Serious Inquiries Only

Longtime friend of the show Jake Farr-Wharton is here to take us through the unpleasant story of Cardinal Pell. He is yet another Catholic priest in a long list who have been accused (and now found guilty) of serious sexual misconduct with minors. This story has a few wrinkles, though, as many high profile, powerful people supported Pell with character references. As it turns out, when Jake was in high school, he was asked to be a character witness for his priest, who was a very valued friend and mentor. Jake takes us through all this and we talk about the ethics involved.

After a horrendous, disgusting, racist massacre in New Zealand, the killer left a trollish manifesto. While it's clear some amount of it is pure sh*tposting, there is also a reason he targeted who he did. The internet has been on fire with who to blame, who not to blame, and as usual I've got some thoughts.

... like good old fashioned pedophilia? I've some miscellany and voicemails! The theme of today's show is centered around people (usually white men) complaining about what they are losing when standards change. For example, us evil progressives have taken away this immensely popular picture of a sexual assault. And, for some reason, Eric Weinstein thinks the Simpsons taking down their Michael Jackson episode is bad? I also talk about lowering the voting age (and raising it.)

It's been a year since Stephon Clark was gunned down in his grandmother's backyard while holding a cell phone. Last weekend it was announced that the two officers would face no charges. I talk about the news, why it's outrageous, and why something needs to change.

If you've been an atheist any time in the last 15 years, it's highly likely you've enjoyed the contributions of Russell Glasser on The Atheist Experience. Over the years, he's answered countless calls from theists and atheists of all kinds. But in the last year or so, he has taken a firm step back from atheism and hasn't appeared on TAE. He's agreed to come on to talk about why, and about many related issues.

Jussie Smollett told the world he was the victim of a hate crime. What happened next, according to the right, is a bunch of insectional libtards believed his obviously false story because of the oppression olympics, or something. For example, check out this SJW's reaction to the news. In the midst of my research on this story, Smollett has been officially charged with making a false statement. It was initially reported that a grand jury indicted him so that's what I said in the episode, but that was corrected to say he was charged by the prosecutor. There is a lot to talk about regarding the reaction to this. I want to argue that the message to believe victims is perfectly compatible with believing someone like Dr. Ford and not believing Smollett.

After a brief wade into the (I think mistaken) uproar over tax refunds not being as high as last year, I go on to tackle the story of an old white actor telling about the time he was George Zimmerman and then expecting it to be totally cool. And furthermore, how on Earth could ANYONE not accept his semi-pology? We must be living in the Salem Witch Trials era! In all seriousness though, I want to explore the issue and where I think people are going right, wrong, and possibly missing good points. I reference the excellent book White Fragility by Robin DeAngelo, which I highly recommend. Here is the Vox article I mention. Here's Trevor Noah's take. Liam Neeson's second interview.

Returning to the show is everyone's favorite scholar of global catastrophic risks, Phil Torres! In the first half of the show, we discuss how global risk has changed and evolved in the years since Trump was elected. I also ask Phil if climate change has gotten so dire that it overshadows other existential risks. In the second half, we discuss the recent article Phil wrote for Salon, in which he was very critical of some of Steven Pinker's scholarship in his book Enlightenment Now. Pinker responded in a roundabout way on Jerry Coyne's blog. I also highly recommend you check out this thread by Mangy Jay on Twitter in which she breaks down some other problems with Pinker's book. Check out Phil's latest book!

Today's show starts with an observation about how we talk about the primary candidates and how we tell the history of 2016. Then I've got lots of voicemail! Topics include: Trump being a Russian mole, technology improving quality of life while taking jobs from us, a few on whether Kristi and I unfairly lumped Sam Harris in with Jordan Peterson and Dave Rubin in our episode on Louis CK, further insight into the IRB process, and finally how exactly do we define the term 'racism'? Lots of great stuff, thank you so much for the messages and keep them coming for next month!

Lots of people have asked me for an episode about this, and it turns out I was working on one anyway! Happy coincidence. Lots and lots to talk about here, and since it's me, I have to start by getting all meta on you. Very curious to hear the response on this one, make sure to leave a voicemail for next week's show!

There has been another chapter in the ongoing saga of classical liberal types seeking to prove that entire fields of academia are bogus. They allegedly do so by publishing a handful of fake studies and papers in a few different academic journals, mostly in the field of gender studies. Due to the fact that these hoaxes have utilized fake data, wasted tons of innocent people's time, and possibly constituted human experimentation, Peter Boghossian has come under a totally reasonable investigation. This hasn't stopped the usual IDW types from reacting as though Boghossian is awaiting public execution. Eli, who broke down the original hoax expertly in SIO44, is back to provide an informed and hilarious breakdown of the whole thing! Twitter thread on datasets; letter from PSU faculty; excellent Slate article. Here are Eli's notes and links that I am publishing in a clear violation of his copyright: Singal article; hey wait don’t I remember that Jesse Signal Guy from somewhere; Turning points USA is terrifying; here’s their professor watchlist; Go down the rabbit hole of highly funded crazy; They are coming for Peter’s Vital Fluids Video Source; Digilante; hey speaking of crazy shit boghossian has said; Hey look more people with brains

Andrew Torrez, of the hit legal pod Opening Arguments, was kind enough to hop onto the ol' SIO to break down the recent Michigan FGM law court decision. This is one of those times the law wasn't covered very well by some media outlets. It's great to have a genius lawyer we can trust to tell us what is actually going on! Along the way we get to learn about plenary powers, the commerce clause, and all kinds of other legal goodies! Here's the NYT coverage (which was more or less correct, but Andrew still gives us way more context!) Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Recently, some audio leaked of a new Louis CK standup set and.... it wasn't good. It was so bad it led to Dennis Miller trending on Twitter. Lazy, unfunny, punching down using anti-trans punchlines that are at least a decade old. I wanted to do some solo commentary on this and so many of the thoughts I'm having and bad arguments and borderline harassment on Twitter I've seen over this, but then I remembered that Kristi also used to be a huge Louis CK fan and she was kind enough to join me! Kind of using each other as sounding boards, we share our thoughts and ideas and talk about the collateral damage to fans that can happen in the wake of #metoo. Maybe Louis wasn't your thing necessarily, but I think these same ideas and principles might be helpful when/if your fave goes down in a Ronan Farrow article or something. Later on, Kristi gives us a bit of an update on Carl and how Sam Harris and Jordan B. Peterson are shutting off their Patreon accounts in protest of Carl not being able to use the n-word however he wants (yeah, really....) Here's the full video of the standup. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Got a great voicemail episode for you fine folks! There were a lot of really excellent calls this month. Please keep them coming for next month! This week's topics include: doing business with conservatives, robots taking all the jobs, FGM laws in the US, the QED mental health panel, meditation, and how I stopped being a conservative! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Bryce Blankenagel is an expert on all things Mormon, and he brings history to life in brilliant narrative form. He joins us today to bring to our attention a somewhat frightening strain of fundamentalist Mormonism he has observed, which is making its way online in social media hashtag form. And be sure to check out Bryce's work over on The Naked Mormonism Podcast, The Glass Box Podcast, and My Book of Mormon! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

The panel with Kristi Winters and Chantelle Boduel continues! Since our recording, BuzzFeed has put out an excellent article with another accuser and also some more info on the first few. I highly recommend reading it. If you haven't heard part 1 of our discussion, definitely listen to that first! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

I'm joined by Chantelle Boduel and Kristi Winters as the nation's favorite astrophysicist and host of the reboot of Cosmos, Neil deGrasse Tyson, has been accused of sexual harassment by (at the time of recording) 3 women (and 1 more shortly after recording, see here.) The oldest accusation is of a horrifying date rape in college, the other two involve a woman who says he touched her inappropriately and an assistant who has an alarming story of Tyson attempting to seduce her. We go over the facts, Tyson's response, and discuss how we feel about the accusations and work our way through some deeper #metoo issues. HuffPo article on deeper history of 1st accuser; Tyson's statement; Patheos article Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

And some listener email. Some topics: climate change is going to kill us; simply being 'not a Republican' is more than enough; comparing Obama and Trump on the border; Avenatti the liberal version of Trump; listener not voting for Democrats because they are too cozy with Islam; and mansplaining mansplaining mansplaining! Tear gas fact check; Trump's border crisis Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Johannes Breuer is the co-author of a study which looked into the relationship between sexist attitudes and video game playing. To be as precise as possible and not misrepresent it, here is what they found in their words: “We found that the amount of overall video game use at time 1 was not predictive of sexist attitudes/beliefs about gender roles at time 2 (i.e., 2 years later) and that (sexist) beliefs about gender roles at time 1 were equally not predictive of video game use at time 2 (for sample of German players aged 14 and older)." So that's the bland tl;dr version, but we talk through the study, methodology, and what the implications are. We also talk a lot about what this study does NOT show, which is equally important and is easy to lose track of sometimes. Here are the links to the book chapters where Johannes's work is featured, and here's a good writeup on the original study. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Really proud to have been a small part of this excellent panel at QED! The discussion centers around mental health challenges, de-stigmatization, communication, and which treatments actually work. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

The moment we waited 2 years for finally happened. I talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

October was a great month for my voice inbox! I was very happy about that until I realized it's probably because the news was so bad... But still, some amazing calls this month, topics ranging from #metoo stories probably Kavanaugh inspired, to Elizabeth Warren, to voter suppression, and third parties. Thank you so much and keep the calls coming! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

For those who weren't able to make it to the incredible, bar-setting skeptic conference that is QED in Manchester, here is the audio from my first ever live SIO I did there! Joining me was Emma McClure, a solicitor who, among many other things, has represented very serious criminals in parole hearings. We talk about what prison should be for, what it actually is for, and lots of ways the justice system is really not doing the job it should be. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

And also it's the end of the world as we know it, in like 2040, due to climate change. Shouldn't that mean we maybe vote democrat to have a chance for our kids to not die in the climate wars? After that I do an in-depth analysis of the Elizabeth Warren situation, from the beginning. Many people, including some Native American groups, have been very critical of her DNA test promotion. I think they've been very unfair and in fact completely ignored most of what she said. Critiques that I referenced are linked below. Vox Article; Atlantic Article by Native Geneticist; Cherokee Nation Response; Warren Video; Politifact on the DNA Test; Politifact on Warren Native History Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

I had the pleasure of interviewing Mandisa Thomas, the president and founder of Black Nonbelievers! Mandisa talks about her fascinating background and the work she's doing, and then we go on to talk about the black experience, some of the history involved, and how it is unique within atheism. We talk about what organizations might do to better serve a diverse community. For all the challenges we've faced as a country lately, Mandisa does have some optimism about the future and talks about why. Make sure to check out her Patreon here! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

And all I've got for you this week is rage. Warning: this is an explicit podcast and involves yelling. I break down the horrible news from this week, from a sexual predator being confirmed to the Supreme Court and Trump mocking his victim, to the Trump crime family committing fraud and avoid hundreds of millions in taxes. And NONE of this has any consequences. Because we didn't vote. Democrats didn't excite us. The Incredible NYT Investigation Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected] Download Here

Let's face it. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am. I watched the entire Kavanaugh hearing and I've got thoughts. And rants. And raves. I hope it helps. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

In this episode, I walk through all the evidence, testimony, and witnesses we have for the accusations against Brett Kavanaugh. I believe that after applying a skeptical lense, any rational person would have to conclude that Christine Blasey Ford is almost certainly telling us the truth about what happened. I also walk through a few of the most egregious examples of patriarchy bull sh*t responses to the accusations. Some important sources: Original WaPo Story; NYT Reporting on Accusations; Brilliant Slate Piece by Lili Loofbourow; Franklin Graham Wins Worst Person; Mark Judge is Horrible; Republicans Not Making Judge Testify; Kavanaugh is a Liar; Kavanaugh is a Worse Liar; Christine Ford Forced to Move; Friend Corroborates Story? Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

What does a parking lot layout tell you about food safety? Why are sprouts so damn unhygienic? And more seriously, who should shoulder the burden for making our food more sustainable? Dr. Sarah Taber gives us her expertise on these questions and many more! (teaser alert: she also might have a pretty controversial view on farmers markets...) Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Joining me today is physician and president of Long Island Atheists, Dr. Richard Schloss! We talk about his background, the secular group he leads, and then go on to talk about healthcare policy in the US. Dr. Schloss takes us through some history on healthcare and answers basics like what are the differences between Medicare for All and Single Payer, etc. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

First I've got some monologuing to do on John McCain and speaking ill of the dead, and Louis CK apparently deciding he can just come back now. After recording this, I saw a great article by Roxane Gay that says a lot of what I said but also more and better, so check this out as well. After that, it's listener voicemail time! Got a lot of passionate reaction to my dire political predictions about 2022 and beyond. Here are some links for points I made: Obama's Income as President; Larry Summers Withdraws from Fed Job; Awesome 538 Trump Rating Tool Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Zerin Firoze set me up with this interview with Ryan Witmer, an immigration attorney who has worked on asylum claims, and all kinds of other immigration cases. He joins us to give an insider's perspective on US immigration policy, the law, asylum system, and where we're really shooting ourselves in the foot. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Today's episode starts off with a bit of monologuing. I heard what I think are some bad arguments around the recent election results, so I wanted to put some thoughts out there. After that, I have a brief interview with Steve Hill! Steve will be the emcee of California Freethought Day this year. He is a comedian, atheist, satanist, activist, and more! We talk about his background, his run for the CA state senate, why he's boycotting the NFL, and about a tragedy that struck his family this year. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Dr. Elizabeth Picciuto wrote an article on Trump's ethics and how his ethical code centers around basically one value: loyalty to him. We discuss the article, different ethical systems, and the limits and drawbacks of loyalty as a virtue. After that, we talk about a tweet of hers which went massively viral. In it, she lamented that the state of our politics has a lot to do with the decline in the Humanities. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

I've been researching recent US political and election history, and I had some realizations that made me incredibly depressed about the future. I'm making predictions about 2018, 2020, and 2022 that you can hold me to. I really hope I'll be wrong. After that I've got some fantastic listener email and voicemail! Topics include being sad about #metoo, being hopeful about #metoo, how to reconcile good science with bad peer reviewed papers, and more! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Last week's episode featured what I thought was a rational and philosophically consistent approach that educated, but non-expert, skeptics took toward a peer-reviewed article in a top journal making claims of evidence for ESP related phenomena. In today's episode though, we get a chance to hear from an expert in the field of Experimental Psychology who took an in-depth look at some of the studies mentioned in the original review paper. Here's the link again if you'd like to go back and read it. Dr. Lindsey Osterman also teaches classes on appropriate research methods, so she is absolutely perfect to help teach us where this review paper went wrong! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

A new meta-study was recently published in the American Psychologist, the major journal of the American Psychological Association, which shows statistically significant results regarding ESP-like stuff. While this seems completely fantastical and against everything materialists like me tend to believe in, it has passed peer review in a major journal. So what are skeptics like us to make of this? To help us sort out these questions, I've got philosopher Aaron Rabi from ETV and Philosophers in Space, and Aaron's dad Jessie Rabinowitz, who happens to have expertise in the field of psychology. We also discuss the SGU reaction to the paper, which was incredibly dismissive. Here's an article on Ganzfeld studies that Aaron mentions. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

On the show this week is another incredible person with a compelling story to tell. Zerin Firoze is an ex-Muslim atheist, currently residing in the US, but on a student Visa which may not last for much longer. She has applied for asylum but given the horrendous nature of our asylum process, she hasn't yet gotten a meeting or anything. Being an atheist in her home country has literally meant abuse and death for others. Listen as Zerin tells her story and puts a real voice behind all kinds of reasons why Trump and Republican policy hurts people. I normally leave this spot to promote my support methods, but this week let's give Zerin some love at https://www.patreon.com/ZerinFiroze Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! The last week in each month will feature listen voicemail from that month! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

I'm so pleased to bring you an interview with Callie Wright, co-host (along with Ari Stillman!) of the Gaytheist Manifesto! Callie speaks about social justice issues with clarity and humanity and is incredible at bringing understanding and learning to those who might not otherwise find it. In that spirit, she's here to take on the recent controversy over Scarlett Johansson playing a transgender role in an upcoming movie. (If you'd like to get a quick introduction to how badly people can misunderstand the issue, check out this aborted column from Business Insider.) After that, we talk about the Netflix Comedy Special from Hannah Gadsby called "Nanette." I absolutely recommend you watch the special before the second half of the show, because - oddly enough - there are spoilers. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

First up in this episode are some factual corrections I need to make regarding episode 145, as well as an apology to Aimee for neglecting to honor a request she made. After that, it's a rousing edition of SIO voicemail! We talk socialism, putting the liberal agenda into pithy catchphrases, mandatory voting, and a whole lot about metoo! Lots of discussion on BDSM and the fact that the Canadian Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that you can't consent to sexual activity while unconscious, even if you want to ahead of time.. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

It's part 2 with Aimee Terese! Aimee offers what she views as legitimate leftist critique of the #metoo moment. She also shares her own story. We have what I hope is a healthy, but rigorous debate about areas where the movement has gone too far, and affirmative consent vs. the previous paradigm. I'm very curious to get feedback on this one! Next episode will be voicemail, so that makes it an extra good time to chime in with a phone call! Hillary Facebook Explanation; Vice Article on BDSM and Consent Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

My guest this week is Aimee Terese, co-host of the Dead Pundits podcast. She is a self-described socialist, which allows us to shift the SI-Overton Window a bit to the left, for once. We talk about what socialism means to her, how liberals and socialists can and should work together, and more! Aimee has a background in philosophy and is currently studying law with an emphasis on critical legal theory. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

By popular request, I'm joined by Kevin, who goes by The One Janitor or T1J on YouTube, recently put out a brilliant critique of Sam Harris. I found it to be keenly critical while still being fair. We talk about that, YouTube in general, and delve into his political views as well. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

It's a coven of Andrews! We had so much to talk about regarding the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision handed down by the Supreme Court recently, that we had to do some overflow from Opening Arguments! These two expert Andrews are here to break it down for us, including how many different ways Dave Rubin is wrong about this. (It's a lot). Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Am I kidding? I don't know, maybe I am, maybe I'm not. You'll have to listen and find out! With news that Bernie is running in 2020, I've got some reaction to the reaction, beginning with a sort of analogy or allegory for 2016 you might find interesting. After that, it's a long overdue voicemail segment! I plan on doing these at the end of each month, so call in! Then, Jen Keane joins us for an update on #Repealthe8th in Ireland! And it's a rare bit of good news! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

Time Rymel grew up under the incredibly dogmatic and restrictive religion of Pentecostalism. At a young age, Tim realized he just wasn't attracted to women like he was "supposed" to be. But, his intense belief system didn't allow for that sort of thing, so Tim felt compelled to pursue gay conversion therapy. After he was "cured," he married a woman and became a leader in "ex-gay" ministry. Eventually, though, things began to unravel... Check out Tim's website, and also his Facebook group. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

The funniest guy I know is here to talk about... meditation? Turns out Eli has a wealth of knowledge on the practice, and has become something of an evangelist for it. Eli had a pretty heartbreaking revelation after a difficult time, and it led him to really want to get better. Meditation has really made a difference for him and he (and science) thinks it can make a difference for you, too! That sounds like a sales pitch but this is entirely free and Eli in no way makes any money off of it. Also come see me in New Orleans on the 19th! It's free, come visit and hear my talk! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected]

***For 30 dollars off your first week of HelloFresh, visit hellofresh.com/seriouspod30 and enter seriouspod30.*** BJ Mendelson has a number of fascinating stories to tell us today! He went viral in 1998, long before it was called that. He amassed 1 million Twitter followers in kind of a weird way... He's privy to some of the darker stories behind Silicon Valley startups... And, he's got a lot to teach us about internet privacy! It's a really fun and informative interview you won't want to miss! Also, I'm speaking to the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association on May 19th!! If you're anywhere near the area, please consider attending! You can find more info here. Direct Download

On the show this week is Evan Davids, author of the book Christianity No Longer Makes Sense and owner of a hilarious dog who can't catch food! (yeah, that dog!) Despite having written an anti-Christianity book, Evan doesn't consider himself an atheist! We talk about that and why he believes Christianity no longer makes any sense in today's world! Also, if you're a patron, make sure to catch the bonus episode I released on Nazi Pugs and Free Speech! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email [email protected] Direct Download