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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SIO442: Is Quantum Technology Actually Better?
In honor of World Quantum Day (April 14th), Quantum Anne is here to discuss when quantum is better, when it's worse, and when it could honestly go either way. Quantum Sensing Quantum Computing Overview 100 Years of Quantum! For ideas on how to celebrate World Quantum Day, check out: https://www.quantum.gov/world-quantum-day/! Anne made cake (photo attached), that represents a Hadamard gate. It turns a |0> or a |1> into a (|0> +|1>)÷2 - a qubit into a superposition of two states. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content
SIO441: Elon Musk's Neuralink - Real Or Just Hype? Part 2
Here's Part 2 of our deep dive into neural implants with Dr. Jenessa Seymour! The brain is still completely amazing, and so are the folks who are creating innovative technology to help people do things that have been otherwise out of reach. And then there's Elon. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content
SIO440: Elon Musk's Neuralink - Real or Just Hype?
We've got an expert to take us through it! Dr. Jenessa Seymour is a former neuroscientist currently working in disability rights and she has looked through the history of neural implant efforts to investigate Elon's Neuralink claims. Just how full of it is he? And how in the world does any of this even work? What is clear is that the brain is insanely amazing. There's so much to talk about that this ended up being a two-parter! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content
SIO439: God and Country with Katherine Stewart
Author and journalist Katherine Stewart joins us today to discuss her reporting on religious nationalism, as well as the organization and structure behind these efforts, and what we can do in the face of it all. Be sure to check out the recent film God and Country which is based on her 2020 book, The Power Worshippers! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content
SIO438: That's Absurd Please Elaborate
I'm joined by Trace and Julian from the podcast, That's Absurd Please Elaborate! It's an incredibly fun and cool science show where they take questions that might seem weird or crazy but answer them using science! They're here to talk science communication, and what some of their favorite questions they've answered have been. Could vampires evolve through natural processes? Could x-rays cook soup? Could we teach aliens left and right? Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content
SIO437: Zoë Schiffer on Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover
Elon Musk accidentally buying Twitter and then ruining it is a story so absurd and wild that someone should write a book about it. Lucky for us, Zoë Schiffer has! It's called Extremely Hardcore, and it's extremely good! She joins us to discuss the book. Be sure to buy Zoë's book, Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk's Twitter! You can also follow Zoë's reporting on Platformer. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content
SIO436: They're Retconning George Floyd's Murder, but Radley Balko Is Fighting Back
Radley Balko is the guest today as we discuss the Right's efforts to retcon George Floyd's murder and Derek Chauvin's responsibility in a "documentary" from Alpha News, The Fall of Minneapolis. We walk through some of the debunks together, and chat about the broader systemic circumstances that lead for calls of police reform. Radley has done an absolutely incredible series covering this in meticulous detail on his Substack (linked below as well). Be sure to check it out and subscribe; supporting independent journalism is critical! The retconning of George Floyd Part 1 - Part 2 - Interim Update/Response to Coleman Hughes - Part 3 Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content
SIO435: The Radical Idea That We Shouldn't Work Ourselves to Death
Senator Bernie Sanders introduced Senate Bill 3947 to change the standard 40-hour workweek to 32 hours with no loss in pay and held a hearing on March 14th. Naturally the right doesn't love this. But what do the studies say? And where did the 40-hour week even come from? SeriousPod colleague Lydia Smith explains how this particular issue highlights ways in which we can combat rhetoric from the right and move towards something that is, on every metric, better than what we have now. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content
SIO434: Biden Is Failing On Israel-Palestine. So What Do We Do?
It feels like this comes up precisely every 4 years, but once again I find myself having to point out that the way to make things better isn't to make them worse. That math just doesn't work. But what should we do? A campaign to vote "Uncommitted" for the Democratic Primary Election went viral. Lydia Smith from Where There's Woke joins as we discuss what this movement is, what kind of impact it could have, and whether or not a vote can be a "message". Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO433: The Robot at the End of the Universe
We're focusing in on some sci-fi with Dr. Bryan Gillis, astrophysicist to the stars! We take you through one of Ted Chiang's incredible short stories, Exhalation, and Dr. Gillis teaches us about entropy and the Laws of Thermodynamics. What is the heat death of the universe? Can we avoid it by turning up the AC a bit or are we just plain effed? Find out! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO432: How 13 Reasons Why Killed Kids
CW: Discussion of suicide; please skip this episode if it's better for your mental health After a long hiatus, Dr. Alan Smerbeck AKA Stormy Decisis is back to cover a topic we've been talking about discussing for a while. What does the research tell us is the responsible way to cover death by suicide? What kind of impact can the media have on the greater population if they get it wrong? And how many different ways did 13 Reasons Why completely screw up? Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO431: The Em Drive Is Supposed To Be Impossible. So Why Did Experiments Say It Worked?
Dr. Bryan Gillis is back to walk us through a space travel concept that would have upended Physics as we know it if it had worked. But, wait a second - turns out there were quite a number of studies that actually successfully demonstrated its effect so why aren't we using it to zip through the universe these days? We also learn a bit of statistics in this discussion to help us uncover what happened here and what this means for the broader understanding of statistical significance when evaluating scientific findings. Bryan's Notes Check out Up and Atom on YouTube! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO430: Real or Bullshit: Quantum Products Edition!
Quantum Anne is back! She had a fantastic idea to quiz us all on some quantum products she has come across. Here's the thing though, mixed into the bull shit is the real stuff that she actually uses in her lab! Can you pass the test? It's not as easy as you might think! This one was lots of fun. Don't forget about the Patron Hangout Tuesday 2/27 at 3pm pacific 6pm eastern! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO429: Artists Punished More Than Scientists for Same Misconduct
This was a really fun one! Dr. Joe Siev and Dr. Jake Teeny join to walk us through their findings from a series of studies in their recent article, which explored the differences in how artists and scientists are punished following news of misconduct, and the mechanism for why this may be the case. Be sure to check out the Academic Sexual Misconduct Database too! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
SIO428: Regret After Gender-Affirming Surgery Is Virtually Nonexistent
Dr. Harry Barbee out of Johns Hopkins University recently co-authored a meta-analysis in JAMA Surgery, examining postoperative regret for those people seeking gender-affirming care. We talk about how many people *actually* regret receiving surgery, how that compares with general postoperative regret in the cisgender population, the politics and misinformation influencing the bad science in this area of study, and what we can do about it. Another piece by Dr. Barbee advocating for sanctuary locations for gender-affirming care: Transgender Youths and Sanctuaries for Gender-Affirming Care Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!