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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SIO33: Thinking Clearly on Syria
I support Trump's Syria strike against the Shayrat airfield. That is the punchline of today's episode but I encourage you to listen with an open mind as I go through the reaction to the Syria strike, what different pundits and columnists and congresspersons have said, and why I think ultimately it was a good idea. There's a lot of muddy and motivated thinking going on in our public discourse; I'm doing my best to go where the facts lead. And as always, I'm very open to counter argument! Here are some selected sources: How Many Bombs Obama Dropped on Syria; Breakdown of Senate Support for the Strike; Congress Syria Statements 2013 vs 2017; Blatant Republican Hypocrisy on Syria; Opinion Piece Alleging Liberals 'Cooing' Over Trump; Shadi Hamid Avoiding Fallacies on Syria; Possible Anti-Trump Backlash in Special Elections Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO32: What Happened In Syria?
I'm back from my Europe trip! And it couldn't have come at a more news-heavy time. First I've got a couple quick stories to talk about - Chechnya and Susan Rice. After that I go to the main topic for this show, and unfortunately next show... which is Trump's strike on Syria. This part one involves the backstory, what happened, how we know what we know, and some thoughts on the Putin Trump relationship. Part 2 will be available early for patrons, and it will focus on the reaction to the strike, prominent leaders' opinions on it, and my overall take. Chechnya Concentration Camps Shift In Trump Policy on Assad BBC Piece on What We Know Much more to come in part 2!! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO31: Why We Ignore Facts, with Sara Gorman
Joining me today is Sara Gorman! Sara is a public health expert and author based in New York. She is the co-founder of Critica, a community committed to making rational decisions about health and security. Critica's mission is to develop and test new methods of advancing public acceptance of scientific evidence and promoting informed health decision-making. Sara's first book, Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us, was published in September 2016. It looks into the psychology of healthcare decision making and how people draw conclusions about perception of risk. It includes tips for the general public about how to discriminate between valid and invalid science and for public health professionals and doctors on how to communicate with people who don't believe the best current scientific research. The book and her work have also been cited in articles about how to change people's minds about many other things, including politics. We discuss her book, and the possible lessons we can learn about how to convince people of things they don't necessarily want to believe! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO30: America Last, with Zachary Kiser
Joining me today is Zach Kiser, a graduate researcher and Director of Policy and Communications for the National Science Policy Group (NSPG)! Zach is here to give us some perspective on just how awful Trump's budget proposal is and how backbreaking it might potentially be to science research in the US. Though Trump touts an America First slogan, this kind of thing is really an embarrassment and puts America behind even by Republican standards. American Association for the Advancement of Science If you're interested in more information or in how to help, contact Zach directly via email here! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO29: No Longer Available
The guest from this episode has requested that I take it down and I'm respecting that request.
SIO28: The Discussion With Dave Rubin That Never Was (and more bad news....)
Yeah, that excitement didn't last too long. I was scheduled to speak to Dave Rubin at Mythinformation in Milwaukee in September, but despite everything having been agreed to and announced, Dave dropped out due to a previously overlooked scheduling conflict. In light of that, I share some thoughts on what happened, what I tried to do in response, and what the result was. I also looked back through Dave's guest history at his alleged "liberals" he has interviewed to see whether I haven't given him enough credit for hearing opposing views. The answer may, or may not, shock you. After that it's more bad news... I researched the senate races in 2018 and the results are... problematic. Find out just how problematic, and whether there is any hope to hold onto in terms of finally getting some accountability in the Trump presidency. Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO27: What Grounds Our Morals? With Aaron Rabi
Joining me for the second time is philosopher and now podcaster, Aaron Rabi! Aaron specializes in ethics, and I have questions. I'm fairly certain that our morality ultimately boils down to consequences, for reasons I explain, but not all philosophers see it that way. Aaron and I have a very interesting discussion on what exactly grounds our morals, given that there are problems to be found in every moral system. Does consequentialism ultimately win out, as I have previously opined? Find out! Find Aaron's podcast here! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO26: The Trump Administration and Russia - An Incredible Amount of Smoke
With a heavy news week full of depositions, testimony, odd press conferences and more, today I take a look at some of the evidence of Russia-Trump collusion and what it all means. Ok, what it MIGHT mean... while trying not to descend into full on conspiracy theorist mode. It's not exactly easy. After that, I go into the details of a case Gorsuch decided that perfectly illustrates why the originalist/literalist method of jurisprudence leaves this podcaster cold. Some sources used: Politico Trump Timeline Nicholas Kristof on Trump-Russia Paul Manafort AP Exclusive Greenwald Russia Article Gorsuch Truck Driver Case Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO25: Lawrence Krauss - The Greatest Story Ever Told
I'm so excited to have Lawrence Krauss on the show today! Professor Krauss is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist who blew all of our minds with his lecture and previous book, A Universe from Nothing. His new book, The Greatest Story Ever Told, takes us back through the history of how exactly we know what we do about our universe. I highly recommend it, and I hope you enjoy the interview even half as much as I did! Check out the new book here! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO24: Can We Rely on the CBO's Projections?
Given the preemptive bashing of the CBO by Republicans and the subsequent release of a pretty damning score on the AHCA bill, I wanted to take a look at how the CBO did at predicting the effects of Obamacare. Is the Trump administration on solid ground when it says that the CBO is wildly inaccurate and partisan? After that I discuss four very thought provoking questions I received in the voicemail segment! Sources: CBO Basic History Fact Check on CBO Predictions More Critical Look at CBO Predictions CBO Predictions for AHCA Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO23: Is It Morally Acceptable to Have Children? with Travis Rieder
Joining us today is Travis Rieder! Travis is a philosopher at Johns Hopkins who deals with Population Ethics and related questions. Find his academic page here. Given the uncertainty of outcomes of our potential children, and given the many problems humanity faces due to overpopulation, is it morally acceptable to have children? Travis and I discuss that question and many related ones in a fascinating philosophy edition of SIO! Here are Travis's main works on these questions, for further reading: 1. Adoption and Procreation 2. Population Engineering 3. Small Family Ethic (book) Highest-impact Media Pieces: 4. NPR Profile 5. Response to Critics Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO22: From Obamacare to Trumpcare
In today's episode I want to discuss one of the most significant battles that will be fought in the new administration: that is the repeal and replacement of Obamacare. While looking into a lot of the claims made by Sean Spicer and other Trump apologists, I was struck by how fascinating the story of Obamacare really is. So, the first 15 minutes or so of today's episode is on the history of Obamacare, and what implications it has for the future of Trumpcare. Good Obamacare Timeline, Another Good Timeline, CNN's Piss-Poor Timeline NYT Article on Trumpcare, Demographics That Will Suffer Most Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO21: Be Reasonable, with Michael Marshall
Joining me today is Michael Marshall, host of the podcast Be Reasonable. On his show, Marsh speaks with people who have incredibly fringe views. Whether it's a ghost hunter or flat Earther, Be Reasonable allows a place for these folks to speak at length on their views. Marsh messaged me after my interview with Trump supporter Dr. Price because of the similarity in that recording to what Marsh is doing on his show. In this interview, Marsh and I have a dialogue about what tactics he uses when speaking to people of vastly different views, and I pick his brain on a number of issues involved. There's a lot to learn here about how I want to conduct interviews in the future when I'm dealing with someone of vastly different views. Check out Marsh's charity goodthinkingsociety.org Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO20: Can We Change Minds?
In today's episode, after a few thoughts on the Trump address to Congress and his BS spending plan, the topic is "How to change people's minds." Haeley and I set about to do some research on a: how possible it is to change minds, and b: if so, what are the best methods? I take a look at and describe a number of studies that shed light on this issue, and the goal is to apply it to both the Dr. Price debate and any future debates! Have a listen and see what conclusions we reached! After that I've got an extra long voicemail and response segment, since I didn't do one last week. I had a ton of voicemail and I picked out some good ones to react to. Here are the links to the articles/studies we referenced: Paradoxical Thinking study ChangeMyView study Why Facts Don't Change Our Minds Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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
SIO19: Interview with Ron Miscavige
Joining us today is Ron Miscavige - the father of Scientology cult leader David Miscavige. Ron has a long history with the church and he takes us through the background of how his son went from an asthmatic 9 year old to the supreme leader of Scientology, and further, how Ron managed his and his wife's eventual escape from the organization. To get deeper into Ron's story, check out his book here. Here are links to the documents Ron mentioned: Document 1 from Ron Fair Game Policy Document Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! 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