Serious Inquiries Only

Kelly Burke joins the pod again, this time to break down Facilitated Communication. A documentary recently came out on Netflix that explored this, and Kelly tells us why it's not just nonsense but also harmful, and how she and other experts in this field actually help people learn real communication techniques. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show?   Apply here !

Part 2! Dr. Jenessa Seymour continues to walk us through our drug journey with a brief stop to cover why it's impossible to get ADHD medication. PSA: Narcan is over the counter and (last we checked) less than $50 for two doses. Please consider buying some to have on hand so you can help save a life. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show?   Apply here !

Dr. Jenessa Seymour is here to do drugs. I mean, discuss drugs. How exactly do they work in your brain? What is addiction? I learned so much in this fascinating two-parter. This is Part 1 of 2! Part 2 is out early for patrons. In it, Jenessa talks about solutions: what works and what definitely doesn't. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show?   Apply here !

(Well, I spaced on posting part 2 of this, so I'm posting the patron cut of parts 2-3 together to make it up to yous. Sorry about the delay!) Dr. Eric Jaffe was so appalled by Bret Weinstein's idiotic takes on matters of basic biology surrounding COVID and the vaccines, that he wondered how Bret could possibly have the PhD that he does. Well, what Eric found was... weird. For patrons, I'm putting...

Dr. Eric Jaffe (like me) used to watch Bill Maher. One night in early 2021, Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying And because Eric cares about intellectual integrity, he's included some of his thoughts here  while listening to the unedited episode. We also cover this interview specifically. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show?   Apply here ! Please please pretty please  support t...

Dr. Joe Siev from SIO429 is back with us to discuss a new study  he's published regarding political behavior among those who hold ambivalent attitudes. This one is very subtle and trickier to grasp fully than you might think. I talk more after the interview about how I've come to understand what this study means. Additionally, there's a blog post that makes it easier.   Are you an expert in someth...

The New York Times had a recent article  discussing the United States' absence of effective pain management for IUD insertion procedures, but it doesn't have to be that way. Dr. Jenny Wu  joins the show to tell us about how her research  influenced her practice and the approach she now takes with patients seeking pain relief, and what she believes we can look forward to with the next generation of...

I was speaking with an OA listener the other day, and she mentioned a few things that made me reallllly want to interview her on this show. First off, she said she is a progressive working in a prosecutor's office in an extremely conservative area. That's already interesting enough, but then she said thing 2 which is: she voted for Trump in 2016! So, I just had to get her on to find out how she ma...

And also... maybe the Southern Lights went North? Earlier this month, an incredible thing happened. The Aurora Borealis was visible to folks much further south than usual. Dr. Bryan Gillis is with us to talk about what exactly the Aurora is, what makes it happen, and how in the world it was recently seen down in my neck of the woods.   Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show?   A...

Dr. Eric Jaffe joins the show and walks us through the dream so many of us have had - building a dinosaur! With his expertise in molecular biology, we learn if this is even possible, and how exactly it would work. Would we use mosquitoes for this project like  Jurassic Park  tells us is totally possible and sound? Actually, what even is a dinosaur anyway? Lots of fascinating dino-talk in this one...

Today's guest, or should I say last year's guest, is Steve Vladeck! He holds the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law, and is a nationally recognized expert on the federal courts, constitutional law, national security law, and military justice. Last year, he released the  New York Times  bestselling book, " The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Us...

Author and journalist Kyle Spencer knows - she wrote the book on it. It's called Raising Them Right , soon to be out in paperback. She spent extensive time with Charlie Kirk, among others, and saw how he built an effective right wing youth movement. How did he do it? Who is funding it? Do these people really believe what they say? She answers those questions and more. We're also big fans of Kyle's...

We welcome back cosmologist and science communicator Dr. Paul Sutter ! Previously, he had come on to talk about his book, Rescuing Science . This time, he's here to take us through some of the science of the super cool new Netflix show 3 Body Problem. What does it get right and what does it get wrong? Or does that even matter? Paul takes us through it! Make sure to check out his podcast Ask A Spac...

Everyone's favorite marine biologist, Dr. Heidi Pearson is back! This time, we're talking about a new, large scale study just out about the massive loss of marine life caused by "the blob." It's another tale of man-made climate change wreaking havoc on the world. But, we've also got some more fun stories to talk about! Gay whales caught in the act, a solo orca that didn't wait for its pod to hunt...

Dr. Jo Boaler is a leading math education expert and one of the writers of the California Mathematics Framework, a set of guidelines focused on improving equity in California's math classrooms. We first talk about her upcoming book, Math-ish , and the beauty of pursuing more "ish" in our lives. Then, we discuss a recent anonymous complaint  that was filed with Stanford University, accusing Dr. Boa...

In honor of World Quantum Day (April 14th), Quantum Anne is here to discuss when quantum is better, when it's worse, and when it could honestly go either way. Quantum Sensing Quantum Computing Overview 100 Years of Quantum! For ideas on how to celebrate World Quantum Day, check out: https://www.quantum.gov/world-quantum-day/! Anne made cake ( photo attached ), that represents a Hadamard gate.  It...

Here's Part 2 of our deep dive into neural implants with Dr. Jenessa Seymour! The brain is still completely amazing, and so are the folks who are creating innovative technology to help people do things that have been otherwise out of reach. And then there's Elon. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show?   Apply here ! Please please pretty please  support the show on patreon ! You...

We've got an expert to take us through it! Dr. Jenessa Seymour is a former neuroscientist currently working in disability rights and she has looked through the history of neural implant efforts to investigate Elon's Neuralink claims. Just how full of it is he? And how in the world does any of this even work? What is clear is that the brain is insanely amazing. There's so much to talk about that th...

Author and journalist Katherine Stewart joins us today to discuss her reporting on religious nationalism, as well as the organization and structure behind these efforts, and what we can do in the face of it all. Be sure to check out the recent film God and Country which is based on her 2020 book, The Power Worshippers ! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here ! Please...

I'm joined by Trace and Julian from the podcast, That's Absurd Please Elaborate! It's an incredibly fun and cool science show where they take questions that might seem weird or crazy but answer them using science! They're here to talk science communication, and what some of their favorite questions they've answered have been. Could vampires evolve through natural processes? Could x-rays cook soup?...

Elon Musk accidentally buying Twitter and then ruining it is a story so absurd and wild that someone should write a book about it. Lucky for us, Zoë Schiffer has! It's called Extremely Hardcore, and it's extremely good! She joins us to discuss the book. Be sure to buy Zoë's book, Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk's Twitter ! You can also follow Zoë's reporting on Platformer . Are you an expert...

Radley Balko is the guest today as we discuss the Right's efforts to retcon George Floyd's murder and Derek Chauvin's responsibility in a "documentary" from Alpha News, The Fall of Minneapolis . We walk through some of the debunks together, and chat about the broader systemic circumstances that lead for calls of police reform. Radley has done an absolutely incredible series covering this in meticu...

Senator Bernie Sanders introduced Senate Bill 3947 to change the standard 40-hour workweek to 32 hours with no loss in pay and held a hearing on March 14th. Naturally the right doesn't love this. But what do the studies say? And where did the 40-hour week even come from? SeriousPod colleague Lydia Smith explains how this particular issue highlights ways in which we can combat rhetoric from the rig...

It feels like this comes up precisely every 4 years, but once again I find myself having to point out that the way to make things better isn't to make them worse. That math just doesn't work. But what should we do? A campaign to vote "Uncommitted" for the Democratic Primary Election went viral. Lydia Smith from Where There's Woke joins as we discuss what this movement is, what kind of impact it co...

We're focusing in on some sci-fi with Dr. Bryan Gillis, astrophysicist to the stars! We take you through one of Ted Chiang's incredible short stories, Exhalation , and Dr. Gillis teaches us about entropy and the Laws of Thermodynamics. What is the heat death of the universe? Can we avoid it by turning up the AC a bit or are we just plain effed? Find out!   Are you an expert in something and want t...