Skeptical Thinker

Hi there! This week, Jamie and Leah are going into another section of the book Humankind, by Rutger Bregman. Today, we look at the Stanford Experiment, the Robber's Cave Experiment, Stanley Milgram's Shock Machine, and how all this seems to point to the fact that humans are generally bad if you break through the thin surface veneer. Here's the bibiographical information about the book:...

So this is a rough podcast. Jamie has some audio issues that kept cropping up and we apologize for the occasional overlapping audio - not sure how that is happening, but we record from two different locations and sometimes we get feedback. We're doing our best. Anyway, this podcast is part one of probably three episodes that we are treating like an book-talk. The book we are reading is Human K...

Hi! This is Jamie. Leah took this one off so that I could go down a short rabbit hole of thoughts. I am an ever evolving human that wants to be curious and creative. I think I did both on this episode. It's short, but I hope it is thought provoking. Let me know how you like it! Music for this episode came from: Giovanni Rapiti from Pixabay   James Carter from Pixabay

This week Jamie and Leah are ruminating on Resources - those things that you can do both internally and externally to help with nervous system regulation. There's a few resources that you can check out below if you want more information! All about Resourcing Tumblr - In case you wanted to see one of Jamie's resources... Insight Timer App - this is the web link, but you can find it in any a...

So, we've been gone for a while. It's nothing personal, except that it was. We were dealing with some health issues, but everything is slowly getting back to normal. Leah and I decided it was time to jump back in. Today's episode is not our best work, but a friendly discussion that ranges a bit, but we did touch on the SAVE act, and a book that Leah is reading about Homophobia. We'...

Welcome back! This week, Leah and Jamie dive into some science topics that you might have missed because of the news cycle's constant barrage of negative stuff! Jamie has an online subscription to National Geographic, so some of the links in the show notes may not open up, but he did find some alternative links you can go to to read some more about the topics today! Enjoy! Citations: Landau, E...

After a summer hiatus, Leah and Jamie are back with a discussion of Lee Wind's excellent book, " The Gender Binary is a Big Lie ." While we both start talking about the book, we end up in some interesting personal stories and repartee about gender. For those listening who are not sure how to feel about those of us who are outside the gender binary, you may find this discussion intere...

This episode has us looking at Complex Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (CPTSD). While not officially in the DSM-5, CPTSD has gotten a lot of notice in recent years. We look at the book "What My Bones Know," by Stephanie Foo. Citations: Admin. (2025, March 5). PTSD hotline - Free 24/7 | 866-903-3787 . Mental Health Hotline. https://mentalhealthhotline.org/ptsd-hotline/ Center for Complex T...

Welcome Back! This week's episode has had a few technical difficulties. After loosing the whole show, we tried to re-record the episode, but it sounds like Jamie had some issues with the transmission and so, the sound work will need to continue. We appreciate you listening, and hope you will stick with us as we learn more about how to work this podcast while being in two different locations! E...

Hi there! Today, Jamie and Leah are discussing a class that Jamie is taking on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in science education. Particularly, how to get students to develop a STEM Identity. We are discussing a book by Dr. Christopher Emdin, an amazing advocate and visionary in the field of education. Join us as we dig deeper into science education and how students today need to identif...

Jamie finally finished the book, "How To Talk to a Science Denier." Join Jamie and Leah as they discuss the difficult process of unpacking denial mentality and the arduous process of trying to talk to deniers. Citations: Author Lee McIntyre . (n.d.). https://leemcintyrebooks.com/ Gwazi Magnum. (2014, November 23). Vaccines cause Autism - If Google Was A Guy [Video]. YouTube. https://www....

Hi there! In today's episode, Leah and Jamie discuss the need to change the way science communicators show how they all agree on the data. It may seem like just semantics, but the word consensus has been confusing the general public for a long time, and it is easy to manipulate this confusion to sway public opinion. This will lead us to the next episode where we will discuss a 2021 book: How T...

This week's episode was a little late in getting out, but here it is: the second part of the State of the Heart Report, from 6seconds.org. Leah and Jamie discuss the idea of Emotional Intelligence and how there appears to be a downward trend in EQ (Emotional Quotient) in the world, especially in certain demographics. Check out the citations if you want to access the complete report. Citations:...

Today's episode comes from an article that Jamie and Leah read about urgency and the power of emotional intelligence. This led us to an even bigger report on the State of the Heart, a report of the state of EQ, or Emotional Intelligence. While this week we discuss mainly the first article, we will circle back to the bigger article next week. Enjoy! Citations: Tanon-Olsson, A. (2025, May 7). Ov...

This week, Leah and Jamie discuss a short article that summarizes a longer article from the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science (PNAS). Both articles are found in the citations listed below, but the longer article is behind a paywall. Jamie gives a pretty good review of both articles, and they both discuss how white matter can be affected by the stability of the environment in which c...

Hi there! Jamie and Leah took the week off last week to get some personal things done. Hope you didn't miss us too much. This week, we re-recorded an episode that didn't work out because of bad audio. We focused on an article of the 50 things women couldn't do before 1970. It's quite a list. Hope you enjoy! Citations: 40 basic rights women did not have until the 1970s - History col...

It's getting trickier than ever to be a skeptical thinker. This week's episode wades into the turbid waters of genetics and the views coming from the fringe that there are real genetic differences between races - in particular the idea that white genetics are superior to any other race. While this is preposterous, there appears to be groups who are feeling more emboldened to push these fal...

This week Jamie and Leah try to tackle an article that discusses the need for better representation of transgender and gender nonconforming people in the STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) Fields. We try really hard to stay on topic, but the Transgender issues are so large, that we tend to struggle with focus. No doubt, we will be covering this issue and gender iss...

This week Leah and Jamie discuss a newsletter link that Jamie's representative sent him. This link took us to the conservative publication: The Federalist. The article alleges that colleges are selling student data to the Get Out The Vote groups for nefarious leftist - leaning voter registration drives. See the sources below for a link to the article and a couple of other places we were lookin...

Hi there! In this episode, we talk about an article (and some other sources) that links how we eat with mental health. I have linked all the sources below. Take good care of yourself! Sources: Colino, S. (2025, March 14). Scientists are uncovering surprising connections between diet and mental health. Health . https://www.nationalgeographic.com/health/article/diet-mental-health-foods?rid=18C5F3C80...

Ignorance, what more do I have to say? This episode, Leah and Jamie try to understand the myriad of ways ignorance wreaks havoc in our world. We had some technical difficulties with the recording of this episode, which required some new technical skills stitching two audio files together - We think it worked out, but you may hear some slight background noises while listening. Sorry for the inconve...

In this episode, Leah and Jamie are just trying to keep up with the speed of change happening in the United States. We spend some time looking at the things we can control and the things we can't.

Welcome to our third season of The Skeptical Thinker Podcast! Leah and Jamie are excited to share our thoughts and discuss things we are thinking about and reading about. In this episode, we discuss our feelings shortly after the inauguration - and try to sort out our feelings while we discuss ways to move forward. I can say that this is not our happiest episode, but it is an important way that ma...

In today's episode, Leah and Jamie discuss Artificial Intelligence. An interesting topic where they wrestle with the idea that AI as we know it today may not be as "intelligent" as it has been billed as. Hopefully you will come to your own conclusions about A.I., and we encourage you to do that! We've even offered some great links here in the show notes! Japanese bread recognition 10 reasons why A...

Hi there... Today, Leah and I discuss a book called "Here I Am." A book by Dr. Leonard Felder. The extended title for his book is, "Using Jewish Spiritual Wisdom to Become More Present, Centered, and Available For Life." While we do spend a lot of our time discussing some of the parts of the book, our discussion ranges from strategies found in Felder's book to discussions of how to navigate the cu...