Serious Inquiries Only

I'm back from my Europe trip! And it couldn't have come at a more news-heavy time. First I've got a couple quick stories to talk about - Chechnya and Susan Rice. After that I go to the main topic for this show, and unfortunately next show... which is Trump's strike on Syria. This part one involves the backstory, what happened, how we know what we know, and some thoughts on the Putin Trump relationship. Part 2 will be available early for patrons, and it will focus on the reaction to the strike, prominent leaders' opinions on it, and my overall take. Chechnya Concentration Camps Shift In Trump Policy on Assad BBC Piece on What We Know Much more to come in part 2!! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com Direct Download

Joining me today is Sara Gorman! Sara is a public health expert and author based in New York. She is the co-founder of Critica, a community committed to making rational decisions about health and security. Critica's mission is to develop and test new methods of advancing public acceptance of scientific evidence and promoting informed health decision-making. Sara's first book, Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us, was published in September 2016. It looks into the psychology of healthcare decision making and how people draw conclusions about perception of risk. It includes tips for the general public about how to discriminate between valid and invalid science and for public health professionals and doctors on how to communicate with people who don't believe the best current scientific research. The book and her work have also been cited in articles about how to change people's minds about many other things, including politics. We discuss her book, and the possible lessons we can learn about how to convince people of things they don't necessarily want to believe! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

Joining me today is Zach Kiser, a graduate researcher and Director of Policy and Communications for the National Science Policy Group (NSPG)! Zach is here to give us some perspective on just how awful Trump's budget proposal is and how backbreaking it might potentially be to science research in the US. Though Trump touts an America First slogan, this kind of thing is really an embarrassment and puts America behind even by Republican standards. American Association for the Advancement of Science If you're interested in more information or in how to help, contact Zach directly via email here! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

The guest from this episode has requested that I take it down and I'm respecting that request.

Yeah, that excitement didn't last too long. I was scheduled to speak to Dave Rubin at Mythinformation in Milwaukee in September, but despite everything having been agreed to and announced, Dave dropped out due to a previously overlooked scheduling conflict. In light of that, I share some thoughts on what happened, what I tried to do in response, and what the result was. I also looked back through Dave's guest history at his alleged "liberals" he has interviewed to see whether I haven't given him enough credit for hearing opposing views. The answer may, or may not, shock you. After that it's more bad news... I researched the senate races in 2018 and the results are... problematic. Find out just how problematic, and whether there is any hope to hold onto in terms of finally getting some accountability in the Trump presidency. Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

Joining me for the second time is philosopher and now podcaster, Aaron Rabi! Aaron specializes in ethics, and I have questions. I'm fairly certain that our morality ultimately boils down to consequences, for reasons I explain, but not all philosophers see it that way. Aaron and I have a very interesting discussion on what exactly grounds our morals, given that there are problems to be found in every moral system. Does consequentialism ultimately win out, as I have previously opined? Find out! Find Aaron's podcast here! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com Direct Download

With a heavy news week full of depositions, testimony, odd press conferences and more, today I take a look at some of the evidence of Russia-Trump collusion and what it all means. Ok, what it MIGHT mean... while trying not to descend into full on conspiracy theorist mode. It's not exactly easy. After that, I go into the details of a case Gorsuch decided that perfectly illustrates why the originalist/literalist method of jurisprudence leaves this podcaster cold. Some sources used: Politico Trump Timeline Nicholas Kristof on Trump-Russia Paul Manafort AP Exclusive Greenwald Russia Article Gorsuch Truck Driver Case Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

I'm so excited to have Lawrence Krauss on the show today! Professor Krauss is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist who blew all of our minds with his lecture and previous book, A Universe from Nothing. His new book, The Greatest Story Ever Told, takes us back through the history of how exactly we know what we do about our universe. I highly recommend it, and I hope you enjoy the interview even half as much as I did! Check out the new book here! Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com Direct Download

Given the preemptive bashing of the CBO by Republicans and the subsequent release of a pretty damning score on the AHCA bill, I wanted to take a look at how the CBO did at predicting the effects of Obamacare. Is the Trump administration on solid ground when it says that the CBO is wildly inaccurate and partisan? After that I discuss four very thought provoking questions I received in the voicemail segment! Sources: CBO Basic History Fact Check on CBO Predictions More Critical Look at CBO Predictions CBO Predictions for AHCA Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

Joining us today is Travis Rieder! Travis is a philosopher at Johns Hopkins who deals with Population Ethics and related questions. Find his academic page here. Given the uncertainty of outcomes of our potential children, and given the many problems humanity faces due to overpopulation, is it morally acceptable to have children? Travis and I discuss that question and many related ones in a fascinating philosophy edition of SIO! Here are Travis's main works on these questions, for further reading: 1. Adoption and Procreation 2. Population Engineering 3. Small Family Ethic (book) Highest-impact Media Pieces: 4. NPR Profile 5. Response to Critics Leave us a Voicemail: (916) 750-4746! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com