex Work Websites Is Bad and We Should Stop Doing It
But don't take my word for it, Dr. Lindsey Osterman is here to break down the social science for us! And guess what, SURPRISE SURPRISE, it doesn't support the conservative war on porn and sex work. And it's not just conservatives, it's NYT's Nicholas D. Kristof, and prominent anti-porn feminists like Catharine MacKinnon. Listen as Lindsey explains why the war against sex work is bad for everyone. You're Wrong About: Sex Trafficking, The Butterfly Effect, Perry (2021) "Scientific authority, religious conservatism, and support for outlawing pornography", Platt et al (2018) "Associations between sex work laws and sex workers' health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of quantitative and qualitative studies", McCarthy et al (2021) "Job attributes and mental health: A comparative study of sex work and hairstyling", Cowen & Colosi (2021) "Sex Work and Online Platforms: What Should Regulation Do?", Jiao et al (2021) "Information and Communication Technologies in Commercial Sex Work: A Double-Edged Sword for Occupational Health and Safety", Bleakley (2014) "500 Tokens to Go Private": Camgirls, Cybersex and Feminist Entrepreneurship, Cunningham et al (2018) "Behind the screen: Commercial sex, digital spaces and working online"
SIO309: A Veterinarian Answers our Ivermectin Questions
Therese Chan, an actual vet (though not a horse doctor) is here to talk about Ivermectin. What is it, what does it do, what does it not do, why are so many people taking it, will it turn you into a horse, will it turn you back from a horse to a human, is this a simulation, no really is it, how is any of this real, and more!
SIO308: August Patreon QnA!
It's that time again! Patrons asked some fantastic questions. Like, what's our favorite piece of visual art? Is Bari Weiss right about Amy Cooper? What are Lindsey's thoughts on tenure? Are morals taught or learned? When should people resign in protest vs. staying and fighting? And more!
SIO307: Newly Published Study Shows Atheists are Prejudiced...
... AGAINST ANTI GAY ACTIVISTS. Yeah. It's a bad science thingy. But bad science thingies are a bat signal for Dr. Lindsey Osterman, who is here to break down this study for us! What does the study prove? What does it definitely not prove? Find out! Uzarevic et al. (2021) "Are Atheists Unprejudiced?", Uzarevic et al. (2017) "Are Atheists Undogmatic?", Speed & Brewster (2021) "Christians, but not Atheists, Show High In-Group Favoritism"
SIO306: What Does the Massachusetts Outbreak Say About Vaccine Effectiveness?
You might have seen the very scary headlines about a Massachusetts outbreak in which 74% of those infected were vaccinated. That sounds terrifying! But is it? What does actual science person Dr. Lindsey Osterman make of these numbers? The news is actually far better than you might think! Find out why! In a quick first segment, Lindsey gives us a hilarious recap of how thoroughly Sam Harris accidentally parodied the hell out of himself! Links: WaPo article on Provincetown Outbreak, Original CDC Report on Provincetown Outbreak, Bear Week, CDC data, Delta's dominance in US, NYT Tracker of MA COVID cases, COVID-19 Vaccine Report, from MA Dept of Public Health, Tegan and Sara Study
SIO305: July Patreon QnA!
After some thrilling haircut talk, we get to this month's questions! Topics this time include: choosing government by sortition, Manchin and Sinema ruining the country, who was the best movie president, vaccinating yourself vs. your children, a general strike, and neoliberalism!
SIO304: Are the Woke Left and Alt-Right Alike? Part 2: The Study So Bad It Made Quillette Look Good
Continuing from the last episode, Lindsey backs up her claim that the bulk of the terrible science was yet to come. WOW. This study was complete garbage. You really ought to hear how terrible it is. Lindsey, as usual, did other people's homework for them. She got a hold of some of the data and did her own work with it, which revealed some interesting stuff. Here is the doc. Links: the study, the article, Moss & O'Connor (2020b; origin of White Identitarianism Scale), Pew Poll, Political Polarization in the American Public, Master's thesis (origin of the PC scales)
SIO303: Are the Woke Left and Alt-Right Alike? AKA Debunking a Garbage Quillette Article About a Garbage Study
Holy both sides, Batman! Yeah no suspense on this one, Quillette is garbage and the study this article references is garbage. But how garbage and why exactly? Is there any truth to it? As usual, Lindsey is here to give us the breakdown! This is a part 1. In order to grab part 2 early, make sure to pledge on patreon! Links: Moss & O'Connor (2020b; origin of White Identitarianism Scale), Pew Poll, Political Polarization in the American Public, Master's thesis (origin of the PC scales)