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Serious Inquiries Only

Serious Inquiries Only

828 episodes — Page 3 of 17

Ep 413SIO413: The Search for the Man-Hating Feminist Continues

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The elusive man-hating feminist avoided scientific detection in the previous episode, but the chase continues! The game is the foot! 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!

Dec 31, 202337 min

Ep 412SIO412: Do Feminists Hate Men?

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I decided to call an audible and give us a mini-break from the intense philosophy and physics stuff, and instead invite expert Lydia Smith on to break down an extensive set of studies into the question: do feminists hate men? This is one of those interesting questions where on one hand, I could imagine that attitudes toward men might certainly be different among those who self-identify as feminists vs those who don't. But on the other hand... the man-hating feminist is definitely a myth perpetuated by the right to try to discredit the movement... So what does the science say? 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!

Dec 30, 202347 min

Ep 411SIO411: Zeno, Pascal, and Sleeping Beauty All Walk Into a Bar...

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Do you like philosophical thought experiments and probability theory and have a structured settlement and want cash now? Have I got the podcast episode for you! Dr. Bryan Gillis takes us through some fun and fascinating philosophical quandaries related to the Simulation Hypothesis! 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!

Dec 29, 20231h 3m

Ep 410SIO410: Futurama and Simulation Theory

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Good news, everyone! Today we embark upon a bit of a miniseries! Dr. Bryan Gillis and I began with the idea to do a sort of Philosophers in Space-esque kind of thing where we talk about a Futurama episode and then discuss the science and philosophy behind it. But as we did so, and as Bryan did more and more research (including calculations of his own!) around the question "Do we live in a simulation?" what unfolded was hours of really fascinating deep dive into the issue! And so here is part 1, where we set up the arguments a bit, and talk about a great episode of Futurama. If you want to watch it before listening, it's s11e10 "All The Way Down." Hope you enjoy! 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!

Dec 28, 202351 min

Ep 409SIO409: Can You "Boost" Your Immune System?

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It's an Emergen-C episode with Dr. Rick Sullivan! With the holidays approaching, you may be wondering if there's a good way to boost your immune system and prevent getting sick. Well, there are many products that purport to do just that. Vitamins, Emergen-C, etc. Do they work? 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!

Dec 17, 202354 min

Ep 408SIO408: Dr. Steve Proper, On the House

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For Seriously Awful Movies 4, we reviewed S6E15 of House called Black Hole. We brought Dr. Steve Proper along because the episode deals with a very curious type of allergy... We brought my brother Sam Smith along because the episode... sucks. Lydia handles the play by play. I made a cut of this into a normal episode because, for one, it was very hilarious and you should definitely become a patron at Patreon.com/seriouspod. But secondly, Dr. Steve provided some actual medical knowledge for us that I didn't want the normie feed to miss out on! 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!

Dec 14, 202349 min

Ep 407SIO407: Entropy and Information

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It's another physicode with Dr. Bryan Gillis! Bryan heard the food episode recently and wanted to chime in with a physics perspective on why your brain needs energy. Sure, there are obvious biological reasons, but also, speaking more universally, there's a reason why computing information requires energy. It involves entropy! Come learn about it! 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!

Dec 11, 202347 min

Ep 406SIO406: How Science Made Food Too Addictive

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Dr. Dawn Fariello, a lecturer at Fordham University who helped develop their popular course The Ecology and Economics of Food Systems, joins the show today to walk us through cravings and how our body's response to sugar is being weaponized by, you guessed it, capitalism. Sources: Moss, Michael. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. Random House trade Paperbacks. 2014. https://mossbooks.us/ Lenoir M, Serre F, Cantin L, Ahmed SH (2007) Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. PLOS ONE 2(8): e698. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000698 Bijoch, Ł., Klos, J., Pawłowska, M. et al. Whole-brain tracking of cocaine and sugar rewards processing. Transl Psychiatry 13, 20 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02318-4 Samaha, AN. Sugar now or cocaine later?. Neuropsychopharmacol. 46, 271–272 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-020-00836-z 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!

Dec 1, 202343 min

Ep 405SIO405: Are we Really More Polarized Than Ever?

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Well..... Yes and no. Political science expert Joe Magestro joins us for a fascinating conversation! We catch up on a little bit of Wisconsin politics. The news is actually pretty decent lately! And then we talk about the concept of polarization. There are many different ways to look at it, including one you might not have considered that is perhaps the most important going forward! 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!

Nov 30, 202351 min

Ep 404SIO404: Are We Attracted To Our Mate's Immune System?

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As crazy as that sounds, it seems to be the case! How does that work? And also... how does the immune system work? And can someone please explain it using vampires and hot dogs as analogies? If those are for some reason questions you've ever had, then Dr. Rick Sullivan is your guy! 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!

Nov 28, 202351 min

Ep 403SIO403: At What Age Can You Talk To Kids about Race? Parents Wildly Overestimate

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Dr. Elizabeth Deitch returns to the show to take us through some science thingies! CRT bannings and other conservative nonsense got Beth interested in the question: when should we actually talk to kids about race? When will they understand it? When do they actually notice race? These questions brought her to two studies. These studies reveal some interesting things about how parents approach conversations on race. When do they think they should have them? And when do they actually have them? And there's a bit of a Thanksgiving tie-in as well! 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!

Nov 25, 202359 min

Ep 402SIO402: How Biden's Climate Legislation Is Making A Difference

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Today's expert takes us through some of the ways that Biden's underrated climate legislation is driving research and investment into clean energy, carbon capture, and 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!

Nov 21, 202341 min

Ep 401SIO401: Dr. Steve Proper on the Science of Food Allergies

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You may have heard our episode about our struggles with food labeling and Arlo's allergies. Well, so did Dr. Steve Proper, and he is an actual expert in the field! He teaches us about the medical science involved. What are allergies? What aren't they? How are they different from other seemingly similar phenomena? But even more interestingly, a somewhat recent study completely changed our understanding of how food allergies are caused! Dr. Steve takes us through it. 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!

Nov 17, 20231h 8m

Ep 400SIO400: Good Will Hunting, Bad Science Thingy

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Seriously Awful Movies 3, Good Will Hunting, was approximately 3 episodes worth of content. So, we thought it would be fun to put out some of that for everyone! Dr. Alan Smerbeck and returning SAMtacular guest Omar Najam join us as we explore the science (?) in Good Will Hunting. Is this how therapy actually works? Is Robin Williams even a therapist? Is this movie actually any good? Stormy also tells us about the actual disease Robin Williams died of, and how his case was a cautionary tale of why we shouldn't do armchair diagnosis. If you want to hear more of this SAM, head on over to patreon.com/seriouspod and pledge 2nd tier or above to snag access to these episodes, ad-free shows, and more! Coming up VERY SOON: You can catch Omar on the brand new Dungeons and Dragons series DesiQuest! Their first episode premieres 11/14! Omar's annual 13 Days 13 Shorts project just wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. You can still see all of the submissions from folks around the world - and maybe get inspired to participate next year! The Share Banned Books project is going strong! Huge kudos to Stormy (and you all!) for donating books and serving as librarians for your community's Little Library. Please check it out and contribute if you can! Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!

Nov 13, 202353 min

Ep 399SIO399: Andrew Wakefield's "Study" Was So Much Worse Than You Know

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Special Education teacher Kelly Burke joins us to debunk the classic Andrew Wakefield vaccine study, but there's probably a whole lot that you don't know about it because holy crap this thing was shockingly terrible. It's especially insane that it had such an impact on the anti-vax movement when it was literally a pile of garbage in every way imaginable. Come learn more about truly one of the worst science thingies to ever thing. 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!

Nov 8, 202356 min

Ep 398SIO398: Hot Women In Your Area

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We're borrowing this brilliant title from a panel at QED, and while we're at it, we're also borrowing one of the panelists, Nicola Throp, to cover all things Menopause - what it is, why we need to talk about it, and the barriers that women face in not just its treatment, but the recognition of what is happening to them and diagnosis from their providers. This is a significant life event that half of the world will experience, and women have historically kept it to themselves. It's well beyond the time to break this taboo. Some fantastic resources that Nicola shared: British Menopause Society; Menopause Support UK; The Menopause Charity; Black Menopause & Beyond Podcast (with Anita Powell); The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!

Nov 2, 202352 min

Ep 397SIO397: Why Is Flying Not Any Faster Than 60 Years Ago?

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It's a phun physics phepisode! Dr. Bryan Gillis is here to teach us about some of the interesting physics of air travel. Why is breaking the speed of sound so difficult? What's a sonic boom? How do flights make up time in the air? And probably some way more interesting stuff as well! Veritasium video on turbulent flow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zI9sG3pjVU Extra-Life charity link: https://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=517279 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!

Oct 31, 202355 min

Ep 396SIO396: "This Didn't Happen In A Vacuum"

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That's what the UN's top official Secretary General António Guterres said recently. Israel completely blew a fuse over that sentence, and demanded he resign or be removed. They canceled UN Visas. They canceled diplomatic meetings. They say his statement "justifies terrorism." But is he right? I've collected some elements of the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict you might not be aware of, and my contention is that this situation is far from a "vacuum." 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!

Oct 30, 202346 min

Ep 395SIO395: Are We Complicit In A Genocide?

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It's Israel's 9/11. Or as Biden says, it's like 15 9/11s. So I guess they get to do 15 Iraq Wars? This feels like an incredibly difficult time to do anything other than sympathize with the Israeli victims of the brutal, horrifying terror attack. But right now 7,000 Palestinians are dead, 19,000 are injured, and 1.2 million are displaced. When is enough enough? What exactly is justice? We need to speak up. Our (American) tax dollars are funding a genocide. 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!

Oct 28, 202357 min

Ep 394SIO394: New Law Makes Sesame 9th Allergen. Companies Are Now Adding Sesame to Foods To Get Around It

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Hey everyone, a big heads up. This episode is about an issue that is literally life or death for our son Arlo. This was not easy to talk about and things get emotional. I did my best to edit all that out but some of it is still pretty tough. (At least normies have auto-ads to break up the tension in the worst possible way though!) A new law went into effect this year adding sesame as the 9th allergen with all the requirements that go with that. Arlo has a pretty bad sesame allergy. So... great, right? Yeah except due to capitalism, companies are literally adding sesame to everything to get around the law. It seems impossibly cruel and stupid, but it's true. Arlo has already been affected twice by this. We tell a bit of our family story around this, and then Lydia takes us through some of the public policy history. We also stop by Joe Manchin's daughter making millions from ripping us off on Epipens. (no, really.) Be sure to stay for the end, if you can, to hear our interview with incredibly cute and silly expert Arlo Smith. 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!

Oct 19, 202356 min

Ep 393SIO393: Dr. Alan Smerbeck on Trigger Warnings

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Stormy's back! Dr. Smerbeck joins us today to discuss the current research around trigger warnings. Are they a no-brainer or are there downsides? If there are, are we going anti-woke and telling triggered snowflakes they need to be able to handle different ideas? Or is that still dumb? But first we start off with a fantastic update from the Little Library Project that Stormy has been spearheading. Be sure to check out sharebannedbooks.com to donate books for this initiative! A big shout out and thank you to Bookishly for providing READ BANNED BOOKS bookmarks to include in each book. And, if you live in an area where books are at risk or have already been banned, censored, or challenged, please consider signing up to deliver gifted books to a Little Library near you! 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!

Oct 17, 20231h 3m

Ep 392SIO392: How Taxes on Foods Affect Health and Climate

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Dr. Wisdom Dogbe, an agricultural economist out of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, joins me to discuss a recent study he led investigating consumer choice with regard to taxing foods that are categorized as high fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) in the UK. Does it change behavior? How much? And what are the consequences of that? It's a really fascinating story of the trade-offs involved in public policy. 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!

Oct 12, 202345 min

Ep 391SIO391: Astrophysicist Wet Blankets All The Alien Talk

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Dr. Bryan Gillis is here to tell us why it just isn't aliens. Sorry. BUT WHAT IF IT WERE. That question too. This one is a super fun and educational deep dive on space, space travel, the Drake Equation, and more! I also get Bryan's best guess for how aliens ever COULD visit. 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!

Oct 9, 20231h 14m

Ep 390SIO390: So Wait, Are There Aliens? What Were Those Hearings

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So what's the deal with all this? UFOs or now UAPs... government programs... crash retrieval... basically... what the hell? Also werewolves. Hot correspondent and now FULL TIME PODCASTER Lydia Smith is here with the skinny. It actually ties back to some of our other work in an unexpected way... THEN In part 2, astrophysicist Dr. Bryan Gillis will science the heck out of about why it isn't aliens! We've also got some really cool announcements at the end of the show! 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!

Oct 9, 202347 min

Ep 389SIO389: “Wikipedia Is the Most Accurate Form of Information Ever Created”

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So says my esteemed guest, Dr. Amy Bruckman! Is she right? I won't be coy, I tend to think she is. But what a fascinating statement! And her thesis makes for an equally fascinating book - Wikipedia: The Most Reliable Source on the Internet? So let's dig in! 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!

Sep 27, 202338 min

Ep 388SIO388: Get Psyched! More Dr. Decisis QnA

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We've got even more great answers to questions in part 2! Many are about therapy. How do you know when you need it? How do you make sure you're getting good therapy? Should you change therapists? And more! One more reminder about Stormy's Woke Little Library Project. If you are able to contribute to these efforts, you can purchase banned books through the following Amazon wishlist accounts, where three incredible people will be ensuring their communities have access to topics that are being targeted and censored. http://tiny.cc/kbannedbooks http://tiny.cc/lbannedbooks http://tiny.cc/sbannedbooks 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!

Sep 21, 202351 min

Ep 387SIO387: Chemical Imbalance, Personality Tests, Double Empathy Problem, and More! It's a Psych QnA!

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It was such a great turnout of questions for our first ever Q&A with Dr. Smerbeck that we ended up going double! This first part touches on the misnomer of "chemical imbalance" with regard to depression, personality tests, and Alan's favorite dinosaur, among other things. Be sure to check out Part 2 later this week! Dr. Smerbeck also shares an update on the Woke Little Library Project, and if you are able to contribute to these efforts, you can purchase banned books through the following Amazon wishlist accounts, where three incredible people will be ensuring their communities have access to topics that are being targeted and censored. http://tiny.cc/kbannedbooks http://tiny.cc/lbannedbooks http://tiny.cc/sbannedbooks 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!

Sep 18, 202351 min

Ep 386SIO386: Actually, Opposites Very Much Do NOT Attract

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It's another fun science thingy! Today's guest is Tanya Horwitz, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute for Behavioral Genetics with University of Colorado at Boulder. She is one of the lead authors on a new meta-analysis of studies including millions of couples over more than a century. In the vast majority of traits, sames(?) attract. There are a few exceptions that are interesting to talk about and we go through those as well. This one is fun and relatable, and even if the top-line conclusion is pretty predictable, the data is very interesting and the discussion was great! 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!

Sep 14, 202350 min

Ep 385SIO385: What Exactly Is A Psychological Diagnosis?

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And perhaps more importantly, what ISN'T it? Lots of people are diagnosing themselves and others via social media these days, and you're never going to believe this, but they're not always doing it right. After far too long, we welcome back Dr. Alan Smerbeck to the show to discuss what exactly is a diagnosis in mental health and whether or not we give them too much weight. It's science, it's philosophy, it's a little personal too - you don't want to miss it! Could be a product of long COVID or Stormy is just the best, but he's dialed freedom up a notch in Little Library advocacy - if you're up for it, please visit this link to submit your information and Dr. Smerbeck will set up an Amazon Wishlist just for you to help supply your neighborhood with "woke" books. bit.ly/wokebooks ALSO, if you have any questions for Stormy, drop them here! We're thinking of maybe doing a psych QnA! 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!

Sep 11, 202356 min

Ep 384SIO384: Even More Askings of Astrophysicist Bryan!

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It's part 2 of astrophysicist Dr. Bryan Gillis answering all your amazing questions! Time to learn even MORE about the universe! So much universe knowledge is now yours! 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!

Sep 7, 202348 min

Ep 383SIO383: Ask An Astrophysicist Anything!

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I thought it would be cool to have patrons pose whatever questions they wanted to our illustrious astrophysicist Dr. Bryan Gillis. Well, they must have agreed because they came through with some great ones! We've got a two-parter this week, as we learn a bunch of cool new space stuff! 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!

Sep 5, 202355 min

Ep 382SIO382: Being Reasonable with Michael Marshall

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You've heard me reference Be Reasonable about a billion times lately. Well, that's because it's truly a fantastic show! On it, Marsh talks to people with extremely weird and terrible beliefs, but in a respectful and kind manner. And now that I've finished binging every episode, I wanted to have Marsh on for a discussion! We talk about platforming and de-platforming, arguing vs discussing, which beliefs are beyond the pale, and the ONE time that Marsh genuinely got angry on the show. 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!

Sep 1, 20231h 10m

Ep 381SIO381: The Bible Is Not Monotheistic

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Like, at all. Now that might sound like me, an atheist, trying to bash the bible and point out the obviously flawed nature of it, but no, this is like, a respectable scholarly take on it. Today I'm joined by the two Dans of Data over Dogma! It's a cool new bible podcast that features an actual scholar. And not an atheist one, either! We talk about the good book and some things about it you really might not have ever heard! 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!

Aug 28, 202357 min

Ep 380SIO380: Does Which College You Go To Really Matter? (Part 2)

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This is part 2! Make sure you listened to part 1! Dr. Elizabeth has a PhD in Organizational Psychology. She did a massive dive into the research on college selection and whether or not it makes a difference in outcomes. In part 2, we get to more recent studies and studies that looked at slightly different questions around this. 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!

Aug 24, 202348 min

Ep 379SIO379: Does Which College You Go To Really Matter?

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This episode, like a few before it, was inspired by a Dear Old Dads! A while back, Tom dropped the bombshell over there that which college you go to really doesn't matter much. Dr. Elizabeth Deitch happens to be a listener of both shows and has a PhD in Organizational Psychology, and was very curious to see if this was an accurate representation of the available data. So, she underwent a massive deep dive! So, listen in and find out what the science says! This was such a massive research undertaking that Beth actually has two episodes worth of goodness for us. Listen to part 2 on Patreon 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!

Aug 21, 202357 min

Ep 378SIO378: A Not Conspiracy Theory About Conspiracy Theories

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Psychology professor Dr. Ashley Scolaro is back! This time she's giving us a primer on the psychological theories about conspiracy theories. I think this will be the beginning of a series on this, since it might be the most important issue of our time. A whole lot of people right now believe a whole lot of really stupid things that are disconnected from reality. So, let's try to understand why, and to start the process of figuring out how to deprogram people. Should be super easy, simple, done in like 10 minutes. 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!

Aug 17, 20231h 11m

Ep 377SIO377: Did Scientists Really Invent A Room Temperature Superconductor?

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Also what the hell is that? What would that mean for society? Is it even physically possible? Or is this all some sort of hoax? We've got Quantum Anne back for a third time to explain all this stuff to us and 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!

Aug 15, 20231h 1m

Ep 376SIO376: What Portal Teaches Us About the Physics of Our Universe

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Astrophysicist Dr. Bryan Gillis is back! It's another really fun one as Bryan teaches us some phascinating physics by way of the Portal video game universe. Why do we have conservation of momentum? Energy? But wait do we REALLY have conservation of energy? What if that was just made up by physicists to sell more physics? 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!

Aug 10, 20231h 3m

Ep 375SIO375: Why Are Whales Attacking Rich People Boats?

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My guest today is Dr. Heidi Pearson! She's a marine biologist and someone who had no idea I was going to ask about when whales attack rich people boats. But she was more than ready for the question! Her paper on whales and the carbon cycle caught our eye here, and the interview was definitely more about that but let's face it, we all want to know about the boat attacks first and foremost. But after that, we talk about animal intelligence, evolution, climate change, and so much more! Dr. Pearson was a delight, don't miss this interview! 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!

Aug 8, 20231h 1m

SAM1: Armageddon (First Half for Everyone)

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Hey folks, if you're not a 2nd Tier Patron or above, you should fix that, but if you can't for some reason, I wanted to make sure you can still enjoy the fun of Seriously Awful Movies 1: Armageddon! It's so, so bad. And don't worry, this isn't some stingy 4 minute preview, you're getting an entire hour! It's so much fun and stands on its own with a bunch of fun jokes and science, even if you can't afford to jump on the 2nd Tier Patron list for the rest of it. I truly hope you enjoy! Thank you for listening! 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, and 2nd Tier and above gets Seriously Awful Movies!

Aug 3, 202359 min

Ep 374SIO374: Maybe Swearing Around Your Kids Is Fine?

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Today's guest is Dr. Ashley Scolaro! She is a cognitive neuroscientist who teaches psychology and whose research includes taboo language, conspiracy theory belief, and memory and decision making. And she is here to tell why maybe it's totally fine to swear around your damn hell ass kids! F yeah! But also we delve into a lot of brain stuff too that's super fascinating regardless of the parenting angle. 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!

Jul 31, 202355 min

Ep 373SIO373: Headline Claims Neutron Star 'Defies Laws of Physics.' What Does Astrophysicist Bryan Think?

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I recently came across a headline that read: "NASA Confirms That Cosmic Object Is so Bright That It Defies Laws of Physics. It's definitely not an optical illusion." So... what does Dr. Bryan Gillis think? We have a really fun time on this one crafting the headline into something a bit more... accurate. And Bryan teaches us some really cool space stuff along the way! The article: https://futurism.com/nasa-confirms-object-so-bright-defies-physics The original paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ac8d67#apjac8d67s2 Check out Bryan's YouTube Channel! Bridge Portal Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8927tjnHt4 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!

Jul 29, 20231h 12m

Ep 372SIO372: Quantum Entanglement In The Real World

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It's another quantum SIO! Hopefully you caught Ann's last appearance when we discussed quantum computing. This time we're going more basic! Quantum entanglement, non-locality, Schrödinger's Cat... all that good stuff. But, with a bit of a twist. Ann tells us about how she actually accomplishes this stuff in the real world, and it's so much... messier than you would think. It's fascinating! 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!

Jul 24, 20231h 6m

Ep 371SIO371: When Christian Nationalists Crash Your School Board Meetings

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It's part 2 with Adrienne Martin! Her story just does not quit! We haven't even gotten to her viral video moment, and on the way there she tells us about a Christian Karen who is a main force behind the attempted book bans, and her gay son she disowned who fought back. 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!

Jul 20, 202342 min

Ep 370SIO370: Adrienne Martin - Suburban Mom Hairstylist Turned Superstar Activist

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"The speakers speaking about what great Christians they are? Great. Go tell your pastor. Our schools are not your church.” If you happen to recognize those words, that means you've seen the viral video in which Adrienne Martin fought back against moral panicking conservatives at a Texas school board meeting. But how did she get here? There's so much to it, and it makes for a really fascinating and inspiring story. Listen to how this, in her words, "typical suburban mom" went from hairdresser to superstar activist! And also still a hairdresser. It's not like grassroots activism is super lucrative or something... 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!

Jul 17, 202344 min

Ep 369SIO369: Stress Increases Alzheimer's Risk in Women... But Not Men?

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Today's guest is Hannah Edwards, a neuroscience grad student at Washington University in St. Louis, and part of the Cirrito Lab, which has released a new study on Alzheimer's and stress in mice. Stress causes the levels of Alzheimer's proteins to rise in females' brains but not males' brains. This difference may shed some light on the greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease that women have. Hannah will take us through the study and also teach us a bit of the basics on Alzheimer's along the way! 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!

Jul 13, 202337 min

Ep 368SIO368: The Euclid Space Telescope Just Launched! What Will It Teach Us and How?

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Don't worry, Euclid hasn't been canceled or anything this is JUST about the science! Dr. Bryan Gillis joins us to talk about the fascinating science behind the Euclid Space Telescope! How does it work? What data are we looking to get? How will it be interpreted? Is the universe infinite? Are there aliens? WAIT those last two were part of the conversation available for patrons only! That's right, this episode has an extendo version for patrons! And it contains the most interesting stuff imaginable, not to overpromise or anything. So make sure to pledge at the link below! 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!

Jul 10, 20231h 3m

Ep 367SIO367: Science Says Slurs Are Bad, No Matter the Context

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Maybe this sounds like a "no duh" but it's not neceessarily so straightforward. There are plenty of people who believe that not saying certain words gives them more power and we ought not to be afraid of them. Specifically, when the context is informational and not at all meant to be offensive. Dr. Alan Smerbeck is here to present the science of slurs and bad words and the effects they can have on us. Plus, there's plenty of interesting stuff along the way! The website Stormy recommended at the end was https://bethematch.org/. I'm thinking I'll sign up too! 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!

Jul 6, 202355 min

Ep 366SIO366: Learning Styles Are BS?!

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Oh come on, ANOTHER thing we thought we all knew was true isn't? That's what today's expert, Madalyn Wilson-Fetrow, says! They are a PhD student in learning sciences at the University of New Mexico and they are here to explain what the science actually says! But it's not only a debunk, Madalyn also has some very useful info for us on how to ACTUALLY learn things more effectively! You don't want to miss it! (also I said this was 367 but I got mixed up from all the WTWing. It's 366.) 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!

Jul 3, 20231h 5m

WTW2 part 2

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Now here's the second half of the monster part 2 of WTW2! This one's a beast so I'm breaking it in two here, but you can get it all at once over at the Where There's Woke patreon or main feed! Reminder, once we get to July the podcasts will fully go to their separate corners and we'll be on a regular schedule for both shows independently!

Jun 29, 202354 min