Rationally Speaking Podcast
266 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 464 ratingsRationally Speaking is the bi-weekly podcast of New York City Skeptics. Join host Julia Galef and guests as they explore the borderlands between reason and nonsense, likely from unlikely, and science from pseudoscience. Any topic is fair game as long as we can bring reason to bear upon it, with both a skeptical eye and a good dose of humor!
We agree with the Marquis de Condorcet, who said that in an open society we ought to devote ourselves to "the tracking down of prejudices in the hiding places where priests, the schools, the government, and all long-established institutions had gathered and protected them."Rationally Speaking was co-created with Massimo Pigliucci, is produced by Benny Pollak, and is recorded in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Is cash the best way to help the poor? (Michael Faye)
December 23, 2021 16:02 - 52 minutes - 44 MBThe idea of giving poor people cash, no strings attached, is "very unappealing" for most donors, admits economist Michael Faye -- but it's still one of the best ways to help the poor. Michael and Julia discuss the philosophy behind his organization (GiveDirectly), the evidence we have so far about cash transfers as an anti-poverty intervention, and the various concerns people have about it: How long-lasting are the effects? Does it make recipients less likely to work? Does it cause inflation?
Humanity on the precipice (Toby Ord)
December 10, 2021 20:18 - 1 hour - 67.9 MBHumanity could thrive for millions of years -- unless our future is cut short by an existential catastrophe. Oxford philosopher Toby Ord explains the possible existential risks we face, including climate change, pandemics, and artificial intelligence. Toby and Julia discuss what led him to take existential risk more seriously, which risks he considers underrated vs. overrated, and how to estimate the probability of existential risk.
Dangerous biological research - is it worth it? (Kevin Esvelt)
November 30, 2021 19:54 - 1 hour - 52.3 MBKevin Esvelt, a scientist at MIT, argues that research intended to prevent pandemics is actually putting us in a lot more danger. Also discussed: Kevin's own research on engineering wild animal species. Are the risks worth the benefits?
Dangerous biomedical research - is it worth it? (Kevin Esvelt)
November 30, 2021 19:54 - 1 hour - 52.3 MBKevin Esvelt, a scientist at MIT, argues that research intended to prevent pandemics is actually putting us in a lot more danger. Also discussed: Kevin's own research on engineering wild animal species. Are the risks worth the benefits?
Why we're polarized (Ezra Klein)
November 05, 2021 15:30 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBEzra Klein explains how Republican and Democrats in the US became so different from each other, ideologically and demographically, and why that trend + our institutions = political gridlock. Questions covered include: Is polarization necessarily bad? Has the left polarized more than the right? And what should we make of polls that seem to show Republicans and Democrats used to agree on immigration policy?
The genetic lottery (Kathryn Paige Harden)
October 15, 2021 14:28 - 1 hour - 52.3 MBKathryn Paige Harden, author of “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality” explains what scientists have learned about how our genes affect our educational success. Why is this research so controversial? And is it worth doing anyway?
How to reason about COVID, and other hard things (Kelsey Piper)
September 14, 2021 01:02 - 1 hour - 72.5 MBJournalist Kelsey Piper (Future Perfect / Vox) discusses lessons learned from covering COVID: What has she been wrong about, and why? How much can we trust the CDC's advice? What does the evidence look like for different drugs like Fluvoxamine and Ivermectin? And should regular people really try to evaluate the evidence themselves instead of deferring to experts?
"Price gouging" in emergencies
August 19, 2021 02:31 - 52 minutes - 46 MBEvery time there’s an emergency, the prices of certain goods skyrocket -- like masks and hand sanitizer during COVID -- and the public gets angry about price gouging. In this episode, two economists (Raymond Niles and Amihai Glazer) make the case for why “price gouging” is actually a good thing, and Julia raises potential counterarguments.
How to be a data detective (Tim Harford)
June 10, 2021 17:40 - 1 hour - 57.8 MBWhen you see a statistic reported in the news, like "10% of University of California Berkeley students were homeless this year," how do you evaluate it? You shouldn't blindly accept every statistic you read. But neither should you reject everything that sounds surprising. Tim Harford, economist and author of The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics, talks about the heuristics he recommends using, and the mistakes people tend to make.
Are Uber and Lyft drivers being exploited?
April 09, 2021 20:26 - 1 hour - 51.4 MBHow much do Uber and Lyft drivers really earn, after expenses? Are they getting a raw deal by being classified as 'independent contractors' instead of employees? I explore the debate over these questions with three guests: Louis Hyman (Cornell), Veena Dubal (UC Hastings College of the Law), and Harry Campbell (The Rideshare Guy).
Unfair laws / Why judges should be originalists (William Baude)
March 19, 2021 16:34 - 1 hour - 58 MBIs there any justification for seemingly unjust laws like "qualified immunity," which allows cops to get away with bad behavior? William Baude, a leading scholar of constitutional law, explores how these laws came to be and why they're so hard to change. Also, Baude makes the case for originalism, the view that judges should base their rulings on the original meaning of the Constitution. And Baude explains how rationalist principles have influenced his teaching and legal scholarship.
Intellectual honesty, cryptocurrency, & more (Vitalik Buterin)
March 04, 2021 22:22 - 1 hour - 71 MBJulia and guest Vitalik Buterin (creator of the open-source blockchain platform Ethereum) explore a wide range of topics, including: Vitalik's intellectually honest approach to leadership, why prediction markets appear to be biased in favor of Trump, whether it was rational to invest in Bitcoin ten years ago, Vitalik's defense of life extension research against its critics, and more.
Understanding moral disagreements (Jonathan Haidt)
February 18, 2021 12:44 - 1 hour - 62.6 MBJulia and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (The Righteous Mind) discuss his moral foundations theory and argue about whether liberals should “expand their moral horizons” by learning to think like conservatives. Julia solicits Jon’s help in understanding her disagreement with philosopher Michael Sandel, in episode 247, over the morality of consensual cannibalism.
The case for one billion Americans, & more (Matt Yglesias)
February 03, 2021 20:12 - 1 hour - 87.6 MBMatt Yglesias talks about One Billion Americans, his book arguing that it’s in the United States’ national interest to dramatically boost its population, by expanding immigration and having more babies. Matt and Julia also discuss arguments for and against the “YIMBY” movement, which pushes for building more housing; what they’ve both learned from reflecting on their misguided support for the Iraq War in 2003; and why (and how) Matt is trying to be more of a rationalist.
What’s wrong with tech companies banning people? (Julian Sanchez)
January 20, 2021 17:31 - 56 minutes - 56 MBCompanies like Twitter and Facebook are increasingly willing to ban users -- and even if you agree with their decisions, is it worrying that a few companies have so much power? Julia discusses with Julian Sanchez, expert on tech and civil liberties.
The case for racial colorblindness (Coleman Hughes)
January 05, 2021 22:18 - 1 hour - 52.3 MBColeman Hughes explains why he favors a "colorblind" ideal and why the "race-conscious" camp disagrees with him. Coleman and Julia also discuss whether reparations are just, and what counts as racism.
Are Democrats being irrational? (David Shor)
December 22, 2020 16:21 - 1 hour - 54.9 MBData scientist David Shor discusses some of the bad choices made by Democratic political campaigns. What's the cause of the errors? Is it irrationality, coordination problems, or something else?
The moral limits of markets / The problem with meritocracy (Michael Sandel)
December 08, 2020 04:23 - 59 minutes - 42 MBHarvard philosopher Michael Sandel argues with Julia about human dignity, consensual cannibalism, and the case in his new book, The Tyranny of Merit, that meritocracy is to blame for recent populist backlashes in the U.S.
Deaths of despair / Effective altruism (Angus Deaton)
November 24, 2020 02:29 - 1 hour - 48.5 MBEconomist and Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton discusses the rise in “deaths of despair” in the U.S. – deaths from drugs, alcohol or suicide. What's causing it, and how do we know? Also, Julia and Angus debate whether effective altruism can help the poor.
Are Boomers to blame for Millennials' struggles?
November 09, 2020 18:46 - 59 minutes - 45 MBRationally Speaking returns from hiatus with a look at a clash between two generations: Millennials, and their parents' generation, the Baby Boomers. Faced with stagnant wages and rising costs of education, rent, and health care, Millennials have a tougher path to economic security than Boomers did. And a growing number of millennial writers argue that their situation is the result of misguided and irresponsible policy choices made by the Boomers themselves. Are they right? Are Boomers ...
Rationally Speaking #244 - Stephanie Lepp and Buster Benson on "Seeing other perspectives, with compassion"
November 30, 2019 21:00 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBThis episode features a pair of interviews on a similar topic: First, Stephanie Lepp (host of the Reckonings podcast) discusses what she's learned from interviewing people who had a serious change of heart, or "reckoning," including a former Neo-nazi and a former sex offender. What causes a reckoning? Second, Buster Benson (author of Why Are We Yelling? The art of productive disagreement) shares his tips for coming away from a disagreement feeling more alive -- for example, don't just focus o...
Rationally Speaking #243 - Bryan Caplan on "The Case for Open Borders"
November 12, 2019 01:00 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBThe idea of open borders -- letting people move freely between countries, taking a job wherever they can find a job they want -- is still a pretty fringe position, politically speaking. But economist Bryan Caplan makes a compelling case for it in his new graphic nonfiction book, "Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration," illustrated by cartoonist Zach Weinersmith. In this episode, Julia questions Bryan about several aspects of his case.
Rationally Speaking #242 - Keith Frankish on "Why consciousness is an illusion"
October 29, 2019 01:00 - 43 minutes - 39.8 MBPhilosopher of mind Keith Frankish is one of the leading proponents of "illusionism," the theory that argues that your subjective experience -- i.e., the "what it is like" to be you -- is a trick of the mind. It's a counterintuitive theory, but Keith makes the case for it in this episode, while explaining the other leading theories of consciousness and why he rejects them.
Rationally Speaking #241 - Thibault Le Texier on "Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment"
October 15, 2019 01:00 - 54 minutes - 50.4 MBThe Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most famous psychology experiments in history. For decades, we've been told that it proves how regular people easily turn sadistic when they are asked to role play as prison guards. But the story now appears to be mostly fraudulent. Thibault Le Texier is a researcher who dug into the Stanford archives and learned that the "prison guards" were actually told how to behave in order to support the experimenters' thesis. On this episode, Thibault and Ju...
Rationally Speaking #240 - David Manheim on "Goodhart's Law and why metrics fail"
September 17, 2019 01:00 - 59 minutes - 54.2 MBIf you want to understand why things go wrong in business, government, education, psychology, AI, and more, you need to know Goodhart's Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to become a good measure." In this episode, decision theorist David Manheim explains the dynamics behind Goodhart's Law and some potential solutions to it.
Rationally Speaking #239 - Saloni Dattani on "The debate over whether male and female brains are different"
September 03, 2019 01:00 - 48 minutes - 44.1 MBSeveral recent books have argued there's no difference between male and female brains. Saloni Dattani, a PhD in psychiatric genetics, discusses some of the problems with the argument, and what we really know so far about gender and the brain.
Rationally Speaking #238 - Razib Khan on "Stuff I've Been Wrong About"
August 20, 2019 01:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBIt's rare for public intellectuals to talk about things they've gotten wrong, but geneticist Razib Khan is an exception. He recently published list of 28 things he's changed his mind about in the last decade, not just in genetics, but in other fields of science, politics, society, and religion. Julia interviews Razib about some of the items on the list -- why did he change his mind, and what lessons does he feel he's learned from his past errors?
Rationally Speaking #237 - Andy Przybylski on "Is screen time bad for you?"
August 06, 2019 01:00 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBIt's common wisdom that spending a lot of time on your smartphone, or checking social media like Facebook and Twitter, takes a psychological toll. It makes us depressed, insecure, anxious, and isolated -- or so people say. But is there any research to back that up? Julia discusses the evidence with professor Andy Przybylski, director of research at the Oxford Internet Institute.
Rationally Speaking #236 - Alex Tabarrok on "Why are the Prices So D*mn High?"
July 23, 2019 01:00 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MBOver the last two decades, the prices of consumer goods like toys and electronics have gone way down, but the prices of health care and education have gone up roughly 200%. Why? In this episode, economist Alex Tabarrok discusses his latest book, co-authored with Eric Heller, "Why are the Prices So D*mn High?," which blames rising costs on a phenomenon called the Baumol Effect.
Rationally Speaking #235 - Tage Rai on "Why people think their violence is morally justified"
June 25, 2019 01:00 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBWe typically think of violence as being caused by a lack of control, or by selfish motives. But what if, more often than not, violence is intended to be morally righteous? That's the thesis of the book Virtuous Violence: Hurting and Killing to Create, Sustain, End, and Honor Social Relationships. Author Tage Rai debates his book's thesis with Julia. Plus: What does The Iliad teach us about changing attitudes about morality over time?
Rationally Speaking #234 - Dylan Matthews on "Global poverty has fallen, but what should we conclude from that?"
May 28, 2019 01:00 - 1 hour - 71.4 MBThe global poverty rate has fallen significantly over the last few decades. But there's a heated debate, between people like psychologist Steven Pinker and anthropologist Jason Hickel, over how to view that fact. Is it a triumph for capitalism? Should we celebrate it, or lament the fact that rich countries aren't doing more to close the poverty gap faster? Vox journalist Dylan Matthews explains the disagreement. He and Julia discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each side's argument.
Rationally Speaking #233 - Clive Thompson on "The culture of coding, and how it’s changing the world"
May 13, 2019 23:00 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MBTechnology writer Clive Thompson discusses his latest book, Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World. Topics Clive and Julia cover include: - Why coders love efficiency so much - Are there downsides to efficiency? - Do coders have particular blindspots when it comes to human nature? - What is a "10x Coder," and why do people disagree about whether they exist? - Does Clive still agree with his older book, "Smarter Than You Think," which argued that technology is making u...
Rationally Speaking #232 - Tyler Cowen on "Defending big business against its critics"
April 30, 2019 01:00 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBEconomist Tyler Cowen discusses his latest book, "Big Business: A love-letter to an American anti-hero." Why has anti-capitalist sentiment increased recently, and to what extent is it justified? How much are corporations to blame for wage stagnation, climbing cost of living, or the slow response to climate change? Tyler and Julia also explore their various disagreements: on how to communicate, whether people should bet on their beliefs, and whether we should increase public optimism about tec...
Rationally Speaking #231 - Helen Toner on "Misconceptions about China and artificial intelligence"
April 16, 2019 01:00 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MBHelen Toner, the director of strategy at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), shares her observations from the last few years of talking with AI scientists and policymakers in the US and China. Helen and Julia discuss, among other things: How do the views of Chinese and American AI scientists differ? How is media coverage of China misleading? Why the notion of an "AI arms race" is flawed Why measures of China's AI capabilities are overstated Reasons for optimism an...
Rationally Speaking #230 - Kelsey Piper on “Big picture journalism: covering the topics that matter in the long run”
April 02, 2019 01:00 - 53 minutes - 48.9 MBThis episode features journalist Kelsey Piper, blogger and journalist for "Future Perfect," a new site focused on topics that impact the long-term future of the world. Kelsey and Julia discuss some of her recent stories, including why people disagree about AI risk, and how she came up with her probabilistic predictions for 2018. They also discuss topics from Kelsey's personal blog, including why it's not necessarily a good idea to read articles you strongly disagree with, why "sovereignty" is...
Rationally Speaking #229 - John Nerst on "Erisology, the study of disagreement"
March 19, 2019 01:00 - 1 hour - 59.3 MBThis episode features John Nerst, data scientist and blogger at everythingstudies.com, discussing a potential new field called "erisology," the study of disagreement. John and Julia discuss why Twitter makes disagreement so hard; whether there's anything to learn from postmodernism; John's "signal and corrective" model that explains why disagreement persists even when people agree on the key facts; and how the concept of "decoupling" helps explains Sam Harris and Ezra Klein's debate last year...
Rationally Speaking #228 - William Gunn and Alex Holcombe on "Is Elsevier helping or hurting scientific progress?"
March 05, 2019 01:00 - 58 minutes - 54 MBIn the wake of the University of California's decision to end their contract with Elsevier, the world's largest scientific publisher, a lot of people have been talking about the effect that publishers like Elsevier have on the progress of science. William Gunn, director of scholarly communications for Elsevier, and Alex Holcombe, cognitive scientist and open science advocate, discuss their differing perspectives on the question. The discussion includes: What are scientists' main complaints ab...
Rationally Speaking #227 - Sarah Haider on "Dissent and free speech"
February 18, 2019 01:00 - 58 minutes - 53.4 MBThis episode features Sarah Haider, the president of Ex-Muslims of North America. Julia and Sarah discuss why it's important to talk about the challenges of leaving Islam, and why that makes people uncomfortable or angry. They also explore whether being intellectually honest helps or hurts your effectiveness as an activist; Sarah's concerns with the Intellectual Dark Web; and whether Sarah would draw any lines when it comes to giving offensive views a platform.
Rationally Speaking #226 - Rob Wiblin on "An updated view of the best ways to help humanity"
February 05, 2019 01:00 - 53 minutes - 49 MBIf you want to do as much good as possible with your career, what problems should you work on, and what jobs should you consider? This episode features Rob Wiblin, director of research for effective altruist organization 80,000 Hours, and the host of the 80,000 Hours podcast. Julia and Rob discuss how the career advice 80,000 Hours gives has changed over the years, and the biggest misconceptions about their views. Their conversation covers topics like: - Should everyone try to get a job in fi...
Rationally Speaking #225 - Neerav Kingsland on "The case for charter schools"
January 21, 2019 01:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBThis episode features Neerav Kingsland, who helped rebuild New Orleans' public school system after Hurricane Katrina, converting it into the country's first nearly-100% charter school system. Neerav and Julia discuss: why Neerav believes the evidence shows charter schools work better than regular public schools, his responses to the main arguments against charters, and what we know about how parents choose schools for their children.
Rationally Speaking #224 - Rick Nevin on "The long-term effects of lead on crime"
January 07, 2019 01:00 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBThis episode features Rick Nevin, an economist who is known for his research suggesting that lead is one of the main causes of crime. Rick and Julia discuss: how do we know the correlation between lead and crime is a sign of a causal relationship? Has the lead-crime theory made any successful predictions? And is it possible that getting rid of lead could reduce the crime rate down to zero?
Rationally Speaking #223 - Chris Fraser on "The Mohists, ancient China's philosopher warriors"
December 17, 2018 01:00 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBNot enough people know about the Mohists, a strikingly modern group of Chinese philosophers active in 479-221 BCE. This episode features Chris Fraser, expert on Mohism and professor of philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. Chris and Julia discuss how the Mohists put their philosophy into practice and got Chinese leaders to hold off on starting wars; how their philosophy was similar to and different from modern consequentialism; why their movement died out, and what modern groups like Eff...
Rationally Speaking #222 - Spencer Greenberg and Seth Cottrell on "Ask a Mathematician, Ask a Physicist"
December 03, 2018 01:00 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MBThis episode features the hosts of "Ask a Mathematician, Ask a Physicist," a blog that grew out of a Burning Man booth in which a good-natured mathematician (Spencer Greenberg) and physicist (Seth Cottrell) answer people's questions about life, the universe, and everything. Spencer and Seth discuss the weirdest and most controversial questions they've answered, why math is fundamentally arbitrary, Seth's preferred alternative to the Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum physics, how a weird g...
Rationally Speaking #221 - Rob Reich on "Is philanthropy bad for democracy?"
November 14, 2018 01:00 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBThis episode features political scientist Rob Reich, author of "Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy, and How it Can Do Better". Rob and Julia debate his criticisms of philanthropy: Does it deserve to be tax-deductible? Is it a violation of the autonomy of recipients to attach strings to their charitable gifts? And do philanthropists have too much power in society?
Rationally Speaking #220 - Peter Eckersley on "Tough choices on privacy and artificial intelligence"
October 28, 2018 10:30 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBThis episode features Peter Eckersley, an expert in law and computer science, who has worked with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Partnership on AI. Peter and Julia first delve into some of the most fundamental questions about privacy: What are the risks of losing privacy? Do we have more to fear from governments or industry? Which companies do a good job of protecting their users' privacy? Are there tradeoffs between supporting privacy and supporting competitive markets? Next, the...
Rationally Speaking #219 - Jason Collins on "A skeptical take on behavioral economics"
October 15, 2018 03:00 - 55 minutes - 51.2 MBIn this episode, economist Jason Collins discusses some of the problems with behavioral economics: Why governments have started to rely too much on the field, and why that's bad; why it's suspicious that there are over 100 cognitive biases; when "nudges" are problematic; and more.
Rationally Speaking #218 - Chris Auld on "Good and bad critiques of economics"
October 01, 2018 03:00 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBIn this episode, economist Chris Auld describes some common criticisms of his field and why they're wrong. Julia and Chris also discuss whether there are any good critiques of the field, and whether economists think that people with an addiction to alcohol or drugs are behaving rationally.
Rationally Speaking #217 - Aviv Ovadya on "The problem of false, biased, and artificial news"
September 16, 2018 23:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBAviv Ovadya, an expert on misinformation, talks with Julia about the multiple phenomena that get lumped together as "fake news." For example, articles that are straightforwardly false, misleading, or artificially created (think "Deepfakes," videos that make a politician appear to say something he didn't say). Which of those problems are more dangerous for our civilization? Are any of them tractable? And what might a solution look like?
Rationally Speaking #216 - Diana Fleischman on "Being a transhumanist evolutionary psychologist"
September 03, 2018 03:00 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MBOn this episode of Rationally Speaking, professor Diana Fleischman makes the case for transhumanist evolutionary psychology: understanding our evolved drives, so that we can better overcome them. Diana and Julia discuss sexual preferences, jealousy, and other drives -- how immutable are they? How do we know? And how would it change society, if we could change the distribution of people we find attractive, or normalize new relationship structures such as polyamory?
Rationally Speaking #215 - Anders Sandberg on "Thinking about the long-term future of humanity"
August 20, 2018 03:00 - 43 minutes - 39.4 MBThis episode features Anders Sandberg, a researcher at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute, explaining several reasons why it's valuable to think about humanity's long-term future. Julia and Anders discuss the common objection that we can't predict or steer the future, and explore whether people really care if humanity dies out.