Rationally Speaking is the bi-weekly podcast of New York City Skeptics. Join host Julia Galef and guests as they explore the borderlands between reason and nonsense, likely from unlikely, and science from pseudoscience. Any topic is fair game as long as we can bring reason to bear upon it, with both a skeptical eye and a good dose of humor!
We agree with the Marquis de Condorcet, who said that in an open society we ought to devote ourselves to "the tracking down of prejudices in the hiding places where priests, the schools, the government, and all long-established institutions had gathered and protected them."Rationally Speaking was co-created with Massimo Pigliucci, is produced by Benny Pollak, and is recorded in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
Is cash the best way to help the poor? (Michael Faye)
The idea of giving poor people cash, no strings attached, is "very unappealing" for most donors, admits economist Michael Faye -- but it's still one of the best ways to h
Dec 23 2021 52 min
Humanity on the precipice (Toby Ord)
Humanity could thrive for millions of years -- unless our future is cut short by an existential catastrophe. Oxford philosopher Toby Ord explains the possible existential
Dec 10 2021 1 h 08 min
Dangerous biological research - is it worth it? (Kevin Esvelt)
Kevin Esvelt, a scientist at MIT, argues that research intended to prevent pandemics is actually putting us in a lot more danger. Also discussed: Kevin's own research on
Nov 30 2021 1 h 07 min
Why we're polarized (Ezra Klein)
Ezra Klein explains how Republican and Democrats in the US became so different from each other, ideologically and demographically, and why that trend + our institutions =
Nov 5 2021 1 h 18 min
The genetic lottery (Kathryn Paige Harden)
Kathryn Paige Harden, author of "The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality" explains what scientists have learned about how our genes affect our educationa
Oct 15 2021 1 h 04 min
How to reason about COVID, and other hard things (Kelsey Piper)
Journalist Kelsey Piper (Future Perfect / Vox) discusses lessons learned from covering COVID: What has she been wrong about, and why? How much can we trust the CDC's advi
Sep 14 2021 1 h 17 min
"Price gouging" in emergencies
Every time there's an emergency, the prices of certain goods skyrocket -- like masks and hand sanitizer during COVID -- and the public gets angry about price gouging. In
Aug 19 2021 52 min
How to be a data detective (Tim Harford)
When you see a statistic reported in the news, like "10% of University of California Berkeley students were homeless this year," how do you evaluate it? You shouldn't bli
Jun 10 2021 1 h 02 min
Are Uber and Lyft drivers being exploited?
How much do Uber and Lyft drivers really earn, after expenses? Are they getting a raw deal by being classified as 'independent contractors' instead of employees? I explor
Apr 9 2021 1 h 01 min
Unfair laws / Why judges should be originalists (William Baude)
Is there any justification for seemingly unjust laws like "qualified immunity," which allows cops to get away with bad behavior? William Baude, a leading scholar of const
Mar 19 2021 1 h 03 min
Intellectual honesty, cryptocurrency, & more (Vitalik Buterin)
Julia and guest Vitalik Buterin (creator of the open-source blockchain platform Ethereum) explore a wide range of topics, including: Vitalik's intellectually honest appro
Mar 4 2021 1 h 16 min
Understanding moral disagreements (Jonathan Haidt)
Julia and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (The Righteous Mind) discuss his moral foundations theory and argue about whether liberals should "expand their moral horizon
Feb 18 2021 1 h 06 min
The case for one billion Americans, & more (Matt Yglesias)
Matt Yglesias talks about One Billion Americans, his book arguing that it's in the United States' national interest to dramatically boost its population, by expanding imm
Feb 3 2021 1 h 40 min
What's wrong with tech companies banning people? (Julian Sanchez)
Companies like Twitter and Facebook are increasingly willing to ban users -- and even if you agree with their decisions, is it worrying that a few companies have so much
Jan 20 2021 56 min
The case for racial colorblindness (Coleman Hughes)
Coleman Hughes explains why he favors a "colorblind" ideal and why the "race-conscious" camp disagrees with him. Coleman and Julia also discuss whether reparations are ju
Jan 5 2021 1 h 10 min
Are Democrats being irrational? (David Shor)
Data scientist David Shor discusses some of the bad choices made by Democratic political campaigns. What's the cause of the errors? Is it irrationality, coordination prob
Dec 22 2020 1 h 21 min
The moral limits of markets / The problem with meritocracy (Michael Sandel)
Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel argues with Julia about human dignity, consensual cannibalism, and the case in his new book, The Tyranny of Merit, that meritocracy is
Dec 8 2020 59 min
Deaths of despair / Effective altruism (Angus Deaton)
Economist and Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton discusses the rise in "deaths of despair" in the U.S. – deaths from drugs, alcohol or suicide. What's causing it, and how do we
Nov 24 2020 1 h 04 min
Are Boomers to blame for Millennials' struggles?
Rationally Speaking returns from hiatus with a look at a clash between two generations: Millennials, and their parents' generation, the Baby Boomers.
Faced with stagnan
Nov 9 2020 59 min
Rationally Speaking #244 - Stephanie Lepp and Buster Benson on "Seeing other perspectives, with compassion"
This episode features a pair of interviews on a similar topic: First, Stephanie Lepp (host of the Reckonings podcast) discusses what she's learned from interviewing peopl
Nov 30 2019 42 min
Chart trend
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#63
all-time peak
70
days in the top 100 since Nov 2024
Chart positions
Where Rationally Speaking Podcast ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 13, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
Julia always asks the best questions and plays the best devil’s advocate. She is so thoughtful and funny and kind and introduces the most interesting topics. It isnt a regular show, but when the next episode is uploaded I listen immediately. Love it!
cranberry craig · Feb 2022
Julia Galef is a brilliant thought leader.
I highly recommend this podcast.
Julia Galef is adept at explaining complex statistical concepts, analyzing the impact of public policy & fleshing out empirical studies that are technically difficult for the layperson to understand.
She takes on contrarian and controversial public discourse, & is objective in her analysis.
I’m an applied economist, so my review is filtered through the lens of someone who understands the material as subject matter expert.
Anne Arundel guy · Oct 2021
Host Julia has a way of presenting ideas and evidence without ever making the guests that she interviews feel stupid or insuted. Her approach is great! There have been tons of time I have changed my view on topics. Never yelling or anger or anything even close to that. Just sound thinking and fun, interesting exchanges that keep me challenged. One of my favorite podcasts!
junior chomsky · Apr 2021
Julia is a thoughtful and inquisitive host and always has interesting conversations; however, her conversation with Jon Haidt was one of those “listen to it over and over again” episodes because of the fantastic blend of philosophy and psychology. Wow. You got me plunging deeper into utilitarianism and moral psychology more than ever before. Thank you!
conman12 · Mar 2021
I only listened to the “conversation” about colorblindness. This is truly one of the most unscientific (and embarrassingly uninformed) podcasts I’ve had the misfortune of listening to. “Colorblindness” is widely denounced/debunked because it seeks to erase the mountains of evidence (and uniform experiences of POC) regarding structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism that plagues our nation. It essentially says “because I don’t try and individually persecute POC on the basis of race, all the evidence is wrong”. Which is logically fallacious, and again-roundly debunked. If you have any will towards intelligent, evidence based and informed discussion—this is the wrong podcast for you. It’s nothing more than an exercise in willfully ignorant, anti-fact, anti-science, anti-logic propaganda. Lol. Calling it “rational” is rich.
ZeeSolt · Jan 2021
Listening to Matt Yglesias advocate tripling the population of the United States for no particularly good reason, and saying that the only environmental issue is global warming, and technology will take care of that, was extremely disappointing. If only the host had questioned these irrational beliefs, but no, she just went along with everything he said. If the human race doesn’t address the many problems associated with overpopulation, the situation for other species will continue to worsen, and ignoring it isn’t the answer. This podcast is about speaking, but not rationally.
Maajic · Feb 2021
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