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Utterly Moderate Podcast

The Utterly Moderate Podcast is the official podcast of Connors Institute for Nonpartisan Research and Civic Engagement at Shippensburg University. The core mission of the Connors Institute is to disseminate high-quality nonpartisan information to the public. Utterly Moderate is hosted by Lawrence Eppard, a researcher, university professor, and director of the Connors Institute. On each episode, Eppard is joined by a guest (or two or three!) who helps listeners understand important topics by focusing on just the weight of the empirical evidence and none of the unneeded opinions or political agendas. We are aggressively nonpartisan in our approach. Be sure...

S2025 E2 · Wed, March 12, 2025
Improving American Sociology (w/Bradley Campbell, Jukka Savolainen, & Jacob Mackey)
This episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast deals with liberal bias in higher education and what to do about it, with a specific focus on the field of sociology. According to Gallup , a strong majority (68%) of Americans believe that higher education is headed in the wrong direction. Barely more than a third (36%) of Americans express a high level of confidence in U.S. colleges and universities, down from 57% only a decade ago. Americans give the following reasons for this low confidence: political agendas, wrong focus/teaching the wrong things, and cost/expenses. Is this concern about “political agendas” warranted? Let’s first take a look at the politics of American professors. In a 2016-2017 survey , UCLA researchers found a liberal-to-conservative (L:C) ratio of 5:1 among American college professors. Other studies show a much larger gap. When Mitchell Langbert and Sean Stevens analyzed the voter registrations of college professors, for instance, they found a Democrat-to-Republican (D:R) ratio of 8:1. Among the same sample, they found the D:R political donor ratio to be a whopping 95:1. A discrepancy between the public—American voters are about evenly split between Democrats and Republicans —and the professoriate is not a problem by itself. It becomes a problem if it impacts the teaching and research being done at American colleges. On this count, it seems to have become a problem. Many academics blur the line between activism and research, letting their leftist beliefs and values skew their work. This includes a number of big claims about systemic racism, police shootings, implicit bias, microaggressions, free markets, sexism, sex differences, transgender issues, single parenthood, IQ, and more. It is of course not the case that all or even most of the teaching and research happening on college campuses is corrupted by ideology. But far too many academics—perhaps most notably in fields in the humanities, social sciences, and education—make high-profile claims about social phenomena that go well beyond what the evidence will support, and these claims frequently align with lef
S2025 E1 · Fri, January 31, 2025
Red America vs. Blue America: Is This Really What We Want? (w/Robert Talisse)
America is separating into two nations with two different experiences of reality itself: Red America and Blue America. As Robert Talisse , Vanderbilt University political theorist and today’s Utterly Moderate podcast guest, writes : “[O]ur everyday social environments are increasingly segregated along partisan lines. It is no exaggeration to say that in the United States today, opposing partisans live in different social worlds. For example, liberals and conservatives live in different kinds of neighborhoods, shop at different stores, purchase different products, drive different vehicles, express different aesthetic preferences, work in different occupations, and form different kinds of family groups. They eat different foods. They understand words differently and even exhibit different patterns of pronunciation. The familiar narrative of ‘red’ and ‘blue’ states goes far deeper than geography. In the United States today, political affiliation is more of a lifestyle than an outlook on the purposes of government.” Utterly Moderate host Lawrence Eppard has written about similar phenomena: the increasingly distinct epistemologies of left and right. On this episode of Utterly Moderate , Eppard and Talisse discuss the troubling state of polarization in America today, and how each of us might better ourselves in order to better our democracy. Enjoy! ------------- ------------- Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (Free Music Archive) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)
S2024 E14 · Mon, November 25, 2024
How Luck & Randomness Shape Our Lives (w/Mark Robert Rank)
From all of us at the Connors Institute at Shippensburg University , we thank you for listening and hope you have a truly Happy Thanksgiving! Wherever you spend the holiday and whoever you spend it with, we hope you have lots to be thankful for and good people to be thankful with. On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , social scientist Mark Rank is here to discuss his newest book, The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World around Us . We hope you enjoy this conversation during a time that you are counting your blessings—and your lucky stars! Don't forget to join our FREE SUBSTACK ! ------------- ------------- Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (Free Music Archive) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)
S2024 E13 · Fri, October 04, 2024
Donald Trump, Hunter Biden, Jan. 6, and More. . . How the Pardon Power Is Used (and Abused!) (w/Kimberly Wehle)
Before we begin, don't forget to check out Lawrence Eppard's new book, The Poisoning of the American Mind , and to read the newest piece in the Connors Journal on single parenthood in the U.S. Now on to the podcast. . . Kimberly Wehle , a constitutional law expert at the University of Baltimore's School of Law, joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss her new book, Pardon Power: How the Pardon Power System Works — and Why . Wehle and host Lawrence Eppard discuss a variety of topics, including: How the pardon power looms large in the current presidential election. Why Wehle believes the pardon power is necessary to retain. The constitutional limits of and possible reforms to the pardon. Both good and bad historical examples of the pardon's use. Whether it might be used (appropriately or inappropriately) to help the Jan. 6 rioters, Hunter Biden, or to self-pardon Donald Trump (and whether a self-pardon is even constitutional). Enjoy the conversation and please consider JOINING OUR MAILING LIST! ------------- ------------- Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (Free Music Archive) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)
S2024 E12 · Fri, September 13, 2024
Single Parenthood and Its Consequences for Children (w/Kay Hymowitz)
Single parenthood has risen dramatically in the United States over time. Today, 34% of all children live in a single parent household, up from 9% in 1960 . There are regrettable negative consequences of these statistics, as The Bulwark’s Mona Charen notes : “[C]hildren in mother-only homes are five times more likely to live in poverty than children with two parents. And children in father-only homes were twice as likely to be poor as those in married-couple homes. Poverty is not conducive to thriving, but even for kids who are not poor, those who grow up with only one parent fare worse than others on everything from school to work to trouble with the law. And the consequences of fatherlessness are more dire for boys than girls. Boys raised without fathers and/or without good adult male influences in their lives are less likely to attend college, be employed as adults, or remain drug-free.” And as the Manhattan Institute’s Kay Hymowitz writes : “Kids in single-parent homes have lower educational achievement, commit more crime, and suffer more emotional problems, even when controlling for parental income and education. Not only do young men and women from intact families (regardless of race and ethnicity) get more education and earn higher earnings than those raised with single mothers; they also do better than children who have a stepparent at home. Children growing up in an area where single-parent families are the norm have less of a chance of upward mobility than a child who lives where married-couple families dominate (regardless of whether that child lives with a single parent or with married parents). The evidence that the prevalence of single-parent households poses risks to individual children and communities goes on and on.” There are large variations in single parenthood rates by race/ethnicity, with 6
S2024 E11 · Tue, August 13, 2024
"The Poisoning" Is Here! (w/Jacob Mackey)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , the authors of the brand new book, The Poisoning of the American Mind , talk about the book and its implications for America. So what is their argument? A significant amount of research suggests that most people seek out news and information sources that mirror their worldviews, avoid ones that don’t, and interpret information using cognitive filters that force an alignment with what they already believe. As social psychologist David Dunning writes , “Each of us possesses certain foundational beliefs—narratives about the self, ideas about the social order—that essentially cannot be violated. . . And any information that we glean from the world is amended, distorted, diminished, or forgotten in order to make sure that these sacrosanct beliefs remain whole and unharmed.” As they document in their brand new book and their free online documentary of the same name, the evidence suggests that this problem afflicts both conservative and liberal Americans. Conservative Americans tend to place their trust in very few sources of news and information, and those sources tend to be low-quality, like the openly partisan <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/dominion-voting-syst
S2024 E10 · Thu, July 18, 2024
Celebrating America by Talking About George Washington (w/Denver Brunsman)
We want to express our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore. He was killed during the attempted assassination of former President Trump. According to NBC Philadelphia, Comperatore raised two daughters with his high school sweetheart and spent his final moments shielding his family that he loved so much from the gunfire. May he rest in peace. His family is in our prayers. We also want to wish a quick recovery to those who were injured in the assassination attempt, including former president Donald Trump and rally attendees David Dutch and James Copenhaver. And lastly our condolences to all others impacted by this political violence. Violence has absolutely no place in a civilized society. Given how much our democracy and country have been through, we thought on this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we would lighten things up a bit and talk about something that perhaps we all might have some positive feelings about: one of our founding fathers. It is July after all, America’s month of celebrating our independence. In the spirit of July and America and trying to find some positivity right now, on this episode we bring you a replay
S2024 E9 · Fri, June 28, 2024
Spotting Real Expertise & Examining Your Own Knowledge (w/Jacob Mackey)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard and Connors Institute co-director Jacob Mackey discuss techniques and shortcuts that you can use to spot real expertise in a world where people with expert credentials are sometimes frauds and where people without expert credentials are often very knowledgeable. They also discuss crucial techniques for examining your personal biases and the limits of your own knowledge. This conversation is based on two really good readings, and we hope you will not only listen to this episode but go to these websites and read these short but very illuminating pieces: “Spotting Real Expertise” by Spencer Greenberg in the Connors Newsletter ( click HERE to read ). “Strategies for Consuming News” by the Connors Institute ( click HERE to read ). Enjoy the episode! And PLEASE subscribe to our newsletter in just one click ! ------------- ------------- Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (Free Music Archive) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)
S2024 E8 · Fri, May 31, 2024
Misleading Claims in American Educational Curricula (w/Wilfred Reilly)
Before we talk about this episode, we hope you didn’t miss the latest research from the Connors Institute on the gender pay gap. Check it out now ! We talk quite a bit on this podcast about some of the things that many liberal and conservative Americans believe that just ain’t so. In fact, we just released a free online documentary about this titled The Poisoning of the American Mind . On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Wilfred Reilly , political scientist at Kentucky State University, to talk about misleading claims that have made their way into educational curricula in the U.S. Friend of the show Jacob Mackey joins the conversation as a special guest cohost. Our guest, Dr. Reilly, is the author of several books, two of which are particularly informative in this discussion: Taboo: 10 Facts You Can't Talk About (2020), which addresses such things as: The fact that, contrary to many current claims, men and women are different. There is no epidemic of police murdering unarmed Black Americans . “Pay gaps" between big groups, when several important variables are controlled for, are very small. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Liberal-Teacher-Told/dp/0063265974/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FpHNW0PG0xWR5roeQGW-TTeXkVT9dQOfyufPXElR6429HLUrG1Gg-HNbdNwi_jKVrnvTiXM0nveFf495dwzMipiQFfHRT3rCwY0LqQdY9dKGNE25Z_O49UG8ARNEwN7b9m5MgjF5-
S2024 E7 · Fri, May 10, 2024
Space is Littered With Junk (w/Varoujan Gorjian)
Before we talk about this week’s podcast episode, don’t forget to check out the Connors Institute’s new documentary, The Poisoning of the American Mind , an illuminating film about how conservatives and liberals in America regularly fall for misinformation and disinformation. On this week’s episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , we are joined by everyone’s favorite astrophysicist, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Dr. Varoujan Gorjian , to discuss a number of science-related topics, including: The looming problem of space junk, man-made objects littering low-Earth orbit that are bound to cause problems in the future—like when one piece of space junk fell to Earth recently and smashed through the roof of a home in Florida . How freaked out Utterly Moderate host Lawrence Eppard was by an asteroid that recently came too close to Earth for Eppard’s liking. Whether Dr. Gorjian has seen any famous scientists get embarrassingly drunk at academic conferences (will he name names?). The ongoing search for Earth-like planets . The recent solar eclipse that swept the nation and whether an esteemed astrophysicist like Dr. Gorjian gets excited by them anymore (spoiler: he really does!). The awesome discoveries of the <a style="text-indent: -0.25in;" href="https://connorsinstitute.substack.com/p/podcast-1st-james-webb-space-telescope
S2024 E6 · Fri, April 19, 2024
Saving the Social Sciences (w/Michael Jindra)
We’ve talked a lot on the Utterly Moderate Podcast about how both liberals and conservatives in America are bombarded with misleading information on a regular basis. On the left, unfortunately, a lot of this bad info comes from an academic research community which is overwhelmingly liberal. A recent study found the least imbalanced discipline to be engineering, which was still 62% liberal professors. Political science was 89%, psychology 94%, and sociology 98%, while some disciplines had no political conservatives at all. This significant one-sidedness means that the people doing the research as well as the people checking to make sure that research is high quality before it is published all have similar ideological blind spots, and this is allowing too much misleading information to make it into the public discourse, where it is often perceived by average citizens as being backed by solid evidence when that just isn’t so. On this episode host Lawrence Eppard is joined by anthropologist Michael Jindra from Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs to talk about this problem and hopefully offer some ways to save the social sciences from themselves. Check out just some of the great insights Jindra has to offer in his article in the Chronicle of Higher Education titled, “When Ideology Drives Social Science.” And don’t forget to sign up for our CONNORS NEWSLETTER ! It’s just one click and it’s FREE ! ------------------- Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (Free Music Archive) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)
S2024 E5 · Thu, March 21, 2024
How Should Non-Scientists Evaluate the "State of the Science"? (w/Dr. Sallie Baxendale)
It is extremely hard for the average citizen to understand what the “state of the science” is on many issues. We can all type our queries about a particular topic into Google but, when we get the flood of results, most of us are not trained to be able to (a) understand the complicated statistical methodologies employed in many research studies, (b) compare studies and evaluate their strength relative to each other, or (c) assess what the preponderance of the evidence is across tens or even hundreds of studies. On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , we are joined by Dr. Sallie Baxendale to help us think about how we might make such judgements. She also goes into detail about ways in which the scientific process can go wrong, as it has been in some areas of gender-affirming care in recent years, as Joshua Cohen discusses in Forbes : “In the U.S., a politically partisan divide is shaping up between states that allow for and guarantee access to youth gender-affirming care and states that ban such treatment altogether. Twenty-two states have passed bans on the use of cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers and surgery in minors. In Europe political divisions on this topic aren’t nearly as conspicuous as they are in the U.S. Rather, the debate is much more fact-based. An increasing number of countries have conducted systematic reviews of evidence to determine the benefits and risks of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. And the findings from these reviews—that the certainty of benefits is ‘very low’—have informed changes in policy regarding treatment of gender incongruence in minors. . . All things considered, according to European health authorities and medical experts, there isn’t yet a medical consensus for the use of pharmaceutical and surgical interventions in gender dysphoric minors. And so authorities are ‘tapping the brakes,’ shifting from care which prioritizes access to pharmaceutical and surgical interventions, to a less medicalized and more conservative approach that addresses possible psychiatric comorbidities. . . In the U.S., on the other hand, talk of introducing guardrails like the ones being incorporated in Europe is sometimes met with being branded ‘transphobic’ or a ‘science denier.’” You can read about Dr. Baxendale’s own troubling experiences with this field of research in her
S2024 E4 · Thu, March 07, 2024
Gender in the News (w/Jacob Mackey)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Jacob Mackey to discuss two big gender-related stories in the news. The first story is positive, and we have covered it in the Connors Newsletter —a big new research study shows that we have made great progress combatting sex discrimination in the labor market. This is great news! Then there is a difficult and troubling story. According to leaked internal files from WPATH, a leading global organization which advocates for transgender health care, WPATH has not been completely forthcoming about their internal concerns about the evidence behind gender affirming care for minors as well as the ethical issues surrounding informed consent for such care. The first part of this conversation is really positive, while the second half is a difficult subject that we hope we treat fairly and with an appropriate level of concern. Thanks for taking a listen. ------------------- Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT ( Free Music Archive ) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)
S2024 E3 · Wed, February 21, 2024
Is Ideology Hurting Science? (w/Lisa Selin Davis)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined again by Lisa Selin Davis , a writer who covers issues related to gender and gender affirming care. Davis joins the program to discuss a recent UnHerd article “Why did three journals reject my puberty-blocker study? Trans children deserve to know the facts,” written by Sallie Baxendale, a clinical neuropsychologist at University College London. Baxendale details an academic article she wrote about the state of the research on whether puberty blockers are harmful to people’s cognitive function. Baxendale argues that the responses that she got from peer reviewers suggest that ideology is clouding the judgement of the experts responsible for making sure that the best science is available to transgender children and their families when they are making life-altering decisions. Lisa Selin Davis discusses this article and its broader meaning within the larger conversation about whether some sciences are allowing ideology to get in the way of doing the best research possible. Enjoy the episode and don't forget to sign up for our FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER! ---------------- Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT ( Free Music Archive ) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)
S2024 E2 · Thu, February 01, 2024
American Colleges Under the Microscope (w/Jacob Mackey)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we discuss recent controversies at and concerns about colleges and universities in the United States—from highly publicized instances of campus unrest to a lack of intellectual diversity among faculty to hypocrisy on free speech . This episode’s guest is Jacob Mackey, associate professor at Occidental College and coeditor with host Lawrence Eppard of The Poisoning of the American Mind , which is due out later this spring. Check out the podcast episode and also check out two reports that were recently released from the Connors Institute , the “Connors Institute Media Report Card” and “Place Matters.” In the media report card Connors researchers take a rigorous look at numerous news and information sources in the U.S. and evaluate their bias and accuracy. Check it out yourself to see which outlets made the grade and which ones missed the mark . In “Place Matters” Connors researchers examine the impact of neighborhoods and communities on American children’s chances of success. The efforts and choices of the individual children themselves of course matter for their success, as do the efforts and resources of their families. But this research shows that the neighborhoods and communities where children are raised matter a great deal for their success as well— take a look at the report yourself and also take some time to examine your own neighborhood ! And don’t forget to subscribe in just one click to our FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER ! ----------------------------------- Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (<
S2024 E1 · Thu, January 11, 2024
New George Floyd Documentary (w/Robert VerBruggen)
Before we get to today’s episode, check out this article about the Connors Institute in The Sentinel newspaper! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Robert VerBruggen from the Manhattan Institute to discuss a new documentary which claims to disprove that George Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin, as well as a new research study which claims to disprove that income inequality in the U.S. has been rising since the 1960s. The documentary in question, The Fall of Minneapolis , was produced by Alpha News, an organization that has a history of low-quality journalism that is often inaccurate, biased, and misleading. Podcast host Lawrence Eppard and guest Robert VerBruggen will discuss the claims in the documentary and why they fall short. They also discuss a new and important research study which calls into question whether income inequality has really been rising since the 1960s like we have all been led to believe. While this new paper does not completely disprove the argument that inequality has in fact been increasing, it raises serious concerns about how certain we can be about the dominant narrative that inequality has been rising out of control. Don’t forget to subscribe to our FREE email newsletter in just one click! Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT ( Free Music Archive ) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E20 · Thu, December 21, 2023
The Good Old Days Are Now (w/Johan Norberg and Piper Kull)
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Connors Institute at Shippensburg University! Since this Utterly Moderate episode is both our Christmas program and our 100th PODCAST EPISODE , we thought we would try to be as uplifting as possible. In that spirit, we are being joined by Johan Norberg , author of a number of books including Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future . In that book, Norberg presents extensive data documenting how the world has gotten much better over the centuries across several measures, including freedom, life expectancy, poverty, violence, hunger, sanitation, the environment, literacy, and more. The book helps us not only to avoid being so doom and gloom about the state of the world, but to identify the reasons why we have made so much progress in the first place, avoid derailing those efforts, and help us build on them for a better tomorrow. Enjoy this conversation, and very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Sign up for our FREE NEWSLETTER in one click at ConnorsInstitute.org . Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT ( Free Music Archive ) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) "Remedy for Melancholy" by Kai Engel ( Free Music Archive ) "Silent Night" by Piper Kull (used with artist's permission) "O Holy Night" by Piper Kull (used with artist's permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E19 · Mon, December 11, 2023
Jim Swift on Immigration, Disinformation, Dog Birthdays, and More!
Jim Swift from The Bulwark joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss the fraught nature of the immigration debate in the U.S. Both sides in the immigration debate have important points to bring to the table, and good faith discussions and compromises are badly needed. Unfortunately, such efforts often get sidetracked by misinformation and disinformation about this thorny issue. Swift discusses a story of his that had a number of important issues—legal immigration, unauthorized immigration, and disinformation—all wrapped into one. Enjoy the conversation! And don’t forget to subscribe to our FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER in just one click at ConnorsInstitute.org ! Episode Audio: "Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT ( Free Music Archive ) "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E18 · Thu, November 09, 2023
Calculate YOUR Poverty Risk With This Calculator! (w/Mark Robert Rank)
Leading American poverty researcher Mark Robert Rank joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss his Poverty Risk Calculator , the record-low poverty rates that the U.S. saw in 2021, Dr. Rank’s research on the risk Americans face of experiencing poverty throughout their lives, a new book he has coming out on luck, and more! Rank has spent his career studying poverty, economic inequality, and social policy in America and teaching about these topics at Washington University in St. Louis , where he has been a faculty member since 1985. Much of his research has focused on the life course risk of poverty in America. Using data from hundreds of thousands of Americans taken from a longitudinal study that began in the 1960s, Dr. Rank and his research collaborators have been able to estimate the likelihood that the average American will experience poverty at some point in their lives. This research shows that around 59% of Americans will experience at least one year under the official poverty line at some point in their lives. While Rank has published his research findings in a number of academic articles and books over the years, it occurred to him that it might be possible to use this body of poverty research in order to develop a tool that would allow individuals to estimate their own risk of poverty. The idea is similar to a doctor’s ability to predict your risk of heart disease. Using several pieces of information (blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.), your doctor can make a reasonable estimate of your chances of having a heart attack in the next decade. These numbers are based on statistical patterns derived from a very large sample of families that make up the Framingham Heart Study , the longitudinal study of cardiovascular health that began in 1948. Could this be done with poverty data? Working with his colleagues over the course of hundreds of hours of programming and designing, Rank developed the Poverty Risk Calculator. You can try it for yourself . Using the calculator, individuals enter background information on five dimensions (age, race, gender, education, and marital status), and receive a 5-, 10-, and 15-year
S2023 E17 · Thu, October 12, 2023
New Book on Disinformation (w/Lee McIntyre & Tom Nichols)
Friend of the Connors Forum and frequent Utterly Moderate guest, Lee McIntyre , has a new book out titled On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy , a “powerful, pocket-sized citizen’s guide on how to fight back against the disinformation campaigns that are imperiling American democracy, from the bestselling author of Post-Truth and How to Talk to a Science Denier .” McIntyre argues that there is an effort in this country to destroy facts and make America ungovernable. In the book, he walks through how the war on facts began, how bad actors deny obvious realities and wield disinformation to manipulate American citizens, and ten everyday practical steps that we can take as ordinary citizens to combat disinformation. He also addresses the important steps our government must take to fight what McIntyre calls a “scourge” of disinformation that is now threatening the very fabric of our society. This episode features highlights from a previous conversation we had with both Lee McIntyre and frequent Utterly Moderate guest Tom Nichols, author of the great book The Death of Expertise . The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Audio: "Cloudbank" by Podington Bear ( Free Music Archive ) "Reading by Lamplight" by Maarten Schellekens ( Free Music Archive ) “Algorithms” by Chad Crouch ( Free Music Archive ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) Mitt Romney January 6th speech (publicly available on YouTube) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E16 · Tue, September 26, 2023
The Case for Nuclear Power: An Answer for Climate Change? (w/Robert Zubrin)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we discuss both the pros and cons of nuclear power, especially as it pertains to combatting global climate change. The international community is attempting to keep the world from warming no more than 1.5-2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century. While there have been incredible efforts to achieve this—efforts that have likely taken the worst-case warming scenarios off the table —we are still on track for closer to 3.0 degrees warming by 2100 instead of 2.0 degrees. Some would argue that the expansion of nuclear power would go a long way toward closing that gap. Friend of this show and frequent guest, The Bulwark’s Mona Charen, has written that: “The world’s demand for energy is not going to diminish, but only increase in the coming century. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates world energy demand will increase 50% by 2050. . . The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] countries cannot in conscience deny development to the world’s poorer nations. Nor can we delude ourselves that renewables, at the current state of technology, can take up all the slack created by giving up fossil fuels. Amazingly, there is an existing technology that can produce the energy the world needs without harming the climate. And yet we hesitate. Nuclear power is the key to limiting climate change and hobbling some of the world’s worst aggressors. If we’re serious about both problems, we’ll clear the air of superstitions about nuclear power. Nuclear power plants cannot explode like nuclear bombs. They require much less land than solar or wind. Nuclear waste can be safely buried. The U.S. Navy has been powering ships with nuclear reactors since the late 1950s. According to the Naval Post: ‘U.S. Nuclear Powered Warships (NPWs) have safely operated for more than 50 years without experiencing any reactor accident or any release of radioactivity that hurt human health or had an adverse effect on marine life.’ Nothing is perfect. One death from radiation exposure at the Fukushima power plant has been noted by the Japanese government: a worker who died of lung cancer in 2018, seven years after t
S2023 E15 · Mon, September 11, 2023
The Replication Crisis in Psychology (w/Lee Jussim)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are going to be talking about something called the “replication crisis.” Most people will not be familiar with this since it has been happening in academia but we promise it is not only quite intriguing and full of juicy details but it also has some pretty big implications for the larger society. So what is the replication crisis? In the past 15 years or so it has been discovered that many research findings in major academic journals actually don’t hold up to scrutiny. When an academic publishes a study they are required to describe their research methodology in detail. If another researcher tries to conduct the same study using the same methodology, this is an attempt at “replication.” If the replication finds the same results, this is further evidence that the original study was on to something. If they don’t find the same results, it suggests that the original study may not have found the thing that it had claimed to find. In 2005, John Ioannidis , a professor in the Stanford University School of Medicine, published an article that got a lot of attention titled, “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False.” In it he wrote that: “There is increasing concern that in modern research, false findings may be the majority or even the vast majority of published research claims. . . this should not be surprising. It can be proven that most claimed research findings are false.” Then, in 2011, there was a significant controversy over a paper by social psychologist Daryl Bem that claimed that people can have “precognition,” or ESP, and backed up this claim using the accepted methods of his field of psychology. This led many researchers to question dominant research methods, how the peer review process could fail so miserably, and whether this problem was much bigger than a few papers. In 2015, researchers published an article in the prestigious journal Science in which they detailed their attempts to reproduce 100 psychology studies. Alarmingly, they found that they were only able to successfully replicate 39 of those studies. Other similar efforts since then have also shown that many major published studies that have become accepted facts cannot be replicated and should be called into questio
S2023 E14 · Fri, August 25, 2023
Race & Police Shootings in America (w/Robert VerBruggen)
On this Utterly Moderate Podcast episode we tackle a sensitive issue that is hard to find a clear, definitive answer to: does race play a significant role in fatal shootings of civilians by law enforcement in America? Our guest, Robert VerBruggen , a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has done important work on this topic, including his March 2022 report: “Fatal Police Shootings and Race: A Review of the Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research.” Based on the best available evidence, he finds the following: “The data certainly rebut the most extreme versions of the Ferguson narrative, which originated in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death in that city in 2014. In surveys, many people say that they think American cops kill 1,000 unarmed Black men every year, but the real number averages out to more like 20, and it’s even lower than that if you just look at suspects who weren’t attacking someone when they were shot. About a quarter of people shot by the cops are Black, which is about double the Black share of the overall population—but it’s in line with many other benchmarks you might compare it to, such as the Black share of arrestees, or cop-killers, or homicides. In other words, the overall racial breakdown of people shot by police isn’t surprising, given the demographics of crime. But these are just simple numbers, and there are more complicated methods you can use to try to find bias. That’s where the story gets more nuanced. For example, it’s worrisome that the Black share of unarmed people shot and killed by police is a bit higher than the overall Black share of police killings. And one study I found especially troubling showed that, in one city, White cops are several times as likely as Black cops to fire their guns when they’re sent to 911 calls in Black neighborhoods. As a whole, these data don’t support the extreme narrative—and that’s important—but we still have much to learn.” In summary: When you take into account how often the police will respond to crime calls involving different racial groups, the weight of the evidence does not suggest, nationally at least, that Black Americans are being targeted by law enforcement for fatal shootings. It is important to remember that (a) we need much better data and the evidence is not conclusive, (b) there may be more or less racial bias depending upon the area of the country that you look, and (c) there are many examples of unjustified police killings of Black Americans, regardles
S2023 E13 · Wed, August 02, 2023
Controversies Surrounding Gender Affirming Care for Minors (w/Lisa Selin Davis & Amber Alt)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are going to tackle a very sensitive topic, the debate and controversies surrounding gender affirming care for minors who display signs of distress at an incongruence between their gender identity and their biological sex. In several countries, including places like Finland, Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand, governments and clinics are either banning or placing new limits on the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-affirming surgeries for children. We will discuss the reasons why they are reconsidering the medical approach to gender dysphoria. Some links related to this episode: Lisa Selin Davis, “Trans Matters: An Overview of the Debate, Research, and Policies” Harper’s Magazine, “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate” Amber Alt, It’s Not Transphobic to Say Your Daughter Is a Girl: The Wise Lesbian Guide for Progressives And don’t forget to subscribe to our free email newsletter in just one click We know that many listeners will have strong feelings one way or another about this episode. We want to state at the outset that if you disagree with anything in our discussion, know that nothing we say here was said in bad faith or with ill intent. This is a good faith effort to explore the various controversies surrounding this very sensitive and important societal issue. You may not agree with the podcast participants, and they may not agree with you, but know that everyone came to this discussion seeking truth while upholding the dignity of the human beings on all sides of this issue, whatever the truth may be. We believe that we all must truly follow the facts on this issue, and we cannot shut down good faith and rigorous debate about a very unsettled issue that can have such major, life altering consequences for children. In segment one we are joined by journalist Lisa Selin Davis , author of Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to Be Different. In segment two (around the one hour mark in the episode) we are joined by Amber Alt , author of It’s Not Transphobic to Say Your Daughter Is a Girl: T
S2023 E12 · Mon, July 17, 2023
Anatomy of a Viral Conspiracy Theory (w/Jim Swift)
Did you know that President Joe Biden was bussing unauthorized immigrants to a hotel near Orlando, Florida and giving them pre-loaded credit cards, hotel rooms, and clothing—all on your dime ?!? You say you didn’t know? Good, because the story was a complete fabrication. On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by good friend of the show Jim Swift from The Bulwark to discuss the mechanics of how a modern conspiracy theory like this goes viral. Swift covered this story over at The Bulwark in a piece titled, “The Bogus Protest, the House Race, and the MAGA Grocer.” We talk about this viral conspiracy theory and more on this episode. Enjoy! And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! It’s INSTANT and FREE! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Audio: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( Free Music Archive ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) "Crazy Lazy" by Ketsa ( Free Music Archive ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E11 · Fri, June 30, 2023
Don't Be a Doomer (w/Mona Charen)
Before we get to today’s episode, GREAT NEWS for American democracy! The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the independent state legislature theory in Moore v. Harper . If they had not ruled this way, it could have opened the door in presidential elections for state legislatures to ignore the votes of their residents and simply decide to give their state’s electoral votes to the legislature’s preferred candidate. This would have been a nightmare, so the SCOTUS decision is a win for American democracy! On this episode of Utterly Moderate we talk to The Bulwark’s Mona Charen about avoiding climate change “doomerism.” Climate change is of course a very real problem. Humans are pumping too much carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere through a variety of means, most notably things like burning fossil fuels for energy production and transportation. Climate scientists believe that it is necessary for us to keep the Earth from warming no more than 2° C above preindustrial levels to avoid a variety of problems like sea level rise, agricultural problems, water shortages, habitat destruction, and others. The global community has done an incredible amount of work to change this, and because of these efforts, the worst future climate catastrophes have likely been averted. The problem is that projections have the Earth warming closer to 3° C, not 2° C, above preindustrial levels by the end of the century. This will not end human civilization, but it is going to create some serious societal strains and economic costs that we would be wise to prevent now. Mona Charen joins us today to discuss why it is not only important to take this issue seriously, but also not to catastrophize the issue and make it seem worse than it is. She believes it is important to keep both of these things in mind. Charen writes that : “The unremitting catastrophism of much climate talk by major institutions (universities, foundations, entertainment companies, non-profits, and others) flies in the face of the scientific consensus. Even Professor Michael Mann (of the famous “hockey stick” graph) has cautioned that ‘doomism’ is more of a problem now than denial, and hysterical warnings about global collapse are wrong and unhelpful because they lead people to despair. Any amount of mitigation is good, he urges, adding that ‘Two degrees of warming would be far worse than 1.5 degrees of warming, but not the end of civilization’. . . Cl
S2023 E10 · Mon, June 05, 2023
Think Twice Before Messing With Social Security (w/Kathleen Romig)
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER ! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are going to discuss a topic that was back in the news recently with the debt ceiling negotiations : Social Security. A number of politicians and elected representatives have recently suggested that we make major changes to the Social Security program, changes which could have a substantial (and I think likely negative) impact on American seniors. We will all eventually age, so this means it will impact us. A few quick notes on Social Security before you dive into this podcast episode: It is important to note that this is not a partisan issue (at least among voters). Surveys show that strong majorities of Americans—whether old or young, high-income or working class, Republican or Democrat—believe that it is crucial for the U.S. to preserve full Social Security benefits for future generations, even if it means increasing payroll taxes . Social Security is the biggest source of retirement income for most retirees . Social Security is arguably America’s most effective poverty-fighting program, bringing elderly poverty down from almost 38% to less than 10% (lower than the national poverty rate ). Social Security is a social insurance program. This means it will continue to pay benefits regardless of whether or not you live long enough to use more benefits than you paid for—which a typical American retiree likely will . Some argue that you could personally invest money in the stock market, instead of putting it into Social Security, and get a better return on your money for retirement. While this is no doubt true for some, millions of Americans would not likely be able to save as much on their own as they would through the “forced retirement planning” of Social Security. Social Security will never “go broke.” It will always receive money from current worker
S2023 E9 · Sun, May 21, 2023
The Questionable Science of Microaggressions (w/Lee Jussim)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Lee Jussim , Rutgers University distinguished professor of psychology. He is here to discuss the questionable science behind microaggressions. If you are unfamiliar with the term, microaggressions are claimed to be “acts, often facially innocuous, that convey subtle animus or bias against someone in a traditionally marginalized group.” Our guest, Dr. Jussim, has written multiple excellent articles detailing the problems with microaggression research. According to Jussim , research on microaggressions is mixed, unsettled, and “in its infancy, and is most definitely not ready for applications in the real world.” Many of the claims made by progressives and academics about microaggressions have weak (and oftentimes nonexistent) empirical support. As Jussim and his research collaborator Edward Cantu note : “Many would assume that the social scientists who study and publish scholarship on [microaggressions] have already answered these questions to a degree that makes the current microaggression construct valid. But have they? The answer should inform the degree to which legal scholars and university administrators can responsibly incorporate the current microaggression construct into legal scholarship or diversity training materials.” Cantu and Jussim, like many other scholars, argue that social scientists have not adequately answered these questions: “After reviewing scholarship in which psychologists attempt to confirm the legitimacy of the [the prevailing microaggression perspective], and in which they debate the issue with dissenting psychologists, we conclude that the current operationalization of [microaggressions] in social justice discourse, legal scholarship, and education administration is significantly unwarranted.” The authors add, quite scathingly, that it appears “to be ‘methodological activism’ that drives much of the debate over the legitimacy [of microaggressions]” and that the prevailing microaggression perspective “appears to be designed primarily to reinforce a critical race theory narrative about social reality.” They go on to say that, based on their analysis, “[Researchers’] claims about microaggressions are without adequate scientific basis.” If the research is this unsettled, it would be paramount that any credible news commentary or policies that flow from this research should be extremely careful in what they claim to be factual. Unfortunatel
S2023 E8 · Sun, May 07, 2023
America CAN Reduce Gun Violence (w/Garen Wintemute)
Another massacre in America. It feels like we are living in a nightmare—and we should refuse to become numb to it. Instead, we should use our anger and sorrow and demand that our leaders do the things that most Americans support to stop the carnage. I include links to some *extremely* graphic images of Emmett Till’s corpse as well as the corpses of the recent mass shooting victims in Allen, Texas below. If you believe that you will not be able to handle seeing these images, I strongly urge you not to click on them. These images are not included to sensationalize the topic or to disrespect the deceased. They are included here because I do not believe that America can grapple with the problem of gun violence without viewing and truly confronting the devastation that it causes. In 1955, Emmett Till —an African American teen—was kidnapped and brutally murdered by White racists. His mother, Mamie, insisted on an open casket funeral, forcing the world to see the consequences of racism in America. Photographs of Till’s mutilated corpse were circulated around the country by Jet Magazine and The Chicago Defender and generated intense public reaction, contributing to progress in the Civil Rights Movement. You can click here to see them. I have no idea whether being confronted with the very graphic images of mass shootings in America will rouse the kind of reaction that might lead to meaningful change in the same way that Till’s helped further the Civil Rights Movement. But I believe we owe it to our children to try: You can click here to see them. It is not radical to say that, nationwide, we should: Ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines Enact a 30-day waiting period for all gun sales Enact red flag laws Enact better and uniform background checks Raise the legal age at which people can purchase firearms Improve our mental health system I know this is not radical because a majority of Americans support everything on that list. You can read the Gallup surveys yourself. There is consensus in America on what needs to be don
S2023 E7 · Mon, April 17, 2023
Conspiracy Theories in America (w/Michael Shermer from Skeptic Magazine)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Michael Shermer from Skeptic Magazine to discuss the rise of conspiracy theories in America. Make sure to check out Shermer's new book on the subject, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational . The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( Free Music Archive ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E6 · Mon, March 27, 2023
Reducing Extremism & Radicalization (w/Jay Jackson & Pasha Dashtgard)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we discuss the difficult tasks of reducing extremism and radicalization in the U.S. as well as improving our political discourse. In segment one we are joined by Pasha Dashtgard, Director of Research for American University’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) . In segment two we are joined by friend of the show Jay Jackson to discuss his book, Decent Discourse , as well as his website of the same name. Don’t forget to subscribe in just one click to our free email newsletter for more of our content! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( Free Music Archive ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) "Reading by Lamplight" by Maarten Schellekens ( Free Music Archive ) Bruce Springsteen commercial publicly available on YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E5 · Mon, March 13, 2023
The Woke Wars (w/Jacob Mackey)
Longtime Connors Newsletter subscribers and Utterly Moderate Podcast listeners know how concerned we are about post-truth America —that is, the fact that we now live in a time where objective facts are becoming less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about how American conservatives are regularly lied to by Fox News, Newsmax, and OAN about a variety of issues, whether it is supposedly stolen elections or climate change or immigration, among other topics. But on this podcast episode we want to turn a critical eye toward those who feed American liberals misleading information. Many in the leftwing bubble tell “virtuous lies,” a concept created by this episode’s guest, Jacob Mackey . These are empirically-flawed claims—espoused as empirically-sound and authoritative by those who propagate them—that further a social justice agenda made by some academics, activists, and partisan media outlets on the left. People make these claims without realizing or acknowledging the weak, unsettled, or even sometimes nonexistent empirical support behind their assertions. Liberal audiences believe these claims because they fit their worldview, make them feel good, and come from credentialed people who they trust. Additionally, for a liberal to oppose a virtuous lie would be to align oneself with “bad” people on the other side (supposed bigots, know-nothings, etc.). Jacob Mackey argues that to correct a virtuous lie is to oppose the noble goals of one’s tribe and/or to signal that one does not take the problem seriously. The left tells a number of virtuous lies, particularly about issues related to race and gender, including claims regarding the gender pay gap, gender identity, racial inequality, microaggressions, and implicit bias, to name a few ( here is a great discussion of the very unsettled research regarding microaggressions). This of course doesn’t mean that these are not real issues, or that everything the left says about them is false. But many claims made by academics and partisan media outlets on the left about social justice issues present biased analyses of topics as if they are the settled, authoritative consensus. The misleading information being fed to liberals and conservatives with
S2023 E4 · Thu, February 23, 2023
Going Back to the Moon and Then to Mars (w/Varoujan Gorjian)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by friend of the show, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory astrophysicist Varoujan Gorjian , to discuss NASA’s plans for taking humans back to the Moon, setting up a Moon base, and then going to Mars. We also discuss other exciting developments in the world of science, including breakthroughs in nuclear fusion and artificial intelligence. And of course, as always, there is the obligatory discussion of ALIENS . Subscribe to our FREE NEWSLETTER TODAY! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( Free Music Archive ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E3 · Mon, February 06, 2023
CRT, Abortion, & Other Mailbag Questions! (w/Madison Laughman)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , we answer your mailbag questions! Our podcast listeners and newsletter subscribers ( subscribe for free instantly! ) have been sending their questions to our website and today is the day that we answer them on the air! Visit us any time at ConnorsForum.org and subscribe to our FREE email newsletter in one click while you are there! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E2 · Mon, January 23, 2023
Women in STEM (w/Brighid Cantwell)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are discussing women in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in the U.S. According to the AAUW : "Women make up only 28% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and men vastly outnumber women majoring in most STEM fields in college. The gender gaps are particularly high in some of the fastest-growing and highest-paid jobs of the future, like computer science and engineering." There has been a push for some time to increase these numbers, so we thought we might spotlight a very promising female college student majoring in STEM, Brighid Cantwell, a student of Lawrence Eppard's (podcast host) at Shippensburg University . The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar ( Free Music Archive ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( Free Music Archive ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2023 E1 · Sun, January 08, 2023
What Does It Mean To Be a Conservative Today? (w/Bill Kristol)
In the fall of 2022 the Connors Forum invited our newsletter subscribers to a free live taping of this show where we talked to conservative heavyweight Bill Kristol about a variety of topics, including the meaning of conservatism today, the state of the Republican Party and its future, the health of American democracy, and more. Because it was a live show, listeners were able to pose questions to Kristol during the show. Subscribe for free in just one click to make sure you don’t miss these opportunities in the future! On today’s show we are going to hear highlights from that conversation for anybody who may have missed it. If you are unfamiliar with Bill Kristol , he has long been considered a major voice in the world of conservative politics. He is currently editor-at-large of The Bulwark . Before that he was a founder of The Weekly Standard , served as chief of staff to Education Secretary William Bennett in the Reagan Administration, served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle in the George H. W. Bush administration, and taught politics at both the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. If you want to listen to the unedited Trump/Raffensperger phone call referenced in this episode, click here . The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) "Ethereal" by Polkavant ( creative commons ) “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See <a hr
S2022 E36 · Thu, December 22, 2022
Let's Get Outraged!! (w/David Beckemeyer)
The Connors Forum would like to extend both Christmas and holiday greetings to all our podcast listeners and newsletter subscribers . We hope you have a very meaningful celebration with family and friends! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by David Beckemeyer, host of the brand new Connors Forum podcast Outrage Overload . David joins the show to talk about all of the media commentators and politicians who make up the outrage industry, an industry which thrives by gaining attention through stoking their audience’s fear, anger, and indignation. As stated in the show’s description, “The baseline of constant and chronic outrage, a persistent background level, weighs on us, creating constant stress and anxiety individually and on society as a whole.” Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays again to you and yours! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) "Silent Night" by Maya Solovéy ( creative commons ) "Carol of the Bells" by Audionautix ( royalty-free ) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E35 · Thu, December 01, 2022
Cartooning the News (w/Phil Hands and Adam Zyglis)
We're back with another episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast! But first things first—if you missed it, on November 29th our Connors Newsletter subscribers got to take part in an exclusive live podcast taping with heavyweight political commentator Bill Kristol from The Bulwark . Our subscribers were able to pose their questions to Mr. Kristol live and be a part of the show! Don't miss out in the future— subscribe for free in one click to join our community! On this podcast episode we are exploring the work of editorial cartoonists who draw cartoons that provide political or social commentary on the important news of the day. Joining us to discuss this are editorial cartoonists Adam Zyglis ( The Buffalo News ) and Phil Hands ( Wisconsin State Journal ). The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) "By Grace" by Podington Bear ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E34 · Thu, November 24, 2022
Thanksgiving Message to YOU!
Thank you for being a valued member of our wonderful Utterly Moderate community of reasonable Americans. We hope you have a joyous Thanksgiving celebration with those closest to you! Happy Thanksgiving :) The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E33 · Fri, November 18, 2022
Thanksgiving's Complicated History (w/David Silverman)
While you listen, don’t forget to subscribe to our free email newsletter ! It takes only seconds! This is our Thanksgiving episode! Here at the Connors Forum we are deeply grateful for YOU , our wonderful community of subscribers we have built over the last few years with our podcast and newsletter . We care deeply about doing our small part to bring Americans back together again, and we are overjoyed that so many people agree with this mission and have joined us in it. We hope each and every one of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration of family, friends, and all that you hold dear. On this episode we are joined by George Washington University historian David Silverman , an expert in early American and Native American history, to help us understand the complicated history of Thanksgiving. Our discussion includes why the English colonists and Wampanoags formed that initial alliance and feasted together in the first place, to how that alliance violently came apart, to why this complex understanding of history is important for Americans. Happy Thanksgiving again to you and yours! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) “Moonlight Reprise” by Kai Engel ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E32 · Tue, November 01, 2022
Election Preview! (w/Lonce Bailey)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , Shippensburg University political scientist Lonce Bailey joins the show to discuss the midterm elections: Which party will likely control the House of Representatives? Which party will likely control the Senate? Which issues do voters say are most important in this election? Lonce is a friend of the show and works at Shippensburg University with podcast host Lawrence Eppard. As you will no doubt be able to tell by listening to Dr. Bailey in this episode, he is indicative of the wonderful faculty and students at Ship. If you’re looking for an affordable and student-focused option for your high school graduate, give Ship a look! You can follow along with the FiveThirtyEight election predictions discussed in this episode here and the Gallup polls about voters’ concerns here . The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) “Last Dance” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E31 · Thu, October 20, 2022
The Failures of Reconstruction & Rise of Jim Crow (w/Jeremi Suri)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by University of Texas historian Jeremi Suri to discuss his new book, Civil War by Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy . In addition to helping listeners understand the failures of reconstruction, their discussion focused on topics such as: How Nazi Germany used Jim Crow as a model for their own policies The important ties between the election of 1876 and today Just how fragile American democracy really is , both then and now While you listen, make sure to subscribe to our free nonpartisan email newsletter ! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) “Last Dance” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E30 · Thu, October 06, 2022
George Washington: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (w/Denver Brunsman & True Tamplin)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast . . . Segment One: The Life and Times of George Washington George Washington University historian Denver Brunsman joins the show to share his insights on the life and career of George Washington, as well as his general reflections on the study of history and its place in the modern university. Segment Two: The Importance of Teaching Kids Financial Literacy True Tamplin , who runs the digital marketing agency UpDigital and created the finance website Finance Strategists, joins the show to discuss the importance of teaching children a solid foundation in financial literacy. And Before You Go. . . Subscribe to our awesome free email newsletter ! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) “The Last Ones” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Last Dance” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E29 · Thu, September 22, 2022
Ukraine Momentum Shift? And How Neighborhoods Impact Children (w/Paul Poast)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast . . . Segment 1: Ukraine Momentum Shift? Paul Poast , an international relations expert at the University of Chicago, joins the program to assess the current state of the war in Ukraine. Segment 2: How Do Neighborhoods Impact Children? Utterly Moderate host and Shippensburg University scholar Lawrence Eppard is interviewed on the Bold Dominion Podcast about his research concerning the powerful ways that neighborhoods influence the lives of the children who grow up in them. Don’t forget to subscribe to our free email newsletter today ! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) “The Last Ones” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Last Dance” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E28 · Thu, September 08, 2022
Can U.S. Gun Violence Be Reduced? (w/Garen Wintemute)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by Garen Wintemute for a nonpartisan explanation of the research on reducing gun violence in the U.S. Wintemute is the director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis. He is a renowned expert on gun violence and a pioneer in the field of injury epidemiology and prevention of firearm violence. He has testified before Congress and served as a consultant for the National Institute of Justice, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E27 · Wed, August 31, 2022
The Disappearing Great Salt Lake (w/Bonnie Baxter, Robert Gillies, & Chloe Fender)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , after a brief discussion of President Joe Biden's plan to forgive some student loans, host Lawrence Eppard and his guests discuss the drying up of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. You’ll remember from our previous article in our free email newsletter on the subject that satellite photos show the Great Salt Lake is much smaller than it was only a few decades ago—in fact, it has now reached its lowest point on record since measurements began in 1875. Dr. Bonnie Baxter , director of the Great Salt Lake Institute , and Dr. Robert Gillies , director of the Utah Climate Center , join the show to discuss what is happening to the GSL, why it matters, and what can be done to save it. And don’t miss Oregon State University graduate student Chloe Fender reading a moving obituary that Dr. Baxter wrote for the Great Salt Lake at the end of this episode. The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) "Blue Blanket" by Podington Bear ( creative commons ) "Reading by Lamplight" by Maarten Schellekens ( creative commons ) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E26 · Fri, August 19, 2022
Political Violence, Autocracy & Other Threats (w/Rachel Kleinfeld & Ken White)
Join the Connors Crew by subscribing to our free email newsletter TODAY! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard discusses the threat of political violence, America’s slide toward autocracy, and more with guests Rachel Kleinfeld and Ken White . Articles/other stuff referenced in this episode: “The New Era of Political Violence is Here” from Tom Nichols at The Atlantic “Trump Supporters’ Threats to Judge Spur Democracy Concerns” from Fields & Riccard at the Associated Press Bulwark Podcast episode with guest Dana Milbank Ken White's podcast and newsletter The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa ( creative commons ) “When” by Stephan Siebert ( creative commons ) “Cloudbank” by Podington Bear ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E25 · Fri, August 12, 2022
Hitler and the Pope (w/David Kertzer)
Join the Connors Crew and subscribe to our email newsletter today! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning Brown University scholar David Kertzer to discuss his newest book, The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler. Kertzer’s book is based upon his work with the newly opened Vatican Archives documents on Pope Pius XII. He provides groundbreaking insight into the Pope’s actions during World War II, including how he responded to the Holocaust. Kertzer reveals “how the Pope came to set aside moral leadership in order to preserve his church’s power.” Harvard University scholar Kevin Madigan wrote that: “This remarkably researched book is replete with revelations that deserve the adjective ‘explosive'. . . The Pope at War is a masterpiece.” Hope you will have a listen to this very interesting discussion! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E24 · Thu, August 04, 2022
Join Our Crew! And It's Mailbag Time Again!
Subscribe to the free Connors Newsletter instantly at ConnorsForum.org . What do you get in return? Super informative original newsletter articles and podcasts about the important issues of the day sent directly to you. Everything is vetted by our experienced nonpartisan researchers—we don’t have time or patience for spin or political agendas, and we know you don’t either. Also, it's mailbag time again! Go to the Connors Forum contact page and send in your questions for us to answer on the podcast. Better yet, RECORD YOURSELF asking your question and we will play your voice on the air! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E23 · Fri, July 29, 2022
R.I.P. American Democracy? (w/Jonathan Last & Tom Nichols)
Join the Connors Crew now by subscribing to our newsletter in just one click ! American democracy is in serious trouble. We may be on the verge of the “greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War” and quite possibly the “suspension of American democracy as we have known it,” in the words of Robert Kagan . Michael Gerson laments that recent developments in the U.S. are “revealing the frightening fragility of the American experiment.” And Jonathan Last warns , “America faces an authoritarian peril.” The problems are numerous, including: Election subversion efforts by leading political figures, including the attempted coup in 2020, the threat of a coup in 2024, and ongoing anti-democratic trends among elected officials at the state and local levels. Widespread misinformation/disinformation disseminated by partisan media outlets on television, the internet, and radio. Erosion of political and popular support for democracy and growing support for authoritarianism. Deep polarization, negative partisanship, and tribalism. Government gridlock and dysfunction. Threats of violence toward elected representatives and election officials. I asked a friend of mine who worked on Capitol Hill for years the following question: What percentage of members of Congress really have no principles and are just desperate to stay in the thrill of the game, acquire and maintain power and status, and stay relevant, regardless of whether what they did in Congress helped or hurt our democracy? This person’s honest answer? At least 51% and maybe as high as 80% or more, and an alarmingly high number are probably sociopaths. There is ample evidence that this may very well be true throughout the recent books by Mark Leibovich and Tim Miller . Here is a major problem with that : Weaknesses in our system that wer
S2022 E22 · Wed, July 20, 2022
Noam Chomsky Reflects on Democracy, Inequality, His Career, & More
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by longtime MIT professor and current University of Arizona scholar Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is known around the world for his academic career as a linguist as well as his work as a social commentator and activist. He is the author of many books and you can find his numerous talks and interviews all over the internet. Eppard and Chomsky cover a variety of topics, including the health of American democracy, free speech on college campuses, government's impact on poverty, misinformation/disinformation, Chomsky's proudest achievements, and more. To read the Harper's Letter referenced in this episode, click here . And don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER ! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “When” by Stephan Siebert ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E21 · Thu, July 14, 2022
1st Webb Telescope Pics Are Here. . . and Gorgeous! (w/Varoujan Gorjian)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory research astronomer Varoujan Gorjian to discuss the amazing pictures just released by NASA from the James Webb Space Telescope. See the pics here —and have our favorite research astronomer explain them to you as you listen to this episode! And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER ! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “When” by Stephan Siebert ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E20 · Sun, July 03, 2022
We Should Have Paid Attention in Math Class (w/James Zimring & Arjun Moorthy)
Click here to join the Connors Crew and get our cool newsletter—it takes only a few seconds! This week's newsletter article: “Communities Impact Children’s Lives in Powerful Ways.” Happy Independence Day everyone! We know times are tough right now in this country. Mass shootings have rocked us once again. Inflation is high and economic troubles loom. A series of Supreme Court decisions have left you either elated or saddened depending upon your point of view. American democracy faces a five-alarm fire —each passing week we find out just how close we were to losing our democracy, and how little stands in the way of a successful coup in the future. So what is the path forward? Do we take all of this as a sign of impending decline and brace ourselves for the end of the great American experiment? Or do we treat this as an inflection point where we realize what a great country this is, how very much we have to lose, and decide to get back to the basics and ideals that have stood the test of time, such as honesty, truth , civility, democracy , and so forth? This country has done so many great things and has the potential to do so much more if we can come together, heal what has been damaged, and emerge a stronger society on the other side. Such a vision should give us hope and optimism this July 4th. It will not be easy and it will not be quick, but it is necessary and it is achievable. Now on to the show. . . Segment 1: We Should Have Paid Attention in Math Class In segment one of this Utterly Moderate episode, host Lawrence Eppard is joined by James Zimring , a professor in the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, to discuss his new book, Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort
S2022 E19 · Thu, June 23, 2022
Bridges Won't Stop Tornadoes (w/Lee Enterprises Weather Team)
Click here to join the Connors Crew and get our cool newsletter -- it takes only a few seconds! This week's article: What is Causing Inflation? On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by three meteorologists from the Lee Enterprises Weather Team: Matt Holiner, Joe Martucci, and Sean Sublette. They discuss a number of weather-related subjects that people often get wrong, including tornadoes, humidity, heat lightning, interpreting a weather report, and more. And for fun, they reveal their favorite weather-related movies! Check out this great stuff mentioned in this episode: The Lee Weather Team’s awesome podcast, Across the Sky . The RadarScope App . Colorado State University hurricane forecasting. The Windy App . The Connors Forum partners with Shippensburg University (SU) but is an independent entity. The views expressed on this podcast are those of the host and contributors and not of SU. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E18 · Wed, June 08, 2022
Mona Charen Reflects on Guns, Poverty, Jan. 6, & More
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast host Lawrence Eppard is joined by Mona Charen, a nationally syndicated columnist, policy editor at the right-leaning The Bulwark , and host of their Beg to Differ podcast. Charen joins our show to offer a conservative's perspective on gun control, reducing poverty, the January 6 hearings, decency in American culture, and more. Read Charen's writing at The Bulwark here . Listen to Charen's podcast Beg to Differ here . Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Tragedy of the Commons" by Jay Pete (used with artist's permission) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) Subscribe to our CONNORS NEWSLETTER for free today! The Connors Forum partners with Shippensburg University (SU) but is an independent entity. The views expressed here are those of the host and guests, not of SU. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E17 · Wed, June 01, 2022
When Presidents Clash with the Press (with Jon Marshall)
Subscribe to our Connors Newsletter today! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast host Lawrence Eppard is joined by Jon Marshall , a professor in Northwestern University’s school of journalism and author of the new book, Clash: Presidents and the Press in Times of Crisis. They discuss the role of the press and historical examples of its relationship with different administrations. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Druckstellen" by Ibi ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E16 · Wed, May 11, 2022
The Conger Ice Shelf Collapse: Canary in the Coal Mine? (with Richard Alley & Zach Stein)
Are you a reasonable person? If so, subscribe to the Connors Newsletter! On This Episode of Utterly Moderate . . . Segment 1: The Conger Ice Shelf Has Collapsed Richard Alley , a professor of geosciences at Penn State University, joins host Lawrence Eppard to help us understand the collapse of the Conger Ice Shelf in East Antarctica and its implications. Read about the Conger Ice Shelf collapse here . Segment 2: All About Climate Investing Zach Stein from the company Carbon Collective joins the show to discuss the work his company does helping people get their IRA’s, brokerage accounts, trusts, and more invested in green, sustainable stock and bond portfolios built for solving climate change. Visit them at CarbonCollective.co Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E15 · Thu, April 28, 2022
How to Think Like a Lawyer and Why (with Kimberly Wehle)
Hate all the bitterness and polarization? JOIN NOW ! Become a member of our community of reasonable Americans! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by University of Baltimore law professor Kimberly Wehle to discuss her new book, How to Think Like a Lawyer and Why: A Common-Sense Guide to Everyday Dilemmas. Also, check out the song featured at the end of this episode, “ Turning Into You ,” by Shippensburg University student Piper Kull! Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Turning Into You” by Piper Kull (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E14 · Wed, April 13, 2022
Immigration and Crime (with Michael Light)
Become a Connors Forum Community Member! Become a member of our community of reasonable people devoted to facts, honesty, and civility by subscribing HERE ! It takes 15 seconds or less! On this Episode: Virtually every week on television you can hear politicians and political commentators claiming that immigrants, and unauthorized immigrants in particular, commit a lot of crime. Are these claims true? The weight of the best available evidence suggests they are not. There is no objectively right or wrong way to structure immigration policy in America. But we can all agree that whatever our policy preferences, we should debate the issue in good faith using factual information. On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by a leading expert in this area, Michael Light from the University of Wisconsin, to understand what the data tell us. We hope you enjoy this illuminating discussion! Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E13 · Tue, April 05, 2022
The Devil Never Sleeps (with Juliette Kayyem)
We are building a big COMMUNITY of people like yourself who value nonpartisan information and civil discussions about important topics. Absolutely no Democratic or Republican Party talking points, just the weight of the evidence. Please join our growing community by subscribing to our newsletter . On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Juliette Kayyem to talk about her newest book, The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters . Be sure to read her excellent recent article in The Atlantic related to her book. In academia, the private sector, government, and media, Juliette Kayyem is a national leader in homeland security, cybersecurity, resiliency, and safety. She is currently a professor in international security at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She is also: A CNN commentator . A Pulitzer Prize finalist . A member of the Council on Foreign Relations . The CEO of Grip Mobility , a technology platform that provides audio and video capabilities for rideshare companies to increase the security of their drivers and riders. One of Magazine’s “Top 100 Female Founders” in 2019 . Former Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where she played a pivotal leadership role in major operations including handling of the H1N1 pandemic and the BP Oil Spill response. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for pri
S2022 E12 · Thu, March 24, 2022
The Aging of America (with Mark Sachleben)
Please consider SUBSCRIBING to our newsletter ! It takes only a few seconds and you can help us build a big community of Americans devoted to nonpartisan information and civil discourse. We hope you subscribe! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are discussing a phenomenon occurring in the United States and a number of countries around the world: the median age of our population is rising . Here to discuss this with us is political scientist Mark Sachleben . Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E11 · Wed, March 16, 2022
American Kids Get a Fact Checker (with James Warren)
Subscribe Now for High-Quality Nonpartisan Information: Please SUBSCRIBE to our nonpartisan Connors Newsletter! Get all of our Connors Forum for a Healthy Democracy publications and Utterly Moderate podcasts instantly! On This Utterly Moderate Episode: On this episode of Utterly Moderate we are joined by James Warren , executive editor at NewsGuard , a nonpartisan company that rates news organizations. Warren previously worked as managing editor at the Chicago Tribune , chief media writer at the Poynter Institute, and Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News . Warren joins the show to discuss a huge deal his company just reached with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to make their news rating software available to millions of students around the country! Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E10 · Thu, March 10, 2022
What's Next in Ukraine? (with Paul Poast, Allyson Ritchey, & Madison Laughman)
First things first. . . SUBSCRIBE! Subscribe to our free newsletter HERE! Get non-partisan analyses, along with all of our podcast episodes, directly to your email inbox each week! Read such newsletter articles as: Do Unauthorized Immigrants Commit a Lot of Crime? Understanding the Gender Pay Gap Our Media Report Card And much more! Segment One: Ukraine Paul Poast , faculty member in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago and expert on international relations, joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss how the war in Ukraine might end. Segment Two: Meet the Crew New podcast production assistants Allyson Ritchey and Madison Laughman stop by to introduce themselves! Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E9 · Wed, March 02, 2022
Economic Sanctions Against Russia and More (with Alan Cole & Erik Nelson)
Given the atrocities being committed in Ukraine by Vladimir Putin and his military, our thoughts and prayers and support as always are firmly with the people of Ukraine. We also stand with those Russians who oppose their leader’s actions. On this episode of Utterly Moderate we are talking about economic sanctions and how they might impact Russia in segment one with Alan Cole , the founder of Full Stack Economics . Check out Full Stack Economics , including such articles as: "Five reasons the sanctions are working" "Why Biden left a big loophole in his sanctions regime" "Why so many economists underestimated the inflation problem" "An outdated environmental law is forcing UC Berkeley to slash enrollment" And much more! In segment two we are talking to public health scholar Erik Nelson about the work that he does in epidemiology, his research concerning lead exposure, the importance of concentrated disadvantage in explaining violence in America, how research contributes to meaningful progress in society, his personal journey navigating issues of faith in higher education, and much more! SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER! It takes 15 seconds or less! Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E8 · Wed, February 23, 2022
Wormholes, Aliens, Exoplanets, & More Science Fun! (with Varoujan Gorjian)
Prayers for Ukraine Despite the lighthearted topics on today’s show, we know these are not lighthearted times. Please keep the people of Ukraine in your thoughts and prayers. Let us encourage world leaders to work to end this aggression and bring it to a close as quickly and as peacefully as possible. Axios: “U.S. Official Says a Russian Invasion of Ukraine has Started” Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter If you care about big societal issues, consider having our newsletter and podcasts delivered to your email inbox instantly upon release. Please consider subscribing now! It is quick and easy. For free you get all podcast episodes instantly as well as articles such as: "A Five-Alarm Fire for American Democracy" "First Media Report Card of 2022" "Reflections on Journalism" And more! This Episode. . . On this Utterly Moderate episode we are joined by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory astronomer Varoujan Gorjian to discuss not only wormholes but aliens, exoplanets, the James Webb Telescope, and more! Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E7 · Wed, February 16, 2022
All About America's Supply Chain (with Steven Melnyk)
WE HAVE BIG NEWS! Before we talk about this episode, first let us share some big news. . . We have a new free online newsletter that goes straight to your email inbox! If you care about big societal issues and the health of our democracy, and want analyses from a nonpartisan perspective, we hope you will consider subscribing ! Here are the first two articles: "First Media Report Card of 2022" "A Five-Alarm Fire for American Democracy" All newsletter articles by our network of affiliated scholars as well as all new Utterly Moderate episodes will be sent to you immediately upon being published! In other good news, we are very pleased to announce that Madison Laughman and Allyson Ritchey have joined the Utterly Moderate crew as production assistants behind the scenes. Welcome to the team Madison and Allyson! Lastly, check out the major deal that NewsGuard signed with the American Federation of Teachers to bring NewsGuard's excellent news rating software to tens of millions of public school students in order to better protect them from online misinformation and disinformation. On Today's Episode: We are joined on this Utterly Moderate episode by Steven Melnyk , a professor of supply chain management in the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University . Dr. Melnyk will help us understand the ins and outs of a system that many of us gave little thought to and most of us probably couldn’t have even named before the pandemic: the supply chain. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omn
S2022 E6 · Thu, February 10, 2022
Threats to Democracy in the U.S. and Abroad (with Jim Swift)
A FIVE-ALARM FIRE for AMERICAN DEMOCRACY The warning signs of serious decline for many democracies worldwide are “ flashing red .” In the U.S., we may be on the verge of the “greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War” and quite possibly the “suspension of American democracy as we have known it,” in the words of Robert Kagan. The problems facing American democracy are numerous, including (but not limited to) misinformation and disinformation , election subversion efforts by leading political figures, loopholes in the Electoral Count Act , partisan media outlets, political polarization , negative partisanship and tribalism, erosion of support for democracy and growing support for authoritarianism, weakening of social cohesion, government gridlock and dysfunction, an attempted coup , the “ Big Lie ,” an insurrection , partisan election audits , increasing authoritarianism among state legislatures, threats to elected officials and election workers, and talk of secession . I want to focus my discussion on two of these related threats: misinformation/ disinformation and efforts to subvert our electoral system. The U.S. is in what many have called a “<a href="https://languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year/2
S2022 E5 · Wed, February 02, 2022
The Doomsday Glacier. . . is Collapsing?!? (with Richard Alley)
In segment one of this Utterly Moderate episode we are joined by Dr. Richard Alley (professor of geosciences at Penn State University) to discuss climate change's impact on the Doomsday Glacier (the nickname given to the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica) and the potentially catastrophic consequences that this could have for sea level rise and coastal cities across the globe. Some research suggests that in as little as five years the glacier could suffer a massive collapse. In segment two we take a look around the news at a few stories from this past week, including: Possible Russian invasion of Ukraine ( Wall Street Journal ) Pittsburgh bridge collapse ( Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ) Supply chain woes ( the Bulwark ) Moderna vaccine gets full FDA approval ( Washington Post ) Foreign journalists in China face intimidation ( Axios ) Illiberal Right and Left are asymmetrical ( the Bulwark ) Trump floats Jan. 6 pardons ( CBS News ) Trump admits wanting to overturn election ( Snopes.com ) Trump wanted to seize voting machines ( New York Times ) Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Rid
S2022 E4 · Thu, January 27, 2022
Exploring the World of Pro Wrestling (with Nyla Rose & Jimmy Z)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Nyla Rose, who wrestles weekly on TNT and TBS for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , and independent wrestler/promoter Jimmy Z. We discuss all things professional wrestling! Make sure to check us out at ConnorsForum.org ! Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E3 · Fri, January 21, 2022
Bill Kristol & Kim Wehle on Fixing the Electoral Count Act
On this episode of Utterly Moderate we are joined by editor-at-large of the Bulwark Bill Kristol and University of Baltimore law professor Kimberly Wehle . Both Kristol and Wehle help host Lawrence Eppard sort through a bizarre story about elector fraud in the 2020 presidential election as well as how to fix the Electoral Count Act . Most Americans are probably aware that we use the Electoral College to elect presidents. When this happens, state government officials sign “certificates of ascertainment” which verify the state’s electors and who they voted for in the election. These are sent with documentation signed by the electors themselves to the National Archives who process them and then send them to Congress to count on January 6th. According to documents obtained by an organization called American Oversight and covered by Politico, CNN, the Bulwark , and others, in the weeks after the 2020 election, Trump supporters sent fake election certificates to the National Archives declaring that Trump won five states that he actually lost: Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Some of the people involved were top GOP officials in the states in question. The Bulwark has covered this extensively: On January 15th Bill Kristol commented , “The forged electoral certificates show coordination across. . . states. Those fake certificates were key to the plan of the Eastman memo and to the Jeffrey Clark DOJ draft letter to Georgia.” On January 16th Charlie Sykes wrote , “Some perspective: If an average voter lied on their registration forms or forged an absentee ballot, they would face criminal charges and a world of legal hurt. But this case is far worse because the forged electoral certificates were coordinated, and part of a larger conspiracy to overturn the presidential election.” On January 17th Philip Rotner argued that, “These phony certifications were not isolated, one-off events. They were highly coordinated. A single glance at the five phony certificates shows that they are nearly identical in format and text, right down to the fonts. The strong implication: Somebody somewhere was running this show.” One of the biggest
S2022 E2 · Thu, January 13, 2022
Conservative Approaches to Tackling Climate Change (with Bob Inglis)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by former Republican South Carolina Congressman and current executive director of RepublicEN.org Bob Inglis. On their website, RepublicEN asserts that, “We are the EcoRight. . . We stand together because we believe in the power of American free enterprise and innovation to solve climate change. Together, we encourage, embolden, and applaud conservative climate leadership. . . The age of conservative climate disputation is over.” Check them out at RepublicEN.org ! Eppard talks to Inglis about his intellectual journey on climate change, the work that they do at RepublicEN , how conservative principles can help solve the problem of climate change, as well as the future of the GOP. Then in segment two Eppard discusses a variety of news items, including: “ Arbery Killers Get Life in Prison; No Parole for Father, Son ” by Ross Bynum, Associated Press, Jan. 7, 2022 “ I Spent Insurrection Week Listening to Steve Bannon ” by Tim Miller, the Bulwark , Jan. 10, 2022 “‘ I’m Tired of Being Quiet’: Biden and Harris Make Forceful Push for Voting Rights ” by Myah Ward, Politico, Jan. 11, 2022 Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones ) “Druckstellen” by Ibi ( creative commons ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S2022 E1 · Wed, January 05, 2022
Talkin' Politics: Joe Manchin, the Electoral Count Act, the Future of the Parties, and More!
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , host Lawrence Eppard is joined by a number of political scientists to discuss a variety of topics, from Joe Manchin to the Electoral Count Act to the future of American political parties and much more! Be sure to visit ConnorsForum.org for more about us! Segment 1: James White , political scientist at Concord University. Segment 2: Lawrence Becker , political scientist at California State University, Northridge Alison Dagnes , political scientist at Shippensburg University Jerold Duquette , political scientist at Central Connecticut State University Douglas Harris , political scientist at Loyola University Maryland Segment 3: Wrap-up with the host . Discussion includes the following: “ The Good Coup ” by Amanda Carpenter Kimberly Wehle’s work on reforming American democracy “ Dan Bongino and the Big Business of Returning Trump to Power ” by Evan Osnos “ Our Constitutional Crisis is Already Here ” by Robert Kagan Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons license ) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane ( licensed through TakeTones ) "Reading by Lamplight" by Maarten Schellekens ( creative commons license ) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E44 · Fri, December 24, 2021
Christmas Eve Bonus Mini-Episode
On this bonus mini-episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we speak with Jim Helms, who every year delights children in the Richmond, Virginia area by playing Santa Claus. We hope all of our listeners have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and wonderful 2022! See you in the new year with many more episodes! Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar ( creative commons license ) “Silent Night” by Maya Solovéy ( creative commons license ) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E43 · Mon, December 20, 2021
Interview with Rachel Dratch about A Clüsterfünke Christmas!
This is part one of our Christmas episode! We are joined on this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast by SNL legend Rachel Dratch to discuss her funny new movie A Clüsterfünke Christmas , which she co-wrote and co-starred in with Ana Gasteyer . You can watch A Clüsterfünke Christmas on Comedy Central , Hulu Live , or iTunes ! Throughout this episode we also feature beautiful Christmas music from the Shippensburg University Choir ! Make sure to tune in to the forthcoming part two of this Christmas episode where we talk to the one and only Santa Claus himself! Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) Various holiday songs by the Shippensburg University Choir (used with permission of the choir’s director, Elizabeth Shoenfelt) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E42 · Sun, December 05, 2021
Promoting Dignity & Civility (with Rosalind Wiseman)
Rosalind Wiseman joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss her work promoting dignity and civility among young Americans. Wiseman is the author of a number of books, including Defending Ourselves , Queen Bees & Wannabees , and Masterminds & Wingmen . The movie Mean Girls , which starred Lindsay Lohan and Rachal McAdams, was actually based on Queen Bees & Wannabees. Wiseman is the co-founder and chief content officer of the organization Cultures of Dignity , which works with communities across the country to promote young people’s physical and emotional wellbeing. On this episode we discuss the importance of social and emotional learning, promoting a culture of dignity and civility, the pitfalls of too much tech and social media, the impact of the pandemic on young people, Wiseman's forthcoming book ( Courageous Discomfort ) dealing with how to have constructive conversations about difficult topics like racism, and more. As a bonus, we also discuss an extremely embarrassing story from Ali’s past! Quote of the episode (from Rosalind): “Be easy on people, hard on ideas.” Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) "By Grace” by Podington Bear (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E41 · Mon, November 22, 2021
Understanding Recent Climate Change News (with James Gerber)
In America, we talk so much about freedom as it is a central part of our identity. When it comes to what freedom entails, most Americans would agree that there are political, social, and economic dimensions. Most agree that in a free society there is a need for order, justice, security, opportunity, and fairness. There is a shared sense that freedom requires the absence of harm and undue interference. Most believe that freedom requires a variety of rights, including those related to speech, property, voting, religion, fair legal treatment, assembly, the press, and so on. One important thing to remember in these conversations is not just to focus on being free from something, but free to do something as well. Being free from tyranny does not necessarily mean the conditions exist which allow you to live a full life. That freedom requires not merely the absence of something but the presence of something as well. Climate change might be seen as a threat to the freedom and well-being of not only all Americans living today, but for their children and grandchildren, since greenhouse gas emissions can be locked into the atmosphere for generations. The sooner we act, the less damage there will be to our society and to Earth’s ecosystems and the lower the economic cost. There has been a lot about climate change in the news lately, with the release of the recent IPCC assessment and COP26 in Glasgow . To help us understand this, Dr. James Gerber joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast . Gerber is the co-director and lead scientist of the Global Landscapes Initiative (GLI) at the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. After listening to this episode, make sure to explore climate solutions at Project Drawdown or climate research at the AAAS . Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) "Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E40 · Tue, November 16, 2021
A Celebration of Books! (with Heather Lennon)
October was National Book Month, and to celebrate we were joined on the Utterly Moderate Podcast by children's book publishing expert Heather Lennon to talk about the industry she loves and the joys of reading. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) “Steppin’ In” by Podington Bear (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E39 · Mon, November 08, 2021
Journalism & Democracy (with Jason Adrians, Lolly Bowean, & Michael Deas)
American democracy is facing very serious challenges, as we have noted in much of our work (see just a few examples here and here and here ). One of the greatest threats is that posed by misinformation and disinformation, as many Americans turn away from credible news and information sources and instead rely on low-quality outlets. With this in mind, on November 2, 2021, we hosted a panel to discuss the importance of journalism in restoring our democracy. Our panel included: Jason Adrians , executive editor for the Wisconsin State Journal and national editor for Lee Enterprises Lolly Bowean , program officer at the Field Foundation (formerly with the Chicago Tribune and Times-Picayune ) Michael Deas , journalism faculty member at Northwestern University (formerly with the Chicago Tribune ) Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) "Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E38 · Mon, October 25, 2021
All About Weddings (with Amy Thunell & Ann Fortin)
Wedding and event planner/coordinator Amy Thunell and Kalero Vineyard owner Ann Fortin join the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss the ins and outs of the wedding industry. Episode music/audio clips: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) "Canon in D Major” by Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E37 · Mon, October 11, 2021
Is American Democracy in Decline? (with Kimberly Wehle)
University of Baltimore law professor Kimberly Wehle joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss the various ways in which American democracy is under serious strain as well as actions we can take to turn things around. Read more from Wehle here . Episode music/audio clips: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) "Cloudbank" by Podington Bear (creative commons) Bruce Springsteen/Jeep Super Bowl commercial (publicly available on YouTube) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E36 · Mon, September 27, 2021
It's Football Season! (with Mickey Thompson & Tina Hill)
It's fall and football season is in full swing, so what better time than now to talk sports on the Utterly Moderate Podcast ? On this episode we are first joined by Mickey Thompson, head football coach at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, VA, where he has won a whopping 83% of his games, 16 district championships, 13 region championships, and 2 state titles! He gives great insight into running a football program and leading young men. Then we are joined by Tina Hill, athletic director at Wilson College , to discuss how the college sports landscape is rapidly changing and what it means moving forward. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) "By Grace" by Podington Bear (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E35 · Wed, September 22, 2021
Wildfires and Air Quality. . . and Cats?!? (with Sarah Coefield)
Sarah Coefield -- who is an air quality specialist at the Missoula City-County Health Department in Missoula, Montana -- joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to talk about wildfires, air quality, and public health. We also talk about her cat, and it gets weird. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) "Steppin' In" by Podington Bear (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E34 · Mon, September 13, 2021
Declining Trust in Government in America (with Amy Fried & Douglas Harris)
Amy Fried and Douglas Harris join the show to discuss their book, At War with Government: How Conservatives Weaponized Distrust from Goldwater to Trump. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) "Reading by Lamplight" by Maarten Schellekens (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E33 · Mon, September 06, 2021
Labor Day Episode (with Emily Guendelsberger & Chad Stone)
Happy Labor Day everyone! On this holiday we are celebrating American workers here on the Utterly Moderate Podcast ! We are joined today by Chad Stone , the chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities , and Emily Guendelsberger , author of On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How it Drives America Insane . We discuss the plight of American workers today with a specific focus on the working class. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) "Steppin' In" by Podington Bear (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E32 · Mon, August 30, 2021
Our Mystery Guest Today Is. . . . . .
Utterly Moderate listeners have been submitting their guesses to UtterlyModerate@gmail.com for weeks and the day has finally arrived! Who is today's mystery guest?!? A guest that Lawrence booked specifically for Ali? Tune in to find out! Thank you to Melissa Folds, Mario Zangla, and Neil Connelly for their help producing this episode. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E31 · Mon, August 23, 2021
All About Funerals (with Eric Trimble)
Eric Trimble joins the show to explain all things funeral to Utterly Moderate listeners. Eric is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Illinois and Iowa, heads the Trimble Funeral Home & Crematory in Coal Valley, Illinois, and has over 50 years of experience in the industry. Eric says that, “I truly find meaning in helping people at a time when no one else can help them. My father taught me that being a funeral director is a sacred calling because we are entrusted with the most valuable treasure a family has—a loved one. Therefore, we act as if every funeral were for a member of our own family.” Our discussion with Eric illustrates that he truly lives these words. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) “By Grace” by Podington Bear (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E31 · Sat, August 21, 2021
MYSTERY GUEST HINT!
If you guess who the mystery guest is for our August 30th "Mystery Guest" episode we will send you an Amazon gift card! Send your guess to UtterlyModerate@gmail.com or go to our website and send it in through the contact page. We will read the guesses on air! Make sure to send your guess in before August 29! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E30 · Mon, August 16, 2021
Extra! Extra! Read All About It! (with Judy Kurtz & Jason Adrians)
Judy Kurtz and Jason Adrians join the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss the ins and outs of journalism. Judy Kurtz has worked as a newspaper columnist and television commentator and is currently an entertainment reporter for the Hill . She has worked at and/or contributed to a number of outlets during her career, including HLN, Sky News, E! News, Canada's Sun Network, SiriusXM satellite radio, Washington's Fox 5, Fox 45 in Baltimore, and People Magazine. Jason Adrians is the national editor at Lee Enterprises where he manages all national and international content for their 77 daily news organizations throughout the country. He is also the executive editor for the Wisconsin State Journal , one of Lee’s largest news organizations. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens (creative commons) “Winter Walk” by Podington Bear (creative commons use) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fri, August 13, 2021
SEND YOUR GUESS!
If you guess who the mystery guest is for our late August/early September "Mystery Guest" episode we will send you an Amazon gift card! Send your guess to UtterlyModerate@gmail.com or go to our website and send it in through the contact page. We will read the guesses on air! Make sure to send your guess in before August 29! HINT: Lawrence booked this guest just for Ali! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E29 · Mon, August 09, 2021
Interview with the Bulwark's Mona Charen
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , Lawrence and Ali interview conservative political commentator, nationally syndicated columnist, and Bulwark policy editor and podcaster Mona Charen . Their discussion covers the work of the Bulwark , the problems of misinformation and disinformation , the meaning of conservatism, the decline in decency, extreme partisanship, the “Big Lie” and its disastrous consequences, the health of American democracy, Charen’s take of the Biden administration’s performance to this point, her book Sex Matters , hate mail, whether dogs or cats are better, and more! Episode music/audio clips: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons use) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens (creative commons use) “By Grace” by Poddington Bear (creative commons use) “Leaving” by Edoy (creative commons use) Mitt Romney’s remarks after the January 6th insurrection (publicly available on YouTube) Bruce Springsteen/Jeep Super Bowl commercial (publicly available on YouTube) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E28 · Mon, August 02, 2021
The Future of Social Security (with Kathleen Romig)
Kathleen Romig joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss the future of the Social Security program . Romig is a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities . Her research focuses on Social Security, SSI, paid leave, and other government budget issues. Romig has previously worked at the Social Security Administration, Social Security Advisory Board, Congressional Research Service, and Office of Management and Budget. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E27 · Mon, July 26, 2021
Think You Know U.S. Government? (w/guest Lonce Bailey)
Play along at home and see how well you score (and if you beat the hosts!) as political scientist Lonce Bailey quizzes Utterly Moderate hosts Ali and Lawrence about their U.S. government knowledge! Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) “By Grace” by Podington Bear (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E26 · Mon, July 19, 2021
Understanding the Gender Pay Gap (w/guests Heidi Hartmann & Ariane Hegewisch)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by economists Heidi Hartmann and Ariane Hegewisch to discuss the gender pay gap in the U.S., including its definition, size, causes, and possible solutions. Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) “Reading by Lamplight” by Maarten Schellekens (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E25 · Mon, July 12, 2021
NASA & Nimoy & Nukes, Oh My! (w/guests Varoujan Gorjian & Carl Zimmer)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Varoujan Gorjian and New York Times columnist and science author Carl Zimmer . We discuss black holes, the value of science, the importance of good teachers, the work of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the nuclear age, duck and cover drills, the Castle Bravo nuclear bomb test and its aftermath, the world of viruses, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Carl Zimmer tapeworm, and much more! Episode Music and Audio Clips: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “Make Your Dreams Reality” by Scott Holmes Music (creative commons) “By Grace” by Podington Bear (creative commons) “Duck and Cover” clip produced by the U.S. FCDA (publicly available on YouTube) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E24 · Mon, July 05, 2021
Interview with Hilarie Burton Morgan
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by actress and best-selling author Hilarie Burton Morgan to discuss her childhood, breaking into Hollywood, MTV, One Tree Hill, The Walking Dead , her new podcast Drama Queens , Mischief Farm , Samuel's Sweet Shop , and much more! P.S. Always consume credible information - our democracy depends on it! Episode music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (creative commons) “The Washington Post March” by the United States Marine Band (publicly available on YouTube) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with permission from artist) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E23 · Mon, June 28, 2021
The Earth is Round! (w/guest Lee McIntyre)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , the hosts are joined by Lee McIntyre , author of the forthcoming book How to Talk to a Science Denier , to discuss the process of doing science, the importance of scientific and information literacy, how conservatives AND liberals deny facts, flat-Earth conventions, the debunked vaccine-autism link, the problems of misinformation and disinformation in our current post-truth era, and more! Episode music: "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (creative commons) "Cheeky" by Ketsa (creative commons) “Flore” by Edoy (creative commons) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (with permission from artist) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E22 · Sat, June 19, 2021
Race in America (w/guest Rodney Coates)
On this special Juneteenth 2021 episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Dr. Rodney Coates (Miami University of Ohio) to discuss the Juneteenth holiday, racial inequality in America, prospects for future progress toward equality, and much more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E21 · Mon, June 14, 2021
The Irrational Human Brain (w/guests Steven Sloman & Philip Fernbach)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by cognitive scientists Steven Sloman (Brown University) and Philip Fernbach (University of Colorado) to discuss the cognitive biases that we all have that get in the way of rational thinking -- and the implications of this for our post-truth era in the U.S. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E20 · Tue, June 08, 2021
Coffee with an Economist (w/guest Alka Gandhi)
On this episode the hosts are joined by Alka Gandhi, an economist from the University of Maryland, to discuss the field of economics, worries about inflation, the future of the minimum wage, GameStop, income inequality, and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E19 · Mon, May 31, 2021
Saluting the U.S. Armed Forces
On this episode Ali and Lawrence salute the U.S. Armed Forces by remembering those who have fallen, celebrating veterans and those currently in the armed forces, and discussing the U.S. Special Operations Forces with retired SOF member Bill Fleser. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E18 · Mon, May 24, 2021
Economic Inequality (w/guest Richard Wilkinson)
On this episode we are joined by internationally-acclaimed inequality scholar Richard Wilkinson. Wilkinson studied at the London School of Economics before training in epidemiology. He has published a number of peer-reviewed articles as well as multiple books, including the best-selling The Spirit Level , which explores economic inequality and its consequences. Wilkinson is Professor Emeritus of social epidemiology at the University of Nottingham Medical School, Honorary Professor at University College London, and currently teaches at the University of York in England. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E17 · Tue, May 18, 2021
Talkin' God (w/guest Rev. Dr. Andy Hart)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , Pastor Andy of the Presbyterian Church of Falling Spring joins the show to talk about various topics related to Christianity in America today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E16 · Mon, May 10, 2021
Grading the News - Part II (w/guest James Warren from NewsGuard)
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast , James Warren joins the show to discuss the work that he does as executive editor at NewsGuard. NewsGuard is an organization that rates the credibility and transparency of over 6,000 news and information websites. NewsGuard’s rigorous methodology allows news consumers to have confidence in their ability to determine which sites are reliable and which ones are not. Before joining NewsGuard, Warren’s long and distinguished journalism career saw him work at the Chicago Tribune as a managing editor, as Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News, at the Poynter Institute, at the Star-Ledger, and at the Chicago Sun-Times. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E15 · Tue, May 04, 2021
Grading the News - Part I (w/guest Vanessa Otero from Ad Fontes Media)
In part one of the “Grading the News” episode, Ali and Lawrence sit down with the founder of Ad Fontes Media, Vanessa Otero. You are probably familiar with the “Media Bias Chart,” which is produced by Otero’s company. The mission of Ad Fontes Media is “to make news consumers smarter and news media better.” They do this by rating the news for reliability and bias to help people navigate the news landscape. In this episode we discuss the work that Ad Fontes Media does and why it is so important. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E14 · Tue, April 27, 2021
Interview with the Riders in the Sky
America’s favorite cowboys, the Riders in the Sky, join the show to discuss their almost 44-year career as a musical act, yodeling, the "Cowboy Way," their two Grammy wins for their work on Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc., their Grand Ole Opry membership, their big role in the “Paul is Dead” hoax, fine fashion (black tie versus cac-tie), their SiriusXM show, finding true love, and more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E13 · Mon, April 19, 2021
We've Got Mail!
On this episode of Utterly Moderate , hosts Ali and Lawrence answer questions submitted by their wonderful listeners! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E12 · Mon, April 12, 2021
American Poverty Myths (w/guest Mark Robert Rank)
In this episode of Utterly Moderate , Ali interviews Mark Robert Rank and Lawrence Eppard, who have written a new book from Oxford University Press titled, Poorly Understood: What America Gets Wrong about Poverty . Their discussion focuses on the myths and realities of American poverty. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E12 · Fri, April 09, 2021
Short Message from Hosts - April 9
We are reaching out to YOU our WONDERFUL listeners for your questions for our mailbag episode on April 13! Visit the contact page at utterlymoderate.com to send us your questions for us to answer on the episode, or email us as utterlymoderate@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
S1 E11 · Mon, April 05, 2021
Do Facts Matter Anymore? (w/guests Tom Nichols & Lee McIntyre)
On this episode of Utterly Moderate, the authors of The Death of Expertise and Post-Truth join the show to discuss how we got to the point in the U.S. where facts seem to matter less than feelings and millions of Americans deny reality. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E10 · Tue, March 30, 2021
Interview with the Bulwark's Charlie Sykes
Charlie Sykes joins the show to discuss the future of the GOP. Sykes is a founder and editor-at-large of The Bulwark and host of The Bulwark Podcast . He has written nine books, including How the Right Lost Its Mind . Sykes has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Weekly Standard, The Washington Post, Commentary, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Time.com, USA Today, National Review, The New York Review of Books , the New York Daily News , and other national publications. He has appeared on Meet the Press, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, State of the Union with Jake Tapper, the Today Show, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, PBS, the BBC, and has been profiled on NPR. He is a former contributing editor to the Weekly Standard. He also has served as editor of Milwaukee Magazine , editor of Wisconsin Interest Magazine , and founder and editor in chief of Right Wisconsin . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E9 · Thu, March 25, 2021
Life as a Musician (w/guests Brian Kilgore and Kim Blake-Kilgore)
Brian Kilgore and Kim Blake-Kilgore join the show to discuss their lives as musicians in LA. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E8 · Mon, March 15, 2021
America Viewed from Afar (w/guests Georges Masse & Matt Killingsworth)
International affairs scholars Georges Masse (American University of Science and Technology) and Matt Killingsworth (University of Tasmania) join the show to discuss how the United States is viewed from their respective vantage points in Lebanon and Australia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E7 · Wed, March 10, 2021
Interview with The Bulwark's Jim Swift
In this episode we interview Jim Swift, who is a senior editor at The Bulwark. We talk to him about the work that the Bulwark does, his thoughts on the future of the GOP, and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E6 · Thu, March 04, 2021
Identifying Good Journalism (w/guest Michael Anthony Deas)
On this episode of UM the hosts are joined by former Chicago Tribune editor and current Northwestern University journalism professor Michael Anthony Deas to discuss the importance of good journalism and how to identify it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E5 · Tue, February 23, 2021
COVID Update & Reflections from an MD (w/guest Dr. Ida Bergstrom, MD)
A discussion of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with Ida Bergstrom, a doctor of internal medicine who practices in the nation's capital, including her personal reflections from when the pandemic first hit the U.S. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E4 · Mon, February 15, 2021
Universal Healthcare: Pros & Cons (w/guests Cynthia Cox and T.R. Reid)
A discussion of the pros and cons of universal healthcare with Kaiser Family Foundation vice president Cynthia Cox and author T.R. Reid. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E3 · Thu, February 11, 2021
Free Speech and Cancel Culture (w/guest Stephanie Jirard)
A discussion of free speech and cancel culture with legal scholar Stephanie Jirard See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E2 · Wed, February 03, 2021
Immigration: Facts vs Fictions (w/guest Alex Nowrasteh)
A discussion of the public and political discourse around immigration in the U.S.: what is fact, and what is fiction? We are joined on this episode by Alex Nowrasteh from the Cato Institute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 E1 · Thu, January 21, 2021
Climate Change (w/guest Emily Cloyd)
A discussion of climate change with Emily Cloyd from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Utterly Moderate Podcast

Improving American Sociology (w/Bradley Campbell, Jukka Savolainen, & Jacob Mackey)

Red America vs. Blue America: Is This Really What We Want? (w/Robert Talisse)

How Luck & Randomness Shape Our Lives (w/Mark Robert Rank)

Donald Trump, Hunter Biden, Jan. 6, and More. . . How the Pardon Power Is Used (and Abused!) (w/Kimberly Wehle)

Single Parenthood and Its Consequences for Children (w/Kay Hymowitz)

"The Poisoning" Is Here! (w/Jacob Mackey)

Celebrating America by Talking About George Washington (w/Denver Brunsman)

Spotting Real Expertise & Examining Your Own Knowledge (w/Jacob Mackey)

Misleading Claims in American Educational Curricula (w/Wilfred Reilly)

Space is Littered With Junk (w/Varoujan Gorjian)

Saving the Social Sciences (w/Michael Jindra)

How Should Non-Scientists Evaluate the "State of the Science"? (w/Dr. Sallie Baxendale)

Gender in the News (w/Jacob Mackey)

Is Ideology Hurting Science? (w/Lisa Selin Davis)

American Colleges Under the Microscope (w/Jacob Mackey)

New George Floyd Documentary (w/Robert VerBruggen)

The Good Old Days Are Now (w/Johan Norberg and Piper Kull)

Jim Swift on Immigration, Disinformation, Dog Birthdays, and More!

Calculate YOUR Poverty Risk With This Calculator! (w/Mark Robert Rank)

New Book on Disinformation (w/Lee McIntyre & Tom Nichols)

The Case for Nuclear Power: An Answer for Climate Change? (w/Robert Zubrin)

The Replication Crisis in Psychology (w/Lee Jussim)

Race & Police Shootings in America (w/Robert VerBruggen)

Controversies Surrounding Gender Affirming Care for Minors (w/Lisa Selin Davis & Amber Alt)

Anatomy of a Viral Conspiracy Theory (w/Jim Swift)

Don't Be a Doomer (w/Mona Charen)

Think Twice Before Messing With Social Security (w/Kathleen Romig)

The Questionable Science of Microaggressions (w/Lee Jussim)

America CAN Reduce Gun Violence (w/Garen Wintemute)

Conspiracy Theories in America (w/Michael Shermer from Skeptic Magazine)

Reducing Extremism & Radicalization (w/Jay Jackson & Pasha Dashtgard)

The Woke Wars (w/Jacob Mackey)

Going Back to the Moon and Then to Mars (w/Varoujan Gorjian)

CRT, Abortion, & Other Mailbag Questions! (w/Madison Laughman)

Women in STEM (w/Brighid Cantwell)

What Does It Mean To Be a Conservative Today? (w/Bill Kristol)

Let's Get Outraged!! (w/David Beckemeyer)

Cartooning the News (w/Phil Hands and Adam Zyglis)

Thanksgiving Message to YOU!

Thanksgiving's Complicated History (w/David Silverman)

Election Preview! (w/Lonce Bailey)

The Failures of Reconstruction & Rise of Jim Crow (w/Jeremi Suri)

George Washington: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (w/Denver Brunsman & True Tamplin)

Ukraine Momentum Shift? And How Neighborhoods Impact Children (w/Paul Poast)

Can U.S. Gun Violence Be Reduced? (w/Garen Wintemute)

The Disappearing Great Salt Lake (w/Bonnie Baxter, Robert Gillies, & Chloe Fender)

Political Violence, Autocracy & Other Threats (w/Rachel Kleinfeld & Ken White)

Hitler and the Pope (w/David Kertzer)

Join Our Crew! And It's Mailbag Time Again!

R.I.P. American Democracy? (w/Jonathan Last & Tom Nichols)

Noam Chomsky Reflects on Democracy, Inequality, His Career, & More

1st Webb Telescope Pics Are Here. . . and Gorgeous! (w/Varoujan Gorjian)

We Should Have Paid Attention in Math Class (w/James Zimring & Arjun Moorthy)

Bridges Won't Stop Tornadoes (w/Lee Enterprises Weather Team)

Mona Charen Reflects on Guns, Poverty, Jan. 6, & More

When Presidents Clash with the Press (with Jon Marshall)

The Conger Ice Shelf Collapse: Canary in the Coal Mine? (with Richard Alley & Zach Stein)

How to Think Like a Lawyer and Why (with Kimberly Wehle)

Immigration and Crime (with Michael Light)

The Devil Never Sleeps (with Juliette Kayyem)

The Aging of America (with Mark Sachleben)

American Kids Get a Fact Checker (with James Warren)

What's Next in Ukraine? (with Paul Poast, Allyson Ritchey, & Madison Laughman)

Economic Sanctions Against Russia and More (with Alan Cole & Erik Nelson)

Wormholes, Aliens, Exoplanets, & More Science Fun! (with Varoujan Gorjian)

All About America's Supply Chain (with Steven Melnyk)

Threats to Democracy in the U.S. and Abroad (with Jim Swift)

The Doomsday Glacier. . . is Collapsing?!? (with Richard Alley)

Exploring the World of Pro Wrestling (with Nyla Rose & Jimmy Z)

Bill Kristol & Kim Wehle on Fixing the Electoral Count Act

Conservative Approaches to Tackling Climate Change (with Bob Inglis)

Talkin' Politics: Joe Manchin, the Electoral Count Act, the Future of the Parties, and More!

Christmas Eve Bonus Mini-Episode

Interview with Rachel Dratch about A Clüsterfünke Christmas!

Promoting Dignity & Civility (with Rosalind Wiseman)

Understanding Recent Climate Change News (with James Gerber)

A Celebration of Books! (with Heather Lennon)

Journalism & Democracy (with Jason Adrians, Lolly Bowean, & Michael Deas)

All About Weddings (with Amy Thunell & Ann Fortin)