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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SIO272: Sedition Special with Andrew Torrez and Allison Gill
I had a whole good news episode planned about Georgia. I have so much to say, and so many things to be positive about. And then some fascist f*cks stormed the Capitol building. Andrew and I just felt that we needed to get on the stream with our audience and talk it out. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of time for the good news later!
SIO271: Listener Qs!
Topics include Democratic messaging, the working class, tips for cutting out meat, and more!
SIO270: NYT's Kristof Duped by Christian Anti-Porn Group
Today's show features fan-favorite Eli Bosnick explaining how much is completely wrong about an op-ed by Nicholas Kristof. The article claims that PornHub is "...infested with rape videos. It monetizes child rapes, revenge pornography, spy cam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags." These are very serious claims, and reading the article might make you feel ill. However, there is a serious problem with it. Listen in and hear the breakdown! Eli's Links: http://Trafickinghub.com, Daily Beast article about them, Exodus Cry page, Open Democracy on Exodus Cry, Exodus Cry's documentary on Netflix about how tinder leads to young teens getting kidnapped, Exodus Cry faq page, their Intervention manual, trafficking hub's petition to shut the site down, Elevate Academy, their courses, their staff page, PornHub human screening, trusted flaggers, content removal form, digital systems for blocking content, PornHub best in class policies, Visa and other card companies pulled plug on PornHub.
SIO269: Evolutionary Psychology and Sex Differences
It's part 2 of the Defending Evo-Psych series! This one was so much fun. Lindsey talks about sex differences in different species and how they are also present in human behavior. We talk about ridiculous birds, mating dollars, casual sex, and all kinds of fun stuff! Studies referenced: Singh (2002) - REVIEW, WHR, attractiveness, and fecundity, Li et al. (2002) - necessities and luxuries of mate preferences
SIO268: Defending Evolutionary Psychology with Lindsey Osterman
Since Lindsey has started to appear on the show more often, we've heard from a few people who were under the impression that her field (evolutionary psychology) is "bunk" or is all unprovable just-so stories. As an expert, Lindsey takes us through where these objections come from and why they aren't accurate. Plus she takes us through some fascinating research! Studies mentioned: Wertz & Wynn 2014 Infant avoidance of plants, Wertz 2019 Ho plants shape the mind
SIO267: We Should Eat Less Meat
... and other monologues and listener questions! I have not eaten meat for 2 months, and I want to explain why and why I think you should do your best to reduce meat eating as well. Don't worry, no excessive shaming. I just want to share my reasoning and hope it influences people. Also, more listener questions!
Bonus: Yelling at Sam Harris
I asked the patrons over at patreon.com/seriouspod and they overwhelmingly said I should publish this on the main feed. Keep in mind, it's raw and explicit, but I think some great points were made and it's useful listening. If you'd like to hear episode 267 sign up as a patron!
SIO266: Why Sam Harris Is Wrong about Police Killings
It's been something like 70 years since the George Floyd protests, and the news cycle has had no choice but to move onto so many other huge and terrible things. But Lindsey Osterman and I still haven't forgotten the terrible arguments used by people like Sam Harris, and many in the right-wing information ecosystem, to push back against Black Lives Matter and to try to undermine the massive protests we saw. Lindsey takes us through two papers that have heavily influence this view, and why they're completely wrong. (spoiler: one was even RETRACTED!) This episode was far more focused on the academic papers than on Sam Harris, but if you'd like to hear us absolutely destroy his "Can We Pull Back From the Brink" episode, make to become a Patron!
SIO265: Did The System Work?
I'm finally answering my listener email! It's been a tense... year, and I haven't gone to the inbox for a while. Today that changes! Before that, I can't help but unload a bit about whether or not "the system worked." When I hear people say that, it just does not seem right. But also... it did... kinda? Then I get to your questions and comments, about Constitutional Conventions and lizard people and revolution and progressive policies and more!
SIO264: Did Progressive Causes Lead To House Losses?
After Democrats had a disappointing election in the House, there was a group call in which some centrist members blamed progressives. AOC responded in the New York Times. This has set off a pretty bitter debate. I wanted to get to the bottom of the claims using the actual voting data and see if there was anything to be learned going either way. Hours of data entry later, I believe I have (some) answers.
SIO263: Not The Worst Possible Outcome, But Close
As of recording, it's looking like a narrow Biden victory and Republican control of the Senate. This isn't set in stone, and there's still an outside shot of taking the Senate and winning the Presidency by a more comfortable margin, but this analysis is under the assumption that we won't. Here are my thoughts.
SIO262: I'm Perfectly Calm
Calmer than you are. It's election day. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Here are a series of disjointed thoughts. God damn I hope this all ends.
SIO261: A Monster Island Follow-up
Listeners were fascinated by the Monster Island experiment Aaron told us about last episode! At the same time, another member of the group responded by posting that Aaron had perhaps left some things out of his account. I thought it would be a great opportunity to hear more about the experiment and also see how identity can affect how things like this are experienced.
SIO260: Aaron Rabinowitz on James Lindsay and Monster Island
My brother from another pod-mother Aaron Rabinowitz is on to discuss the fantastic article he wrote for The Skeptic! The article is about his experience in the Facebook group Monster Island, which was a no-holds-barred debate group that some of you may have been involved with. If you weren't, Aaron will detail what happened, including a pretty scary twist (or predictable?) ending. Before that, we talk about James Lindsay going full Trump supporter.
SIO259: Hunter's Damned Emails
I've been wondering how two things could be true - that Giuliani has an obviously fake story about obtaining Hunter Biden's laptop, and that the leak contains seemingly real texts between Joe and Hunter Biden. I tried to get to the bottom of it. I also talk about the recent murder of a teacher in Paris, committed by a Muslim refugee with radical beliefs, and how we can try to maintain proper perspective in the wake of visceral acts of terror.