with Julia Galef
December 14, 2014 What’s wrong with the social sciences? In this episode, Massimo and Julia are joined by Professor Daniel Lakens from the Eindhoven University of Technology, who studies psychology and blogs about research methods and open science. The three discuss why so many psychology papers can’t be trusted, and what solutions might exist for the problem … Read more
November 30, 2014 In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Massimo and Julia delve into the science and philosophy of comedy, exploring questions like: Why did humans evolve to have a sense of humor? What’s the relationship between comedy and existential terror? And how many bad philosophy jokes can Massimo tell before Julia loses it entirely?
November 16, 2014 If you want to choose a career that helps other people effectively, which should you pick? Medicine? Research? Non-profit? The answers may not be as straightforward as you think. This episode of Rationally Speaking features special guest Benjamin Todd, the co-founder and executive director of 80,000 Hours, an organization devoted to helping people … Read more
November 2, 2014 Are you a nihilist? Forget about wearing all black and being indifferent to the rest of the world — nihilism is a lot more complicated than most people think. In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Massimo and Julia explain the different types of philosophical nihilism, reveal their own personal views on the … Read more
October 19, 2014 You probably feel like you can recognize someone who’s an asshole when you’re unlucky enough to encounter him. But can you really? Philosophy professor Aaron James, the author of “Assholes: A Theory,” joins the podcast to lay out just what makes an asshole an asshole, and why they’re so uniquely maddening. Massimo, Julia and … Read more
October 5, 2014 Taped in front of a live audience at Baruch College in New York, this episode of Rationally Speaking features special guest Steve Novella: neurologist, author of the blogs NeuroLogica and Science Based Medicine, and co-host of the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe (SGU) podcast. Steve, Massimo, and Julia discuss the recent lawsuit facing the SGU, share their … Read more
September 21, 2014 Want to learn how to use your logical, reflective side in everyday life? It’s elementary, my dear listeners! Maria Konnikova, the author of the bestselling Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes is the special guest on this episode of Rationally Speaking. Konnikova has a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University and writes about science … Read more
September 7, 2014 As part of our special mini-interviews series, Massimo talks to Jim Baggott, author of “Farewell to Reality: How Modern Physics Has Betrayed the Search for Scientific Truth.” Jim is one of an increasingly vocal number of critics of some directions taken lately by research in fundamental theoretical physics, and particularly of string theory. Massimo … Read more
August 24, 2014 In our first mini-interview episode Massimo sits down to chat with his colleague Maarten Boudry, a philosopher of science from the University of Ghent in Belgium. Maarten recently co-edited the volume on The Philosophy of Pseudoscience (Chicago Press) with Massimo, and the two chat about the difference between science and pseudoscience and … Read more
August 10, 2014 In this special episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo go rogue: no guest, no pre-set topics, just conversation about things on their mind. Among other things, the duo discuss the questions of how to change your mind (Julia describes her “surprise journalling” method) and, importantly: How do you know if you’re … Read more