Think It Through: the Clearer Thinking Podcast
I know...thinking is hard. But here we go anyway...
Episodes
While it's always been the case that "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting its boots on," it's exponentially more true since the rise of the internet, particularly social media. In this episode, April looks at how and why misinformation and disinformation (which are not the same thing, btw) travel so quickly around our media landscape and affect the way we view...
In this episode, April explains that ignorance and stupidity are not the same thing. But when doubt is deliberately created as a strategic ploy by powerful entities, the ignorance that results can be not only stupid, but dangerous.
Episode 43 Show Notes
Definition of "epistomology:" https://www.britannica.com/topic/epistemology
Good explanation of agnotology by Dr Mark Crislip: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/...
In this episode, April explains how this biased form of reasoning keeps our identities and emotions safe from the harsh glare of reality. Using justifications to support what we really want to be true lies at the heart of motivated reasoning, so the next time you eat a whole sleeve of Ritz crackers and wash it down with chardonnay, remind yourself that you exercised that morning, so it's ok.*
*note--when she says ...
April confesses to being a "big ol' nerd" while discussing three sneaky fallacies that sidestep evidence and shut down discourse.
Episode 41 Show Notes:
It's a study guide about the No True Scotsman fallacy! Hey, they're good for adults too: https://studylatam.com/no-true-scotsman-fallacy-in-philosophy/
Another good article about No True Scotsman: https://practicalpie.com/no-true-scotsman/
In this episode, April talks about why good data (current, accurate, and trustworthy) is so important to good thinking. She is perturbed about the current administration's deliberate attempts to delete, change, or hide critical government data. However, she is also hopeful that the many efforts to protect and preserve this data will be successful.
Episode 40 Show Notes--just citations because my explanations took ...
In this episode, April attempts to unpack the complicated topic of propaganda, a form of persuasion used by corporations, advertisers, pundits, influencers, and political personalities. These days, it's important for critical thinkers to understand that there should be a delineation between propaganda and the kind of rhetoric used in democratic governance, to recognize propaganda and to avoid being influenced by ...
In this episode April explains some very common relevance fallacies--Straw Man, Begging the Question, and Two Wrongs Make a Right. Let's all try not to commit these fallacies, okay?
Episode 38 Show Notes:
https://philosophyterms.com/fallacy-of-relevance/#google_vignette--a handy reference website that gives basic explanations of terms related to philosophy as well as short biographies of many famous philosophers.
In this episode, April drags herself out of bed while recovering from a wicked case of Influenza A (you might notice her somewhat gravelly vocal quality) to record this episode about an important and timely topic--the language of demagoguery. While we tend to think of it as something politicians and other powerful people use, she discovers to her dismay that we are all capable of being "nascent demagogues" a...
In this episode, April reveals that her husband is a rain god. Well, he's not, but he thinks he is. She discusses this uniquely human thing we do called magical thinking.
Episode 36 Show Notes (oooh, so many sources!)
Good basic explanation of magical thinking:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/magical-thinking
Wait, here's another one:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articl...
In this episode, April discusses an unfair and unethical debate tactic used by many politicians, conspiracy theorists, and anyone else who insists on "winning" arguments. She also revisits Brandolini's Law, which means she gets to say "bullshit" more than a few times.
Episode 35 Show Notes
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/gish-gallop.html
A good basic ...
In this episode, April warns people that they might need a break while listening; but in the end, it's surprisingly positive. Just like her!!!
Episode 34 Show Notes
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-to-know-existential-dread
Good discussion of the basics of existentialism, existential dread, why existential crises occur and how to handle them.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/art...
To kick off a new year, April looks at the impact that the emotion of gratitude can have on our mental, emotional, and even physical health. The message here is--the better you feel about yourself and the world around you, the better your cognitive processes will be.
Episode 33 Show Notes
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's article on gratitude is, um, kinda deep and intense (and hard to r...
In this episode, April admits that she doesn't always calmly and rationally think things through; but hey, neither do you. Why? Heuristics, that's why. She discusses these handy, if sometimes problematic, mental shortcuts that help get us through the day without our brains literally exploding. And by literally, I mean figuratively; but literally sounds better, plus it makes a great mental image--KABOOM!!!
In this episode, April realizes that the difference between science and pseudoscience isn't a distinct line, it's more of a continuum. Nevertheless, science remains scientific, while pseudoscience is, well, not so much.
Episode 31 Show Notes:
Here's the Science Council's definition of science:
https://sciencecouncil.org/about-science/our-definition-of-science/
Great ...
In this short episode, April discusses how grief affects our brains--hers in particular, because she just lost one of her best friends and it hurts. So this might be more for her than for you, but you should listen anyway.
The good news is that she'll be ok. Eventually...
Episode 30 Show Notes
Great article from the Today Show website about how our mind deals with death:
https://ww...
In this episode, April talks to Dr. Eunette Gentry about the public's lack of trust in the press and why we should have more faith in journalists and reporters. It's about codes of ethics, people!
Episode 29 Show Notes
This Gallup poll shows the low percentage of trust that the public has in the media: https://news.gallup.com/poll/394817/media-confidence-ratings-record-lows.aspx
Here's...
In this episode, April explains linguistic ambiguity, equivocation, and the equivocation fallacy. She also tells some really bad jokes.
Episode 28 Show Notes:
Moore, Brooke and Parker, Richard. Critical Thinking. McGraw Hill. 2017.
This is current textbook I use to teach my Critical Reasoning class. Much of what I say here about the types of linguistic ambiguity is taken from this excellent text...
In this episode, April discusses the concept of intellectual humility, which is something that people could use more of (and by "people," she means herself).
Episode 27 Show Notes (so many really good sources!!!):
Here's Ed Kang's article from the website YouEQ: https://www.you-eq.com/news-events/emotional-intelligence-skills-intellectual-humility#:~:text=According%20to%20Pepperdine%20...
April discusses the importance of questions and the difference between questions designed to gain knowledge and questions used to manipulate. Plus she says the word "bullshit" several times so she has to label this episode "explicit." Oh well.
Show Notes:
Kids and questions:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/curious-children-questions-parenting-mum-dad-google-answers-inq...
Yes, she's back!!! In this episode, April discusses "algorithm literacy" as a critical part of overall media literacy. It's important to understand that algorithms, while they are a necessary and useful part of the online universe, also play a big role in online polarization and the normalization of extreme viewpoints. The more you know about them, the more effectively you can control what you se...
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