The Reality Check

Latest Episodes:

TRC #649: Is Russia Committing Genocide In Ukraine? + No Ugly Old Buildings? Apr 24, 2022

Show notes

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and since that time have committed all manner of atrocities. But is it genocide? Darren tackles this difficult topic. Next, Adam looks into the idea that there are no ugly old buildings and survivorship bias.

TRC #648: Slapgate Conspiracy + The Science Of Moonfall Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

As Will Smith's slap during the Academy Awards trends online, a picture of the moment has gone viral suggesting Chris Rock wore a prosthetic cheek pad. Cristina digs into it. Next, Adam takes a look at the science, or more precisely lack thereof, in the latest sci-fi flick, "Moonfall".

TRC #647: Coalitions Are Democratic? Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

On Tuesday, March 22, the Liberals and New Democratic Party announced a confidence and supply agreement to further each of their interests. Darren takes a look at whether this is undemocratic, whether it is what Canadians voted for and if it's a "backroom deal".

TRC #646: Donating During Disasters + Domestication Syndrome + 'Intellectuals and Society' By Thomas Sowell Mar 27, 2022

Show notes

Cristina looks at the dark side of charitable donation and shares valuable advice and insight from Humanitarian Logistics expert Dale Herzog. Adam dives into new research around domesticated silver foxes and revisits Animal Domestication Syndrome. Darren reviews Thomas Sowell's 'Intellectuals and Society' - a discussion on the relevance of intellectuals - and he has some feelings about it.

TRC #645: The Panther of Kharkiv Mar 17, 2022

Show notes

Short show for you this week. The internet was recently abuzz about a cat named Mikael. Supposedly, Ukrainian army cats were trained to spot and direct the location of Russian sniper lasers. The story discussed was of Mikael, "The Panther of Kharkiv", who followed laser spots to identify four snipers, leading to their deaths. This is indeed Adam's wheelhouse and he digs in to find the truth.

TRC #644: Ottawa Convoy Confusion Feb 19, 2022

Show notes

The trucks, the honking, the bouncy castles, the hot tubs. It's all Darren today. As a resident in downtown Ottawa, he gives us his thoughts on the "freedom convoy" which has been occupying the city centre for over three weeks. Are the international stories correct? What do the protestors want, and have they really been peaceful?

TRC #643: Catalytic Converters + Masked People More Attractive? + New Year's Resolutions Feb 13, 2022

Show notes

Cristina looks into why thefts of catalytic converters in cars has soared lately. Adam takes a skeptical lens to recent headlines suggesting that wearing face masks make people seem more attractive. Finally, Darren brings us a fascinating exploration of New Year's resolutions and considers why humans make them.

TRC #642: Annual Prediction Show: 2022 Edition Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

In what has become a yearly ritual to highlight the futility of 'predictions', Adam, Producer Pat, and Cristina guess at what might happen in the new year and look back on our guesses from last year.

TRC #641: Dangers Of High Density Crowds + Memes: Conspiracies Or Clickbait? + 'Rationality' By Steven Pinker Dec 23, 2021

Show notes

Cristina delves into the fascinating yet terrifying science of high density crowds in light of the recent Astroworld music festival tragedy. Adam takes a closer look behind popular memes. Are they data mining, pushing elaborate conspiracy theories, or just plain old clickbait? Darren gives us a great overview of Steven Pinker's latest book "Rationality", which explores the concept of collective rationality in society.

TRC #640: Effective Donating 2021 + Longest Lunar Eclipse? Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

Darren brings us an important overview of the recent updates from the charity evaluation website GiveWell to help inform your charity donation decisions this holiday season. Adam rounds out the show by scrutinizing claims that the recent lunar eclipse was the longest eclipse of this century and next.

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