Thinking Clearly radio show on KMUD (2025)

26/11/2024

Our Thinking Clearly podcast ( #100-Foundations and Future of Critical Thinking-with guest Kevin deLaplante) has published, and you can listen to and/or download it at: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/ or at any of your favorite podcatcher sites.

We discuss a variety of topics with Kevin deLaplante, PhD. Kevin is a former tenured professor of Philosophy at Iowa State University and is currently an independent educator and consultant whose mission is to: “empower individuals and businesses by helping them upgrade their critical thinking, decision-making, communication and persuasion skills.” Topics include: why critical thinking is important and how we can get more people to do it; a description of the fundamental skills involved in critical thinking and where to start learning them; how to add to your skills if you are already a critical thinker; the dual-process model of thinking; and recent models and theories of human cognition such as: the Predictive Processing Model and Extended Mind Theory.

Additional Links:
• Kevin’s Personal website: https://kevindelaplante.com/
• Kevin’s Argument Ninja Dojo: https://www.argumentninja.com/
• The Critical Thinker Academy: https://criticalthinkeracademy.com/p/unlock-every-course
• Kevin’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLCAm7HCyw6DEY9jvOMTvA
• The Critical Thinker Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlrjUmL6HaIVSE0QagRwNb6jW05kaZF4f
• Kevin’s LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindelaplante/

20/11/2024

Using critical thinking, can we really consciously work our way through forming the most truthful and realistic beliefs about the world we live in and use those beliefs to make reality-based decisions about our lives? Or are we just puppets unconsciously pulled by the strings of “committees” composed of complex neural networks in our brain? In this, our 100th episode of Thinking Clearly—airing Tues., November 26 on KMUD from 9 to 10 AM—we discuss this and many other issues related to critical thinking and models of how the brain works, with our guest Kevin deLaplante. Kevin is a former tenured professor of Philosophy at Iowa State University and is currently an independent educator and consultant whose mission is to: “empower individuals and businesses by helping them upgrade their critical thinking, decision-making, communication and persuasion skills.”

KMUD studio is located in Redway, California and broadcasts at the following frequencies: Garberville area-91.1 FM; Eureka area-88.1 FM; Laytonville area-90.3 FM; Shelter Cove area-99.5 FM.
• Out of Range of KMUD's signal? Stream us (at airtime) on the internet at:
http://www.radiorethink.com/tuner/?stationCode=kmud
Or
• Catch the podcast version of the show, which we'll post after the show airs on KMUD at:
http://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

22/10/2024

The podcast is now available! Listen to and/or download Thinking Clearly episode: #99-”How internet influencers, algorithms and crowds are altering our politics, our society, and our very relationship to reality” at: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/ or catch it at any of your favorite podcatchers. This episode features guest researcher, author and former Research Manager of the Stanford Internet Observatory, Renée DiResta, discussing a number of topics including: The work done at the Stanford Internet Observatory; understanding the three key forces which have developed in current on-line communication and the resulting shift in the dynamics of power and influence that has occurred; understanding what is meant by the phrase: “freedom of speech but not freedom of reach”; how internet communication differs from previous communication innovations; what we can do to mitigate the downsides of internet communication, while incentivizing its power to rekindle trust and cooperation to help us find common ground and shared conceptions of reality. Renee’s recently released book is: Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality.

Additional links:
Renée’s Personal website: https://www.reneediresta.com/
Her Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9e_DiResta
Link to her book:https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Rulers-People-Turn-Reality/dp/1541703375/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

15/10/2024

Tune to KMUD Tues., October 22 from 9 to 10 pm as Thinking Clearly guest—researcher, author and former Research Manager of the Stanford Internet Observatory, Renée DiResta—explains how the arrival of the internet and social media has led to a profound shift in power and influence over our politics, beliefs and behavior...to the point of shaping our very relationship to reality. Renee’s articles have appeared in: The Atlantic, Wired, New York Times, Washington Post, Yale Review, The Guardian, POLITICO, and Slate, as well as many academic journals. Renee is also the author of the recently released book: Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality.

KMUD studio is located in Redway, California and broadcasts at the following frequencies: Garberville area-91.1 FM; Eureka area-88.1 FM; Laytonville area-90.3 FM; Shelter Cove area-99.5 FM.
• Out of Range of KMUD's signal? Stream us (at airtime) on the internet at:
http://www.radiorethink.com/tuner/?stationCode=kmud
Or
• Catch the podcast version of the show, which we'll post after the show airs on KMUD at:
http://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

24/09/2024

Just in case your were curious, the Thinking Clearly podcast: #98-The Nature of Curiosity and it’s implications for Critical Thinking-with guest Jacqueline Gottlieb is now available for listening and/or download at: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/ or at any of you other favorite podcatcher sites.

Julia and I had a great conversation with Jacqueline Gottlieb—Principal Investigator at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute and former head of the Research Cluster on Curiosity at Columbia University’s Center for Science and Society—about that wonderful and invaluable human capability that we call curiosity. Topics included: the nature of curiosity, the relationship of curiosity to self-awareness and consciousness, the role of curiosity in critical thinking, personality traits and other correlates of curiosity, how search engines and social media exploit our curiosity, and a variety of other topics that you might be curious about.
Additional Links:
• Jackie’s Lab at Columbia University: https://www.gottlieblab.com/
• Columbia's Zuckerman Institute: https://zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/jacqueline-gottlieb-phd?__cf_chl_tk=UQnvICJtiEq3g1ox8B7c.Ff6wwHpRr7ta8pcxjrAa3w-1725221930-0.0.1.1-8660
• Jackie’s Profile Page at Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacqueline-Gottlieb

18/09/2024

What does it mean to be curious? How do we measure curiosity? Do we lose our curiosity when we age? If you ‘re curious about curiosity, tune to Thinking Clearly on KMUD Tues, Sept. 24 from 9 to 10 AM when hosts Bob and Julia will be discussing the topic with their guest: Professor Jacqueline Gottlieb, Principal Investigator at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute and former head of the Research Cluster on Curiosity at Columbia University’s Center for Science and Society.

KMUD studio is located in Redway, California and broadcasts at the following frequencies: Garberville area-91.1 FM; Eureka area-88.1 FM; Laytonville area-90.3 FM; Shelter Cove area-99.5 FM.
• Out of Range of KMUD's signal? Stream us (at airtime) on the internet at:
http://www.radiorethink.com/tuner/?stationCode=kmud
Or
• Catch the podcast version of the show, which we'll post after the show airs on KMUD at:
http://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

27/08/2024

The podcast for Thinking Clearly: episode #97-How to Navigate the Challenges of Living in a Divided Nation-with guest Tania Israel is now available, for listening and/or download, at our podcast hosting site: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/ or at most any other podcatcher sites.

In this episode, Bob and Julia have a great conversation with guest, Tania Israel, Professor of Counseling Psychology at UC Santa Barbara, and topics include: the facts about political polarization, reducing polarizing input by consuming news wisely, and using social media intentionally. And you will also learn about: cultivating resilience, broadening our minds, and using on-line resources to help us navigate the challenges of living in a politically polarized environment.

Additional related Links:
Tania's Personal Website: https://taniaisrael.com/
Her UCSB Faculty Website: https://education.ucsb.edu/research-faculty/bio?first=Tania&last=Israel
Her Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B086MKNH5B/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=fe0b99c0-141f-4840-9801-b67f4e51f21b&ref_=ap_rdr
Tania’s Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/TaniaIsraelPhD/
Strengthening Democracy Challenge: https://www.strengtheningdemocracychallenge.org/

23/08/2024

Tune to Thinking Clearly on KMUD on Tues., August 27 from 9 to 10 AM to hear a discussion with guest, Tania Israel, Professor of Counseling Psychology at UC Santa Barbara, as she guides us through how to overcome the toxic effects of consuming politicized news and social media in this current, highly polarized American environment and discusses how to more effectively communicate with people holding opposing views to ours. Professor Israel is the author of the recently published book: Facing the Fracture: How to Navigate the Challenges of Living in a Divided Nation.

KMUD studio is located in Redway, California and broadcasts at the following frequencies: Garberville area-91.1 FM; Eureka area-88.1 FM; Laytonville area-90.3 FM; Shelter Cove area-99.5 FM.
• Out of Range of KMUD's signal? Stream us (at airtime) on the internet at:
http://www.radiorethink.com/tuner/?stationCode=kmud
Or
• Catch the podcast version of the show, which we'll post after the show airs on KMUD at:
http://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

23/07/2024

The podcast for Thinking Clearly episode: #96-Using practices and tools from science while also learning how to weave together facts and values to rebuild trust and cooperation-with guest Robert MacCoun is now available at: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/ or anywhere that you get your podcasts.

Calling on his experience in evidence-based policy making, teaching a course at UC Berkeley called Sense and Sensibility and Science and coauthoring the book Third Millennium Thinking-Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense, social scientist and law Professor at Stanford University, Robert MacCoun, discusses how to avoid failure modes when making decisions; using practices, and tools of science to make better decisions in our every-day-lives; the value of probabilistic thinking; how to weave facts and values together; and how to reboot trust and develop a new collaborative approach to our shared problems and opportunities.

Additional Links:
• Professor MacCoun’s Stanford Faculty website: https://law.stanford.edu/robert-j-maccoun/
• Professor MacCoun’s Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_MacCoun
• Books at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-MacCoun/author/B0CZJ8TQ9V?isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
• His Twitter (X) account: https://twitter.com/rmaccoun

18/07/2024

According to Thinking Clearly guest Robert MacCoun, a social scientist and law Professor at Stanford University, two key factors leading to success in science: "optimism and a can-do mindset" can also light the path forward for us all to develop a collaborative approach to meet future challenges and welcome new opportunities. This discussion, airing on KMUD Tuesday, July 23 from 9 to 10 AM, includes: how to avoid failure modes when making decisions; using practices, and tools of science to make better decisions in our every-day-lives; the value of probabilistic thinking; how to weave facts and values together; how to reboot trust and cooperation; and other topics from the book coauthored by Robert MacCoun: "Third Millennium Thinking-Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense."

KMUD studio is located in Redway, California and broadcasts at the following frequencies: Garberville area-91.1 FM; Eureka area-88.1 FM; Laytonville area-90.3 FM; Shelter Cove area-99.5 FM.
• Out of Range of KMUD's signal? Stream us (at airtime) on the internet at:
http://www.radiorethink.com/tuner/?stationCode=kmud
Or
• Catch the podcast version of the show, which we'll post after the show airs on KMUD at:
http://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

25/06/2024

Thinking Clearly podcast (June 2024 edition: #95-Critical Thinking and the Nature of Human Consciousness-with guest Anil Seth) is now available to hear a discussion of scientific research and theories about human consciousness; the relationship of consciousness to critical thinking and belief formation; and a variety of other related topics with Thinking Clearly guest Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, author of: Being You-a New Science of Consciousness.

Download and/or listen to all Thinking Clearly podcasts at: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

Additional Links:

Anil Seth’s personal website: www.anilseth.com
His Twitter Account (X) at: https://x.com/anilkseth/
Center for Consciousness Science: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/research/centres/sussex-centre-for-consciousness-science/research

20/06/2024

Tune to Thinking Clearly on KMUD, Tues. June 25 from 9 to 10 AM, to hear a discussion—with guest Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex—focusing on scientific research and current theories about the nature of human consciousness. Topics include: how human consciousness can be thought of as controlled hallucination, the relationship of human consciousness to critical thinking, how thinking of the brain as a "prediction machine" affects how we form beliefs, and a number of other topics from Professor Seth’s international best selling book: Being You-a New Science of Consciousness.

KMUD studio is located in Redway, California and broadcasts at the following frequencies: Garberville area-91.1 FM; Eureka area-88.1 FM; Laytonville area-90.3 FM; Shelter Cove area-99.5 FM.

• Out of Range of KMUD's signal? Stream us (at airtime) on the internet at:
http://www.radiorethink.com/tuner/?stationCode=kmud
Or
• Catch the podcast version of the show, which we'll post after the show airs on KMUD at:
http://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

28/05/2024

Listen to and/or download the podcast of this Bob and Julia episode of Thinking Clearly— #94-The Essence of Critical Thinking and Demonstrations of How to Have Civil Dialogues—at any of your favorite podcatcher sites or at our Podcast Host’s site at : https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

In this episode, hosts Bob Froehlich and Julia Minton review their definition of critical thinking, discuss how doing a show about critical thinking has changed them, and do several demonstrations of best practices (using the LAP-EFI method) for having productive, civil dialogues with people who have different views than yours. We encourage listeners to try the LAP-EFI method in their conversations and give us feedback on how that worked out for you by emailing us at: [email protected]

Related Links:

Link to Moore and Parker's book: “Critical Thinking”: https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Thinking-Brooke-Noel-Moore-dp-1260241025/dp/1260241025/ref=dp_ob_image_bk

All episodes of Thinking Clearly can be found at: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/
Other episodes of Thinking Clearly relating to having civil dialogues include:

• #69-Strategies for Constructive Conversations-with guest Tania Israel
• #67-Street Epistemology-with guest Anthony Magnabosco
• #66-Political Depolarization and the Work of Braver Angels-with guest Ciaran O’Connor
• #64-Bob and Julia discuss perspectives to help understand dysfunction in the ability of people with opposing views to have productive dialogues
• #62-How to Talk to a Science Denier-with guest Lee McIntyre
• #57-Political Depolarization-How to Navigate Political Discussions with Friends and Family-with guest Bill Doherty
• #51-The Nature of Truth-A Civil Dialogue between a Theist, an Agnostic and an Atheist
• #21-Having Civil Dialogues-part 3 (demonstration of civil dialogue)
• #20-Having Civil Dialogues-part 2
• #19-Having Civil Dialogues

21/05/2024

If you’re like most of us, you’ve come away frustrated, disappointed and maybe even angry, from unpleasant conversations with people who have different views than yours. Tune to KMUD on Tuesday, May 28 from 9 to 10 AM to hear Thinking Clearly hosts, Bob and Julia, discuss and do several demonstrations (using the LAP-EFI method) of how to have more productive, civil dialogues. Also in this episode, the hosts review their working definition of critical thinking and discuss how doing a show about critical thinking has changed them.

KMUD studio is located in Redway, California and broadcasts at the following frequencies: Garberville area-91.1 FM; Eureka area-88.1 FM; Laytonville area-90.3 FM; Shelter Cove area-99.5 FM.
• Out of Range of KMUD's signal? Stream us (at airtime) on the internet at:
http://www.radiorethink.com/tuner/?stationCode=kmud
Or
• Catch the podcast version of the show, which we'll post after the show airs on KMUD at:
http://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

23/04/2024

This April 2024 edition of Thinking Clearly features guest Dr. Seema Yasmin, a medical doctor and Emmy Award-winning journalist who has investigated disease outbreaks for the CDC, worked as a CNN medical analyst and is currently a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Listen to and/or download the podcast at: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

Topics include: information disorder and its treatment, common techniques used for pushing lies, the use of narrative in communicating, the history and current state of journalism in America, how to best consume the news and mitigate the negative effects of social media, her recent book: What the Fact? - Finding Truth in all the Noise, and a wide variety of other topics.

Additional links:
• Dr. Seema Yasmin’s personal website: https://seemayasmin.com/
• Her Faculty website at Stanford Medicine: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/seema-yasmin
• Her books at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Seema-Yasmin/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ASeema+Yasmin
• The Bad News Game: https://www.getbadnews.com/books/english/

22/04/2024

Tune to KMUD on Tuesday,April 23 from 9-10 AM as Thinking Clearly hosts Bob and Julia discuss a variety of topics including: information disorder and its treatment, common techniques used for pushing lies, the use of narrative in communicating, the history and current state of journalism in America and how to best consume the news and mitigate the negative effects of social media with their guest Dr. Seema Yasmin, professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Dr. Yasmin, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, has investigated disease outbreaks for the CDC, worked as a CNN medical analyst and held a Fellowship in Journalism at Stanford University, where she investigated the spread of health misinformation and disinformation during public health crises. She has authored many books including: What the Fact? - Finding Truth in all the Noise.

KMUD studio is located in Redway, California and broadcasts at the following frequencies: Garberville area-91.1 FM; Eureka area-88.1 FM; Laytonville area-90.3 FM; Shelter Cove area-99.5 FM.
• Out of Range of KMUD's signal? Stream us (at airtime) on the internet at:
http://www.radiorethink.com/tuner/?stationCode=kmud
Or
• Catch the podcast version of the show, which we'll post after the show airs on KMUD at:
http://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

26/03/2024

The podcast of our last episode: #92-Election 2024 Preparation 4-Teaching Critical Thinking to American Military Future Leaders-with Guest Stephen Gerras is now available for listening and/or download at: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

In this fourth in a series of Thinking Clearly episodes—offered in the hope of fostering critical thinking and civil dialogue as we approach our 2024 presidential election in America—we are replaying core episodes with those themes. In this edition, you’ll hear a previous episode that we recorded with Colonel (retired) Steve Gerras, who teaches critical thinking at the Army War College, sharing his advocacy and passion for critical thinking and his experiences of teaching it to future military leaders. Professor Gerras has a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and has authored and coauthored many publications including the widely circulated: “Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession.”

Related Links::
• His Faculty Page: https://ssl.armywarcollege.edu/faculty/ #/detailsBio/34
• A description of the critical thinking model he uses: https://academyleadership.com/news/201102.asp
• The War Room podcast from the Army War College with Gerras being interviewed: https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/.../thinking.../
• US Army War College honors Dr. Stephen Gerras for excellence in
teaching and scholarship for the academic year 2021:https://www.armywarcollege.edu/news/Archives/14149.pdf
• “Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession” in JSTOR-digital library: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/466/

27/02/2024

The podcast of Thinking Clearly ( #91-How artificial intelligence can help us understand human cognition-with guest Leslie Valiant) is now available for listening and/or download at: https://thinkingclearly.libsyn.com/

In this episode, Julia and Bob have the pleasure of tapping the deep and focused thinking of Harvard University Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, Leslie Valiant. A citation on Britannica.com describes Professor Valiant as “winner of the 2010 A.M. Turing Award, the highest honour in computer science, for his fundamental contributions to the development of computational learning theory and to the broader theory of computer science.” The conversation focuses on what development of Artificial Intelligence can reveal about human cognition, belief formation and decision making, as framed in his new book: “The Importance of Being Educable-a New Theory of Human Uniqueness.”

Additional Links:
• His Harvard Faculty Webpage: https://seas.harvard.edu/person/leslie-valiant
• His Wikipdia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Valiant
• His A.. Turing award page: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/valiant_2612174.cfm
• Links to his books: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Leslie-Valiant/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ALeslie+Valiant

Thinking Clearly radio show on KMUD