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The Utterly Moderate Podcast is the official podcast of Connors Institute for Nonpartisan Research and Civic Engagement at Shippensburg University. The core mission of the Connors Institute is to disseminate high-quality nonpartisan information to the public. Utterly Moderate is hosted by Lawrence Eppard, a researcher, university professor, and director of the Connors Institute. On each episode, Eppard is joined by a guest (or two or three!) who helps listeners understand important topics by ...
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"The Poisoning" Is Here! (w/Jacob Mackey)
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On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast, the authors of the brand new book, The Poisoning of the American Mind, talk about the book and its implications for America. So what is their argument? A significant amount of research suggests that most people seek out news and information sources that mirror their worldviews, avoid ones that don’t,…
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Celebrating America by Talking About George Washington (w/Denver Brunsman)
36:38
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36:38
We want to express our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore. He was killed during the attempted assassination of former President Trump. According to NBC Philadelphia, Comperatore raised two daughters with his high school sweetheart and spent his final moments shielding his family that he loved so much from the gunf…
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Spotting Real Expertise & Examining Your Own Knowledge (w/Jacob Mackey)
56:24
56:24
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56:24
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast, host Lawrence Eppard and Connors Institute co-director Jacob Mackey discuss techniques and shortcuts that you can use to spot real expertise in a world where people with expert credentials are sometimes frauds and where people without expert credentials are often very knowledgeable. They also discuss…
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Misleading Claims in American Educational Curricula (w/Wilfred Reilly)
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45:38
Before we talk about this episode, we hope you didn’t miss the latest research from the Connors Institute on the gender pay gap. Check it out now! We talk quite a bit on this podcast about some of the things that many liberal and conservative Americans believe that just ain’t so. In fact, we just released a free online documentary about this titled…
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Space is Littered With Junk (w/Varoujan Gorjian)
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Before we talk about this week’s podcast episode, don’t forget to check out the Connors Institute’s new documentary, The Poisoning of the American Mind, an illuminating film about how conservatives and liberals in America regularly fall for misinformation and disinformation. On this week’s episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast, we are joined by e…
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Saving the Social Sciences (w/Michael Jindra)
40:48
40:48
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40:48
We’ve talked a lot on the Utterly Moderate Podcast about how both liberals and conservatives in America are bombarded with misleading information on a regular basis. On the left, unfortunately, a lot of this bad info comes from an academic research community which is overwhelmingly liberal. A recent study found the least imbalanced discipline to be…
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How Should Non-Scientists Evaluate the "State of the Science"? (w/Dr. Sallie Baxendale)
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54:15
It is extremely hard for the average citizen to understand what the “state of the science” is on many issues. We can all type our queries about a particular topic into Google but, when we get the flood of results, most of us are not trained to be able to (a) understand the complicated statistical methodologies employed in many research studies, (b)…
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On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Jacob Mackey to discuss two big gender-related stories in the news. The first story is positive, and we have covered it in the Connors Newsletter—a big new research study shows that we have made great progress combatting sex discrimination in the labor market. This is great news! Then…
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Is Ideology Hurting Science? (w/Lisa Selin Davis)
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29:16
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined again by Lisa Selin Davis, a writer who covers issues related to gender and gender affirming care. Davis joins the program to discuss a recent UnHerd article “Why did three journals reject my puberty-blocker study? Trans children deserve to know the facts,” written by Sallie Baxendale, a…
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American Colleges Under the Microscope (w/Jacob Mackey)
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43:20
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we discuss recent controversies at and concerns about colleges and universities in the United States—from highly publicized instances of campus unrest to a lack of intellectual diversity among faculty to hypocrisy on free speech. This episode’s guest is Jacob Mackey, associate professor at Occidental …
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New George Floyd Documentary (w/Robert VerBruggen)
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44:18
Before we get to today’s episode, check out this article about the Connors Institute in The Sentinel newspaper! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Robert VerBruggen from the Manhattan Institute to discuss a new documentary which claims to disprove that George Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin, as well as a new research…
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The Good Old Days Are Now (w/Johan Norberg and Piper Kull)
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35:19
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Connors Institute at Shippensburg University! Since this Utterly Moderate episode is both our Christmas program and our 100th PODCAST EPISODE, we thought we would try to be as uplifting as possible. In that spirit, we are being joined by Johan Norberg, author of a number of books including Progress: Ten R…
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Jim Swift on Immigration, Disinformation, Dog Birthdays, and More!
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34:04
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34:04
Jim Swift from The Bulwark joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss the fraught nature of the immigration debate in the U.S. Both sides in the immigration debate have important points to bring to the table, and good faith discussions and compromises are badly needed. Unfortunately, such efforts often get sidetracked by misinformation and disin…
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Calculate YOUR Poverty Risk With This Calculator! (w/Mark Robert Rank)
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42:35
Leading American poverty researcher Mark Robert Rank joins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss his Poverty Risk Calculator, the record-low poverty rates that the U.S. saw in 2021, Dr. Rank’s research on the risk Americans face of experiencing poverty throughout their lives, a new book he has coming out on luck, and more! Rank has spent his care…
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New Book on Disinformation (w/Lee McIntyre & Tom Nichols)
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42:15
Friend of the Connors Forum and frequent Utterly Moderate guest, Lee McIntyre, has a new book out titled On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, a “powerful, pocket-sized citizen’s guide on how to fight back against the disinformation campaigns that are imperiling American democracy, from the bestselling author of Post-Trut…
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The Case for Nuclear Power: An Answer for Climate Change? (w/Robert Zubrin)
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26:00
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we discuss both the pros and cons of nuclear power, especially as it pertains to combatting global climate change. The international community is attempting to keep the world from warming no more than 1.5-2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century. While there have been…
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The Replication Crisis in Psychology (w/Lee Jussim)
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On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are going to be talking about something called the “replication crisis.” Most people will not be familiar with this since it has been happening in academia but we promise it is not only quite intriguing and full of juicy details but it also has some pretty big implications for the larger society. S…
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Race & Police Shootings in America (w/Robert VerBruggen)
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42:58
On this Utterly Moderate Podcast episode we tackle a sensitive issue that is hard to find a clear, definitive answer to: does race play a significant role in fatal shootings of civilians by law enforcement in America? Our guest, Robert VerBruggen, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has done important work on this topic, including his March 2022 r…
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Controversies Surrounding Gender Affirming Care for Minors (w/Lisa Selin Davis & Amber Alt)
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1:38:07
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are going to tackle a very sensitive topic, the debate and controversies surrounding gender affirming care for minors who display signs of distress at an incongruence between their gender identity and their biological sex. In several countries, including places like Finland, Sweden, Australia, and …
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Anatomy of a Viral Conspiracy Theory (w/Jim Swift)
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Did you know that President Joe Biden was bussing unauthorized immigrants to a hotel near Orlando, Florida and giving them pre-loaded credit cards, hotel rooms, and clothing—all on your dime?!? You say you didn’t know? Good, because the story was a complete fabrication. On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by good friend of…
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Before we get to today’s episode, GREAT NEWS for American democracy! The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the independent state legislature theory in Moore v. Harper. If they had not ruled this way, it could have opened the door in presidential elections for state legislatures to ignore the votes of their residents and simply decide to give their st…
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Think Twice Before Messing With Social Security (w/Kathleen Romig)
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Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER! On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are going to discuss a topic that was back in the news recently with the debt ceiling negotiations: Social Security. A number of politicians and elected representatives have recently suggested that we make major changes to the Social Security progra…
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The Questionable Science of Microaggressions (w/Lee Jussim)
1:10:01
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1:10:01
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Lee Jussim, Rutgers University distinguished professor of psychology. He is here to discuss the questionable science behind microaggressions. If you are unfamiliar with the term, microaggressions are claimed to be “acts, often facially innocuous, that convey subtle animus or bias agai…
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America CAN Reduce Gun Violence (w/Garen Wintemute)
1:09:54
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Another massacre in America. It feels like we are living in a nightmare—and we should refuse to become numb to it. Instead, we should use our anger and sorrow and demand that our leaders do the things that most Americans support to stop the carnage. I include links to some *extremely* graphic images of Emmett Till’s corpse as well as the corpses of…
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Conspiracy Theories in America (w/Michael Shermer from Skeptic Magazine)
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41:20
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Michael Shermer from Skeptic Magazine to discuss the rise of conspiracy theories in America. Make sure to check out Shermer's new book on the subject, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational. The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner …
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