The Dr. Bo Show

Hello! I am social psychologist and author, Bo Bennett. In this blog and my podcast (the audio version of this blog), I take a critical thinking-, reason-, and science-based approach to issues that matter. As of January 2020, this podcast is a collection of topics related to all of my books. You can use the button below to filter the topics/books that interest you most. Enjoy!

The Dr. Bo Show with Bo Bennett, PhD
The Dr. Bo Show is a critical thinking-, reason-, and science-based approach to issues that matter. It is the podcast of social psychologist Bo Bennett. As of 2020, this podcast is a collection of topics related to all of his books.

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Do I Really Want President Trump To Succeed?

May 22, 2017

In the first version of the book, I wrote an article about giving the winner of the presidential election a chance and supporting him or her no matter who...

Close Encounter of the Non-Existent Kind

January 25, 2017

I was six years old when I involuntarily chased my first alien spaceship. Wait, perhaps you need a little context to this story before I jump right into it.

Age of Consent and Sex

December 08, 2016

Uncomfortable Idea: If you are past your mid-twenties and engaging in sexual activity with people younger than their mid-twenties, you are likley, knowingly...

Mental Illness Should Not Be Treated the Same as Physical Illness

November 16, 2016

Uncomfortable Idea: We should not treat mental illness like physical illness.

The Concept of Equity is Not That Simple

November 15, 2016

Uncomfortable Idea: Equity is synonymous with fairness, but not with wealth distribution or giving people who don't have a lot of stuff, free stuff...

Allowing Private Businesses to Discriminate

November 14, 2016

Uncomfortable Idea: Allowing private businesses to discriminate is not as horrible as it sounds.

Is the Existence of God an Uncomfortable Idea to the Atheist?

November 06, 2016

Uncomfortable Idea: If atheists are wrong, according to some Christian beliefs, they will be tortured for all eternity.

When People Die, Their Strengths Live On But Their Weaknesses Die With Them

November 06, 2016

Uncomfortable Idea: When people are telling you all about your loved one who has passed away, you are almost certainly hearing a highly fictionalized...

We're Getting Sicker

November 05, 2016

Uncomfortable Idea: In our efforts to save the sick, we are creating generations of people who are more likely to have genetically health-related issues.

Unveiling the Power of Reasoning: How to Foster Rationality in America

Unleash the power of reasoning and dismantle fallacious arguments! Discover how to make America reasonable again with insights from "Logically Fallacious."

Compartmentalization: How Otherwise Rational People Believe Idiotic Things

This article is about people who are otherwise reasonable who have managed to compartmentalize one issue that is immune from critical thought.

Compartmentalization: How Otherwise Rational People Believe Idiotic Things

This article is about people who are otherwise reasonable who have managed to compartmentalize one issue that is immune from critical thought.

Stay Calm. Enjoy Life.

Some poor, phone-less fool is probably sitting next to a waterfall somewhere totally unaware of how angry and scared he’s supposed to be.

Stay Calm. Enjoy Life.

Some poor, phone-less fool is probably sitting next to a waterfall somewhere totally unaware of how angry and scared he’s supposed to be.

White Fragility Quiz

I came across this "white fragility" quiz and, as a white person, I decided to take it and share my answers with you. You're welcome.

White Fragility Quiz

I came across this "white fragility" quiz and, as a white person, I decided to take it and share my answers with you. You're welcome.

White Fragility Quiz

I came across this "white fragility" quiz and, as a white person, I decided to take it and share my answers with you. You're welcome.

The Coronavirus and Prosocial Manipulation

What if you learned that you were manipulated into holding certain beliefs about and changing your behavior in regards to the Coronavirus?...

The Coronavirus and Prosocial Manipulation

What if you learned that you were manipulated into holding certain beliefs about and changing your behavior in regards to the Coronavirus?...

That A**hole Who is Right

We all know that person. They are arrogant, abrasive, and don't possess one iota of diplomacy—or even if they do, they have chosen not to exercise any with us.

Reported Cases of Coronavirus is Increasing... and That's Not Necessarily Bad

It is understandable how increasing numbers of known cases can be worrisome if not terrifying. At first glance, these numbers appear to represent the number...

The Jeep Scam: Critical Thinking in Everyday Life

Scammers and con-artists are all over the Internet. Not all scams are easy to spot—at least not at first...

The Anatomy of the Analogy: When Weak is Not Weak and False is Not False

The analogy one of the most useful tools in argumentation as well as one of the most helpful aids in effective reasoning. It allows us to compare something ...

Choose Kind... and Right

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer wrote, "When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind." I say,...

Reductio Ad Consequentia - Reducing the Argument to the Consequences

Reductio Ad Consequentia is the use of a rule to support a position without realizing that the same rule would require that support for other positions...

If You Could Only Save One, Would You Save a Child or a Thousand Embryos?

This is a response to the abortion argument by Patrick S. Tomlinson and the response by Ben Shapiro.

It's a Conspiracy!

The interesting thing about conspiracy theories is that some of them are actually true. This gives all conspiracy theories a hint of legitimacy in that no matte

Arguing with a Presuppostionalist

A trick of the presuppositionalists is to hold others to impossible standards while using special pleading to excuse themselves from such justification.

Welcome to the Upside Down

Our passions, desires, and biases (i.e., emotions) can be so powerful that it can make us believe that what is clearly true to others, is clearly false to us.

Women, Rape, and Responsibility

This exchange is ripe with fallacious reasoning—at least the response is. This is often what happends when emotion or idiology trumps reason...

Top Five Logical Fallacies in the Social Justice Movement

There is a disturbing trend in the social justice movement where science, data, facts, and reason are sacrificed for ideology. Critics of the social justice mov

Arguing with Social Justice Activists and Conspiracy Theorists: You Can't Win

Uncomfortable Idea: Interpreting feedback or an argument that refutes your ideas as evidence for your ideas, is a flaw in reasoning similar to that of...

Do I Really Want President Trump To Succeed?

In the first version of the book, I wrote an article about giving the winner of the presidential election a chance and supporting him or her no matter who...

Close Encounter of the Non-Existent Kind

I was six years old when I involuntarily chased my first alien spaceship. Wait, perhaps you need a little context to this story before I jump right into it.

Age of Consent and Sex

Uncomfortable Idea: If you are past your mid-twenties and engaging in sexual activity with people younger than their mid-twenties, you are likley, knowingly...

Mental Illness Should Not Be Treated the Same as Physical Illness

Uncomfortable Idea: We should not treat mental illness like physical illness.

The Concept of Equity is Not That Simple

Uncomfortable Idea: Equity is synonymous with fairness, but not with wealth distribution or giving people who don't have a lot of stuff, free stuff...

Allowing Private Businesses to Discriminate

Uncomfortable Idea: Allowing private businesses to discriminate is not as horrible as it sounds.

Is the Existence of God an Uncomfortable Idea to the Atheist?

Uncomfortable Idea: If atheists are wrong, according to some Christian beliefs, they will be tortured for all eternity.

When People Die, Their Strengths Live On But Their Weaknesses Die With Them

Uncomfortable Idea: When people are telling you all about your loved one who has passed away, you are almost certainly hearing a highly fictionalized...

We're Getting Sicker

Uncomfortable Idea: In our efforts to save the sick, we are creating generations of people who are more likely to have genetically health-related issues.

How To Win the Temptation Game

When faced with temptation, we can either give into it, or not.  The reason we choose one way or another has to do with how we deliberate.

Bright and Shiny: Rethinking Positive Thinking

There has been much research conducted in the last few decades attempting to demonstrate statistically significant benefits of positive thinking.

Don't Let Rationality Sabotage Your Success

The journey to reason is a wonderful one comprising countless moments of understanding fueled by passion.

How To Be More Resilient: Bouncing Back from Life's Curveballs

Stop blaming dad for your sexual timidness because when you were three years old he smacked you on the behind for eating rat poison under the sink...

Achieving Optimal Physical Fitness Through Science, Not Wishful Thinking

Gallup just released the results of their latest poll on adult obesity in the United States, finding that obesity increased from 25.5% in 2008 to 27.7% in 2014

Achieving Optimal Physical Fitness Through Science, Not Wishful Thinking

Gallup just released the results of their latest poll on adult obesity in the United States, finding that obesity increased from 25.5% in 2008 to 27.7% in 2014