On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I share the audio from an interview I did with Brittney-Nichole Connor-Savarda for her for a new podcast, Living and Leading with Emotional Intelligence . Brittney-Nicole's show coincides with the publication of a book she's written on the topic of emotional intelligence, The EQ Deficiency . Topics discussed: How Brittney-Nichole came to be familiar with my work Definitions of tribalism and tribal psychology The evolutionary roots of tribal psycholog...
Oct 31, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 38
On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk openly about why this is the first new episode I've produced in 7 months, and the lessons I'm learning as a life-long stutterer. https://kevindelaplante.com/3-honest-updates Timestamps 00:00 - 03:12 Introduction 03:12 - 05:23 The move and web consolidation update 05:23 - 07:24 Failing at the one thing I set out to do 07:24 - 13:49 Experiments, consulting side-gigs, and coaching 13:40 - 18:12 Argument Ninja video community meetings—motivations ...
Apr 05, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 37
On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk about the difficulty of judging how much we really understand about the causes of c omplex social phenomena —even if we do lots of research and self-study. To help make the case I’m continuing my survey of different theories of the causes of the increase in social polarization that we’re currently experiencing. On this episode I look specifically at the work of two social scientists who have written extensively on this topic: Karen Stenner on ...
Aug 28, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 36
On episode 035 of the Argument Ninja podcast I share updates on new course development over at kevindelaplante.com, and I share both the audio and the video of a one-hour interview I did with the hosts of the Epistemic podcast, which focuses on "street epistemology". Click to view the video interview on YouTube (full URL: https://youtu.be/rHQYHUksJFk ) Timestamps: 0:56 - Topics discussed in the interview 2:15 - New courses in development on kevindelaplante.com 4:37 - How I'm pitching the new cou...
Apr 17, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 35
In episode 024 of the Argument Ninja Podcast I'm starting a series of episodes that will explore different models of the causes of social and political polarization, and introduce some general principles for thinking critically about complex social phenomena like polarization. In this episode (Part 1) I examine models of polarization and social change that are implicit in the depolarization strategies of three different depolarizing initiatives: Better Angels, AllSides, and OpenMind. https://kev...
Mar 06, 2019•51 min•Ep. 34
On this episode of the Argument Ninja Podcast I'm presenting edited versions of last three episodes of my first podcast show that I produced in 2010-11. These were the last episodes I produced of that podcast series, and I discuss why in the introduction. The last three episodes were on the subject of conspiracies and conspiracy theories . https://kevindelaplante.com/033-critical-thinking-about-conspiracies/ Topics discussed in this episode include: the definition of a conspiracy, and a conspira...
Jan 11, 2019•57 min•Season 1Ep. 33
On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I share the audio for the three videos I recently produced on Cognitive Biases, Tribalism and Politics. It was designed as one long video presenting one long argument, so the audio works well in this continuous format. Show notes and links: https://kevindelaplante.com/032-when-tribalism-becomes-pathological Topics covered: the "two movies" phenomenon (Scott Adams) the distinction between "psychological" value pluralism and "philosophical" value plura...
Dec 19, 2018•40 min•Ep. 32
On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk about the three new videos I recently produced on Cognitive Biases, Tribalism and Politics , and I give an update on what's been keeping me busy this fall. Timestamps: Intro 00:00 What have I been up to? 01:24 Creating new videos 01:53 Keynote presenting at a conference in November 02:11 Consulting work 02:54 New tribalism videos 07:55 Inspiration for the videos 08:52 Findings of the "Hidden Tribes" report 09:48 The overall argument of the vid...
Dec 11, 2018•26 min•Ep. 31
On this episode I talk about the genesis of my new video course , " The Vocabulary of Science: First Steps to Science Literacy ", and my decision to start producing the Argument Ninja podcast in both audio and video formats. Next episode will be an " Ask Me Anything " episode. You can submit questions at this URL: https://kevindelaplante.com/ama Listeners can access the video course at the Critical Thinker Academy or on Udemy. Follow the links below: At the Critical Thinker Academy (included in ...
Sep 10, 2018•16 min•Ep. 30
On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk about the importance of critical thinking education for kids and teens , and what parents can do to help their kids become better critical thinkers. *** In This Episode: (0:00 - 4:57) Introduction (4:57 - 8:51) Critical Thinking Values (8:51 - 12:58) Why This Matters Even More to Young People (12:58 - 15:27) The Light Side and the Dark Side (15:27 - 16:25) The Martial Context of Critical Thinking (16:25 - 19:00) Social Media, Commercial Digita...
Aug 03, 2018•53 min•Ep. 29
On this episode I’ve got an interview lined up for you that I did with Bob Froehlich, who hosts the Thinking Clearly radio program and podcast over at KMUD community radio in Redway, California. Our topic was critical thinking and tribalism , very much in the vein of what I’ve been talking about in my recent sketchbook video series titled, appropriately, "Critical Thinking and Tribalism". (To see the first three videos in this series, follow the links in the show notes below). If you’ve been fol...
Jun 12, 2018•52 min
Over the past month almost every email conversation I’ve had with someone about my projects and plans has ended with “I’m going to talk about this on the next podcast”. In this episode I’m going to answer the most common questions I get about the status of my finances, what my plans are to improve my situation in 2018, what video courses I’m developing for Udemy, and where we are with the development of the Argument Ninja Academy. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship and making a living onli...
May 08, 2018•33 min•Ep. 27
On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I offer a perspective on Jordan Peterson's criticism of left-wing ideology (what he calls "cultural Marxism") by sharing some of my intellectual history with feminism, Marxism and postmodernism. The broader theme of this episode is how to critically engage with ideas without being sucked into the tribal psychology of ideological conflict. Show notes and links: https://kevindelaplante.com/026-jordan-peterson Support the podcast on Patreon: https://pat...
Mar 26, 2018•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 26
On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk about TRIBALISM and the challenges that our tribal psychology poses for critical thinking. This episode includes the audio for two sketchbook videos I've done on this topic, "The Dangers of Tribalism" (11 minutes) and "Our Tribal Intelligence" (13 minutes), with additional commentary not found in those videos. I give time stamps below to help you navigate the episode if you've already watched those videos. Show notes and links: https://kevinde...
Mar 01, 2018•50 min•Ep. 25
At the beginning of a new year it’s customary to reflect on events of the past year in order to set new goals and chart a course for the future. This is the first in a three-part series where I discuss the lessons I've learned in 2017 . In this episode I talk about the surprising role that commerce has played in raising the relevance and impact of my work as a critical thinking educator, and other positive highlights of 2017....
Jan 10, 2018•20 min•Ep. 24
I’m not the only one talking about the failings of traditional schooling. I’m not the only academic talking about developing online courses for the public that they can’t find anywhere else. I’m not even the only one using the language of martial arts in this context. (e.g. Jordan Peterson, Thaddeus Russell, Mixed Mental Arts ....) But I realize that even among my audience, it may not be clear how the Argument Ninja Academy is supposed to stand out -- how it’s different from what I’m seeing in t...
Oct 31, 2017•50 min•Season 1Ep. 23
For this episode I’m going to share an interview I did for Thinking Clearly, a radio show about critical thinking hosted by Bob Froelich and Julia Minton. On this live broadcast I answered questions about - my particular take on what critical thinking is and why it’s important - why I decided to leave my tenured academic job and go solo - what video courses I offer at the Critical Thinker Academy - what is wrong with traditional approaches to critical thinking education - what’s different about ...
Sep 11, 2017•53 min
On this episode I use a recent episode of Sam Harris's podcast (#87 - "Triggered: A Conversation With Scott Adams") as a springboard for exploring a variety of topics related to critical thinking and persuasive communication. When it comes to critical thinking and rational persuasion, half of my brain thinks like Sam Harris, and the other half thinks like Scott Adams. Each gets something right that the other doesn’t. I’m interested in identifying what each of them gets right, as a step toward cr...
Sep 04, 2017•2 hr 31 min
This past month I was fortunate to be a guest of Xidian University in China for two weeks. On this episode of the podcast I share stories and reflections from my adventures as a first-time visitor to China, and I give an overview of some of the public talks and lectures I gave during my visit. The episode has four distinct parts. The first 20 minutes is stories from my trip and observations about Chinese culture. Then there are three discussions on philosophy, science and critical thinking topic...
Jul 24, 2017•56 min
Argument Ninjas need to acquire a basic understanding of the psychology of human reasoning. This is essential for improving the quality of our own reasoning, and for mastering skills in communication and persuasion. On this episode I take you on a guided tour of our divided mind. I compare and contrast the dual-process theories of Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow), Jonathan Haidt (The Righteous Mind) and Joshua Greene (Moral Tribes). The simple mental models these authors use should be p...
May 31, 2017•1 hr 1 min
A bit of a departure for episode 018. I hope you enjoy this interview I did with Jason Vidaurri over at the StoryHinge podcast. He was kind enough to let me repurpose the audio of our interview for the Argument Ninja podcast. On this episode I answer questions about my story, my approach to philosophy and critical thinking, why critical thinking is valuable and important, how our media environment is making it increasingly difficult to think critically for ourselves, what I think is the most gla...
May 27, 2017•58 min
In episode 017 I give an update on what's new at the Argument Ninja website (argumentninja.com), and I complete the overview of the white belt curriculum for the Argument Ninja Academy program. The third and fourth learning modules in the white belt curriculum are titled "Socratic Knowledge" and "Socratic Persuasion". I also develop a persuasion case study in this episode: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? In This Episode: - Preparing for an upcoming talk on cognitive biases and ca...
Apr 03, 2017•1 hr 8 min
The Argument Ninja training program that I'm developing is inspired by martial arts training principles. The curriculum is spread over nine belt ranks (white belt, yellow belt, orange belt, etc. ) In this episode I give an overview of the learning modules that make up the white belt curriculum, and dive deep into the second module, an introduction to Argument Analysis. In This Episode: Overview of the White Belt Modules (2:20) Module 1: What is an Argument Ninja? (4:20) The Goals of Critical Thi...
Feb 19, 2017•33 min
In this episode I explore learning and teaching techniques used in the martial arts, from the perspective of the beginning student and from the perspective of the experienced instructor. I extract a number of important training principles from this exercise that I hope to incorporate in the Argument Ninja training program. In This Episode: Review: What is "Rational Persuasion"? (2:30) Reminder: Our Children Are Watching (7:20) The White Belt Experience (10:00) Training for Skill Development: Ana...
Jan 13, 2017•50 min
On this episode I talk about the various ways that curiosity is an undervalued resource for critical thinking. I explain how curiosity plays an important role in generating the kind of background knowledge that supports critical thinking, and why it has important and underrated debiasing properties, meaning that it can reduce many of the harmful effects of cognitive biases on our thinking. I’m also going to talk about my personal relationship to curiosity, and how it has influenced many of the d...
Dec 23, 2016•35 min
In this episode I talk about how the program I'm developing for the Argument Ninja Academy will differ from the Critical Thinker Academy, and outline my instructional design goals for the new program. I also describe the kinds of personality types, or "avatars", that are most strongly attracted to this kind of material. I've named these avatars the Scientist, the Philosopher, the Persuader, the Analyst, and the Butterfly. In This Episode: - The difference between what I'm currently offering at t...
Dec 09, 2016•48 min
This is the first episode since Donald Trump won the election, so you know I've got to talk about Trump! In this episode I take up the question that Scott Adams has framed for us: is Donald Trump some kind of "master persuader" who uses persuasion techniques familiar to anyone trained in hypnosis? And is this the reason why he won the election? In This Episode: - Help me build the Argument Ninja Academy - Scott Adams on Donald Trump: Master Persuader - "Pacing and leading", Milton Erickson and h...
Nov 26, 2016•47 min
This is a big episode. I give a big-picture overview of where I'm going with the Argument Ninja podcast, brainstorm a new Argument Ninja training program, and give readers an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this project. In This Episode: - How my views on critical thinking have changed sinced I produced the Critical Thinker podcast in 2010, and where the Argument Matrix podcast is going. - Why I'm jealous of martial arts studios, and I brainstorm what a walk-in critical thinking stu...
Nov 03, 2016•45 min
Last episode I introduced an important concept for critical thinking, what I call an Argument Matrix. In this episode I talk about the mindset, the tools and the literacy skills that are required to successfully build an Argument Matrix. In This Episode: - Recap: What is an Argument Matrix? - How should we go about building an Argument Matrix? - Three parts to my answer (1) Mindset issues: confirmation bias, psychological barriers, fear (2) Technology issues: capturing and organizing the right k...
Oct 27, 2016•30 min
In this episode I introduce an important concept, the Argument Matrix, and two related concepts associated with the Argument Matrix, “argumentative depth” and “argumentative breadth”. These concepts are central to my views on the important role of background knowledge in critical thinking. Or to put it more plainly, they’re central to my understanding of what it means to really know what you’re talking about. In This Episode: - How do we know that we know what we're talking about? - Critical thi...
Oct 07, 2016•36 min
