#80- Virtues, Benefits and Joy of Critical Thinking and Science Appreciation-with Guy Harrison
Release Date: 03/01/2023
#107-How Institutionalizing Deliberative Political Processes Can Lead to Deliberative Democracy and Reduce Polarization-with guest Jim Fishkin
Thinking Clearly
James Fishkin, Stanford University Professor (and Director of the Stanford Deliberative Democracy Lab) discusses his extensive research and development focused on the process of "Deliberative Polling" and clarifies its relationship to Deliberative Democracy—a form of democracy in which deliberation is central to decision-making. Professor Fishkin suggests that institutionalizing deliberative processes could lead to reducing political polarization, while also increasing citizens’ political involvement and knowledge of the issues, as discussed in his recent book: Can Deliberation Cure the...
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#106- The Role of Logic in Acquiring Knowledge and Forming Beliefs-with guest Patrick Hurley
Thinking Clearly
Patrick Hurley, Philosophy Professor Emeritus at University of San Diego and author of the widely acclaimed textbook: A Concise Introduction to Logic, joins us to discuss: the role of logic in acquiring knowledge and forming beliefs; the most important aspects of logic for critical thinkers to master; what can be done to encourage better practices in our thinking, communication and belief formation; using logic to navigate issues which relate to values; and a variety of other topics.
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#105-The Epidemic of Political Lying and the Importance of Fact-checking-with guest Bill Adair
Thinking Clearly
Early in his career our guest, Bill Adair, worked as a journalist, author, and later founded the fact-checking organization Politifact. And in 2013 he accepted a position at Duke University as the Knight Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy, where he now teaches journalism in the Sanford School of Public Policy and directs the Duke Reporters’ Lab. We discuss the negative effects of lying in politics, different types of lies, why people fall for lies, how fact-checking works, the response of journalists to political lying, and his recent book: Beyond the Big Lie-The...
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#104-The Importance of Trust in Information and Institutions-revisited
Thinking Clearly
Untrue information is called misinformation, and intentionally spread misinformation is known as disinformation. When one uses disinformation to further one’s own agenda, especially in the political realm, then the information has been weaponized. And the continued acceleration of weaponized information further erodes our trust in experts, media, and other institutional sources of accurate information, and severely damages the social trust required for a healthy democracy. The “code red” conditions now prevalent in America motivate us to revisit an episode of Thinking Clearly (from May...
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#103-Worldview-The Elephant in the Room of Critical Thinking-updated for 2025
Thinking Clearly
This episode looks back to the previous episode: # 22- Worldview-The Elephant in the Room of Critical Thinking, and updates it from the perspective of 2025.
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#102-Worldviews and How they Guide our Beliefs-with guest Annick de Witt
Thinking Clearly
This episode takes a deep dive into the concept of “worldview”, based on the research and work done by Annick de Witt: researcher, writer, teacher, and founder of the organization Worldview Journeys. Topics discussed include: conceptualizing the idea of worldview; how our worldview might affect our beliefs and behaviors; examples of types of worldviews; methods of uncovering our own worldview and the worldviews of others we communicate with; how an awareness of worldviews can help us examine our own beliefs while also improving our dialogues with others.
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#101-The Virtues of Evidence-Based Policy Making-with guest Robert MacCoun
Thinking Clearly
Even though they affect all of our lives, most of us know almost nothing about how policies are made, especially policy made by our state and federal governments. So, Julia and Bob learned a lot from this conversation with guest: Robert MacCoun, Law Professor at Stanford University. With a Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degree in Psychology, professor MacCoun has long worked at the nexus between law and psychology and specialized in bringing evidence-based policy making into policy decisions, including controversial areas such as military policy debates about allowing gays and lesbians to...
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#100-Foundations and Future of Critical Thinking-with guest Kevin deLaplante
Thinking Clearly
This discussion with philosopher, former tenured professor at Iowa State University, and now independent critical thinking educator and consultant, Kevin deLaplante, revisits the importance and benefits of critical thinking in today’s post-truth world, reviews the basic skills involved with critical thinking and understanding of human cognitive vulnerabilities, while also introducing more recent ideas about human cognition like the Predictive Processing Model and Extended Mind Theory. The resources for learning and practicing critical thinking, found at Kevin’s Argument Ninja Dojo...
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#99-How internet influencers, algorithms and crowds are altering our politics, our society and our very relationship to reality-with guest Renée DiResta.mp3
Thinking Clearly
Researcher, author and former Research Manager of the Stanford Internet Observatory, Renée DiResta, discusses how numerous internet-savvy individuals (influencers) are causing a profound shift in power and influence over our politics, beliefs and behavior, as outlined in her recent book: Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality. She also discusses: what can be done to mitigate the negative effects of this influence while harnessing the power of the internet to bring us together to thrive as we reestablish the trust and cooperation needed to meet our future global challenges.
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#98-The Nature of Curiosity and it’s implications for Critical Thinking-with guest Jacqueline Gottlieb
Thinking Clearly
Professor Jacqueline Gottlieb, Principal Investigator at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute and former head of the Research Cluster on Curiosity at Columbia University’s Center for Science and Society, brings her research experience and deep thinking about the human brain's higher cognitive functions—including decision making, memory, and attention—to discuss that wonderful and invaluable human capability that we call curiosity.
info_outlineJournalist, author and public speaker Guy Harrison— a longtime advocate for skepticism, critical thinking and science appreciation—discusses the virtues, benefits and joy of critical thinking and how understanding core ideas in science can add value to all of our lives. Guy has authored eight books, including: Think Before You Like: Social Media's Effect on the Brain and the Tools You Need to Navigate Your Newsfeed and At Least Know This: Essential Science to Enhance Your Life.