The Skeptic Zone

Latest Episodes:

The Skeptic Zone #760 - 30.April.2023 Apr 29, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:12 You Can Count on Adrienne An interview with Abhijit Chanda from India, host of the "Rationable" Podcast and skeptical activist. One of Abhijit's skeptical interests is the alternative medicine known as Ayurveda or Ayurvedic. This is a system of traditional medicine native to India, which uses a range of treatments, including panchakarma ('five actions'), yoga, massage, acupuncture and herbal medicine, that claims to encourage health and wellbeing. Abhijit also talks about palm reading in India. https://www.berationable.com 0:20:40 The Book of Tim. With Tim Mendham SKEPTICS TEST PSYCHIC SURGEON By Mark Plummer When a small paragraph advertisement in "The Age" on January 3rd 1981 stated that an English medium-psychic surgeon would be commencing practice in Melbourne the Australian Skeptics swung into action. A reading from The Skeptic, Vol. 1 No. 1 http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:30:16 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Fairies. 1920.12.04 - The Maitland Weekly Mercury 1921.01.15 - The Daily Telegraph - Sydney 1922.12.09 - The Daily Mail - Brisbane 1983.03.21 - The Canberra Times http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #236 - 27.April.2013 A chat with Deborah Hyde, editor of The Skeptic magazine (UK). Vampires and more vampires! Move over Buffy as Deborah tells all about the creatures of the night - A Week in Science with Dr Tania Meyer - Dr Rachie Reports with Dr Rachael Dunlop. From QED in Manchester, Dr Rachie chats to ex-cop Stevyn Colgan about problem solving - Maynard interviews Scott Bartle about his concerns with government. https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-236-27-april-2013

The Skeptic Zone #759 - 23.April.2023 Apr 22, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:30 You Can Count on Adrienne. Wiki UFOs This week Adrienne takes a look at some of the many UFOs reports from the first half of the 20th century as recorded on Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reported_UFO_sightings 0:17:11 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:30:48 Vale Rex Gilroy One of Australia's all time great characters from the world of cryptozoology has died. We look back at some of the media reports about Rex and his decades long search for mysterious animals. Maynard interviews Rex Gilroy for the Skeptic Zone. https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-291-16may2014 0:42:02 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 1922.05.08 - The Daily Telegraph - Sydney 1923.06.05 - Singleton Argus 1928.07.21 - The Register - SA 1930.07.07 - The Daily Pictorial - Sydney 1930.07.12 - Northern Star - Lismore 1930.07.29 - Border Watch - SA http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #235 - 20.April.2013 Richard Saunders in Olomouc, the Czech Republic - A chat with Jakub Ráliš from the AFO48 Festival. What is AFO? Find out this long running festival - The Enemies of Reason - at AFO48 Richard Saunders introduces the film by Dr. Richard Dawkins - A quick chat with Rebecca Watson Rebecca was also a guest of the festival. - The winner of the international science film competition at AFO48. Jury member Bechara Saab annouces the winning film, The Grammar of Happiness. Other jury members were Irina Belykh and Richard Saunders - QED in Manchester. A chat with Michael Marshall and Geoff Whelan and many other people at QED - A Week in Science with Dr Paul Willis - Maynard interviews James Owen Weatherall about his book, 'The Physics of Wall Street'. https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-235-20-april-2013

The Skeptic Zone #758 - 16.April.2023 Apr 15, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:06 Adrienne Hill on the High Seas During a recent visit to the Skeptic Zone studios, Adrienne spoke to Richard Saunders about her voyage from Sydney to New Zealand. What magical thinking and woo did she find on board the vessel? Find out as Adrienne recounts tales of the high seas. 0:24:42 Saunders talks Skeptics in the Pub In 2006, Richard Saunders appeared on Sydney radio to chat with Glenn Wheeler about being a skeptic, TV Psychics and Sydney Skeptics in the Pub. Not much has changed in almost 20 years. http://www.meetup.com/austskeptics 0:37:46 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers where we find a whole page devoted to the paranormal. 1941.02.14 - The Guardian - Perth WA http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also WeCanReason Western Canadian Reason Conference May 5-6 2023 (With guest Richard Saunders live on stage) https://wecanreason.com 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #234 - 13.April.2013 A chat with Leisha Camden from the Norway Skeptics. What is her view of the state of science, reason and education in Norway? - An Irish Adventure. A stroll in the park with Fionnuala Murphy from the Irish Skeptics and then a visit to a real Irish pub... complete with singing! - QED in Manchester. First day of QED. Richard Saunders and Dr Rachie feed a goose? - A Week in Science with Dr Paul Willis - The Think Tank - USA. Join Travis Roy, Steve Lunquist, Andrew Handsford and Dale Roy as they chat about the recent NEXUS conference, TAM USA, conspiracy theories and.... popcorn? https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-234-13-april-2013

The Skeptic Zone #757 - 9.April.2023 Apr 08, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:16 New Zealand Skeptics' $100,000 Challenge We talk to Craig Shearer, the chair of the New Zealand Skeptics, about the organisation's $100,000 challenge. Can psychics and their ilk in New Zealand live up to their claims? If so, they can collect the large cash reward. http://skeptics.nz 0:19:54 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill in tne Skeptic Zone studio. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:28:02 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to "Fisher's Ghost". 1925.02.20 - The Herald - Melbourne Vic 1925.09.24 - The Evening News - Rockhampton Qld 1927.03.09 - The Kiama Reporter and Illawarra Journal 1948.09.27 - Tweed Daily 1897.01.30 - Australian Town and Country Journal http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #233 - 6.April.2013 A chat with Marit Simonsen and Kristin Carlsson in Oslo. Walking in the snow or visiting skeptics in the pub, Oslo has something for everyone! - An update with Ian Bryce on the operation to restore sight to a blind dog... thank you science! - A Week in Science with Dr Paul Willis - Maynard's Spooky Action. He's back in Sydney Skeptics in the Pub to ask the BIG question. Should you tell kids about the Easter Bunny? - "Tesseracts" by Neal A. Yeager https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-233-6-april-2013

The Skeptic Zone #756 - 2.April.2023 Apr 02, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:06 An Interview with Kenny Biddle Kenny Biddle is a science enthusiast who investigates claims of paranormal experiences, equipment, photos, and video. He promotes science, critical thinking, and skepticism through his blog I Am Kenny Biddle. He frequently hosts workshops on how to deconstruct and explain paranormal photography. Richard Saunders on Kenny Biddle's show https://www.youtube.com/live/4HiK8LiX0fQ 0:18:17 The Skeptic Magazine We review, take a peek inside, examine, and generally look at the latest issue of the Skeptic Magazine, the Journal from Australian Skeptics. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:26:24 Ian Bryce and Paranormal Investigations from 1988 In a rare recording from decades ago, we discovered Australian Skeptics were investigating Wayback in 1988. 0:41:00 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Ghosts. 1980.04.01 - The Bulletin 1904.12.02 - The Blue Mountains Gazette http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #232 - 30.March.2013 A Week in Science with Dr Paul Willis - The Think Tank - Join Dr Rachie and Richard Saunders and an A380?? https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-232-30-march-2013

The Skeptic Zone #755 - 26.March.2023 Mar 25, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders and Adrienne Hill 0:02:32 Maynard's Spooky Action It's back to Sydney Skeptics in the Pub where Maynard interviews Adrienne Hill. Maynard also asks pubbers the big question, "Are the old fashioned skeptical topics still relevant to today's skeptical movment?" https://www.meetup.com/Austskeptics 0:28:50 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:41:02 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to the paranormal. 1946.10.12 - The World's News 1950.10.09 - Worker 1947.09.18 - The Age http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #231 - 23.March.2013 Dr Steve Novella from the SGU Podcast Richard Saunders chats to Dr Novella about his podcast and other skeptical adventures - A Week in Science with Dr Paul Willis - inFact with Brian Dunning - Guest Editorial with Ben Radford. Astral Projection: Just a Mind Trip. https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-231-23-march-2013

The Skeptic Zone #754 - 19.March.2023 Mar 18, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:06 You Can Count on Adrienne. With Adrienne Hill WikiProject Folklore With the help Richard Saunders, Adrienne takes a look at the top ten list of topics at "WikiProject Folklore", which states, "Founded in 2018, the WikiProject's goal is simple: to improve Wikipedia's coverage of folklore-related topics by identifying and employing sources from folklore studies. Members build relevant articles that meet Wikipedia's reliable source criteria, develop categories and templates, and work to improve pre-existing problem articles that fall within the scope of the project. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Folklore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Folklore/Popular_pages WikiProject Report, Special:FAQs https://Wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-04-01/WikiProject_report 0:26:18 The Teachings of Carlos A look at some of the pages from the book "The Teachings of Carlos" from the great Carlos Hoax by James Randi in 1988. This book of nonsense was written by Randi and used as part of the press kit for the channeler Jose Alvarez (in reality Randi's companion Deyvi Pena) as part of the "60 Minutes" Australia hoax. The Teachings of Carlos - "60 Minutes" Australia TV Report from 1988 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN54PDwNa6s 0:41:52 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to "Therapeutic Touch". http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #230 - 16.March.2013 The Mighty Mitta Muster Water Divining Test 2013. Join Richard Saunders and a host of skeptics and diviners on the old Mitta Mitta tennis court for a major test of water divining - Diviners' Intervention. Written and performed by Jim Wilshire - A Week in Science with Dr Paul Willis - Academia Film Olomouc. More infromation about the festival in the Czech Republic. https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-230-16-march-2013

The Skeptic Zone #753 - 12.March.2023 Mar 11, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:00 Nostradamus in Print A chance find of a newspaper clipping in a Berkeley book store leads to Richard Saunders ordering a long forgotten publication from 1983, "The Untold Story - Nostradamus' Unpublished Prophecies". 0:27:26 Nostradamus on TV A trip back to 1979 and 1989 to look at the documentaries produced by the Seven Network in Australia, "The Prophecies of Nostradamus". A case study in how myths and assertions can be presented as fact. https://archive.org/details/the-prophecies-of-nostradamus-1979 0:42:10 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:54:00 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Nostradamus. 1949.04.22 - Balonne Beacon - QLD 1973.01.04 - The Canberra Times 1941.07.24 - The Advocate - Melbourne 1979.11.14 - The Canberra Times 1938.09.28 - The Kadina and Wallaroo Times http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #229 - 10.March.2013 Maynard's Spooky Action.. Look out for Pirates! Maynard talks to Simon Frew from Pirate Party Australia - A Week in Science with Dr Paul Willis - Academia Film Olomouc. A quick chat about the festival in the Czech Republic. - Dr Rachie Reports A report from Radio 2SER about vaccination featuring Dr Racie - Sydney Skeptics in the Pub. We chat to pubbers and ask the big questions... Do you think human society on the whole will ever turn to science and reason and if so, how long will it take? https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/webpage/the-skeptic-zone-229-9-march-2013

The Skeptic Zone #752 - 5.March.2023 Mar 04, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:48 Planets In View Richard Saunders travels to the Chabot Space & Science Center to meet up with Leonard Tramiel. Together they gaze, in broad daylight, at the planets Venus and Jupiter. https://chabotspace.org 0:13:12 You Can Count on Adrienne. With Adrienne Hill An interview with Jonathan Jarry Jonathan is a science communicator for McGill University's Office for Science and Society, or the OSS, and the co-host of the award-winning Body of Evidence podcast. He is frequently quoted in local, national and international media on issues of science and pseudoscience and is a regular on CTV Montreal News. His subversive video about a fake cancer cure went viral and reminded over 14 million people to be skeptical. Johnathan has been interviewed on the Skeptic Zone before on episode #569 in 2019 about the dangers of ear candling. This is an edited version of the interview. To hear the interview in full, use this YouTube link. https://youtube.com/watch?v=byDSjyTSkWk https://www.mcgill.ca/oss https://www.jonathanjarry.com http://twitter.com/crackedscience 0:29:24 Mythical Horses and Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses A wonderful side excursion to Fairyland, an adventure playground for children, in Oakland California. Dr Eugenie Scott looks at some of the mythical creatures and nursery rhymes. https://fairyland.org 0:38:12 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to superstitions. http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #228 - 3.Mar.2013 We talk to Sharon Hill about her web site 'Doubtful News' - Dr Rachie Reports. The lastest goings on with those wacky folks at the Australian Anti-Vaccination Network - Project DropFox. An interview with Trent Brusky from DropFox, a web site giving back to the skeptical community - A Week in Science with Dr Paul Willis - Maynard's Spooky Action.. Maynard jumps into his time machine to continue interview from the Australian Skeptics Convention, 2012 https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-228-3-march-2013

The Skeptic Zone #751 - 26.February.2023 Feb 25, 2023

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Susan Gerbic 0:01:38 You Can Count on Adrienne. With Adrienne Hill WikiProject Alternative Medicine With the help Richard Saunders, Adrienne takes a look at the top ten list of topics at "WikiProject Alternative Medicine", which states, "This WikiProject aims primarily to facilitate the development of professional articles on all aspects of complementary, alternative and integrative medicine. The scope of this WikiProject will be referred to throughout our project pages simply as CAM (complementary and alternative medicine)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Alternative_medicine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Alternative_medicine/Popular_pages WikiProject Report, Special:FAQs https://Wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-04-01/WikiProject_report 0:25:04 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:35:30 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to "Fake Cures". http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also 10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #227 - 23.Feb.2013 Water Divining Preview We talk to Laurie Smith about the upcoming water divining tests in Mitta Mitta - Maynard's Spooky Action.. An interview with Simon Taylor, an Australian comedian and Hollywood writer. ... He writes for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and much more - The Think Tank. Join Jo Benhamu, Eran Segev, Guy Segev and Richard Saunders for skeptical talk of skeptical issues https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-227-23-feb-2013

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected