International Skeptics United

Mass Extinction! 250 million years ago nearly all life on Earth ended. Back from the brink, history then repeated itself with the disappearance of the dinosaurs 60 million years ago. So are we next? Plus news of how a comet smash could have kick-started life on Earth, whether e-cigarettes are safe, and why science and medical reporting in the media might be untrustworthy...

Fred Clark is a progressive evangelical Christian blogger better known as Slacktivist. He’s one of those Christians who defies all the stereotypes atheists tend to have of Christians. He’s for gay marriage, critical of church leaders, and constantly frustrated with what his “tribe” does in the name of Jesus. We spoke with Fred about why he's still working on the longest-running book review ever, what will happen to the Christian church after gay marriage becomes legal everywhere, and how Christians can change church culture from the inside. Full disclosure: Fred writes for Patheos, the same network on which you can find the Friendly Atheist blog.

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders   0:04:00 Dr Paul Willis and a glass of red Richard Saunders chats to Dr Paul Willis from Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus).   0:17:30 A Week in Science The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation with a mission to bring science to people and people to science.   0:20:36 The Raw Skeptic Report This week Heidi Robertson from the Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters (NRVS) looks at raw milk and its sale in Australia.   0:40:00 Maynard's Spooky Action... Maynard chats to the crowd after 'An Everning with James Randi' night in Sydney. What does Lawrence Leung have to say about Santa?

  This week’s awesome episode kicks off with Pat focusing on The Bates Method. Cristina shops for facts about outlet malls, while Adam cleans up with a segment about Roombas. Lastly, Darren raises our awareness with a recent troubling news story.

Can algorithms help you find love? Many happy couples successfully brought together via online dating websites show us that data science can help you find love. I'm joined this week by Thomas Levi, Senior Data Scientist at Plenty of Fish, to discuss some of his work which helps people find one another as efficiently as possible. Matchmaking is a truly non-trivial problem, and one that's dynamically changing all the time as new users join and leave the "pool of fish". This episode explores the aspects of what makes this a tough problem and some of the ways POF has been successfully using data science to solve it, and continues to try to innovate with new techniques like interest matching. For his benevolent references, Thomas suggests readers check out All of Statistics as well as the caretlibrary for R. And for a self serving recommendation, follow him on twitter (@tslevi) or connect withThomas Levi on Linkedin.

Iridology, naturopathy, acupuncture and Dad’s Army. Plus orgasms, Memento, glaucoma and the 2010 Winter Olympics Men’s Skiing.  Still wondering what “rolfing” is, it’s Skeptics with a K.

This week Derek chats with National Laboratory programmer turned hard science fiction author, Andy Weir, about his book 'The Martian'. The wildly popular book about a stranded astronaut left behind on Mars after a tragic accident. The story uses ideas based on real and near-future tech to drive the plot-line. Find out what inspired Andy to put his ideas down into a novel, and his journey from offering the work for free to now having his book turned into a major motion picture set for release in 2015.

Episode 36, wherein we have a debate with audio clips of Sye Ten Bruggencate, which as far as I can tell is exactly the same experience as having an actual debate with Sye Ten Bruggencate. Which he refused to do any way. So listen up if you want to be able to tackle the extremely […]

This week we delve into the Dark Web, a hidden arm of the Internet where Google doesn't dare to search and where drugs, guns and hitmen are offered up for sale. We explore how the World Wide Web works, and ask whether it can remain unregulated, free and open as it is now? Plus, in the news this week, the worm found lurking in a patient's brain, how scientists have grown pain nerves in a Petri dish, and what do dogs hear when we speak to them?

  On this week’s show, Adam rings in about whether we really have to turn off cell phones on a plane, Darren contributes by revisiting effective donating, and Cristina conducts a minor segment about why we listen to sad music when we’re sad.

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders and Stefan Sojka   0:03:35 SGU in Australia Interviews with Evan Bernstein, Steve Novella, Postie Linley, Michael Marshall, Jo Benhamu, Ross Balch. Jo Alabaster and more!   0:24:10 A Week in Science The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation with a mission to bring science to people and people to science.   0:27:00 Ghost Adventure Part #2 Join Maynard, Alethea Dean and Richard Saunders has they wonder around the Field of Mars Cemetery.

Economist Peter Backus put forward "The Girlfriend Equation" while working on his PhD - a probabilistic model attempting to estimate the likelihood of him finding a girlfriend. In this mini episode we explore the soundness of his model and also share some stories about how Linhda and Kyle met.

Ben Goldacre is a doctor, academic, broadcaster and science writer who has made his name unpicking the evidence behind dodgy claims from journalists, politicians, quacks and drug companies. His Bad Science column ran in the Guardian from 2003 to 2011. His first book, Bad Science, was a number one bestseller, selling over half a million […]

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders, Stefan Sojka and Mayard   0:09:15 Ghost Adventure Part #1 Join Maynard, Alethea Dean and Richard Saunders has they wonder around the Field of Mars Cemetery.   0:23:10 A Week in Science The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation with a mission to bring science to people and people to science.   0:26:35 Psychic Predictions for 2014 Jo Alabaster and Richard mark the homework of Australia's top mystics.   0:42:20 National Convention News Eran Segev brings fill us in on the last bits of news about the Australian Skeptics National Convention.   0:48:42 Maynard's Spooky Action... Maynard's Book Worm Corner. This week Maynard reviews "Question Everything". After that it's a trip to Paddy's Markets in Sydney to chat with Joanne Thompson from 'Awakening Lotus'.

Travel by air has increased by over 60% in the last decade and annual global air traffic is expected to reach 3.6 billion passenger journeys by 2016 meaning that there are at least 1 million people airborne aboard planes at any moment in time. But, as air traffic grows, so do concerns about smuggling and security. So keeping people safe is a major priority; but the processes can be intrusive and can also cause unpleasant delays at airports. This week we're looking at how technology - both old and new - can help to alleviate the hold ups and improve safety. Plus, in the news, the science behind fighting the flab, how spiderman has becomes a reality and why bankers have a tendency to cheat...