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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AS292: President Trump, with Eli Bosnick and Andrew Torrez
It f*cking happened. President Trump. We elected President Trump. The first 12 minutes of this episode are my live reaction from Tuesday night when it happened. It may make you uncomfortable. It's raw and emotional but it's how I was feeling. I left it in in case it helps anyone feel less alone in this. …
AS291: What In the World Is The SPLC Thinking?
On October 25th, the SPLC released this report identifying 15 individuals who they view as anti-Muslim extremists. Some inclusions make total sense, but 2 stood out: Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz. Do their claims about Maajid and Ayaan survive scrutiny? Find out. Here are some links I reference: Great Atlantic article Guardian article on Quilliam …
AS290: Are We Living In A Simulation? With Phil Torres
Got a nice long action packed episode for you today. In what was originally going to be a two parter, Phil Torres and I talk about the simulation argument made popular by Nick Bostrom. I highly recommend you read the original paper and some of the other resources found here. In the second half, I make …
AS289: Abortion Clinic Escort, Michelle
Today we are joined by Michelle. Michelle works with a group that defends abortion rights by volunteering as safe escorts for patients through protestors. Recently some of the tactics the protestors have used are against local laws and local police have not been responsive. We talk to her about the experiences of her and the …
AS288: A Final Election 2016 Episode (VOTE!!!)
I've got plenty of interviews loaded up for the coming weeks, so I wanted to get in one final commentary on this election before we vote Trump out of relevance. I've got several new thoughts that I haven't yet expressed in Tommentary form, so don't worry it's fresh stuff! I talk about my final verdict …
AS287: Atheist Ethics and Implicit Biases, with Alonzo Fyfe
Joining me today is Alonzo Fyfe, who publishes the blog "Atheist Ethicist." We talk about some really interesting topics including implicit biases and how they're affecting this election. Alonzo has a theory that, though they might not be aware of it, most people who are anti-Hillary are actually victims of their own implicit biases. We …
AS286: Dr. Robert Price on Jesus Mythicism, Part 2
Today we are talking to Dr. Robert Price about the historicity of Jesus. Dr. Price is a former Baptist minister and current Professor of Biblical Criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute. He has written and spoken extensively on this topic. In this part 2 we cover the references to Jesus found in Josephus. Find …
AS285: Dr. Robert Price on Jesus Mythicism, Part 1
Today we are talking to Dr. Robert Price about the historicity of Jesus. Dr. Price is a former Baptist minister and current Professor of Biblical Criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute. He has written and spoken extensively on this topic. In this episode we talk about Jesus as the Mythic Hero Archetype and combination …
AS284: Vaccines Are Not Killing Us! with Ken Camargo
My guest today is Dr. Ken Camargo. We discuss the anti-vaccination movement, the facts about vaccination, and what is behind all the misinformation out there. Ken is an MD with a Master's and a PhD in public health, a professor and researcher of the graduate program in public health at the Institute of Social Medicine, …
AS283: The Liberal Version of Trump
Today's episode is a Tommentary on… Trump. Look I can't help it, he's the news right now. I've got a few thoughts on Trump's taxes and his comments on PTSD that may run counter to what you've been hearing. Also I speculate on what a liberal version of Trump might look like. Hey come see …
AS282: How Not To Hit On Tracey Moody
Today's episode might be a bit of a departure but this is a very important topic to me. No matter what your views on the whole social justice divide might be, I am hoping that Tracey's story of online harassment might make an impact. Tracey is not at all sensitive to male attention online. It's …
AS281: Village Atheists with Leigh Schmidt
My guest today is Leigh Schmidt. Leigh has a Ph.D. in religion from Princeton and his latest area of study is the irreligious. He has written a book called Village Atheists in which he discuses the history of atheism and looks at specific examples of atheists in US history. His book was the subject of an …
AS280: Richard Carrier's Lawsuit, with Andrew Torrez
Dr. Richard Carrier has launched a lawsuit against several parties, including prominent atheists that the listeners will likely be familiar with. You can find the details spelled out pretty well here. I wanted to learn more about these cases in general so I invited legal expert Andrew Torrez on the show to teach us! Stay …
AS279: No Child Left Alone, Part 2
Today we delve even further into the study found here. We talk more about the implications and possible explanations for the ultimate finding, which of course was a strong effect of people evaluating the danger of a situation not based on actual risk but on moral judgment.
AS278: No Child Left Alone
For the next two episodes I bring you a fascinating discussion with two of the three researchers who conducted the study described here. This is the perfect topic for this show because it illustrates how badly our intuitions track the data sometimes. It's also a critical issue that could affect any of us! I hope you …