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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SIO63: Dangers of Neoliberalism with Michael A. Wood Jr.
Joining me for some lively debate about the harms of neoliberalism is Michael A. Wood Jr. Michael ended his service in the USMC in 1998, and joined the Baltimore Police Department where he served as a narcotics detective until retiring as a patrol Sergeant medically in 2014. In 2015 Michael turned to twitter to reveal the culture of law enforcement and authored several essays and books on reforms. Interest went wild. In 2016 Michael led a veterans group to Standing Rock where they protested the pipeline. Michael has since also focused on civilian led policing as a national grassroots form of action. He is currently a PHD candidate and a criminal and social justice activist. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com
SIO62: Trans and in the Military with Sarah
Today I'm joined by not-her-real-name-Sarah, who is trans and is currently serving in the military. She is in danger of losing her job, given Trump's recent tweets. She discusses a bit of the policy history and helps put these monstrous ideas into perspective. After that, I do some commentary on some things including the fact that, yes, I'm outraged. Things are outrageous currently. But, if you're really worried about the "whole transgender thing" being a distraction, make sure you're still doing everything you can to stop Trumpcare here. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com
SIO61: What Is True Islam? with Qasim Rashid
Joining us this week is Qasim Rashid. Qasim is an Ahmadi Muslim and author of the book Talk To Me. He claims that the true Islam is peaceful, but is he justified in making that claim? Is it bigoted to say otherwise? Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com
SIO60: An Objective Look at Linda Sarsour
... to the degree that's possible on the internet these days... When Dave Rubin tweeted that we need to stop giving money to the ACLU and Sam Harris retweeted it, simply because they wrote a profile on Linda Sarsour, I decided I needed to look into this person. This is certainly a minefield... So here we go... my best effort at an objective look at Linda Sarsour. Links: ACLU profile on Sarsour; Women's march mission; Snopes on accusations against Sarsour; Sarsour opinion piece; NY police Muslim spy unit; Jihad speech being taken out of context; Women's march Assata Shakur tweet; Sarsour 2011 tweet on Ayaan; Sarsour response to being called out Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com
SIO59: Alix Jules
Joining me on the show is Alix Jules! Alix is a super fascinating guy, and we talked for several hours, half of which is captured in today's episode. We definitely did not have the time to get to everything, or even a significant portion, but don't worry! We are already booked for another interview. In this iteration, we discuss his background, some of his activism, and he lends his perspectives to many of the ongoing themes of SIO lately! Here are some links Alix discussed: Lawsuit for Valedictorian: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/06/30/white-student-made-co-valedictorian-with-black-student-despite-having-lower-gpa-lawsuit-claims/?utm_term=.4013f6aec165 Mississippi School Desegregates (2016): https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/03/a-mississippi-school-district-is-finally-getting-desegregated/519573/ Mississippi School District Drops Challenge on desegregation (2017): https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/mississippi-school-district-drops-challenge-to-desegregation-order/2017/01/31/8480177e-e7f4-11e6-bf6f-301b6b443624_story.html?utm_term=.29c750d2f9fb Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Direct Download
SIO58: Yes, Call Out Assholes (Including me, if you see it that way)
The first portion of this show, as referenced at the end of last episode, is about Peter Boghossian finally showing himself to be a sexist asshole. I also respond to the argument I frequently see of "Stop infighting, stop calling out atheist leaders, it distracts from our movement!" I think I have a good counter to that. After that, it's some amazing and difficult voicemails! Really top notch calls. I love hearing from you guys and being challenged! Some links: African American Vernacular English; The Word "Thug"; The Cornrows Incident Come to the Inciting Incident 100th show! I'll be there with Andrew and many of your other podcasting faves! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Direct Download
SIO57: Problems in Academia
Today's conversation is with Matthew Facciani and Jeremiah Traeger. They're here to educate us on some of the problems in publishing and academia! Matthew began his academic career in cognitive neuroscience and later switched to sociology where he is now finishing his PhD at The University of South Carolina. Currently, his main research area investigates why people reject scientific evidence. Facciani is also involved with secular and gender equality activism. His blog and podcast are both titled According to Matthew. @MatthewFacciani on Twitter. Jeremiah is currently a graduate student at the University of Colorado, Boulder; who has been involved in secular and progressive activism. He contributes to A Tippling Philosopher on Patheos. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tippling/ @jerbivore on Twitter Here are some links Jeremiah covered: Nature - Academic jobs not keeping up with PhDs awarded. https://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v31/n10/fig_tab/nbt.2706_F1.html 70% of scientists have failed to reproduce results. http://www.nature.com/news/1-500-scientists-lift-the-lid-on-reproducibility-1.19970 Half of clinical trials left unpublished: http://www.nature.com/news/half-of-us-clinical-trials-go-unpublished-1.14286 Statistical restraints on researchers that Nature is proposing: https://www.nature.com/news/announcement-reducing-our-irreproducibility-1.12852 Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com
SIO56: Who Speaks for the Atheist Movement?
This podcast is an audio version, with some elaborations, of my first ever blog post, entitled "Whoever I Don't Like Is Ruining The Atheist Movement." Definitely check out and share the blog version! It has screenshots and links and stuff. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com
SIO55: Debating Evergreen and the Merits of Whitesplaining
This episode is another attempt at debate across the social justice divide. CJ (@VieKeng on Twitter) has taken exception with my characterization of the Evergreen situation, and perhaps most strenuously with my use of the term "whitesplain." I'm very curious for feedback on this one! Listen to most post-analysis and if you have thoughts, I'd love to heard them in voicemail form! The debate ends around 59:00. Links from CJ: VICE gets students & President on camera https://youtu.be/2cMYfxOFBBM Trustees condemn protest tactics https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9271 Faculty Praise protests https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9260 Student letter against protests http://freepdfhosting.com/840d72d60d.pdf More to EVGN than Weinstein http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/matt-driscoll/article153694734.html Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com
SIO54: Ishmael of Angry Black Rant on Appropriation, Bill Maher and More
Back for the severalith time is Ishmael from Angry Black Rant! Lots of listeners requested this interview and Ish was kind enough to oblige. We discuss cultural appropriation, the Bill Maher situation, and more race-related issues in today's discourse. It's always fun talking with Ishmael, but it's also very real and revealing as well! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Direct Download
SIO53: What Is Postmodernism? With Aaron Rabi
What the Gender Studies Hoax and Jordan B. Peterson's pronoun mania both have in common is the bogeyman of postmodernism. It seems to be conventional wisdom that postmodernism is manifestly crazy. But how substantive is that criticism in reality? I've invited a philosopher, Aaron Rabi, to give us a bit of a lesson on what postmodernism is and perhaps where the criticisms are accurate and where they fall short. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com Direct Download
SIO52: Democrats Should Be Happy About the Special Elections
Please share this podcast with any Democrat you witness losing their mind about the special election results. In reality, the trend is very, very positive for Democrats going into 2018 elections. I go into why. After that, we have a lengthy and most excellent voicemail segment. Listen in! Our Brand Is Worse Than Trump; Anti-Pelosi Republican Ad; Lots of Info On Special Elections At Ballotpedia Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com
SIO51: Andrew Torrez on Manslaughter: Philando Castile and Michelle Carter
In the same weekend, a teen found guilty of manslaughter for convincing her boyfriend to commit suicide, and a police officer found NOT guilty after shooting and killing Philando Castile. It has left many wondering, how did this happen? This demands expert analysis, so I've brought in the big guns in Andrew Torrez, resident law expert at the Opening Arguments Podcast to help us understand the situation! Philando Castile; Michelle Carter; Andrew's Case Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com Direct Download
SIO50: Michael Shermer on Evergreen and Gender Studies
Back for a second time is Michael Shermer! He's the editor of Skeptic Magazine and has been a very prominent voice in the community for decades. After our last conversation, a couple of things happened. One was the gender studies hoax, which was explained and endorsed by his magazine. The other was the Evergreen incident, which Shermer tweeted about and wanted to know my thoughts on. We discussed both of these at length! Refer to my earlier episode on Evergreen for those references Faculty of color say they are receiving death threats; President disappointed in protesters, may discipline; Weinstein second Tucker Carlson appearance; Sokal's response to the gender studies hoax; Feminist glaciology TED talk. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com
SIO49: The Pro-Truth Pledge, with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky
Joining me this week for interview Monday is Dr. Gleb Tsipursky! Gleb is an expert in decision sciences, focusing on politics and business. In the wake of the 2016 election, Gleb has decided to focus on fighting against fake news and misinformation in our politics. That's why he has created the Truth Pledge, which he tells us all about in the interview. His insight is very valuable and is another in the series on how to change minds and where to focus our efforts. Make sure you take the Pro-Truth Pledge! https://www.protruthpledge.org/ Research links: http://intentionalinsights.org/how-can-facts-trump-ideology/ http://intentionalinsights.org/how-behavioral-science-can-help-truth-triumph-over-baseless-accusations/ http://intentionalinsights.org/the-brain-science-of-political-deception-in-the-2016-election/ Link to Gleb's bio: http://glebtsipursky.com/about/ Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com