In this episode, April attempts to unpack the complicated topic of propaganda, a form of persuasion used by corporations, advertisers, pundits, influencers, and political personalities. These days, it's important for critical thinkers to unders...

In this episode April explains some very common relevance fallacies--Straw Man, Begging the Question, and Two Wrongs Make a Right. Let's all try not to commit these fallacies, okay?Episode 38 Show Notes:

In this episode, April drags herself out of bed while recovering from a wicked case of Influenza A (you might notice her somewhat gravelly vocal quality) to record this episode about an important and timely topic--the language of demagoguery. W...

In this episode, April reveals that her husband is a rain god. Well, he's not, but he thinks he is. She discusses this uniquely human thing we do called magical thinking.Episode 36 Show Notes (oooh, so many sources!)Good basic expla...

In this episode, April discusses an unfair and unethical debate tactic used by many politicians, conspiracy theorists, and anyone else who insists on "winning" arguments. She also revisits Brandolini's Law, which means she gets to say "bullshit...

In this episode, April warns people that they might need a break while listening; but in the end, it's surprisingly positive. Just like her!!!Episode 34 Show Notes

To kick off a new year, April looks at the impact that the emotion of gratitude can have on our mental, emotional, and even physical health. The message here is--the better you feel about yourself and the world around you, the better your cogni...

In this episode, April admits that she doesn't always calmly and rationally think things through; but hey, neither do you. Why? Heuristics, that's why. She discusses these handy, if sometimes problematic, mental shortcuts that help get us throu...

In this episode, April realizes that the difference between science and pseudoscience isn't a distinct line, it's more of a continuum. Nevertheless, science remains scientific, while pseudoscience is, well, not so much.Episode 31 Show N...

In this short episode,  April discusses how grief affects our brains--hers in particular, because she just lost one of her best friends and it hurts. So this might be more for her than for you, but you should listen anyway.The good...

In this episode, April talks to Dr. Eunette Gentry about the public's lack of trust in the press and why we should have more faith in journalists and reporters. It's about codes of ethics, people! Episode 29 Show NotesThis Ga...

In this episode, April explains linguistic ambiguity, equivocation, and the equivocation fallacy. She also tells some really bad jokes. Episode 28 Show Notes:Moore, Brooke and Parker, Richard. Critical Thinking. McGraw ...

In this episode, April discusses the concept of intellectual humility, which is something that people could use more of (and by "people," she means herself).Episode 27 Show Notes (so many really good sources!!!):Here's Ed Kang's art...

April discusses the importance of questions and the difference between questions designed to gain knowledge and questions used to manipulate. Plus she says the word "bullshit" several times so she has to label this episode "explicit." Oh well. ...

Yes, she's back!!! In this episode, April discusses "algorithm literacy" as a critical part of overall media literacy. It's important to understand that algorithms, while they are a necessary and useful part of the online universe, also play a ...

Ok, I'm back from running my half-marathon and, as promised, here are the sources I used in this episode:Some great ideas about how to avoid giving up on your resolutions:

In this episode, April can't decide whether to pronounce "deductive" as "DEE-duk-tiv" or "de-DUK-tive," so she just switches back and forth between them to see if anyone notices. Episode 23 Show Notes:Why Sherlock Holmes is...

In this episode April discusses the hasty generalization fallacy, the weak analogy fallacy, and the mistaken appeal to authority. Can you tell she really likes to talk about fallacies? Episode 22 Show Notes:A brief descri...

In this episode, April discusses the false dilemma fallacy, in which a person attempts to persuade to you to choose between a limited number of options when there are actually more options available. Episode 21 Show Notes:Here's a g...

It's almost time for new episodes--stay tuned!

In this episode, April discusses the importance of experts in society and why it's so hard for some people to trust them. And, as promised, she put lots of articles in the show notes below, because she wants you to trust her. Episode...

In this episode, April explains what skepticism is (and what it is NOT). She also discusses its importance in the scientific method, and shows how it can help you "trust the science." She also confesses that she is one of those annoying people ...

Over the next three episodes (she only meant to do two episodes on the topic but it turned out she needed three!), April explains the connection between trust and critical thinking. In Part I, she discusses the importance of interpersonal trust...

In this episode, April outs herself as an optimist and spends a little over 12 minutes justifying her attitude.Episode 17 Show Notes:The American Psychological Association definiton of optimism:

In this episode, April talks with Ed Dentzel, host of the Unfound Podcast, which focuses on missing person cases with the stated goal of turning up new information that might lead to a resolution of the case. Ed discusses how he approaches each...