Serious Inquiries Only
758 episodes - English - Latest episode: 24 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.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
SIO251: Dimensions of Political Identity
August 20, 2020 04:24 - 1 hour - 66.1 MBI've got thoughts and lots of them. How do we as progressives criticize Democrats without damaging our future? Is someone who thinks the DNC is corrupt more left than I am, or more.. something else? No prison stocks didn't go up because of Kamala Harris. Julian Assange is an absolute crap. And lots more.
SIO250: James Lindsay's "New Discourses" Funded By Far Right Christian Nationalist
August 13, 2020 04:23 - 59 minutes - 60.1 MBToday I'm joined by philosopher Aaron Rabinowitz of Embrace the Void and Philosophers in Space to discuss the some revelations about James Lindsay's organization "New Discourses." If you're a long time listener, you'll remember James Lindsay from this show back when he didn't totally suck. Well he now very much sucks, and to no one's surprise, he's being propped up by right wing Christian Nationalist Michael O'Fallon. PZ Myers has a good writeup of it on his blog. Aaron and I talk about th...
SIO249: Can Trump Refuse to Leave? with Andrew Torrez
August 06, 2020 04:00 - 57 minutes - 58.7 MBHere's part 2 of my discussion with Andrew Torrez of Opening Arguments! This time we focus on (hopefully) wild and unlikely scenarios if Trump refuses to leave office. Find out if any of them scare the expert and always optimistic P. Andrew Torrez, Esquire!
SIO248: Can Trump Steal the Election? with Andrew Torrez
July 30, 2020 06:05 - 41 minutes - 43.6 MBHey folks, this is one of those unintentional 2-parters! I originally intended to have Andrew on to discuss the scary (and hopefully unlikely?) ways that Trump might try to stay in power even if he lost, but before we even got to that discussion, we go through the ways that Trump and the Republicans are cheating to try to win. Is vote by mail safe? What's the deal with poll-watchers? Those questions and more became part 1, and next episode we talk about the scary theories of how Trump could...
SIO247: Reflections on White Fragility and How To Be An Antiracist
July 18, 2020 03:45 - 59 minutes - 60.6 MBIt's a solo show today. I have a lot of thoughts on two books I've read - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. The monopoly example I used I should have credited to Kimberly Jones.
SIO246: That Harper's Letter, with Eli Bosnick
July 09, 2020 01:36 - 59 minutes - 60.1 MBA lot of prominent writers, journalists, thinkers, etc, have signed an open letter about "Cancel Culture." New dad and world's funniest podcaster Eli Bosnick is back on the show to break it down! Here are links we discuss: brilliant New Republic Article; James Bennet Resigns as New York Times Opinion Editor; Harper's Editor Fired Over 'Sh*tty Men in Media' Story; Longtime Deadspin editor fired after controversial internal memo; Jeanine Cummins Syndrome; Pittsburgh Newspaper Bars Bla...
SIO245: Brandon J. McKoy on #defundthepolice
June 18, 2020 08:29 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBWe're joined this week by Brandon J. McKoy! He's the president of the New Jersey Policy Perspective, a think-tank whose focus is policy change to advance economic justice and prosperity. We discuss what #defundthepolice means to different advocacy groups, what it might look like in practice, and what other potential policy might lead to better policing in this country.
SIO244: On Publishing Fascist Op-Eds, with Bryan W. Van Norden
June 11, 2020 02:33 - 1 hour - 64.8 MBThe New York Times recently published an Op-Ed by Tom Cotton advocating a severe crackdown on the protests. The piece sparked a giant backlash and even a bit of a civil war within the Times. The Opinion editor officially stepped down. Joining us today is Professor Bryan Van Norden, who has written about why not all opinions deserve to be heard. Much of the justification people use tends to derive from Mill's On Liberty, but does that essay really justify platforming fascism? Links: Bryan'...
SIO243: Alix Jules
June 04, 2020 03:12 - 1 hour - 64.4 MBIt has been far, far too long since we've heard from Alix Jules on this show. I can't think of a more perfect guest to help us better understand the mayhem happening around the country right now.
SIO242: Jane Roe's Deathbed Confession
May 28, 2020 01:49 - 56 minutes - 58 MBJamie and I are on to discuss the pandemic, the attacks on abortion rights coming from the right, and Jane Roe's deathbed conversion. Jamie's links: http://yellowhammerfund.org, http://bwhi.org, http://prochoice.org, http://lilithfund.org, http://prochoicetexas.org, http://teafund.org, http://westfund.org
SIO241: A Parasitic Review
May 21, 2020 06:56 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBI recently watched Parasite and was so blown away by it that I wanted to do a review/discussion of the film, and fortunately, Jamie was game! I loved it and there is so much to analyze and enjoy, so we hope you enjoy it along with us. We recommend you watch it first!
SIO240: Listener Questions, Continued!
May 14, 2020 08:04 - 49 minutes - 50.8 MBWe've got questions on politics, philosophy, and more! As always, they lead to a spirited debate.
SIO239: Listener Questions!
May 06, 2020 23:30 - 54 minutes - 55.9 MBWe've got questions on politics, philosophy, and more! As always, they lead to a spirited debate.
SIO238: Skye Cleary on Existentialism and Love
April 23, 2020 01:09 - 44 minutes - 46.9 MBToday we bring you something not at all COVID (or politics) related. We recorded a wonderful interview with Skye Cleary back over a month ago, just before the pandemic changed all our lives. We thought it would be a much needed change of pace. Skye is a philosopher who teaches at Columbia University, and is the author of Existentialism and Romantic Love (Palgrave Macmillan 2015) and co-editor of How to Live a Good Life (Vintage 2020).
SIO237: Dissecting the Primary, with Jamie
April 13, 2020 22:59 - 1 hour - 64.4 MBJamie is back! We set out to discuss what happened in the primary and have a spirited debate as well. Some things I mentioned: 538, Vox, Weeds episode.
SIO236: Honestly Evaluating the Biden Accusation
April 11, 2020 23:51 - 1 hour - 63.3 MBJoe Biden has been accused of sexual assault by Tara Reade, with the alleged incident taking place in 1993 when she worked for him. In my opinion, there has been a tremendous amount of bad faith in how this has been talked about my many outlets. This story has consumed my brain and I haven't been able to think of anything else for a few days, so I have just felt I had to do my best to lend an objective voice to a very charged topic. I know I'm just another privileged dude opining, but I bel...
SIO235: Cardinal Pell Wins on Appeal
April 09, 2020 07:00 - 50 minutes - 52.5 MBIt has been about a year since we talked about the charges against Cardinal Pell for sex crimes against minors, and now he has won on appeal to the highest court in Australia. This sounds like terrible news, but Andrew Torrez and Australian lawyer James Rogers are here to break it down for us! It's an Opening Arguments crossover spectacular!
SIO234: Podcasting the Apocalypse
March 21, 2020 03:22 - 56 minutes - 57.2 MBJamie and I talk about the pandemic.
SIO233: Welp.... Joe Biden.
March 12, 2020 01:02 - 53 minutes - 67.3 MBIt's a solo show! We've got a couple Tuesdays' worth of primary results to discuss, and they aren't good for Bernie Sanders. So why is Bernie doing so much worse than in 2016? According to Amanda Marcotte and others, it's maybe due to sexism. I discuss that and other responses to it. I also talk about some mindset changes I've been having, spurred by how awful Twitter has been in this primary and also by the book Politics is for Power, that really has opened my eyes to how many ways politi...
SIO232: Gregg Caruso on Free Will, Part 2
March 05, 2020 05:00 - 48 minutes - 61.1 MBThis is a part 2 of 2. We continue the discussion with Gregg Caruso! He is a professor of philosophy at SUNY Corning in New York, honorary professor of philosophy at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and visiting researcher at the University of Aberdeen School of Law in Scotland. His latest book is Unjust Deserts: Free Will, Punishment, and Criminal Justice (forthcoming). He also debated Daniel Dennett on free will in written form on Aeon, which we highly encourage you to check ou...
SIO231: Gregg Caruso on Free Will and Moral Responsibility
February 29, 2020 00:39 - 52 minutes - 66.5 MBThis is a part 1 of 2! We're doubling the number of philosophers on the show this week, with a fantastic guest in Gregg Caruso! He is a professor of philosophy at SUNY Corning in New York, honorary professor of philosophy at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and visiting researcher at the University of Aberdeen School of Law in Scotland. His latest book is Unjust Deserts: Free Will, Punishment, and Criminal Justice (forthcoming). He also debated Daniel Dennett on free will in wri...
SIO230: Blue No Matter Whomberg?
February 27, 2020 03:57 - 1 hour - 78.4 MBWe had ourselves another debate and it was intense, and poorly moderated. Jamie and I break it down, and also go into the question that seemed a lot more relevant last week: would we vote for Bloomberg if he's the candidate to face Trump in the general? Find out! Download Here
SIO229: Means Testing, #metoo, and Bernie Bros
February 20, 2020 03:00 - 56 minutes - 70.7 MBIt's time for listener questions! It's been far too long so some of these are older, but they're very worthwhile to discuss still. First up, why do we prefer means testing for Yang's UBI but not free tuition to public universities? Then, was there no evidence that Dr. Ford ever met Kavanaugh? Should Franken be able to make a comeback? Why do daycare workers make so little? (insert heated debate about Bernie supporters...) Then finally, some questions about inner monologue! Download Here
SIO228: Iowa, The Debate, and New Hampshire
February 13, 2020 03:13 - 55 minutes - 69.4 MBWell we took a week off of politics and a WHOLE bunch of politics happened, so we need to do some catch-up! ***Jamie had some severe audio problems. Due to a family trip, I don't have the ability to re-record so I figured it was better to release than not have an episode this week. Apologies for the quality issues. Download Here
SIO227: Do You Have an Internal Monologue?
February 06, 2020 06:34 - 57 minutes - 71.3 MB... because one of your beloved hosts of SIO does not! Needless to say, this was a mind blowing realization to that person. We talk about the extraordinary differences in human internal experience, and some of the current science and philosophy on the topic. This was really one of my favorite episodes in SIO history! Download Here
SIO226: Ben Burgis on Logic, the Left, and Joe Rogan's Endorsement
January 31, 2020 23:13 - 50 minutes - 63.9 MBBen Burgis teaches philosophy at Rutgers. He also writes for Jacobin, and delivers regular essays to his patrons, in addition to appearing on the Michael Brooks show regularly. He recently wrote a book called Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left. We discuss his book, the left in general, and the arguments over Bernie being endorsed by Joe Rogan. ***due to a number of technical issues before and during the recording, we ran out of time and the interview had to end a bit abruptly. Apo...
SIO225: Australia on Fire, with Jake and Gregg of The Pouch Podcast
January 23, 2020 01:00 - 1 hour - 85.1 MBYou've likely seen in the news that Australia is being absolutely pummeled by wildfires, well today we get to speak to two actual Australians about it! We talk about the fires, climate change, the political response, the animal loss, and more. Jake and Gregg have a new podcast about Australian politics called The Pouch Podcast, which you should check out! Download Here
SIO224: Dem Debate 7 Or Something
January 15, 2020 06:43 - 53 minutes - 67 MBJamie and I watched the debate and we have lots of thoughts! Including on some of the pre-debate topics, like the Warren-Sanders stuff, Booker dropping out, and more. Download Here
SIO223: Iran and Ricky Gervais
January 09, 2020 08:11 - 58 minutes - 72.6 MBJamie and I are back at it to talk about the big events in the news! Some are bigger and more life threatening than others... Here's the article I referenced. Download Here
SIO222: What Happened in the UK Election? with Dr. Kristi Winters
January 01, 2020 05:57 - 1 hour - 80.2 MBRecently, Boris Johnson's party won a significant majority in what seems to be the final nail in the Brexit Coffin. Many a liberal around the world are shocked and saddened by this, and many a columnist in the US has a hot take on what this portends for US politics. Here to give us more info than we can feasibly fit into 60 minutes is Dr. Kristi Winters, who has been studying British political elections for around 10 years. Download Here
SIO221: Debate Reaction Episode!
December 20, 2019 22:50 - 53 minutes - 66.8 MBIt was a much more productive debate, given that there were only 5 candidates plus some billionaire who bought a ticket to be onstage. Jamie and I talk through some of the arguments and issues! Download Here
SIO220: Trump Impeached!
December 19, 2019 03:01 - 49 minutes - 62.7 MBThe most corrupt president in history has been impeached, and Jamie and I are here with the rapid response! Download Here
SIO219: Are You In the Right Headspace for a Podcast?
December 05, 2019 05:57 - 59 minutes - 74.1 MBJamie and I talk about Kamala Harris dropping out, a powerful #metoo account, and then the latest meme about asking people if they're in the headspace to receive harmful information. Download Here
SIO219: Are You In the Right Headspace for a Podcast?
December 05, 2019 05:57 - 59 minutes - 74.1 MBJamie and I talk about Kamala Harris dropping out, a powerful #metoo account, and then the latest meme about asking people if they're in the headspace to receive harmful information. Download Here
SIO218: Joe Biden Punches Violence in the Face
November 22, 2019 05:55 - 59 minutes - 74.4 MB...and other tales from the nth Democratic Debate. We've got the breakdown and some various and sundry rants and opinions! Download Here
SIO217: Ok, Boomer
November 14, 2019 04:26 - 59 minutes - 60.6 MBIt's time for a listener question episode! First we start with a discussion on the "Ok Boomer" meme, and social media more generally. Then we've got questions about Warren's debate answers, abortion being safe legal and rare, Tulsi Gabbard, and more! Download Here
SIO216: The NYT Polling Panic
November 07, 2019 06:34 - 58 minutes - 59.3 MBRecent polling done by the New York Times has many liberals very worried about the 2020 election. Despite being so unpopular, Trump is polling well against the major Democratic rivals in 6 key states that the NYT polled. Jamie and I discuss the polling and why we should or should not be freaked out, and the implications this has on running more to the center or to the left. Download Here
SIO215: The Case of Rep. Katie Hill
November 01, 2019 04:53 - 51 minutes - 53.4 MBRepresentative Katie Hill's story contains the intersection of so many issues - revenge porn, sexism, double standards, consent, #metoo, sexual and relationship ethics, and more. Jamie and I give the breakdown and give our opinions on whether or not she should have resigned. Download Here
SIO214: Ok WTF is with Tulsi Gabbard?
October 24, 2019 06:54 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBJamie and I embark on a Tulsi Gabbard deep dive! We've struggled trying to figure out what her deal is, and then the Hillary Clinton story blew up, so we figured it would be a great time to do a deep dive and try to answer the question of.... WTF. Is she an asset for Russia? Is she a secret Republican? Is she a progressive? Find out what we dug up! Here are some key sources. I read a lot for this but many sources were redundant. The main two would be Jacobin and Daily Kos. Download Here
SIO213: Democratic Debate No. 43
October 17, 2019 08:14 - 1 hour - 64.6 MBJamie and I watched the latest Democratic Primary Debate so that you don't have to. Unless you want to. We've got opinions! Come listen and let us know what you think! Download Here
SIO212: A Joker Review
October 10, 2019 05:24 - 58 minutes - 59.5 MBJamie and I watched Joker, so you don't have to! Unless you still want to, that's fine. The movie has generated a lot of buzz and think pieces, with people worried that it would inspire white terrorism. On the other end, though, some people think it is an absolutely brilliant movie. So where do we come down? Listen and find out! Download Here
SIO211: Listener Questions, with Jamie!
October 03, 2019 04:54 - 58 minutes - 59.8 MBIt's a great time to stay on top of some listener mail! But first, a new segment, "Feminist Yells at News!" Jamie talks about Brett Kavanaugh's latest victim complex, and Hillary Clinton opening up in recent interviews. After that, it's listener questions! Topics include: supporting local news organizations vs. national news organizations; comedians feeling like they can't do comedy because of the PC left; is it useful to have conservatives like Ross Douthat in the NYT opinion section; are...
SIO210: The Case of David Silverman
October 01, 2019 04:03 - 54 minutes - 55.4 MBFormer President of American Atheists, David Silverman, has been on an attempted comeback tour. He has done some interviews, including with noted sexual harasser of British PMs, Carl Benjamin. It's one thing if Silverman wanted to try to seek forgiveness and start over, but he seems to be completely re-writing history and is also adopting MRA talking points in the process. Jamie and I are here to set the record straight as to what he was accused of, and argue that his victim-narrative is qu...
SIO209: More Listener Questions!
September 20, 2019 03:58 - 53 minutes - 54.6 MBI'm here with an old fashioned solo-pod, since there are so many more good listener questions to answer! Topics are: more non-binary folks respond to ContraPoints, racism, cancel culture, the real dark web, bubbles, and atheists still associating with certain problematic atheists. Hope you enjoy the bonus episode! Download Here
SIO208: Kavanaugh, Weinstein, and Listener Qs with Jamie
September 19, 2019 05:50 - 59 minutes - 60.8 MBJamie and I start off with a bit of a '#metoo in the news' update. There were new allegations against Kavanaugh that were revealed in a truly bizarre way by the New York Times, and there was also a devastation episode of the NYT Daily Podcast that talked about Gloria Allred and her daughter Lisa Bloom, and the work Lisa did to defend Harvey Weinstein and discredit his accusers. After that, we've got some voicemail and email on Yang and UBI. Finally, we discuss an email about white guilt and...
SIO207: Post-Debate Special!
September 13, 2019 05:52 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBJamie is here to talk Democratic Debate, and we've got a fun one for you! We've got lots of opinions on the nature of the debate itself, the highlights the low-lights, which candidates shined and which were Joe Biden. Plus, and EXTRA segment for patrons! Hop onto patreon and get a bonus 25 minutes!
SIO206: ContraPoints and Cancel Culture
September 12, 2019 07:26 - 53 minutes - 55 MBWhat could turn a left-tube favorite into the IDW's poster child overnight? Just ask ContraPoints. Well actually you can't, because she deleted her Twitter after a run-in with some folks who have accused her of saying things that are offensive to non-binary people. To get more info, Tris Mamone has a good explainer here that I would recommend. I'd also recommend this video by another non-binary YouTuber, and this video by trans YouTuber Kat Blaque. So Jamie and I are here, not to adjudicat...
SIO205: What Camus Can Still Teach Us
August 29, 2019 04:42 - 50 minutes - 51.7 MBIt's time for a philosophy lesson with Jamie! She's here to teach us about one of her faves, Albert Camus. We touch on absurdism, existentialism, nihilism, and more. Camus lived and wrote during the time of literal Nazis, so his work has a lot to tell us about our current time of arguably literal Nazis. Content note: there's a brief discussion of hypothetical suicide. Here's the essay that Jamie recommends reading if you want to get a taste of Camus's writing. After that, patrons get a bo...
SIO204: Sexual Ethics, and More Listener Questions with Jamie
August 26, 2019 20:49 - 52 minutes - 54.2 MBI've got good news and better news. First, Jamie and I are back for a bonus early SIO to tackle more amazing listeners questions and voicemail! We start off with a very deep and thoughtful #metoo related email from a male listener about his potential bad behavior in the past. From there we've got more on #metoo and responses to our Al Franken episode including a voicemail that asks "what about the Minnesota voters, shouldn't they have gotten a say in Franken's case?" The even better news i...
SIO203: Jamie and the Yang Gang
August 22, 2019 04:14 - 55 minutes - 57.1 MBJamie Lombardi is back to talk about the curious case of Andrew Yang! We explore why there seems to be so much support for him among the alt-right, 4chan, and IDW type people. We also discuss his flagship policy - the UBI. Hop on to patreon.com/seriouspod to enjoy a bonus QnA segment!