Think It Through: the Clearer Thinking Podcast: Recent Episodes
April Hebert
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In this episode, April explains that ignorance and stupidity are not the same thing. But when doubt is deliberately created as a strategic ploy by powerful entities, the ignorance that results can be not only stupid, but dangerous.
Episode 43 Show Notes
Definition of "epistomology:" https://www.britannica.com/topic/epistemology
Good explanation of agnotology by Dr Mark Crislip: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/agnotology-the-study-of-ignorance/
Dr Robert Proctor on Alie Ward: https://www.alieward.com/ologies/agnotology
The post-truth world: https://theconversation.com/scientists-have-a-word-for-studying-the-post-truth-world-agnotology-71542
Medium article https://medium.com/@porlando_84392/agnotology-the-study-of-ignorance-351ba8ae432d
Find out about, and buy, Merchants of Doubt here: https://www.merchantsofdoubt.org/
Great article on "the science of spin: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7996119/
Michael Facciani's website: https://www.matthewfacciani.com/
Agnotology explains why social media platforms don’t investigate the negative impacts of their messaging: https://www.cigionline.org/articles/social-media-platforms-and-upside-ignorance/
Changes to social media sites involving previously banned content: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/everything-to-know-about-meta-political-content-update/737123/
Yes, scientists do agree on climate change: https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/faq/do-scientists-agree-on-climate-change/
Jake Scott's Senate testimony: https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Scott-Testimony.pdf
Here are a few good sources I didn't have time to discuss:
How scientists deal with what they don’t know https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/evan.21303?msockid=1e22d990d6c764bc2523cc64d77d65db
How agnotology might work to fight disinformation https://www.wired.com/story/agnotology-misinformation-opinion/
Agnotology and political rhetoric https://www.aaronhuertas.com/invisible-messaging-the-power-of-agnotology-in-political-rhetoric/
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In this episode, April explains how this biased form of reasoning keeps our identities and emotions safe from the harsh glare of reality. Using justifications to support what we really want to be true lies at the heart of motivated reasoning, so the next time you eat a whole sleeve of Ritz crackers and wash it down with chardonnay, remind yourself that you exercised that morning, so it's ok.*
*note--when she says you, she means herself...
Episode 42 Show Notes:
The News Literacy Project article on motivated reasoning: https://newslit.org/educators/resources/in-brief-confirmation-bias-motivated-reasoning/
Science Direct is a scientific, health, and technical literature database containing millions of peer-reviewed articles on a wide variety of topics: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/motivated-reasoning
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026137941400105X
Mental Health Matters is a website devoted to mental health conditions and disorders: https://mental-health-matters.org/2024/12/12/an-overview-of-motivated-reasoning/
Matt Grawitch's substack page, The Eel-Filled Hovercraft, is full of great information about psychology and decision-making: https://mattgrawitch.substack.com/
Information about climate change beliefs: https://epic.uchicago.edu/insights/2024-poll-americans-views-on-climate-change-and-policy-in-12-charts/
Excellent article about the link between conspiracy theories and motivated reasoning: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ajps.12234?msockid=1e22d990d6c764bc2523cc64d77d65db
Nobel prize winner Gordon Pennycock talks about why conspiracy theorists think that their beliefs are widespread: https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/07/conspiracy-theorists-think-their-views-are-mainstream/
This Psychology Today article, also by Matt Grawitch, discusses the problems that can occur when goals and values collide: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hovercraft-full-eels/202106/the-collision-among-goals-and-accuracy
Ivan Jureta's article about avoiding motivated reasoning when making corporate decisions: https://ivanjureta.com/motivated-reasoning-how-to-detect-and-mitigate-its-risks/
This vs That's article on critical thinking vs reflective thinking: https://thisvsthat.io/critical-thinking-vs-reflective-thinking
YouGov article about popular conspiracy theories and the numbers of Americans who believe them: https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/48113-which-conspiracy-theories-do-americans-believe
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April confesses to being a "big ol' nerd" while discussing three sneaky fallacies that sidestep evidence and shut down discourse.
Episode 41 Show Notes:
It's a study guide about the No True Scotsman fallacy! Hey, they're good for adults too: https://studylatam.com/no-true-scotsman-fallacy-in-philosophy/
Another good article about No True Scotsman: https://practicalpie.com/no-true-scotsman/
Rational Wiki is always a good go-to for fallacies: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/No_True_Scotsman
What's cognitive ease? Here you go: learning-mind.com/cognitive-ease/
Great article on the illusory truth effect: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/illusory-truth-effect
Patrick Stokes' article in The Conversation on why he's so tough on his philosophy students: https://theconversation.com/no-youre-not-entitled-to-your-opinion-9978
Stephen Rainey's blog that discusses the concept of our "entitlement" to opinions: https://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/entitlement/
*I have begun using ChatGPT to organize and outline my episodes--it does a great job clarifying my ideas. I still do the writing, though, so I can't say it saves a lot of time!
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In this episode, April talks about why good data (current, accurate, and trustworthy) is so important to good thinking. She is perturbed about the current administration's deliberate attempts to delete, change, or hide critical government data. However, she is also hopeful that the many efforts to protect and preserve this data will be successful.
Episode 40 Show Notes--just citations because my explanations took up too much data...
https://www.getrightdata.com/blog/why-quality-matters-the-10-biggest-data-quality-disasters
https://www.smorescience.com/data-driven-life-how-information-shapes-our-daily-decisionsexamples-of-data-in-everyday-life/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2025/05/06/newark-airport-radio-radar-failures/83471323007/
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/white-house-covid-web-page-page-supporting-lab/story?id=120956514
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31012025/trump-administration-war-on-science/
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/climate-change-transparency-project-foia/2025-02-06/disappearing-data-trump?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.rheumatologyadvisor.com/news/key-cdc-health-websites-vanish-following-trump-orders/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/public-health/removal-pages-cdc-website-brings-confusion-dismay?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/06/nx-s1-5288113/cdc-website-health-data-trump
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/20/trump-missing-murdered-indigenous-peoples-report-removed?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-data-hoarders-resisting-trumps-purge
https://libguides.umn.edu/c.php?g=1449575&p=10778647
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Government_watchdog_groups_in_the_United_States
https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/
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In this episode, April attempts to unpack the complicated topic of propaganda, a form of persuasion used by corporations, advertisers, pundits, influencers, and political personalities. These days, it's important for critical thinkers to understand that there should be a delineation between propaganda and the kind of rhetoric used in democratic governance, to recognize propaganda and to avoid being influenced by it. If this sounds important--well, it is.
Episode 39 Show Notes
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda--this references the origins of the word propaganda and its original link to religious proselytizing
https://www.thoughtco.com/propaganda-definition-1691544--Dr. Richard Nordquist's excellent ThoughtCo article about the difference between rhetoric and propaganda
https://researchguides.uoregon.edu/medialiteracy/propaganda --University of Oregon's Media Literary Research guide's deep dive into propaganda has some great information about how to determine if something is propaganda
https://researchguides.uoregon.edu/medialiteracy/propaganda --the Naab Research Center gives examples of positive uses of propaganda
Emotional Campaigning in Politics: Being Moved and Anger …--a pdf of Gruning and Schubert's article about the use of emotion in political campaigns
https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/glittering-generalities--YourDictionary.com has a great article with examples of glittering generalities
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Loaded_language--the list of "snarl" words is at the bottom of this wiki page devoted to loaded language
https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/AllSidesMediaBiasChart-Version2.jpg--an updated version of the AllSides Media Bias chart
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/--a great source for checking the bias of any news source, as well as whether it has failed any fact checks
https://disinformation-nation.org/combat-propaganda/--great article about ways to combat propaganda
https://www.shortform.com/summary/thinking-fast-and-slow-summary-daniel-kahneman?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=531475976&msclkid=704335b2e9371134f6f7526e8cdafb8c--a long web address leading to a short summary of Daniel Kahneman's book Thinking Fast and Slow
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/202003/can-you-be-abundantly-cautious-and-fearless--while this article was written about the Covid pandemic, the ideas in it still resonate
https://www.neuroandcounselingcenter.com/single-post/informed-protect-peace--good ideas from certified mental health counselor Amanda Levison, about how to keep your cool and not get overwhelmed w
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In this episode April explains some very common relevance fallacies--Straw Man, Begging the Question, and Two Wrongs Make a Right. Let's all try not to commit these fallacies, okay?
Episode 38 Show Notes:
https://philosophyterms.com/fallacy-of-relevance/#google_vignette--a handy reference website that gives basic explanations of terms related to philosophy as well as short biographies of many famous philosophers.
https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/why-we-say-phrase-red-herring-hunting-origins/--a fun discussion of "red herrings" from the official website for the BBC History Magazine
https://www.etymonline.com/word/straw%20man--want to know the origin of a word or common phrase? This is the website for you.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2023/10/protecting-free-speech-compels-some-form-of-social.html--a great article about why social media needs some kind of regulation.
https://effectiviology.com/begging-the-question/--this website always has clear, concise definitions and examples of fallacies.
https://helpfulprofessor.com/straw-man-fallacy-examples/--legit professors help you with your homework by answering almost any academic question you might have.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/whataboutism--hey it's an encyclopedia so...
https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Philosophy/Introduction_to_Logic_and_Critical_Thinking_2e_(van_Cleave)/04%3A_Informal_Fallacies/4.03%3A_Fallacies_of_Relevance--this is an entire OER (Open Educational Resource) philosophy textbook, so anyone can access and read it.
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In this episode, April drags herself out of bed while recovering from a wicked case of Influenza A (you might notice her somewhat gravelly vocal quality) to record this episode about an important and timely topic--the language of demagoguery. While we tend to think of it as something politicians and other powerful people use, she discovers to her dismay that we are all capable of being "nascent demagogues" and using this rhetorical technique in our everyday discussions about politics. Hey, let's try not to do that, okay?
Episode 37 Show Notes
https://gordoncstewart.com/2023/12/05/the-language-of-demagoguery-2/
Social commentator and blogger Gordon Stewart discusses how language is used for social manipulation, referencing Senator Newt Gingrich.
https://feps-europe.eu/powerless-arguments-demagogue-and-populist-language/
Robert Feustel is a researcher at Friedrich Schiller University, and this article discusses the difficulty of arguing with someone using demagogic language.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02773945.2019.1610636
Skinnell and Murphy's excellent article on the pervasiveness of the language of demagoguery.
https://www.mediaethicsmagazine.com/index.php/browse-back-issues/209-spring-2017-vol-29-no-2/3999195-media-rhetoric-and-the-demagoguery-of-the-elite
Good article by rhetorician Patricia Roberts-Miller of the University of Texas at Austin, who also wrote the book Demagoguery and Democracy.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00963402.2024.2388461#abstract
I didn't really reference this excellent treatise about the way that demagogues destroy democracy by John Keane, but I highly recommend that you read it anyway.
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/demagoguery-technology-and-cognition-addressing-the-threats-to-de
Stephen Lewandowsky's paper on demagoguery and how it threatens democracy.
https://www.historyhit.com/culture/anti-jewish-propaganda-in-nazi-germany/
Some examples of how the Nazis used anti-Jewish propaganda to influence German citizens.
https://brainapps.io/blog/2025/01/stand-up-against-demagogy-protect/
This article contains some very helpful tips about how to recognize and stand up to demagogic rhetoric.
In this episode, April reveals that her husband is a rain god. Well, he's not, but he thinks he is. She discusses this uniquely human thing we do called magical thinking.
Episode 36 Show Notes (oooh, so many sources!)
Good basic explanation of magical thinking:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/magical-thinking
Wait, here's another one:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/magical-thinking
How is magical thinking a cognitive distortion?
https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/mental-health/magical-thinking-effects-cognitive-distortion
Amanda Montell's awesome book:
https://www.amazon.com/Age-Magical-Overthinking-Modern-Irrationality/dp/1668007975
Scientific American articles on the topic:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-come-some-people-believe-in-the-paranormal/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-you-fight-conspiracy-theories/
Do dead people pinch us while we sleep? Probably not:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-and-praxis/202310/the-benefits-and-consequences-of-magical-thinking
Healthline's article:
https://www.healthline.com/health/magical-thinking#:~:text=Magical%20thinking%20involves%20the%20belief%20that%20you%20can,something%20that%20has%20no%20bearing%20on%20the%20circumstances.
Matthew Hutson and the positive side of magical thinking:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12933497-the-7-laws-of-magical-thinking
How magical thinking and OCD are connected:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/magical-thinking-ocd-5220558
Salon.com articles on the topic:
https://www.salon.com/2018/09/10/a-neuroscientist-explains-how-religious-fundamentalism-hijacks-the-brain_partner/
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/09/from-conspiracy-theories-to-manifesting-how-to-navigate-the-age-of-magical-overthinking/
How to Talk to Conspiracy Theorists:
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience/zen-and-art-talking-conspiracy-theorists
Interview with Eric Oliver:
https://news.uchicago.edu/podcasts/big-brains/science-conspiracy-theories-and-political-polarization-eric-oliver
Mick West is awesome. Links for his book and his webpage, Metabunk:
https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Rabbit-Hole-Conspiracy-Theories-ebook/dp/B077YS5G2N
In this episode, April discusses an unfair and unethical debate tactic used by many politicians, conspiracy theorists, and anyone else who insists on "winning" arguments. She also revisits Brandolini's Law, which means she gets to say "bullshit" more than a few times.
Episode 35 Show Notes
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/gish-gallop.html
A good basic description of the Gish Gallop.
https://effectiviology.com/gish-gallop/
Itamar Schatz's website, Effectiviology, is one of my go-to places for everything fallacy-related.
“On the Trail With RFK Jr." On the Media. Podcast. June 30, 2023.
Um, not sure how to link to this, but you can certainly search for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. RFK Jr. is well-known for using the Gish Gallop in his speeches and interviews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=murvOaHB66A
Wanna see some really fast talkers? These student debaters can speak at 500 words per minute, which is twice as fast as Congressman Jim Jordan. But unlike him, they have to make sense and provide evidence for their claims.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-FGKxaCdS0
I took Congressman Jordan's Gish Gallop example from this succinct YouTube video about how to counter the Gish Gallop technique.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/02/11/readout-of-president-bidens-video-call-with-transatlantic-leaders/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/02/17/readout-of-president-bidens-call-with-president-zelenskyy-of-ukraine-13/
Here are two readouts of diplomatic calls President Biden has made.
https://qz.com/905252/donald-trumps-lies-are-all-part-of-a-debate-tactic-called-the-gish-gallop
Carl Alvioni's excellent article on Gish Gallops.
Everything below has to do with the Trump-Ukraine call:
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/09/25/donald-trump-ukraine-call-analysis-000039
https://www.npr.org/2019/10/12/768935251/trump-ukraine-and-the-path-to-the-impeachment-inquiry-a-timeline
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/14/pelosi-trump-impeachment-ukraine-00061649
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-ukraine-transcript-moved_n_5dba4ec5e4b0bb1ea37476e5
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/27/us/politics/nsc-ukraine-call.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-lawyer-moved-transcript-of-trump-call-to-classified-server-after-ukraine-adviser-raised-alarms/2019/10/30/ba0fbdb6-fb4e-11e9-8190-6be4deb56e01_story.html
In this episode, April warns people that they might need a break while listening; but in the end, it's surprisingly positive. Just like her!!!
Episode 34 Show Notes
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-to-know-existential-dread
Good discussion of the basics of existentialism, existential dread, why existential crises occur and how to handle them.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220929-the-unsettling-power-of-existential-dread
David Robson's article explains how existential dread changes the way we think, reporting on the upswing in conspiracy theories after distressing events that trigger existential dread.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Denial_of_Death
Yep, I'm citing Wikipedia here, but it's a decent discussion of Ernest Becker's groundbreaking work.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/31/the-worm-at-the-core-on-the-role-of-death-in-life-solomon-greenberg-pyszczynski-review
Excellent review of Solomon, Greenberg, and Psyzczynski's seminal work about terror management theory.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.595990/full
Great article about how many individuals used creative expression to alleviate their distress during the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://www.un.org/africarenewal/web-features/i-was-tested-limit-%E2%80%94-rwanda-genocide-survivor
The harrowing story of a Rwanda genocide survivor.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7498956/
The original researchers of terror management theory apply their understanding of it to the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://mymodernmet.com/what-are-the-lascaux-cave-paintings/
Take a look at these beautiful cave paintings--that's how you live forever, people! Do something amazing.
To kick off a new year, April looks at the impact that the emotion of gratitude can have on our mental, emotional, and even physical health. The message here is--the better you feel about yourself and the world around you, the better your cognitive processes will be.
Episode 33 Show Notes
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's article on gratitude is, um, kinda deep and intense (and hard to read), but then, it IS the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, so...
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/gratitude/
What gratitude is, and some ways to show it:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-wise-brain/202102/how-show-gratitude
LinkedIn article about gratitude in the workplace:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/power-thank-you-how-engage-your-company-gratitude-/
Glenn Fox on gratitude:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_can_the_brain_reveal_about_gratitude
A.J. Jacob's wonderful gratitude journey:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brainstorm/201811/adventures-in-gratitude
I reference Kendra Cherry a lot, because her articles are always spot on:
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-gratitude-5206817#History%20of%20Gratitude
Robert Emmons discusses gratitude:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/gratitude/definition
Interesting article about how gratitude evolved:
https://grateful.org/resource/the-evolution-of-gratitude/
How practicing gratitude affects the brain:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain
Another great article about neuroscience and gratitude:
https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/
This article focuses on the importance of gratitude in our lives:
https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-appreciation/#:~:text=Many%20of%20us%20express%20gratitude%20by,emotion%20that%20serves%20a%20biological%20purpose.&text=Many%20of%20us%20express,serves%20a%20biological%20purpose.&text=us%20express%20gratitude%20by,emotion%20that%20serves%20a
In this episode, April admits that she doesn't always calmly and rationally think things through; but hey, neither do you. Why? Heuristics, that's why. She discusses these handy, if sometimes problematic, mental shortcuts that help get us through the day without our brains literally exploding. And by literally, I mean figuratively; but literally sounds better, plus it makes a great mental image--KABOOM!!!
Episode 32 Show Notes:
I've recommended Daniel Kahneman's book before, and I'll probably do it again:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-slow
Interesting article about the history and origins of heuristics: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-heuristic-2795235
A basic discussion of heuristics:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/heuristics
Dr. Weinberger's blog explaining our unconscious mind: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-unconscious/202001/how-the-unconscious-works
An easy to read but fairly comprehensive article discussing many aspects of heuristics, including the different types of heuristics and when our brain is likely to use them: https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-a-heuristic.html
You're probably aware that some of these jobs are dangerous, but others may surprise you with their position on this list: https://www.ishn.com/articles/112748-top-25-most-dangerous-jobs-in-the-united-states
The Decision Lab's article goes into some detail about how our brains use heuristics:
https://thedecisionlab.com/insights/society/tdl-perspectives-what-are-heuristics
Over-reliance on heuristics can lead to stereotyping in the workplace: https://www.engagetu.com/2020/01/28/heuristics-and-workplace-bias/
Kendra Cherry's excellent article about decision making: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-affect-heuristic-2795028#:~:text=The%20affect%20heuristic%20is%20a%20type%20of%20mental,role%20in%20the%20choices%20and%20decisions%20you%20make
In this episode, April realizes that the difference between science and pseudoscience isn't a distinct line, it's more of a continuum. Nevertheless, science remains scientific, while pseudoscience is, well, not so much.
Episode 31 Show Notes:
Here's the Science Council's definition of science:
https://sciencecouncil.org/about-science/our-definition-of-science/
Great discussion of the topic by Lillienfeld, Lynn, and Amaratti:
https://scottlilienfeld.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/lilienfeld2015-5.pdf
An extensive discussion of the differences from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-science/
Mario Bunge's article on "cognitive fields:"
https://cursosist2010.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/bungepseureduc.pdf
Great article from the Boston Review about Karl Popper and the pros and cons of falsification:
https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/michael-d-gordin-fate-falsification/
Newsweek article about "Behind the Curve:"
https://www.newsweek.com/behind-curve-netflix-ending-light-experiment-mark-sargent-documentary-movie-1343362
Good article that explains "bad" science:
https://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-science/why-some-science-is-actually-bad-science/article/455538
ThoughtCo's article about "hard" and "soft" science:
https://www.thoughtco.com/hard-vs-soft-science-3975989
Well, yeah, bad and fraudulent science is a problem:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/09/scientific-misconduct-retraction-watch
Fun and interesting (but ultimately serious) webpage with lots of great information about pseudoscience by Dr. Rory Koker:
https://web2.ph.utexas.edu/~coker2/index.files/distinguish.htm
Emily Willingham's Forbes artlcle about commercial pseudoscientific claims:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2012/11/08/10-questions-to-distinguish-real-from-fake-science/?sh=156ddfb6146c
In this short episode, April discusses how grief affects our brains--hers in particular, because she just lost one of her best friends and it hurts. So this might be more for her than for you, but you should listen anyway.
The good news is that she'll be ok. Eventually...
Episode 30 Show Notes
Great article from the Today Show website about how our mind deals with death:
https://www.today.com/health/mind-body/grief-changes-brain-rcna13613
Two excellent NPR articles that reference works and interviews with grief specialist Mary Frances O'Connor:
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/04/1052498852/what-happens-in-the-brain-when-we-grieve
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/12/20/1056741090/grief-loss-holiday-brain-healing
Dr Lisa Shulman discusses brain neuroplasticity and dealing with loss:
https://www.americanbrainfoundation.org/how-tragedy-affects-the-brain/#:~:text=Grief%20and%20loss%20affect%20the%20brain%20and%20body,lead%20to%20cognitive%20effects%2C%20such%20as%20brain%20fog
Psych Central article about how grief affects your physical and mental health:
https://psychcentral.com/lib/your-health-and-grief
In this episode, April talks to Dr. Eunette Gentry about the public's lack of trust in the press and why we should have more faith in journalists and reporters. It's about codes of ethics, people!
Episode 29 Show Notes
This Gallup poll shows the low percentage of trust that the public has in the media: https://news.gallup.com/poll/394817/media-confidence-ratings-record-lows.aspx
Here's the article about the press as the "Fourth Estate:" https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-fourth-estate-3368058
Marianne Jennings' great article on journalistic ethics: https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/the-evolutionand-devolutionof-journalistic-ethics/
The First Amendment Encyclopedia's article on "yellow journalism:" https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1253/yellow-journalism
Aiden White's article on the origins of ethical journalism: https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/journalism-ethics
This fascinating webpage is the Public Affairs page of the US Diplomatic Mission to Germany, and goes into the history of media ethics in the US: https://usa.usembassy.de/media-ethics.htm#:~:text=%E2%80%A2%20Yahoo%20-%20Media%20Ethics%20and%20Accountability%20The,accelerating%20the%20U.S.%20exit%20from%20an%20unpopular%20war
The Associated Press Managing Editors Code of Ethics: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/journalism/j6075/edit/ethiccodes/APME.html#:~:text=Associated%20Press%20Managing%20Editors%20CODE%20OF%20ETHICS%20This,or%20who%20influence%2C%20news%20coverage%20and%20editorial%20policy.
The Society of Professional Journalist's Code of Ethics: https://www.spj.org/pdf/spj-code-of-ethics.pdf
Ethics codes from many journalistic sources can be found here: https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~rcollins/431ethics/codes.htm#:~:text=Professional%20Codes%20of%20Ethics%20American%20Society%20of%20Newspaper,and%20renamed%20%22Statement%20of%20Principles%22%20in%201975.%20PREAMBLE.
The Philippe Perebinossoff Ethics Rubric:
EVALUATE --The ethical situation needs to be examined in a number of different ways, not just from a single perspective.
TRUTH --Make sure you have a clear definition of the facts as well as a definition that can be agreed upon by others.
HARM--Consider what harm is likely to ensue from a given action. Real-world situations are involved, and media rumors can ruin lives.
INVESTIGATION--Investigation involves going beyond a cursory review, and digging deep to gather the necessary information.
CODE OF ETHICS--Codes provide valuable guidelines that can facilitate ethical decision making.
SITUATIONAL ETHICS--Approach issues on a case-by-case basis that allows you to adjust ethical beliefs to meet a particular situation.
In this episode, April explains linguistic ambiguity, equivocation, and the equivocation fallacy. She also tells some really bad jokes.
Episode 28 Show Notes:
Moore, Brooke and Parker, Richard. Critical Thinking. McGraw Hill. 2017.
This is current textbook I use to teach my Critical Reasoning class. Much of what I say here about the types of linguistic ambiguity is taken from this excellent text.
ThoughtCo is a reference site that focuses on educational content. Their articles are written by highly qualified educators and experienced instructors.
https://www.thoughtco.com/polysemy-words-and-meanings-1691642
How many words are there in the English language? This article will tell you:
https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/language-lab/many-words-english-language/
This WhatIs.com article discusses how linguistic ambiguity makes it difficult for artificial intelligence (and of course people) to decode language:
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/linguistic-ambiguity#:~:text=Linguistic%20ambiguity%20is%20a%20quality%20of%20language%20that,program%20to%20reliably%20decode%20without%20some%20additional%20information
Here's a good discussion of the expectancy violation and humor:
https://thecriticalcomic.com/incongruity-theory/#:~:text=Expectancy%20Violations%20Aristotle%20also%20thought%20humor%20occurred%20with,disappointed%20expectation%20makes%20us%20laugh.%E2%80%9D%20%28ch.%2063%3B%20Morreal%29
Was that really the world's funniest joke? According to this guy, it is:
https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2014/03/07/287250640/what-is-the-funniest-joke-in-the-world
Dr. Itamar Schatz gives a detailed description of equivocation with excellent examples. You should definitely read this:
https://effectiviology.com/equivocation/
Another good explanation of the equivocation falllacy:
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/equivocation-fallacy-examples.html
What speech is considered "unprotected?" Here you go:
https://legalknowledgebase.com/what-speech-is-illegal-in-the-us
No, of COURSE we don't "torture." Except we do (or did, anyway):
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9956644
In this episode, April discusses the concept of intellectual humility, which is something that people could use more of (and by "people," she means herself).
Episode 27 Show Notes (so many really good sources!!!):
Here's Ed Kang's article from the website YouEQ: https://www.you-eq.com/news-events/emotional-intelligence-skills-intellectual-humility#:~:text=According%20to%20Pepperdine%20University%2C%20there%20are%20four%20dimensions,intellect%204%20Willingness%20to%20revise%20one%E2%80%99s%20own%20viewpoint
Another good article from the John Templeton Foundation website (there's also a great YouTube video there called "The Joy of Being Wrong"): https://www.templeton.org/discoveries/intellectual-humility
Brian Resnick's Vox article, from which I gleaned a LOT of information:
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/1/4/17989224/intellectual-humility-explained-psychology-replication
This is a great, in-depth discussion of intellectual humility by Shane Snow: https://www.shanesnow.com/articles/intellectual-humility#intellectual-humility-intro
While this author and I are on different sides of some important issues, she speaks a lot of truth, and I have great respect for her:
https://aleteia.org/2017/08/05/even-if-we-disagree-i-respect-you/
Kate Horowitz on the connection between overconfidence and lack of intellectual growth: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76773/overconfidence-can-stunt-your-intellectual-growth-study-says#:~:text=Being%20overconfident%20is%20a%20barrier%20to%20intellectual%20growth%2C,they%20do%20and%20what%20they%20do%20not%20know.%22
How acknowledging our intellectual limitations leads to knowledge:
https://www.konsyse.com/articles/what-is-intellectual-humility-why-is-it-important/
Gregg Enriquez's discussion of ego: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-knowledge/202105/what-is-the-ego
Elizabeth Svoboda on why changing our minds is so difficult: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_is_it_so_hard_to_change_peoples_minds
Matthew Buckley discusses ways to talk to people with whom you disagree: https://www.psychreg.org/respect-other-peoples-opinion/
April discusses the importance of questions and the difference between questions designed to gain knowledge and questions used to manipulate. Plus she says the word "bullshit" several times so she has to label this episode "explicit." Oh well.
Show Notes:
Kids and questions:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/curious-children-questions-parenting-mum-dad-google-answers-inquisitive-argos-toddlers-chad-valley-tots-town-a8089821.html
https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/importance-kids-asking-questions/
Guy who used his dead mom's ballot to vote for Trump:
https://news.yahoo.com/officials-finally-found-case-dead-225210492.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAM0A4VXI1H4LuNUipKSSuf7V_DVFGlNRgL8-pd1LeyPDhkaqX5KS_lr7OOo4ME78IKjwhXfzxYe2A__xUp9j8X-uxHFcMs_LFIs5U19hXhpDcuIXFePv7ivYp5ooE5T8ZLiaV24pO5wsozTmnpB8fSHv3s_qlM_i0ECwTu_vt7ek
More examples of people who AREN'T Democrats using their dead relatives to vote for their favorite politicians:
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/another-gop-voter-caught-casting-ballot-dead-relative-n1276965
Still more examples, debunking Fox news pundits who used them as "evidence" that the election was stolen:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/25/trump-team-fox-news-alleged-dead-voters-most-cases-were-either-debunked-or-actually-involved-republicans/
Randy Rainbow is awesome: https://www.randyrainbow.com/
A description of the way that “just asking questions” actually shifts the burden of proof: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Just_asking_questions
Finally, I return to a discussion of Brandolini’s law: http://ordrespontane.blogspot.com/2014/07/brandolinis-law.html
Frank Sesno's book: https://www.amazon.com/Ask-More-Questions-Uncover-Solutions/dp/0814436714/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
The five legitimate questions to ask to determine if something is bullshit:
https://www.fastcompany.com/3068589/how-to-fine-tune-your-bullshit-detector
Living Room Conversations stuff:
https://209859-635214-1-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/NEW-Immigration.pdf
https://livingroomconversations.org/
Yes, she's back!!! In this episode, April discusses "algorithm literacy" as a critical part of overall media literacy. It's important to understand that algorithms, while they are a necessary and useful part of the online universe, also play a big role in online polarization and the normalization of extreme viewpoints. The more you know about them, the more effectively you can control what you see online.
Episode 25 Show Notes:
Here's the article discussing the results of the study by Project Information Literacy:
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-01-16-report-colleges-must-teach-algorithm-literacy-to-help-students-navigate-internet
Pew Research Center's discussion of the need for algorithm literacy:
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/02/08/theme-7-the-need-grows-for-algorithmic-literacy-transparency-and-oversight/
The Algorithm and Data Literacy Project, a great source for kids to learn about algorithms (you'll find the YouTube video I mentioned in the podcast here):
https://algorithmliteracy.org/
A LibGuides page from the University of Singapore's website on the topic of algorithm literacy:
https://libguides.nus.edu.sg/digitalliteracy/algorithm
Paper by Harvard professors Cetina Presuel and Martinez Sierra on the problems caused by social media platforms' reluctance to see themselves as news publishers and distributors:
http://www.scielo.org.pe/pdf/rcudep/v18n2/2227-1465-rcudep-18-02-261.pdf
PBS Nova investigates the spread of radical extremism on social media through algorithms:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/radical-ideas-social-media-algorithms/
Troubling information about the ways that Russian troll farms used Facebook algorithms to spread disinformation before the 2020 election:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/09/16/1035851/facebook-troll-farms-report-us-2020-election/
Financial Times op-ed advocating for more accountability of social media algorithms:
https://www.ft.com/content/39d69f80-5266-4e22-965f-efbc19d2e776
Some helpful articles with tips and tricks about how individuals can limit the influence of algorithms:
From Mashable: https://mashable.com/article/how-to-avoid-algorithms-facebook-youtube-twitter-instagram
From LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-reduce-effect-algorithms-your-behavior-worldview-guide-mikko/
From BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38769996
Ok, I'm back from running my half-marathon and, as promised, here are the sources I used in this episode:
Some great ideas about how to avoid giving up on your resolutions:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2020/02/11/this-is-the-month-when-new-years-resolutions-fail-heres-how-to-save-them/?sh=d96f742272f0
Here's a great article from psychologist Elizabeth Lombardo:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/better-perfect/201901/the-number-one-mistake-people-make-while-making-resolutions
Another great article about the ways the perfectionist fallacy can hinder our progress:
https://medium.com/syndicate-post/the-perfectionist-fallacy-and-how-to-overcome-it-c8cef7fc6c9
Blogger and self-professed recovering perfectionist Vix Anderton gives some great advice about resolutions:
https://medium.com/the-recovering-perfectionist/a-perfectionists-guide-to-new-year-s-resolutions-8de847986589
Harvard Business Review's analysis of studies on perfectionism:
https://hbr.org/2018/12/the-pros-and-cons-of-perfectionism-according-to-research
If you want to start running, here's a great program called Couch to 5K:
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/wfhtn/documents/5k_training_program_running.pdf
In this episode, April can't decide whether to pronounce "deductive" as "DEE-duk-tiv" or "de-DUK-tive," so she just switches back and forth between them to see if anyone notices.
Episode 23 Show Notes:
Why Sherlock Holmes is more an inductive than a deductive kind of guy:
https://medium.com/@daniellekkincaid/the-sherlock-holmes-conundrum-or-the-difference-between-deductive-and-inductive-reasoning-ec1eb2686112
http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/5306/1/Holmes.pdf
Some good basic information about deductive reasoning:
https://www.criticalthinking.com/articles/induction-vs.-deduction
http://www2.fairmontstate.edu/users/ffidura/cogpsy/cpthnkng.html
https://www.livescience.com/21569-deduction-vs-induction.html
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/deductive-reasoning-examples.html
Jesse Martin’s LinkedIn blogpost about the importance of deductive reasoning:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/science-learning-deductive-reasoning-jesse-martin
My evidence (for the example syllogism) that Japanese has a homogeneous population and everyone there speaks Japanese:
https://www.studycountry.com/guide/JP-language.htm#:~:text=Ethnically%2C%20culturally%20and%20linguistically%2C%20Japan,Japanese%20as%20their%20first%20language.
My support for the claim (in my other example) that not all people who are in favor of public health options are socialists:
https://morningconsult.com/2021/03/24/medicare-for-all-public-option-polling/
Job websites recognize the necessity for good deductive reasoning skills in the workplace:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/improve-deductive-reasoning-skills
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/deductive-skills
https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/guide/deductive-reasoning/
The research that shows most of us can do deductive reasoning:
https://digest.bps.org.uk/2008/12/11/sudoku-puzzles-show-were-all-capable-of-deductive-reasoning/
What’s going on in your brain when you do puzzles? Read these:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-workout/200904/puzzles-and-the-brain
https://www.rd.com/article/what-happens-to-your-brain-when-do-a-puzzle/
Some fun/frustrating logic puzzles:
https://parade.com/970343/parade/logic-puzzles/
https://www.rd.com/articl
In this episode April discusses the hasty generalization fallacy, the weak analogy fallacy, and the mistaken appeal to authority. Can you tell she really likes to talk about fallacies?
Episode 22 Show Notes:
A brief description of deductive and inductive reasoning, in case you wondered:
https://www.livescience.com/21569-deduction-vs-induction.html
Some good examples of hasty generalization fallacies:
https://www.bettercognitions.com/articles/hasty-generalization-fallacy-examples/
I don't know about the "Captain Bligh" reference, but this Time article does explain what happened to Captain Holly Graf:
http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1969602,00.html
This "Cranky Uncle" is actually a research fellow in climate science at the Climate Change Communication Research Hub at Monash University in Australia. I got a couple of good examples of bad arguments from this page.
https://crankyuncle.com/critical-thinking-about-covid-false-analogies-about-cupcakes-and-obesity/
A good source for an explanation of bad arguments:
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/search
The Vicks 44 commercial with a very hot fake doctor:
https://youtu.be/ts0XG6qDIco
The article with a pretty good analogical argument for universal healthcare in the US:
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2019/universal-health-coverage-eight-countries?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8eOLBhC1ARIsAOzx5cG8JkvppAGHwJ6fvyGgP8W3i9Il6DTEbsvoAh5EHgWlxVr91h9Yk7QaAg7yEALw_wcB
A good explanation of when you should rely on experts:
https://fallacyinlogic.com/appeal-to-authority-fallacy/
Pew Research data about how many scientists agree on evolution:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/11/darwin-day/
A careful reading of this will help you understand the division over how many scientists think global warming is a thing:
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/isnt-there-lot-disagreement-among-climate-scientists-about-global-warming
AMA's data showing the vast majority of physicians are vaccinated against Covid:
https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-survey-shows-over-96-doctors-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-19
The Forbes article discussing the controversy surrounding the actual percentage of climate scientist who agree that climate change is largely caused by humans:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/uhenergy/2016/12/14/fact-checking-the-97-consensus-on-anthropogenic-climate-change/?sh=3b6d352a1157
In this episode, April discusses the false dilemma fallacy, in which a person attempts to persuade to you to choose between a limited number of options when there are actually more options available.
Episode 21 Show Notes:
Here's a great definition and discussion of the false dilemma fallacy:
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/false-dilemma-fallacy-examples.html
Another good explanation of this fallacy:
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/black-or-white
I admit to taking an example or two from this very good article about this fallacy:
https://www.developgoodhabits.com/either-or-fallacy/
This article talks about Dan Price, who lowered his own salary in order to raise the salaries of his employee (thus refuting the idea that prices must be raised to pay for wage increases):
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/369908
A very detailed discussion of the ways that politicians have used the false dilemma fallacy to frame the Covid-19 debate:
https://www.boisestate.edu/bluereview/covid-19-donald-trump-and-the-false-dilemma-fallacy/
An interesting opinion piece about the dangers of the false dilemma fallacy from the Deseret News (it's a Mormon-based newspaper, so don't be surprised by the religious references) by Sharlee Glenn, a Mormon writer who founded the nonprofit Mormon Women For Ethical Government:
https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2020/5/15/21258954/covid-19-pandemic-false-dichotomy-paradox-politics-equilibrium
These two journal articles show the rates of Covid in areas without mask mandates:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249891
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781283
In this episode, April discusses the importance of experts in society and why it's so hard for some people to trust them. And, as promised, she put lots of articles in the show notes below, because she wants you to trust her.
Episode 20 Show Notes
For science information that's both educational and entertaining, subscribe to Phil Plait's astronomy blog:
https://www.syfy.com/tags/bad-astronomy
Daniel Newman's article about expertise is focused more towards marketing, but still applies:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2014/04/22/experts-may-have-influence-but-what-makes-an-expert/?sh=6a6f846212c8
Here's the NPR article about Idaho lawmakers calling their public health officials elitists:
https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/politics-government/2020-08-10/idaho-lawmaker-listening-to-experts-is-an-elitist-approach-to-coronavirus-restrictions
A great article from the Christian Science Monitor about our worsening anti-intellectualism and distrust of experts:
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2018/0827/Who-made-you-an-expert-Is-America-s-distrust-of-elites-becoming-more-toxic
Jacques Peretti's excellent discussion of how "elite" became a bad word:
https://qz.com/1237582/how-elite-became-a-bad-word/
Some articles discussing the factors that play a role in whether/how much individuals trust science:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/do-you-trust-science-these-five-factors-play-big-role
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/12/key-findings-about-americans-confidence-in-science-and-their-views-on-scientists-role-in-society/
Gleb Tsipursky's article about distrust in science:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/dis-trust-in-science/
Fascinating paper about anti-intellectualism in America:
https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/zQnndNgGgDkpWwavHMnA/full
Articles about the Dunning Kruger effect and covid conspiracy theories:
https://europepmc.org/article/MED/29966822
https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/pdf/download/eid/1-s2.0-S0277953618303964/first-page-pdf
A really good paper (that I didn't have time to discuss) outlining some ways that public health experts might get more people to trust them:
https://kiej.georgetown.edu/trust-experts-and-covid-19-special-issue/
Maria Baghramian's blog post about expertise:
https://jerichochambers.com/trust-in-experts-why-and-why-not/
Tom Nichols on expertise and why it's important:
https://www.polit
In this episode, April explains what skepticism is (and what it is NOT). She also discusses its importance in the scientific method, and shows how it can help you "trust the science." She also confesses that she is one of those annoying people who looks up stuff on Google to prove their spouses wrong.
Episode 19 Show Notes:
Richard Popkin's Britannica article on skepticism:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/skepticism
A great discussion explaining why scientists must also be skeptics:
http://www.ces.fau.edu/nasa/introduction/scientific-inquiry/why-must-scientists-be-skeptics.php
An excellent discussion of skepticism by Skeptoid podcast host Brian Dunning (and btw if you're not already listening to Skeptoid, you should!):
https://skeptoid.com/skeptic.php
A short history of skepticism from the Stanford University website:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism-ancient/
How do researchers conduct literature reviews to find out what is known (and unknown) about a topic? Here, read this:
https://impact.griffith.edu.au/known_and_unknown/
Here's the blog of one of those really good science writer/journalists explaining skepticism and science:
https://sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-skeptic/
These are the science websites I mentioned in the episode:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/
https://www.aaas.org/
The top scientists on Twitter:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/09/top-50-science-stars-twitter
A couple of good articles I didn't reference in the podcast but are definitely relevant to the topic:
https://orbitermag.com/how-to-be-a-true-skeptic/
https://fishthinkers.wordpress.com/2017/03/29/5-free-ways-around-the-great-paywall-of-academia/
Over the next three episodes (she only meant to do two episodes on the topic but it turned out she need three!), April explains the connection between trust and critical thinking. In Part I, she discusses the importance of interpersonal trust, why it's so necessary, what can go wrong when we trust, and ways to avoid putting our trust in the wrong people. And she uses both "who do you trust (because it just seems right)" and "whom do you trust (because it's probably grammatically correct)" in the episode. Hey, she's not an English teacher, okay?
Episode 18 Show Notes
Dr. Paul Thagard's definition of trust:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hot-thought/201810/what-is-trust
An explanation of semantic pointers:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332837961_The_Semantic_Pointer_Theory_of_Emotion_Integrating_Physiology_Appraisal_and_Construction
I'm going to guess that about 80% of the posts here are legit (so take what you read with a grain of salt). Anyway, if even half of them are true, it's still a tragedy:
https://www.reddit.com/r/QAnonCasualties/
Just a few of Bernie Madoff's more famous victims:
https://www.biography.com/news/bernie-madoff-famous-victims
Research that shows we trust people who think like we do, and distrust those who don't:
https://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/the-mere-liking-effect-why-you-trust-people-who-are-like-you
We also think the people who look like us are more trustworthy:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131107094406.htm#:~:text=When%20a%20person%20is%20deemed,according%20to%20a%20new%20study.&text=FULL%20STORY-,When%20a%20person%20is%20deemed%20trustworthy%2C%20we%20perceive%20that%20person's,study%20published%20in%20Psychological%20Science
Marsh and Brigg's research on trust and forgiveness:
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-84800-356-9_2
Author, consultant, and business founder Charles Green gives some advice about determining whom to trust:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/trustedadvisor/2012/01/03/how-can-you-know-whom-to-trust/?sh=1decb7ca141e
Psychologist Melanie Greenburg also has some good advice about trusting people:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201411/5-ways-decide-who-you-can-trust
In this episode, April outs herself as an optimist and spends a little over 12 minutes justifying her attitude.
Episode 17 Show Notes:
The American Psychological Association definiton of optimism: https://dictionary.apa.org/optimism
Oxford Language Dictionary definition of optimism: https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/optimism
Psychology Today's article on optimism: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/optimism
Professor Brian Martin's blog post about the value of optimism: https://documents.uow.edu.au/~bmartin/pubs/comments/0701optimism.html
A good description of the optimism bias: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-optimism-bias-2795031
Oingo Boingo's 1983 hit that epitomizes the optimism bias: https://youtu.be/qpjHW4mr6qo
A rather long but interesting academic read about the optimism bias: https://taylorlab.psych.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/11/2002_When-Predictions-Fail.pdf
Some good information about the optimism bias in the Covid1-9 pandemic:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ana.26001
https://www.pcma.org/optimism-bias-downside-positive-thinking-during-covid-19/
Books by Suzanne Segerstrom: https://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-C.-Segerstrom/e/B001JP4MKY%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
Shawn Anchor and "irrational optimism:" https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-happiness-advantage/201103/are-you-irrational-optimist
A transcript of Matt Ridley discussing his book at the 7th Annual Hayek Lecture at New York's Manhattan Institute: https://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/rational-optimist-how-prosperity-evolves-8316.html
More good Matt Ridley stuff: https://reason.com/2020/05/03/what-its-like-to-be-a-rational-optimist-in-a-pandemic/
Stephanie Caine's beautiful blog post about logical optimism: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/logical-optimism-stephanie-caines/?articleId=6649370011909660675
I didn't mention this in the podcast but it's a good read: https://medium.com/swlh/the-rational-case-for-optimism-6bc9a4dcbbc2
More potential evidence that being an optimist is good for business: https://hbr.org/2019/03/the-financial-upside-of-being-an-optimist
In this episode, April talks with Ed Dentzel, host of the Unfound Podcast, which focuses on missing person cases with the stated goal of turning up new information that might lead to a resolution of the case. Ed discusses how he approaches each case, using research, interview skills, and good logic and reasoning to uncover information and present it to his listeners in a straightforward manner with little or no speculation or conjecture. If you've ever wondered what it takes to put together a true-crime podcast, this is a must-listen!
Episode 16 Show Notes:
Here's the Unfound Podcast website:
https://unfoundpodcast.podomatic.com/
According to NAMUS (which Ed references in the episode), the vast majority of missing person cases are resolved:
https://www.npr.org/2013/05/07/182000622/majority-of-missing-persons-cases-are-resolved
The NCIC (National Crime Information Center) reports that as of Dec. 31, 2019, there were 87,500 active missing person cases:
https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/cjis-link/fbi-releases-2019-missing-person-statistics
Here's a helpful document if you suspect that a person is missing:
https://www.muni.org/Departments/police/Documents/checklists_for_missing_persons.pdf
New Jersey State Police's protocol for missing persons:
https://www.njsp.org/divorg/invest/pdf/mpi-best-practices-protocol.pdf
Some news articles relevant to the Thomas Brown case (this whole thing is really interesting, I'll be looking for the conclusion of the grand jury):
https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/new-details-released-in-canadian-teens-death#:~:text=A%20private%20investigator%20released%20new,remains%20were%20found%20in%20January
https://www.newschannel10.com/2019/11/12/hemphill-county-sheriff-nathan-lewis-resigns/
https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/hemphill-county-deputy-let-go-following-letter-addressing-credibility-from-county-attorney
Nate Silver! That's the 538 Podcast guy, and here's his book:
https://www.amazon.com/Signal-Noise-Many-Predictions-Fail-but/dp/0143125087
A good explanation of the "Peltzman Effect:"
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Peltzman-Effect
Tad DiBiase's book about no-body homicide cases:
https://www.routledge.com/No-Body-Homicide-Cases-A-Practical-Guide-to-Investigating-Prosecuting/DiBiase/p/book/9781482260069
In this episode, April talks about inconsistency. While logical inconsistency is always wrong (it's known as the fallacy of inconsistency), personal inconsistency is a little more complicated. When people say one thing and then later do or say another thing, we tend to think that's a bad thing (and we are certainly right, at least sometimes). But, because consistency is so important, do we run the risk of being labeled a hypocritical flip-flopper if we should happen to come to a different conclusion than we came to previously? When is saying something different than you said before hypocrisy, and when is it justified?
Episode 15 Show Notes
A transcript of the NPR program referenced in the episode:
https://www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147980266/our-brains-betrayed-by-political-inconsistency
An explanation of logical inconsistency:
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Inconsistency
Some examples of the fallacy of inconsistency:
https://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Inconsistency.html#:~:text=A%20person%20commits%20the%20fallacy,line%20and%20say%20no%20more
Trump's personal inconsistency regarding the Access Hollywood tape:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/28/16710130/trump-says-access-hollywood-tape-fake
A Washington Post op-ed piece about President Biden and the filibuster (liberally oriented, of course, so it gives that viewpoint about the filibuster issue):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/02/perverted-rule-how-joe-biden-evolved-supporting-filibuster-trying-change-it/
A Heritage Foundation op-ed piece (which is the conservative opinion, so it helps with understanding why some people would say he's being hypocritical) about the issue of Joe Biden and the filibuster:
https://www.heritage.org/political-process/commentary/senator-joe-biden-vs-president-joe-biden-filibuster-problem
An excellent, succinct explanation of personal inconsistency and why it's not always wrong:
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/fallacies/personal_inconsistency.htm
In this episode, April and her friend John Champion, co-host of "Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast," get all nerdy and philosophical about the ways in which the Trek triumvirate of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy epitomize the Aristotelian proofs of ethos (appeal to authority), logos (appeal to logic), and pathos (appeal to emotion). Plus they reminisce about the good old days when Star Trek: the Experience was the coolest thing ever. Sigh...
Episode 14 Show Notes
Here are the episode numbers for the Star Trek: The Original Series episodes we referenced:
"Balance of Terror"--Season 1, Episode 14
"City on the Edge of Forever"--Season 1, Episode 28
"The Empath"--Season 3, Episode 12
"Requiem for Methuselah"--Season 3, Episode 19
Here are the IMDB listings for the movies we referenced:
Star Trek: The Motion Picture--https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079945/
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan--https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier--https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098382/
You can find many Star Trek television shows and movies on https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star_trek/
You may also be able to find some on Hulu, Prime Video, FX Now, and Fubo
Here's the link to all Roddenberry podcasts, including Mission Log:
https://podcasts.roddenberry.com/
If you want to search for specific Mission Log episodes, here is their archive:
https://www.missionlogpodcast.com/archive/
Some of McCoy's best smart-ass/heartfelt/profound wordplay: https://impertinentremarks.com/rhetoric-lessons-from-star-treks-dr-mccoy/
An interesting take on the friendship between the Trek triumvirate: https://www.startrek.com/article/the-importance-of-friendship-in-star-trek
Here's Michael Shermer's explanation on why Kirk is such a great leader:
SHERMER, MICHAEL. “The Captain Kirk Principle.” Scientific American, vol. 287, no. 6, 2002, pp. 39–39. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26060080. (If you don't have access to JSTOR, you can probably find this article online in Scientific American's archives.)
Oh, and you may have noticed that John and I use different pronunciations for "ethos," "pathos," and "logos." Well, mostly "pathos." That's perfectly acceptable, as this article explains: https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2020/01/ethos-logos-pathos.html
April talks with Celestia Ward, one of the hosts of Squaring the Strange, a podcast that focuses on evidence-based analysis covering a very wide variety of topics. In this episode, April finds out how Celestia got started as a skeptical researcher; they also discuss some of the techniques Celestia uses to focus on finding facts while still acknowledging that she, like all of us, has biases. Along the way they mention skeptic icon James Randi, Penn and Teller, folklorist Jeannie Thomas, and Mick West, author and founder of metabunk.org. April also find out that Celestia is a big fan of the number 13 (the episode number)! After the interview, Celestia mentioned that she spent eight years as an academic editor at Johns Hopkins University Press, and says of that experience "Cutting your teeth on reference lists that are nearly as long as the chapters instills you with a respect for thorough research."
Episode 13 show notes:
Here’s the Squaring the Strange website. You can also find them on Apple Podcasts:
https://squaringthestrange.libsyn.com/website
Hey, look what I found! An 2015 article about Celestia in Skeptical Inquirer, written by Ben Radford (now one of her co-hosts on Squaring the Strange):
https://skepticalinquirer.org/newsletter/facing-art-and-skepticism-caricaturist-celestia-ward/
A good NPR article giving some background and a proper sendoff for James Randi:
https://www.npr.org/2020/10/22/926717787/amazing-escape-artist-magician-and-skeptic-james-randi-dead-at-92
The website for one of the best skeptic/science podcasts out there, The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe:
https://www.theskepticsguide.org/
A great article from a science education website about why scientist must also be skeptics:
http://www.ces.fau.edu/nasa/introduction/scientific-inquiry/why-must-scientists-be-skeptics.php
Wikipedia (yeah, sometimes it’s a perfectly good source) has a list of Penn and Teller’s Bullshit episodes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Penn_%26_Teller:_Bullshit!_episodes
Here’s the lecture by Jeannie Thomas in which she references the SLAP testing method, and confesses that she’s even been pulled in by scary-sounding claims that ended up being untrue (it is a BYU lecture, so there is an opening prayer—do with that what you will):
https://vimeo.com/507323130
To quickly check a news story to see if it has any basis in fact, try https://leadstories.com/ or factcheck.org
Wanna buy Mick West’s book? Here you go:
https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Rabbit-Hole-Conspiracy-Theories-ebook/dp/B077YS5G2N
Contact Celestia Ward for information about her caricatures at:
https://www.2headsstudios.com/
April talks about one of the sneakiest fallacies, the misplaced burden of proof. Here's an example:
Friend: George told me he's not getting the vaccine because it's dangerous.
You: How do you know it's dangerous?
Friend: I'm just telling you what George said. How do you know he's wrong?
You: I...um...what?
Here's what it is, and what to do when it happens to you.
Show Notes:
Here's an explanation of the misplaced burden of proof:
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/burden-of-proof
In case you want to make a Prove Me Wrong meme, here's the meme generator. Just make sure your audience knows it's a fallacy, please:
https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/140087640/Prove-me-wrong
Here's the amazingly sexist and fallacy-laden interview with Gavin McInness:
https://www.ttbook.org/interview/proud-boys-founder-gavin-mcinnes-youd-be-happier-housewife
The Effectivology website is full of really great articles about fallacies and making good arguments. This is the article I refer to in the episode:
https://effectiviology.com/burden-of-proof/
There's a subtle but important difference between presumption and assumption. This explains it:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/assume-vs-presume
April begins Season 2 by talking about why we seem to be so angry these days, and what we can do to take it down a notch.
Episode 11 Show Notes
Here's Nancy Rommelmann's op-ed describing the fallout from the online outrage against her and her husband: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-rommelmann-me-too-portland-20190222-story.html
Harvard's Elizabeth Bartolet writes about the things that trouble her about the MeToo movement: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/1/16/bartholet-metoo-excesses/
An NPR story about outrage with Steve Inskeep and Shankar Vedantam: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/09/768489375/how-outrage-is-hijacking-our-culture-and-our-minds
Some of the short and long-term effects of anger can be found here: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/anger-how-it-affects-people#:~:text=The%20long%2Dterm%20physical%20effects,learning%20relaxation%20techniques%20and%20counselling
Richard Ford's excellent Stanford blog post about what he calls the "outrage-industrial complex":
https://law.stanford.edu/2019/12/20/the-outrage-industrial-complex/
Psychology Today author Rob Henderson writes about the social underpinnings of outrage: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/after-service/201906/moral-outrage-why-we-attack-each-other
Victoria Spring's article in Scientific American about the positive and negative aspects of outrage: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-outrage-be-a-good-thing/
Some great ideas from journalist Zaid Jalani on how to de-escalate your social media outrage: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_avoid_the_social_media_outrage_trap
April explains why we are all so bad at determining probability and risk. Well, maybe you're not, but she is. Anyway she talks about death a lot, which is a topic lots of people find interesting; but don't worry because she avoids the gory details. Unless you like the gory details, in which case...sorry about that.
Episode 10 Show Notes
An interesting probability calculator: https://www.calculators.org/math/probability.php
Michael Shermer's article discussing our inability to grasp probabilities: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-our-brains-do-not-intuitively-grasp-probabilities/
Another Shermer article discussing the problem with anecdotal evidence: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-anecdotal-evidence-can-undermine-scientific-results/
Yet another great article about our inability to calculate risk: https://www.cogencyteam.com/news/2018/02/why-are-humans-bad-at-calculating-risk/
Why we dislike self-driving cars: https://slate.com/technology/2016/06/research-shows-why-people-are-bad-at-assessing-the-risks-of-self-driving-cars.html
The excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/20/health/coronavirus-excess-deaths.html
Yes, masks work to reduce our risk of Covid-19: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent
CDC info on the flu: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/keyfacts.htm
How we either overestimate or underestimate our risk of getting Covid-19, along with lots of other risks we misinterpret: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/world/asia/coronavirus-risk-interpreter.html
Here’s the birthday problem calculator. Enjoy! https://sites.google.com/site/craigandera/craigs-stuff/odds-ends/the-birthday-problem-calculator
The difference between actual causes of death and what's covered in news media: https://ourworldindata.org/does-the-news-reflect-what-we-die-from
A discussion of the difference between “possible” and “probable” on a website for English language learners: https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/21191/in-simple-words-what-is-the-difference-between-possible-and-probable#:~:text=Possible%20means%20it%20can%20happen,it%20is%20likely%20to%20happen
Zagorsky’s article about determining “expected value:" https://theconversation.com/how-to-deal-with-lifes-risks-more-rationally-94366
In this episode, April uses the definition of “bullshit” described by American philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt in his seminal 1985 essay, “On Bullshit” to discuss its impact on our lives and ways to see through it. As you can probably tell, she also says “bullshit” a lot.
Episode 9 Show Notes
I purchased the big red Bullshit Button that you hear in this episode from Amazon if you want one. I use it to annoy my students, but it’s also handy for annoying your kids, significant other, and pets.
The book “On Bullshit” by Harry G. Frankfurt is also available on Amazon as well as academic databases.
As of 2018 Trump was still insisting he was right about Sweden: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-claims-he-was-right-about-crimes-caused-immigrants-sweden-n854296
Beto O’Rourke and his “false” rating on Politifact: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/oct/21/beto-orourke/despite-his-claim-presidential-candidate-beto-orou/
Hey it’s not just me; the illustrious Harry G. Frankfurt himself has called out Donald Trump on his bullshit: https://time.com/4321036/donald-trump-bs/
Yes, “bullshit receptivity is a thing. Here’s discussion of the research by Gordon Pennycook et al: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jopy.12476
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-54494-003
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/one-among-many/201512/not-even-bullshit
https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/08/when-it-comes-to-the-academic-study-of-fake-news-bullshit-receptivity-is-a-thing/
Philosopher Victor Moberger’s article in Theoria: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/theo.12271
A short explanation of how Brandolini’s law got it’s name: http://ordrespontane.blogspot.com/2014/07/brandolinis-law.html
Conspiracy theories and pseudoscience both get science wrong:
https://elephantinthelab.org/how-conspiracy-theorists-get-the-scientific-method-wrong/
This amazing little handbook teaches you how to approach people and (nicely) debunk their bullshit. It's focused on climate change deniers, but it will work for other issues: https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DebunkingHandbook2020.pdf
Author Warren Berger shows you how to pick up on, and call out, bullshit: https://www.fastcompany.com/3068589/how-to-fine-tune-your-bullshit-detector
“Legit Scientist” Paul M. Sutter explains the power behind the words “I don’t know.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulmsutter/2019/08/11/i-dont-know-is-one-of-the-most-powerful-things-you-can-say/?sh=8b5690e4e197
In this short episode, April explains what mindfulness is and its potential use as a tool for better critical thinking.
Episode 9 Show Notes
The Niroga Institutes' definition of mindfulness:
https://www.niroga.org/media/news/2019-what_is_mindfulness.php?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8rT8BRCbARIsALWiOvSf6DfTkjHq-ZMMjqbicowM3dtk3UC3huZgTbBZKCaOe-hLVlBxGwkaAjv8EALw_wcB
The Happier Skeptic's definition of mindfulness:
https://happierskeptic.com/critical-thinking-and-mindfulness/
Even more definitions of mindfulness you may find enlightening:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-matters-most/201711/3-definitions-mindfulness-might-surprise-you
You can access the Oxford Language Dictionary's definition simply by typing "mindfulness" into Google's search bar.
Here's Dr. Michael Hogan's article in Psychology Today:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-one-lifespan/201601/does-mindfulness-enhance-critical-thinking
Here's another article co-authored by Hogan on the same topic:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02043/full
The disturbing rise of QAnon within the wellness and yoga communities:
https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/yoga-wellness-and-qanon-conspiracy-theories
The origin of one of my favorite quotes:
https://spinstrangenesscharm.wordpress.com/2017/10/22/who-first-said-we-must-keep-an-open-mind-but-not-so-open-that-our-brains-fall-out/
Easy and effective mindfulness exercises you can do:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/mindfulness-exercises/art-20046356
Some mindfulness apps for your consideration:
https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-apps/
An article about utilizing mindfulness in the workplace to enhance problem solving:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140625172839-26938934-critical-thinking-mindfulness-and-thinking-about-thinking/
April discusses media literacy in a wide-ranging conversation with Shanna Gilkeson, a doctoral candidate in media and communication at Bowling Green State University. They talk about what does and doesn't work when applying traditional media literacy skills to today's media landscape. Shanna gives some great tips about how she approaches fact-checking, talks about how she determines a source to be credible/reliable, and shares her favorite credible sources and fact-checking sites.
Episode 7 Show Notes:
A good article discussing the basics of media literacy: https://mediastudies.pressbooks.com/chapter/the-importance-of-media-literacy/
Here's the CRAAP test pdf: https://library.csuchico.edu/sites/default/files/craap-test.pdf
Danah Boyd's SxSW keynote speech "What Hath We Wrought" describes the epistemic crisis the US finds itself in, explains a little bit about how people get radicalized, and how the traditional way of teaching media literacy has failed us, that teaching people how to verify a source's credibility doesn't work when they're radicalized to mistrust any source they don't agree with: https://youtu.be/0I7FVyQCjNg
Ad Fontes Media - a valuable resource in terms of determining how reliable or biased a source is. https://www.adfontesmedia.com/ In particular, their interactive media bias chart is helpful in terms of determining where a source lands on the trustworthiness spectrum: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart-2/ Also, they're super-transparent about their methodology, which they describe in great detail here: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/how-ad-fontes-ranks-news-sources/
On the need for fact-checking instead of source checking: https://medium.com/@holden/how-media-literacy-gets-web-misinformation-wrong-45aa6323829d
On the value of acquiring knowledge before trying to apply criticism: https://hapgood.us/2016/12/19/yes-digital-literacy-but-which-one/
How media literacy gets misinformation wrong: https://medium.com/@holden/how-media-literacy-gets-web-misinformation-wrong-45aa6323829d
Yep, this happened: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/10/16/trump-tweets-out-fake-story-criticizing-biden-from-satirical-news-site/#3cf6e9c55c38
This NPR interview is from 2012, but it still stands: https://www.npr.org/2012/01/10/144974110/political-fact-checking-under-fire
April interviews journalism professor Jennifer (Jenny) Mitchell about today's media landscape. Topics include what qualifies as media, who owns giant media conglomerates, the difference between hard news and opinion pieces, professional journalists vs. citizen journalists and bloggers/vloggers, the ethical principles that professional journalists should follow, and the credible news sources that Jenny relies on.
Episode 6 Show Notes:
A list of top media conglomerates:
https://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/021815/worlds-top-ten-media-companies-dis-cmcsa-fox.aspx
A list of media billionaires:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/06/01/these-15-billionaires-own-americas-news-media-companies/#4c73723660ad
An explanation of “infotainment:”
https://www.medialit.org/reading-room/whatever-happened-news
The difference between hard news and opinion:
https://digitalresource.center/content/lesson-5-news-vs-opinion
Least biased sites for news:
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-world-news-websites-guaranteed-free-censorship/
A decent article by a young media student who seems to have a handle on the issues with citizen journalists:
https://medium.com/@zoesaunderson/the-legal-challenges-professional-vs-citizen-journalists-225a026cf83a
An academic paper on the topic of citizen vs professional journalists:
https://homepage.univie.ac.at/homero.gil.de.zuniga/documents/Holton,%20Coddington%20&%20Gil%20de%20Zuniga%20(2013)%20Journalism%20Practice.pdf
The Society of Professional Journalist’s Code of Ethics:
https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
A great article about journalism as a calling:
http://www.mediaethicsmagazine.com/index.php/browse-back-issues/137-fall-2007/3230571-journalism-as-a-calling
The American Press Association’s (APA) list of principles that all journalists should abide by:
https://americanpressassociation.com/principles-of-journalism/
The link to OnlineNewspapers.com:
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/
A link to CSN’s Coyote Student News, the student-run paper that Jennifer Mitchell oversees:
https://coyotestudentnews.com/
A really, really good (and disturbing) discussion about how disinformation travels through mass media and into social media:
https://www.lawfareblog.com/lawfare-podcast-yochai-benkler-mass-media-disinformation-campaigns
An explanation of “false balance:”
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/nov/08/impartial-journalism-is-laudable-but-false-balance-is-dangerous
April discusses Jonathan Haidt's "Moral Foundations Theory," that has its roots in evolutionary psychology and attempts to explain how we view politics and social policy. We use the same basic moral foundations to create our beliefs and opinions, but we interpret and layer them differently. When we recognize which of these foundations people are using to build their moral framework we can see how they come to hold certain beliefs. Understanding is the key to opening dialogue and eventually resolving conflict.
Episode 5 Show Notes:
Here's a great article from the website DividedWeFall.com that goes into detail on Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory:
https://dividedwefall.com/2018/07/15/the-righteous-mind-moral-foundations-theory/?gclid=CjwKCAjwn9v7BRBqEiwAbq1Ey5fhnO5F6VgWC7ducjJKd9NrqWR7nbrsBBG4gyVnHRxVB4Ydc_4NlxoCiUkQAvD_BwE
This is the link to the YourMorals.Org website:
https://yourmorals.org/
This article from The Greater Good Magazine discusses the importance of empathy in today's world:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/in_a_divided_world_we_need_to_choose_empathy
The Civil Politics website has lots of article and links to great resources about this topic. Here's a good article:
http://www.civilpolitics.org/content/two-evidence-based-recommendations-for-civil-disagreement/
This article explains "Intergroup Contact Theory:"
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_makes_a_good_interaction_between_divided_groups
Look around and see if there's a topic on LivingRoomConversations.org that interests you on this website, then get involved in a discussion:
https://www.livingroomconversations.org/
This pdf has some provocative questions on divisive issues that can be used to open dialog:
https://whatisessential.org/sites/default/files/resource/file/2020-06/Questions%20for%20Divisive%20Issues.pdf
This conversation guide on the topic of immigration is an example of how LivingRoomConversations guides its participants to help them truly understand each other:
https://209859-635214-1-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/NEW-Immigration.pdf
Here's an eye-opening article on the Village Square's website that will make you think about why it's so difficult to get people from opposing sides to sit down and talk:
https://tlh.villagesquare.us/blog/welcoming-conservatives/
This Psychology Today article gives some great ideas about how to approach problematic discussions:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-risky-is-it-really/201007/why-changing-somebody-s-mind-or-yours-is-hard-do
A great article from the Gottman Institute about maintaining relationships while disagreeing:
https://www.gottman.com/blog/what-to-do-when-you
In this short but important episode, April explains what the principle of charity is, how it seems to have been forgotten in today's discourse, and ways we can incorporate it into our face to face and online discussions.
Show Notes:
Jeff Stolle explains how the principle of charity fits into civil discourse:
https://www.registerguard.com/story/business/names-faces/2020/06/02/bluechip-stolle-two-rules-of-civil-discourse/42103329/
The Ethics Centre's article says we should try to understand an opponent's arguments before criticizing them:
https://ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-the-principle-of-charity/
Jonathan Maloney's take on this important principle:
https://www.intelligentspeculation.com/blog/the-principle-of-charity
An article from Patrick Gerard's online course, "Logic and Critical Thinking:"
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/logical-and-critical-thinking/0/steps/9148
The Amazon link to Daniel Dennett's book referenced in this episode:
https://www.amazon.com/Intuition-Pumps-Other-Tools-Thinking/dp/1491518871
John Corvino's explanation of the principle of charity on his YouTube Channel:
https://youtu.be/LZZ7tQnI2-M
In this episode, April discusses why fallacies are so powerful and persuasive, and gives examples of some common ones to show how prevalent they are in our lives. She talks to Stephanie Willes, who teaches COM and rhetoric at UNLV and is researching how online anti-vaccine communities use fallacies in their arguments to recruit and keep followers.
Follow COMteacherapril on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/COMteacherapril
Episode 3 Show Notes:
Why fallacies are effective: http://jmbeach.blogspot.com/2012/03/power-and-danger-of-fallacies-double-ad.html
Explanation of validity and soundness in deductive arguments: https://iep.utm.edu/ded-ind/
A long, long, long list of fallacies: https://iep.utm.edu/fallacy/
An explanation of the appeal to authority (false authority): http://www.nizkor.com/features/fallacies/appeal-to-authority.html
An explanation of the post hoc fallacy that mistakes correlation for causation: https://www.thoughtco.com/post-hoc-fallacy-1691650
Don’t let all the stupid pop-up ads on this page dissuade you from reading this very good article about how fallacies make us wrong and why we stick with them: https://www.cracked.com/article_19468_5-logical-fallacies-that-make-you-wrong-more-than-you-think.html
Here’s the latest incarnation of the Media Bias chart: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/intro-to-the-media-bias-chart/
Here is the list of Twitter accounts that Stephanie follows:
@APFactCheck
@factcheckdotorg
@ddale8
@jenmercieca (she is a rhetoric professor)
@thereal_truther
April explains one of the reasons why arguments can go "off the rails"--because the people involved are either unintentionally or deliberately arguing past each other. This happens when people think they are arguing about the same thing, but they are actually arguing different issues related to the topic.
April's Show Notes for Episode 2:
Here's a basic explanation of formal argument and how it differs from informal argument:
https://dlc.dcccd.edu/english2-2/formal-arguments
This article from Harvard Business Review explains some of the reasons why we fail to see that we aren't "on the same page" with others, and gives some good tips to make sure everyone is listening and correctly interpreting what the issues are:
https://hbr.org/2012/12/why-youre-talking-past-each-other-and
This is the story of the mother and daughter who were arguing based on different definitions of the term "socialism:"
https://thevoice.us/instead-of-talking-past-each-other-find-common-ground/
A good article about how those involved in national discourse often talk past each other:
https://novellearning.blog/2017/10/12/how-we-argue-talking-past-each-other/
This is a great article that explains why paraphrasing is so effective when you're in the middle of an argument:
https://www.whatcomdrc.org/news/2018/3/30/the-power-of-paraphrasing
"Pivoting" is a common way politicians avoid answering questions they don't like, and often the audience doesn't realize they're being played. Here's how they exploit our "cognitive limitations:"
https://www.npr.org/2012/10/03/162103368/how-politicians-get-away-with-dodging-the-question
In the premiere episode, April begins by NOT talking about critical thinking at all! Instead, she discusses some of the reasons why clear thinking is so difficult. Topics include:
- Feelings as a prelude to thoughts
- How our brains utilize heuristics, and how they sometimes don't work in our favor
- Cognitive biases that lead us to incorrect conclusions about the world
- Using deliberative thinking to monitor our heuristics and biases
April's Show Notes for Episode 1
Here are the links to articles, websites, and other resources listed in the order in which they are referred to in the episode. Whenever possible I try to find good, solid information from credible sources that can be easily accessed by the public.
In this blog post by Dr. Mark Solmes, he explains the difference between thinking and feeling: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/thinking-and-feeling-whats-the-difference
This article from the psychology website verywellmind.com explains the link between heuristics and cognitive biases: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-heuristic-2795235
Intellligent Speculation is a website devoted to teaching about critical thinking. One article discusses “motivated reasoning” and how it is related to confirmation bias; the other is a look at some common cognitive biases: https://www.intelligentspeculation.com/blog/confirmation-bias-amp-motivated-reasoning
https://www.intelligentspeculation.com/blog/top-10-cognitive-biases-to-look-out-for?utm_source=Intelligent+Speculation&utm_campaign=5d85990ec1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_07_29_04_40&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c6ebd538ff-5d85990ec1-403863798
This YouTube video is a Ted Talk by Hans and Ola Rosling, “How Not to be Ignorant About the World,” that lets us know how little we actually know about the world, and how intuition and the negativity bias often works against us. It also gives us some hope for the future, as well as some tips about how to be “smarter than chimps.” https://youtu.be/Sm5xF-UYgdg
I don’t have a link to the paper by Dunning and Kruger, but here’s the citation: @article{Kruger1999UnskilledAU, title={Unskilled and unaware of it: how difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.},author={Justin Kruger and David Dunning}, journal={Journal of personality and social psychology},year={1999}, volume={77 6}, pages={1121-34}}Here's the You Are Not So Smart website. David McRaney also wrote a book and hosts a podcast with the same name. I highly recommend those as well: https://youarenotsosmart.com/
Here are the two Forbes articles about reducing cognitive bias: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/04/17/cognitive-bias-human-brains-are-only-human/#23a21d0777be
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hecparis/2019/10/08/new-evidence-reveals-training-can-reduce-cognitive-bias--and-improve-decision-making/#5609366f177e