Learn It from a Layman

We continue our WWII podcast series and discuss the events of the first half of 1944. How did American strategy in bombing runs change in 1944 and was it effective? What happened at Monte Cassino? What was the battle of Anzio? How effective are stranded whales in the military? What did General Clark order and why was it one of the most controversial orders of WWII? What was the Soviet's military d...

We discuss the basics of accountability. What steps should you need to go through before taking action? What is an axiom? How do you apply axioms to specific situations? What influence should experience have on action? Who can we look at for examples of taking responsible action? Can understanding school subjects be useful in enacting political change? What are affective ways to enact change?

We discuss the basics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). What's the difference between ADD and ADHD? What percentage of children have ADHD? How is it diagnosed? How do teachers deal with it? Is it inherited or caused by environment? Does screen time cause ADHD? When should you get your child checked out? What accommodations are made at school for kids with ADHD? Do international s...

We discuss the basics of electromagnetic forces. What is an electromagnetic field? Can you make a magnet by smacking a metal pole with a rock? How does a medium affect an electromagnetic field? Why does it travel in waves? How does electricity work inside your house? What's a coaxial cable? Why does your hair stand on end when you're close to a lightning strike? Does temperature affect electricity...

We are joined by Dr. Larry Walters--PhD in public policy and management--to discuss tax policy. What are the various types of taxes governments use? Why do governments use multiple types of taxes instead of just one? How is the electric grid in Texas run? Are all/any taxes tied to specific government projects? What's a flat tax? How do the wealthy avoid paying taxes so often? Do Tim's taxes cover...

We discuss the basics of memory. How does memory work in the brain? We talk about encoding, storage, and retrieval of memory from the brain. Is there subconscious memory? What is a flashbulb memory? Was Cameron a butterfly once? Why isn't your wedding day a flashbulb memory? How does forgetting work? Why can't you find your keys and how is that different than forgetting an old friend's name? Can y...

We continue our WWII podcast series by discussing the events of 1943. What is the unconditional surrender doctrine? Who was Friedrich Paulus and why did Hitler promote him to field marshal? What is the Mareth Line and how did the Codebreakers affect the war in North Africa? What is heavy water? What are operations Freshman and Gunnerside and did they help avert nuclear war? How did the attack on P...

We discuss the basics of college. What factors do you need to consider when selecting a college or university? Is selecting a college and major a calculus problem? Do public servants burn money? What are AP classes and are they worth taking? What is concurrent enrollment? Should you try to get as much college credit as quickly as possible? How do you prep for college entry essays? Should you deliv...

We continue discussing WWII. What happened at the battle of Midway? Was radar used and why was it not very effective? What is Leningrad and where is it? Where and what is Stalingrad? Why are there so many grads? What happened at the Wannsee Conference? What were the 1000 bomber raids? Why was Malta important in WWII (and so many other wars)? Did the airplanes Faith, Hope, and Charity really hold o...

We discuss the basics of William Shakespeare. Where was Shakespeare from? How prolific was he? Was Shakespeare poor? Are there direct descendants of Shakespeare today? Did Shakespeare actually write the plays and sonnets attributed to him? Why should the layman be familiar with his works and is there a practical way to read Shakespeare? Come learn with us.

We discuss the basics of the first half of WWII. What was happening in Spain before WWII? Does Luftwaffe mean "air waffle"? Why did Hitler hate the Jews? What was the Winter War? Who was Simo Häyhä? What was the Maginot Line? What was the Vichy government? How long could the German airplanes fly once over England? What did the German navy look like? Who was Francisco Franco? Had the Japanese offic...

We discuss some basic philosophical or logical razors. What is a razor? What is Hanlon's razor? When someone calls you stupid are they just cutting you some slack? What does the Sagan Standard have to do with cold fusion? What is Popper's falsifiability principle? Should scientists be passionate? What name is better than Newton's Flaming Laser Sword? What is Grice's razor and is it related to the...

We revisit thermodynamics and discuss 6 thermodynamics processes. What is an ideal gas? What's the difference between hyperbaric, isobaric, and hypobaric? What are the uses of idealized thermodynamics processes in the real world? We describe what happens to a piston in thermodynamic terms. What is the scientific definition of work? Should you call your refrigerator an isothermal system in front of...

We discuss the science of goals. What's the difference between intentions and goals? Who is Edwin Locke? What is goal theory? What are the five key principles of goal setting? What are the three types of goals? Are goals necessary and do they really make a difference? Is disambiguate a real word?

We talk the basics of machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. What is the difference between machine learning and AI? What is machine learning used for? What are the models and algorithms used? What is a deep neural network? What's the difference between supervised and unsupervised learning? Is machine learning improving? How does cognitive modeling work? Are robots going to...

We talk about the basics of biology. What are amino acids? What are organic compounds and why are they important for living things? How do the various components of a cell work? What is osmosis? How does the same DNA create various types of cells? Why do identical twins express different traits? How does evolution work? Why do viruses mutate so quickly? Did Darwin have a better publicist? 

What's it take to build a satellite and get it into space? What are the six major factors to consider when building a satellite? How does a satellite get into orbit? What about space dust and space junk? Are solar storms likely to take down our satellites? Can satellites shoot lasers at the earth? What do you call people from the Yukon Territory? 

What language should you learn? What are the best ways to learn a language? What is a cognate? Is language emersion the only way to learn? What is L1 transfer? How do you test a language learner for proficiency? We discuss all the things you need to know about learning a second language and how to succeed and what succeeding means. Join us.

We take on economics. What does GDP mean and why is it important? What are the principles of a free market? How can a natural disaster cause economic problems? How does economic inequality happen and does it cause problems? How much gold is there in the world? What is the Federal Reserve? What is a command or planned economy? How does communism work? What is the difference between socialism and co...

We discuss vaccines. What is the history of vaccines? How do vaccines work? Can you get sick from a vaccine? What is VAERS stand for and what's its purpose? Are there serious side-effects from the COVID vaccine? (We pull numbers from this chart .) What are the reasons to get the COVID (and other) vaccines? Is a vaccine mandate legal? Should you send a picture of a rash to your doctor? We deal with...

We discuss the basics of units of measurement. What are the international standards for measuring. We cover the seven basic units and some derived units. How is a meter defined? Is the standard kilogram still a large chunk of metal? Is a kilogram measuring mass or weight? What is a joule? What is a gigawatt? Did Back to the Future contain scientific inaccuracies? Come find out how measurement unit...

We're joined by the former Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Brent Christensen, who answers all of our questions about Taiwan. What are the biggest industries in Taiwan? How is Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing affecting the price of cars? How did Taiwan control the COVID-19 pandemic? Why does Taiwan use traditional characters? What is the history of the Taiwanese people? What's goi...

We discuss the principles of object oriented programming. What is a script vs a program? What are the four principles of object oriented programming? What's an interface? How can understanding programming help you better understand movies? What's a value type vs a reference type? What is recursion? Come learn about these and more with us.

We give you the inside scoop on everything hotel related. WARNING: This episode does include some discussion of mature topics. Can you ensure you can stay in a hotel, even if it's booked up? Why would you stay at a hotel for 3 years? What crimes happen in hotels? What does the front desk have to offer? What is it ok to take from a hotel room? What's the best time of year to book a hotel? How full...

We discuss the theory of relativity. What is the difference between special relativity and general relativity? Who is Hendrik Lorentz? Why can't we accelerate a particle to the speed of light? How can there be a massless particle? What is the space-time continuum? Why does time stop when you're traveling at the speed of light and what does it have to do with an asymptote? Does a warp drive mean fa...