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021 - What if Sam Harris and Scott Adams Had a Baby?

The Argument Ninja Podcast

Release Date: 09/04/2017

038 - Tribal Literacy and Emotional Intelligence show art 038 - Tribal Literacy and Emotional Intelligence

The Argument Ninja Podcast

On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I share the audio from an interview I did with Brittney-Nichole Connor-Savarda for her for a new podcast, Living and Leading with Emotional Intelligence.

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037 - 3 Honest Updates: On Failure, Living With a Stutter, and Accepting My Comfort Zone show art 037 - 3 Honest Updates: On Failure, Living With a Stutter, and Accepting My Comfort Zone

The Argument Ninja Podcast

On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk openly about why this is the first new episode I've produced in 7 months, and the lessons I'm learning as a life-long stutterer. 

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036 - Understanding Complex Social Phenomena: More Theories of the Causes of Social Polarization show art 036 - Understanding Complex Social Phenomena: More Theories of the Causes of Social Polarization

The Argument Ninja Podcast

On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk about the difficulty of judging how much we really understand about the causes of complex social phenomena.

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035 - Updates and a Street Epistemology Interview show art 035 - Updates and a Street Epistemology Interview

The Argument Ninja Podcast

On episode 035 of the Argument Ninja podcast I share updates on new course development over at kevindelaplante.com, and I share both the audio and the video of a one-hour interview I did with the hosts of the Epistemic podcast, which focuses on "street epistemology". 

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034 - Understanding the Causes of Polarization (Part 1): Depolarization Initiatives show art 034 - Understanding the Causes of Polarization (Part 1): Depolarization Initiatives

The Argument Ninja Podcast

In episode 024 of the Argument Ninja Podcast I'm starting a series of episodes that will explore different models of the causes of social and political polarization, and introduce some general principles for thinking critically about complex social phenomena like polarization.

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033 - Critical Thinking About Conspiracies show art 033 - Critical Thinking About Conspiracies

The Argument Ninja Podcast

On this episode of the Argument Ninja Podcast I'm presenting edited versions of last three episodes of my first podcast show that I produced in 2010-11. These were the last episodes I produced of that podcast series, and I discuss why in the introduction.

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032 - When Tribalism Becomes Pathological show art 032 - When Tribalism Becomes Pathological

The Argument Ninja Podcast

On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I share the audio for the three videos I recently produced on Cognitive Biases, Tribalism and Politics. It was designed as one long video presenting one long argument, so the audio works well in this continuous format. 

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031 - New Cartoon Videos Plus a Fall 2018 Update show art 031 - New Cartoon Videos Plus a Fall 2018 Update

The Argument Ninja Podcast

On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk about the three new videos I recently produced on Cognitive Biases, Tribalism and Politics, and I give an update on what's been keeping me busy this fall. 

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030 - Behind the Scenes of My New Video Course show art 030 - Behind the Scenes of My New Video Course

The Argument Ninja Podcast

On this episode I talk about the genesis of my new video course, "The Vocabulary of Science: First Steps to Science Literacy", and my decision to start producing the Argument Ninja podcast in both audio and video formats.

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029 - How to Raise a Critical Thinker show art 029 - How to Raise a Critical Thinker

The Argument Ninja Podcast

On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk about the importance of critical thinking education for kids and teens, and what parents can do to help their kids become better critical thinkers.

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More Episodes
On this episode I use a recent episode of Sam Harris's podcast (#87 - "Triggered: A Conversation With Scott Adams") as a springboard for exploring a variety of topics related to critical thinking and persuasive communication.  When it comes to critical thinking and rational persuasion, half of my brain thinks like Sam Harris, and the other half thinks like Scott Adams. Each gets something right that the other doesn’t. I’m interested in identifying what each of them gets right, as a step toward creating something that is better than each of them separately, by integrating their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses. In other words … I want the super-powered love child of Sam Harris and Scott Adams! In This Episode: (0:00 - 6:00) Introductory remarks (6:00 - 10:15) Introduction to Sam Harris and Scott Adams (10:15 - 15:30) Summary of Sam's interview with Scott on the Waking Up with Sam Harris podcast (15:50 -  16:30) Why this is relevant to the Argument Ninja Academy (17:00 - 20:15) What I Like About Sam: Intellectual virtues (20:15 - 24:50) What I like about Sam: Critical thinking values and democracy (24:50 - 30:10) What I like about Scott: The performative dimension of persuasion (30:10 - 31:55) What I like about Scott: The language of "filters" (31:55 - 39:00) Why both must be part of the foundational skill set for critical thinking and rational persuasion (39:10 - 45:30)  Introducing the "rhetorical triangle": ethos, pathos and logos (45:30 - 51:18) Speech act theory and communication strategy (51:18 - 58:00) Sam vs Scott: analyzing the conversation (58:00 - 60:00) Speech act theory and Scott's defense of Trump (60:00 - 67:00) The accusation of sophistry: Sam Harris and the Very Bad Wizards (David Pizarro and Tamler Sommers) on Scott Adams (67:00 - 77:40) The philosopher-sophist spectrum, and the persuasion challenge that Scott Adams faces (77:40 - 90:00) Diving deeper: Scott Adams, the illusion of reality, and how persuasion masters can reshape the Matrix