Rationally Speaking
By New York City Skeptics
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Podcast Description
Rationally Speaking is the bi-weekly podcast of New York City Skeptics. Join hosts Massimo Pigliucci and Julia Galef as they explore the borderlands between reason and nonsense, likely from unlikely, and science from pseudoscience. Any topic is fair game as long as we can bring reason to bear upon it, with both a skeptical eye and a good dose of humor! We agree with the Marquis de Condorcet, who said that in an open society we ought to devote ourselves to "the tracking down of prejudices in the hiding places where priests, the schools, the government, and all long-established institutions had gathered and protected them." Rationally Speaking is produced by Benny Pollak and is recorded in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village.
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1 |
Rationally Speaking #61 - Willpower | The science and philosophy of willpower: why don't we do what we know is best for us? Also, some practical solutions to the problem. Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: yourlogicalfallacyis.com and predictionbook.com. | 5/20/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2 |
Rationally Speaking #60 - Q&A With Massimo and Julia | M&J answer listeners' questions, including: how work of actions affect people's rationality, Bayesian vs. frequentist statistics, what is evidence, time travel, and whether a philosophically examined life is a better life. | 5/6/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Rationally Speaking #59 - Live at NECSS: David Kyle Johnson on the Simulation Argument | Guest David Kyle Johnson makes the case that it's roughly 20% likely that we live in a computer simulation. Plus Kyle's picks: The book "How To Think About Weird Things" and the band "Ethereal Collapse." | 4/24/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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4 |
Rationally Speaking #58 - Intuition | What do people mean by "intuition," where does it come from, and when can intuition beat careful reasoning? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk among Us" and "Information is Beautiful - Snake Oil?" | 4/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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5 |
Rationally Speaking #57 - Peer Review | How does the peer review process work and how did it originate? Also, what's wrong with it, how can it be fixed, and is the Internet changing the way we do research? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Download The Universe" and the game "Zendo." | 3/25/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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6 |
Rationally Speaking #56 - Howard Schneider on Science News Literacy | Guest Howard Schneider discusses how skeptics lay too much blame at the feet of the media for public misunderstandings and misconceptions about science. Plus Howard's pick: "Press Freedom Online - Committee to Protect Journalists" | 3/11/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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7 |
Rationally Speaking #55 - Spirituality | Massimo and Julia try to pin down what people mean when they call themselves "spiritual." Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Buddhist Retreat - Why I gave up on finding my religion." and "Critical Thinking - Why Is It So Hard to Teach" | 2/26/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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8 |
Rationally Speaking #54 - The 'isms' Episode | M&J look at whether the fundamental nature of the world is knowable by science alone through the lenses of a series of related philosophical positions. Plus the hosts picks: "Did Darwin Write the Origin Backwards" and "The Robot's Rebellion." | 2/12/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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9 |
Rationally Speaking #53 - Parapsychology | Parapsychology: what is its scientific status, what is the best evidence for it, and what can we learn from it about the practice of science in general? Plus Massimo's pick: "Be it Resolved" and Julia's un-pick: "My Little Pony." | 1/29/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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10 |
Rationally Speaking #52 - Donald Prothero on the Holocaust-Deniers' Playbook | Guest Donald R. Prothero discusses how the denial of scientific realities threatens our future and what we can do about it. Plus Donald's pick: skepticblog.org/author/prothero/ | 1/15/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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11 |
Rationally Speaking #51 - Joseph Heath on Economics Without Illusions | Guest Joseph Heath discusses his book "Economics Without Illusions: Debunking the Myths of Modern Capitalism." Plus Joseph's pick: "The Socialist System: The Political Economy of Communism." | 1/1/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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12 |
Rationally Speaking #50 - Neurobabble | M&J discuss neurobabble: the phenomena of people and the media coming to the wrong conclusions when confronted with neuroscience evidence. Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "hypothes.is" and "Rationality and the Reflective Mind." | 12/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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13 |
Rationally Speaking #49 - Eugenie C. Scott on Denialism of Climate Change and Evolution | Our guest Dr. Eugenie C. Scott discusses the National Center for Science Education's new initiative to combat denialism of the science of climate change in the public sphere. Plus Eugenie's pick: "SkepticalScience.com" | 12/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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14 |
Rationally Speaking #48 - Philosophical Counseling | Our guest Lou Marinoff discusses the increasingly popular practice of philosophical counseling, used in many cases instead of traditional psychotherapy. Plus, Lou's Pick: "The Philosophical Practitioner." | 11/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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15 |
Rationally Speaking #47 - SETI | Is the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence really science? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside (Popular Culture and Philosophy)" and "Ask a Mathematician / Ask a Physicist" | 11/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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16 |
Rationally Speaking #46 - The Varieties of Skepticism | No, skeptics are not cynics and, well, perhaps some things are knowable. Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "On B******t" and "The Matrix as Metaphysics." | 10/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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17 |
Rationally Speaking #45 - Rebecca Newberger Goldstein on Spinoza, Göedl, and Theories of Everything | Guest Rebecca Newberger Goldstein on betraying Spinoza, the proofs and paradoxes of Kurt Gödel, and the limits of reason and objective reality. Plus, Rebecca's pick: "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined." | 10/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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18 |
Rationally Speaking #44 - Fluff that Works | Woo woo that woks (at least some of the time.) Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Plato, Not Prozac!: Applying Eternal Wisdom to Everyday Problems" and "Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training." | 9/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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19 |
Rationally Speaking #43 - Women in Skepticism | Is there a misogyny problem in the skeptic and atheist communities? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities" and "Paul Graham Essays". | 9/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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20 |
Rationally Speaking #42 - On the Limits of Reason | Is there an intrinsic limit to humans ability to reason? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "From Technologist to Philosopher Why you should quit your technology job and get a Ph.D. in the humanities" and "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy." | 8/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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21 |
Rationally Speaking #41 - Robert Zaretsky on Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding | Guest Robert Zaretsky discusses the quarrel between philosophers Rousseau and Hume, their different world views, and their contributions to the Enlightenment. Plus Robert's pick: "How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer" | 8/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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22 |
Rationally Speaking #40 - Q&A With Massimo and Julia | M&J answer listeners' questions, including: teaching rationality, the ethics of profiteering, what is the purpose of our species, and is there are rational argument proving the divine origin of the bible? | 7/31/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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23 |
Rationally Speaking #39 - The Science and Philosophy of Free Will | What can modern neuroscience and philosophy tell us about free will and how may the two approaches complement each other. Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Why Some Things Should Not Be for Sale : The Moral Limits of Markets" and "Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies: Computer Models Of The Fundamental Mechanisms Of Thought" | 7/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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24 |
Rationally Speaking #38 - Holden Karnofsky on Evidence-based Philanthropy | Guest Holden Karnofky, founder of "Givewell" discusses charities: how to evaluate them and whether they can or should be evaluated objectively. Plus Holden's picks: "Core Economics", "More Than Good Intentions", and "Portfolios of the Poor". | 7/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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25 |
Rationally Speaking #37 - The Science and Philosophy of Happiness | What is happiness? What makes people happy, and can it be measured? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Flacking for Big Pharma" and "Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist" | 6/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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26 |
Rationally Speaking #36 - Why Should We Care About Teaching the Humanities? | Is the ideal of a liberal education an antiquated leftover of bygones eras, or a necessary foundation for any open democratic society? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "The Philosophers' Quarrel" and Livewell.org | 6/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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27 |
Rationally Speaking #35 - What is Philosophy of Science Good for? | What role does philosophy play in science? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "The End of Discovery: Are We Approaching the Boundaries of the Knowable?" and "10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers" | 5/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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28 |
Rationally Speaking #34 - Celebrities and the Damage They Can Do | Celebrities: why do so many people listen to some of the nonsense they spew. Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence," and "Proust Was a Neuroscientist" | 5/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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29 |
Rationally Speaking #33 - Live at NECSS: New Dilemmas in Bioethics | Live from NECSS, guests Jacob Appel and Jennifer Michael Hecht discuss dilemmas in bioethics. | 4/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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30 |
Rationally Speaking #32 - Value-free Science? | Is science all about objective facts or are values inevitably an integral part of science? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: Slate's "What John Tierney Gets Wrong About Women Scientists" and "What Is History?" | 4/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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31 |
Rationally Speaking #31 - Vegetarianism | Vegetarianism: what are its different forms, is it healthy, and what is the ethical case for it? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: The website "PhilPapers" and "WARNING: Physics Envy May Be Hazardous To Your Wealth!" | 3/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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32 |
Rationally Speaking #30 - Cordelia Fine on Delusions of Gender | Guest Cordelia Fine rebuts what currently passes as the science behind sex differences. Plus Cordelia's picks: "Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal." | 3/13/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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33 |
Rationally Speaking #29 - Q&A Live! | Massimo and Julia do their best to answer skeptical questions from a live audience. | 2/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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34 |
Rationally Speaking #28 - Live! How To Tell Science From Bunk | Massimo and Julia sit down in front of a live audience for a conversation about science, non-science, and pseudo-science. All based on Massimo's book: "Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk." | 2/13/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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35 |
Rationally Speaking #27 - The Perihelinox Episode, With Historian Timothy Alborn on Anniversaries | Guest, historian Timothy Alborn on the arbitrariness of anniversaries and holidays. Plus Timothy's pick: "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming." | 1/30/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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36 |
Rationally Speaking #26 - Is Anthropology Still a Science? | Should anthropology be considered a science and what should be the role of advocacy in science. Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: The New York Times' "There Goes the Sun" and "Stories of Your Life and Others." | 1/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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37 |
Rationally Speaking #25 - Q&A With Massimo and Julia | Massimo and Julia do their best to answer listeners' skeptical questions. | 1/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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38 |
Rationally Speaking #24 - Memetics! | Memes, good science or confusing metaphor? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: The New York Times' "The Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality." | 12/19/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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39 |
Rationally Speaking #23 - Carol Tavris on Everybody Making Mistakes, Except Us... | Guest Carol Tavris discusses why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts. Plus Carol's picks: "Delusions of Gender", "Brain Storm", and "Not by Chance Alone." | 12/5/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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40 |
Rationally Speaking #22 - Steven Novella on Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science | Guest Steven Novella on the state of medical research and on Science vs. Evidence based medicine. Plus Steven's pick: AMC's "The Walking Dead." | 11/21/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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41 |
Rationally Speaking #21 - Joshua Knobe on Experimental Philosophy | Guest Joshua Knobe on experimental philosophy. And no, not actually an oxymoron! Plus Joshua's picks: "The genealogy of morals", "You Must Go and Win: Essays", and the video "Experimental Philosophy Anthem." | 11/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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42 |
Rationally Speaking #20 - Q&A With Massimo and Julia | Massimo and Julia do their best to answer listeners' skeptical questions. | 10/24/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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43 |
Rationally Speaking #19 - Brendan Nyhan on False Beliefs that Refuse to Die | Guest Brendan Nyhan on False Beliefs that Refuse to Die. Plus Brendan's picks: "True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society", "Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts", and "The Macro Polity (Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology) " | 10/10/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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44 |
Rationally Speaking #18 - Evolutionary Psychology | Evolutionary Psychology: does it makes sense to apply evolutionary principles to the study of human behavior? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "A Short Course in Intellectual Self-Defense" and "Stumbling on Happiness" | 9/26/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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45 |
Rationally Speaking #17 - Transhumanism | Transhumanism: What's so great about being human, anyway? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Being Wrong" and "Expert Political Judgment" | 9/12/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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46 |
Rationally Speaking #16 - Defrerring to Experts | When, and how much, should we take someone's expertise into account in considering his claim? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: "Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . ." and "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" | 8/29/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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47 |
Rationally Speaking #15 - Q&A With Massimo and Julia | Massimo and Julia do their best to answer listeners' skeptical questions. | 8/15/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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48 |
Rationally Speaking #14 - Jennifer Michael Hecht on Science, Religion, Happiness, and Other Myths | Guest Jennifer Michael Hecht discusses whether we take science too seriously and perhaps we should look more at poetry. Plus Jennifer's picks: hilobrow.com and The Best American Poetry Blog. | 8/1/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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49 |
Rationally Speaking #13 - Superstition, Is It Good For You? | In this episode we tackle superstition, It would be bad luck to talk about anything else, it is episode 13 after all! Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: Epistemelinks and How Pleasure Works. | 7/18/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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50 |
Rationally Speaking #12 - What About Thought Experiments? | Are thought experiments in science and philosophy just armchair speculation? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: John Norton Goodies and Great Myths of Popular Psychology. | 7/4/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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51 |
Rationally Speaking #11 - Guest Eugenie Scott on the Status of the Creationism and ID Wars | Guest Eugenie Scott updates us on the status of the intelligent design wars. Plus Eugenie's "un-pick": The website of the Institute for Creation Research. | 6/20/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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52 |
Rationally Speaking #10 - Nonsense on Stilts | A conversation about Massimo's book: "Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk." Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: philosophypathways.com/questions and "Historians' Fallacies : Toward a Logic of Historical Thought " | 6/6/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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53 |
Rationally Speaking #9 - When Smart People Endorse Pseudoscience | Why is it that smart people who make it a point of being skeptical and of promoting critical thinking fall for notions that are barely more defensible than astrology, or criticize well established scientific notions. Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: itisonlyatheory.blogspot.com and "The Miracle Detective" | 5/23/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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54 |
Rationally Speaking #8 - The Anthropic Principle | Is the universe finely tuned for human life to exist? Does the Anthropic Principle add anything to our understanding of the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everyhing? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: andphilosophy.com and "House." | 5/9/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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55 |
Rationally Speaking #7 - Peter Woit discusses whether string theory is “not even wrong” | Columbia Univ.mathematical physicist Peter Woit discusses whether is string theory “not even wrong.” Plus our guest's pick: the book "The End of Science." | 4/25/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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56 |
Rationally Speaking #6 - Fluffy Thinking | Fluffy Thinking: a peculiar type of uncritical thinking that sounds sophisticated. Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: the "Omnipotence Paradox" and "The Book of Genesis Illustrated." | 4/10/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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57 |
Rationally Speaking #5 - Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Need for a Space Program | Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson discusses the Need for a Space Program. Will we ever go back to the Moon or to Mars? Plus Dr. Tyson's surprising "un-pick": The movie Avatar | 3/28/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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58 |
Rationally Speaking #4 - The Great Atheist Debate Over the Limits of Science | The atheist debate between the “accommodationist" and the "rationalists" on the epistemic limits of science. Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: The book "Conversations on Consciousness" and the website of the National Center for Science Education | 3/14/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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59 |
Rationally Speaking #3 - Can History Be a Science? | Guest: Prof. Peter Turchin of the U. of Conn. discusses whether history can be studied and understood in a scientific manner. Plus our guest's pick: Victor Lieberman's book "Strange Parallels" | 2/28/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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60 |
Rationally Speaking #2 - Love, a Skeptical Inquiry | Will science ever really be able to explain love? Should it try? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: The book "What is this thing called science" and the NY Times article "Making College 'relevant'." | 2/14/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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61 |
Rationally Speaking #1 - Why be rational? | Are rationality and emotion at odds, and is it ethical to promote rationality? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: Wikipedia's List of Paradoxes and the Fallacy Files. | 1/20/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 61 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Fantastic
This is fantastic. Massimo and Julia make a great duo. The intro and transition music runs a bit long and seems to be misplaced (odd house music), but the conversation between Massimo and Julia is essentially an intellectual orgasm for the ears (and brain I suppose).
Rationally Lavishing
I'm a big fan of the Rationally Speaking blog, but I worried that it wouldn't translate to audio. I worried the arguments would become jumbled without having them laid out on the page - Will I have to take notes? I haven't been this pleasantly wrong about something in quite some time. Massimo and Julia play off each other very well, similar enough to engage in conversation but different enough to perpetuate argument. I love that they set up future debates on the first episode - my hopes are with you Massimo, but my fears of personal inadequacy lie with you Julia and your assertion that a philosopher "has no expertise." I love that Rationally Speaking doesn't shy from discussing complex ideas like Godel's Incompleteness and Hume's take on the passions, and at the same time avoids trotting these concepts out like lesson plans. Instead they manage to frame them within the context of more broad (or would it be more narrow?) conversations. In conclusion, I just want to say how much I enjoy hearing skeptical conversation taking place under a philosophical schema. I enjoy many skeptical podcasts and blogs, but I finally have one that speaks my language.
1st impression...wow!
If this first episode is indicative of what's to come, I may have just found my new favorite podcast. It feels like a modern-day Socratic dialogue and is a pleasure to listen to.
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- Category: Natural Sciences
- Language: English
- © (c) 2010,2011 New York City Skeptics
