The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott

Dec 07 2024 200 ep. 44 mins 200
The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott artwork

An evidence based rational viewpoint and discussion on science and society, focusing on important current issues. I hope to provide a clear voice for the quiet moderate majority on highly polarized issues such as climate change, social inequity, and the growth of anti-science sentiment. #therationalview #science #tok #evidencebased #climatechange

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Former Hungarian MP, Dr. Gabor Scheiring compares Trump to authoritarian leader Viktor Orban

Dec 07 2024 48 mins  
In this episode I’m interviewing someone with firsthand knowledge of the replacement of democracy with an authoritarian populist regime. What does this mean? Take, for example, the case of Hungary under the leadership of Viktor Orbán, the populist prime minister of Hungary since 2010. In 2022, European parliament declared that Hungary could no longer be considered a democracy. M

Richard Ford chats about the outrage-industrial complex

Nov 26 2024 33 mins  
In this episode, I’m exploring the topic of the Outrage Industry. Who else is growing inured to over-the-top tirades of outrage and offense? This seems to be a relatively new phenomenon whereby click-bait memes generating outrage are monetized by social media networks into clicks. Let’s explore how this impacts society and what we can do to counter it. Richard Thompson Ford is

Dr. Rob Howarth says natural gas is worse than coal for the environment

Nov 16 2024 33 mins  
In this episode I’m interviewing a researcher who has been studying the impacts of methane on the greenhouse effect, and trying to assess whether burning natural gas is helping or hurting the climate. His most recent paper suggests that it should not be considered an improvement over coal. Robert Howarth is an Earth systems scientist and ecosystem biologist with a Ph.D. jointly f

Dominic Cardy introduces a new evidence-based Canadian political party

Nov 09 2024 55 mins  
In this episode I’m interviewing the leader of a new Canadian political party, the Canadian Future Party. Their website has the following statement that I liked, “The CFP believes people from every corner of the country want to be united behind a common set of ideals: democracy, the rule of law, collective action, and individual rights. A country where you can live as you like,

Jamie Merchant introduces Modern Monetary Theory and the failure of capitalism

Oct 12 2024 57 mins  
In this episode I'm dipping my toes into a new topic a little bit outside my range, but we can still use the tools of science and evidence to assess. The economy and Modern Monetary Theory. It is a new idea that clashes with classical economics. It can be summarized as the idea that governments whose dollar is not linked to a gold standard don't need to worry about deficits. It enc

Neurologist Dr. Richard Cytowic says screens are addictive and bad for your brain

Oct 05 2024 47 mins  
In this episode I am interviewing a neuroscientist and a writer who has done a lot of work on synesthesia, or the melding of sense perceptions. His most recent book delves into how we can take back control of our attention from addictive social media. This should be of interest to most of us, and especially to parents of young children and teenagers who don’t know what to do to h

Dr. Michael Weist provides a crucial piece of evidence linking consciousness to quantum states in microtubules

Sep 28 2024 56 mins  
In this episode I’m returning to the mysterious and challenging topic of consciousness and awareness, the elusive theory of mind that philosophers have chased for centuries, and is now coming to heel under the tools of neurobiology and the framework of modern physics. My guest today has performed experiments on rats that lend credence to the intriguing idea that quantum mechanics

Dr. Lindsey Cormack says ignorance of civics damages democracy

Sep 21 2024 36 mins  
In this episode we’re going to chat with someone who understands the value of a good civics education. This comes at a time when observers are rating the US as a flawed democracy, and a current presidential nominee has been indicted for insurrection. Gerrymandering of districts is rampant, voter suppression bills are common, and a significant minority of voters seem to feel this

Sharon McMahon says moral narcissism is destroying society

Sep 14 2024 50 mins  
In this episode we’ll be discussing polarization and the idea of moral narcissism. My guest has published an article in a substack newsletter discussing this idea that people today are taking on absolute moral stancess in polarizing issues because of the status it gives them in their tribe, irrespective of the cost. In her blog she makes an analogy of a group who believes eating

Dr. Michael Levin on cellular consciousness (re-release)

Sep 08 2024 71 mins  
In this episode I’m going to be sharing with you an earlier interview with Dr. Micheal Levin that I found to be really mind bending. In it I wanted to explore the cellular basis of consciousness, and we delved into that a little bit, however the part that I found really interesting was his discussion of how cells work together and communicate to build macroscopic structures like