Yeah I think what’s missed is that there weren’t a lot of long form podcasts like that at the time. It was great to be able to hear someone like Sean Carroll come on and talk about Spacetime for 3 hours and then have Joe convince him to start his own podcast, which is still going and really dang good. Joe served as the interested but uninformed audience to just kind of keep the person talking. Not to defend what it’s become, but it wasn’t always like it is now

You’re saying they shouldn’t spend money on this? What alternative would you propose? In my mind this seems to fall pretty squarely in the good column.

Mate I’m not arguing with a Christian. And I’ve been one, trust me they ain’t got any poetry that compares with the awe inspired by the existence of galaxies. And lol at certain animals on a particular planet doing particular things with their genitals be vital gears in the machine. On this planet alone there are (and have been) so many different forms of sexual reproduction that the idea that the human way is somehow more important than any of them is laughable. The clockmaker has made an incomprehensible number of gear types. What you do with your dick isn’t going to impact the time in anyway. The clock ticks on regardless.

Side note. The absolute incomprehensible scale of the universe is part of what helped me see through the cult bullshit I grew up in. Hearing the poetry of Carl Sagan spoke more to me than any patriarch. Just because you’re not inspired by the Cosmos doesn’t mean others aren’t either

The point is if there is a god the dude has bigger concerns. I agree morality exists, but it is an entirely human construct. We’re on our own, there’s no sign that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. So don’t be a dick, but do whatever you want with your own dick so long as it doesn’t impose on others.