I feel compelled to speak up about how I think we can improve these conversations being had regarding scientific issues. 

In summary: I'm sincerely grateful to everyone who has dedicated their lives and careers to public health, especially those we have served on the front lines. I just feel frustrated by the sanctimony and reluctance to exposure ourselves to new ideas, which I'd argue is unscientific. The entire basis of science is scrutinizing your hypothesis and asking questions. I believe more progress is to be made if we view science as an ongoing process rather than a goal that we must aspire to achieve. Leave the door open to the mere possibility that what we believe to be true could alter down the road. Not that it will, but could. I'd encourage everyone to be open minded when confronted with those who you believe are unscientific, and acknowledge our biases. Ideology and politics heavily influence science, unfortunately, so claiming to be objective is very difficult. I'm not denying that some claims are more scientific than others or that extreme conspiracies exist, but I think the line is being blurred. I could be wrong, but just thought I'd share. Be well. 

Henry Brechter is the managing editor at AllSides: a news website dedicated to addressing media bias and polarization by curating balanced news and promoting civil conversation. We talked about the mission of AllSides and ways that we can all be responsible news consumers.   

Check out AllSides here: https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news 

Stephanie McCullough is a financial planner at Sofia Financial. We talked about behavioral finance, the purpose and strategies of debt, student loans, independent responsibility vs. government policies, and more. Hope you enjoy it! (Recorded 6/9/21) 

I've been thinking a lot about impartiality, or the lack of it in our discourse. So I thought I'd share my observations and what I believe will help us improve our communication. 

Katie Koestner is an activist against sexual violence and an advocate for student safety and healthy relationships. She appeared on the cover of Time magazine at age 18, has given more than 16,000 speeches at more than 5,000 organizations around the world, has written more than 1,000 publications, and is one of the nation’s most sought-after experts regarding these topics. Hear about her story, her thoughts on the Me Too movement, and more. (Recorded 3/27/21) 

Dr. Ned Ketyer is a retired pediatrician and a member/President-Elect of Phsyicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania (PSRPA) which is a non-profit organization dedicated to public health, environmental, and climate advocacy. In our conversation, we talked about renewable energy, the Green New Deal, how to have an impact, the eventual displacement of workers, and more. (Recorded 3/11/21) 

Dr. John Fea is a Distinguished Professor of American History at Messiah University. In our conversation, we talked about historical parallels, populism, the 1776 Commission vs. the 1619 Project, the removal of statues, the second amendment, religious liberty vs. eliminating discrimination, the electoral college, and more. 

I spoke with my friend James and we talked about his experience being a Christian, skepticism, the difference between atheists & agnostics, controversial Biblical teachings, and more. Though slightly less formal than usual, I hope you enjoy our conversation. (Recorded 3/3/21) 

I spoke with Mike Guaglione, who taught an amazing series on the book "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis, about morality, philosophy, Christian apologetics, materialism, the literal vs. metaphorical interpretation of the Bible, social constructionism, and more. (Recorded 2/26/21) 

Dr. Johnson is a professor of psychology at Temple University. In our conversation, we talked about social psychology, polarization, stereotypes, extremism, censorship, ideological possession, and more. (Recorded 2/13/21)