Utterly Moderate Podcast

Kathleen Romig joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss the future of the Social Security program. Romig is a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Her research focuses on Social Security, SSI, paid leave, and other government budget issues. Romig has previously worked at the Social Security Administration, Social Security Advisory Board, Congressional Research Service, and Office of Management and Budget.

Episode music:

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Play along at home and see how well you score (and if you beat the hosts!) as political scientist Lonce Bailey quizzes Utterly Moderate hosts Ali and Lawrence about their U.S. government knowledge!

Episode music:

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On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by economists Heidi Hartmann and Ariane Hegewisch to discuss the gender pay gap in the U.S., including its definition, size, causes, and possible solutions. 

Episode music:

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On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Varoujan Gorjian and New York Times columnist and science author Carl Zimmer. We discuss black holes, the value of science, the importance of good teachers, the work of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the nuclear age, duck and cover drills, the Castle Bravo nuclear bomb test and its aftermath, the world of viruses, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Carl Zimmer tapeworm, and much more!

Episode Music and Audio Clips:

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On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by actress and best-selling author Hilarie Burton Morgan to discuss her childhood, breaking into Hollywood, MTV, One Tree Hill, The Walking Dead, her new podcast Drama Queens, Mischief Farm, Samuel's Sweet Shop, and much more!

P.S. Always consume credible information - our democracy depends on it!

Episode music:

“Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons)

“The Washington Post March” by the United States Marine Band (publicly available on YouTube)

“Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with permission from artist)

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On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast, the hosts are joined by Lee McIntyre, author of the forthcoming book How to Talk to a Science Denier, to discuss the process of doing science, the importance of scientific and information literacy, how conservatives AND liberals deny facts, flat-Earth conventions, the debunked vaccine-autism link, the problems of misinformation and disinformation in our current post-truth era, and more!

Episode music:

"Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (creative commons)

"Cheeky" by Ketsa (creative commons)

“Flore” by Edoy (creative commons)

“Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (with permission from artist)

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On this special Juneteenth 2021 episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Dr. Rodney Coates (Miami University of Ohio) to discuss the Juneteenth holiday, racial inequality in America, prospects for future progress toward equality, and much more!

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On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast  we are joined by cognitive scientists Steven Sloman (Brown University) and Philip Fernbach (University of Colorado) to discuss the cognitive biases that we all have that get in the way of rational thinking -- and the implications of this for our post-truth era in the U.S.

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On this episode the hosts are joined by Alka Gandhi, an economist from the University of Maryland, to discuss the field of economics, worries about inflation, the future of the minimum wage, GameStop, income inequality, and more. 

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On this episode Ali and Lawrence salute the U.S. Armed Forces by remembering those who have fallen, celebrating veterans and those currently in the armed forces, and discussing the U.S. Special Operations Forces with retired SOF member Bill Fleser. 

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