721 episodes
Serious Inquiries Only seriouspod.com
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4.6 • 970 Ratings
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Join Thomas for some critical thinking on questions of science, philosophy, skepticism and politics. These serious topics are discussed with some serious guests, but in an entertaining and engaging way! This is not your typical interview podcast; it’s a friendly dialogue, conducted thoughtfully and with plenty of humor. It's Serious Inquiries Only; but like, not boring or anything.
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SIO406: How Science Made Food Too Addictive
Dr. Dawn Fariello, a lecturer at Fordham University who helped develop their popular course The Ecology and Economics of Food Systems, joins the show today to walk us through cravings and how our body's response to sugar is being weaponized by, you guessed it, capitalism.
Sources:
Moss, Michael. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. Random House trade Paperbacks. 2014. https://mossbooks.us/
Lenoir M, Serre F, Cantin L, Ahmed SH (2007) Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. PLOS ONE 2(8): e698. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000698
Bijoch, Ł., Klos, J., Pawłowska, M. et al. Whole-brain tracking of cocaine and sugar rewards processing. Transl Psychiatry 13, 20 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02318-4
Samaha, AN. Sugar now or cocaine later?. Neuropsychopharmacol. 46, 271–272 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-020-00836-z
Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!
Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! -
SIO405: Are we Really More Polarized Than Ever?
Well..... Yes and no. Political science expert Joe Magestro joins us for a fascinating conversation! We catch up on a little bit of Wisconsin politics. The news is actually pretty decent lately! And then we talk about the concept of polarization. There are many different ways to look at it, including one you might not have considered that is perhaps the most important going forward!
Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!
Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! -
SIO404: Are We Attracted To Our Mate's Immune System?
As crazy as that sounds, it seems to be the case! How does that work? And also... how does the immune system work? And can someone please explain it using vampires and hot dogs as analogies? If those are for some reason questions you've ever had, then Dr. Rick Sullivan is your guy!
Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!
Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! -
SIO403: At What Age Can You Talk To Kids about Race? Parents Wildly Overestimate
Dr. Elizabeth Deitch returns to the show to take us through some science thingies! CRT bannings and other conservative nonsense got Beth interested in the question: when should we actually talk to kids about race? When will they understand it? When do they actually notice race? These questions brought her to two studies. These studies reveal some interesting things about how parents approach conversations on race. When do they think they should have them? And when do they actually have them? And there's a bit of a Thanksgiving tie-in as well!
Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!
Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! -
SIO402: How Biden's Climate Legislation Is Making A Difference
Today's expert takes us through some of the ways that Biden's underrated climate legislation is driving research and investment into clean energy, carbon capture, and more!
Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!
Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! -
SIO401: Dr. Steve Proper on the Science of Food Allergies
You may have heard our episode about our struggles with food labeling and Arlo's allergies. Well, so did Dr. Steve Proper, and he is an actual expert in the field! He teaches us about the medical science involved. What are allergies? What aren't they? How are they different from other seemingly similar phenomena?
But even more interestingly, a somewhat recent study completely changed our understanding of how food allergies are caused! Dr. Steve takes us through it.
Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!
Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
Customer Reviews
Thomas makes everything better. Lydia "assists"
Thomas is the grease that makes the podcast go. He's the interested comedian or whatever they used to say on that other podcast. Lydia and Thomas are a pair. Thomas and Lydia don't put up with bullpucky. There is a podcast that is incredibly boring because Thomas is not there. All the podcasts. God Awful Movies should have Thomas and Lydia on. Just saying.
Israel-Palestine deep dive
Thomas, thank you for the very compelling deep dive on the horrendous events in Israel and Gaza. You are providing much needed context and timeline of events to your listeners. I think your outrage and emotional responses are shared by most of us.
Fantastic show!
Loved this pod with Lindsey (miss her!) and am excited with the hew direction that is rotating experts and has various science-y topics. Thomas is a very likable, friendly and intelligent host. You find yourself interested in anything he wants to talk about. I highly recommend.