PODCAST · science
Skeptical Thinker
by James Hotchkiss
Welcome to Skeptical Thinker. A podcast where we dispel misconceptions and respect your ability to think critically about science! Being a skeptical thinker is so much more important today with all of the misinformation in social media. If you can't use your mind to dig deeper into scientific issues, you run the risk of being misled. Science is all about asking questions and questioning ourselves. I always try to ask myself, "could I be wrong?" Then I start digging to see if I can learn more.
Episodes
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Humankind Part 3
Hi there! In this long-awaited episode, Mellony and Leah spend some time finishing up the book HumanKind by Rutger Bregman Here's a link to Bregman's Website Enjoy!
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Carl Jung and Gender Expansiveness
Hi, today's podcast is about how the thoughts and ideas of Carl Jung can be looked at in terms of how they best fit with the ideas of today's gender expansive community. Leah had the day off, so Mellony took over to explain some changes in S.T.P. We're still here, just so busy these last few...
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HumanKind Part 2
Hi there! This week, Jamie and Leah are going into another section of the book Humankind, by Rutger Bregman. Today, we look at the Stanford Experiment, the Robber's Cave Experiment, Stanley Milgram's Shock Machine, and how all this seems to point to the fact that humans are generally bad if you...
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Humankind Part 1
So this is a rough podcast. Jamie has some audio issues that kept cropping up and we apologize for the occasional overlapping audio - not sure how that is happening, but we record from two different locations and sometimes we get feedback. We're doing our best. Anyway, this podcast is part one of...
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Thoughts on Nothing...
Hi! This is Jamie. Leah took this one off so that I could go down a short rabbit hole of thoughts. I am an ever evolving human that wants to be curious and creative. I think I did both on this episode. It's short, but I hope it is thought provoking. Let me know how you like it! Music for this...
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Rambling About Resources
This week Jamie and Leah are ruminating on Resources - those things that you can do both internally and externally to help with nervous system regulation. There's a few resources that you can check out below if you want more information! All about Resourcing Tumblr - In case you wanted to see one...
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We're Back Baby!
So, we've been gone for a while. It's nothing personal, except that it was. We were dealing with some health issues, but everything is slowly getting back to normal. Leah and I decided it was time to jump back in. Today's episode is not our best work, but a friendly discussion that ranges a bit,...
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Science Smorgasbord
Welcome back! This week, Leah and Jamie dive into some science topics that you might have missed because of the news cycle's constant barrage of negative stuff! Jamie has an online subscription to National Geographic, so some of the links in the show notes may not open up, but he did find some...
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The Gender Binary is a Big Lie
After a summer hiatus, Leah and Jamie are back with a discussion of Lee Wind's excellent book, "The Gender Binary is a Big Lie." While we both start talking about the book, we end up in some interesting personal stories and repartee about gender. For those listening who are not sure how to feel...
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Complex Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome
This episode has us looking at Complex Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (CPTSD). While not officially in the DSM-5, CPTSD has gotten a lot of notice in recent years. We look at the book "What My Bones Know," by Stephanie Foo. Citations: Admin. (2025, March 5). PTSD hotline - Free 24/7 |…
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Enlightenment
Welcome Back! This week's episode has had a few technical difficulties. After loosing the whole show, we tried to re-record the episode, but it sounds like Jamie had some issues with the transmission and so, the sound work will need to continue. We appreciate you listening, and hope you will…
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STEM, STEAM, and Your Science Identity
Hi there! Today, Jamie and Leah are discussing a class that Jamie is taking on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in science education. Particularly, how to get students to develop a STEM Identity. We are discussing a book by Dr. Christopher Emdin, an amazing advocate and visionary in the…
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How to talk to a science denier
Jamie finally finished the book, "How To Talk to a Science Denier." Join Jamie and Leah as they discuss the difficult process of unpacking denial mentality and the arduous process of trying to talk to deniers. Citations: Author Lee McIntyre. (n.d.). https://leemcintyrebooks.com/ Gwazi Magnum....
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Convergence Versus Consensus
Hi there! In today's episode, Leah and Jamie discuss the need to change the way science communicators show how they all agree on the data. It may seem like just semantics, but the word consensus has been confusing the general public for a long time, and it is easy to manipulate this confusion to...
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State of the Heart Report, Part 2
This week's episode was a little late in getting out, but here it is: the second part of the State of the Heart Report, from 6seconds.org. Leah and Jamie discuss the idea of Emotional Intelligence and how there appears to be a downward trend in EQ (Emotional Quotient) in the world, especially in...
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The State of the Heart Pt. 1: Overcoming Urgency
Today's episode comes from an article that Jamie and Leah read about urgency and the power of emotional intelligence. This led us to an even bigger report on the State of the Heart, a report of the state of EQ, or Emotional Intelligence. While this week we discuss mainly the first article, we…
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White Matter in the Brain?
This week, Leah and Jamie discuss a short article that summarizes a longer article from the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science (PNAS). Both articles are found in the citations listed below, but the longer article is behind a paywall. Jamie gives a pretty good review of both…
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50 Things Women Couldn't Do Before 1970
Hi there! Jamie and Leah took the week off last week to get some personal things done. Hope you didn't miss us too much. This week, we re-recorded an episode that didn't work out because of bad audio. We focused on an article of the 50 things women couldn't do before 1970. It's quite a list. Hope...
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Fringe Genetics Views
It's getting trickier than ever to be a skeptical thinker. This week's episode wades into the turbid waters of genetics and the views coming from the fringe that there are real genetic differences between races - in particular the idea that white genetics are superior to any other race. While…
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Transgender Representation in STEMM
This week Jamie and Leah try to tackle an article that discusses the need for better representation of transgender and gender nonconforming people in the STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) Fields. We try really hard to stay on topic, but the Transgender issues are...
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College Student Data and GOTV
This week Leah and Jamie discuss a newsletter link that Jamie's representative sent him. This link took us to the conservative publication: The Federalist. The article alleges that colleges are selling student data to the Get Out The Vote groups for nefarious leftist - leaning voter registration...
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How Diet Affects Your Mental Health
Hi there! In this episode, we talk about an article (and some other sources) that links how we eat with mental health. I have linked all the sources below. Take good care of yourself! Sources: Colino, S. (2025, March 14). Scientists are uncovering surprising connections between diet and mental...
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Ignorance: How do you know what you don't know?
Ignorance, what more do I have to say? This episode, Leah and Jamie try to understand the myriad of ways ignorance wreaks havoc in our world. We had some technical difficulties with the recording of this episode, which required some new technical skills stitching two audio files together - We…
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Struggling for Breath
In this episode, Leah and Jamie are just trying to keep up with the speed of change happening in the United States. We spend some time looking at the things we can control and the things we can't.
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The Day After
Welcome to our third season of The Skeptical Thinker Podcast! Leah and Jamie are excited to share our thoughts and discuss things we are thinking about and reading about. In this episode, we discuss our feelings shortly after the inauguration - and try to sort out our feelings while we discuss…
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A.I. is here....should we be worried?
In today's episode, Leah and Jamie discuss Artificial Intelligence. An interesting topic where they wrestle with the idea that AI as we know it today may not be as "intelligent" as it has been billed as. Hopefully you will come to your own conclusions about A.I., and we encourage you to do that!...
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Being More Present...
Hi there... Today, Leah and I discuss a book called "Here I Am." A book by Dr. Leonard Felder. The extended title for his book is, "Using Jewish Spiritual Wisdom to Become More Present, Centered, and Available For Life." While we do spend a lot of our time discussing some of the parts of the…
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Venting About Fat Shaming
So...I know we promised to talk about our favorite quotes on this episode, and we fully planned on it, but sometimes things happen that take us down a different road. Today, Leah and Jamie spend a bit of quality time trying to dispel the way body image plays such a negative role in our everyday...
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Warming Up
This episode took place about a week after the election. We were a little raw, but were able to keep ourselves somewhat on topic. We looked at the book: Warming Up , How climate change is changing sport, by Madeleine Orr. Dr. Orr is a sports ecologist who has spent years studying the effects of...
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Ranging Discussions
Leah and I recorded this podcast about a week before the election. We had some cautious optimism, but alas things were not to be. So many people voted the man back into office, and he has made so many problematic claims and promises, that I thought that no one was that delusional to vote him into...
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Food Insecurity and Racial Injustice
In today's podcast Leah and Jamie discuss the book: Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch. The title says most of what the wide-ranging discussion was about, but we focus on how food was used as a way to subjugate and...
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Are you Cultish?
In this episode, Leah and I jump into the book "Cultish," by Amanda Montell. This is a book that delves into the idea of "in-groups," and "out-groups" that are found in every part of our culture today. A highly recommended read!
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Connecting to Nature
Welcome Back to Season 2 of Skeptical Thinker! I have asked my oldest daughter to join me on the Skeptical Thinker Podcast because we share so many incredibly interesting conversations! So a warm welcome to Leah! Today's Discussion is how connected we can be to the natural world. We are…
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Skeptical Thinker Episode 7: Sociology News
Show Notes This month, I look at a couple of areas of sociology. Enjoy! Check out my show notes, and be sure to subscribe!
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Season One Episode 6: Thoughts on Dying
Here's the two books I mentioned in the podcast today: hÓgáin, O. D. (2001). The sacred isle: Belief and religion in pre-Christian Ireland. Boydell. On Amazon Sapa, H., & Brown, J. E. (1989). The Sacred Pipe Black Elk’s account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux. University of Oklahoma…
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The Sum of All Our Experiences
The Sum of All Our Experiences Trigger Warning: This episode does have references to physical and emotional abuse. This Skeptical Thinker Episode looks at my life as the sum of all my experiences. Some readings come from a journal I wrote in the summer of 2021 when I took a short trip on my bike…
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Skeptical Thinker Season 1, Episode 4: History of WOKE with a special Guest
In this episode, I have the honor of welcoming my oldest daughter, Leah! While growing up in the late 1990s and 2000s, she was exposed to some unique experiences that shaped the way she thinks. Leah fills me in on the origination of the term, “woke” while giving me some insight on how it is being...
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Earth's Place Around the Sun
Join me in this episode as we look at why we have seasons on Earth! I found some interesting information about the seasons at NASA's website.
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Skeptical Thinker Podcast / Season One Promo
Some background on the podcast and a little bit of promo for what to expect on season one. Since I am new at this, I am still learning the audio settings. So, you will be in the front seat of my evolution as a podcaster. Thanks for joining me! A new podcast is published the first Saturday of each...
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Faith
In this episode, we look at the idea of Faith. There's not much to put in the show notes, this is mostly just some thoughts and musings that I have as a free thinker. Of course, these things are always bouncing around my mind - looking for an outlet. Let me know what you think!
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Skeptical Thinker Episode 1: The Apsides
We are looking at the science and story behind the movement of the planet Earth through the Apsides, or the nearest and farthest point the Earth is away from the sun. Show Notes: Here's the link for creating your own Ellipse I spoke about during the show. https://youtu.be/WBWYNgfDkqI My sources…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to Skeptical Thinker. A podcast where we dispel misconceptions and respect your ability to think critically about science! Being a skeptical thinker is so much more important today with all of the misinformation in social media. If you can't use your mind to dig deeper into scientific issues, you run the risk of being misled. Science is all about asking questions and questioning ourselves. I always try to ask myself, "could I be wrong?" Then I start digging to see if I can learn more.
HOSTED BY
James Hotchkiss
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Skeptical Thinker have?
Skeptical Thinker currently has 41 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Skeptical Thinker about?
Welcome to Skeptical Thinker. A podcast where we dispel misconceptions and respect your ability to think critically about science! Being a skeptical thinker is so much more important today with all of the misinformation in social media. If you can't use your mind to dig deeper into scientific...
How often does Skeptical Thinker release new episodes?
Skeptical Thinker has 41 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Skeptical Thinker?
You can listen to Skeptical Thinker on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Skeptical Thinker?
Skeptical Thinker is created and hosted by James Hotchkiss.
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