Serious Inquiries Only

Latest Episodes:

SIO199: The Problem with #Antifa Jul 28, 2019

Show notes

... is they get no credit for any good they do, and they get infinite sh*t for anything bad a masked person does, anywhere in the country ever. Today, the occupant of the White House tweeted that "ANTIFA" should be declared "an Organization of Terror." Well, this sounds like a good time for me to deliver to you an episode I spent hours developing back when Andy Ngo was attacked by someone, but hadn't ever recorded. So, here it is. Today's episode is about antifa and how we ought to be thinking about them, how we ought to put them into context, and why no one should give a sh*t about Andy Ngo.

Links: Ngo Claims Brain Hemorrhage; Attack Video; Other Report's Account; Disturbing Texts Between Oregon Police and Far-Right Group; Right-Wing Extremism Responsible for Every 2018 Extremist Murder; Right Falls for Its Own Fake Antifa Accounts; Disturbing Rape Case; My FB Post Where Medical Professionals Commented; Atlantic Article Epidemic of Disbelief; Police Shootings Database

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SIO198: Why No One Is Racist Jul 27, 2019

Show notes

.... according to Republicans. Hey folks, sorry for the long hiatus. At the end of the episode, I talk about why I haven't been recording this show. But before that, I had a conversation with a family member that really made me think about Republicans and how they think about race. I sort of had an epiphany that I wanted to share. Here are a couple links I mention in the show: Sam Harris black friend audio; Philosophy Tube video.

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SIO197: The #DemDebate, Part 2 Jun 28, 2019

Show notes

This one wasn't as good. Why does hollywood keep pumping out crap sequels. However, Kamala Harris dismantling Biden was maybe worth it. Harris was far and away the winner, in my book. Her poise is something to behold. Buttigieg is a very effective communicator. As weird as it is, I think he has an outside shot. Then there are a bunch of mediocre white men who I can't keep straight. Plus, I'm definitely ageist. I admit it. All this and more!

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SIO196: The #DemDebate, Part 1 Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

Warren was great, Castro might be a rising star, why don't people like Cory Booker, and who the hell is Delaney? I watched the debate, and I took copious notes, a couple of which will be utilized. I've got lots of preamble, lots of thoughts, and even a ranking of these 10 at the end. Let me know what your ranking is!

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SIO195: A Mormon #metoo Reckoning, with Colleen Dietz Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

This week my guest is Colleen Dietz, who is the host of the Mormon Happy Hour podcast. On her show, Colleen does a great job discussing important and sometimes heavy topics while still maintaining laughter and good spirits. She'll need that skill today because unfortunately we're here to discuss a traumatic assault that happened years ago when she was a new student at BYU, and the woefully inadequate response by the school and the church. We don't into too much gory detail, but if you want the full weight of her awful experience she has written more about it here. BYU's victim blaming response was in her opinion almost worse than the assault itself. It took her a long time to come to terms with what happened and why her Mormon faith was not just wrong but how their unhealthy and repressive relationship to sex actually made her more vulnerable to her attacker. However, she's in a much better place now, and she's doing amazing work trying to reform the church from without, and helping others reform it from within.

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SIO194: Milkshaking with Eli Bosnick May 29, 2019

Show notes

When Eli Bosnick asks to come on your show and give his lava hot milkshake take you say YES. So that's what I've done. If you've wondered how liberals ought to respond to things like the milkshaking or Nazi punching controversies, listen to this episode and wonder no more!

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SIO193: The JV IDW, and More - with Eiynah May 23, 2019

Show notes

Eiynah returns to the show for the first time in probably way too long! She is a Pakistani-Canadian podcaster/illustrator/blogger who also has dealt with a lot of the same Rational(tm) Intellectual Dark Web types that I have talked about on this show a lot. We talk about that, delusional centrism, unexamined white identity and false objectivity, before venturing on in the second half to talk about Islam. As an ex-Muslim, Eiynah has unique insight into the balancing act of criticizing the bad ideas of Islam without feeding into disgusting anti-Muslim bigotry.

As promised, here is a list of some people/events we referenced with links:

Intellectual Dark Web and NYT Photo Shoot; James Lindsay, JV IDW, past guest on the show, former friend but current warrior against the Humanities for.. not good reasons; Michael Shermer - past guest on the show, never will be again, very credibly accused of being a creep; Carl Benjamin - the douchebag I debated who calls himself Sargon, running for MP and can't stop getting hit with stuff; Sam Harris interview we referenced; Claire Lehmann head of Quillette; Steven Pinker - guy who is super smart in his field but feels the need to venture into lots of other fields and do them badly; Jerry Coyne - minor new atheist who has an angry old man yelling at clouds blog, turned down half a dozen respectful requests WAY back in the day to have conversations on social justice despite claiming to be all about debate; Rashida Tlaib NYT Daily Interview; Secular Jihadist Ali Rizvi Armin discussion.

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SIO192: Some Punditry, with Andrew Torrez May 17, 2019

Show notes

Andrew Torrez joins me to discuss the Democratic Primary -- Buttigieg, Warren, and whether or not we should be trying to determine who can best beat Trump. As Opening Arguments listeners well know, Andrew always brings insight, history, legal brilliance, and plain charm!

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SIO191: Why I Changed My Mind May 09, 2019

Show notes

With the birth of our second child, Arlo, I was faced with a decision that many parents have to make... and I fundamentally changed my mind from where I was several years ago. That, plus other voicemail! Old AS episode on the subject; good Vice article.

SIO190: Dating Economy Inequality? with Kristi Winters Apr 25, 2019

Show notes

Are women "creating an unequal dating environment for men?" Quillette recently published an article that made alarming claims about the dating economy on the basis of some online dating studies. Dr. Kristi Winters is here to bring some social science understanding to it and help us separate fact from fiction! Here's the NYT article I mention.

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