Thinking Clearly

With simple explanations and a dash of humor, John Allen Paulos, Mathematics Professor from Temple University, unpacks some topics from statistics that are essential for critical thinkers in navigating the complex terrain of our modern world. Professor Paulos has authored nine books including "Innumeracy", the classic book on statistics and critical thinking.

This episode with guest Benjamin Shaffer, Professor of Philosophy from Humboldt State University, features a discussion of how critical thinkers can best identify, understand, and reason through values-based/moral/ethical arguments.

Richard Parker, Professor Emeritus of philosophy at California State University, Chico and co-author of the textbook: "Critical Thinking", joins hosts Bob and Julia to discuss the challenges of teaching critical thinking, difficulties learners have mastering the subject, and why critical thinking skills matter. Resources for learning critical thinking are also discussed.

This New Year edition of "Thinking Clearly" taps into the humor, good nature, and deep thinking of musician, song writer, podcaster, skeptic and advocate for science and critical thinking, George Hrab.

In this episode, Bob and Julia review issues related to current increases in Tribalism and Polarization in American culture & politics, introduce the related concept of Cultural Cognition, and conclude with a discussion of some of the topics and guests that will be coming up in future shows.

The vulnerabilities in our quick, intuitive judgments, including the many biases that may mislead us, have been extensively discussed on Thinking Clearly, but this episode celebrates the positive side of intuition with one of its primary researchers, Dr. Gary Klein

This show focuses on how being open to new learning relates to critical thinking, as hosts Bob and Julia discuss insights they've had as a result of hosting the show and how some of what they've learned has affected them.

In his new book “Think Again-How to Reason and Argue”, Duke University Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong says: “The level of discourse and communication in politics and also in personal life has reached new lows.” In this edition of Thinking Clearly, Bob, Julia, and their guest explore the importance of understanding and promoting good arguments and other solutions to raising the present level of discourse.

Critical thinkers are often faced with trying to evaluate arguments regarding political policies or various technologies. Whereas experts have developed rigorous, quantitative methods of risk-benefit assessment, most of us simply use our intuitive and emotional processing to create a feeling about the issue at hand as being either good or bad. Hosts Bob and Julia examine risk-benefit assessment as a tool for critical thinking in a discussion with Professor Daniel Cole from Indiana University.

Bob and Julia go deeper into the topic of tribalism and polarization, using audio clips from several different sources to prompt their lively back and forth discussion.

The words "tribalism" and "polarization" have become commonplace when describing recent sociopolitical trends in America. Host Bob Froehlich and guest, Philosopher, Podcaster and Master Teacher Kevin deLaplante, discuss the psychology of tribalism and the effect of increased polarization on critical thinking.

Critical thinking encompasses a wide variety of concepts and related topics. This episode reviews the high points of what past shows have covered and re-anchors some of the most important aspects of the critical thinking process to master for becoming a better critical thinker.

In this episode, Bob and Julia unpack the construct of worldview, discuss its relevance to critical thinking and demonstrate how to uncover one's own worldview and the worldviews of others.

Show hosts, Bob and Julia, demonstrate a civil dialogue as they discuss a topic about which they disagree. Even though the topic, "Humanity is Worth Saving", generates a lively discussion, the focus is on the process of civil dialogue rather than the content of the topic.  An-studio facilitator helps guide the discussion of process.

This show is part 2 of a series on "Having Civil Dialogues." Julia and Bob discuss the issue, guided by audio clips from radio host and author, Celeste Headley, social psychologist, Professor Rob Willer, and Peabody Award-winning broadcaster Krista Tippett. The question of how to integrate the principles of Civil Dialogue into the process of critical thinking is explored.

With incivility on the rise in the U.S., this episode focuses on the importance of and methods for having civil dialogues. Bob and Julia discuss the topic with Arizona State University Professors Jennifer Linde and Clark Olson, co-founders of the Institute for Civil Dialogue and co-authors of the book "Hot Topics, Cool Heads: A Handbook for Civil Dialogue."

Bob and Julia discuss the "is"/"ought" distinction and the process of recognizing and analyzing arguments that contain moral considerations, using passage of California SB 277 as an example.

Bob discusses motivated reasoning, the use of critical thinking to answer moral questions, and related topics with guest Peter Ditto, Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior at U.C. Irvine.

Bob and Julia summarize, and discuss in broad terms, how current paradigms in cognitive science relate to the importance of using critical thinking in our present informationally polluted environment. This freewheeling discussion and calls from listeners change the direction of the show, which was originally planned to focus on heuristics, biases and debiasing strategies.

This episode goes in depth about critical thinking with guest Dr. Kevin deLaplante, creator of the Critical Thinker Academy and Argument Ninja Academy and focuses on new developments in critical thinking, the importance of thinking critically and resources for further skill development.