Serious Inquiries Only

Jun 18 2024 12k

Serious Inquiries Only Podcast artwork

Join Thomas for some critical thinking on questions of science, philosophy, skepticism and politics. These serious topics are discussed with some serious guests, but in an entertaining and engaging way! This is not your typical interview podcast; it’s a friendly dialogue, conducted thoughtfully and with plenty of humor. It's Serious Inquiries Only; but like, not boring or anything.

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SIO450: From Trump Voter in 2016 to Progressive Making a Real Difference in 2024

Jun 18 2024 53 mins

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 fin

SIO449: The Northern Lights Went South for the Summer

May 27 2024 50 mins

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 o

SIO448: How To Build A Dinosaur

May 21 2024 58 mins

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-tal

SIO447: Steve Vladeck on the Shadow Docket

May 01 2024 57 mins

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 Sup

SIO446: Believe It Or Not, The Right Has An Effective Youth Movement

Apr 29 2024 38 mins

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

SIO445: The Science of 3 Body Problem with Paul Sutter

Apr 28 2024 53 mins

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 podc

SIO444: Climate Change Made "the Blob." It Killed Tons of Marine Life

Apr 27 2024 37 mins

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

SIO443: Dr. Jo Boaler Tried To Improve Math Education. Then An Anti-woke Mob Came For Her

Apr 25 2024 45 mins

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, ac

SIO442: Is Quantum Technology Actually Better?

Apr 23 2024 45 mins

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 Hadam

SIO441: Elon Musk's Neuralink - Real Or Just Hype? Part 2

Apr 18 2024 39 mins

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 p