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★★★★★

4.5

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670 reviews

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Rationally Speaking is the bi-weekly podcast of New York City Skeptics. Join host Julia Galef and guests as they explore the borderlands between reason and nonsense, likely from unlikely, and science from pseudoscience. Any topic is fair game as long as we can bring reason to bear upon it, with both a skeptical eye and a good dose of humor! We agree with the Marquis de Condorcet, who said that in an open society we ought to devote ourselves to "the tracking down of prejudices in the hiding places where priests, the schools, the government, and all long-established institutions had gathered and protected them."Rationally Speaking was co-created with Massimo Pigliucci, is produced by Benny Pollak, and is recorded in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village.

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Is cash the best way to help the poor? (Michael Faye)

2021/12/23

The idea of giving poor people cash, no strings attached, is "very unappealing" for most donors, admits economist Michael Faye -- but it's still one of the best ways to help the poor. Michael and Julia discuss the philosophy behind his organization (GiveDirectly), the evidence we have so far about cash transfers as an anti-poverty intervention, and the various concerns people have about it: How long-lasting are the effects? Does it make recipients less likely to work? Does it cause inflation?

Humanity on the precipice (Toby Ord)

2021/12/10

Humanity could thrive for millions of years -- unless our future is cut short by an existential catastrophe. Oxford philosopher Toby Ord explains the possible existential risks we face, including climate change, pandemics, and artificial intelligence. Toby and Julia discuss what led him to take existential risk more seriously, which risks he considers underrated vs. overrated, and how to estimate the probability of existential risk.

Dangerous biological research - is it worth it? (Kevin Esvelt)

2021/11/30

Kevin Esvelt, a scientist at MIT, argues that research intended to prevent pandemics is actually putting us in a lot more danger. Also discussed: Kevin's own research on engineering wild animal species. Are the risks worth the benefits?

Why we're polarized (Ezra Klein)

2021/11/05

Ezra Klein explains how Republican and Democrats in the US became so different from each other, ideologically and demographically, and why that trend + our institutions = political gridlock. Questions covered include: Is polarization necessarily bad? Has the left polarized more than the right? And what should we make of polls that seem to show Republicans and Democrats used to agree on immigration policy?

The genetic lottery (Kathryn Paige Harden)

2021/10/15

Kathryn Paige Harden, author of “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality” explains what scientists have learned about how our genes affect our educational success. Why is this research so controversial? And is it worth doing anyway?

How to reason about COVID, and other hard things (Kelsey Piper)

2021/09/14

Journalist Kelsey Piper (Future Perfect / Vox) discusses lessons learned from covering COVID: What has she been wrong about, and why? How much can we trust the CDC's advice? What does the evidence look like for different drugs like Fluvoxamine and Ivermectin? And should regular people really try to evaluate the evidence themselves instead of deferring to experts?

"Price gouging" in emergencies

2021/08/19

Every time there’s an emergency, the prices of certain goods skyrocket -- like masks and hand sanitizer during COVID -- and the public gets angry about price gouging. In this episode, two economists (Raymond Niles and Amihai Glazer) make the case for why “price gouging” is actually a good thing, and Julia raises potential counterarguments.

How to be a data detective (Tim Harford)

2021/06/10

When you see a statistic reported in the news, like "10% of University of California Berkeley students were homeless this year," how do you evaluate it? You shouldn't blindly accept every statistic you read. But neither should you reject everything that sounds surprising. Tim Harford, economist and author of The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics, talks about the heuristics he recommends using, and the mistakes people tend to make.

Are Uber and Lyft drivers being exploited?

2021/04/09

How much do Uber and Lyft drivers really earn, after expenses? Are they getting a raw deal by being classified as 'independent contractors' instead of employees? I explore the debate over these questions with three guests: Louis Hyman (Cornell), Veena Dubal (UC Hastings College of the Law), and Harry Campbell (The Rideshare Guy).

Unfair laws / Why judges should be originalists (William Baude)

2021/03/19

Is there any justification for seemingly unjust laws like "qualified immunity," which allows cops to get away with bad behavior? William Baude, a leading scholar of constitutional law, explores how these laws came to be and why they're so hard to change. Also, Baude makes the case for originalism, the view that judges should base their rulings on the original meaning of the Constitution. And Baude explains how rationalist principles have influenced his teaching and legal scholarship.

Intellectual honesty, cryptocurrency, & more (Vitalik Buterin)

2021/03/04

Julia and guest Vitalik Buterin (creator of the open-source blockchain platform Ethereum) explore a wide range of topics, including: Vitalik's intellectually honest approach to leadership, why prediction markets appear to be biased in favor of Trump, whether it was rational to invest in Bitcoin ten years ago, Vitalik's defense of life extension research against its critics, and more.

Understanding moral disagreements (Jonathan Haidt)

2021/02/18

Julia and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (The Righteous Mind) discuss his moral foundations theory and argue about whether liberals should “expand their moral horizons” by learning to think like conservatives. Julia solicits Jon’s help in understanding her disagreement with philosopher Michael Sandel, in episode 247, over the morality of consensual cannibalism.

Podcast reviews

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4.5 out of 5

670 reviews

★★★★★

Marcus517 2022/04/14

Great with a few bumps

I'd rate this 4 stars, but I suspect anything less than 5 is considered harsh. Surprisingly good. Topics are good, good length, solid guests. And su...

★★★★★

cranberry craig 2022/02/17

My favorite podcast

Julia always asks the best questions and plays the best devil’s advocate. She is so thoughtful and funny and kind and introduces the most interesting ...

★★★★★

spacebag 2022/01/07

Pretty good

But sometimes her venir of being a calculating rationalist just evaluating the facts cracks. For example in the recent episode about price gouging how...

★★★★★

commuter in stress 2021/10/14

Masterful podcast

Julia Galef is a brilliant thought leader. I highly recommend this podcast. Julia Galef is adept at explaining complex statistical concepts, analyz...

★★★★★

ShreyasKale 2021/07/01

If you wanna know what to read

If you want to know what to read, what to pursue in studies or just casual reading, Julia’s podcasts help in that a lot, they keep mentioning books an...

★★★★★

HoodieTree 2021/06/10

Where ya been??

Julia, I love your point of view and you’ve got a great voice. Hope you’re out there having fun, please come back soon.

★★★★★

junior chomsky 2021/04/24

Mind Changer

Host Julia has a way of presenting ideas and evidence without ever making the guests that she interviews feel stupid or insuted. Her approach is grea...

★★★★☆

Okay Curt 2021/03/21

I don’t know.

But I know enough to say this seems like a decent podcast. Not entirely correct, but true enough to learn some things and spark debate and refuting id...

★☆☆☆☆

Strongbow73 2021/04/22

Anything but rational

Just a social justice sermon masquerading as rational thought provoking information.

★☆☆☆☆

hayduke_lives 2021/04/13

Irrational thinking, intellectual dishonesty

Doesn’t even try to conceal her pro-industry, pro-big-tech bias. Just another scam artist trying to justify her own meritless privilege thru “rational...

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