Serious Inquiries Only

Listeners had so many great voicemail messages this month, it demanded a second episode! Also I am a talker, so it could be that. Lots of a great discussion here, starting with a very appropriate callout of a mistake I made on a previous show. After that, I discuss the right wing attacks on Congresswoman Omar and the fact that we never have to listen to Republicans ever again. Then, I clarify some thoughts on the 2020 Democratic candidates thus far, and the difference between token representation, and fighting systemic bias in what kinds of candidates we value.

It's time for a listener voicemail episode! We've got some really good topics/questions/critiques, so much so that I had to split this into a couple episodes. Topics include changing minds on things like anti-vax and white fragility, and how to be an atheist critical of Islam white not contributing to problematic anti-Muslim bigotry, and voting rights! Here's a good article on what changes anti-vaxxers' minds.

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!