An embarrassingly unskeptical article appeared in Skeptic Magazine recently featuring a hoax paper published in a Gender Studies journal by two authors: James Lindsay (past guest of the show) and Peter Boghossian. Michael Shermer, the editor of Skeptic magazine, and several major figures in the skeptic movement like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins took the conclusion that Gender Studies as a field has been demolished by this hoax. This is incredibly irresponsible. The hoax paper accomplished no such thing, and Eli is here to explain in depth why. Links: Skeptic Magazine Article Other sokal hoaxes:
A US nuclear physics conference accepted a paper written entirely in autocomplete.
A trio of MIT grad students created an algorithm that creates fake scientific papers – in 2013 IEEE and Springer Publishing found 120 published papers had been generated by the program.
A paper entitled “Get me off your fucking mailing list” was accepted for publication by computer science journal.
A 2013 hoax saw a scientific paper about fictional lichen published in several hundred journals.
Donald Trump looks a lot more comfortable traveling abroad than he ever has in the White House. Josh King says there’s a good explanation for this. “Two Air Force Ones, a beast limousine, all the trappings of the United States government … it’s hard to screw that up,” says King, an expert in presidential stagecraft. He previously worked as an advance man in the Clinton White House.
In the Spiel, the incredibly undeserved comeback of Billy Bush.
How we choose to talk about politics can explain a lot about what motivates our reasoning toward political issues. Arnold Kling is author of The Three Languages of Politics.
Handling debt wisely is one of the most important parts of your financial life. Laura answers 6 questions she recently received about student loans, HELOCs, and credit card debt. You'll learn tips to protect your credit, use existing home equity, manage student loan repayment, and prioritize your personal finances.
For Tom Ricks, the whiplash-inducing news of the past two weeks has been especially surreal. Ricks explains why he was stunned to see the National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster defend President Trump. Ricks is out with a new book about two of his heroes, Churchill and Orwell. Ricks writes the Best Defense blog for Foreign Policy magazine.
In the Spiel, Mike breaks down former CIA Director John Brennan’s exchange with Rep. Trey Gowdy.
In this episode, the Goods from the Woods Boys (minus Dr. Pat this week) talk to the brilliant comedian and writer Travis Clark about his past life as a writer and voice actor on the Ren & Stimpy-esque reboot of Woody Woodpecker in the late 90's. We talk about working with voice-over legends Billy West and Mark Hamill and the very strange way in which the new Woody Woodpecker show was born out of FOX's hatred of 'Murder She Wrote'. Side tangents this episode include CostCo hot dogs, Matthew McConaughey's lost years, and Rivers recent stint on a jury pool also known as free group therapy for emotionally needy Angelinos. Follow Travis on Twitter @MrTravisClark. Song of the week this week: "Lightning" by Revel in Dimes. Follow the show @TheGoodsPod Rivers is @RiversLangley Dr. Pat is @PM_Reilly Mr. Goodnight is @SepulvedaCowboy Pick up a Goods from the Woods t-shirt at: http://prowrestlingtees.com/TheGoodsPod
At the turn of the 20th century, a German doctor sets out to prove that homosexuality is rooted in biology—but his research has consequences he never intended.
In pre-Nazi Germany, a doctor named Magnus Hirschfeld sets out to take down Paragraph 175, a law against “unnatural fornication” between men. Hirschfeld’s plan is to scientifically prove that homosexuality is natural, and that lesbians and gay men might be born gay—but his idea ends up falling into the wrong hands.
Party at the Institute for Sexual Science. Magnus Hirschfeld (second from right) is the one with the moustache and glasses. His partner Karl Giese is holding his hand.
(United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
German students parade in front of the Institute for Sexual Research prior to their raid on the building. The students occupied and pillaged the Institute, then confiscated the Institute's books and periodicals for burning.
(United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
German students and Nazi SA plunder the library of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld. The materials were loaded onto trucks and carted away for burning. The public library of the Institute comprised approximately 10,000 mostly rare German and foreign books on the topics of sex and gender.
(United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
(Original art by Claire Merchlinsky)
GUESTS
Robert Beachy is the author of Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity.
Ralf Dose is the co-founder of the Magnus Hirschfeld Society and author of Magnus Hirschfeld: The Origins of the Gay Liberation Movement.
Edward Stein is the author of the The Mismeasure of Desire: The Science, Theory, and Ethics of Sexual Orientation.
FOOTNOTES
Read (in German) Sappho And Socrates, a booklet Magnus Hirschfeld published under a pseudonym in 1896, defending homosexuality.
Read Magnus Hirschfeld’s grand opus, "The Homosexuality of Men and Women."
Modern studies:
A BBC article about the first study correlating finger length ratios and sexual orientation.
A meta-analysis of finger length ratios and sexual orientation.
Thesestudies looked at finger length ratios in transgender men and women, with conflicting results.
Dean Hamer’s X chromosome linkage study (abstract only) and a Science article about a more recent chromosome linkage study.
Simon LeVay’s study comparing brains of gay men with men and women who were presumed straight.
Bailey and Pillard’s original study of gay male twins. A later study by Bailey et al. found lower rates of matching sexual orientation in twins and concluded that earlier studies rates were “inflated because of concordance-dependent ascertainment bias.”
Study of epigenetic markers in gay men, criticized for its statistics.
CREDITS
This episode of Undiscovered was reported and produced by Elah Feder and Annie Minoff. Editing by Christopher Intagliata. Fact-checking help from Michelle Harris. Original music by Daniel Peterschmidt. Our theme music is by I am Robot and Proud. Art for this episode by Claire Merchlinsky. Special thanks this week to Liat Fishman for translation from German, Shane McMillan for production help in Berlin, to Tobias Enzenhofer and Charles Bergquist for voice work. Thanks to Science Friday’s Danielle Dana, Christian Skotte, Brandon Echter, and Rachel Bouton.
In this episode, the guys address whether the political left or the political right is the biggest threat to freedom of speech in the United States. Their answer probably won't surprise you, but it will give you some ammunition during your next twitter fight with some dude with a Pepe the Frog icon. To tee up this subject, the guys examine the case of journalist Dan Heyman, who was just arrested (!) for trying to ask a question about the AHCA to a rather reluctant Tom Price, the guy who's Secretary of Health and Human Services and who's job description includes answering these kinds of questions. In the main segment, the guys compare the real threat to free speech with the latest complaint filed by our friends over at the Alliance Defending Freedom. This particular lawsuit was filed on behalf of creationist lunatic Andrew Snelling, who wants to steal rocks from the Grand Canyon so he can prove something something Jesus moon lasers something and therefore, the earth is only 6,000 years old. What you won't expect: Andrew actually praises this Complaint! Multiple times! After that, Andrew tackles a question from listener Thomas McCormick who -- perhaps somewhat tongue-in-cheek? -- wonders why churches are tax-exempt at all. In (not) answering the question, Andrew also points out some special benefits churches get under the tax code. Finally, we end with the answer to Thomas Takes the Bar Exam question #24 about double hearsay. We'll release a new #TTTBE question this Friday, and, as always, answer that question the following Tuesday. Don't forget to play along by following our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and/or our Facebook Page and quoting the Tweet or Facebook Post that announces this episode along with your guess and reason(s), and don't forget that patrons who support us at any level get early access to the answers (and usually a fun post analyzing the question in more detail). Recent Appearances: None, but you should check out Thomas's other show, Serious Inquiries Only, and in particular episode #41 featuring Michael Shermer backpedaling on his the-left-is-killing-free-speech tweets and articles. Show Notes & Links
Finally, two of the special statutes that benefit churches (and only churches) cited by Andrew in the "C" segment are 26 U.S.C. § 508(c) and 26 U.S.C. § 7611.
Jon Glaser makes his triumphant return to The Gist to talk about season two of the Adult Swim series Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter. Glaser has been a part of some of the most acclaimed shows on TV. He’s written for Inside Amy Schumer and Late Night With Conan O’Brien. He played Laird in Girls and Councilman Jamm in Parks and Recreation. But he’s feeling torn about making jokes for a living now, with the country seeming more screwed up than usual.
In the Spiel, will the U.S.–Saudi Arabia weapons deal mean hundreds of thousands of jobs for Americans?
