Serious Inquiries Only

What in the hell is the atheism world coming to when atheist horse-person Sam Harris would agree with a religious conservative on a matter of Church-State Separation over the Freedom from Religion Foundation? I talk about the details of this strange and depressing convergence, as well as some of the other broader implications of the Eric Weinstein, Ben Shapiro, Sam Harris conversation, and Weinstein's so-called Intellectual Dark Web. Sources: Harris Podcast; FFRF View on Masterpiece Cake Case; Ben Shapiro Lying About the Case; Eric Weinstein Tinfoil Hat Tweet; Contra Video Taken Down; German Law. 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 thomas@seriouspod.com

Back for another great conversation is Alix Jules! This was originally going to be a follow up commentary but in speaking with Alix, it became clear that having him on would make for a much better episode! We discuss a Coates critique Twitter thread that got a lot of traction with the anti-feminist, anti-BLM factions but that I find quite off-base. 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 thomas@seriouspod.com

... and another great round of your voicemails! A website called thewrap.com unearthed some old blog posts by Cenk Uygur in which he wrote some alarmingly sexist things. He has since apologized and emphasized that he doesn't believe those things anymore. Here is their article and here's the biased Gateway Pundit Article. How ought we to evaluate something like this in the wake of the #metoo moment? I have a lot to say about that, and about the cynical, bad-faith attempts on the right to both claim #metoo is a witch hunt, but also to use it when it pleases them. 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 thomas@seriouspod.com

Dr. Topher Stephenson joins me today to talk about traumatic brain injuries. He educates us a bit on the basics, and then we talk about how he, as a parent, evaluates the decision of letting his kids play sports. Which ones are safe? Should youth soccer require headgear? And much more. Check out his organization here. Also the CDC page on TBI is a good resource. 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 thomas@seriouspod.com

Ok so maybe the left is eating its own... After brushing by a couple points on the tax bill, I talk about a few instances of people on the left being unfairly demonized and harassed by other people on the left. It sucks. ContraPoints on YouTube seemed to me to be very affected by harassment over her decision to attend an event with Blaire White and Theryn Meyer. I talk briefly about that but then I move onto a bigger example that I discuss in depth, and that is Cornel West's hit-piece on Ta-Nehisi Coates. It's very straw-manny and disturbing to me. Here are some links: West's Piece; Weird Coates Atheism Piece; Slate Breakdown; Vox Breakdown 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 thomas@seriouspod.com

Samantha Corbin is a Sacramento lobbyist who was fed up with the pervasive culture of sexual misconduct in the Capitol. She and some colleagues wrote an open letter and started an organization called #WeSaidEnough. It has absolutely caught fire! Her co-founder ended up on the cover of Time Magazine. In this interview, Samantha takes us through how pervasive this behavior has been and what her and others plan to do about it! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Congratulations to Doug Jones and thank you so much to black voters of Alabama for turning out and getting us 1 vote closer to taking back the Senate!!!! First up today I've got an update on the Patreon situation. They backed down, but I'm still going forward with a membership option on my website. I explain in more depth, and then I've got a fantastic conversation with Aaron Rabi of Embrace the Void! Due to a great response to the idea of me taking on the anti-natalism topic again, I endeavor to do so and I brought an actual philosopher along for the ride! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Natalie Newell was just a science loving mom who wanted to make a documentary about some other science loving moms... but once she did, she found herself the topic of some bizarre conspiracies! We talk about that experience, and we discuss some common anti-scientific attitudes in this country, like chiropractic, vaccinations, GMOs, and alternative medicine. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

It's finally here! Part of of my series examining the arguments in the "documentary" "The Red Pill." Today we talk about video game addiction, porn addiction, toxic masculinity, and then the main topic: sentencing disparity. Are men treated unfairly by the justice system? Spoiler, the answer is actually yes. Here's the study most in line with MRA claims. Others have it lower, but this one is very convincing. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Crystal Lee was First Runner-Up in the 2014 Miss America pageant, and now she's part of a tech startup in Silicon Valley. Crystal has written some incisive pieces including one for CNN.com in response to what happened at the most recent Miss America - that is, a contested answered a question competently and the world exploded. We talk about her background, how exactly one becomes a Miss America contestant, and whether she thinks pageants will be able to escape their undeniably sexist roots!