The Argument Ninja Podcast
by Kevin deLaplante | Philosopher and Critical Thinking Educator
The Argument Ninja podcast is dedicated to helping you improve your skills at rational persuasion. Let philosopher Kevin deLaplante introduce you to a unique approach to critical thinking, inspired by martial arts training principles, that combines logic and argumentation with the latest research on the psychology of persuasion and belief.
Episodes
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038 - Tribal Literacy and Emotional Intelligence
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. Brittney-Nicole's show coincides with the publication of a book she's written on the topic of...
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037 - 3 Honest Updates: On Failure, Living With a Stutter, and Accepting My Comfort Zone
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. https://kevindelaplante.com/3-honest-updates Timestamps 00:00 - 03:12 Introduction 03:12 - 05:23 The move and web...
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036 - Understanding Complex Social Phenomena: More Theories of the Causes of Social Polarization
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—even if we do lots of research and self-study. To help make the case I'm continuing my survey of different theories of the causes of the...
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035 - Updates and a Street Epistemology Interview
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". Click to view the video...
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034 - Understanding the Causes of Polarization (Part 1): Depolarization Initiatives
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. In this episode…
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033 - Critical Thinking About Conspiracies
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. The last three episodes were on the…
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032 - When Tribalism Becomes Pathological
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. Show notes and links:...
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031 - New Cartoon Videos Plus a Fall 2018 Update
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. Timestamps: Intro 00:00 What have I been up to? 01:24 Creating new videos 01:53 Keynote...
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030 - Behind the Scenes of My New Video Course
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. Next episode will be an "Ask Me Anything" episode. You can submit questions...
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029 - How to Raise a Critical Thinker
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. *** In This Episode: (0:00 - 4:57) Introduction (4:57 - 8:51) Critical Thinking Values (8:51 -...
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028 - Tribalism Isn't the Problem
On this episode I've got an interview lined up for you that I did with Bob Froehlich, who hosts the Thinking Clearly radio program and podcast over at KMUD community radio in Redway, California. Our topic was critical thinking and tribalism, very much in the vein of what I've been talking about…
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027 - Updates: Finances, Projects and Plans
Over the past month almost every email conversation I've had with someone about my projects and plans has ended with "I'm going to talk about this on the next podcast". In this episode I'm going to answer the most common questions I get about the status of my finances, what my plans are to…
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026 - Feminism, Marxism, Postmodernism and Jordan Peterson: Sometimes the Only Winning Move is Not to Play
On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I offer a perspective on Jordan Peterson's criticism of left-wing ideology (what he calls "cultural Marxism") by sharing some of my intellectual history with feminism, Marxism and postmodernism. The broader theme of this episode is how to critically...
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025 - Why Tribal Literacy?
On this episode of the Argument Ninja podcast I talk about TRIBALISM and the challenges that our tribal psychology poses for critical thinking. This episode includes the audio for two sketchbook videos I've done on this topic, "The Dangers of Tribalism" (11 minutes) and "Our Tribal Intelligence"...
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024 - How Commerce Became a Tool For Getting Outside My Head
At the beginning of a new year it's customary to reflect on events of the past year in order to set new goals and chart a course for the future. This is the first in a three-part series where I discuss the lessons I've learned in 2017. In this episode I talk about the surprising role that…
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023 - The Argument Ninja Difference: Why Critical Thinking is a Martial Art
I'm not the only one talking about the failings of traditional schooling. I'm not the only academic talking about developing online courses for the public that they can't find anywhere else. I'm not even the only one using the language of martial arts in this context. (e.g. Jordan Peterson,...
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022 - Thinking Clearly About Critical Thinking: Interview with Kevin deLaplante
For this episode I'm going to share an interview I did for Thinking Clearly, a radio show about critical thinking hosted by Bob Froelich and Julia Minton. On this live broadcast I answered questions about - my particular take on what critical thinking is and why it's important - why I decided to...
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021 - What if Sam Harris and Scott Adams Had a Baby?
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...
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020 - Critical Thinking in China
This past month I was fortunate to be a guest of Xidian University in China for two weeks. On this episode of the podcast I share stories and reflections from my adventures as a first-time visitor to China, and I give an overview of some of the public talks and lectures I gave during my visit.…
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019 – Understanding Your Divided Mind: Kahneman, Haidt and Greene
Argument Ninjas need to acquire a basic understanding of the psychology of human reasoning. This is essential for improving the quality of our own reasoning, and for mastering skills in communication and persuasion. On this episode I take you on a guided tour of our divided mind. I compare and...
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018 - Why We Need the Argument Ninja Academy (Interview)
A bit of a departure for episode 018. I hope you enjoy this interview I did with Jason Vidaurri over at the StoryHinge podcast. He was kind enough to let me repurpose the audio of our interview for the Argument Ninja podcast. On this episode I answer questions about my story, my approach to...
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017 - White Belt Curriculum (Part 2) - The Tao of Socrates
In episode 017 I give an update on what's new at the Argument Ninja website (argumentninja.com), and I complete the overview of the white belt curriculum for the Argument Ninja Academy program. The third and fourth learning modules in the white belt curriculum are titled "Socratic Knowledge" and...
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016 - White Belt Curriculum (Part 1)
The Argument Ninja training program that I'm developing is inspired by martial arts training principles. The curriculum is spread over nine belt ranks (white belt, yellow belt, orange belt, etc. ) In this episode I give an overview of the learning modules that make up the white belt curriculum…
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015 - The White Belt Experience
In this episode I explore learning and teaching techniques used in the martial arts, from the perspective of the beginning student and from the perspective of the experienced instructor. I extract a number of important training principles from this exercise that I hope to incorporate in the...
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014 - Curiosity and Critical Thinking
On this episode I talk about the various ways that curiosity is an undervalued resource for critical thinking. I explain how curiosity plays an important role in generating the kind of background knowledge that supports critical thinking, and why it has important and underrated debiasing...
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013 - Avatars for Critical Thinking (Brainstorming the Argument Ninja Academy)
In this episode I talk about how the program I'm developing for the Argument Ninja Academy will differ from the Critical Thinker Academy, and outline my instructional design goals for the new program. I also describe the kinds of personality types, or "avatars", that are most strongly attracted…
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012 - Trump, Persuasion and Hypnosis
This is the first episode since Donald Trump won the election, so you know I've got to talk about Trump! In this episode I take up the question that Scott Adams has framed for us: is Donald Trump some kind of "master persuader" who uses persuasion techniques familiar to anyone trained in…
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011 - Help Me Build a Candle in the Darkness
This is a big episode. I give a big-picture overview of where I'm going with the Argument Ninja podcast, brainstorm a new Argument Ninja training program, and give readers an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this project. In This Episode: - How my views on critical thinking have…
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010 - How to Build an Argument Matrix
Last episode I introduced an important concept for critical thinking, what I call an Argument Matrix. In this episode I talk about the mindset, the tools and the literacy skills that are required to successfully build an Argument Matrix. In This Episode: - Recap: What is an Argument Matrix? - How...
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009 - The Argument Matrix (or, How to Know What You're Talking About)
In this episode I introduce an important concept, the Argument Matrix, and two related concepts associated with the Argument Matrix, "argumentative depth" and "argumentative breadth". These concepts are central to my views on the important role of background knowledge in critical thinking. Or to...
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008 - Mixed Martial Arts for Argument Ninjas
If we think of rational persuasion as a martial art, what kind of martial art should it be? In this episode I argue that a mixed martial arts approach is the only one that makes sense. But there's a problem. Philosophical principles play an obvious and important role in traditional martial arts...
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007 - When Rational Debate is Impossible
When is it worth your time to try to have a rational conversation with someone? When should you give up? What are the conditions that have to be satisfied for a rational conversation to even be possible? That's the topic of this episode. Overview: - the problem that Sam Harris is struggling with…
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006 - Defense Against the Dark Arts II - Seduce and Destroy
In this episode we look at persuasion through the eyes of seduction experts and the pickup artist community. - why critical thinking educators need to talk about persuasion - why scientific rationality is a social achievement that takes effort and vigilance to maintain - preparing students for…
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005 - Defense Against the Dark Arts - Part I
If I was asked to teach a graduate seminar in the philosophy and methods of persuasion, how would I organize the content? What would my syllabus look like? In this episode I answer that question, and start working my way down the syllabus (we cover the first two items in this episode). Here are…
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004 - The Classroom is My Dojo
In this episode I explore reasons why standard critical thinking textbooks say almost nothing about the psychology of human reasoning and persuasion. Topics include: - argumentation as rhetoric vs argumentation as tool for philosophical reasoning - why Plato was so hard on the Sophists - what it...
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003 - How to Make People Like You
Is it ever okay to intentionally use unconscious persuasion techniques to get people to like you? We explore this case study in the ethics of persuasion as we follow Derek and Carla on a lunch date. We also discuss persuasion ninjas Dale Carnegie and Robert Cialdini's principles for getting…
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002 - Why Rational Persuasion is a Martial Art
In this episode I talk about the relationship between critical thinking and rational persuasion, and why, even though I identify as a critical thinking educator, and I have a website called The Critical Thinker Academy, the focus of this podcast is rational persuasion, rather than critical…
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001 - Welcome and Introduction to the Show
Welcome and introduction to the show. What has drawn me out of podcast retirement to start a new show. Scott Adams on Donald Trump, and the sorry state of political discourse today. Why critical thinking education needs both a theory of how we ought to reason, and a theory of how we in fact…
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About this show
The Argument Ninja podcast is dedicated to helping you improve your skills at rational persuasion. Let philosopher Kevin deLaplante introduce you to a unique approach to critical thinking, inspired by martial arts training principles, that combines logic and argumentation with the latest research on the psychology of persuasion and belief.
Hosted by
Kevin deLaplante | Philosopher and Critical Thinking Educator
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