Rationally Speaking #112 - Race: Just a Social Construct?
In this episode, Julia and Massimo talk about the problems with "race" as a genetically-based concept. Starting with the controversial recent book "A Troublesome Inheritance," by NY Times science writ...
2 Jan 202147min
Rationally Speaking #111 - Human Nature
Ever heard someone sigh, "That's just human nature"? Have you wondered what that meant? In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo delve into the science and philosophy of human nature:...
2 Jan 202154min
Rationally Speaking #137 - Marc Lipsitch on, "Should scientists try to create dangerous viruses?"
A controversial field of research is "gain-of-function," in which scientists take a virus (like a strain of flu) and attempt to make it more dangerous, for example by making it transmissible in mammal...
2 Jan 202141min
Rationally Speaking #133 - Sean Carroll on "The Many Worlds Interpretatioln Is Probably Correct"
In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Caltech physicist Sean Carroll describes an "embarrassing" state of affairs in modern physics: that we still don't know how to interpret quantum mechanics, almo...
2 Jan 202145min
Rationally Speaking #132 - Live From NECSS 2015
This live episode of Rationally Speaking, taped at the 2015 Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, is a special one: it's Massimo's last episode as co-host! He and Julia look back over their ...
2 Jan 202157min
Rationally Speaking #131 - James Randi on Being An Honest Liar
The Amazing Randi, famous magician and a pioneer of Skepticism, joins this episode of Rationally Speaking for a conversation about the past and future of the Skeptic movement. Massimo and Julia's ques...
2 Jan 202145min
Rationally Speaking #130 - The Atheists Own 10 Commandments
Do atheists need their own 10 commandments? What would such a thing look like? In this episode, Julia and Massimo discuss a recent attempt to define some secular commandments. They debate the relevanc...
2 Jan 202147min
Rationally Speaking #129 - Would the World Be a Better Place Without Religion?
Atheists often take it as a given that the world would be better off without religion. But what does the evidence so far really say? In this episode, Massimo and Julia discuss a recent article in the ...
2 Jan 202149min
