Serious Inquiries Only

Peter Coffin has a popular YouTube channel where he makes Very Important Documentaries(tm) that are both entertaining and thought provoking. He was last on to discuss the Marketplace of Ideas as a flawed model. We touch on that briefly and then move on to discuss the American political landscape, focussing on the conundrum of Centrism in the age of Trump. Check out Peter's book ! Leave Thomas a vo...

Recently there have been a few articles to this effect, because of something Richard Spencer said in a video. What should we make of it? On this show, this topic dates back to the Nazi punching debates of yesteryear, but was reinvigorated what a local antifa group interrupted an event at King's College of London featuring Carl of Akkad and someone named Yaron Brook. Here's a video that shows most...

Today I'm joined by Victoria Gettman and Geoffrey Blackwell! Vicki has a military background and currently serves as Texas State Director at American Atheists, as well as Executive Director for South Texas Atheists for Reason . Geoffrey is a staff attorney for American Atheists . Being an atheist in the military, Vicki has seen her share of Christian privilege and likely unconstitutional behavior....

The Democrats picked up a +20R seat in the House! Or did they? Some people are alleging that Lamb is too centrist or even conservative. I analyze that a bit, and then talk about a couple other news items before talking some of your voicemail messages! Lots of calls on gun control (that topic definitely sparked some response), and more! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and t...

**For $30 off your first week of HelloFresh, visit  hellofresh.com  and enter seriouspod30 Dr. Kristi Winters is back on the show to talk about a rising demographic group in America - the Nones. That is, those without any serious allegiance to any organized religion. But just who are they? Are they atheists? What are their politics? Kristi is here to answer these questions and more! Leave Thomas a...

Well Lawrence Krauss released his statement on the accusations. It's 9 pages long and about what you'd expect. I've got a lot of thoughts that I wasn't able to get to last week so we're doing another show on #metoo. I really think the thought leaders of the skeptic community are missing out on an opportunity for mainstream relevance. They are exactly the kinds of people we should be hearing from o...

A few months back in the midst of the Republican tax reform bill, Dr. Robert S. McElvaine wrote an article for the Washington Post about the parallels between our current situation and the Great Depression. Being a historian of the depression, he might know a thing or two about it. I interviewed him on this and surrounding issues! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the...

This is a doozy of an episode. Lawrence Krauss was recently accused of a range of sexual harassment and misconduct. I believe his accusers. It's documented quite thoroughly by BuzzFeed . Since people are trying to casually dismiss the accusations as "Ugh, BuzzFeed" and "Anonymous sources," I took the time to make a quick and dirty breakdown of the individual charges and how many named and unnamed...

David Silverman joins us to talk about an awesome convention coming up in AAcon2018 ! I really valued David's response to the nonsense that happened in Milwaukee last September, and he's putting his money where his mouth is in how American Atheists has organized their 2018 conference. It's atheism, but with a heart and with compassion. We talk about that and much more! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (9...

No the title isn't just clickbait. I've decided I do want to take your guns away. I'm tired of Democrats saying they don't actually want that, and then being labeled as such by the right anyway. So why not embrace it? Sources: NRA Payouts ; Bret Stephens Repeal the 2nd Amendment ; Vox Comprehensive Article on US Gun Violence ; Most Gun Deaths Are Suicides ; New Quinnipiac Poll ; Trump Budget Cuts...

Should we ever talk to the alt-right? When we do so, why does it feel so unproductive? Why can't we on the left ever seem to "win" debates with the alt-right? Why are Gamer-Gaters so angry? These are just a few of the questions Ian Danskin of the YouTube channel Innuendo Studios  has sought to answer. He does so brilliantly and incisively. I've found his work to be incredibly illuminating. He was...

I'm so excited to finally present what I've been vaguebooking about! Today's show features episode 1 of a new project called Philosophers In Space! Each episode uses our favorite science fiction to teach related philosophical concepts. In this episode, we use the USS Callister episode of Black Mirror to talk about The Experience Machine by Nozick. Try it on, see how you like it, and if you want to...

Jex Blackmore is the spokeswoman for the Satanic Temple! They've been responsible for a lot of provocative and effectively targeted public performances. Their target is very often Christian theocrats who either don't realize they're inflicting their religious views on everyone else, or they don't care. Jex takes us through the basics of the Satanic Temple and her experiences! Leave Thomas a voicem...

***For $30 off your first week of HelloFresh, visit HelloFresh.com and enter seriouspod30! Michael Marshall is the host of Be Reasonable and co-host of Skeptics with a K . He is heavily involved in the UK Skeptic movement, and has been somewhat alarmed by the state of movement atheism in the US. We talk about some of the differences and possible reasons for them. Later in the show, he takes us thr...

Today I'm joined by Jaclyn Friedman! From her website : She is a writer, speaker and activist, and creator of the hit books  Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape   (one of Publishers’ Weekly’s Top 100 Books of 2009, and #11 on Ms. Magazine’s Top 100 Feminist Nonfiction of All Time list) and  What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex & S...

Every atheist's favorite Christian, Jordan B. Peterson, went on Channel 4 News and had a heated exchange with Cathy Newman. Though she made some good points, Newman's technique centered around replying with "..so you're saying.." and then straw man Peterson. So what was he actually saying? Is there a better way of trying to engage with people like Peterson or should we not bother at all? Joining m...

You might laugh, but it happened in Rhode Island! My two guests, Dr. Manisha Shah and Dr. Scott Cunningham, did an extensive study on the results. It's called "Decriminalizing Indoor Prostitution: Implications for Sexual Violence and Public Health." What happened might surprise you! Special thanks to Lydia for arranging this recording! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and t...

The last episode, the debate between Chris and Tracey on the Aziz Ansari incident, caused a decent amount of controversy. Many women were frustrated by Chris and also felt like we didn't need to hear from another male on this issue. I talk about these valid concerns and what I was trying to do with this episode and in general. This first half is very meta and involves working through criticism, so...

Where does the Babe.net article on Aziz Ansari land on the spectrum of #metoo moments? Are the old-school feminists correct when they say women ought to say no and call a cab ? Today's episode is a discussion between two people who come out on different ends of some of these questions. It's an attempt to find some common ground and understanding on a very important issue. Note: This episode contai...

***For $30 off your first week of HelloFresh, visit HelloFresh.com and enter seriouspod30! Today's episode begins with some thoughts on what can be a moral blindspot when it comes to fat shaming and looks shaming Trump. Is there a way to hit all the criticism we want to while not unnecessarily insulting and offending innocent bystanders? I think so, and I outline my case. Then I go through several...

Andrew Torrez joins me from world-famous podcast Opening Arguments  to break down the James Damore lawsuit against Google! Is it the most important lawsuit in modern history as some have called it ? You'll have to listen to find out! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support ! Follow us on Twitter:  @ seriouspod Facebook:...

*I mention Eiynah as the one who sent me the video. I just want to emphasize she had the full context and I didn't mean to imply she was spreading the fake news version without thinking. She has a great thread on it here . Recently, an edited video circulated and caused an uproar among liberals. It features Steven Pinker seeming to praise the intelligence of the alt-right and asserting that there...

Is Twitter real life? Tom from Cognitive Dissonance is here with me to talk about his philosophy on dealing with criticism and unpleasant people online. It's very zen and interesting, but is it something you and I would be able to adopt? Then we move on to the broader topic of the morphing of analog and digital lives and how the world is changing. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember...

What in the hell is the atheism world coming to when atheist horse-person Sam Harris would agree with a religious conservative on a matter of Church-State Separation over the Freedom from Religion Foundation? I talk about the details of this strange and depressing convergence, as well as some of the other broader implications of the Eric Weinstein, Ben Shapiro, Sam Harris conversation, and Weinste...

Back for another great conversation is Alix Jules! This was originally going to be a follow up commentary but in speaking with Alix, it became clear that having him on would make for a much better episode! We discuss a Coates critique Twitter thread that got a lot of traction with the anti-feminist, anti-BLM factions but that I find quite off-base. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remembe...