The Skeptic Zone

Latest Episodes:

The Skeptic Zone #860 - 30.March.2025 Mar 30, 2025

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:40:10 The Loons from Canada Join Kate and Allie as they investigate paranormal activity at Concordia University with Rodney Schmaltz's fourth-year psychology students from McEwan University. They explore potential ghostly presences using dowsing rods, EVPs, ghost photography, and infrasound detection. Listen to eerie recordings and a few giggles as they explore the spooky, old building in the dark. 0:24:04 UFO No Show You might be surprised to hear that a couple of weeks ago our planet was supposed to have been invited by giant alien motherships. Is it possible that the psychics, mystics and channels who foresaw this momentous event were wrong? If so, why? 0:33:56 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:47:48 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to the Abominable Snowman. 1953.03.03 - The Mercury - Tasmania 1959.09.07 - The Canberra Times 1953.12.09 - Brisbane Telegraph 1952.07.12 - The Daily New Queensland 1954.02.13 - The Daily Advertiser NSW 1988.10.17 - Th Canberra Times 1964.02.23 - The Sun Herald http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also Skeptics Cafe Meet the one and only Adrienne Hill, a.k.a. Psychic Penny! Function Room at The Stolberg Hotel, 197 Plenty Road Preston, Melbourne 31st March - Dinner from 6pm - Talk at 7:30pm https://www.facebook.com/events/1370082674018460? Sydney Skeptics in the Pub Meet the one and only Karen Bijkersma CATFISH, PHISHING AND OTHER ONLINE PREDATORS Thursday, April 3, 2025 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM The Occidental Hotel 43 York Street - Sydney https://www.meetup.com/austskeptics

The Skeptic Zone #859 - 23.March.2025 Mar 23, 2025

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:08:48 You Can Count on Adrienne. With Adrienne Hill Adrienne chats with Johnathan Jarry from the McGill Office of Science and Society regarding his recent expose about Joe Mercola. Johnathan describes the controversial and jaw-dropping findings discovered after a whistle-blower sent him videos depicting strange conversations between Mercola and a psychic medium. Find out Mercola's thoughts on veterinarians, unconventional carbon dioxide treatments and how he is using Chat GPT. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRps3VQ-0BE&t=281s https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/exclusive-videos-show-dr-joe-mercolas-dangerous-ideas-whipped-alleged-medium 0:24:40 The Naked Skeptic An opinion piece by Richard Saunders. Abusing science is sadly prevalent in our society. Originally published in Australasian Science, Oct. 2002. 0:32:44 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Graphology. Included in this report are audio clips from "James Randi: Psychic Investigator" (1991) and various TikTok videos. Joining Richard Saunders are Kat McLeod and Adrienne Hill. 1989.06.08 - The Sydney Morning Herald 1969.10.07 - The Age 2005.04.29 - The Australian Jewish News http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also The adventures of Psychic Penny and the Galactic Federation - series #1 https://youtu.be/9bszCu-_SAU Annelise Baer - Your friendly neighborhood archaeologist & Emmy-nominated researcher - Pyramid Pseudoscience https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSrJQt3aT Skeptics Cafe Meet the one and only Adrienne Hill, a.k.a. Psychic Penny! Function Room at The Stolberg Hotel, 197 Plenty Road Preston, Melbourne 31st March - Dinner from 6pm - Talk at 7:30pm https://www.facebook.com/events/1370082674018460?

The Skeptic Zone #858 - 16.March.2025 Mar 15, 2025

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:06:54 The Loon From Canada Kate and Allie return to the topic of the Mandela Effect and explore the rabbit hole of the International Mandela Effect Conference, featuring speakers who delve into consciousness, quantum silliness, and miraculous phenomena; the conference is more paranormal pondering than scientific symposium. They even are able to manifest special guest Coleman Watts from the Think This Through Channel on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@ThinkThisThroughChannel Mandella effect video: https://youtu.be/lEi_-nDoQXs 0:21:28 Deep Seek - The Play - Penny's Adventures #7 We asked Deep Seek AI to write part #7 of the misadventures of psychic Penny and the Galactic Federation. Joining Richard Saunders in this segment, playing the parts of a psychic and aliens, are Kat McLeod, Adrienne Hill, Lara Benham and Maynard. 0:30:18 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:41:44 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to James Randi. 1980.07.26 - The Age - Melbourne 1993.06.26 - The Age - Melbourne 1993.07.08 - The Age - Melbourne http://www.trove.nla.gov.au

The Skeptic Zone #857 - 9.March.2025 Mar 09, 2025

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:05:40 For Crying Out Loud! It's Kat McLeod This week Kat interviews Annie McCubbin from Australia. Annie is an actor, author and corporate trainer, committed to elevating the quality of critical thinking in business and life. She focuses on helping women avoid being conned by new-age nonsense and self-help platitudes. She is the author of Why Smart Women Make Bad Decisions (published in 2020) and Why Smart Women Buy the Lies (published in 2023). https://linktr.ee/anniemccubbin 0:28:26 Deep Seek - The Play - Penny's Adventures #6 We asked Deep Seek AI to write part #6 of the misadventures of psychic Penny and the Galactic Federation. Joining Richard Saunders in this segment, playing the parts of a psychic and aliens, are Kat McLeod, Adrienne Hill, Lara Benham, Maynard and Kathy Rightmire. 0:36:50 What can AI tell us about Cold Reading? Will AI ever replace psychics? We think it's quite possible. In this week's episode we interview an AI engine to get its opinions on the matter and get a cold reading along the way. https://www.sesame.com 0:43:56 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Australian Skeptics. 1987.04.24 - The Sydney Morning Herald 1997.08.12 - The Age 1989.06.03 - The Age http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also Surf Coast Skepticamp http://www.tinyurl.com/scsc2025 Joe Nickell with Maynard 2015 http://www.tinyurl.com/scsc2025

The Skeptic Zone #856 - 2.March.2025 Mar 02, 2025

Show notes

Show Notes 0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:04:20 Revisiting the Beaumont Children Mystery In January 1966 three young children went missing from an Adelaide beach. This, one of the great unsolved cold cases of Australian criminal history, was not helped by the distraction of so-called psychics. News reel from 1966 with Gerard Croiset https://youtu.be/6phR-jFnx3g?t=666 TV news report from 1990 about June Cox a so-called psychic who was no help in the case https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/99408-clairvoyant-joins-beaumont-children-search 0:20:34 Meta AI - The Play - Penny's Adventures #5 We asked Meta AI to write part #5 of the misadventures of psychic Penny and the Galactic Federation. Joining Richard Saunders in this segment, playing the parts of a psychic and aliens, are Kat McLeod, Adrienne Hill, Lara Benham, Maynard and Kathy Rightmire. 0:27:30 In Search Of - Water Seekers - 1980 Review A review from an Australian newspaper in 1980 of the 1978 episode from the "In Search Of" series that looks into the phenomenon of water divining or water dousing. https://youtu.be/SMCo1tvsauE 0:33:40 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. http://www.skeptics.com.au Also Surf Coast Skepticamp http://www.tinyurl.com/scsc2025

The Skeptic Zone #855 - 23.February.2025 Feb 23, 2025

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:05:32 Wikipedia and Belle Gibson Susan Gerbic from Guerrilla Skeptics on Wikipedia takes us through some of the recent activity and interest shown in convicted scammer Belle Gibson in relation to her Wikipedia page. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gibson 0:20:42 In Search Of - Water Seekers A review of the 1978 episode from the "In Search Of" series that looks into the phenomenon of water divining or water dousing. We discover pseudoscience and logical fallacies galore. An excellent lesson in critical thinking. https://youtu.be/SMCo1tvsauE 0:38:14 Gimini - The Play - Penny's Adventures #4 We asked Gemini AI to write part #4 of the misadventures of Psychic Penny and the Galactic Federation. Joining Richard Saunders in this segment, playing the parts of a psychic and aliens, are Kat McLeod, Adrienne Hill, Lara Benham and Maynard. 0:44:54 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Australian Skeptics. 1987.04.17 - The Canberra Times 1994.09.22 - The Canberra Times http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also Surf Coast Skepticamp http://www.tinyurl.com/scsc2025 Jabba's Curious World - 2011 Paranormal in Australia https://youtu.be/jYWAmtNJIj0

The Skeptic Zone #854 - 16.February.2025 Feb 15, 2025

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:04:22 What If? What if "Psychics" really were psychic? What if "Diviners" really could find water? What if people could really predict the future? What would the world be like if these strange claims are actually true? Richard Saunders poses a few thought experiments. 0:13:10 Chat GPT - The Play - Penny's Adventures #3 We asked Chat GPT to write part #3 of the misadventures of psychic Penny and the Galactic Federation. Joining Richard Saunders in this segment, playing the parts of a psychic and aliens, are Kat McLeod, Adrienne Hill, Lara Benham and Maynard. 0:19:20 VR Skeptics Lara Benham, Adrienne Hill, Ross Blocher and Richard Saunders enjoy a little virtual reality golf and chat about the upcoming Skeptoid Cruise to the Bermuda Triangle. 0:24:30 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:35:52 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Paranormal Politics. 1995.03.22 - The Canberra Times 1940.05.15 - The Manning Times 1993.12.27 - The Canberra Times http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also Kat McLeod on Why Smart Women https://www.buzzsprout.com/2385970/episodes/16592626-what-happened-to-kat Richard Saunders' talk. Psychic Detectives : False Trails. https://youtu.be/pfAntkVFxcs

The Skeptic Zone #853 - 9.February.2025 Feb 08, 2025

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:34 For Crying Out Loud! It's Kat McLeod Here at the Skeptic Zone we adore our listeners, and with Valentine's Day approaching, we thought we would do a segment dedicated to you, the listener. Are you feeling the love? Roses can be red, violets aren't blue. On this week's show, Kat will be looking at Valentine's Day origins, myths, and alternatives for you. 0:14:16 Copilot - The Play - Penny's Adventures #2 We asked Copilot to write part #2 of the misadventures of psychic Penny and the Galactic Federation. Joining Richard Saunders in this segment, playing the parts of a psychic and aliens, are Kat McLeod, Adrienne Hill, Lara Benham and Maynard. 00:21:36 Maynard's Spooky Action What do people at Sydney Skeptics in tne Pub, including Tim Mendham, think about intuition and 'gut feelings'? Find out as Maynard asks the tough questions. 0:35:52 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Strange Monsters. 1946.03.30 - The West Australian 1938.03.17 - The Western Mail http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also Surf Coast Skepicamp http://www.tinyurl.com/scsc2025

The Skeptic Zone #852 - 2.February.2025 Feb 02, 2025

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:03:44 Looking to the Stars This week we once again check into those folks on the Internet who claim they are in regular contact with aliens from all over the cosmos. Are we about to receive a visitation? Also an update on Ross Coulthart and his amazing claims about the drone invasion of 2024. 0:17:58 DeepSeek - The Play Yet another new AI model is available. We test DeepSeek! Can it write a play in under 10 seconds? Joining me in this segment, playing the parts of a psychic and aliens, are Kat McLeod, Adrienne Hill and Lara Benham. 0:25:30 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:36:36 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Mesmerism. 1850.09.25 - Hobarton Guardian, or, True Friend of Tasmania 1927.08.07 - The Sunday Times - Sydney 1888.06.30 - The Daily Telegraph - Sydney http://www.trove.nla.gov.au

The Skeptic Zone #851 - 26.January.2025 Jan 25, 2025

Show notes

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:05:06 Looking to the Stars This week we gaze towards the heavens to observe the planetary alignment. Also keeping an eye out for any UAPs or UFOs controlled by telepathy, and discovering the fate of the television news astrology segment. Hunting UFOs - Video https://youtu.be/3dtA9w5ldHw 0:14:44 You Can Count on Adrienne. With Adrienne Hill. Modern Mystery School summary - Part 2: Adrienne continues her conversation with Faith Newsome and Ramiro Rodriguez about the mystique of the Modern Mystery School. Can things become more unbelievable than what was discussed in part 1? Be sure to listen to find out. 0:34:40 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to Reincarnation. 1893.01.07 - The Wagga Wagga Express 1954.03.13 - The Guardian - Perth 1938.02.19 - The Advertiser - Adelaide http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also Surf Coast Skepicamp http://www.tinyurl.com/scsc2025 Planet Maynard http://www.maynard.com.au

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