Serious Inquiries Only

Latest Episodes:

SIO259: Hunter's Damned Emails Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

I've been wondering how two things could be true - that Giuliani has an obviously fake story about obtaining Hunter Biden's laptop, and that the leak contains seemingly real texts between Joe and Hunter Biden. I tried to get to the bottom of it.

I also talk about the recent murder of a teacher in Paris, committed by a Muslim refugee with radical beliefs, and how we can try to maintain proper perspective in the wake of visceral acts of terror.

SIO258: How Social Media Can Subvert Democracy Oct 15, 2020

Show notes

Lindsey Osterman is back for a follow-up to our Social Dilemma episode. Last time we talked about where the documentary got things a little wrong. Today Lindsey's here to tell us what they had right, but didn't go enough into. It's not a pretty picture! As usual, she's got the science to back the claims: 3 major studies which show that Facebook has affected real elections.

Studies: Kramer et al 2014, Bond et al 2012, Haenschen

SIO257: The Psychology Behind Cults, Part 2! Oct 14, 2020

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The second part of our conversation on cults. We finish up on the psychology and then talk about Q anon and Trumpism and whether or not they can fairly be called cults.

SIO256: The Psychology Behind Cults, with Lindsey Osterman Oct 08, 2020

Show notes

If you've been watching The Vow on HBO (or any number of other cult related shows) you may have been wondering how cults work - why people join, and how cults hang onto their members. There is a lot of psychology behind it, so who better to help break it down than our evo psych expert Lindsey Osterman!

SIO255: That Horrendous Debate, with Andrew and Alex Torrez! Oct 01, 2020

Show notes

We're doubling our usual Torrez here! Andrew's son Alex, high school debate champ, is here to help us break down the monstrosity that was that presidential debate!

SIO254: We Have To Win Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

The death of the great RBG is absolutely devastating, and has made the stakes so much higher. In this episode, I talk about what we HAVE to do to keep our democracy. Things aren't good.

Toward the end, I get into the arguments over whether RBG should have retired, mainly because in EVERY interaction I've seen online about this, people get a bunch of the factual information wrong. However, the arguments are almost completely moot, so if you feel you don't need a history lesson, feel free to skip this part.

Links: Ideological measures of the court, Avg justice retirement age, excellent Rebecca Traister article, RBG on why she can't retire, 2014 article asking her to retire.

SIO253: Unpacking 'The Social Dilemma' Sep 17, 2020

Show notes

The new doc 'The Social Dilemma' on Netflix is making quite an impression on people. It tells a riveting story of the harms of social media, and has led to many people deleting their accounts or limiting their usage. But are all the claims backed up by science? Yes and no... If you've got an urge to delete all your accounts, you might want to hear what social psychologist Lindsey Osterman has to say about it! (and then maybe still delete your accounts if you want..)

Links: Verge article I really liked, social network sites and well-being study, A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents, Time Spent on Social Network Sites and Psychological Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis.

SIO252: Lindsey Osterman on Parasocial Relationships Aug 27, 2020

Show notes

It's been a while, but today we've got a science episode! Making her return to the show is Lindsey Osterman, a psychologist who has been studying parasocial relationships. It's already incredibly likely that you take part in some number of parasocial relationships, but now in the time of COVID they're more prevalent and important than ever.

Here are the studies Lindsey references!

Gabriel et al (2018) - From apprentice to president Download Osterman & Hecmanczuk (2019) - Parasocial Forgiveness Download

SIO251: Dimensions of Political Identity Aug 20, 2020

Show notes

I've got thoughts and lots of them. How do we as progressives criticize Democrats without damaging our future? Is someone who thinks the DNC is corrupt more left than I am, or more.. something else? No prison stocks didn't go up because of Kamala Harris. Julian Assange is an absolute crap. And lots more.

SIO250: James Lindsay's "New Discourses" Funded By Far Right Christian Nationalist Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

Today I'm joined by philosopher Aaron Rabinowitz of Embrace the Void and Philosophers in Space to discuss the some revelations about James Lindsay's organization "New Discourses." If you're a long time listener, you'll remember James Lindsay from this show back when he didn't totally suck. Well he now very much sucks, and to no one's surprise, he's being propped up by right wing Christian Nationalist Michael O'Fallon. PZ Myers has a good writeup of it on his blog. Aaron and I talk about that, our history with James, and what to make of all this.

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