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What changes when you read the Bible closely as literature? Robert Alter joins Jamin Coller to discuss translating the Hebrew Bible, the artistry of its narratives, contradictions within its books, and what English translations can obscure. We explore word choice, biblical poetry, Ecclesiastes, the two creation accounts, and familiar Psalms that sound different in the original Hebrew. Guest resources: Robert Alter at UC Berkeley | The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary Watch this conversation: YouTube Related conversation: Kipp Davis If I'm Really Honest | Become a Superfan #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

What happens when a minister stops believing, but religion has become his career, community, and identity? Former Pentecostal minister Duane Grady joins Jamin Coller for a conversation about changing beliefs, leaving ministry, and the human cost of being honest about doubt. Duane is president of The Clergy Project, which supports current and former religious professionals who no longer hold supernatural beliefs. Guest resource: The Clergy Project Related conversation: Dan Barker - Trapped as a Pastor More conversations: IfImReallyHonest.com Support the show: Team Possibly Wrong #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

Dan Barker is a former evangelical minister, author, musician, and co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. In this conversation, Dan reflects on leaving the ministry, changing deeply held beliefs, building a meaningful life without faith, and defending the separation of church and state. DAN BARKER: Freedom From Religion Foundation: https://ffrf.org/about/ffrf-board/dan-barker/ Books by Dan Barker: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Dan+Barker+Godless&tag=leapialiv-20 IF I’M REALLY HONEST: Website: https://IfImReallyHonest.com Become a Superfan: https://JaminColler.com/Superfans As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong #DanBarker #Deconstruction

Dr. Kipp Davis is a biblical scholar specializing in the Dead Sea Scrolls, early Jewish literature, and the history and transmission of biblical texts. In this conversation, we examine what the Dead Sea Scrolls actually tell us, how scholars evaluate ancient manuscripts, and where popular claims about the Bible can outrun the evidence. KIPP DAVIS: Research: https://independent.academia.edu/KippDavis YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrKippDavis Books on the Dead Sea Scrolls: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Kipp+Davis+Dead+Sea+Scrolls&tag=leapialiv-20 IF I’M REALLY HONEST: Website: https://IfImReallyHonest.com Become a Superfan: https://JaminColler.com/Superfans As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong #KippDavis #DeadSeaScrolls

Will Gervais is a cultural and evolutionary psychologist who studies religious belief, disbelief, morality, and how human minds make sense of gods. In this conversation, we explore why some people believe while others do not, what psychology reveals about atheism and religion, and the assumptions both believers and nonbelievers often get wrong. WILL GERVAIS: Official website: https://willgervais.com/ Research: https://willgervais.com/research-page Disbelief on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Disbelief+Will+Gervais&tag=leapialiv-20 Some links are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. IF I’M REALLY HONEST: Website: https://IfImReallyHonest.com Become a Superfan: https://IfImReallyHonest.com/superfans #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong #WillGervais

Rolf Potts is a travel writer, essayist, and the bestselling author of Vagabonding and The Vagabond’s Way. In this conversation, we explore what meaningful travel can teach us about attention, freedom, identity, and building a life on purpose. ROLF POTTS: Official website: https://rolfpotts.com/ Books and essays: https://rolfpotts.com/books/ Vagabonding on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Vagabonding+Rolf+Potts&tag=leapialiv-20 IF I’M REALLY HONEST: Website: https://IfImReallyHonest.com Become a Superfan: https://JaminColler.com/Superfans As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong #RolfPotts #Vagabonding

Peter Boghossian is a philosopher, educator, former Portland State University professor, pioneer of street epistemology, author of A Manual for Creating Atheists, and coauthor of How to Have Impossible Conversations. We discuss intellectual honesty, why changing your mind should be considered a virtue, friendship across ideological lines, the difference between virtue-based relationships and tribal loyalty, and why deliberately choosing difficult things can help us become more substantial human beings. PETER BOGHOSSIAN: Official website: https://peterboghossian.com/ Substack: https://boghossian.substack.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drpeterboghossian IF I’M REALLY HONEST: Website: https://IfImReallyHonest.com Become a Superfan: https://JaminColler.com/Superfans #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

Bryan Caplan is a New York Times bestselling author, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, and one of the world's most influential libertarian economists. He's the author of The Myth of the Rational Voter, The Case Against Education, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, Open Borders, Build, Baby, Build, and several other bestselling books. His next major work, Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets, is scheduled for release in 2027. In this episode, Bryan and I explore one of the questions at the heart of this podcast: how do we know when we're fooling ourselves? We discuss why people often believe things they don't actually act on, whether we're capable of genuine intellectual honesty, why betting can reveal our real beliefs, why comedians sometimes make better truth-tellers than politicians, what caused Bryan to abandon Catholicism and embrace economics, and how social desirability bias shapes everything from religion to politics. We also discuss immigration, education, rationality, self-deception, and what Bryan would change if he could redesign society from scratch. Bryan Caplan Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JSCEV0/allbooks Website: https://www.bcaplan.com/ X: https://x.com/bryan_caplan Become a Superfan: https://JaminColler.com/iirh_Superfans https://IfImReallyHonest.com #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

Phil Halper is a science communicator, astrophotographer, creator of the Before the Big Bang series, co-author of the acclaimed book Before the Big Bang, interviewer of many of the world's leading cosmologists, and co-author of one of the largest surveys ever conducted of physicists' views on cosmology. In this conversation we discuss what physicists actually mean by "the Big Bang," why many scientists reject the popular idea that the Big Bang represents the beginning of the universe, competing theories of cosmic origins, inflation, string theory, loop quantum gravity, dark matter, dark energy, gravitational waves, the James Webb Space Telescope, LISA, the proposed Big Bang Observer, and why uncertainty is one of science's greatest strengths rather than a weakness. Book - Battle of the Big Bang: https://a.co/d/0hOljVeY Phil Halper : https://www.philhalper.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeforeTheBigBang SUPERFANS: https://JaminColler.com/iirh_Superfans https://IfImReallyHonest.com #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

Ali Lapper is an internationally acclaimed artist, disability rights advocate, author, television presenter, and former subject of one of Britain's most iconic public sculptures. Her monumental portrait, "Alison Lapper Pregnant," stood on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, making her one of the most recognizable disability advocates in the world. In this conversation, Ali and I discuss disability, beauty, self-acceptance, grief, motherhood, identity, and what it means to live authentically. We explore society's obsession with "normal," why perfection is overrated, how she learned to become comfortable in her own skin, the challenges of raising a child while disabled, the devastating loss of her son Paris, and how she found a way to keep living after unimaginable grief. Along the way, we talk about humor, resilience, friendship, accessibility, and why curiosity is often more valuable than certainty. GUEST LINKS Book - My Life In My Hands: https://amzn.to/4vAd6q8 Ali Lapper Official Website: https://www.alilapper.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alison_lapper_mbe MORE FROM IF I'M REALLY HONEST Website: https://IfImReallyHonest.com Superfan Community: https://JaminColler.com/iirh_Superfans #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

Unabridged, FULL episode: https://youtu.be/rlCFKSxoOp0 Jeran Campanella was one of the most recognizable voices in the modern Flat Earth movement, creator of the Jeranism YouTube channel, speaker at Flat Earth conferences around the world, featured participant in Netflix's Behind the Curve, and one of the Flat Earth representatives selected to travel to Antarctica for "The Final Experiment." In this conversation, Jeran walks through his entire journey - from fundamentalist Christianity, to atheism, to Flat Earth, to standing in Antarctica and witnessing the 24-hour sun for himself. We explore the psychological appeal of conspiracy theories, the power of online communities, the cost of changing your mind publicly, and what happens when your search for truth puts you at odds with the tribe that gave you identity, purpose, friendship, and income. Jeran Campanella (Jeranism) https://www.youtube.com/@Jeranism If I'm Really Honest https://IfImReallyHonest.com Superfan Community https://JaminColler.com/iirh_Superfans #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

Marine biologist Hal Whitehead has spent more than four decades studying whales, pioneered research on sperm whale culture, helped transform how scientists understand whale societies, and authored groundbreaking work on animal culture and cultural evolution. In this conversation, we explore whether whales have culture, how sperm whales pass knowledge between generations, why some scientists resist applying the word "culture" to animals, how whale clans develop distinct traditions, what whale sounds actually communicate, how menopause appears in some whale species, the surprising history of whale conservation, and what decades of field research have taught Hal about some of the most fascinating creatures on Earth. Dr. Whitehead's excellent books: https://amzn.to/43udNFg If I'm Really Honest https://IfImReallyHonest.com Become a Superfan: https://JaminColler.com/iirh_Superfans #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

Gary Noesner spent more than 30 years with the FBI, served as Chief of the FBI's Crisis Negotiation Unit, led negotiations during the Waco siege, helped reshape modern hostage negotiation training, and authored the influential book Stalling for Time. In this conversation, Gary and I explore what actually works when people are at their worst. We discuss the lessons of Waco, why negotiation should almost always take precedence over force, how empathy differs from agreement, the psychology of trust, what makes a great negotiator, the dangers of authority without self-control, and how active listening can transform everything from hostage situations to everyday relationships. Book – Stalling for Time: https://amzn.to/4oj50PZ Website: https://www.garynoesner.com If I'm Really Honest Website: https://www.ifimreallyhonest.com Superfan Community: https://www.jamincoller.com/iirh_Superfans #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

Joel Salatin (@FarmLikeALunatic) is one of the world's most influential voices in regenerative agriculture. He is the co-owner of Polyface Farm, author of more than a dozen books, featured prominently in The Omnivore's Dilemma, Food, Inc., and numerous documentaries, and has spent decades challenging conventional assumptions about food, farming, government regulation, and sustainability. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@farmlikealunatic Joel's Books: https://amzn.to/4uHplQJ Website: https://polyfacefarm.com/ If I'm Really Honest: https://www.ifimreallyhonest.com Superfan Community: https://www.jamincoller.com/iirh_Superfans #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong

Nicholas Christakis is a physician, sociologist, bestselling author, Yale professor, director of the Human Nature Lab, pioneer of social network science, and author of Blueprint, Connected, and Apollo's Arrow. His research has transformed how we understand friendship, cooperation, social contagion, tribalism, and the evolutionary origins of human society. For the Love of Science (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@NAChristakis Human Nature Lab: https://humannaturelab.net/ If I'm Really Honest: https://IfImReallyHonest.com Become a Superfan: https://JaminColler.com/iirh_Superfans #IfImReallyHonest #TeamPossiblyWrong