 That's what the UN's top official Secretary General António Guterres said recently. Israel completely blew a fuse over that sentence, and demanded he resign or be removed. They canceled UN Visas. They canceled diplomatic meetings. They say his statement "justifies terrorism." But is he right? I've collected some elements of the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict you might not be aware of, and my contention is that this situation is far from a "vacuum."    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!

SIO396: "This Didn't Happen In A Vacuum"

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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Today's guest, or should I say last year's guest, is Steve Vladeck! He holds the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law, and is a nationally recognized expert on the federal courts, constitutional law, national security law, and military justice. Last year, he released the New York Times bestselling book, "The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic." We spoke about the book and about the state of our horrible Supreme Court. Steve will be appearing on Opening Arguments soon for a sequel to this conversation! 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

SIO447: Steve Vladeck on the Shadow Docket

Author and journalist Kyle Spencer knows - she wrote the book on it. It's called Raising Them Right, soon to be out in paperback. She spent extensive time with Charlie Kirk, among others, and saw how he built an effective right wing youth movement. How did he do it? Who is funding it? Do these people really believe what they say? She answers those questions and more. We're also big fans of Kyle's Reporting Right newsletter. Check it out! 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

SIO446: Believe It Or Not, The Right Has An Effective Youth Movement

We welcome back cosmologist and science communicator Dr. Paul Sutter! Previously, he had come on to talk about his book, Rescuing Science. This time, he's here to take us through some of the science of the super cool new Netflix show 3 Body Problem. What does it get right and what does it get wrong? Or does that even matter? Paul takes us through it! Make sure to check out his podcast Ask A Spaceman! 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

SIO445: The Science of 3 Body Problem with Paul Sutter

Everyone's favorite marine biologist, Dr. Heidi Pearson is back! This time, we're talking about a new, large scale study just out about the massive loss of marine life caused by "the blob." It's another tale of man-made climate change wreaking havoc on the world. But, we've also got some more fun stories to talk about! Gay whales caught in the act, a solo orca that didn't wait for its pod to hunt and kill a Great White Shark, and menopause in whales. You can upload photos and follow your favorite whales here: https://happywhale.com/home 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

SIO444: Climate Change Made "the Blob." It Killed Tons of Marine Life

Dr. Jo Boaler is a leading math education expert and one of the writers of the California Mathematics Framework, a set of guidelines focused on improving equity in California's math classrooms. We first talk about her upcoming book, Math-ish, and the beauty of pursuing more "ish" in our lives. Then, we discuss a recent anonymous complaint that was filed with Stanford University, accusing Dr. Boaler of misrepresenting research to serve her own agenda. 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

SIO396: "This Didn't Happen In A Vacuum"

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