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Sam and Mike return to shilling the new book by the Skeptics Guide to the Universe with Cara Santa Maria!! Our first return guest, Cara Santa Maria, takes a break out of her busy schedule to talk to PWR about her new book, the Skeptics Guide to the Universe - a collaboration by the hosts of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast which Cara co-hosts (listen to episode 19 to hear the interview with co-author Steven Novella). We talk about whether a skeptical parent should talk to their kid about Santa Clause. Which obviously leads to a conversation about death and reasoning. The conversation also leads to a discussion about how to change people's minds over time and the challenges of being a skeptic. All three of us discuss our different religious backgrounds, Evangelical, Mormonism and Quakerism. Disclaimer: Mike and Sam did receive free pre-release editions of the book, but also ordered their own copies because they enjoyed it that much. Sam's was also stolen at the airport. We hope whoever stole it enjoys it as much as we did. You can buy the book here: www.theskepticsguide.org/the-skeptics…full-of-fake or here www.amazon.com/Skeptics-Guide-Un…gly/dp/1538760533 Cara is also the host of Talk Nerdy to Me which you can listen to here. https://www.carasantamaria.com/podcast/ Hosts: Samuel Jennings Michael Ham Guest: Cara Santa Maria

How do you dissect your own thinking and keep honest when you step into the firehose of modern politics that is filled with fake and incomplete reporting? One answer, 'Be humble' as Steven Novella explains. Politics Within Reason shills our very first book (we were not paid to)! Steven Novella a host of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast joins us to talk about his new book - The Skeptics Guide to the Universe - How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fakes. We talk about the hoax associated with farmer suicides in India, how con men operate and how to be a critical thinker. Disclaimer: Michael and Sam did receive free pre-release editions of the book, but also ordered their own copies because they enjoyed it that much. Sam's was also stolen at the airport. We hope whoever stole it enjoys it as much as we did. You can buy the book here: https://www.theskepticsguide.org/the-skeptics-guide-to-the-universe-how-to-know-whats-really-real-in-a-world-increasingly-full-of-fake or here https://www.amazon.com/Skeptics-Guide-Universe-Really-Increasingly/dp/1538760533 Hosts: Michael Ham Samuel Jennings With special guest Steven Novella

The way we typically vote is that you select only one candidate for a position, but there are many flaws with this methodology. Aaron Hamlin from The Center for Election Science discusses an alternative called Approval voting. Under approval voting, voters can select as many candidates as they like for a position. This makes third party candidates far more viable and does a better job representing voter preference. Approval voting is also simpler than other voting alternatives like ranked choice. Approval voting will be on the ballot in Fargo North Dakota this year! Learn more at https://www.electology.org https://www.electology.org/blog/its-official-approval-voting-will-be-ballot-fargo%21 Host: Michael Ham Guest: Aaron Hamlin facebook.com/partyofreasonandprogress www.facebook.com/politicswithinreason/ @theOfficialPorp

Ep 17: Interview with Dena Grayson Michael has a chat with Dena Grayson, a scientist who ran for Congress in 2016. We discuss what it is like to run a campaign, Russian attacks on our elections, outside PAC spending and what candidates need to understand - namely that voters don’t really care all that much about you personally, they care what you can do for them. Dena is married to Alan Grayson and is currently involved in his primary for the United States House of Representatives in the Florida 9th district. The primary will be held August 28th. See more of Dena’s videos at: https://denagrayson.com https://twitter.com/DrDenaGrayson Give us your ideas, feedback and suggestions by calling (202) 681-2274 Hosts/Guests Michael Ham Dena Grayson http://facebook.com/partyofreasonandprogress https://www.facebook.com/politicswithinreason/ @theOfficialPorp