Thinking Critically

In this episode, I'm speaking with Dr. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong about ethics, argumentation, and political polarization.

We discuss:

•How he became interested in philosophy and why ethics in particular.

•How science can't answer important questions on morality, values, etc., but it certainly can be used as an ancillary apparatus to help us navigate these tough questions.

•His research on various topics in ethics.

•How he became interested in informal logic, argumentation, and why he decided to make his Coursera courses.

•How informal logic can help you to think better and help you to identify fake news, conspiracy theories, etc. when you come across it.

•That the goal of a discourse is not to win, but to get closer to truth.

•How the internet is a tool that can be used for good or bad.

•The history of political polarization in the U.S. and how it compares to what we're seeing today.

•And other topics.

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong is Chauncey Stillman Professor of Practical Ethics in the Department of Philosophy and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. He is core faculty in the Duke Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and has a secondary appointment in the Duke Law School. He serves as Resource Faculty in the Philosophy Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Partner Investigator at the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics, and Research Scientist with The Mind Research Network in New Mexico. He has received fellowships from the Harvard Program in Ethics and the Professions, the Princeton Center for Human Values, the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, the Australian National University, and the Sage Center for the Study of the Mind at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has served as vice-chair of the Board of Officers of the American Philosophical Association and co-director of the MacArthur Law and Neuroscience Project.

He earned his B.A. from Amherst College and his Ph.D. from Yale University. He has published widely on ethics (theoretical and applied as well as meta-ethics), empirical moral psychology and neuroscience, philosophy of law, epistemology, philosophy of religion, and informal logic. His articles have appeared in a variety of philosophical, scientific, and popular journals and collections. His current work is on political polarization, Scrupulosity, moral psychology and brain science as well as uses of neuroscience in legal systems.

You can find his website here:

https://www.sinnott-armstrong.com/

You can find his books here:

Think Again: How to Reason and Argue: https://amzn.to/3gg5RNK

Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal Logic: https://amzn.to/2XgVdyD

You can find his courses here:

Think Again I-IV: https://www.coursera.org/learn/understanding-arguments

How to Argue Better: https://learning.himalaya.com/

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/Er6wZyMsT6o

This show is supported and produced by Grips VisualMarketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/

In this episode, I'm speaking with Dr. Shawn Carbonell about his journey from neurosurgeon to entrepreneur.

We discuss:

•How he became interested in science.

•How he decided on the MD/PhD degree instead of just an MD degree.

•How his goal in life of curing glioblastoma lead him to drop out of neurosurgery and found his own company.

•His serendipitous position at UCSF that allowed him to continue his research into curing glioblastoma as well as launch his first company.

•How fear of failure can cause you to not take action even when we know that we need to.

•How he's a big fan of the entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.

•How his life goal of curing glioblastoma - what he calls his “North Star” - lead him to found the non-profit Cure Glioblastoma.

•And other topics.

Dr. Shawn Carbonell is a Cofounder and President of 501(c)(3) nonprofit startup, Cure Glioblastoma. He is the inventor of glioblastoma drug candidate, OS2966 (currently in Phase I clinical trial). A scientific advisor to the “Better Together with Maria Menounos” podcast. A Cofounder of clinical stage biotech, OncoSynergy as well as a startup, life sciences, and creative advisor/consultant.

Frustrated by poor outcomes and the lack of clinical progress in glioblastoma/malignant brain cancer therapy, he left his neurosurgical training and subsequently his own biotech company in order to focus on building curative approaches for glioblastoma and other unmet medical needs. He has tackled everything from traumatic brain injury (TBI) to multiple types of cancer to Ebola virus disease.

His mission is to maximize happiness, health, and impact for himself and others.

You can find his websites here:

Personal Blog: https://www.brainsurgerydropout.com/blog

OncoSynergy: http://oncosynergy.com/#

Cure Glioblastoma: https://www.cureglioblastoma.org/

You can find his social media here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainsurgerydropout/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bigaxon/

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/--VqL415_tc

This show is supported and produced by Grips VisualMarketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/

In this episode, I'm speaking with Dr. Anna Zakrisson about the art of communicating science and critical thinking.

We discuss:

•How she became interested in science and why she is primarily interested in biology.

•How she came to found her own consulting business in green infrastructure and the luck that oftentimes accompanies success with entrepreneurialism.

•The origin story for Dr. Anna's Imaginarium; her science communication brand.

•The importance of communicating science in a way that resonates with people.

•Using art as a language to communicate science.

•That critical thinking is important for a healthy democracy.

•Why more scientists need to start communicating their research directly to the public.

•How do we address the infodemic and ensure that facts are promulgated instead of falsehoods.

•And other topics.

Dr. Anna Zakrisson (aka “Doctor Anna”) is a Ph.D. biologist and science communicator with degrees from, among others, Cambridge University and Max-Planck Institute. She has several years of business experience as VP, Head of Content Marketing at ZAGENO, as well as through her own consulting firm. She currently consults on green infrastructure research and communication.

The close collaboration with her partner, opera singer Joa Helgesson, has opened for new ways of communicating science through musical tales and contemporary performances. They successfully walk the borderland between academia, business, and the arts.

Doctor Anna’s Imaginarium is her online outreach platform with almost 70,000 followers on social media and thousands of readers, viewers, and listeners, per month.

You can find her websites here:

Primary: http://www.annazakrisson.com

Green infrastructure research: http://www.greenroofdiagnostics.com

Green infrastructure communication: http://www.purple-roof.com

Her partner, opera singer Joa Helgesson: http://www.joahelgesson.net

You can find her social media here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctor.annas.imaginarium/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annazakrisson/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoctorAnnasImag

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DoctorAnnasImaginarium

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/3fTIHpsp1FM

This show is supported and produced by Grips Visual Marketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/

In this episode, I'm speaking with Michelle Miller about the science of how we grow our food.

We discuss:

•How she went from fashion to globetrotting, and finally ended up as a farmer in Iowa.

As a fan of world travel myself, some of her favorite travel destinations as well as mine.

•How she was a victim of the disinformation coming from the food industry in regards to anti-GMO labeling, organic, etc.

•Some common myths surrounding the widely used glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup.

•The myth that organic food is pesticide free.

•How antibiotic use has been dramatically scaled back within the livestock industry since 2017.

•How important science communication is in the farming space as both scientists and farmers - who make up a very small percentage of the total population - are disconnected from the rest of society, which leaves them vulnerable to public distrust.

•The importance of identifying where a social media influencer is getting their information.

•How attitudes have slowly shifted over the years as more people have realized the benefits and safety of GMO foods.

•And other topics.

Michelle Miller, better known as the Farm Babe, is an online influencer, columnist for AGDAILY.com, international keynote speaker, and farmer. She lives on a 2,000 acre row crop farm in Northeast Iowa where they also raise sheep and beef cattle. She started her social media outreach over five years ago as a way to better bridge the gap between farmers and consumers and has made a name for herself as a dedicated “mythbuster” in food and farming. With over 160,000 followers and an average social media reach of 3 million views monthly, she has been featured in Forbes as one of the most reputable and followed farmers on social media, was recently a guest on Dr. Drew, and has proudly spoken alongside some of the biggest names in food and farming today.

You can find her website here:

https://thefarmbabe.com/

You can find her social media here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IowaFarmBabe

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefarmbabe

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefarmbabe/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVGrLwzrJBXqCO6pj98ilqQ

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/gvVPlJAO5ao

This podcast is supported and produced by Grips Visual Marketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/

In this episode, I'm speaking with Dr. Susanna Harris about science, depression, and founding something great.

We discuss:

•Her journey towards science and why she ended up choosing a PhD in microbiology.

•The research that she conducted throughout her tenure as a PhD student and how it has the potential to positively impact society when it comes to feeding our growing population.

•Her mental health adversities in graduate school and how she struggled to find the support that she needed during this time from her department.

•The origin story for her mental health support platform PhD Balance built for and moderated by graduate students.

•How she found herself as an accidental entrepreneur.

•The parallels between conducting research and entrepreneurialism.

•As a recent graduate, what her plans are moving forward.

•And other topics.

Dr. Susanna Harris is a passionate microbiologist, entrepreneur, and science communicator. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in microbiology from Iowa University and she just graduated this past spring with her PhD in microbiology from the University of North Carolina. In March of 2018, she wanted to create a safe space for graduate students to connect with one another and build a community, so she decided to found PhD Balance to empower graduate students to thrive in academia. Over the past couple of years, it has grown rapidly and she now oversees a team of volunteers to support an international community of academics. She also enjoys science communication and the challenge of translating cutting-edge research into accessible and engaging materials for professional and public audiences.

You can find her websites here:

https://susannalharris.com/

https://www.phdbalance.com/

You can find her social media here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SusannaLHarris

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SusannaLHarris/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SusannaLHarris

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/n05gwKMxh0I

This podcast is supported and produced by Grips Visual Marketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/

In this episode, I'm speaking with Jonathan Haber about what exactly critical thinking is and the benefits it offers.

We discuss:

•His critical thinking journey and how politics acted as the initial impetus for his discovery.

•A definition for what critical thinking is.

•The benefits of learning critical thinking.

•How emotions still have a role in critical thinking even if they can get in the way of rational thought sometimes.

•How critical thinking promotes the recognition of both emotion as well as cognitive biases as innately human and how to minimize their negative impact on rational thought.

•How the internet has made it very easy for people to interact with one another, but one of the darker sides of this increased connection is that people are increasingly combative online.

•How for most, changing one's mind is a herculean effort that takes time and compassion.

•And other topics.

Jonathan Haber is an educational researcher, writer and entrepreneur working in the field of technology-enabled learning. His Degree of Freedom One Year BA project, which involved trying to learn the equivalent of a BA in just twelve months using only MOOCs and other forms of free learning, was featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Wall Street Journal and other major media sources. His writing on education-related topics has appeared in Slate, EdSurge and other publications.

You can find his websites here:

Critical Thinking Essentials: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/critical-thinking

Degree of Freedom: http://degreeoffreedom.org/

Critical Voter: http://www.criticalvoter.com/

LogicCheck: https://www.logiccheck.net/

You can find free Critical Thinking materials here:

ThinkerAnalytix: https://thinkeranalytix.org/

Think Again (Duke University – Coursera): https://www.coursera.org/instructor/~932346

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/04jIyhCscqA

This podcast is supported and produced by Grips Visual Marketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/

In this episode, I'm speaking with Lindsey, Juliana, and Marisol about science, medicine, and their journey to attain the MD/PhD degree.

We discuss:

•Their individual journeys towards science and why they chose the aspects of medicine that they did.

•What the MD/PhD degree is and their experiences thus far in NYU's program.

•The genesis story for how they met and why they decided to found their science communication brand Scopes & Scrubs.

•What excites them the most about the future of medicine.

•What it means to be a STEMinist.

•Their thoughts on fake news and how to push back against it.

•And other topics.

Lindsey is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada but fell in love with New York City after moving there for college where she graduated from Columbia University in 2017 with a degree in Neuroscience. She has a wide range of research interests including stem cell biology, immunology, and neuroscience. Currently, she is studying bone stem cells in a bone, orthopedic, and surgery lab. In the future, she wants to be a surgeon as well as continuing to study stem cells, but in her own lab.

As the identical twin to Lindsey, Juliana is also originally from Las Vegas, Nevada and also moved to New York City to study Neuroscience at Columbia University where she graduated in 2017. She always knew that she wanted to be a doctor, but after experiencing research as an undergraduate, she knew that she wanted to work in a lab as well, which is why she decided to pursue the MD/PhD as it would allow the best of both worlds. She is currently researching neuronal innervation to the skin and how this knowledge can be used to regenerate fully functional skin. She plans to continue her research in this area after graduating as a physician-scientist.

Marisol is originally from Miami where she is one of three sisters born to Cuban and Argentinian parents. She is a first generation college graduate and a Worlds Ahead Scholar from FIU where she graduated in Biology and Chemistry in 2016. The complexity of the brain to control every aspect of humanity is a realization that has fascinated her ever since experiencing her grandmother's mental deterioration from Alzheimer's disease. This experience has lead to her current research in neuroelectrophysiology methods, which can then be applied to diseases such as Alzheimer's and epilepsy.

You can find their website here:

https://www.scopesandscrubs.org/

You can find them on social media here:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCutSEUCL2o1PxWiPSNPFQsA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scopesandscrubs/

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/AV6g49lUb8Y

This podcast is supported and produced by Grips Visual Marketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/

In this episode, I'm speaking with Daniel Betts about comedy, critical thinking, and being a scientifically trained individual in a world that has become increasingly anti-science.

We discuss:

•How Dan and I became friends and the genesis of his interest in science as well as comedy.

•The importance of education and how a good teacher can change your life.

•How to encourage people to go into science or, at the very least, to communicate science in such a way that they learn to appreciate it.

•That Dan is from Bakersfield, which is the same city that the two Doctor's that went viral for presenting their “statistics” to argue for reopening the economy are from.

•Debunking COVID-19 disinformation and other anti-science nonsense that he encounters regularly on social media.

•As a Geologist who ended up in the fossil fuel industry himself, how dis-heartening it is to see other scientists in this area argue against or severely downplay the global warming consensus.

•And other topics.

A Chicago native, Daniel Betts was winning comedy competitions within a few short months of ever taking the stage. By his one-year anniversary of ever stepping up to the mic, he was featuring at The World Famous Comedy Store in LA, and performing alongside some of the greats like Howie Mandel and David Koechner. By year two, he was opening for killers like Joey Diaz and even asked to perform for our forward deployed troops in Afghanistan. Daniel runs a very successful open mic every Thursday night, along with monthly showcases in the Central Valley and you can find him performing all over California, most recently with comedians such as Theo Von, Ian Edwards and Joel McHale.

You can find his website here:

https://sites.google.com/view/danbetts/home?authuser=0

You can find him on social media here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanielBettsComedy/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielbettscomedy/?hl=en

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/VQQW7yHi5fM

This podcast is supported and produced by Grips Visual Marketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/

In this episode, I'm speaking with Dr. Stephanie Caligiuri about her research interests and journey as a science communicator.

We discuss:

•How Stephanie first became interested in science and why she chose the various aspects of science that she did.

•How all of the misinformation surrounding nutrition lead her to start her own podcast in an attempt to better communicate the results coming from the scientific community.

•The prevalence of cherry-picking by influencers, media, etc. and how this fallacy distorts reality and why looking at the full body of evidence is paramount.

•The importance of critical thinking in today's information age and some possible paths forward in how to achieve this.

•The importance of having a basic understanding of statistics.

•Why all scientists, more than ever, should consider science communication a part of their job description.

•The other cells within the brain beyond neurons that are frequently glossed over in neuroscience discussions; glial cells.

•And other topics.

Dr. Stephanie Caligiuri is a passionate neuroscientist, physiologist, and nutritionist. She obtained her Bachelor and Master degrees in Nutritional Science, her PhD in Physiology, and a current fellowship in Behavioral Neuroscience at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. She has more than 30 awards and over 25 peer reviewed publications in some of the world's top journals such as Nature, recognizing her contributions to science. She also hosts the People's Scientist Podcast, which you can find here:

https://shows.acast.com/the-peoples-scientist/

You can find her on social media here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePeoplesScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.scaligiuri/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrSCaligiuri

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/c1OZmF72axE

This podcast is supported and produced by Grips Visual Marketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/

In this episode, I'm speaking with fellow Intelligent Speculation team member Garrett Wise about science, philosophy and the need for more critical thinking in today's world.

We discuss:

•How Garrett first became interested in science and why physics.

•How he became interested in philosophy and what aspects of philosophy are of most interest to him.

•The trolley problem and how different camps of philosophy approach this thought experiment.

•Moral licensing: what is it and my own musings about moral licensing in the real world.

•You don't have to be a genius to study science.

•Anti-intellectualism, fake news, the anti-science movement, and why it's worth debating with the “true believers.”

•Why is it that religion and political discourse is taboo in our society and how this cultural norm is actually damaging to the social fabric.

•How critical thinking can be used to elevate humanity moving forward.

•And other topics finished with a final important passage read by Garrett.

Garrett Wise holds a Bachelor's Degree in Physics as well as a minor in Philosophy from Northern Illinois University. Besides producing great content for Intelligent Speculation, he works as an analytical chemist who frequently philosophizes about the nature of existence. Through his writing, he hopes to challenge your commonly held beliefs and convince you that science, logic, and critical thinking are the best tools we have to understand the world around us. You can find all of his articles here:

https://bit.ly/3bV31eC

You can find this episode on our YouTube channel as well:

https://youtu.be/5dp88byYxe0

This podcast is supported and produced by Grips Visual Marketing. Grips believes in creating something that disrupts attention spans and challenges the marketing status quo. They do this by creating high quality visual content that GRIPS your audience. You can find them on:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getagrip.vm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getagrip.vm/