Shaping Opinion Tim O'Brien

One of the co-authors of a groundbreaking academic paper, Michael Hicks, makes the case that “ChatGPT is bullshit.” That’s not only the title of his paper, but a compelling point of view that we dig deep into in this conversation. Michael is one of the three co-authors of the paper, along with James Humphries and Joe Slater. All three are educators at the University of Glasgow.
Michael Hicks is a Lecturer in Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University.  He’s mostly interested in the ways we use scientific laws and models to understand what’s possible, and what isn’t. He says he also thinks about conditional reasoning, probability, and explanation.  
For more information, go to www.ShapingOpinion.com. This is also our Substack hub, where you can subscribe and become a member of our podcast family.
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos
Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X – @Shaping Opinion, Instagram – @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation
* ChatGPT is B******t, Springer Link - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5/
* Michael Townsen Hicks, website - https://www.townsenhicks.com



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

The head of the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), Mo Canady joins us to talk about a self-inflicted safety crisis at many American schools because school boards are terminating their in-school police presence. They are banning School Resource Officers, and more and more parents are outraged. Mo has been a member of NASRO’s board since 2005. And before that he held positions in law enforcement, and as an instructor for NASRO.
One of the more notable recent events is where a 17-year-old student at Garfield High School was shot and killed on June 6th in a school parking lot after trying to break up a fight between two other boys.
There is no way of knowing if the shooting could have been prevented, but one thing is clear. There was no police presence at the school. This after the Seattle School Board voted in 2020 to remove the position of School Resource Officer at the school. That district is one of roughly 70 in the country to do so.
In this episode, we talk about those School Resource Officers – or SROs - and the vital role they play in school communities.
For more information, go to www.ShapingOpinion.com. This is also our Substack hub, where you can subscribe and become a member of our podcast family.
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos
Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X – @Shaping Opinion, Instagram – @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation
After Shooting, Seattle Parents Regret School Kicking Out Officers in 2020: “Who is protecting our babies?”, Fox News
Garfield High Used to Have a Cop, but Seattle Schools Canceled the Job, Seattle Times
Chicago Board of Education Unanimously Votes to End CPD Contract, Remove SROs, Police1
More School Districts are Bringing Back or Adding Police, USA Today


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

If you suffer from anxiety, you may be given a lot of options. Drugs, illegal or legal. Alcohol. Therapy. But one thing most may not bring up to you is something that’s inside of you. Courage. In this episode, we talk with Janet Jackson Pellegrini, one of the authors of a new book called, “You Can Overcome Anything with Courage.”  The book contains 17 different stories from 17 different people. Each shares his or her personal stories and life lessons that have one thing in common – they found the courage to overcome the challenges they faced. Janet tells her story of overcoming anxiety and solving a big life problem simply be reframing her brain after a single casual conversation.

LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos
Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here:  https://shapingopinion.com
Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — 
For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com
Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X – @Shaping Opinion, Instagram – @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation
* You Can Overcome Anything with Courage (Amazon)
* Tambellini Restaurant Downtown Says Arrivederci! (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

University professor and researcher April Bleske-Rechek makes her case for standardized testing in college admissions at a time when there’s an aggressive movement to get rid of the tests.  She co-authored an article recently in Skeptic Magazine where they say the standardized tests are not biased, but are in fact more fair than other measures to gauge student potential.
April is a Professor, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she focuses on Individual Differences and Evolutionary Psychology. She has written for many peer-reviewed journals, and is an active member of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube:
Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v51728f-dont-cancel-the-sat-with-april-bleske-rechek.html
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos
Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here:  
https://shapingopinion.substack.co
Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — 
 Spotify — 
For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: 
https://shapingopinion.com
Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X – @Shaping Opinion, Instagram – @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation
* Standardized Admission Tests Are Not Biased, Skeptic Magazine
* April Bleske-Rechek, The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Author and university professor JP Messina talks about how private companies and others have emerged as the new censors in society. JP wrote the new book called, “Private Censorship.” In it, he describes a new kind of censorship where there are no government-sanctioned book burnings, no prosecutions, no laws or committees. In fact, the state doesn’t publicly appear to be involved at all.
Instead, the censors are social groups, employers, media companies, social media platforms and search engines, many seemingly working in concert, deciding which speech is censored and which is not.
But perhaps more concerning, certain government agencies may have found a way to decide (by proxy) what speech is censored and what private citizens get de-platformed.
When he’s not writing books and for journals, JP is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at Purdue. He teaches courses on political and moral philosophy, ethics, and the history of practical philosophy.
Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: https://youtu.be/5Hst9SxovG8
Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v50v0y3-how-private-companies-target-and-censor-you-with-jp-messina.html
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos
Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here:  https://shapingopinion.substack.co
Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shaping-opinion/id1371714253 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/6yOg769bSm9hJn9zhwkunl
For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com
Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X – @Shaping Opinion, Instagram – @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation
Private Censorship, (Amazon)
JP Messina (Substack page)
Public; the Substack of Michael Shellenberger
The Free Press; the Substack of Bari Weiss
Racket News; the Substack of Matt Taibbi
NRA v. Vullo (Supreme Court Case)
Missouri v. Biden (Supreme Court Case)
 


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Patrick Wolf joins Tim to shed light on why school choice is exploding across the country. The list of states passing or pursuing legislation for more school choice is on the rise weekly. Patrick has long been at the forefront on the issue of school choice. He talks about the impact on the pandemic, which he says revealed a lot to parents about their kids’ public school education.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Why_is_School_Choice_Gaining_Traction_auphonic.mp3





He is a Distinguished Professor of Education Policy. He is the 21st Century Endowed Chair, in School Choice in the Department of Education Reform, at the University of Arkansas, College of Education and Health Professions.  Before this, he taught at Columbia and at Georgetown University, and has been a Visiting Scholar at the Brookings Institution.  As principal investigator of the School Choice Demonstration Project, Patrick has led evaluations of school voucher programs in Washington, DC; Milwaukee, WI; and the state of Louisiana.

He's conducted research and written several books on the topic.

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: https://youtu.be/R4mdSHsKLGg

Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v4wt412-why-is-school-choice-gaining-traction-with-patrick-wolf.html

LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos

Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here:  https://shapingopinion.substack.co

Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shaping-opinion/id1371714253 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/6yOg769bSm9hJn9zhwkunl

For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com

Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X - @Shaping Opinion, Instagram - @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation:

The School Choice Journey: School vouchers and the empowerment of urban families -  https://www.amazon.com/School-Choice-Journey-Empowerment-Education-ebook/dp/B00NC4R2PC/ref=sr_1_3?crid=V8YLH6HF42KP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iThj9m-00wFy3kVNwYRhl0D0a8JbE3NW37S4XgKBZ9282Et9TGRuMFwTFmnBxDUOzrJ_QxkSg0m9HT_pfjHwJ5__iasBX8YusToQEBkH5gk.1sqNy9r2NnYjV5XWCDtBVtY3BQGW3UqKWNcOBv0i7l0&dib_tag=se&keywords=Patrick+Wolf+School+Choice&qid=1716403008&s=books&sprefix=patrick+wolf+school+choice%2Cstripbooks%2C116&sr=1-3
The Public Purposes of Private Education: a Civic-Outcomes Meta-Analysis - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-024-09874-1
School Choice in the States 2024 – EdChoice - https://www.edchoice.org/engage/school-choice-in-the-states-april-2024/
Denisha Allen, American Federation for Children - https://www.federationforchildren.org/staff/denisha-allen/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com