Serious Inquiries Only
758 episodes - English - Latest episode: 26 days ago - ★★★★★ - 978 ratingsJoin 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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Episodes
SIO299: Debunking CRT Attacks with Dr. Ery Shin
June 27, 2021 06:48 - 52 minutes - 53.8 MBYou've seen Critical Race Theory discussed everywhere thanks to an entirely ginned up moral panic by Christopher Rufo, but have you gotten to hear someone who actually teaches it talk about what it's really about? If not, I hope you'll listen as Dr. Ery Shin takes us through some basics, and also answers a few anti-CRT talking points from James Lindsay's Christian Nationalist funded New Discourses.
SIO298: Is Life Pointless? More from the Journal of Controversial Ideas
June 15, 2021 19:51 - 56 minutes - 57.5 MBwith special guest Aaron Rabinowitz! You know him from Embrace the Void and Philosophers in Space, but today he's here to philosophize at us. A paper on pointlessness was published in the first issue of the Journal of Controversial ideas. How good is it? How controversial? Find out!
SIO297: New Atheists Didn't "Merge with the Far Right"
June 10, 2021 03:43 - 52 minutes - 54.1 MBPerhaps some number of them did, but neither these atheist leaders, nor the movement as a whole "merged with the far right," as this Salon article says. I suppose it may seem like a minor point to some, but I think it's pretty significantly journalistically irresponsible to have a headline as explosive as that, with the picture like that, and not have it be supported by the article.
SIO296: The Journal of Controversial Ideas
June 03, 2021 06:31 - 53 minutes - 54.6 MBRecently, Jeff McMahan, Francesca Minerva and Peter Singer started a journal called The Journal of Controversial Ideas. In it, people can post racist transphobic stuff that is TOO controversial for other journals! (except that it totally isn't.) Lindsey and I give some background, and do a fair bit of yelling about the race science paper published in the first issue of the journal. Links: "Who Is The Victim In The Anna Stubblefield Case?", "Gender Muddle: Reply to Dembroff", "Cognitive Cr...
SIO295: Patreon QnA 2!
June 01, 2021 03:01 - 57 minutes - 58.6 MBLots of great questions from our patrons! Lindsey gives us a taser research update; why are puppies cuter than humans? Is PZ Myers wrong about EvoPsych? Spike proteins, anti-vax stuff, and more! Links: TASER study, Kurzban's response to PZ, Russian fox domestication experiment, Contrapoints on AGP, Blogpost on spike proteins, Aaaaaand one bonus link for you
SIO294: The Hannah-Jones Tenure Denial is Worse Than You Think
May 27, 2021 05:01 - 55 minutes - 57.1 MBNikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer-winning journalist and developer of the 1619 Project, was appointed to a tenured professorship at UNC Chapel Hill. This is a position that is funded by the Knight foundation. However, a board of old white lawyers who happen to be the Trustees of the University, denied Hannah-Jones tenure, against the recommendations of, well... everyone who should matter in the decision making process. Many people have made bad faith arguments and whataboutisms, but Dr. Lindsey...
SIO293: Did The CDC Screw Up?
May 20, 2021 04:53 - 51 minutes - 52.7 MBThe CDC recently made a surprise announcement that vaccinated people don't need to wear masks, with only a few exceptions. This was greeted with some excitement, but also with vigorous pushback by people on the left. So what's the science behind this decision, and what are the practical concerns? We break it down! Then, we talk about a very premature victory lap taken by Bret Weinstein over the lab-leak hypothesis being confir... I mean not quite technically disproven. ***FACTUAL CORRECTI...
SIO292: More Weinstein and Heying Anti-vax Nonsense
May 13, 2021 02:02 - 50 minutes - 52.5 MBIt's part 2 of our debunk of the disgraceful anti-vaccine garbage being spewed from the Dark Horse Podcast. It's a YouTube show featuring two biologists who ABSOLUTELY should know better, but don't. Since I forgot links on part 1, here are ALL the links: Two articles who interview experts about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines: 1, 2; Edited Fauci clip; Longer Fauci clip; Summary of WHO report on origins of COVID-19 pandemic; WaPo article about Joe Rogan; The Atlantic, ...
SIO291: Bret Weinstein Spreads Dangerous Anti-vax Nonsense
May 06, 2021 07:39 - 51 minutes - 52.6 MBJoe Rogan said healthy, young people shouldn't get the COVID vaccine. This is dangerous and anti-science and incorrect. Though Rogan apologized, Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein took to their YouTube channel to double down on Rogan's claims and do further damage to the cause of science and the effort to vaccinate and protect the public against this deadly disease. It's shameful, and Lindsey is here to explain why they are wrong.
SIO290: Patreon QnA 1!
May 04, 2021 19:29 - 1 hour - 66.3 MBWe got some great questions from patrons, and we ended up answering almost all of them! They include: How did Sam Harris end up being so wrong? Should we ignore the Supreme Court? Evopsych, non-lethal weapons, parasocial relationships, and more!
SIO289: Our Disgustingly Racist Death Penalty
April 29, 2021 04:56 - 50 minutes - 52.5 MBThis is the second part of our racial bias in criminal justice episodes. This one focuses on sentencing, and explores studies showing just how desperate the death penalty is, and how racial bias drives that. Baldus et al (1998) -Racial Discrimination and the Death Penalty in the Post-Furman Era Eberhardt et al (2006) – Looking deathworthy: Perceived Stereotypicality of Black defendants predicts capital-sentencing outcomes Eberhardt et al (2004) – Seeing Black: Race, crime, and visual proc...
SIO288: The AHA Dawkins Debacle, Part 2
April 28, 2021 04:37 - 55 minutes - 56.6 MBThis episode is the sequel to the last one, so make sure to check that out. I go into the "whataboutism" around the AHA Dawkins award thing, and talk about a really terrible thing another atheist said that I think people should know about.
SIO287: AHA Revokes Dawkins Award, Atheists Lose Minds
April 27, 2021 07:07 - 53 minutes - 55 MBSorry, we interrupt the scheduled programming to bring you a yelly rant episode about how terrible all the arguments around the Richard Dawkins humanist award revocation are. It's a bunch of the "smartest people on the internet" saying really stupid things and I've had enough.
SIO286: Studies of Racial Bias in Criminal Justice
April 22, 2021 05:49 - 54 minutes - 55.6 MBOfficial co-host Dr. Lindsey Osterman is here to give us a breakdown of some studies measuring racial bias in Criminal Justice. Part 1 talks about split decision shooting studies, part 2 will focus on sentencing discrepancies. Links: Meta-analysis on racial bias in first-person shooter tasks, Across the Thin Blue Line: Police Officers and Racial Bias in the Decision to Shoot, When Fatigue Turns Deadly: The Effects of Cognitive Depletion and Sleep Deprivation on the Decision To Shoot, When...
SIO285: Debunking "The End of Gender" Part 2
April 01, 2021 03:19 - 57 minutes - 58.9 MBHere is Part 2 of our debunking of a book by Dr. Debra Soh called "The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society." Soh is someone with a relevant credential, which perhaps makes her anti-trans schtick even more dangerous. Within the text are kernels of truth about the science of sex and gender, but she abuses that science beyond recognition to defend cultural conservative norms. Lindsey has the breakdown for us! Links: (for both parts) Proposal about the de...
SIO284: Debunking "The End of Gender" Part 1
March 31, 2021 04:19 - 45 minutes - 47.6 MBSomehow, esteemed co-host Dr. Lindsey Osterman got through all of the terribly transphobic book by Dr. Debra Soh called "The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society." Soh is someone with a relevant credential, which perhaps makes her anti-trans schtick even more dangerous. Within the text are kernels of truth about the science of sex and gender, but she abuses that science beyond recognition to defend cultural conservative norms. Lindsey has the breakdown fo...
SIO283: Quantum Physics 101, with the What the FUP Podcast!
March 18, 2021 05:01 - 1 hour - 63.6 MBWhat is the "What the FUP?" Podcast, you ask? It's none other than Dr. Lindsey Osterman's new show with physicist Dr. Brian Gentry! We all watched "What the BLEEP Do We Know?" with a mind to critique it, but the episode turned into a fascinating Quantum Physics 101 lecture because there was so much to go over before we could even dive into how wrong the documentary is on every level!
SIO282: Debunking the Latest 'Campus Craziness' Stories
March 11, 2021 05:26 - 55 minutes - 56.9 MBIf you're thinking "are they still doing this whole thing?" about 'campus craziness' then you're not alone. But fortunately Dr. Lindsey Osterman is here to do some debunking for us! Did a professor get fired for racist tweets? Did a research paper get retracted due to progressive outrage? Find out! Links: Jussim's blogpost, Articles on the Negy firing: Orlando Sentinel, NYT, pro-Negy article about it: Inside Sources Sources for the AlShebli retraction: Original article, Retraction no...
SIO281: Frank and Dan Want You To Run for Something!
March 01, 2021 07:36 - 41 minutes - 43.7 MBSomehow we've all been podcasting for 10 years in atheism and never done anything together (except a midnight tryst back on NYE) but Frank and Dan of Thank God I'm Atheist are finally on the show! We talk about their background and also their drive to get more atheists into office! That could mean you! Click on the link and check it out, but also listen to this really fun interview!
SIO280: A Scientific Case for Repressed Memory?
February 25, 2021 07:00 - 37 minutes - 40.1 MBAfter last week's episode with Carrie Poppy, I got a number of responses saying we might have been a little too dismissive of the evolutionary case for repressed memory. As it turns out, Dr. Jennifer Freyd, has developed a theory that could account for something like it. Yes, that Jennifer Freyd, the accuser whose story was told in The Cut's article that started this whole thing! The entire situation is as fascinating as it is tragic for virtually everyone involved, but Dr. Lindsey Osterm...
SIO279: How 'The Cut' Dangerously Mishandled Recovered Memory, with Carrie Poppy
February 18, 2021 05:46 - 55 minutes - 56.7 MBA recent article in The Cut discusses allegations of sexual abuse which were made based on "recovered memories." Regardless of the truth or falsity of the accusations, the science of memory may have been very badly represented in this article, to harmful effect. Carrie of Oh No Ross and Carrie breaks it down for us! Complete with a Satanic Panic tie-in. (Link to the letters.)
SIO278: The Filibuster is F***ing Stupid
February 04, 2021 03:51 - 46 minutes - 48.6 MBIt is unfathomable to me that Senator Kyrsten Sinema wants to preserve this idiotic accident of history. It is not anything the founders intended. It's not in the constitution. It's pure crap that stands in the way of not just progress but basic governance. I do a mini break down of how we got here, and I have a few ideas of how we could get around the filibuster and not make liars out of Manchin and Sinema.
SIO277: The GameStop Fiasco, with Phil Ferguson
January 30, 2021 09:09 - 1 hour - 66.3 MBThe only thing that could possibly wrestle the internet back from Bernie Sanders's warm mittened hands is the GameStop madness. Joining me to break it down and try to explain and comment on approximately 1 billionth of everything to it is Phil Ferguson of the Phil Ferguson Show! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, short and to the point! Support the show at patreon.com/seriouspod! Come watch us on Twitch! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/...
SIO276: Is the Dunning-Kruger Effect Real?
January 28, 2021 05:39 - 57 minutes - 58.3 MBA recent article by Jonathan Jarry made a few waves on the internet recently, as it claims that the Dunning-Kruger effect might not actually be real! Official SIO Science-splainer Lindsey Osterman is on with a full breakdown! Is the effect real or is it just statistical noise? Tune in and find out! Links: (Original paper) Kruger & Dunning (1999), (Review chapter) Dunning (2011), (Response to early statistical critiques) Kruger & Dunning (2002), (First Nuhfer paper): Nuhfer et al (2016),...
SIO275: President Biden! (marginal happiness warranted)
January 21, 2021 06:10 - 49 minutes - 51.3 MBIt's a celebratory show! I've got some thoughts on it all, and why we shouldn't waste any time being mad at Joe Manchin. Also, this election was closer than 2016 and that blew my mind.
SIO274: A Pornhub Rebuttal with Tom Curry
January 16, 2021 06:07 - 1 hour - 65.4 MBA few weeks back I had Eli Bosnick on to talk about Nicholas D. Kristof's Pornhub article. Eli attacked some of the fundamentalist Christian sources for the piece, and talked about the plight sex workers who had been left without income after the backlash. Tom, from Cognitive Dissonance and Citation Needed, has major disagreements with Eli on the topic and wanted to respond.
SIO273: Sam Harris is Wrong Again
January 14, 2021 06:24 - 57 minutes - 58.9 MBHarris recently released another both sidesy "I'm the only rational one" podcast episode about the recent insurrection at the Capitol. While he condemns Trump and the right, he also makes a series of terrible arguments in the name of anti-wokeness. Lindsey and I are here to set him straight! *note I said 2 Capitol officers were arrested. They were only suspended.* Check us out at twitch.tv/seriouspod! Lindsey's Links: Reporting on police response to January 6th vs. BLM -WaPo, ProPublica...
SIO272: Sedition Special with Andrew Torrez and Allison Gill
January 07, 2021 00:28 - 1 hour - 38.1 MBI had a whole good news episode planned about Georgia. I have so much to say, and so many things to be positive about. And then some fascist f*cks stormed the Capitol building. Andrew and I just felt that we needed to get on the stream with our audience and talk it out. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of time for the good news later!
SIO271: Listener Qs!
December 31, 2020 05:28 - 49 minutes - 50.8 MBTopics include Democratic messaging, the working class, tips for cutting out meat, and more!
SIO270: NYT's Kristof Duped by Christian Anti-Porn Group
December 29, 2020 06:52 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBToday's show features fan-favorite Eli Bosnick explaining how much is completely wrong about an op-ed by Nicholas Kristof. The article claims that PornHub is "...infested with rape videos. It monetizes child rapes, revenge pornography, spy cam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags." These are very serious claims, and reading the article might make you feel ill. However, there is a serious problem with it. Listen in ...
SIO269: Evolutionary Psychology and Sex Differences
December 24, 2020 05:00 - 59 minutes - 60.4 MBIt's part 2 of the Defending Evo-Psych series! This one was so much fun. Lindsey talks about sex differences in different species and how they are also present in human behavior. We talk about ridiculous birds, mating dollars, casual sex, and all kinds of fun stuff! Studies referenced: Singh (2002) - REVIEW, WHR, attractiveness, and fecundity, Li et al. (2002) - necessities and luxuries of mate preferences
SIO268: Defending Evolutionary Psychology with Lindsey Osterman
December 17, 2020 08:22 - 50 minutes - 51.9 MBSince Lindsey has started to appear on the show more often, we've heard from a few people who were under the impression that her field (evolutionary psychology) is "bunk" or is all unprovable just-so stories. As an expert, Lindsey takes us through where these objections come from and why they aren't accurate. Plus she takes us through some fascinating research! Studies mentioned: Wertz & Wynn 2014 Infant avoidance of plants, Wertz 2019 Ho plants shape the mind
SIO267: We Should Eat Less Meat
December 11, 2020 17:45 - 51 minutes - 53.1 MB... and other monologues and listener questions! I have not eaten meat for 2 months, and I want to explain why and why I think you should do your best to reduce meat eating as well. Don't worry, no excessive shaming. I just want to share my reasoning and hope it influences people. Also, more listener questions!
Bonus: Yelling at Sam Harris
December 10, 2020 05:18 - 52 minutes - 53.8 MBI asked the patrons over at patreon.com/seriouspod and they overwhelmingly said I should publish this on the main feed. Keep in mind, it's raw and explicit, but I think some great points were made and it's useful listening. If you'd like to hear episode 267 sign up as a patron!
SIO266: Why Sam Harris Is Wrong about Police Killings
November 26, 2020 04:56 - 54 minutes - 55.9 MBIt's been something like 70 years since the George Floyd protests, and the news cycle has had no choice but to move onto so many other huge and terrible things. But Lindsey Osterman and I still haven't forgotten the terrible arguments used by people like Sam Harris, and many in the right-wing information ecosystem, to push back against Black Lives Matter and to try to undermine the massive protests we saw. Lindsey takes us through two papers that have heavily influence this view, and why th...
SIO265: Did The System Work?
November 19, 2020 06:05 - 59 minutes - 60.7 MBI'm finally answering my listener email! It's been a tense... year, and I haven't gone to the inbox for a while. Today that changes! Before that, I can't help but unload a bit about whether or not "the system worked." When I hear people say that, it just does not seem right. But also... it did... kinda? Then I get to your questions and comments, about Constitutional Conventions and lizard people and revolution and progressive policies and more!
SIO264: Did Progressive Causes Lead To House Losses?
November 12, 2020 07:04 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBAfter Democrats had a disappointing election in the House, there was a group call in which some centrist members blamed progressives. AOC responded in the New York Times. This has set off a pretty bitter debate. I wanted to get to the bottom of the claims using the actual voting data and see if there was anything to be learned going either way. Hours of data entry later, I believe I have (some) answers.
SIO263: Not The Worst Possible Outcome, But Close
November 05, 2020 02:37 - 53 minutes - 54.4 MBAs of recording, it's looking like a narrow Biden victory and Republican control of the Senate. This isn't set in stone, and there's still an outside shot of taking the Senate and winning the Presidency by a more comfortable margin, but this analysis is under the assumption that we won't. Here are my thoughts.
SIO262: I'm Perfectly Calm
November 03, 2020 03:27 - 47 minutes - 49 MBCalmer than you are. It's election day. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Here are a series of disjointed thoughts. God damn I hope this all ends.
SIO263: I'm Perfectly Calm
November 03, 2020 03:27 - 47 minutes - 49 MBCalmer than you are. It's election day. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Here are a series of disjointed thoughts. God damn I hope this all ends.
SIO261: A Monster Island Follow-up
November 01, 2020 04:12 - 36 minutes - 39.3 MBListeners were fascinated by the Monster Island experiment Aaron told us about last episode! At the same time, another member of the group responded by posting that Aaron had perhaps left some things out of his account. I thought it would be a great opportunity to hear more about the experiment and also see how identity can affect how things like this are experienced.
SIO260: Aaron Rabinowitz on James Lindsay and Monster Island
October 24, 2020 04:38 - 55 minutes - 56.5 MBMy brother from another pod-mother Aaron Rabinowitz is on to discuss the fantastic article he wrote for The Skeptic! The article is about his experience in the Facebook group Monster Island, which was a no-holds-barred debate group that some of you may have been involved with. If you weren't, Aaron will detail what happened, including a pretty scary twist (or predictable?) ending. Before that, we talk about James Lindsay going full Trump supporter.
SIO259: Hunter's Damned Emails
October 21, 2020 20:48 - 50 minutes - 52.3 MBI've been wondering how two things could be true - that Giuliani has an obviously fake story about obtaining Hunter Biden's laptop, and that the leak contains seemingly real texts between Joe and Hunter Biden. I tried to get to the bottom of it. I also talk about the recent murder of a teacher in Paris, committed by a Muslim refugee with radical beliefs, and how we can try to maintain proper perspective in the wake of visceral acts of terror.
SIO258: How Social Media Can Subvert Democracy
October 15, 2020 04:20 - 59 minutes - 60.5 MBLindsey Osterman is back for a follow-up to our Social Dilemma episode. Last time we talked about where the documentary got things a little wrong. Today Lindsey's here to tell us what they had right, but didn't go enough into. It's not a pretty picture! As usual, she's got the science to back the claims: 3 major studies which show that Facebook has affected real elections. Studies: Kramer et al 2014, Bond et al 2012, Haenschen
SIO257: The Psychology Behind Cults, Part 2!
October 14, 2020 02:07 - 42 minutes - 44.3 MBThe second part of our conversation on cults. We finish up on the psychology and then talk about Q anon and Trumpism and whether or not they can fairly be called cults.
SIO256: The Psychology Behind Cults, with Lindsey Osterman
October 08, 2020 07:13 - 49 minutes - 50.7 MBIf you've been watching The Vow on HBO (or any number of other cult related shows) you may have been wondering how cults work - why people join, and how cults hang onto their members. There is a lot of psychology behind it, so who better to help break it down than our evo psych expert Lindsey Osterman!
SIO255: That Horrendous Debate, with Andrew and Alex Torrez!
October 01, 2020 06:57 - 1 hour - 69.1 MBWe're doubling our usual Torrez here! Andrew's son Alex, high school debate champ, is here to help us break down the monstrosity that was that presidential debate!
SIO254: We Have To Win
September 23, 2020 00:13 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBThe death of the great RBG is absolutely devastating, and has made the stakes so much higher. In this episode, I talk about what we HAVE to do to keep our democracy. Things aren't good. Toward the end, I get into the arguments over whether RBG should have retired, mainly because in EVERY interaction I've seen online about this, people get a bunch of the factual information wrong. However, the arguments are almost completely moot, so if you feel you don't need a history lesson, feel free to...
SIO253: Unpacking 'The Social Dilemma'
September 17, 2020 04:40 - 55 minutes - 56.4 MBThe new doc 'The Social Dilemma' on Netflix is making quite an impression on people. It tells a riveting story of the harms of social media, and has led to many people deleting their accounts or limiting their usage. But are all the claims backed up by science? Yes and no... If you've got an urge to delete all your accounts, you might want to hear what social psychologist Lindsey Osterman has to say about it! (and then maybe still delete your accounts if you want..) Links: Verge article I...
SIO252: Lindsey Osterman on Parasocial Relationships
August 27, 2020 04:15 - 55 minutes - 56.3 MBIt's been a while, but today we've got a science episode! Making her return to the show is Lindsey Osterman, a psychologist who has been studying parasocial relationships. It's already incredibly likely that you take part in some number of parasocial relationships, but now in the time of COVID they're more prevalent and important than ever. Here are the studies Lindsey references! Gabriel et al (2018) - From apprentice to presidentDownload Osterman & Hecmanczuk (2019) - Parasocial Forg...