International Skeptics United

This week Derek spends a little bit of his time before the start of Dragon*Con with Victor Stenger discussing his latest book, "God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion". Based on his experience as a particle physicist, Stenger outlines how hard science actually has a lot to say about all supernatural and religious claims, even though many have mistakenly gone too far to accommodate ideas for which there is no scientific evidence.

RH Reality Check and Atheism Plus

RH Reality Check and Atheism Plus

Based on the Fibonacci series, the golden ratio is an interesting construct found in both mathematics and in nature. But is it really the end-all and be-all that its advocates make it out to be?

Elan discusses health claims made by POM Wonderful. Pat joins the crew again this week to lead a music themed Science Fact or Science Fiction (TM) game.  Finally, Adam explores whether or not birds die from eating gum.

0:00:00 Message from Travis Roy and friends 0:00:36 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:55 Maynard's Spooky Action.. at TAM 2012 An interview with Carrie Poppy from The James Randi Educational Foundation Carrie Poppy is the Communications Director for the The James Randi Educational Foundation and half of the "Oh No! Ross and Carrie" Podcast. 0:22:15 Maynard's Spooky Action.. at TAM 2012 An interview with Brian Hart from The Independent Investigations Group (IIG) a volunteer-based organization founded by James Underdown in January 2000 at the Center for Inquiry-West (now Center for Inquiry-Los Angeles) in Hollywood, California. 0:33:20 The Mystery Investigators at the Powerhouse Musem Richard Saunders and Dr. Rachie at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum chatting about the Mystery Investigators show and a clip from one of the performances.

Interview with Pixar's Chris Ford; This Day in Skepticism: The Great Moon Hoax; News Items: The Sun is Round, DNA Storage, FDA and Homeopathy; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Pregnancy from Rape, E-bay and Magic; Science or Fiction

Broken glass, internal combustion, hexes, cats and magnets. Plus curses, steam, nukes and (would you believe it) more bloody homeopathy! Rescuing the world from the Dark Ages, it’s Skeptics with a K.

For thousands of years, people who made their living by working the sea have reported creatures that appeared to be half-human and half-fish. Some of these stories are legends and fairy tales, but more recent sightings are reported as real animals. Confounding things even more are mummified mermaids brought to Europe from sailors coming back from Asia. A recent Animal Planet “documentary” claimed that mermaids are real and the US government is hiding the truth. This week on MonsterTalk, we interview museum curator (and mermaid-model expert) Paolo Viscardi. READ episode notes

Guests: Paige Moss and Rebecca Hensler

A lot of people have misconceptions about how the scientific method works and whether it's valid. In this episode we answer some emailed questions about this topic specifically.

In this week's episode Pat Roach joins in as a guest.  Darren starts things off with a discussion on whether violence is declining; a review of Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature.   Adam passes judgment on courtroom television shows and Pat explores the myth that Steve Jobs stole the mouse from Xerox Parc. 

Is hydrogen the fuel of our future? As fossil fuel reserves run out, this week we ask whether hydrogen can fill the energy void? We look at work to harness bacteria to transform everyday waste into biohydrogen, hear how scientists are planning to store this gas safely, take to the road in a hydrogen-powered car and investigate the workings of the fuel cells that run them...

This Day in Skepticism; News Items: Eggs and Atherosclerosis, Hacking the Rover, The Sneeze, Google Pyramids, Occ Update; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Asymmetrical Screw; Science or Fiction

Charles Fernyhough is a writer and psychologist. The Baby in the Mirror, his book about his daughter’s psychological development, was translated into seven languages. He has also written two novels, The Auctioneer a A Box of Birds. He is a Reader in Psychology at Durham University and has written for the Guardian, Financial Times and Sunday Telegraph. His latest book is Pieces [...]