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 James Webb Space Telescope.
- The interesting scientific puzzle of the Hubble Tension.
- And of course,Barbenheimer.
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Also, 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.
AN EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FROM:
The Connors Institute at Shippensburg University
(ConnorsInstitute.org)
FILM DESCRIPTION:
Humans are hard-wired to look for information that we agree with (regardless of the information’s veracity), avoid information that makes us uncomfortable (even if that information is true), and interpret information in a manner that is most favorable to our sense of self.
We all have these tendencies—Republican or Democrat, young or old, rich or poor, Black or White, male or female, it doesn't matter.
The damage these cognitive tendencies cause to one’s perception of reality depends in part upon the information that a person surrounds himself/herself with. Unfortunately, in the U.S. today, both liberals and conservatives are regularly bombarded with misleading information as well as lies from people they believe to be trustworthy and authoritative sources.
While there are several factors one could plausibly blame for this predicament, the decline in the quality of the sources of information that the right and left rely on over the last few decades plays a primary role. As a result of this decline, we are faced with an epistemic crisis that is poisoning the American mind and threatening our democracy.
This documentary explores some of the epistemic problems in both the right-wing and left-wing ideological silos in the U.S.
The film is based on a forthcoming book from Lawrence M. Eppard, Jacob L. Mackey, and Lee Jussim, which is also titled "The Poisoning of the American Mind." Read an excerpt from the book here: https://connorsinstitute.org/poison
Film written and produced by Allyson Ritchey and Lawrence M. Eppard.
Enjoy, and thanks for listening!
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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)
