Serious Inquiries Only

We're going to take a look at Jordan Peterson's debate techniques and his arguments for God and have some fun along the way!

We're going to take a look at Jordan Peterson's debate techniques and his arguments for God and have some fun along the way!  

Was that whole thing legitimate? Was it BS? Or something in between? Dr. Eric Jaffe is the perfect expert to give us the objective facts on this and help us understand everything going on!

Inspired by an Opening Arguments episode during the heartbeat bills, Dr. Nathan Thompson and soon-to-be-Dr. Rachel Feltman embarked on research where they collated "facts" from abortion legislation across the country and examined its medical/anatomical accuracy and misleadingness. Their work was published (read it here!) in the February 2025 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

Gary Chapman's model of five love languages has been well-embraced by people as they navigate dating, marriage, and other relationship moments. Dr. Sharon Flicker joins the show to discuss what exactly they are, how Chapman came up with them, and her research in evaluating whether your partner's ability to "speak" your love language actually results in a happier relationship. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

It's part 2 with Alejandro and Julia from theluddite.org! We get the worst AI "research" of all, we talk big picture, and then Alejandro and Julia give us some tools for spotting bad AI research and coverage on our own! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website atcreatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

Alejandro and Julia of theluddite.org join us to debunk some terrible AI research, and the bad reporting compounding the problems on top of that. Also, what is AI? Can it ever think for itself? Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

This is a part 2! Make sure to catch the previous episode in the feed. If you're on the left and at all active on the internet, you have probably seen this shared. It's called "Trump Lost. Vote Suppression Won." Here's the first bit: "Trump lost. That is, if all legal voters were allowed to vote, if all legal ballots were counted, Trump would have lost the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Vice-President Kamala Harris would have won the Presidency with 286 electoral votes."Dr. Jenessa Seymour has the perfect expertise to examine these claims critically. Do they hold up? We learn a ton about voting rights along the way! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

If you're on the left and at all active on the internet, you have probably seen this shared. It's called "Trump Lost. Vote Suppression Won." Here's the first bit: "Trump lost. That is, if all legal voters were allowed to vote, if all legal ballots were counted, Trump would have lost the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Vice-President Kamala Harris would have won the Presidency with 286 electoral votes." Dr. Jenessa Seymour has the perfect expertise to examine these claims critically. Do they hold up? We learn a ton about voting rights along the way! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

Katherine Stewart joins us again (she was on episode 439) to talk about her new book, Money, Lies, and God! Katherine's books have been vital to understanding the Right. This book tackles different factions - the billionaires, Christian Nationlists, and the New Right, among others - and their strange alliances that have successfully taken over our country. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

And the unending moral cowardice of Republican politicians means he gets to do what he wants. It's a Thomas needs to say things one again, sorry.

The absolute man-babies who make up the anti-woke movement are always crying about some very minor thing that makes other people's lives better and is no actual burden to them, but is different than the past. This week, that thing happens to be... ASL interpreters at press conferences and such? It's hard to imagine how sensitive you'd have to be to have a problem with this, but their victimhood complex gives Dr. Jenessa Seymour a chance to teach us some really interesting science! It turns out, ASL interpreters are very necessary and closed captioning is not sufficient. There's so much here that you might not have considered before! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

SIO471 - I just can't anymore with this. It's so fucking pathetic that mainstream media and a whole bunch of pundits, even on the left, have to do this thing where they play dumb and pretend people like Elon have any sort of credibility. There is no plausible deniability on this and to pretend otherwise isn't good journalism or skepticism. It's... bad... those. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

Buckle up because we have so many Health and Human Services nominees to get into on this episode, and surprisingly nearly all of them are actually doctors of medicine! 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

We're back with Dr. Rick to continue our discussion of what we might be facing with the next Trump administration's HHS, but he refuses to leave the recording without giving us something to feel happy about! Then we kick off Lydia's cabinet nominee deep dive with Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Trump's nominee for the Surgeon General. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

Lydia has spread Opening Arguments' fashwatch to SIO, and we're calling in a doctor to keep it under control! Dr. Rick Sullivan joins us to walk through the Health and Human Services Agency, its various entities, and what kind of impact we might be looking at under the next Trump administration. ProPublica obtained Project 2025 private training videos. Click here to check them out if you dare! 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

I've felt like I wanted to say a ton about this since day 1, but keep holding back. I finally hit brain saturation and just need to share. I think I have a useful way of looking at this whole thing, hope you'll consider it. Oh and also, f--- UnitedHealthcare and f--- the for profit healthcare industry in its entirety. Please read this incredible ProPublica piece. I finally started a monthly donation to them, which I should have long ago. https://www.propublica.org/article/unitedhealth-healthcare-insurance-denial-ulcerative-colitis 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

SIO466 - Dr. Gary Slutkin has been cited in Salon and other outlets as an expert epidemiologist who runs an impressive NGO that helps reduce violence. While he may be an epidemiologist, almost everything else about him and his claims seems to be... very likely bull shit. Dr. Jenessa Seymour joins us to break this down. It gets more and more bull shit as we go, and eventually we're both live debunking parts of this nonsense. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

Hey folks, this is more of an SIO, but I recorded a solo show because I have to debunk this myth about Kamala losing 10-15m Democratic votes, and Trump only keeping his same voters from 2020. That isn't correct at all. I also have a million other thoughts that I really just want to get out there and that I hope will be helpful.

Dr. Jenessa Seymour is back to talk more about synesthesia! There are some absolutely fascinating case studies that Jenessa covers in this episode, and we theorize how in the world synesthesia happens. The brain is impossible. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

Dr. Janessa Seymour is back! This time she teaches us all about synesthesia. How does it work? How many people have it? Are they just faking it? How do we test for it? This episode features one of the most mind-blowing things I've ever heard on this show. I really enjoyed this one! 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

Everyone's favorite dino guy Dr. Eric Jaffe returns! This time, he takes us through what happened when the dinosaurs died. How did it happen? What does the evidence show and how has our understanding of that changed over time? How in the world did anything survive? Also, what did other mass extinctions look like? All this and so much more! 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

What's your best option? Stop the moon and let it fall? Nuke the center of the planet? Create a mini black hole? Astrophysicist Dr. Bryan Gillis is here to help us destroy the entire planet. It might not be as easy as the movies make it seem... 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

In 2020, the United Kingdom's (NHS) commissioned an inquiry to provide recommendations for the healthcare of transgender adolescents. It was overseen by a pediatrician named Dr. Hillary Cass and was completed in April 2024. It became known as the Cass Review, and it has since been used to justify depriving a lot of people of the healthcare they badly need. But is it good science? Obviously not. Yale's Integrity Project gathered several actual experts in the field to conduct their own review of the review. The results are not pretty. They published an excellent report entitled "An Evidence-Based Critique of “The Cass Review” on Gender-affirming Care for Adolescent Gender Dysphoria." Three of these experts, Drs. Meredithe McNamara, Kellan Baker, and Ken C. Pang, were kind enough to join us to talk about their findings. It looks to me like the anti-trans side is winning this information war, so please share this far and wide to get the word out! 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

In this episode, Dr. Eric Jaffe walks us through the history of CRISPR, how it works, how it's being used currently, and how it could be applied in the future. How quickly will we be able to eradicate mosquitoes? I say let's just do it, but Dr. Jaffe has some concerns. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

Dr. Eric Jaffe is back! This time, he's going to teach us about CRISPR. But, in order to do that, he first needs to lay a foundation about genetics more broadly, and how complex it actually is. Why is it that mapping the human genome didn't instantly give us the ability to change whatever we want about ourselves? 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

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 454 and 455 together as one for convenience. The next post will just be for charge purposes. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

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 the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

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 something and want to be on the show? Apply here!

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 providers. Also, Lydia regales us with her personal IUD trauma.  Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!  

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 made that journey, and how she makes a difference in people's lives as a progressive prosecutor.  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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

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? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 from a great science communicator! Building a Dinosaur Is a project spearheaded by the Paleontologist Jack Horner. He has worked with the labs of numerous scientists including but not limited to: Hans Larsson, Dana Rashid and Mary Schweitzer. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic." We spoke about the book and about the state of our horrible Supreme Court. Steve will be appearing on Opening Arguments soon for a sequel to this conversation! 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 Reporting Right newsletter. Check it out! 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 Spaceman! 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 and kill a Great White Shark, and menopause in whales. You can upload photos and follow your favorite whales here: https://happywhale.com/home 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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. Boaler of misrepresenting research to serve her own agenda. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 turns a |0> or a |1> into a (|0> +|1>)÷2 - a qubit into a superposition of two states. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 this ended up being a two-parter! 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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? Could we teach aliens left and right? 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 meticulous detail on his Substack (linked below as well). Be sure to check it out and subscribe; supporting independent journalism is critical! The retconning of George Floyd Part 1 - Part 2 - Interim Update/Response to Coleman Hughes - Part 3 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 right and move towards something that is, on every metric, better than what we have now. 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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content

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 could have, and whether or not a vote can be a "message".   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 get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

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 to be on the show? Apply here! Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!