This is a doozy of an episode. Lawrence Krauss was recently accused of a range of sexual harassment and misconduct. I believe his accusers. It’s documented quite thoroughly by BuzzFeed. Since people are trying to casually dismiss the accusations as “Ugh, BuzzFeed” and “Anonymous sources,” I took the time to make a quick and dirty breakdown of the individual charges and how many named and unnamed sources there are, and the corroborating evidence. It’s not just “anonymous sources” or “rumors” by any means. Here’s a great breakdown by Rebecca Watson, and here’s an episode by Godless Mama.
Sam Harris and Matt Dillahunty had an event scheduled with Krauss a few days after the article dropped. They ultimately agreed he shouldn’t appear onstage, but for what I think were bad reasons. There’s a 15 minute recording of the event that I break down. It’s profoundly disappointing. Though they give pay some lip service to #metoo, it is my opinion that their actual words and conduct in this instance has fallen way short. In fact, I believe the way they have handled this instance is part of the sexist system that is leading to predators getting away with bad behavior for so long. Sam references Keillor as though he’s a victim of #metoo, but I go back into that story and there are even more updates about his sexual misconduct.
And finally, on a more positive note, I have a great interview with Monette Richards, who has an exciting announcement! The Kickstarter has begun for Secular Women Work! Please check it out and consider supporting them! She was quoted in this Gizmodo article about Krauss.
Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point!
Support the show at seriouspod.com/support!
Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod
For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com