Joining me for some lively debate about the harms of neoliberalism is Michael A. Wood Jr. Michael ended his service in the USMC in 1998, and joined the Baltimore Police Department where he served as a narcotics detective until retiring as a patrol Sergeant medically in 2014. In 2015 Michael turned to twitter to reveal the culture of law enforcement and authored several essays and books on reforms. Interest went wild. In 2016 Michael led a veterans group to Standing Rock where they protested the ...
Jul 31, 2017•1 hr 8 min
Today I'm joined by not-her-real-name-Sarah, who is trans and is currently serving in the military. She is in danger of losing her job, given Trump's recent tweets. She discusses a bit of the policy history and helps put these monstrous ideas into perspective. After that, I do some commentary on some things including the fact that, yes, I'm outraged. Things are outrageous currently. But, if you're really worried about the "whole transgender thing" being a distraction, make sure you're still doin...
Jul 27, 2017•53 min
Joining us this week is Qasim Rashid. Qasim is an Ahmadi Muslim and author of the book Talk To Me . He claims that the true Islam is peaceful, but is he justified in making that claim? Is it bigoted to say otherwise? Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! 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...
Jul 24, 2017•1 hr 15 min
... to the degree that's possible on the internet these days... When Dave Rubin tweeted that we need to stop giving money to the ACLU and Sam Harris retweeted it, simply because they wrote a profile on Linda Sarsour, I decided I needed to look into this person. This is certainly a minefield... So here we go... my best effort at an objective look at Linda Sarsour. Links: ACLU profile on Sarsour ; Women's march mission ; Snopes on accusations against Sarsour ; Sarsour opinion piece ; NY police Mus...
Jul 20, 2017•56 min
Joining me on the show is Alix Jules! Alix is a super fascinating guy, and we talked for several hours, half of which is captured in today's episode. We definitely did not have the time to get to everything, or even a significant portion, but don't worry! We are already booked for another interview. In this iteration, we discuss his background, some of his activism, and he lends his perspectives to many of the ongoing themes of SIO lately! Here are some links Alix discussed: Lawsuit for Valedict...
Jul 17, 2017•1 hr 2 min
The first portion of this show, as referenced at the end of last episode, is about Peter Boghossian finally showing himself to be a sexist asshole. I also respond to the argument I frequently see of "Stop infighting, stop calling out atheist leaders, it distracts from our movement!" I think I have a good counter to that. After that, it's some amazing and difficult voicemails! Really top notch calls. I love hearing from you guys and being challenged! Some links: African American Vernacular Englis...
Jul 13, 2017•1 hr 10 min
Today's conversation is with Matthew Facciani and Jeremiah Traeger. They're here to educate us on some of the problems in publishing and academia! Matthew began his academic career in cognitive neuroscience and later switched to sociology where he is now finishing his PhD at The University of South Carolina. Currently, his main research area investigates why people reject scientific evidence. Facciani is also involved with secular and gender equality activism. His blog and podcast are both title...
Jul 10, 2017•51 min
This podcast is an audio version, with some elaborations, of my first ever blog post, entitled "Whoever I Don't Like Is Ruining The Atheist Movement." Definitely check out and share the blog version! It has screenshots and links and stuff. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! 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...
Jul 06, 2017•47 min
This episode is another attempt at debate across the social justice divide. CJ (@VieKeng on Twitter) has taken exception with my characterization of the Evergreen situation, and perhaps most strenuously with my use of the term "whitesplain." I'm very curious for feedback on this one! Listen to most post-analysis and if you have thoughts, I'd love to heard them in voicemail form! The debate ends around 59:00. Links from CJ: VICE gets students & President on camera https://youtu.be/2cMYfxOFBBM...
Jul 03, 2017•1 hr 6 min
Back for the severalith time is Ishmael from Angry Black Rant ! Lots of listeners requested this interview and Ish was kind enough to oblige. We discuss cultural appropriation, the Bill Maher situation, and more race-related issues in today's discourse. It's always fun talking with Ishmael, but it's also very real and revealing as well! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Fac...
Jun 29, 2017•58 min
What the Gender Studies Hoax and Jordan B. Peterson's pronoun mania both have in common is the bogeyman of postmodernism. It seems to be conventional wisdom that postmodernism is manifestly crazy. But how substantive is that criticism in reality? I've invited a philosopher, Aaron Rabi, to give us a bit of a lesson on what postmodernism is and perhaps where the criticisms are accurate and where they fall short. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us ...
Jun 26, 2017•44 min
Please share this podcast with any Democrat you witness losing their mind about the special election results. In reality, the trend is very, very positive for Democrats going into 2018 elections. I go into why. After that, we have a lengthy and most excellent voicemail segment. Listen in! Our Brand Is Worse Than Trump ; Anti-Pelosi Republican Ad ; Lots of Info On Special Elections At Ballotpedia Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at: ...
Jun 22, 2017•1 hr 9 min
In the same weekend, a teen found guilty of manslaughter for convincing her boyfriend to commit suicide, and a police officer found NOT guilty after shooting and killing Philando Castile. It has left many wondering, how did this happen? This demands expert analysis, so I've brought in the big guns in Andrew Torrez, resident law expert at the Opening Arguments Podcast to help us understand the situation! Philando Castile ; Michelle Carter ; Andrew's Case Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, ...
Jun 19, 2017•56 min
Back for a second time is Michael Shermer! He's the editor of Skeptic Magazine and has been a very prominent voice in the community for decades. After our last conversation, a couple of things happened. One was the gender studies hoax, which was explained and endorsed by his magazine. The other was the Evergreen incident, which Shermer tweeted about and wanted to know my thoughts on. We discussed both of these at length! Refer to my earlier episode on Evergreen for those references Faculty of co...
Jun 15, 2017•1 hr 17 min
Joining me this week for interview Monday is Dr. Gleb Tsipursky! Gleb is an expert in decision sciences, focusing on politics and business. In the wake of the 2016 election, Gleb has decided to focus on fighting against fake news and misinformation in our politics. That's why he has created the Truth Pledge, which he tells us all about in the interview. His insight is very valuable and is another in the series on how to change minds and where to focus our efforts. Make sure you take the Pro-Trut...
Jun 12, 2017•1 hr 7 min
Due to popular demand, I've decided to embark on a fact-finding mission regarding the Brett Weinstein/Evergreen College fiasco. It took an incredible amount of digging to find anything beyond the same few talking points that have exploded across conservative media in the past few weeks, but the deeper story is a little more complicated and worthy of our attention. As usual, the easy way out is to filter the facts so they comport to a narrative we want, but I do my best to investigate the facts f...
Jun 08, 2017•53 min
It is immensely important to me that I do my best to engage with those who disagree, and in that spirit I present a conversation with someone who argued a lot with me on Twitter about Jordan B. Peterson and Canadian bill C-16. This conversation took place on May 4th, but with a lot of Trump news and some key interviews I kept the interview as patron only . Lots of listeners have requested its release though, and I think it's also an inspiring and useful dialogue to hear. So at long last, I give ...
Jun 05, 2017•54 min
After a few small points about the last couple episodes on the hoax paper, we're back to normal here on commentary Thursday! Today's main topic is the CBO score on the new incarnation of the evil AHCA bill. AHCA is, in my opinion, the most important political scandal currently happening. After that is a very difficult voicemail segment, in that there are 3 tough questions with no easy answers. But those are the most important kind! Links: CBO Score on AHCA 2 ; NPR Breakdown on CBO Score ; In Dep...
Jun 01, 2017•55 min
Last week you heard Eli Bosnick's side of why the 'Conceptual Penis' hoax paper was disingenuous and unskeptical, and today I speak with one of the paper's authors, James Lindsay. James has been a previous guest on the show; he's been someone I have always admired for his intellectual rigor and willingness to back up what he believes and to have the tough conversations. For that much I really, really respect him coming on. But I can't hide my opinion on this hoax. I think it was garbage and it w...
May 29, 2017•1 hr 20 min
An embarrassingly unskeptical article appeared in Skeptic Magazine recently featuring a hoax paper published in a Gender Studies journal by two authors: James Lindsay ( past guest of the show ) and Peter Boghossian. Michael Shermer, the editor of Skeptic magazine, and several major figures in the skeptic movement like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins took the conclusion that Gender Studies as a field has been demolished by this hoax. This is incredibly irresponsible. The hoax paper accomplished no...
May 25, 2017•47 min
I'm pleased to bring you Dan Arel, of danthropology.net , who is self-admittedly far, far left. While last week had me debating free speech with a more right-wing friendly Michael Shermer, this week I'll be debating from the other side. Dan, in my opinion, is quite extreme in his tweeting and online expression. I do not hide the fact that I disagree adamantly with a lot of what he has said, but I wanted to try to have a conversation because I imagined I might be a bit of a bridge since I agree w...
May 22, 2017•1 hr 27 min
We've reached the point where it might actually be reasonable to talk impeachment. Can we let ourselves get carried away though? I don't know. I've definitely got some thoughts on it for you! Also, I watched Fox News this week and it made me fear for the future of our politics.... But in happier news, Gad Saad was obliterated in the Canadian Senate while testifying about C-16. I play an amazing clip and talk briefly about it. Link below! After that, it's my favorite segment, your voicemails! Rep...
May 18, 2017•1 hr 3 min
I'm very pleased to be speaking to Michael Shermer this week, someone who has been more on the free speech war side of things, and someone who has said previously that liberals won't dialogue with him. Well, to his credit, he eventually noticed my Twitter chirpings at him and was willing to have a long form conversation about our disagreements. I think there's a lot of room for optimism at the result, so check it out! Links discussed: Overblown Piece on WaPo Advocating Censorship ; Study on Raci...
May 15, 2017•1 hr 13 min
This might be my magnum opus on the overblown "war on free speech" in Universities. In my research I discovered that, to a degree even further than I thought, Berkeley administration has gone above and beyond in protecting free speech. They were willing to have Milo on campus despite the fact that intended to call out individual undocumented students AND call for the defunding of Berkeley itself. They offered several acceptable times and places to have Ann Coulter speak and she and the groups wh...
May 11, 2017•48 min
Joining me today is Seth Andrews, of the immensely popular podcast The Thinking Atheist! I've long followed Seth's work and have always wanted an excuse to talk to him on the show, but somehow only just now gathered the courage! But Seth is here to talk about something he has seen cropping up recently which is a sort of "inactivism," or people who want to discourage others from speaking up and speaking out about the harmful effects of religion in our country. We get into that and more! Here's th...
May 08, 2017•49 min
When I saw the news of Obama's $400k paycheck for a speech to a Wall St bank, I posted this reaction on Facebook. The slew of comments that resulted was quite surprising to me. In my view, a lot of liberals are doing some logical backflips to justify Obama's payday, or to obfuscate and divert attention away from it. I think these gymnastics are unbecoming of skeptical people. I hope to add a little nuance to this black and white thinking! White Liberals BS clickbait , Obama Record Setting Book D...
May 04, 2017•58 min
Joining me today is Josh Zepps! I first came across Josh's work when Sam Harris and Hannibal Buress had a bizarre interaction on his podcast #WeThePeople LIVE (here's a SoundCloud link) . I was impressed with how Josh handled it and have followed him ever since. He has interviewed people like Gad Saad and ACTUALLY challenged them on their narratives. Josh is an impressive thinker and interviewer, and we talk about his broadcasting history (which might not be what you expect!) and about where our...
May 01, 2017•1 hr 4 min
Trump is closing in on 100 days as president, something that he simultaneously has said means nothing but is also important enough to have him scrambling for any sort of policy victory. I'm going to give you the details of two very important pieces of legislation to keep an eye on - that is the new version of the AHCA, and Trump's Tax Reform bill. They're both.... not good. So tune in and find out the details! Definitely check out this site on whose cage to rattle over this terrible healthcare b...
Apr 27, 2017•1 hr 4 min
Joining me today is Eiynah! You may know her from her podcast Polite Conversations or from a very active and insightful Twitter account, @NiceMangos. First up we talk a bit about the jarring experience I had of seeing fully burka'd women in Europe and what, if anything, can anyone do about it. Then we talk about the hatred that Eiynah has been the subject of from multiple fronts. Some of the discussion gets a little particular to Twitter. I did my best to make sure Eiynah spelled it out for the ...
Apr 24, 2017•59 min
The guest has requested I take this episode down and I'm respecting that request. Apologies.
Apr 20, 2017•19 sec
