Serious Inquiries Only

Welcome to the first edition of Thursday Inquiries!! My unofficial or maybe official name for the new format. Mondays will be interviews and Thursdays will be commentary and news and so forth. A lot is happening in the news and a lot of people are still very sloppy thinkers.  In an episode of The Waking Up Podcast, Sam Harris said that Trump was the end of the Democratic Party. Could this really b...

Today I'm talking with Dr. Joel Breakstone, director of the Stanford History Education Group. He was co-director of a recent study that looked at thousands of students, from middle school through college, and tested their ability to discern fake news from real news. The results are worrying, and may give us some insight into why this is such a problem in America today. Then I take a few minutes to...

In this episode I am joined by Scott and David. We discuss some of the science behind the rise in internet trolling. They share their ideas about the ways psychology, sociology, and our ever increasing dependence on technology for socialization; have led to more trolling. We also discuss some other behaviors and traits that correlate with online trolling, some of the possible origins of these beha...

Direct Download In this episode we cover more of Trump's cabinet picks. This time we take a look at his nominations for Attorney General, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Education, and Secretary of Energy. This isn't funny anymore. 10 things to know about Sen. Jeff Sessions- Washington Post Will Rick Perry Promote Science at the Department of Energy? -The Atlantic Betsy Devos and the Plan to Br...

Direct Download In this episode, we start taking a look Trump's picks for his cabinet members; beginning with his choices for Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury. Just to be sure we have some perspective, we go over the job descriptions and look at some of the individuals that held these positions during the Obama and G.W. Bush administrations. You might say we have some concerns... W...

The podcast name change is officially underway!! It's going to take a little while for everything to filter through, but as you should already be noticing, things are different. Joining me for episode 1 of Serious Inquiries Only is multi-time guest and everyone's favorite ex-Scientologist Chris Shelton! Check out his website here.   Chris was recently the target of a Scientology hate-page , which...

A few weeks ago, Eli and I had a conversation with two people who may or may not be characterized as trolls. This can be found on AS298. In the beginning of that recording, Eli made a bit of a speech on empathy which contained a lot of insight but also wasn’t quite perfect. We … Continue reading AS304: Clarifying Empathy, with Eli Bosnick → The post AS304: Clarifying Empathy, with Eli Bosnick appe...

Joining me for today is Noelle George, Executive Director of Foundation Beyond Belief! Since the holidays have rolled around again and you’ve likely started to hear the annoying, holier than thou jangle of constant Salvation Army bells outside of every grocery store and mall, I thought it might be a good idea to talk with someone … Continue reading AS303: Doing Charity Better, with Foundation Beyo...

Here’s the 3rd and final part of my episode 300 spectacular! Joining me first is Andrew Torrez from the little known fledgling podcast Opening Arguments! First we do a little reminiscing, then a segment where I try to play the lawyer and he plays the questioner! Finally, we discuss the hate speech law that Jake … Continue reading AS302: Andrew Torrez and Cognitive Dissonance! → The post AS302: And...

Two more great guests for part 2 of the 3 part episode 300 spectacular! First up is Ishmael Brown of the Angry Black Rant podcast. Ishmael is someone I really enjoy speaking to because he’s thoughtful, provocative, and hilarious all in one. We talk about whitelash, Colin Kaepernick, and other post-Trump victory issues facing our … Continue reading AS301: Angry Black Rant and Jake Farr-Wharton! → T...

Joining me first to kick off my extra special 300th episode, 3 part, 3+ hour extravaganza are none other than Noah, Heath, and Eli of the Scathing Atheist and God Awful Movies! Oh right, and the Skepticrat… I interview the guys on a few different topics related to their particular approach to atheist activism and … Continue reading AS300: The Scathing Atheist, Plus a Personal Message and Announcem...

Alright the response for part 2 of the discussion that went bad was actually pretty overwhelming. Eyeballing it, I’d say it was at least 4 to 1 in favor. However, the people who didn’t want to hear part 2 had really good reasons… So I’ve sort of split the difference. I’m going to talk a … Continue reading AS299: Let’s Get Into the Arguments → The post AS299: Let’s Get Into the Arguments appeared f...

Well, this is the recording you may have heard or seen me allude to. Joining me is Eli Bosnick, Mike, and Dustin. WARNING: This episode contains a lot of profanity. This is an attempt at a really difficult conversation between two sides coming from way different perspectives. It will be up to you to judge … Continue reading AS298: The Best Podcast Ever, Part 1 → The post AS298: The Best Podcast Ev...

In today’s episode I talk about several very striking examples of misleading headlines that have been created and shared in furtherance of the narrative that the PC police are ruining our lives. When I investigated these news stories though, I found that the truth was somewhat more complex and in many cases the stories were … Continue reading AS297: Are the PC Police Out to Get Us? → The post AS29...

I’m joined once again by James Lindsay! James has a new book out with some very useful insights on death. Find it here. The first 20 minutes we talk a bit about the election and the fact that many of James’s listeners are likely Trump supporters, despite James himself not being one. Then from there we … Continue reading AS296: Life in the Light of Death, with James Lindsay → The post AS296: Life i...

Time for part 2 with Michael A. Wood Jr! Michael is a retired Baltimore police officer and veteran of the USMC. He originally went viral in 2015 for publicly speaking out against police brutality and has become an advocate for police reform. Part 2 focused on problems in policing and his proposed solutions to them, among other topics! … Continue reading AS295: Michael A. Wood Jr, Part 2 → The post...

Today’s guest is Michael A. Wood Jr! Michael is a retired Baltimore police officer and veteran of the USMC. He originally went viral in 2015 for publicly speaking out against police brutality and has become an advocate for police reform. We had a wide ranging discussion, with part 1 focused more on his background and how he … Continue reading AS294: Michael A. Wood Jr, Part 1 → The post AS294: Mic...

Here is part 2 of my truly excellent recording with Andrew and Eli. We commiserate, we give our answers to a lot of the common questions, we laughed, we feared and I feel slightly better knowing I’ll still have these two amazing people and more to get me through this. I hope everyone else is as … Continue reading AS293: President Trump’s Second Term, with Eli Bosnick and Andrew Torrez → The post A...

It f*cking happened. President Trump. We elected President Trump. The first 12 minutes of this episode are my live reaction from Tuesday night when it happened. It may make you uncomfortable. It’s raw and emotional but it’s how I was feeling. I left it in in case it helps anyone feel less alone in this. … Continue reading AS292: President Trump, with Eli Bosnick and Andrew Torrez → The post AS292:...

On October 25th, the SPLC released this report identifying 15 individuals who they view as anti-Muslim extremists. Some inclusions make total sense, but 2 stood out: Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz. Do their claims about Maajid and Ayaan survive scrutiny? Find out. Here are some links I reference: Great Atlantic article Guardian article on Quilliam … Continue reading AS291: What In the World Is T...

Got a nice long action packed episode for you today. In what was originally going to be a two parter, Phil Torres and I talk about the simulation argument made popular by Nick Bostrom. I highly recommend you read the original paper and some of the other resources found here. In the second half, I make … Continue reading AS290: Are We Living In A Simulation? With Phil Torres → The post AS290: Are W...

Today we are joined by Michelle. Michelle works with a group that defends abortion rights by volunteering as safe escorts for patients through protestors. Recently some of the tactics the protestors have used are against local laws and local police have not been responsive. We talk to her about the experiences of her and the … Continue reading AS289: Abortion Clinic Escort, Michelle → The post AS2...

I’ve got plenty of interviews loaded up for the coming weeks, so I wanted to get in one final commentary on this election before we vote Trump out of relevance. I’ve got several new thoughts that I haven’t yet expressed in Tommentary form, so don’t worry it’s fresh stuff! I talk about my final verdict … Continue reading AS288: A Final Election 2016 Episode (VOTE!!!) → The post AS288: A Final Elect...

Joining me today is Alonzo Fyfe, who publishes the blog “Atheist Ethicist.” We talk about some really interesting topics including implicit biases and how they’re affecting this election. Alonzo has a theory that, though they might not be aware of it, most people who are anti-Hillary are actually victims of their own implicit biases. We … Continue reading AS287: Atheist Ethics and Implicit Biases,...

Today we are talking to Dr. Robert Price about the historicity of Jesus.  Dr. Price is a former Baptist minister and current Professor of Biblical Criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute. He has written and spoken extensively on this topic.  In this part 2 we cover the references to Jesus found in Josephus. Find … Continue reading AS286: Dr. Robert Price on Jesus Mythicism, Part 2 → The post...