Chris C. Mooney's Blog, page 4

How Republicans Became Authoritarians–And Denialists

Peter Sinclair, of Climate Denial Crock of the Week, filmed this video of me explaining some aspects of the Republican Brain thesis–particularly the importance of authoritarianism–in December of last year. I think it came out well and gives a lot of depth. Enjoy.

Why The Media Can’t Be Objective About Mann and Ornstein, or About The Republican Brain

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Norman Ornstein

This is a guest post by Dylan Otto Krider,a skeptic, journalist and science fiction author whose work on the politicization of science has appeared in Skeptic, Dissent and other outlets(www.dylanottokrider.com).

Norm Ornstein and Thomas Mann, whom Mother Jones described as “the most quoted men in Washington,”suddenly disappeared from the Sunday morning talk showsafter pointing out thatRepublicans are more to blame than Democrats for partisan gridlock. Similarly, many mainstream...

Announcing My Next Two Point of Inquiry Guests: Cara Santa Maria and Chris Hayes

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Cara Santa Maria

I am trying to make Point of Inquiry more interactive with its (quite large) audience. Ultimately, I envision taking listener comments, through Twitter or even the phone, in real time. This is one of a number of changes that I’m hoping to bring to the show in short order.

We’re not quite there yet, but for now I can at least take questions in advance! To that end, I’m announcing the next two guests, and seeking your questions for them. Some of these may be asked on the air. All...

Who’s Afraid of the Republican Brain?

[image error]So…I realize I have not posted in a while. I’m sort of coming down from a two month book tour, and frankly, needed a bit of an escape. That’s the chief reason.

The tour was quite successful; the book is selling well and the publisher has had to order more. This is called good news.

At the same time, though, I’m feeling that there is more that needs to be said. And, I tried to say it at AlterNet today, in a piece summarizing the scientifically weak response to the book by conservatives–and the t...

The Spread of Islamic Creationism in Europe

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Johan Braeckman

It’s a few days late for this post, but I’m just back from a trip to Germany that was rather exhausting (to speak at the 2012 World Skeptics Congress in Berlin).

While over there, I recorded the latest installment of the Point of Inquiry podcast with Johan Braeckman, a philosopher at the University of Ghent, on a very troubling topic for European defenders of science and reason–the spread of Islamic creationism in European countries.

You can listen to the show...

A Fact Not Even PolitiFact Can Spin: Conservatives More Wrong, More Often

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Rachel Maddow in Seattle

This is a guest post by Dylan Otto Krider,a skeptic, journalist and science fiction author whose work on the politicization of science has appeared in Skeptic, Dissent and other outlets(www.dylanottokrider.com).

For progressives, PolitiFact has become a joke. After years of demanding the media do a better job of holding politicians accountable and “calling a lie a lie,” the left was given PolitiFact instead. Now liberals place PolitiFact as file #1 in the evidence locke...

The Conservative Conundrum: Seeming Reality-Based, Without Losing the Base

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Don't like science? Play the "phrenology" card

This is a guest post by Dylan Otto Krider,a skeptic, journalist and science fiction author whose work on the politicization of science has appeared in Skeptic, Dissent and other outlets(www.dylanottokrider.com).

What makes the recent Weekly Standard cover story by Andrew Ferguson on “The New Phrenology” worth spending some time on is this: It perfectly captures the quandary faced by conservative intellectuals, who try to hold themselves up as a cou...

New Point of Inquiry–Greta Christina, Why Are You Atheists So Angry?

I haven’t blogged much lately about Point of Inquiry, the podcast that I co-host with Indre Viskontas–but it turns out we just got named as one of the top tend podcasts by Business Insider. We’re thrilled at the recognition.[image error]

A new and pretty controversial show has just gone up, by the way.

It’s with Greta Christina, the prominent atheist blogger and speaker. I interview her about her new ebook (coming out in print in June), entitled Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things that Piss Off the God...

Tit Without Tat: Why Democrats Don’t Understand the Prisoner’s Dilemma of American Politics

[image error]This is a guest post by Dylan Otto Krider,a skeptic, journalist and science fiction author whose work on the politicization of science has appeared in Skeptic, Dissent and other outlets(www.dylanottokrider.com).

When Bill Clinton came into office after 24 years of Republican presidential rule (with a brief Carter intermission), a large majority of the federal bench had been appointed by Republicans. It was hoped Clinton could correct that, but after the Republican Revolution in 1994, the GOP e...

The Weekly Standard Slams The Republican Brain

[image error]Thecover storyof thelatestWeekly Standard, by Andrew Ferguson,is entitled “The New Phrenology.”In it, the writer slamsThe Republican Brain and pretty much dismisses the whole field of scientific research on ideology.

Why? Ferguson’s complaint rests on a variety of methodological objections to psychology studies, especially those relying on undergraduates (as if the field has not considered these criticisms, and as if these are the only studies involved).

In other words, and just like Jonah Gold...