Token Skeptic Podcast
By Kylie Sturgess
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Podcast Description
Why do we believe weird things? What does feminine intuition really mean? How do you become an effective activist for science and reason? Are you ready for a fortnightly show that poses these questions and more? Tune into the Token Skeptic for a slightly more skeptical look at stories in the news, urban legends, good science, pseudoscience, and what makes popular culture pop.
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CleanToken Skeptic #121 - Women, Media And Science - Interview With Ben Radford | Are women easily fooled by ideal images promoted by the media? Does reporting on science findings contribute to girls feeling social pressure to conform to beauty and gender-stereotyped expectations? Should we trust media reportage of scientific papers, particularly those that concern women? After reading Ben Radford's articles on the Discovery website about a teenager protesting airbrushing in fashion magazines, gendered marketing in advertising and common (but mistaken) beliefs about the number of teen births, I found I had some questions on whether media and science work well together to inform the public - and just how skeptical we should be. Benjamin Radford is the deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine and a Research Fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He's the author of hundreds of articles on a wide variety of topics including urban legends, the paranormal, critical thinking, and media literacy. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 19 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #120 - On Token Skepticism – The Best Of (Yet Again) | The last ‘best of’ was Episode 60, featuring segments of the show that I’ve done since December 25th, 2009. Since another sixty episodes have passed, here is another look at the Token Skeptic podcast – some of the interviews I’ve enjoyed, been challenged by – and I hope you enjoy the listen too. This episode features segments of interviews with:On Tribal Science – With Michael McRaeOn Sexism, Skepticism And Civility Online – With Viv “TigTog” SmytheOn James Randi’s An Honest Liar – With Justin Weinstein And Tyler MeasomOn Great Books In Skepticism – With Warren BonettOn Miracle Detectives – With Dr Indre ViskontasOn Skeptical Science – With Stephan LewandowskyOn The Invisible Gorilla – With Daniel Simons And Christopher ChabrisOn Project Barnum – With Hayley StevensOn The Young Atheist’s Handbook – With Alom ShahaOn How Now You See Her – With Gia MilinovichOn Something Fierce – With Marian Call This is with much love and thanks to the supporters of podcast over the years. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org | 18 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #119 - On Evolution In Action With Brilliant Bioluminescence - Siouxsie Wiles | Imagine a kickstarter for science, helping to get cool and critical projects into action? That's what Crowdfunding for Science, the SciFund Challenge is all about - supporting science and involving the public with innovative new projects. With only nineteen days of donations left to go, Evolution in Action has a goal to investigate how diseases evolve, using bioluminescent bacteria in mouse poo to track its progress. It may sound quirky, but the science behind the story has world-wide ramifications when it comes to investigating antibiotic resistance and stopping new diseases emerging. Evolution in Action is just one of the many projects that Dr Siouxsie Wiles is involved with - sharing her twin passions of bioluminescence (think glow worms and fireflies!) and infectious diseases to engage the public and promote scientific progress. Dr Siouxsie Wiles studied medical microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, UK and did a Ph.D. in microbiology at CEH Oxford (formally the Institute of Virology and Environmental Microbiology) and Napier University, Edinburgh. She then spent her postdoctoral years at Imperial College London, developing bioluminescent derivatives of various infectious organisms. Dr Wiles' work on Citrobacter rodentium culminated in winning the inaugural 3Rs prize from the UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) in 2006. She works at Auckland University, where she heads the Bioluminescent Superbugs Group in the School of Medical Sciences and can be found writing about miscellaneous science and skeptical stories at Infectious Thoughts on Sciblogs, the biggest blog network of scientists in New Zealand and ranting about pseudoscience on the Completely Unnecessary Skeptical Podcast. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. The additional song used in this episode was "Spyder: The Lady Geek Spy Theme" by Milton Mermikides. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 13 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #118 - On The Self Illusion - Interview With Bruce Hood | Most of us believe that we are an independent, coherent self–an individual inside our head who thinks, watches, wonders, dreams, and makes plans for the future. This sense of our self may seem incredibly real but a wealth of recent scientific evidence reveals that it is not what it seems – it is all an illusion. In The Self Illusion, Professor Bruce M Hood reveals how the self emerges during childhood and how the architecture of the developing brain enables us to become social animals dependent on each other. Professor Bruce M Hood is the Director of the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre in the Experimental Psychology Department at the University of Bristol. He has been a research fellow at Cambridge University and University College London, a visiting scientist at MIT and a faculty professor at Harvard. He is the author of a number of books, including SuperSense, a popular science book on the origins of supernatural beliefs that has been published in twelve countries (as previously featured on the Token Skeptic #11 and a transcript at the CSICOP Curiouser and Curiouser site). Professor Hood continues to conduct research in diverse fields of human psychology specialising in the cognitive development of children. You can see his fantastic series of 2011 Christmas lectures at The Royal Institution site and follow his blog - he'll be appearing at the Las Vegas Amazing Meeting later this year! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 9 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #117 - On Hoaxilla - The Skeptical Podcast From Germany | Hoaxilla - a green monster from the credulous deeps? Is it a German Skepticality, with a German-speaking Derek and Swoopy? Or a podcast about to celebrate its second birthday at the World Skeptics Congress? Alexa and Alexander of Hoaxilla deal with modern and urban legends, media, culture and science from the skeptical perspective, without taking themselves too seriously. Past episodes include investigations into Titanic, Bigfoot, The Philadelphia Experiment, Mothman, chemtrails, vampires, subliminal messages and much more. Hoaxilla appears every Sunday at their official site at http://www.hoaxilla.com. They'll be at the World Skeptics Conference in Berlin, this month! In addition (if you use Google Translate on their site) you'll find the coolest advertisement for a party yet: During the Sixth World Skeptics Conference in Berlin in the period from 17 to 20 May 2012 is celebrating its 2nd HOAXILLA Birthday ! So let's at 19th May from 20:00 clock to meet with you in Berlin and celebrate! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Songs used with kind permission in this episode: “Walking In Snow With Russians” by Ice Core Scientist. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 3 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #116 - On The Hidden Ingredients Of Chinese Medicine | From Nature News, 12th April: Chinese herbal medicines contain ingredients derived from endangered animals, toxic plants and livestock, a genetic audit has discovered. Few of these ingredients were listed on the packaging. “There’s absolutely no honesty in the labelling of these products. What they declare is completely at odds with what’s in there,” says Dr Mike Bunce, a geneticist at Murdoch University near Perth, Australia, who led the study. For this episode, I talk to Dr Bunce of the Ancient DNA Research Laboratory about the study, what is involved with genetic auditing and what it might mean for the health and welfare of not only humans, but endangered animals. His work revolve around using ancient DNA to study evolutionary processes and using ancient DNA profiles to investigate past biodiversity. The research his lab are focused around using ancient DNA as a tool to profile past biodiversity and extinction events. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 3 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #115 - On Myths And Makeup - Pseudoscience And Cosmetics | This episode begins with being skeptical about lipstick... and takes you around the world, interviewing the scientists and consumer rights activists who know the advertising claims made by cosmetics and the resulting myths about makeup! In the USA - Perry Romanowski is a member of the Beauty Brains Podcast and the Chemists Corner Website, where he reviews cosmetic products and solves consumer problems. He most recently worked in the hair care innovation group at Alberto Culver, and has written and edited numerous articles and books, taught continuing education classes for industry scientists, and developed successful websites. His latest book is Beginning Cosmetic Chemistry - 3rd Edition published by Allured. In UK - The Skeptical Beauty Blog is written by an anonymous beauty product addict in the UK, a scientist who loves data and has experience of working for the biggest cosmetics products producer in the world and knows all the insider secrets. That's why we can't show you her face on a podcast (or even tell you her name)! In Australia - Christopher Zinn joined CHOICE in 2007 as media spokesman, after an international career in journalism. In 2010 he became director of campaigns and communications. His achievements at CHOICE include the Shonkys, which showcase the worst and the CHOICE awards, which showcase the best. References for my investigations into lead levels in lipstick: http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/ProductInformation/ucm137224.htm#expanalyses andhttp://healthland.time.com/2012/02/15/whats-in-your-lipstick-fda-finds-lead-in-400-shades. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Songs used with kind permission in this episode: "Pale Blue Dot" and "Walking In Snow With Russians" by Ice Core Scientist. Theme songs are "P&P" by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and "Leap Second" by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 24 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #114 - On Faitheism - Chris Stedman | Chris Stedman is the Interfaith and Community Service Fellow for the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University and the Managing Director of State of Formation, a new initiative at the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue. Chris received an MA in Religion from Meadville Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago, for which he was awarded the Billings Prize for Most Outstanding Scholastic Achievement. A graduate of Augsburg College with a summa c*m laude B.A. in Religion, Chris is the founder and author of the blog NonProphet Status. His recently released book is called Faitheist: How An Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious and he speaks on it regularly both by invitation and as a member of the Secular Student Alliance Speakers Bureau. He will be touring Australia in April, including appearing at the Road Less Traveled fringe event of the Global Atheist Convention, with PZ Myers, Leslie Cannold and Meridith Doig. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Songs used in this episode: "Laundry" by makardos. Theme songs are "P&P" by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and "Leap Second" by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 30 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #113 - On Critical Thinking, Alt Med And Science Communication - Michael McRae And Craig Cormick | A bonus for this episode! The start of the show is from Doubtful News, a ten-minute broadcast of some of the hit weird and wonderful stories that are in the media this month. Many thanks to Sharon Hill and check out the official site at http://doubtfulnews.com. Best of all, you'll be able to see Sharon and many others in person at the forthcoming Amazing Meeting 2012 from July 12-15th! Today's episode features content from last month's Australian Science Communicators' National Conference held from 27-29th February in Sydney - a lecture by Michael McRae and an interview with Craig Cormick. Michael McRae is the author of Tribal Science: Brains, Beliefs and Bad Ideas, which has been released in Australia by the University of Queensland Press; the forthcoming U.S. edition is from Prometheus Books. He has worked in science, education, as an artist and is currently employed as a writer-editor at Australia's CSIRO. He is also the writer behind the critical thinking videos for TechNyou, which can be found in six parts on YouTube and are part of a series on The Logic of Critical Thinking. His presentation at the conference that features in this episode is called "A Vital Divide: The Future Of Alternative Medicine in a Scientific Society". Dr Craig Cormick is a former science journalist and editor, and is widely published on research into the causes of public concerns into new technologies. He has travelled to all seven continents as a science communicator, including presenting at APEC and OECD workshops. Dr Cormick has published several books and authored the reports What You Really Need To Know About What The Public Really Thinks About GM Foods (2005) and Cloning Goes To The Movies (2006). He also recently conducted an interview on Risk Science Unplugged: Why do smart people believe dumb things with Dr Di Bowman about the social values that govern much public perception of risk, and how they affect the decisions people make. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are "P&P" by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and "Leap Second" by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 20 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #112 - On Atheism, Secularism And Rationality – Interview With Tanya Smith | Tanya Smith joined the board of (the former) Atheist Alliance International in 2010 and was part of the transition team that established the new Atheist Alliance International and Atheist Alliance of America during 2011. Tanya was elected President of Atheist Alliance International in June 2011. She was one of the principal co-ordinators of the 2010 Global Atheist Convention The Rise of Atheism in Melbourne and has been a member of the Atheist Foundation of Australia’s Public Relations team since 2009. She'll be presenting at the Global Atheist Convention in 2012 - a limited number of tickets are still available for the event, running from the 13-15th April in Melbourne. By profession Tanya is an investment banker specialising in mergers and acquisitions, and she has worked at a number of global investment banks in Australia and Europe. The official site of the Atheist Alliance International can be found at: http://www.atheistalliance.org.The Global Atheist Convention site is found at: http://www.atheistconvention.org.au. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 16 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #111 - On Now You See Her - Gia Milinovich And Sonya Pemberton | On the advent of International Women's Day, a double-interview show with two very interesting professionals who work on the big (film, documentary) and small (television, online) screens - for science and technology! Gia Milinovich is an American film blogger and producer; her career in television has involved working on mostly science and technology shows. She produces websites, writes and lives in London. She has presented TV programmes such as Channel 4's Demolition Day (2003–06), as well as Sky Sports, Nickelodeon and BBC Radio 5 Live shows dating back to 1995 She produced the 'behind the scenes' website for the film Sunshine, the film 28 Weeks Later and was part of the technical support team for the BBC programme Electric Dreams in 2009. Sonya Pemberton is an Australian documentary writer, director and executive producer. She has written and directed in television, specialising in science documentary for the international market. She has been three times honoured with the prestigious Eureka Prize for Science Journalism and was responsible for the Science, Natural History, Indigenous, Religion & Ethics, and Education departments, commissioning over 300 hours of factual programs. The documentary Immortal won Best Science and Nature at Jackson Hole, 2011. In 2011, Sonya joined forces with Cordell Jigsaw Productions to form a joint venture company, Genepool Productions. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 8 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #110 - On Lost Things And Arrivals - Shaun Tan Lecture | Announcement! Skeptical Blog Anthology Book Launch! Saturday 3rd March 5.00pm A fabulous night with Kylie Sturgess and the Young Australian Skeptics! See you at Embiggen Books 197-203 Lt Lonsdale St, Melbourne - behind the State Library. ***** This is a short episode of a presentation that the artist and author Shaun Tan gave in Perth, not long after he won an Academy Award for best animated short film with The Lost Thing. Shaun Tan is a Western Australian author and illustrator of award-winning children's books such as The Red Tree, The Rabbits and The Arrival. In 2006, his graphic novel The Arrival won the "Book of the Year" prize as part of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards and he won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2011. In this lecture, he talks about audience, the impact of winning the Oscar and takes questions from the audience. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 27 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #109 - On Freethinking Students - Interview With Rhys Morgan And Lyz Liddell | In Australia, it's the start of the University year. But is it so simple to find or start a club for your atheist / secularist / skeptical / freethinking undergraduate self ? I've taken the challenge to find out what happens if you are a student who says "Perhaps there is no God..." In 2010, Rhys Morgan made headlines across the UK for discovering a disturbing and hazardous “cure all” called Miracle Medical Solution, lent his name to a libel reform claim and investigated the claims of the Burzynski clinic. On Rhys’ blog, he wrote: “If you’re involved in the skeptical and/or atheist community, it’ll have been pretty hard to miss the University College London Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society storm in which they were asked by their union to remove this image from a promotional Facebook page for their weekly pub meet because someone had found it offensive and complained.” Since that time, Rhys has also become an advocate for speaking out about supporting student groups. Lyz Liddell is the Director of Campus Organizing for the Secular Student Alliance, coordinating the campus organizing team to deliver the SSA’s services and resources to affiliate groups and individual students. She leads development of new resources and helps build relationships with other organizations to promote acceptance of secular students. She volunteers with her local off-campus organization, the Humanist Community of Central Ohio, and is a member of the Challenge the Gap advisory board for Foundation Beyond Belief. Many thanks also to Madge and Ash of the UWA Atheists and Skeptics Society and Felix Bloomfield of The ANU League of Extraordinary Atheists. ***** The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Feedback to tokenskeptic at gmail.com Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.bandcamp.com. | 22 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #108 - On James Randi's An Honest Liar - Interview With Justin Weinstein And Tyler Measom | A first for the Token Skeptic podcast: an interview with Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom, who are the directors/producers of the forthcoming documentary on James Randi, called An Honest Liar. An Honest Liar profiles the life of famed magician turned professional skeptic James "The Amazing" Randi as he embarks on a series of public crusades to expose America's beloved psychics, mentalists, preachers, and faith healers with religious fervor. Along the way, the film will show how easily our perceptions can be fooled - by magicians, con artists, and even documentaries. Justin Weinstein has been making documentaries for broadcast, theatrical release, or commercial clients for over 10 years. Most recently, he wrote and edited Being Elmo; A Puppeteers Journey, which premiered at Sundance in 2011 (Special Jury Prize). Prior to that, Weinstein produced science and environmental documentaries, including Face Off at Coal River Mountain for Al Jazeera English, and the feature documentary about the global coal problem Dirty Business, produced in collaboration with Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. Earlier, Weinstein produced numerous projects for ABC News, Peter Jennings Reporting, and PBS, including Hot Politics for Frontline and the ABC News special, Last Days on Earth. Tyler Measom is the co-director/producer of the documentary film Sons of Perdition, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, screened at over 45 festivals and was acquired by the Oprah Winfrey Network. Measom is also the producer of the feature film, TAKE, starring Minnie Driver and Jeremy Renner. He has written, produced and directed over one hundred commercials, short documentaries and industrials for a wide range of national and international clients. ***** The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Feedback to tokenskeptic at gmail.com Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.bandcamp.com. | 17 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #107 - On The Young Atheist's Handbook - Interview With Alom Shaha | Alom Shaha grew up in a strict Bangladeshi Muslim community in South-East London in the 1970s and 80s. He was expected to go to mosque regularly and recite passages in Arabic from the Quran, without being told what they meant. Alom spent his teenage years juggling two utterly different worlds: a chaotic, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic family life on a council estate, and that of a student at a privileged private school set amongst the idyllic green playing fields of Dulwich. In a charming blend of memoir, philosophy, and science, Alom explores the questions about faith and the afterlife that we all ponder. The official site for the Young Atheist's Handbook is at http://alomshaha.com/yah.html. Alom will be touring Australia at the end of February: Alom Shaha's "The Young Atheist's Handbook" tour will be heading to Perth (for the Perth Writers Festival), Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra (and possibly Sydney) - more details here. ***** The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Feedback to tokenskeptic at gmail.com Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.bandcamp.com. | 15 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 16 | CleanVideoHow To Make Mobius Strip Love Hearts - Token Skeptic | With many thanks to Daniel Keogh and Renae Sayers - this is with permission and with love to you. A great Valentine's Day gift idea for that special geek in your life. Detailed step-by-step instructions can be found here. Created by: Daniel Keogh - http://twitter.com/ProfessorFunkRenae Sayers - http://twitter.com/LycraGeekMusic very kindly created and provided by Dan O - http://www.danosongs.comMore on Mobius Strips:http://mathssquad.questacon.edu.au/mobius_strip.html (novice)http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MoebiusStrip.html (expert)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bcm-kPIuHE (more tricks to try)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iMI_uOM_fY (a musical mobius strip) The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 13 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #106 - On Friends Of Science In Medicine An Interview With Dr Rob Morrison | Here's a little something you might not know about me - I'm a student at a university that offers courses in alternative medicine. As a consequence, this leads me to be concerned that there's graduates from my school believing that their these courses are fully endorsed by the scientific community at large. But if you're a student studying for qualifications in homeopathy, reflexology, naturopathy and the like - I say you should be rethinking what your college is offering you. More recently there's been a number of scientists and supporters of science, who have been voicing their concerns too. As reported in the New York Times: Friends of Science in Medicine — a recently formed group that includes more than 400 prominent scientists, doctors, academics and consumer advocates from Australia and overseas — wrote to the vice chancellors of Australian universities last month. They outlined their concerns about what they called the “diminishing of the standards applied to the teaching of science in our universities” and “the increased teaching of pseudoscience.” Dr Rob Morrison is the National Vice-President of the Australian Science Communicators, a patron of National Science Week South Australia and a Freelance Science writer / Broadcaster and Professorial Fellow Flinders University. He's also one of the founding members of Friends of Science in Medicine. The Friends of Science In Medicine have a number of documents online for you to read as to their goals and here's a list of supporters. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.bandcamp.com. | 8 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #105 - On Teaching Skepticism With Science - Alison Campbell At The 2011 NZ Skeptics Convention | At a time when we really need our children to be gaining a good understanding of the nature of science, pseudoscience seems to be on the rise. Rather than ignore it, or lambast it in a general way, a better approach may well be to make use of the teaching opportunities that pseudoscience offers”. Alison Campbell is a blogger for the NZ Science Blogs and works at the University of Waikato in the science and engineering faculty. With many thanks to the New Zealand Skeptics, this talk featured at the 2011 Conference on the 27th August, held in the Rochester-Rutherford Hall in Christchurch (on the Canterbury University campus) and Gold, the Chair-Entity of the New Zealand Skeptics. Thanks also to the CUSP podcast, who have featured an interview with me on their show. The 2012 New Zealand Skeptics Convention will be held on Friday 31 August-Sunday 2 September at Otago University, Dunedin. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 4 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #104 - On The World Skeptics Congress In Berlin | I'm heading north to Europe - again! The Sixth World Skeptics Congress, May 18-20, 2012 in Berlin, Germany! Episode One Hundred and Four features an interview with the renown German skeptic Armadeo Sarma, who is the the founder and Chairman of the German Society for the Scientific Investigation of Para-Sciences (GWUP), Chairman of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) and Fellow and Executive Council member of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He has written, lectured and debated on dowsing, methods of investigation, the Shroud of Turin, homeopathy and the goals of skeptical organisations. The Sixth World Skeptics Congress will be an intellectually stimulating three-day event, dealing with claims ranging from the paranormal and supernatural, to fringe science issues and scams. Major topics at this event will be science and pseudoscience in education, addressing in particular anti-evolution claims and origin myths, and the problems of risk and benefit assessment, addressing alternative medicine. The official site is at http://www.worldskeptics.org - and check out their Facebook group at and Twitter at @gwup and the official Twitter hashtag is #6WSC12! The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 3 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #103 - On Science Videos With Veritasium | Veritasium - An element of truth - the science video blog from atoms to astrophysics. Veritasium is a science video blog which aims to present topics in all areas of science from the simplest to the most complex. The goal is to make scientific ideas clear, accessible, and interesting. This is an interview with Derek Muller, including the methodology behind Veritasium and why he thinks Khan Academy videos might not work as well as you might think. Included in this episode are sound-bites from the "Supersized-Slo-Mo Slinky Drop", the "What Is Chemistry?" and "Why Does The Earth Spin?" videos. Mentioned at the start of the show: The 2012 Australian Science Communicators National Conference - 27th-29th February. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 29 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #102 - On Skeptical Science With The Debunking Handbook And NCSE | Just when you thought skeptical podcasts weren't saying enough about climate change denialism this week! Stephan Lewandowsky is a Winthrop Professor and an Australian Professorial Fellow at the University of Western Australia. He is the co-author of the The Debunking Handbook: now freely available for download at the Skeptical Science website. The Debunking Handbook is a guide to debunking misinformation - although there is a great deal of psychological research on misinformation, there’s no summary of the literature that offers practical guidelines on the most effective ways of reducing the influence of myths. The Debunking Handbook boils the research down into a short, simple summary, intended as a guide for communicators in all areas (not just climate) who encounter misinformation. Josh Rosenau has been a Public Information Project Director at NCSE since 2007. He pursued a doctorate at the University of Kansas, studying the ways ecological competition shapes the ecological niche and geographical ranges of species. When creationists on the Kansas board of education sought to undermine evolution education in 2005, Josh worked with grassroots groups and the media to improve public understanding of the issues, and to defend honest and accurate science education. He blogs at Thoughts From Kansas at ScienceBlogs.com. Check out the NCSE's new climate change website section, and consider joining NCSE. | 27 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #101 - On SurfCoast SkeptiCamp | Starting off the year with an interview about the impending 40th SkeptiCamp in the world! I talk to Mick Vagg of the Great Ocean Road Skeptics. January 21st 2012 is the date for a summer Skepticamp in Victoria. It is being run by the Great Ocean Road Skeptics, and will be held at the Aireys Inlet Community Centre from 10:30am to 6pm on Saturday 21st. Registration is free, as per usual for Skepticamps, and also includes a BBQ lunch, free coffee all day and a paranormal winetasting to wrap up the day! Head to http://summerskepticamp.eventbrite.com for more details and to sign up. Also mentioned in the episode - forthcoming Skeptic events in Perth, Western Australia. Also, the Young Australian Skeptics Skeptical Blog Anthology is still available to purchase at Lulu.com. The Young Australian Skeptics Skeptical Blog Anthology on the Scientific American Website. The Young Australian Skeptics Skeptical Blog Anthology on the JREF Swift Blog. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 7 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #100 - On One Hundred Episodes | The one-hundredth episode. Contained within this show are segments from a talk I did for the New Zealand Skeptics, called "Token Skepticism - Adventures in Skeptical Podcasting", recorded at the New Zealand Skeptics Convention in August, 2011. It also contains clips from the second "half" of the last one-hundred episodes. Song segments used within this show are all by Marian Call: Good Morning Moon; Dear Mr Darcy; The Avocado Song; Ina Flew The Coop; The Underground (One Bird At A Time); Early Is As Early Does; Temporal Dominoes; Coffee by Numbers (Faon's Song). All of these are available on the album Something Fierce. Thank you to all of the listeners and I mean that: I'm one of the least-known and least-talked-about skeptical podcasters out there and you do make a difference. Future suggestions as to content always welcome, just drop me a line. Special thanks to Gold of the New Zealand Skeptics and all of the NZ Skeptics; everyone who has graciously granted their time to be interviewed or allowed audio to be used on the show. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 2 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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ExplicitToken Skeptic #99 - On Token Skeptic Live: Dr Steve Novella, Barbara Drescher And Derek Colanduno | Generally about gaming. Mostly very silly. Interrupted by a fire-alarm before I get to ask any more questions, because that’s just how I roll. Please note: at certain points the audience were tortured by being fed Australian food and I physically attack Derek for not turning his phone off. This episode is brought to you with tremendous admiration and genuine, sincere thanks to Derek Colanduno of Skepticality.com and Mark Ditzler at Abrupt Media. Recorded at Dragon*Con 2011. Dr Steve Novella apparently has a site and some kind of semblance of a podcast, but I guess you know that. Barbara Drescher is the bomb. Derek really should learn not to have an operating phone anywhere near me. Thank you all for being a part of the journey - and more thanks than ever to the Dragon*Con SkepTrack, which has to be the best ever experience in terms of a convention that I've ever had. Token Skeptic site is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 31 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #98 - On Shakespearian Conspiracies And The Film Anonymous | Welcome to one of the last episodes for 2011! "While some skeptics have been having conniptions about the film, others have wondered what the big deal is. After all, it’s just a movie. Of course, so was Oliver Stone’s JFK, but like Anonymous, it was also propaganda for a genuine conspiracy theory. Anonymous features several prominent Shakespeare denialists, like Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance, who will no doubt use the film’s release to promote their conspiracy theories, and since they sound more intelligent and less crazy than other conspiracists, like 9/11 truther Charlie Sheen, people will perhaps pay attention to them. After all, they’re Just Asking Questions..." - Skeptical Humanities, Shakespeare Denialism: The Roland Emmerich Study Guide Bob Blaskiewicz received his Ph.D in English from Saint Louis University. He is a Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow in the Writing and Communication Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, where he teaches writing and communication classes that take extraordinary claims as their subject. He is currently the Chair of the Steering Committee for the Atlanta chapter of the Independent Investigations Group (IIG-Atlanta), a research group and public resource for information about the paranormal and extraordinary. Eve Siebert has a Ph.D. in English literature from Saint Louis University. Her primary concentration is in Old and Middle English literature, with secondary concentrations in Old Norse and Shakespeare. You can find more of their work at the awesome site Skeptical Humanities! The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 30 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic Special Episode - Stop The AVN Fly-By At Woodford Folk Festival | An exclusive interview with four members of the Stop the Australian Vaccination Network (Stop the AVN on Facebook) on the day of the protest at the Woodford Folk Festival - Jason Brown, Dave The Happy Singer, Daniel Raffaele and Robin Hilliard. Operation Nutcracker Media Release. While unhappy that Ms Dorey will still be speaking at Woodford, the Stop the AVN Facebook group, a loose-knit consortium of concerned citizens, scientists, doctors and nurses, decided to use a little humour in order to have ‘the last word’. The group has hired an aircraft to fly over the Woodford Folk Festival site during the two hours surrounding Ms Dorey’s appearance. Between 1.45 and 3.45pm on Thursday, 29 December, the plane will tow a banner with the message: VACCINATION SAVES LIVES. Volunteers will be on the ground to hand out flyers after Ms Dorey’s appearance in the Blue Lotus tent at 2.15pm. The flyer addresses some of the myths about vaccination and counters them with facts. Mentioned during the show: Article in MamaMia on Woodford Folk Festival Protest The HCC ruling against the AVN - Wings Over Woodford Thanks to Skeptimite for the on-the-scene at Woodford photos. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 29 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #97 - Skeptical Activism 201 The Skeptics Strike Back | Once again, this special episode is brought to you with many thanks to the 2011 Dragon*Con Skeptrack –Derek Colanduno of Skepticality.com and Mark Ditzler at Abrupt Media. From challenging anti-vax groups and homeopathy, to consumer awareness raising. What can skeptics do and how to get it right, by doing some research. Tremendous gratitude, once again, to the moderator of this panel (and host of Skeptically Speaking) Desiree Schell. This episode features DJ Grothe of the JREF,Debbie Goddard, Maria Walters, Brian Brushwood and Kylie Sturgess. Episode ninety-seven is dedicated to all of the supporters of the Token Skeptic podcast - thanks for donating to the show! A review of the panel can be found at ICBS Everywhere, with many thanks to Barbara Drescher. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 27 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #96 - On Critical Thinking And Santa (Again) | Recently Matt Lowry wrote a blog-post on Using Mythology as a Critical Thinking Tool: The Lesson of Santa for Kids - just as Tim Minchin wrote a piece for the New Statesman about his own efforts to balance a pro-naturalistic worldview and living a life unencumbered by superstition, while raising kids and encouraging a love of fiction. Matt Lowry is best known as the Skeptical Teacher - a high school physics teacher, plus a part-time physics and astronomy college professor, contributor to the James Randi Educational Foundation Education Advisory Group and awesome presenter for kids’ shows at Dragon*Con. For this interview we talk about all of these things (and whether Santa might actually be a Time Lord with a sleigh made out of quantum-something-or-other). During the discussion, we also talk about Barbara Drescher's blog-post at the JREF Swift: An Argument for Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and (gasp!) Even Jesus. Here's another great link to the Physics of Santa! The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 25 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #95 - On Skeptical Women Online Julia Lavarnway, Susan Gerbic and Desiree Schell | As the number of people who choose to become involved with skeptical outreach and pro-science initiatives increases, so do the ways they choose to contribute - and these can greatly vary. Traditional print media, blogging, editing Wikipedia, producing national radio shows and popular podcasts all play a part - and for this episode of the Token Skeptic, these people all just happen to be women. If it’s true that role models and mentorship is a vital part of encouraging women to participate, then let’s look at some examples that exist out there on the internet. Julia Lavarnway is the managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer and the “News and Views” columnist for Free Inquiry‘s quarterly newsletter, Secular Humanist Bulletin. She started We Are SkeptiXX out of her frustration and dismay over the lack of support for and recognition of women in many organizations in the formal skeptics movement. Susan Gerbic is a professional portrait photographer living in Salinas, California, an attendee of a number of skeptical conferences world wide, who presented at TAM9 in 2011. She's an editor of Wikipedia, updating articles with a skeptical theme, and adds pictures from her vast collection of photos. Her website, which guides and mentors fellow skeptics into contributing to Wikipedia, can be found at Guerilla Skepticism on Wikipedia. Desiree Schell is the host of the live Canadian call-in radio talk show and podcast Skeptically Speaking. Desiree explores the connections between science and skepticism, and strategies for promoting critical thinking beyond the ranks of current skeptics. In her work as a labour organizer, Desiree creates curricula and teaches courses on effective activism. Skeptically Speaking records interviews live every Sunday night at 6 pm MST and is rebroadcast by several radio stations in Canada and the United States. The show is also available as an MP3 download on the website and iTunes. She has presented at a number of conferences, including Dragon*Con and Amazing Meetings. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 25 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #94 - Fleeced: The Rise And Fall of a Aries’ Belief In Astrology | In celebration of the release of the Young Australian Skeptics' Blog Anthology. You can get your own copy here! This is a talk that I gave on Thursday 12th May, 2011 at the University of Melbourne's Secular Society, and it is with many thanks to Richard Hughes and the Melbourne Secular Society that I can play this for you! Research has shown that around one in four people world-wide believe in Astrology. The average daily newspaper features horoscopes and nearly everyone knows their star-sign (and maybe even their Chinese star-sign!) Skepticism is not as prevalent as we might think, despite living in the age of the internet: why is Astrology so popular and why are women more likely to believe? The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 20 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #93 - On Science And Blogging With James Byrne | Welcome to episode ninety-three - On Science and Blogging! James Byrne is completing his PhD in Microbial Pathogenesis following a Bachelor of Science with Honours at the University of Adelaide. During his time at the University James was Associate Lecturer in undergraduate biology, and previously volunteered for RiAus events, before taking up a post as the Programs Co-ordinator. He writes popular science articles for various newspapers as well as COSMOS magazine, and Scientific American online. He is the first non-American to write on the Scientific American site - his blog at the Scientific American is called Disease Prone. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 20 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #92 - The Truth About Conspiracy Theories Dragon*Con 2011 | The Truth About Conspiracy Theories - moderated by Robert Blaskiewicz and featuring panelists Benjamin Radford, Tom Lolis, Kylie Sturgess. This episode is brought to you with tremendous thanks to Derek Colanduno of Skepticality.com and Mark Ditzler at Abrupt Media. Recorded at Dragon*Con 2011. "The stories spawned by conspiracy theorists are as numerous and varied as they are improbably. This panel will explore many of these stories and the people telling them." Robert Blaskiewicz is a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he teaches courses in writing and twentieth-century American literature. He specializes in WWII veterans’ writings, extraordinary/paranormal claims and conspiracy theory. He co-edits the blog Skeptical Humanities and he has authored a number of articles for the Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. Tom Lolis received his PhD at the University of Miami. His teaching and research focus on Renaissance literature, graphic novels, and the history and rhetoric of dissenting communities. Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of the science magazine Skeptical Inquirer, and a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine Skeptical Briefsnewsletter, Discovery News, LiveScience.com and MediaMythmakers.com. He also co-hosts, Skeptic magazine's audio podcast MonsterTalk, which critically examines the science behind cryptozoological (and legendary) creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and werewolves. ***** The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com.Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 7 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #91 - On Stanislaw Burszynski, Streisand Effects And Standing Up For Skeptical Bloggers - Andy Lewis of Quackomet | The UK Observer on Sunday 20th November 2011, published a moving article about a four-year old girl, Billie Banbridge, and an effort to raise money to seek treatment for her inoperable brain tumor. Despite the noble goal and heartwarming effort, featuring the contributions of a number of celebrities like the band Radiohead and Cheryl Cole, the treatment being sought was at Stanislaw Burszynski clinic in Texas. A number of bloggers, who have been keeping track of the claims of this clinic over several years, voiced their concern that patients like Billie and their families were risking time and money, as well as putting their health in danger. The first blogger to report a threat from an employee of clinic itself was Andy Lewis of Quackometer, who has been lending support to fellow bloggers and maintaining a vigilant approach to communicating the facts under significant pressure to be silenced. References made during the show: Josephine Jones’s blog Rhys Morgan’s website True to Andy Lewis’ words, on Tuesday, 29th November, The Guardian newspaper reported on Rhys Morgan’s posting of the entire correspondence from Marc Stephens on his blog. The Burszynski clinic has revealed that Stephens was only a web marketing contractor and that ‘no one approved [Stephens] sending pictures of Morgan’s house to him’. At time of podcasting this episode, more and more bloggers are continuing to question claims by the Burszynski clinic. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 30 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #90 - On Doubtful News – Interview With Sharon Hill | Sharon Hill is a geologist and author of the Doubtful blog about science and pseudoscience aimed at the public. She explores the intersection of science and public understanding as a student in the Science and the Public Ed.M. graduate program at the State University of New York at Buffalo (a joint initiative with the Center For Inquiry). More recently she has started the Doubtful Newsblog, which is rapidly becoming the must-subscribe site for all skeptics using social media. Picture is taken from the ‘I’m A Skeptic’ profile, on Skeptic.com. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 28 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #89 - On Great Superhero Skeptics - Panel From Dragon*Con 2011 | Great Superhero Skeptics! The History (And Herstory): Moderated by Desiree Schell – featuring Dr Phil Plait, Benjamin Radford, Tim Farley, Dr Eugenie C Scott, and Kylie Sturgess. Many of us know some names, but who have you missed and who should we know? A roundtable discussion on great authors, thinkers and activists in skepticism, past and present. This special ‘Thanksgiving’ episode is brought to you with many thanks to Desiree Schell of Skeptically Speaking. It is also with immense thanks, as always, to the 2011 Dragon*Con Skeptrack –Derek Colanduno of Skepticality.com and Mark Ditzler at Abrupt Media. Photograph is by Bruce Press (thanks to him too!). Promo featured in this show: The QEDCon – Question, Explore, Discover Convention – is happening in February! Check out the site at QEDCon.org. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com.Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 24 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #88 - On Codes Of Conduct Part II – Sexism, Skepticism And Civility Online | But even women who don’t put their pictures or real names online are subject to virtual harassment. A recent study showed that when the gender of an online username appears female, they are 25 times more likely to experience harassment. The study, conducted by the University of Maryland, found that female user-names averaged 163 threatening and/or sexually explicit messages a day. The Guardian, 2007. This is a follow-up to the earlier podcast episode (which featured on the CSICOP website), called 'Codes of Conduct'. Features interviews with: Jennifer Ouellette - Jennifer is the author of three popular science books, specialises in physics and many related topics, with particular emphasis on how science intersects with popular culture, as well as science communication and outreach. She is also a prolific blogger, writing regularly for Discovery Newsand maintaining a blog at Scientific American called Cocktail Party Physics. We discuss her article 'Is It Cold In Here'. Karen Miller of the More Women In Skepticism Blog (www.morewomeninskepticism.wordpress.com) Viv Smythe - Australian writer, webwrangler, blogger - creator of Hoydens About Town and the Finally A Feminism 101 Blog(www.finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com) Since writing Civility, Inclusivity, Sexism and Skepticism, I’ve received a number of emails about the issues raised and I was even approached several times in person at the SkepTrackDragon*Con about it. The case of Karen Stollznow and her experiences with the Australian Skeptics, the James Randi Educational Foundation’s ‘Code Of Conduct’ at the Amazing Meeting 9, and the history (or ‘herstory’?) of women within the skeptical movement were of particular interest to many, and I’m glad to say that I’ve been encouraged to continue writing and podcasting on this and related topics. Many, many thanks to additional voices of: Michael Marshall and Hayley Stevens of the Righteous Indignation Podcast. KO Myers of the Skeptically Speaking Podcast. Milton Mermikides, whose work you can buy yourself from The Theme Attic: 'Spyder (The Lady Geek Spy Theme)' and 'Skeleton Key (Theme from TAMLondon)'. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 22 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #87 - On SkepTrack 2011 - Derek Colanduno With Eugenie Scott And Steven Novella | Once again, this special episode is brought to you with many thanks to the 2011 Dragon*Con Skeptrack –Derek Colanduno of Skepticality.com and Mark Ditzler at Abrupt Media. Photograph is by Bruce Press (thanks to him too!). Eugenie Scott is an American physical anthropologist who has been the executive director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) since 1987. She is a leading critic of young earth creationism and intelligent design. Steven Novella is an American clinical neurologist, assistant professor and Director of General Neurology at Yale University School of Medicine. He is best known for his involvement in the skeptical movement, particularly the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. Head to http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 14 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #86 - On The Freethought University Alliance At The Global Atheist Convention - Jason Ball | Today's show starts with many thanks to my awesome listeners who donate to the podcast! It's greatly appreciated and helps keep the show going! If you're a regular (or even a irregular) listener, don't forget to fill in the survey that is featured on the Token Skeptic website. For this episode, I'm interviewing Jason Ball - he serves on the Rationalist Australia Committee, is the President of the Freethought University Alliance and is a spokesperson for the Atheist Foundation of Australia and a organiser for the Global Atheist Convention. You can also hear him on the Young Australian Skeptics podcast, The Pseudoscientists! We talk about the forthcoming Global Atheist Convention, the Global Atheist Fringe and the scholarships available for Secondary and Tertiary students. The deadline for Secondary student applications is Thursday, 17th November. A Student Leadership Conference will be held on the eve of the Global Atheist Convention, at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre on April 13, 2012. Find out more at the and sign onto the AFA Forums for all the latest news, tips for accommodation and networking with other atheists before the convention begins in April 13-15th, 2012! The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks. Head to http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show, via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 14 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #85 - On Something Fierce - Interview With Marian Call | “The music is a little silly but mostly very sincere and honest, mostly acoustic, occasionally symphonic, eclectic, rhythmic and warm with a side of whimsy.” Singer-songwriter Marian Call has just finished her “49>50 Tour”, which went all around the US (and most of the provinces of Canada). She lives in Anchorage, Alaska but has a huge following around the world for her complex harmonies and witty lyrics, which include references to Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and being a geek (even if it’s not going to always be chic). Something Fierce and it is a fan-funded album as well as being a double album – volume I is called ‘Good Luck With That’ and volume II is called ‘From Alaska.’ For this interview we discuss her music, how fabulous her fans are – and just how many instruments does she play (besides the typewriter)? The songs used in this episode - "The Nerd Anthem (I'll Still Be A Geek After Nobody Thinks It's Chic)", "Dear Mr Darcy", "Temporal Dominos", "It's Good To Have Jayne On Your Side", "Perilous Road", "Good Morning Moon" and "Vanilla (I'm Not Sexy)". The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.bandcamp.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 6 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #84 - On Being Very Superstitious - Dragon*Con Panel 2011 | From the 2011 Skeptrack at Dragon*Con, this is one of six panels that I took part in and it's one I was proud to moderate! This is Very Superstitious - psychology, belief, weird things - what does the research show and when is superstition not the way? Kylie Sturgess, Barbara Drescher, Stephen King, Robert Blaskiewicz and Dr Steve Novella. Many, MANY thanks to the Skeptrack –Derek Colanduno of Skepticality.com and Mark Ditzler at Abrupt Media. Quick shout-outs at the beginning of the podcast - Max Barry booklaunch - "Machine Man" on Saturday 29th October, 3pm at Embiggen Books in Melbourne - head to www.embiggenbooks.com. New SkeptiCamps happening in Australia - SurfCoast Summer Skepticamp on Saturday 21st January and a forthcoming one in Perth. Go to http://skepticampaustralia.org to find out more. Curiouser and Curiouser column on the CSICOP Website can be found at www.csicop.org. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks, started by Ed Brayton and PZ Myers. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com.Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 28 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 41 | CleanVideoMelbourne SkeptiCamp 2011 - Token Skeptic Vodcast | The video for Melbourne SkeptiCamp - 2011. Like you, I sometimes worry about the future of skepticism. So, I decided to ask four prominent members of the skeptical community as to their thoughts about the future. What do you hope for the future of skepticism? Thanks to: Karen Stollznow, D.J Grothe, Daniel Loxton, James Randi, All of the 10:23 Campaign organisers across Australia, Paul Caggegi in Sydney for the 10:23 footage, The QED Convention organisers - Michael Marshall, Barbara Drescher, Michael McRae, the JREF Education Advisory Panel, The James Randi Educational Foundation, Melbourne SkeptiCamp organisers and Reed Esau. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks, started by Ed Brayton and PZ Myers. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 22 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #82 - On Forty Days Of Treats - Interview With Liz Lutgendorff | "We need to show support in some way, but also not directly confront these people, because a lot of the time it's just completely pointless. Combative is not the way we wanted to go about this. We thought this was a good-will campaign that everyone could get involved with." In response to the anti-abortion “40 Days for Life” campaign, which organises protests outside abortion clinics, Carmen D'Cruz and Liz Lutgendorff started a counter-campaign called 40 Days of Treats. The idea behind 40 Days of Treats is to show support for the staff of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), whose offices are currently being targeted by the 40 Days for Life protesters. As the 40 Days of Treats website explains: “A counter protest for 40 days doesn’t seem right - why draw attention to them? Instead, let's do something for the people who are probably most affected and could use the boost. Let’s give the nice people at BPAS 40 days of treats." For more background on the UK politician Nadine Dorries and her views on abortion, see this link and this link: [Dorries] bid to outlaw institutions with a "financial interest" in carrying out abortions providing such advice was roundly rejected in a Commons vote after a rowdy debate. Labour dismissed her argument as a "shoddy, ill-conceived attempt to promote non-facts to make a non-case" and some of Ms Dorries' Conservative colleagues took issue with the evidence she cited. The Guardian article referenced in the interview is featured here: Cakes and the right to choose by Homa Khaleeli. You can follow / support them via: http://40daysoftreats.tumblr.com/@40daysoftreats or #40daysoftreats on Twitter40daysoftreats AT gmail DOT com The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks, started by Ed Brayton and PZ Myers. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 11 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #81 - On These Are The Ways The World Will End - Dragon*Con Panel | From a global pandemic to the Hadron super-collider... have some fun as our panel rips into the latest world-enders and answers your questions about why we are probably safe (for now). With many, many, MANY thanks to the Skeptrack - Derek Colanduno of Skepticality.com and Mark Ditzler at Abrupt Media. From the 2011 Skeptrack at Dragon*Con - blogpost features at www.podblack.com about the panel in its entirety. In order, it's Scott Sigler, Dr Pamela Gay, Dr John Cmar, Dr Phil Plait, Dr Ali Khan, Taylor Proctor and I don't know who the moderator is (sorry!). This is the link for the live-blogged post I did during the panel, at Podblack.com. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks, started by Ed Brayton and PZ Myers. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 8 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #80 - On Paranormal Belief In Queensland - The Truth Told By Dr Martin Bridgstock | Recorded at the New Zealand Skeptic Convention in Christchurch, 27th August 2011. QEDCon! More information available at http://qedcon.org. Until recently, Queensland was regarded as the hillbilly state of Australia. It was dominated by fundamentalism and flirted with bogus cancer cures and creation science. After determined action by skeptics, and some major political convulsions, the state has changed completely. Still, the question remains: how much of the early sentiments remain in Queensland today? In this presentation Martin Bridgstock tells of how he and Kylie Sturgess surveyed a representative sample of over 1200 Queenslanders, to investigate their paranormal and related beliefs. The results are quite startling, and give a comprehensive picture of exactly what Queenslanders believe. Dr Martin Bridgstock's book, Beyond Belief: Skepticism, Science and the Paranormal is available through Cambridge University Press. Many, many thanks to Gold, Vicki Hyde, the New Zealand Skeptics, the fantastic people I met at the conference and (of course) the ever-wonderful Dr Martin Bridgstock. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks, started by Ed Brayton and PZ Myers. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com.Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 6 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #79 - On Project Barnum - Interview With Hayley Stevens | This week features an interview with Hayley Stevens. Project Barnum was born after news broke in September 2011 that self-proclaimed psychic, Sally Morgan, had been accused by audience members at one of her shows of being fed information. Project Barnum founder, Hayley Stevens, saw this and decided that something had to be done. There's an update on Project Barnum here - The Petition Conclusion.Speculation, accusations and denials were thrown left, right and centre, yet there was one group of people caught in the cross fire – the audience who had parted with their money… In addition, Hayley is presenting in October at the Edinburgh Skeptics, Bristol Skeptics and Westminster Skeptics - see her site for details. Project Barnum's website is http://www.projectbarnum.co.uk - the official site for Hayley Stevens is http://hayleyisaghost.co.uk and she is a member of the Righteous Indignation podcast, at http://www.ripodcast.co.uk. News items! Melbourne SkeptiCamp - not long to go now! Saturday October 22nd, head to http://skepticampaustralia.org/ The Token Skeptic Blog - now on FreeThought Blogs, one of the most popular online Atheist blogging networks, started by Ed Brayton and PZ Myers. http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com.Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 2 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #78 - On Being A Noisy Astronomer - Interview With Nicole Gugliucci | As featured on the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast! Donate audio and funding to this award-winning podcast by heading to their official site, at http://365daysofastronomy.org. During my fourth year working at Dragon*Con, I celebrated my first visit to the Atlanta Skeptics Star Party with Nicole Gugliucci. Nicole is a graduate student at the University of Virginia, who works at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and engages in hands-on outreach with elementary school children through a program called “Dark Skies, Bright Kids”. At a party where Nicole demonstrated models of exploding meteors and Dr Pamela Gay and Dr Phil Plait lectured, I conducted this interview for the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast. Her site is 'One Astronomer's Noise', at http://noisyastronomer.com. Podcasts By Nicole Gugliucci on the 365 Days of Astronomy: June 7th, 2010: Dark Skies, Bright Kids February 6th, 2010: Expanding an Already Very Large Array May 5th, 2009: Seeing the Universe in a Whole New Light April 2nd, 2009: Searching for Distant Hydrogen from the Australian Outback This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are "P&P" by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and "Leap Second" by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 29 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 47 | CleanVideoDragon*Con - Friday 2011 | The Skeptrack, the Podtrack, the ScienceTrack and more. Featured people include Jonathan Coulton, Dr Phil Plait, Barbara Drescher, Swoopy, Sara Mayhew, DJ Grothe, Derek Colanduno, Brian Brushwood, Scott Sigler, Desiree Schell, Paul and Storm and the Geek of the Week live show. | 7 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 48 | CleanVideo2011 Parsec Awards at Dragon*Con - Fact Behind The Fiction And Youth Driven | A short film about the Parsec Awards this year; categories that featured science and skepticism podcasts and the win by Aaron's World. | 6 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 49 | CleanVideoDragon*Con 2011 - These Are The Ways The World Will End Panel | In order, it's Scott Sigler, Dr Pamela Gay, Dr John Cmar, Dr Phil Plait, Dr Ali Khan, Taylor Proctor and I don't know who the moderator is (sorry!). Features George Hrab introducing the show with the song 'These Are The Ways The World Will End' (Death From The Skies). | 5 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 50 | CleanVideoStar Party Atlanta 2011 | Some parts of the lectures delivered by Dr Phil Plait and Dr Pamela Gay. | 3 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #77 - On The Skeptic's Dictionary For Kids - Interview With Robert Todd Carroll | Apologies for the delay due to jetlag, travel and settling in back home... before getting back into podcasting again! Here's an interview about a great new online resource for young skeptics! To help kids to grow into intelligent, critically thinking adults, Robert Todd Carroll, author of the fabulous Skeptic’s Dictionary, has written just the thing: The Skeptic’s Dictionary for Kids. We talk about the origins of the site and how he first began this extensive online resource; his work as a teacher of critical thinking and the future of scientific skepticism, particularly the ongoing (and much needed) discussions on just what makes skepticism 'skepticism'. The Skeptic's Dictionary For Kids is featured at http://sd4kids.skepdic.com. The Skeptic's Dictionary was published in August 2003 by John Wiley & Sons. The Skeptic's Dictionary online (for all ages!) is at http://www.skepdic.com. Subscribe to the newsletter and get all the latest news and updates about the site and more. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are "P&P" by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and "365" by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 17 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #76 - On Manga And Amaz!ng-ness - Interview With Jack Scanlan And Sara Mayhew | I'm back... and this is a little double-interview (for the price of one!) with two wonderful people: Jack Scanlan of the Young Australian Skeptics and Sara Mayhew of and 'Legend of the Ztarr' fame! They are both first-time Amaz!ng Meeting attendees (Sara presented on the main stage!) and prime examples of new blood in the skepti-sphere. They are popular bloggers, as well as sharing similar artistic interests - Jack as a musician and Sara as a mangaka artist. For this episode we talk about their experiences at the Amaz!ng Meeting 9, their views on organised skepticism and what projects they have planned in the future. You can check out their work here: Jack Scanlan - Naontiotami Blog / Young Australian Skeptics Sara Mayhew - There Are Four Lights / Legend of the Ztarr In addition, Sara Mayhew will be appearing at Dragon*Con at the end of August - if you're going, her main presentation on the SkepticTrack is scheduled for Sunday, 11.30am. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are "P&P" by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and "365" by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic. | 17 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #75 - On Codes Of Conduct: A Brief History of Civility, Inclusivity, Sexism and Skepticism | Firstly, a three minute message about WHAT. HAS. BEEN. GOING. ON. and why an episode was delayed for a MONTH. Truly sorry, but unexpected circumstances. Then what? An audio version of an essay that I've written for CSICOP's Curiouser and Curiouser about skepticism, sexism, diversity and all the things you might roll your eyes about - but may not have realised that it's been a concern for a very long time. So, it's going to continue that way unless we work on it even more. Enjoy! Many thanks to Dr Karen Stollznow, Michael McRae, Desiree Schell, Barbara Drescher and The Digital Cuttlefish for advice, suggestions and guidance while writing this piece. The written version of this podcast will be appearing on the CSICOP website - but the quotes and references I make (and in some cases directly read out) are as follows: The Code of Conduct for the Amazing Meeting: With TAM Right Around the Corner, Some Important Announcements - for JREF's TAM9 Dr Karen Stollznow's leaving of the Australian Skeptics: Sceptic's Fight Defies Belief The 1997 ‘CSICOP’s Rational Feminist Alliance’ Sara Mayhew's blogpost 'Some Practical Thoughts: Women in Skepticism' Dylan Keenburg of 'Woo Fighters' reported from TAM8 Phil Plait ‘Don’t Be A Dick’ talk at TAM8 The 'Don't Be That Guy' panel at Balticon Daniel Loxton on Skeptic Blogs in his post 'The Science of Honey and Vinegar' ‘CSICOP and the Skeptics’, originally published in the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, by George P. Hansen 'Where The Girls Aren’t', from a 1999 article by Jeanine DeNoma on ‘Local Skeptical Groups’, which cites Sheila Gibson 1996 article by Professor DeeAnne Wymer on ‘Why Are There So Few Female Skeptics?’ Josh Rosenau on Thoughts from Kansas, 'A Pedestal is as Much as a Prison' This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. | 17 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #74 - On Seeking The Evidence And Reporting A Rort - Interview With Bayani Mills | Welcome to episode #73! People can turn to the internet to quickly get information about claims and consumer rights, particularly regarding their health. But where do you go when reporting a dodgy claim or seeking advice about getting your money back? Bayani Mills is a recent addition to skeptical activism in Australia; he only got started at the end of 2010! In 2011 Bayani created Report a Rort, which focuses on consumer action and bringing information to the public on making effective complaints. This includes how to best contact relevant government watchdogs like the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, on pseudo-scientific health claims. He's also incorporated a brilliant new plug-in for Google Chrome that was created by Simon Perry in the UK and adapted for Australians and other countries - called FishBarrel. In addition to this, he's the creator of another new site called Seek The Evidence - a much-needed reource dedicated to promoting rationality and logical reasoning in the public arena through local activism. It has already started gathering materials like models for flyers, posters and handouts for activists and hopes to have a global reach as well as relevance for Australians. Bayani's website can be found at http://www.bayanimills.com.au. The site for Report a Rort is http://reportarort.wordpress.com - the site for Seek The Evidence is www.seektheevidence.org. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, ofwww.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show – head to the Merchandise link on the Token Skeptic site and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Token Skeptic book, available through Lulu.com. | 17 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #73 - On The Nightingale Collaboration - Interview With Alan Henness | With many thanks to the organisers of QEDCon - an interview with Alan Henness and the Nightingale Collaboration presentation! QEDCon was a two-day science and skepticism conference which took place in the Manchester Piccadilly hotel from February 5-6 2011. Keep track of their future events by checking out the Greater Manchester Skeptics Society and the Merseyside Skeptics Society. In addition - happy wedding day to Allan Callister (@acallister) and Janis Bennion (@janisbennion)! The Nightingale Collaboration has been highly influential with its efforts in the UK and inspires other countries to try similar strategies. They suggest that supporters ‘focus complaints on one area of healthcare each month, as this will mean they can focus their research and adjudication process. Hopefully, this will enable the ASA to deal with complaints more quickly and effectively.’ This is done via the site, on Focus of the Month. You can also check out Simon Perry’s useful guide to submitting a complaint to the ASA – A Step By Step ASA Complaint. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show – head to the Merchandise link on the Token Skeptic site and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Token Skeptic book, available through Lulu.com. | 11 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #72 - On Unbelievable - Interview With Lawrence Leung | Tremendous thanks to both Simon Taylor for helping me secure this interview and Belinda Nicholson (who appeared in the 365 Days of Astronomy episode 'The Stars Are Her Laboratory’ for lending me the astrophysics tea-room at the University of Melbourne to record it! Please note - Simon has a GREAT new project, a skeptically-funny comic series called 'Flim Flam' - send in your support by sending in your pledge to get it happening. Lawrence Leung is an Australian comedian, writer and director from Melbourne, Victoria. He is best known for his television series Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure. If the truth is out there... then let's look at the evidence! This is Lawrence Leung's 'Unbelievable'. He has performed in shows in London's West End, at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, and around Australia extensively. This interview investigates the origins of the show, his history as a questioning comedian regarding interesting paranormal claims and what exactly was he up to when he was at Melbourne University (that you won't find on Wikipedia)?? Special guest stars during this interview - occasional astrophysics students looking for a cup of tea. Check out 'Unbelievable' on ABC1 from 9.30pm, Wednesday June 15th! Lawrence's official website can be found at www.lawrenceleung.com. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show - head to the Merchandise link on the Token Skeptic site and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Token Skeptic book, available through Lulu.com. | 6 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 57 | CleanVideoToken Skeptic In Southwark And Shakespeare's Globe | A short film from the early morning after QEDCon in London, February. This is one of my favorite parts of the city - listening to the bells at St Paul's Cathedral, walking across the Millennium Bridge and then down the Bankside Jetty to visit Shakespeare's Globe. Here you can see the wrought-iron gates, called the Bankside Gates. Each emblem is inspired by insects, animals and characters from Shakespeare's plays and were created by the best blacksmiths from around the world. A key to the emblems is featured here: Key To Motifs On Southwark Gates. Finally - the paving stones around the Globe list sponsors features a joke by two members of the Monty Python's Flying Circus, John Cleese and Michael Palin. Apparently, John Cleese paid for both his and Michael Palin‘s pavers, on the condition that Michael Palin’s name was spelt incorrectly. | 27 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #71 - On Great Books In Skepticism - Podblack's Book Club With Embiggen Books | This is an edited version (shortened slightly from the over-an-hour discussion!) from the 'PodBiggen' book talk that Warren Bonett of Embiggen Books and I had on Monday, May 16th, 2011. The NEW Embiggen Bookstore will be found near the Wheeler Centre. 197-203 Little Lonsdale Street, behind State Library. Also note - Leslie Cannold will be appearing at the new location on 28th July at 7pm to talk about her new novel "The Book of Rachael" - details on her site at http://cannold.com. Many, many thanks to Melbourne Skeptics and Melbourne Eastern Hills Skeptics for hosting us and being such a wonderful crowd! The Embiggen Bookstore will soon arrive in Melbourne - their official site is found at www.embiggenbooks.com. Books recommended include: Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan Tribal Science: Brains, Beliefs and Bad Ideas by Michael McRae Why people Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design by Michael Shermer Beyond Belief: Skepticism, Science and the Paranormal by Martin Bridgstock Bad Science by Ben Goldacre Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine by Simon Singh and Ezart Ernst Bad Astronomy by Phillip Plait Flim Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions by JamesRandi Faith Healers by James Randi Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things by Richard Wiseman 59 Seconds: How Psychology Can Improve Your Life in Less than a Minute by Richard Wiseman The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceives Us by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology by Lilienfeld, Lynn, Ruscio and Beyerstein Making Sense: Philosophy Behind the Headlines by Julian Baggini Do You Think What You Think You Think by Julian Baggini The Skeptic’s Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal by Lynne Kelly The Science of Superstition (aka Supersense) by Bruce M Hood Crimes Against Logic by Whyte Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives by Specter Doubt: A History by Hecht Sleights of Mind by Stephen Macknik, Susana Martinez-Conde and Sandra Blakeslee Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools Of Us All by Rose Shapiro Voodoo Histories: How Conspiracy Theory Has Shaped Modern History by David Aaronovitch Panic Virus: Fear, Myth and the Vaccination Debate by Seth Mnookin Autism’s False Prophets by Paul Offit Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition by Stuart Vyse Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be by Daniel Loxton Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries by Benjamin Radford Science: Good, Bad, and Bogus by Martin Gardner We also mention books like The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer and Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson and a few others that you can ask us about - visit Embiggen Books to get many more! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, ofwww.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show – head to the Merchandise link on the Token Skeptic site and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Token Skeptic book, available through Lulu.com. | 26 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #70 - On Hoaxing The Hoaxers - Dr Karen Stollznow, Matthew Baxter And Bryan Bonner | This year at SkeptiCamp Colorado, a unique presentation was made by a unique group of skeptical people. What follows is a funny, fascinating, horrifying and ultimately awesome not-so-ghost story - you have been warned. Dr Karen Stollznow is an academic, author, investigator of the skeptical kind. She is the 'Naked Skeptic' columnist for CSICOP, was recently made a member of the CSI Executive Council. She is the co-host of Point of Inquiry Podcast and Skeptic.com's Monster Talk, and will be appearing at TAM9 and at the forthcoming CSICon in New Orleans. Matthew Baxter and Bryan Bonner are the co-hosts of Warning Radio and are the creators of the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society. With extensive experience in investigating paranormal claims, they provide a valuable and ethical resource to the field. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller ofwww.penmachine.com and 365' by Milton Mermikides, ofwww.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show – head to the Merchandise link on the Token Skeptic site and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Token Skeptic book, available through Lulu.com. | 19 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #69 - On Miracle Detectives - Interview With Dr Indre Viskontas | With many thanks to Sharon Hill of SheThought - an interview with Dr Indre Viskontas! Dr. Viskontas holds a PhD from UCLA in cognitive neuroscience, focusing her studies on how memories and other cognitive processes are supported by neural networks. Aside from being the Associate Editor of the journal Neurocase and performing in contemporary and classical operas as a soprano, Dr. Viskontas co-stars in the television program “Miracle Detectives”, which aired its first season on the Oprah Winfrey Network. You can find out more about Indre, her career, and her art by visiting her online at www.indreviskontas.com. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365′ by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show - head to the Merchandise link on the Token Skeptic site and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Token Skeptic book, available through Lulu.com. | 12 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #68 - On Updates And The Stars Are Her Laboratory | A quick update episode, which includes the sad news of the passing of Derek K. Miller, who is responsible for the theme-song for the Token Skeptic podcast. Derek wrote the theme song for the Token Skeptic podcast, which features with many other songs on his blogsite – the song ‘P&P’ is one of many excellent compositions that you can find online. The Podblack Melbourne tour - MANY thanks to Jason Ball, Catherine Donaldson of Faster Pussycat Productions and all my friends in the Young Australian Skeptics and the Freethought University Alliance and Embiggen Books. Tremendous thanks to the Melbourne Skeptics and the Eastern Hills Skeptics too – check out their sites and their future events as well! Friday 13th May: Rationalist Association of Monash University “Very Superstitious – From Crossing Fingers To Friday The Thirteenth” 6:30pm, R1 Rotunda, Monash University Facebook RSVP Monday 16th May: RMIT Secular Society “Feminine Intuition, Pseudoscience And How To Be More ‘Skep-chic’” 2:30pm, University Function Room, RMIT – PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE! Facebook RSVP Monday 16th May: Melbourne Skeptics in the Pub “Skeptical Books With Embiggen – feat. Warren Bonett & Kylie Sturgess” 6:30pm, Mt View Hotel, 70 Bridge Rd, Richmond Facebook RSVP Finally – my contribution this year to the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast- an interview with ‘Belinda Nicholson – The Stars Are Her Laboratory’ – hope you enjoy listening to it as part of this show! Do support and sponsor the 365 Days of Astronomy by checking out the site and consider contributing your own episodes to the show. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365′ by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show – head to the Merchandise link on the Token Skeptic site and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Token Skeptic book, available through Lulu.com. | 24 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #67 - On The Vaccine Times - Interview With Leart Shaka and Julia Sherred | This month I was fortunate enough to interview two keen activists for health and community welfare in the face of anti-vaccination - two of the changemakers behind the Vaccine Times: Leart Shaka, Editor in Chief and design editor Julia Sherred! Leart also just had an excellent article published on the JREF website: Measles, Measles Go Away. The Vaccine Times, a quarterly newspaper-like publication, for parents, by parents. You can subscribe to get the Times for free, via e-mailcheck out http//:www.vaccinetimes.com/mailinglist. Print copies and leave them hanging around on the copy room at work, give them out at church, give one to your baby’s pediatrician and suggest it as reading material and spread the word via social networking. You can also provide financial support via subscribing to the Kindle Version of the Vaccine Central blog and of course, contact the team via http//:www.vaccinetimes.com/mailinglist, and let them know how you can become involved. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller ofwww.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, ofwww.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show – head to the Merchandise link on the Token Skeptic site and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Token Skeptic book, available through Lulu.com. | 17 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #66 - Interview With Sean Williams And SciFi Meets Education | SwanCon is a science fiction convention held in Perth, Western Australia. It is Australia's longest running science fiction convention, and probably the longest running in the southern hemisphere. Questions about the relevance of Science Fiction and Fantasy to education is not unheard of - there's a great number of discussions going on all the time about what is suitable and what helps promote a greater understanding of both fact and fiction. As a life-long fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, Star Wars, films with special effects and everything that will guarantee a good read - this educator is not alone when it comes to supporting the sometimes-maligned genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy! This is the second time that SwanCon has featured on the Token Skeptic podcast; last year I interviewed Scott Sigler (Episode #14 - On Science Fiction and Skepticism: Interview With Scott Sigler). This year I interviewed Sean Williams - he's a number one New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and has published thirty novels for readers of all ages, seventy short stories across numerous genres and the odd poem. In addition to that interview, you'll be hearing from Bevan McGuinness, a teacher of upper-school Science at Wesley College in Perth, who presented on 'Mad Scientists: Using The Science In Science Fiction In The Classroom' with Peter Van DerKwast of Kolbe Catholic College. I also spoke to the Track Director of the SwanCon Edustream, librarian Tahani Wesley. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365′ by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show - head to the Merchandise link on the Token Skeptic site and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Token Skeptic book, available through Lulu.com. | 10 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #65 - On Starsuckers And Taking Liberties - QEDCon Lecture By Chris Atkins | With many, many thanks to the organisers of QEDCon - here's a special episode from the convention that has to be heard to be believed. Chris Atkins is the director of both BAFTA nominated Taking Liberties and the 2009 tour-de-force Starsuckers. The documentary Starsuckers involved the production team planting fake celebrity-related stories in the UK media, such as a claim that the singer Avril Lavigne had fallen asleep in a nightclub and how a variety of tabloid newspapers accepted the stories without corroboration or evidence. He's a clear voice in accessibly exposing how the public are manipulated through the real-world motivations of the media in creating and perpetuating news and celebrity. As the perpetrator of the recent 'Urban Fox Hunter' hoax, Chris demonstrated the ease by which the national and international media can be fooled. You can check out the website for Starsuckers at www.starsuckersthemovie.com. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 7 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #64 - On Tribal Science – Interview With Michael McRae | Thanks to everyone who has continued to subscribe and check out the show during the technical-issues hiatus! Here's to getting more content out and I'm looking forward to your continued feedback. :) Science is a tribal endeavor. It’s a social behavior humans engage in, one that is based on shared values of logic, reason, empiricism and the right to debate the merits of belief. What are the ideals of the science methodology and what is the reality of how people actually use (or don’t use) their brains? Michael McRae is an Australian science writer working for the CSIRO’s education department. He graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science from QUT and followed this with several years as a medical scientist working for a Queensland pathology laboratory. With a Bachelor of Education in science and mathematics, Michael taught in Brisbane and then London. In 2006 he earned a Diploma of Science Communication via the joint ANU/Questacon ‘Science Circus’ program, and he is currently reading for his Masters in Culture, Health and Medicine at ANU. In addition to all of that, he’s presented public talks on science history and philosophy, optical illusions, skepticism, communication and the nature of epistemology. He’s appeared twice before on the Token Skeptic podcast and his first book, ‘Tribal Science – Brains, Beliefs and Bad Ideas‘ is due for release in early 2011 through University Of Queensland Press. The site for Michael's blog is www.tribalscience.wordpress.com. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 3 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #63 - On Reaching Out Reasonably - Panel From QEDCon | Last week to give feedback via the Token Skeptic survey - merchandise from the podcast coming soon (!!!) and check me out being interviewed for the Skeptical Experience Radio Show - http://skepticalexperience.com, Episode 8 with Richard Godbehere! Many, many thanks to the organisers of QEDCon who have allowed me to play the audio from this panel. Moderated by Janis Bennion of the Greater Manchester Skeptics and featuring Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education, Sile Lane from Sense About Science, David Kirby, Senior Lecturer in Science Communication Studies from the University of Manchester and Kylie Sturgess. What is skeptical outreach, and how does it differ to scientific outreach? Is there any benefit to skeptical events whose focus is socialising? How much does a podcast count as outreach, and does it need to be? Should you or should you 'not be a dick'? And ultimately; does true skepticism require true grit? Within the skeptical community, especially within the UK, there has been a huge amount of discussion focused around how, why and when to do skeptical outreach in the best way. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 28 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #62 - On SkeptiCamp Australia And Skeptics At The Launceston Body And Soul Festival | News Items At Start Of Show: Transcription of the interview breakdown of the George Hrab album 'Trebuchet' features on Milton Mermikide's site - Trebuchet: The Interview - Geo and Milt Geek Out. Subscribe to Milton's Posterous.com blog for more of his work. The Perth Atheists are planning a meetup for this Sunday, 27th March at 7.30pm to watch the live broadcast of the Sydney show together at the High Wycombe Tavern in High Wycombe. Details are on the Perth Atheists Meeetup.com site. For an additional episode this week for the Token Skeptic podcast - this show features two-interviews in one! David Tyler, a member of the Launceston Skeptics on their stall at the Body and Soul Festival in Tasmania, and Jason Brown on the forthcoming Australian SkeptiCamp - the very first, called Sydney SkeptiCamp. David Tyler, a member of the Launceston Skeptics, tells us about a successful stall to promote Science and Rational Thinking at the recent Body and Soul Festival. It's something they called an "Island of Reason in a Sea of Rainbows and Unicorns". Their hope was to get attendees to have a chat and perhaps take away some of the material they put together. They designed a special webpage to mark their attendance (bodynsoulfestival.launcestonskeptics.com) which has links to free resources that promote Science and Rational Thinking. Secondly - Jason Brown, the creator of The Skepticator.com website and member of the Sydney Atheists, is starting the very first Australian SkeptiCamp in Sydney! It will be called Sydney SkeptiCamp and he discusses the origins, ideas and planning of the event. Head to Jason's site at http://www.mycolleaguesareidiots.com or Tweetstream at http://twitter.com/drunkenmadman. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365′ by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 24 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #61 - On Paranormality - Interview With Dr Richard Wiseman | Richard Wiseman is the UK’s most popular psychologist, with books topping the bestseller charts, over 10 million views on his YouTube channel and more than 60,000 followers on Twitter. A former professional magician, he has spent the past 20 years investigating the psychology of the paranormal. His new book, Paranormality: Why We See What Isn't There, tackles the psychology of seemingly supernatural phenomena. Dr Wiseman is also the Professor of Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. The official site for the book is at http://www.paranormalitybook.com and you can subscribe to his popular blog at http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com and his Twitter account at http://twitter.com/RichardWiseman. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365′ by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 21 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #60 - On Token Skepticism - The Best Of (So Far) | This is what happens when you try to put as many episodes in before Garage Band crashes. There's plenty more that I love - like Embiggen Books, the interviews and panels - go check them out! What does feminine intuition really mean? Why do we believe in weird things? How do you become an effective activist for science and reason? What is critical thinking and what can we do to encourage it more in education? This is the Token Skeptic podcast – a weekly look at the latest ideas, issues and the people on the cutting edge of all those questions. As the Token Skeptic, I even question how much progress is being made with science communication, skepticism and learning. If you enjoy hearing interviews with popular figures in science and skepticism? If you’re keen to hear from fellow educators and be enthused about encouraging critical thinking in the classroom and beyond? If you’re interested in learning more about how we communicate and understand science and the challenges we all face? Then I hope that you’ll join me in my journey to learn how to improve my own skills as a communicator. Thanks for joining me for this 'best of collection' – if this is the first time you’ve listened to the show, you can keep track of all the episodes at www.tokenskeptic.org. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 19 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 70 | CleanVideoAstroFest At Curtin Uni 2011 – Token Skeptic Podcast | New! Survey at http://www.tinyurl.com/tokenskepticsurvey - give quick feedback and help improve the show, listeners! With an estimated 3250 people attending, I was in the crowd on the Saturday 12 March at Curtin Stadium, Curtin University campus in Bentley – for AstroFest 2011! As you can see here, activities, displays and telescopes of all shapes and sizes, with people of all ages and backgrounds switched on to astronomy and science. With a lot of kids getting into bubbles too, funnily enough. LATE BREAKING NEWS - I'll be in Melbourne from the 12-17th May, so I hope to catch up with people there at either an event or some kind of get-together! Keep an eye on the offical site at http://www.tokenskeptic.org or the Facebook page for Token Skeptic. | 14 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #59 - On Tim Minchin - Review Of Perth Tim Minchin vs WASO Performance | A short additional-bonus episode for this week! This episode features a review of Tim Minchin's show from the Saturday 'Tim Minchin vs the West Australian Orchestra' performance in King's Park. If you're yet to see him live, you might wish to avoid listening to this episode beforehand, as it will discuss aspects of the show in review format. In addition, a short earlier-recorded interview done while he was in Perth. Setlist from the night: The Cage; Rock and Roll Nerd; Context; If I Didn't Have You; Thank You, God; You Grew On Me; The Fence [Interval] Prejudice; Lullaby; Pope Song; The Pope Disco Song; Cheese; Beauty; Dark Side; Encores - Not Perfect and White Wine In The Sun. Tim Minchin's official site is at www.timminchin.com. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365? by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 6 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #58 - On Magic And Pieces Of Mind - Interview With Simon Taylor | This is a special early-episode of the Token Skeptic - this weekend I'll be attending the live concert of Tim Minchin and I'll also be interviewing my friend Michael McRae on his recently released book 'Tribal Science'. I was recently interviewed for Meet The Skeptics - check out the mp3 here! Forthcoming interview for The Skeptical Experience later this month. However, if you're not in Perth but in Adelaide or Melbourne - you should be checking out the performances of Simon Taylor this month and during the Melbourne Comedy Festival! Former psychology student turned award-winning entertainer, Simon Taylor attempts to solve the puzzles of the mind. He knows what you are thinking-and will make you laugh out loud as he tells you. A pertinent panel on 'Entertainment and Skepticism' at TAMOz last year featured an impassioned and memorable walk-out by mentalist and magician Simon Taylor, as he urged us all not to look down at others based on their approach to thinking and factor in emotion and empathy when we communicate. In this interview, we discuss his interest and ongoing research on the topic of magic and deception; his successful TEDx talks; visual impairment and performance; science communication and the ethics of magic and being an atheist - and not stealing towels at hotels. Simon's show 'Pieces of Mind' is playing during the Adelaide Fringe at the The Science Exchange on Saturday 5 March and from Tuesday 8 to Saturday 12 March. Details at http://www.aroundyou.com.au/events/adelaide-fringe-2011-pieces-of-mind-comedy. The Melbourne Comedy festival will feature Simon's forthcoming gigs at www.comedyfestival.com.au/the-festival/2011-comedy-festival. Simon Taylor's official website at www.simontaylorillusionist.com. His blog is at www.simontaylor.wordpress.com. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365′ by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 4 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #57 - On Miracle Cures And Changes To The ASA In The UK – Interview With Rhys Morgan | During my time at QEDCon, many people were talking about the changes that were pending with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). During an interview I conducted with Alan Henness of the Nightingale Collaboration (which should soon feature on Skepticality), the website countdown until the 1st of March was referenced. How much hope do skeptics and pro-science activists in the UK hold for these changes really making a difference? What is the current situation faced by those who wish to have a say and are already fighting pseudoscience in regards to health claims online? Since tomorrow is the 1st March, a great many pro-science activists are preparing to write into the ASA about pseudoscience and quackery perpetuated online. I got the chance to interview one such activist: Rhys Morgan, a teenage blogger who recently featured on BBC News Cardiff, after speaking at the Skeptics in the Pub during a night that also featured Simon Singh. Rhys Morgan's Website can be found at http://thewelshboyo.co.uk and he is on Twitter at RhysMorgan. From the ASA News Release, as featured on Dr Ben Goldacre's secondary Posterous blog: "From 1 March 2011, the ASA's online remit now extends to cover companies' own marketing claims on their own websites and in other non-paid for space they control. This landmark development brings enhanced consumer protection, particularly for children... The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, which includes rules to make sure advertisements do not mislead, harm or offend, will be applied to all UK based company websites regardless of the sector or size of business or organisation." The ACCC against cancer-cure websites from Perth. The Nightingale Collaboration Website Simon Perry's useful guide to submitting a complaint to the ASA - A Step By Step ASA Complaint. Misleading Ads Online - ASA Clamps Down - Real Business Website. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365′ by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 28 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 74 | CleanVideoToken Skeptic Adventures At QEDCon | Many thanks again to the Greater Manchester and Mersyside Skeptics! Featured briefly in this film and with many, many thanks - the fantastic backstage crew of QEDCon (including Janis, Marsh, Mike, Rick and Andy). Presenters and acts include: George Hrab, Bruce Hood, Milton Mermikides, the Dalek, Chris French, Hayley Stevens and Trystan Swale, Jon Ronson, Andy Wilson, Michael Marshall and Steve Novella, James O'Malley, Helen Keene, Matt Parker, Colin Wright and Wendy Grossman. Full list of acts and schedule feature at www.qedcon.org. | 23 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 75 | CleanVideo10-23 Campaign In Sydney - Token Skeptic Podcast | The official NSW coordinator, Paul Caggegi, filmed the Sydney 10:23 Campaign protest in February. Many thanks to his efforts, NSW was a part of the world-wide awareness raising about homeopathy.Paul Caggegi - www.paulcaggegi.com | 15 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 76 | CleanVideo10-23 Campaign In Brisbane - Token Skeptic Podcast | Many thanks to the talented Jasmine Marosvary for this short film about the 10:23 campaign in Brisbane! We will be meeting up at 9.30am at the two large metal spheres between the Treasury Casino and the Brisbane Library across George Street from the Queen Street Mall. We’re meeting early in order to set up our homeopathic preparations as well as to hand out amongst participants the information sheets and flyers for interested passers-by, and prepare for the arrival of the media. The event will climax with the mass ‘overdose’ at 10:23am were volunteers will consume ridiculous amounts of pre-vetted homeopathic products in front of onlookers, the gathered media, and our own cameras for video to be promptly uploaded online. The Brisbane campaigners included Rion Adsett, Jasmine Marosvary, Trent Voigt, Jayson Daniel Cooke and Kayla Howard. Official site for the Griffith University Skeptics Society is at http://gussf.wordpress.com. | 14 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #55 - On The Geek Manifesto - Interview With Mark Henderson | A special episode about The Geek Manifesto! When I was in London, I was fortunate enough to secure an interview with Mark Henderson, who is the Science Editor of The Times. He's in the process of writing and crowd-sourcing information for his book about science and politics. It’s called The Geek Manifesto, and it will be published next spring by Bantam Press. As he writes on his site at www.geekmanifesto.wordpress.com: The idea behind the book is fairly simple. The geeks, nerds and dorks of this world are no longer apologising for their slightly obsessive interest in science and critical thinking. Through events such as Simon Singh’s libel case, the sacking of Professor David Nutt as the British Government’s chief drugs adviser, and the Science is Vital campaign to protect British science against spending cuts, they’re beginning to gather the confidence to fight for the causes that matter to them. They are creating an emerging political force, and one that is sorely needed. Thanks to James O'Malley of The Pod Delusion and the fine people of Westminster Skeptics, the talk he gave about The Geek Manifesto on Monday 11th January with Evan Harris was recorded. You can listen to it here. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com | 14 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 78 | CleanVideoHappy Lunar New Year At Singapore's Changi Airport - Token Skeptic Podcast | Before I headed to #QEDCon, I had a little time at Singapore's Changi Airport. It's my favorite airport and on Thursday, 3rd February, I arrived just in time for some celebrations! You can see the koala I was taking for Janis Bennion at QEDCon and spot me at the very end, running off to find my gate to leave. :) Lunar New Year is the most important festival celerated by Chinese communities in Singapore and other parts of the world. To the Chinese, the Lunar New Year symbolises a fresh start to a new year and one's life, bringing with it new hopes for happiness and prosperity for the coming year. Each lunar new year is associated with one of the 12 chinese zodiac animals - in 2011, it is the Year of the Rabbit. The rabbit symbolises character traits such as creativity, compassion and sensitivity. 'Rabbits' are friendy, outgoing, and prefer the company of others. They also prefer to avoid conflicts in confrontational situations. | 10 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 79 | CleanVideo10-23 Campaign With Dr Paul Willis In Antarctica -Token Skeptic Podcast | In 2011 I was the organiser of the 10:23 Campign in Australia, with groups represented in Sydney, Brisbane, Victoria, Canberra and Perth. An interview with some of the participants features on the Token Skeptic podcast: http://tokenskeptic.org/2011/01/21/1023-campaign-in-australia-token-skeptic-special-episode.In January, I noticed that on Twitter Dr Paul Willis was heading on his way to Antarctica - so I quickly wrote to him and to the organisers of the 10:23 campaign in the UK to sign him up as a participant! This is the eventual result. Probably the most interesting experience yet as a coordinator! Thanks to Paul, all the organisers Australia-wide and to Marsh and all the UK organisers. | 10 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 80 | CleanVideoLittle Sugar Pills: Why Fall For Homeopathy? | There's a variety of reasons why someone might believe in homeopathy.Homeopathy isn't as powerful as its supporters claim it is -- the power of the human mind is greater. Which is why we have to use our minds, when it comes to getting the message out. There's more to stopping homeopathy than taking an overdose of little sugar pills.Written and presented by Kylie Sturgess of the Token Skeptic Podcast.Kinetic Typography by Matt Rogers - at www.rogerscreations.comMusic by Milton Mermikides -- 'Primal Sound' -- at www.miltonmermikides.com.From the Token Skeptic Podcast - http://tokenskeptic.org/2011/01/30/li...References:Beyond Belief: Skepticism, Science and the Paranormal -- Martin Bridgstock.Tribal Science: Brains, Beliefs and Bad Ideas -- Michael McRae.Trick Or Treatment? Alternative Medicine On Trial -- Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst.Bad Science -- Ben Goldacre.Thanks to -- Barbara Drescher and Mark Henn. | 10 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 81 | CleanVideo10-23 Campaign At QED Con - Token Skeptic Podcast | Here's the video I took at QED Con in Manchester, on the 6th February, 2011. Introduced by MC George Hrab, Michael Marshall takes to the stage to summarise the groups that have been taking part world-wide. Many, many thanks to all the organisers and especially to all the Australian participants (including Paul in Antarctica!) who were able to make this happen! | 10 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #54 - On Power Balance - Interview With Simon Brice And Brett Jaroz | This is an additional, short interview for this week - which you can also hear on the most recent Pseudo Scientists podcast, the show of the Young Australian Skeptics! Due to travelling (which I'm about to do in about ten minutes after writing this), I didn't have the chance to record an additional summation of the research - so it's on the Token Skeptic website. Many thanks to the interviewees and you can check out the media release that they mention on the RMIT website here - 'Balance Unaffected By Power Balance Wristbands: Study'. There is a copy of the abstract of the paper, 'The effect of close proximity holographic wristbands on human balance and limits of stability: A randomised, placebo-controlled trial' on the Token Skeptic site, along with the questions I ask. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com | 4 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic 53 - On Loving The Lake Monster - Interview With Benjamin Radford | I've passed the 'one year' mark! Many thanks to everyone who continues to listen to the show and as always, feel free to send in ideas and feedback. :) The next episode I do may very well feature on the Young Australian Skeptics podcast, called the Pseudo Scientists, so if you are expecting something next Monday, I suggest checking out their show instead? This is a short interview that deals with something that occurred to me when I attended a workshop on paranormal investigations at Dragon*Con last year, which was run by Benjamin Radford. That and the fact if I can work a David Bowie allusion into my work, I will. If you don't know who he is, then you should be listening to the Monster Talk podcast and reading his books like 'Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking (with sociologist Robert E. Bartholomew); Media Mythmakers: How Journalists, Activists, and Advertisers Mislead Us, and Lake Monster Mysteries: Investigating the World's Most Elusive Creatures (with Joe Nickell). If that isn't enough for you, you can also watch him appear on documentaries and TV shows like the new Oprah Network show "Miracle Detectives", and various online articles in places like Discovery News, the Center for Inquiry website and SheThought.com - and (most importantly!) subscribing to the Skeptical Inquiry magazine, of which he is the managing editor. He even has a board-game out, he's that multi-talented. By the way - Julie Burchill says he's 'brilliant' - and that's enough reason in my mind to find an opportunity to say likewise by interviewing him on emotional attachments to monsters. His new book - out later this year - is called Tracking The Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast In Fact, Fiction, And Folklore. His official site is at http://www.radfordbooks.com. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com . | 31 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanLittle Sugar Pills: Why Fall For Homeopathy? Token Skeptic Special Episode | Little Sugar Pills - Why Fall For Homeopathy? There's a variety of reasons why someone might believe in homeopathy. Homeopathy isn't as powerful as its supporters claim it is - the power of the human mind is greater. Which is why we have to use our minds, when it comes to getting the message out. There's more to stopping homeopathy than taking an overdose of little sugar pills. Credits: Written and presented by Kylie Sturgess. Music by Milton Mermikides - 'Primal Sound' - at www.miltonmermikides.com. References: Beyond Belief: Skepticism, Science and the Paranormal - Martin Bridgstock. Tribal Science: Brains, Beliefs and Bad Ideas - Michael McRae. Trick Or Treatment? Alternative Medicine On Trial - Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst. Bad Science - Ben Goldacre. Thanks to - Barbara Drescher and Mark Henn. | 29 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic 52 - On Thinking Freely In Western Sydney - An Interview With Alan Conradi | AGAIN - Glitches! Thanks to everyone for their patience - expect bonus ep again this week! :) Mentioned during the intro of this show: Token Skeptic on the Righteous Indignation podcast #82, with Eugenie Scott! Head to: http://parafort.com/ri/?p=1428 365 Days Of Astronomy podcast. http://365daysofastronomy.org. The Sydney Atheist Podcast - http://www.sydneyatheists.org/node/1154 - a hat-tip to Embiggen Books! The Sceptic Science column with Brad Newsome. http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/blog/sceptic-science The Desiree Schell (Skeptically Speaking - skepticallyspeaking.com) interview on skepticism and activism over at my CSICOP column 'Curiouser and Curiouser'! Finally - the Young Australian Skeptics Blog Anthology, on its way soon - and thanks to Gold of NZ Skeptics, a new activism project! "My use of the term 'Freethought' is an attempt to join the various groups together. It does not come with the negative connotations of the various other labels that have been assigned to such groups before and is therefore more accessible to the wider community. Freethought seems to be less likely to shy away from any topics, which means that in a freethought society there is no boundary other than reason and there would therefore be a wide range of interesting things that could be discussed." Alan Conradi is a skeptical atheist and psychology graduate who works in disability services, and he enjoys learning about and discussing belief systems, science, philosophy and much more. A keen musician who plays guitar, bass, drums, vox and pretty much anything else he can get his hands on, he's best known as a host of The Critical Mass podcast, the Three Thinkers podcast, a member of the Sydney Atheists and the Western Sydney Freethinkers. Overall, Alan is a keen activist, brilliant organiser and a popular guy! You can find him on Twitter as ZombieAlan. Western Sydney Freethinkers: http://westernsydneyfreethinkers.blogspot.com Sydney Atheists: http://www.sydneyatheists.org/ This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 24 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Clean10:23 Campaign In Australia - Token Skeptic Special Episode | As the coordinator for the 10:23 Campaign in Australia, I am honored to be working with activists across the country on the awareness-raising about the claims of homeopathy in 2011. Many thanks to Paul Caggegi in Sydney, Chris Higgins in Melbourne and Jayson Cooke on the Gold Coast (Brisbane) for talking to me for this episode about their views on skeptical activism, aims over the weekend of the 5-6th February and plans to network with like-minded skeptics. Other groups included in the Campaign are represented by Mick Vagg of the Great Coast Road Skeptics; The Victorian Skeptics; Andrew Gould in Canberra; Dan Buzzard and David Frank in Perth. We also have Dr Paul Willis of ABC's Catalyst representing 'Australians in Antarctica'! Details can be found on www.tokenskeptic.org/ten23. The official site for the 10:23 Campaign is at http://www.1023.org.uk - many thanks to the Merseyside Skeptics for getting this all started! Music provided by Milton Mermikides of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 21 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic 51 - On Sceptic Science - An Interview With Brad Newsome | SORRY FOR THE TECH ISSUES! Episode now out and an extra one this week - the 10:23 Campaign in Australia. Welcome to Episode Fifty-One! Thanks to everyone who is supporting the show; Token Skeptic and the Pseudo Scientists podcast are the only shows I'll be working on and every bit of help is greatly appreciated. Stay tuned later this week for a special bonus episode on the 10:23 Campaign in Australia. First - Sceptic Science! Brad Newsome is a Melbourne journalist who often wonders why people believe weird things - which has led him to write the Sceptic Science entries for the National Times, which is syndicated across The Brisbane Times, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and WA Today. I was very honored to be interviewed by his column on the topic of women and belief in the paranormal, which has gained over a hundred comments and discussions since its publication. Supporting good journalism is of interest to everybody, which is why I took the opportunity to talk to Brad about how and why he came to be a sceptic (with a 'c')! Check out the Sceptic Science column in the online site at http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/blog/sceptic-science. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 17 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #50 - On Mathematical Modeling Pitfalls - Barbara Drescher And Jennifer Ouellete | A special episode, recorded at the 2010 SkepTrack at Dragon*Con - a lecture by Barbara Drescher and Jennifer Ouellete! Mathematical Modeling Pitfalls: Models don’t always accurately reflect messy reality, particularly where human behavior is concerned. Algorithms can only mimic human behavior, and there is a lot of room for bias and error as a result. This episode was recorded at Dragon*Con and it is thanks again to Derek and Swoopy of SkepTrack and Skepticality podcast. The forum board for the Token Skeptic podcast is featured on the Australasian Skeptics Forum - Token Skeptic, at http://australasianskeptics.info/viewforum.php?f=39. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 10 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #49 - On Naming Skeptical Children, 10:23 Australia And Token Skeptic In The UK | Episode Forty-Nine includes the last of three final little promo-reels (thanks to QEDCon), an update on the 10:23 Campaign across Australia – and a brilliant guest appearance by Paul Caggegi - ‘On Naming Skeptical Children‘! Thanks so much, Paul! I’ll be in Manchester for QEDCon from the 4-6th February and in London from the 7-9th February (if all goes to plan). One thing I hope to do is attend a lecture being held at the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit (APRU) at Goldsmith's College. Naturally while at QEDCon, I’ll be presenting on a panel and talking to some wonderful people for the show – you can check out the draft schedule for QEDCon here. Find out more about the 10:23 Campaign in Australia by heading to www.tokenskeptic.org/ten23. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 9 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #48 - On Scepticisme Scientifique – An Interview With Jean-Michel Abrassart | The last episode of the year 2010! This is a pre-recorded interview with Jean-Michel Abrassart, who is the: “National winner 2010' in the European Podcast Awards (Category France / Personality – a podcast made by an individual – with the support of a professional organization or not). Jean-Michel holds a degree in psychology and in philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium). He is also a member of the "Comité Para", the Belgian French-speaking skeptic organization. He did his short thesis in psychology about the sociopsychological approach of the UFO phenomena. His site is found at Scepticisme Scientifique. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 30 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #47 - On A Little Bit Of Douglas Adams With Maynard And Seasons Greetings | As a present to my listeners - this is about a five-minute segment of a twenty-year old interview that is done by Maynard of http://www.maynard.com.au. How come this audio is available? Well, firstly, I met Maynard in Sydney, earlier in the year, and mentioned that I kept on one of my audio tapes this very interview. The full story of how I became a keen listener of Maynard's show back in the 1980-1990s features on the Token Skeptic website, under the show notes for Episode #47. From Wikipedia: Douglas Adams (1952 – 2001) was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television series, several stage plays, comics, a computer game, and in 2005, a feature film. Maynard's interview is with the author Douglas Adams and this is only a part of it has to feature - I'm certain that Maynard will feature the whole thing on his show very soon. He's already put a few teasers online via Twitter, and you can find his account at MaynardComAu. Please listen to his show and send him your support, as you do my show. Many, many thanks to him, the very best to all of you for the season, and thanks for being an important part of my skeptial-activities this year. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 24 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #46 - On The Australian Book Of Atheism - Perth Launch | First and foremost and absolutely before anything – thanks to Jane and Beaufort Street Books in Mt Lawley, Warren Bonett and Peter Cartledge. We had a live-Skype crossover Q&A with Warren in front of a packed bookstore to talk about The Australian Book of Atheism. This episode features how the book started, the contributors and how it was pulled together; what the history of atheism in Australia tells us about the growth and development of rationalism in this country is like; the favorable response by the media; the need for an Australian book of atheism and the hopes for future editions and what they might include. Lots of great questions from the audience, everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. I even got to read out Tim Minchin’s ‘Storm’, from the book! Thanks again to everyone who helped and took part - The Australian Book of Atheism is available from good bookstores near you, like Beaufort St Books and Embiggen Books! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 19 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #45 - On Women, Myths, Feminism and Skepticism – Live Dragon*Con Panel | The following is taken from one of the Dragon*Con panels: Women: Myths, Feminism And Skepticism – Puzzled by feminine mystique? Still searching for your 'inner Velma'? Attend this panel by a range of experienced investigators on the topics of gender, pop-culture and what science REALLY tells us! Desiree Schell, Barbara Drescher, Donna Mugavero, K.O. Myers, Brian Gregory, Melissa Kaercher and Kylie Sturgess. Once again, really big thanks to Derek Colanduno and his team at the SkepTrack at Dragon*Con. Additional thanks to David Price for taking a photo of us all on the panel! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I'd love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 14 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #44 - On Pink Microscopes - A Strange Quarks Submission | This is a short essay that was submitted to the new podcast 'Strange Quarks' - and I strongly recommend that other podcasters consider sending in their own short essays! This is a short overview on the contribution of science education to challenging paranormal and pseudoscientific beliefs in females. The influence of mainstream education in the face of numerous factors that encourages anomalistic beliefs naturally diminishes, although a good science education can definitely play a part in improving the lives of young people. Especially when the sciences are so important to the future progress of every country. Even the skeptically-minded themselves should be critically evaluating how they challenge predominant attitudes towards homeopathy, alternative medicine and the like in young women - and whether making a difference requires different approaches that are more sensitive to the influences on their lives. Strange Quarks is a podcast on science, pseudoscience, skepticism and evidence-based policy. It is made by Michael Marshall and Martin Robbins for the Pulse Project. http://strangequarks.net/. Many thanks to Jean-Michel Abrassart of http://scepticismescientifique.blogspot.com, who always encourages me to keep doing essays. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 11 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #43 - On The Australian Amazing Meeting | Welcome to episode forty-three! TAMOz, TAM Australia, whatever you want to call it - have an hour of what it's like to be me in Sydney, losing my delusions about what Australian Skeptics are and what it could be. Interviews include: Nicholas and Alex Southhall - Warren Bonett and the Booksellers for Embiggen Books - Simon Singh - Jack Scanlan of the Young Australian Skeptics - Madge Carew-Hopkins the winner of the TAMOz student scholarship - Thom Perry, one of the webdesigners and branding experts for the TAMOz convention - Paul Willis - Simon Taylor - Julian Morrow - Loretta Marron - Peter Ellerton - James Randi - Dr Rob Morrison. We talk about education, the Bent Spoon nomination for ACARA, science communication, popularity, effectiveness, outreach, activism, coffee mornings, not enough sleep, magic, psychology, the best books ever and why blogging does matter. Many thanks to the organisers, everyone who was kind enough to talk to me and to the likes of Brian Dunning for only standing still long enough around me for one photo. Ah well. Maybe next year I'll be famous enough... :p My sympathies and best wishes to Derek K Miller and his family. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P and P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 1 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #42 - On Breakfast And Blogging - Interviews At TAMOz Fringe | A short mixture of interviews and opinions from the 'Blogger's Breakfast', a gathering of early-morning breakfasting skeptics in the shade of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Includes the 'Placebo Bands', Dave the Happy Singer (of www.davethehappysinger.com) the Australian Book of Atheism, Homologous Legs blog, Victorian Skeptics website and 'Bastard Sheep'. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 25 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #41 - On Being Naturally Skeptical – The Psychology Behind Being A Skeptic | Welcome to a catch-up episode of the Token Skeptic! Many apologies for the delays on the last episode and many thanks to Michael Marshall and all thepeople of QEDCon for their patience! This episode was recorded at Dragon*Con and it is thanks again to Derek and Swoopy of SkepTrack and Skepticality podcast. Naturally Skeptical? The Psychology Behind Being A Skeptic. It's a round-table discussion on the factors that do (and don’t!) contribute to becoming a questioner of the paranormal and pseudoscientific. The panel featured Prof. Barbara Drescher, Matt Lowry, Jamy Ian Swiss, Dr Scott Lilienfeld, myself Kylie Sturgess and was moderated by DJ Grothe. Don't forget that TAM Australia starts this weekend, and I'll be there. Check out the schedule at http://www.tamaustralia.org and most importantly, visit the Embiggen Books display that will be featured. Enjoy this episode and if you're at the Amazing Meeting Australia, say hello to me at the Friday night at Maloney's hotel and on the stage with the Skeptic Zone podcast! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 23 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #40 - On The QED Conference – Interview With Michael Marshall | Question. Explore. Discover. QED Conference is a two-day science and skepticism conference taking place in the Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester on the 5th-6th February 2011. QED is organised by North West Skeptical Events Ltd for the Greater Manchester Skeptics Society and the Merseyside Skeptics Society. All proceeds from QED will be donated to the National Autistic Society and Sense About Science. You can still get tickets to the event, via the QED website at www.qedcon.org. This interview features Michael Marshall, the co-founder of Merseyside Skeptics Society and Presenter of Skeptics with a K and Righteous Indignation podcasts. Thanks to him, you're going to hear all about this conference! I'll be attending and presenting at a panel on 'Reaching Out Reasonably'. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 16 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #38 - On Skepticism And Education At DragonCon 2010 - Live Panel Show Re-Release | Welcome to a special release for the Token Skeptic podcast! RE-RELEASE to improve sound! JREF now has a Director of Educational Programs - what else is being done out there and how can skeptics help educate the next generation? This is the audio of the panel recorded at Dragon*Con 2010, featuring moderator DJ Grothe and panelists Barbara Drescher, Michael Blanford, Daniel Loxton, Pamela Gay, Matt Lowry and myself, Kylie Sturgess. It's a great honor to be included with these people and I look forward to working with them in the future! Very big thanks to Mark Distler of Abrupt Media and his audio team and (as always) very, VERY big thanks to the SkepTrack at Dragon*Con, and the director Derek Colanduno. None of this would have been possible without them. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 9 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #39 - On Updates And Events | Updates, emails from listeners and tours, other podcasts, other events and all that - thanks again to my persistent listeners! The George Hrab Styrofoam Tour - Nov. 29 - Brisbane, QLD The Redbrick Hotel, 83 Annerley Road, South Brisbane 7.30 PM Nov. 30 - Melbourne, VIC Clyde Hotel, 385 Cardigan St, Carlton, Victoria 8:00 PM Dec. 1 - Christchurch, NZ The Twisted Hop, 6 Poplar Street, Christchurch 7:00 PM Dec. 2 - Auckland, NZ Dec. 3 - Adelaide, SA Royal Institution of Australia 8:00 PM Dec. 5 - Canberra, ACT - King O'Malley's Irish Pub 1:00 - 4:00 PM Occam’s Barbershop radio show and podcast - www.DCUfm.com or at the Occam’s Barbershop site at www.OccamsBarbershop.com. The Rational Capital Podcast - www.rationalcapital.com.au Simon Singh talking about the QED Convention in Manchester - www.qedcon.org This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 4 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #37 - On The 10:23 Campaign In 2011 – An Interview With Andy Wilson | Science and rationality are political issues, whether we like it or not. Amanda Marcotte, Get Opinionated: A Progressive’s Guide to Finding Your Voice (and Taking a Little Action). On Jan 30, 2010 at 10:23am, more than three hundred skeptics in the UK (and a handful of groups internationally) took part in a mass homeopathic 'overdose' in protest at the high-street pharmacy / drug store chain Boots' continued endorsement and sale of homeopathic remedies, and to raise public awareness about the fact that homeopathic remedies have nothing in them. But then what? Clearly Boots and many other retailers like them continue to sell homeopathic products. Did it change people’s minds as well as reach the news? Is there more to activism than ‘placebo’ stunts - and what really ensures effective change? In 2011, skeptics internationally are challenged to take it further – and come up with their own, locally-inspired activities. The next 10:23 Campaign (http://www.1023.org.uk) will take place across the weekend of the 5th and 6th of February, 2011. Andy Wilson is a Board member of Merseyside Skeptics Society and co-founder of the 2010 10:23 campaign against the use of homeopathy in mainstream health. Andy lives in Southport, Merseyside and is also host of the satirical, skeptical panel show podcast, InKredulous. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 7 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #36 – On Skeptical Activism And Creationism - An Interview With Jayson Cooke Of Griffith University Skeptics An | Welcome back to more regularly scheduled programming post-Dragon*Con! I'd like to say some very big thanks to the people I hung out with in Atlanta this year, especially Derek and Swoopy of Skepticality, KO Myers and Desiree Schell, Barbara Drescher, Daphne Ross, Heidi Anderson, Daniel and Cheryl Loxton, Ben Radford, Donna Mugavero, Jenna Griffith, the Skeptic Zone team, Laurie and Rob Tarr, Colin Thornton and the rest of the Podcast Beyond Belief team, Jennifer Haythorn, Josh Meyer, Abe the Alien - and especially every wonderful member of the SkepTrack team: Mykel Alvis, Ann Gillett and Mark Distler of Abrupt Media and his audio team. To people I only met for the first time, it was wonderful to see you in person - to the people who saw me running around and only got in a brief word or two, I really hope to spend more time with you next year! I hope all the little videos on Token Skeptic somehow make up for it! I was contacted late last week by Jayson Cooke of the Griffith University Skeptics and Freethinkers in Queensland, about his efforts to raise awareness about a Seminar that was planned to be held at the University of Southern Queensland's Hervey Bay campus, by Creation Ministries International: I happened to be looking at my inbox on Friday afternoon, September 17, 2010, when I received my regular email update from Creation Ministries International (CMI)... It wasn’t until I glanced at the subject line of the email that my jaw dropped involuntarily and uncomfortably to my desk: “University–Sponsored Creation Seminar at Hervey Bay, University of Southern Queensland." The official site for the Griffith University Skeptics and Freethinkers is at www.gussf.wordpress.com. Happy birthday, Benjamin Radford! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 2 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 103 | CleanVideoThe Placebo Effect - Token Skeptic | This is a short film, thanks to Daniel Keogh! He played it during his touring show 'The Stupid Species: Why Everyone (Except You) Is An Idiot' for Science Week. You can follow him on Twitter as 'Professor Funk' and hear him being interviewed on episode #30 of the Token Skeptic podcast. Enjoy! | 23 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 104 | CleanVideoAtlanta Aquarium With The Skeptics of Dragon*Con | A bunch of us saw the aquarium after everything has ended - see if you can name us all! | 9 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 105 | CleanVideoToken Skeptic Dragon*Con 2010 - Saturday and Sunday | The final footage from Dragon*Con and the Skeptic Track, including the Skeptical Parenting panel with Adam Savage, the Geologic Podcast (with both Ms Information and George Hrab, with guest appearance by Phil Plait), the various stalls, Ann trying out musk sticks and a very special bear. | 9 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 106 | CleanVideoLittle Issac and the Costumes at Dragon*Con | One of the 'traditions' of Dragon*Con is to check out all the costumes at the Marriott. This year, I was fortunate enough to hang out with Barbara, Daniel, Cheryl and the tiniest stormtrooper ever. :) | 8 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 107 | CleanVideoDragon*Con 2010 Skeptic Track Day One - Friday | The first day of Dragon*Con on Friday, 3rd September! Day One (proper) of Dragon*Con - includes the Token Skepticality Speaking Beyond BS panel; the Scams and Consumerism panel; Scott Sigler reads from his 4th Grade writing book; various costumes and the launch of the Hanny's Voorwerp comic with Dr Pamela Gay and George Hrab. | 5 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 108 | CleanVideoToken Skeptic - First Day At Dragon*Con 2010 | My first day (and a bit) of Dragon*Con 2010! Includes the setting up of the Skeptic Track and waiting in line to get registered. Spot 'Abe the Alien' and 'the running of the geeks!' Big thanks to KO Myers, Desiree Schell, Abe the Alien (www.aliencostume.co.uk) and Derek Colanduno of SkepTrack at Dragon*Con. | 3 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #35 - On Science At Home – An Interview With Deb Hodgkin | I hope everyone enjoyed Australia's Science Week! Hello to all the new subscribers and I hope you enjoy earlier episodes as well - all available at Token Skeptic and on iTunes. This episode features Deb Hodgkin of Science-at-home.org! Deb studied Human Biology and Archaeology in her Bachelor of Science, then did Honours in Anatomy. With her Post-Graduate Diploma in Education, she taught in remote communities and towns for nine years before she had children - which led to the creation of her website, Science At Home! Deb has taught all sorts of things in addition to Secondary Science and Maths and with her Masters in Education, she applies her experiences and insights when promoting science activities for parents. As she says on her site, 'Science@Home': Children are natural scientists. Take advantage of their questioning with fun activities to share and develop their love of science and critical thinking. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 23 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #34 – On Saving Your Breath For Running Ponies - An Interview With Bec Crew For Science Week | It is a great honor to celebrate Science Week for 2010, by interviewing science blogger Bec Crew who writes the informative and hilarious Save Your Breath For Running Ponies! She's a twenty-six year old Archeology graduate and journalist, who won the Big Blog Theory Competition by popular vote, earning it the title of Best Australian Science Blog. Bec works at Australia's Cosmos Magazine as an editorial assistant. As part of the prize, starting from August the 13th to the 29th she is attending various events for National Science Week around Australia and acting as the “official Science Week blogger”. Don't forget, if you're in Melbourne, to go to the Brains Matter live show on the 15th of August - she'll be attending that too! Both of our cats feature in the background of this particular episode, in case you're wondering. :) This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 14 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #33 – On Coral Reefs And Climate Change – An Interview With Craig Reid Conducted By Warren Bonett | A very special episode for number thirty-three - this is thanks to Warren Bonett of the Embiggen Books bookstore! Over the past ten years, Craig Reid has been working on coral reefs as a diver, educator, researcher and underwater photographer. Coral Reefs and Climate Change, his first publication as principle author, is the culmination of more than five years of work with the Coral Watch team at the University of Queensland. He spoke at the Embiggen Bookstore on Saturday, 3rd July, and this is an exclusive interview he gave to Warren - http://embiggenbooks.com. The book, Coral Reefs and Climate Change: the guide for education and awareness by Craig Reid, Justin Marshall, Dave Logan and Diana Kleine for Coralwatch at University of Queensland, is available via this link. Don't forget that Embiggen Books will be taking part in Australia's Science week - Embiggen Books in conjunction with The Queensland Brain Institute is bringing cutting edge neuroscience to the people of the Sunshine Coast from the 13-14 August, 2010. More details about that event and much more, at the Embiggen Books blog! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 11 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #32 – On Infidels And Nomads - An Interview With Ayaan Hirsi Ali Conducted By Reverend Canon Frank Sheehan | This episode would not be possible if it were not for the opportunity given to me by Christ Church Grammar School - particularly the Centre for Ethics and Reverend Canon Frank Sheehan and Teresa Scott - and St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls. This is an interview conducted on August 2nd, 2010 at Christ Church Grammar School, of Ayaan Hirsi Ali by Reverend Cannon Frank Sheehan. Somali-born writer, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, sees her journey from tribal community to membership of modern democratic society in terms of enlightenment. After spending time as a parliamentarian in the Netherlands, Ayaan moved to a conservative Washington think tank. As both an activist and an academic, she writes and speaks about the problematic relationship between some forms of Islam and freedom of thought and expression as it has come to be accepted and treasured in the West. This has naturally led to hurt and bewilderment on both sides of the discussion. Ayaan Hirsi Ali continues to pay a high price for her readiness to embrace liberty of thought as is evidenced by her need for protection. She gained enormous fame for her book Infidel (2007) and her most recent work Nomad. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and has been named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 3 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #31 - On Science Communication - An Interview With Dr Jesse Shore | Welcome to Episode thirty-one! This week, after attending a workshop on evaluation, I had the chance to talk to the President of the Australian Science Communicators, Dr Jesse Shore! He is the brain behind the science communication consultancy company Prismatic Sciences (based in NSW). His experience includes working at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, coordinating public events, and science festivals. Dr Shore has served or is serving on state coordinating committees for National Science Week. He is also on working groups relating to the recent Inspiring Australia Report, which we discuss briefly during this interview. Additional News: August 15, 2010, starting from 11am, at the Monash Science Centre, Clayton, Victoria - the Brains Matter Live show! Check out the Brains Matter podcast site for more at www.brainsmatter.com. Congratulations to the Science Bloggers Bec Crew of Running Ponies blog and the microblogger cbsquared_ - winners of the Big Blog Theory! Check out Bec reporting nationwide for Science Week in August. In addition, check your local science news for the national tour by Daniel Keogh, called "Why We’re the Stupid Species”. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 30 7 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #30 - On Science Communication, Hungry Beasts And Professor Funk – An Interview With Daniel Keogh | This is Episode Thirty! Work starts for me again this week, so to save some time, I’m putting this episode online a little earlier than usual. When I was in Sydney recently, I had the chance to talk to Daniel Keogh. He describes himself as an Ex-Hungry Beast idiot and a current ABC Science Show producer, who shares interesting stuff about science, politics, culture, and art. Like my friend Michael McRae, he has qualifications in science communication, having graduated from the Australian National University’s Centre for the Public Awareness of Science – where they were both Science Circus members! His 'Professor Funk' on Youtube can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/TheProfessorFunk. Daniel has done some extremely funny and powerful presentations on scientific topics for ABC’s Hungry Beast TV show, including investigations on Gardasil for Guys, Scientology and even Zombies! He currently works at ABC studios in Ultimo, where we conducted this interview, and he’ll be touring the country for Australia’s Science Week with his show ‘Why We’re the Stupid Species’, details of which will be featured on the Science Week website – at http://www.scienceweek.gov.au/. Additional News: On August 15, 2010, starting from 11am, at the Monash Science Centre, Clayton, Victoria – the Brains Matter podcast will be conducting an interview with one of Australia’s leading palaeontologists, Professor Pat Vickers-Rich, on the topic of “From Slime to Dinosaurs”. Facebook link to the event is here. Check out the Brains Matter podcast site for more at www.brainsmatter.com. Big Blog Theory – Check out all the entries, including my own as Podblack Cat blog, and the Young Australian Skeptic’s Jack Scanlan, Dr Rachael Dunlop and Bec Crew’s Running Ponies and many more – at http://thebigblogtheory.com.au. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, you can find and rate all of the shows there, or you can visit www.tokenskeptic.org – I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. us all out and nominate! | 18 7 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #29 - On The Invisible Gorilla – An Interview With Daniel Simons And Christopher Chabris | For many listening to this podcast - the phrase 'Did you see the gorilla?' might remind you of a group of people throwing a basketball to each other. For those who have no idea - before you go any further, check out the award-winning video that will feature in the show notes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY Finished watching it? What you have just seen is part of a 2004 Ig Nobel award-winning study - which makes the following interview really quite special. Christopher Chabris and Prof Daniel Simons have released a book about their ten years of research - on why people succumb to everyday illusions and what we can do to inoculate ourselves against their effects. Called The Invisible Gorilla, it details the experiment and how it might explain such things as why companies spend billions on product they knows will fail and why award-winning movies are full of editing mistakes. They combine the work of other researchers with their own findings on attention, perception, memory, and reasoning to reveal how faulty intuitions often get us into trouble. The Invisible Gorilla And Other Ways our Intuition Deceives Us is available from bookstores world-wide and I do suggest you check out my favourite bookstore online, Embiggen Books, for a copy. You can head to the official site to learn more, at http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com. By the way - my science blog Podblack is up for an Australian science blogging award! Head to http://thebigblogtheory.com.au and support bloggers for Science Week! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, you can find and rate all of the shows there, or you can visit www.tokenskeptic.org – I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 17 7 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #28 - On Secular Ethics Classes - An Interview With Dr Phillip Cam | 'Did you know that children whose parents make a conscientious decision to have them opt out of Special Religious Education (SRE) are prohibited from any form of instruction during this period? NSW Department of Education policy provides for the supervision of these children but specifies they are not to have access to 'ethics, values, civics or general religious education.' - St James Ethics Centre. Hello and welcome to one of the few live rather than Skyped interviews that I conduct for this podcast. Last week I attended the Federation of Australasian Philosophy in Schools Association annual conference, held at the University of NSW. One of the presenters was Dr Phillip Cam. Dr Philip Cam is Associate Professor in the School of History and Philosophy at the University of New South Wales. He has particular interests in the philosophy of the mind, education, social philosophy and philosophical inquiry for children. Dr Cam has written several books related to philosophical inquiry for children, some of which have been widely translated, and he is the author of many articles on related aspects of education. In 2004, I attended a Level 2 training course in Philosophy for Children, with about fifteen other teachers, attending lectures and workshops run by practioners, including Dr Cam. At the FAPSA conference, he did a short presentation about the state's 10-week trial for secular ethics classes, which has caught some media attention - so I hoped to clear up a few misconceptions about the trial and whether it was, as some claimed, really 'in competition' with religious education classes. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, you can find and rate all of the shows there, or you can visit www.tokenskeptic.org – I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com and do send in reviews for iTunes! Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 12 7 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #27 - On The Separation Between Scientific Truth And Belief - Interview With Dr Pamela Gay | Welcome to episode twenty seven of the Token Skeptic! Dear listeners - firstly apologies for getting out two episodes out so soon after one another. Next week I'll be traveling, so it is unlikely that I'll get out an episode next week, so I hope you don't mind that there's a little space between this and episode twenty-eight. I'll be attending a Philosophy and Education conference in Sydney, on the other side of Australia, and will include the content from that in the next show. This episode is called 'On Separation Between Scientific Truth and Belief'. This is a very current 'news' item online, involving a blog-post written by Dr Pamela Gay and the response it has got from a variety of people, including Dr PZ 'Pharyngula' Myers. It is called Separation Between Scientific Truth and Belief, on her Starstryder blog. Dr Gay is an astronomer, writer, and podcaster, who focuses on using new media to engage people in science and technology. On her website 'About' page, she writes that she is often asked about her belief system and created a page to answer that question here. What this episode features is the second half of an interview - the first half with Dr Gay will feature on the Skeptic Zone podcast later this week, and I urge people who are not familiar or have not kept in touch with the work that Dr Gay does for astronomy and education, to download that too. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, you can find and rate all of the shows there, or you can visit www.tokenskeptic.org – I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com and do send in reviews for iTunes! Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 29 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #26 - On Chronic Illness, Deaf Culture And Skepticism - Interview With Joey Haban | Welcome to episode twenty six of the Token Skeptic! This week I’m interviewing Joey Haban of the blog Newly Nerfed. Newly Nerfed is a blog about chronic illness and disability, science and skepticism, and geekery of all kinds, that you can find at http://newly-nerfed.net. She describes herself on her site as 'a 36-year-old geeky gal living in Los Angeles, with a husband (a videogame technical director) and two unemployed Burmese cats, Zen — the one with the game controller — and Satori.' She has a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU, and finished the coursework for her master’s in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Prior to becoming disabled, she was a sign language interpreter in the college setting, and later taught English grammar and writing to underprepared deaf college students. She is also a staff writer for AbleGamers and contributes to the Grassroots Skeptics. Some of the topics we discuss are inspired by an excellent and thought-provoking blog-post called 'Bitten And Shy', which investigates how people may have a good reason, although not an excuse, to reject medical science. Joey shares some insights from her time as an interpreter of American Sign Language (ASL) and views on skepticism. You can follow her on Twitter at ZenMonkey and join her Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newly-Nerfed/260287547080 This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, you can find and rate all of the shows there, or you can visit www.tokenskeptic.org - I'd love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com and do send in reviews for iTunes! Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 28 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #25 - On Books - The Second Embiggen Book Review Show | Welcome to episode twenty five of the Token Skeptic! This week I’m interviewing Warren Bonett of Embiggen Books, for the second book-review episode! Warren’s bookstore, Embiggen Books, is in Noosaville on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia. Their website is www.embiggenbooks.com. The books reviewed for this episode are: Thirty-Six Arguments for the Existence of God - A Novel, by Rebecca Goldstein; Flat Earth News, by Nick Davies. You'll also hear us mention in passing the website 'Butterflies and Wheels' by Ophelia Benson (the book that I couldn't find in the room while I was talking to Warren was Does God Hate Women? by Jeremy Stangroom and Ophelia Benson. If you’d like to suggest some books for us to look at or make some recommendations, please feel free to contact either myself or Warren about this episode. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, you can find and rate all of the shows there, or you can visit www.tokenskeptic.org - I'd love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com and do send in reviews for iTunes! Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of Penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 22 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #24 - On Trebuchet - Interview Of George Hrab By Milton Mermikides | Dear George Hrab, You're a very silly man and I'm not going to interview you. Milton Mermikides is going to do it instead. Regards, Kylie Sturgess. Trebuchet features 17 songs about skepticism, science, atheism, falling, flying, remnant evolutionary behavior, and the usefulness of one plastic lobster. This is the first thirty-minutes of an extended interview by Milton Mermikides with George Hrab; the rest of the interview may feature on the Geologic Podcast. Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, composer and heliocentrist George Hrab has written and produced five independent CDs; published one book; performed for President Clinton; shared the stage with countless numbers of musicians and acts; and has traveled across the country as drummer, vocalist, musical director, and event host for the nationally recognized Philadelphia Funk Authority. As defacto Despot-for-Life of his own original ensemble The Geologic Orchestra, George humbly follows in the footsteps of such icons as Frank Zappa, Mark Twain, Carl Sagan, and Will Rogers, making it a personal quest to improve the cognitive thinking skills of each and every American by reaching them through their funny bones and dance shoes. His music, skepticism and wit have been featured on many radio broadcasts, TV shows, and podcasts - his podcast is found at www.geologicpodcast.com Milton Mermikides lives in London and enjoys a life working as a performing and session guitarist, composer of many styles, band leader, producer, recording engineer, leukaemia activist, lecturer and academic. He has a BSc from the London School of Economics, a BMus from Berklee College of Music and is currently completing a PhD at the University of Surrey in Performance and Composition. At the age of 28, Milton was appointed a Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music followed by the position of Head of Music Technology. He is also professor of Jazz Guitar at the Royal College of Music. In 2004, Milton was appointed Designer and Director of the Creative Technology Lab - the Electro-acoustic research centre at the Royal Academy of Music, for which he received the ULU Laurel award for services to Music Technology. His website is www.miltonmermikides.com. You can purchase Trebuchet via iTunes or at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hrab6 (which includes the option to purchase either the downloadable version or a physical copy that comes with a twenty-page booklet). Thanks Milton, I couldn't have done this. The Token Skeptic podcast site is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of Penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of MiltonMermikides.com. | 16 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #24.5 - Trebuchet By George Hrab | George Hrab Trebuchet Featuring Phil Plait, Peter Gregson, Slau, and The Skeptical Shoe Horns. 1. God is Not Great 2. Everything Alive Will Die Someday 3. Ms.Information 4. Fifty Stories 5. FAR 6. Remora 7. Sviatoslav Lobster 8. When I Was Your Age 9. Trebuchet 10. Atlanta 11. Death From The Skies 12. Never Knew 13. Hai Yookito ‘Ya 14. Where Have You Been? 15. One Hypnopompic Jerk 16. Small Comfort 17. Happy Birthday Baby available at cdbaby.com/hrab6 and iTunes all songs © 2010 Geologic Records / You Call That Music | 16 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #23 - On Big Pharma - Interview With Dr Leslie Cannold and Michael McRae | Welcome to Token Skeptic #23 - a discussion between Dr Leslie Cannold and Michael McRae on perceptions of pharmaceutical companies! After reading ‘The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks’ by Rebecca Skloot and talking to my students about medical ethics, and more recently, the Australian Vaccination Network - I really wanted to investigate the public perception of pharmaceutical companies and why it seems to have such a strange ‘either for or against!’ approach for many. The questions I asked include: What do you think is the public perception of pharmaceutical companies and why? Have we learned from history about how drug companies gather and report results and are things improving? What should be the future of pharmaceutical products and whose responsibility is it to make sure that happens? The article that we discuss around the twenty-minute mark is 'Ghost Stories', by Richard Guilliat, published in the Australian Magazine on April 3rd, 2010, about the multinational drug firm Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and the investigation into its promotion of Premarin hormone-replacement drugs. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/ghost-stories/story-e6frg8h6-1225848936455 Dr Leslie Cannold is an author, researcher, ethicist and vocalist. Her website is http://www.cannold.com She worked for years at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne, and now holds an Honorary Fellowship at Melbourne, as well as an Adjunct Senior Lecturer position at Monash University. Leslie sits on various boards and committees, including the ethics panel of the Infertility Treatment Authority and the Human Research and Ethics Committee of the Victorian Department of Human Services. She is president of Reproductive Choice Australia and Pro-Choice Victoria, grass-roots advocacy groups that seek to maximise the reproductive rights and freedoms available to Australians. The Token Skeptic podcast site is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of Penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 11 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #6 - On Trial By Ordeal - Witch-Hunting And Superstition | Professor Peter T. Leeson’s paper on 'Ordeals' looks at the medieval superstition 'iudicium dei' – or the judgment of God - the practice of judging a person’s innocence or guilt by ordeal. This could include putting your arm into boiling water, being dunked or even being burnt alive. "It was expected that God, approving the act imposed or permitted by an authorized judge, would give a distinct manifestation of the truth to reveal the guilt or innocence of the accused. It was believed from these premises that an equitable judgment must surely result." While many of us can see the humor in the overeager peasants wanting to burn a witch in the film 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail', belief in witchcraft and use of torture in their confession has continued for centuries. Even now, it demonstrates how sometimes superstitions can not only draw in mob support - but can be used to kill. The article read out during the episode is called 'A Nigerian Witch-Hunter Defends Herself' from the New York Times, from the 22nd May, 2010, written by Mark Oppenheimer. To learn more about the work of Leo Igwe, his work is documented at www.iheu.org/iheu and you can find some of his articles on his website. Professor Peter T. Leeson is the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University The Token Skeptic podcast site is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of Penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 29 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #22 - On Rights (Lecture By A.C Grayling) | This is the second half of the Professor AC Grayling lecture recorded on the second of March at ChristChurch Grammar school! This particular episode is on the concept of rights. Anthony Grayling MA, DPhil (Oxon) FRSL, FRSA is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford. He has written and edited over twenty books on philosophy and other subjects; among his most recent are “Ideas That Matter”, “Liberty in the Age of Terror” and “To Set Prometheus Free”. For several years he wrote the “Last Word” column for the Guardian newspaper and now writes a column for the Times. He is a frequent contributor to the Literary Review, Observer, Independent on Sunday, Times Literary Supplement, Index on Censorship and New Statesman, and is an equally frequent broadcaster on BBC Radios 4, 3 and the World Service. He writes the Thinking Read column for the Barnes and Noble Review in New York, is the Editor of Online Review London, and a Contributing Editor of Prospect magazine. Thanks again to Christ Church Grammar School and the Philosophy Department there, for making this available. The Token Skeptic podcast site is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of Penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 17 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #21 - On Truth, Realism And Non-Realism (Lecture By A.C Grayling) | This is episode twenty-one and a slight deviation from the usual fare! This is a recorded lecture from A.C Grayling, taken at a presentation he did in Perth earlier this year, suitable for high-school students. My final-year Philosophy and Ethics students attended this and it is thanks to Christ Church Grammar School in Perth that they were able to do so. Anthony Grayling MA, DPhil (Oxon) FRSL, FRSA is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford. He has written and edited over twenty books on philosophy and other subjects; among his most recent are “Ideas That Matter”, “Liberty in the Age of Terror” and “To Set Prometheus Free”. For several years he wrote the “Last Word” column for the Guardian newspaper and now writes a column for the Times. He is a frequent contributor to the Literary Review, Observer, Independent on Sunday, Times Literary Supplement, Index on Censorship and New Statesman, and is an equally frequent broadcaster on BBC Radios 4, 3 and the World Service. He writes the Thinking Read column for the Barnes and Noble Review in New York, is the Editor of Online Review London, and a Contributing Editor of Prospect magazine. No, it’s not the usual content for the Token Skeptic podcast, but it’s a useful way of sharing this resource with other institutions, as I have classes that are studying this at the moment. Enjoy the variety! You can hear the second half in Episode #22, 'On Rights'. The Token Skeptic podcast site is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of Penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 17 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #20 - On Books - The First Embiggen Book Review Show | Welcome to episode twenty of the Token Skeptic! This week I’m interviewing Warren Bonett of Embiggen Books. We also discuss some great science books and I hope will be a regular feature in forthcoming shows. Warren’s bookstore, Embiggen Books, is in Noosaville on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia. Their website is www.embiggenbooks.com. The books reviewed for this episode are: Michael Specter’s Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms The Planet and Threatens Our Lives Deirdree Barrett’s Supernormal Stimuli - How Primal Urges Overan Their Evolutionary Purpose. You'll also hear us mention in passing The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot and Bruce M. Hood's Supersense: From Superstition to Religion, the Brain Science of Belief. If you’d like to suggest some books for us to look at or make some recommendations, please feel free to contact either myself or Warren about this episode. The Token Skeptic podcast site is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of Penmachine.com and ‘365’ by Milton Mermikides, at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 16 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #7 - On Critical Thinking (Interview With Kylie Sturgess And Michael McRae – Expanding Horizons) | It’s a missing episode! This is an interview that is thanks to Expanding Horizons. Expanding Horizons is a Unitarian church radio show from South Australia, featured on Radio Adelaide 101.5 and hosted by Brian Menzies. With a wide range of topics and investigations, Brian was kind enough last year to call upon both Michael McRae and I to talk about our experiences as teachers and to address that tricky question: ‘What is critical thinking’? I thought this was a fun and insightful opportunity to address some of the misconceptions people have, that there’s a ’set’ definition of critical thinking, that it’s equivalent to skepticism and how there’s a lot going on out there that people might not know about. I hope you enjoy this addition to the podcast – and thanks again to Brian and the Expanding Horizons team, whose show you can find at their official site. Sorry about the picture – it’s the only one I have with Michael and myself; we’re at TAM5 with Matt Stone of South Park! Michael McRae's work can be found at Science By Email. Sites mentioned include the Australasian Home of Philosophy in Schools - at http://www.fapsa.org.au/ and the Critical Thinking Education Group - at http://www.criticalteaching.org/ My site is www.podblack.com. The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller (P and P) at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides (365) at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 6 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #19 - On Skepticism And Education (Interview With JREF's Michael Blanford) | It's Episode 19 - and I'm getting back into the swing of things by releasing the two missing episodes AND the required 'one episode a week'! Can't say how much I appreciate all the listeners, considering how this show has gone in a variety of directions and subjects which (I assure you) wasn't the original intention! Where are we now? We're listening to Michael Blanford, who you may have noticed has recently joined the James Randi Educational Foundation! He's the new Director of Educational Programs! As a high-school teacher myself, I've got a lot of questions and vested interest in knowing how he's going to help with the 'E' in JREF. "With an academic background in zoology, Blanford began his career as a field biologist, studying amphibians and reptiles in the United States and Costa Rica. While he enjoys doing research, he has spent much of the last 15 years promoting science literacy and appreciation. He has developed science curricula, programs, and informal content for a number of institutions, including schools, community centers, and museums. Most recently, he was coordinator for the Saint Louis Science Center’s Life Science Lab, an innovative space with the mission of exposing the public to the tools and methods of scientific research. Michael lives with his family in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he spends much of his spare-time promoting grassroots skepticism through a number of organizations. Michael is founder of the Saint Louis Skeptics Meetup, founder and President of the Skeptical Society of Saint Louis, co-founder of Saint Louis Skeptics in the Pub, and has served as Vice President of the Rationalist Society of Saint Louis, America’s oldest continuously meeting free thought organization." Head to the www.randi.org site to learn more. The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller (P and P) at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides (365) at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 2 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #18 - On The Placebo Protest (Science Communication Part Three) | Welcome to Episode Eighteen! This particular episode is another conversation with Michael McRae, about the #boobquake day, held on the 26th April, earlier this week. I also, thanks to the Virtual Drinking Skeptically chat which inspired me, have Desiree Schell of Skeptically Speaking included! As a community outreach worker, she brings her own experiences in terms of rallies and protests - what did she think and what did fellow feminists and skeptics say to her? After Michael McRae published an essay on the SheThought site, I decided to clear up a few things in regards to what really was happening, was it about communicating science, as some claimed - or was it something that really showed how not many of us are reflecting on the impact of actions skeptics take? From Michael McRae's 'The Rise of the Placebo Protest': "However, for skeptics who actually desire a public change in attitude and have hope that the next generation will have a better grasp of critical thinking, protests and stunts shouldn’t be considered as part of the solution. What’s more, they should be considered as potentially counterproductive, sacrificing the very things that make science so useful for a grab for headlines and nodding heads. In the very least, they should be treated as if they will actually produce some form of results. Dismissing criticism of such events is no different than those who defend religion, alternative medicine or a belief in fairies as in the least harmless and at the most productive thanks to the mere possibility of their illusionary benefits. Placebo protests are fundamentally little different to placebo medicines, and demand the very same critical evaluation for evidence. There will be more Boobquakes, homeopathic suicides and similar skeptic protests in the future. They’re simple and get a response that satisfies our confirmation-biased brains. Such events aren’t intrinsically good or bad. But to claim they’re useful for engaging the public in science, promoting skepticism or encouraging more people to think critically simply isn’t supported by the evidence." Desiree Schell can be heard on www.skepticallyspeaking.com and Michael McRae's work can be found at Science By Email. The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller (P and P) at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides (365) at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 2 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #17 - On How We Only Like You Because You're Good In Blog - Blogging Skeptically | Welcome to the special episode that celebrates SheThought.com! Today, the 22nd of April, you can contribute and read a variety of blog entries at SheThought.com on the subject of 'We Only Like You Because You’re Good in Blog': How do you start a blog, pick a name, get and keep readers, and deal with trolls, cliques, and flame wars? How has the recent UK libel case vs Simon Singh changed blogging? Why blog at all? How is blogging different from journalism? Share your secrets and tips, and learn from your peers! Because after all, what fun is it to be good in blog alone? In 2009, the Dragon*Con Skeptic Track featured a panel on 'Blogging Skeptically'. Thanks to Derek and Swoopy of Skepticality, I'm playing the entire panel, unedited, for your listening pleasure. Enjoy and remember to check out the SheThought site and all the blog entries contributed! Thanks again to Skepticality's Derek and Swoopy - and thanks to Heidi Anderson of SheThought.com. The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller (P and P) at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides (365) at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 22 4 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #8 - On Skepticism And Cosmetic Claims | Here's the first of my 'filling in the missing episodes' - and many thanks to those who continue to subscribe and support the show, I really appreciate it! This is an edited version of a presentation done at The Australian Skeptics convention held in Melbourne, in 2006. It was the first Australian skeptical convention I'd ever attended, and it really made an impact upon me, because I'd heard of people talking about paranormal claims and science education before - but never about the science behind make-up claims. The presentation is by Rosemary Nixon, and it is thanks to her and Richard Saunders of the Skeptic Zone podcast that I'm able to play this for you. I hope to speak to her again about pseudoscience and dermatology in the near future. You'll hear references to the slides and advertisements used in this presentation and I'll be seeing about putting some of those up on the Token Skeptic podcast. So if you have difficulty imagining some of the standard adverts that are used by companies that say how pomegranate and tomato extract is meant to benefit your skin, you can refer to examples on my site at www.tokenskeptic.org. Thanks again to the listeners and you'll be getting another two episodes out this week, including one for 'You Only Like Me Because I'm Good In Blog' Day - April 22nd. Head to the Shethought.com website, a place where anyone can contribute entries and essays, to learn more about how bloggers are dedicating a day to talking about maintaining and sustaining their writing online. So - here's Rosemary Nixon, Senior Fellow at the Department of Medicine at St Vincent's Hospital, at the University of Melbourne - with her presentation on "MythBusting: A Dermatologist's Approach to Cosmetic Advertising". The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller (P and P) at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides (365) at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 19 4 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #16 - On One Woman's Struggle For Secularism | The Rise Of Atheism, 2010 Global Atheist Convention featured one of the most engaging speakers I've ever heard - Taslima Nasrin. This is her presentation, called ''On my Struggle for Secularism, Human Rights, Freedom of Expression and For Women's Freedom'. When I started researching all the presenters that I was going to introduce, I knew that a) most people in the audience would have no idea who she was and b) they were going to be completely blown away by her story when they did hear her speak. Taslima Nasrin is from Bangladesh, was raised as a Muslim and has long been targeted by Muslim extremists. In 1994, she was forced into exile from her native country after mass demonstrations demanded her death for blasphemy and the government charged her with 'hurting religious feelings'. In 2007, after moving to the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal, Muslim protests forced Taslima out of India. She is able only to visit, and even that seems quite tentative. In an editorial comment on the riots, The Hindu newspaper strongly defended Taslima Nasrin and noted that 'By violently protesting every instance of publication of her articles, the religious fundamentalists obviously want to force a ban, otherwise legally unsustainable, on her critical and creative works.' From my own perspective, it was incredibly daunting to be on a stage when there were bodyguards surrounding it, because of the threats to her life. You can hear for yourself at the end of this recording, how there was a solid minute and a half of applause for her presentation. There were some sound difficulties during the Question and Answer segment, so if you're not quite sure about what was happening there, it was because presenters on the stage couldn't hear the questions due to technical difficulties. I asked the Atheist Foundation of Australia for permission to use the audio and they said as long as credit was given to the GAC for providing the resource and to Gary Bryson of the ABC was given, it was fine. So, many thanks to both of them! Taslima Nasrin's official site is at: http://taslimanasrin.com The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller (P & P) at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides (365) at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 9 4 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #15 - On Women's Intuition And Myths In Psychology | Women’s intuition? Is it just a myth? And if it is just a commonly held misconception – should we be more understanding? I interview Dr. Scott Lilienfeld, a Professor of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta on this and much more! Professor Lilienfeld is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, a Consulting Editor for Skeptical Inquirer and the Founder and Editor of the CSI journal Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice. His principal areas of research include evidence-based practices in psychology and the challenges posed by pseudoscience to clinical psychology. His latest book, 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions About Human Behavior, co-written with Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio and the late Barry Beyerstein. Earlier this year he lectured on ‘Blink or Think? A Skeptic’s Guide to the Pros and Cons of Commonsense Intuition‘, which involved critical evaluations of recent popular claims that intuitions, gut hunches, and “common sense” are useful guides for evaluating the natural world and for distinguishing scientific from pseudoscientific claims. Additionally mentioned in this episode is the bookstore ‘Embiggen Books‘, which is an Australian supplier of excellent pro-science and skeptical books! http://embiggenbooks.com. I also recommend you check out the interview conducted by Point of Inquiry’s Dr Karen Stollznow. The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller (P & P) at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides (365) at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 6 4 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #14 - On Science Fiction And Skepticism | An exclusive! Scott Sigler - New York Times best-selling author and podcaster was in my town for this weekend! SwanCon is a science-fiction convention that is held across the 2010 Easter break at the Four Seasons hotel in Perth, Western Australia. Scott Sigler was a guest on several panels and made presentations, such as the pitfalls of publishing, his expertise in science fiction and horror genres and advice for budding authors. Scott's works combine many genres, including science fiction, horror and thriller. His second major published novel, Contagious, made the New York Times best seller list. Its precursor, Infected, has been optioned as a motion picture production. Scott was also responsible for releasing the world's first podcast-only novel, Earthcore. All of his stories are freely available to listen to as audiobooks in serialised form. Scott's re-release of his novel, Ancestor, was available at the convention - at the same time, 'The Starter' was released during his time here and has already hit nearly 1000 copies sold! We talk about science, fiction, skepticism and literacy just as the convention wrapped up for this year. Scott Sigler's official site can be found at http://www.scottsigler.com/ The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller (P & P) at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides (365) at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 5 4 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #13 - On Skepticism And Comedy | Thanks to everyone who picked up one of the Token Skeptic stickers at the Global Atheist convention last weekend - and here’s a little bonus just for you! I interviewed Julian Morrow of the Chaser, who featured at the Saturday night dinner. The Chaser is an Australian satirical comedian group, most famous for their television programmes on Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The Chaser originated as a satirical newspaper which was known to push the limits as to what it published and for enacting its mission statement, “striving for mediocrity in a world of excellence”. The full interview (since this is only a segment of a larger interview) will feature in a forthcoming episode on the Skeptic Zone podcast. This is just a little thanks to everyone who showed support and to commemorate the wonderful experience I had taking part in the convention. Do send in your thanks to the organisers of the Global Atheist Convention if you attended and haven’t zipped them a note already - I look forward to seeing you all again (and more people!) at future events that the Token Skeptic podcast will take part in. By the way - the sticker that people got at the convention is the brainchild of the most wonderful Catherine of Faster Pussycat Productions. I’ve found no better in terms of creating special products like my snappy business card, the stickers and many more items like the badges and flyers that you’ll see at Skeptic Zone and Token Skeptic appearances. Do check her site out! The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller ('P & P') at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides ('365') at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 20 3 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #12 - On Science And Atheism | Welcome to an interview on a topic that has been buzzing all over the blogosphere! Daniel Loxton's posts on Skeptic Blog, called “The Standard Pablum” — Science and Atheism and Further Thoughts on Atheism discuss reviews and issues raised by his new book Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be. Since comments on those posts have numbered over two-hundred and the debate has raged onto other people's sites - I took this opportunity to get Daniel's perspective and gain some understanding on his views about skepticism, atheism and his thoughts on how people viewed his new book. The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek K. Miller ('P & P') at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides ('365') at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 9 3 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #11 - On Cognitive Dissonance And Hopeopathy | Why is Professor Hood featuring on this episode of the Token Skeptic? Because if you follow his blog at www.brucemhood.wordpress.com, you'll see how he is very much involved with some rather 'unbelievable' developments in the UK. Firstly, his efforts to challenge fake bomb-detectors - costly dowsing-rod-like devices being used by the military in countries world-wide - has been broadcast on BBC news and discussed by governments in places like Thailand and Iraq. Secondly, he has some very interesting insights on homeopathy (or as he put it, hope-o-pathy!) and the report on the funding of it in the UK by the National Health Services. His site has practically exploded with comments by the skeptically-minded due to his breakdown of 'why hopeopathy is not likely to disappear.' Since this show is about superstition and the science behind it (as well as the occasional other topics that intrigue me as a skeptically-minded person who always wants to know more) - I asked him to clarify his position and respond to some of the arguments that were posed. He's very active on Twitter with his account called Supersense - so that's where I began the following interview! The official site for Token Skeptic is at www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller ('P & P') at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides ('365') at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 3 3 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #10 - On Skepticism and Communication Part Two | Welcome to another special episode of the Token Skeptic - and thanks to everyone who keeps on subscribing to this show despite there being a gap between the episodes. Just when I think I’ve solved one technical hiccup, another appears - this time my recordings were apparently too soft to register and the quality had even me straining to figure out what I said! So, I'll be rerecording the missing episodes and I really am very grateful that people continue to listen and comment. Comments is what this episode is all about - it's a discussion between Michael McRae, who you heard in the last episode of the Token Skeptic and Eran Segev. Eran Segev is a reporter on another podcast we have in common, called the Skeptic Zone. Eran is also the President of the Australian Skeptics. Many thanks to SkepReview: http://www.skepreview.com and to Alom Shaha for inspiring me. Australian Skeptics site is at http://www.skeptics.com.au. Official site of Token Skeptic is at http://www.tokenskeptic.org. Themes by Derek Miller ("P & P") at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikides ("365") at www.miltonmermikides.com. | 21 2 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #9 - On Skepticism and Communication | When I was at the recent 10:23 Event at the Perth Skeptics, plenty of new people came to ask questions about what skeptics and skepticism is achieving. They included such things as - is this really science communication? Could we be doing more harm than good by such stunts or is it part of an important 'bigger picture' that's being presented? What should be the next step? Were people drawn in because of nerdy stereotypes or skeptics being 'sexed-up' - and is it misleading or preventing progress to go down those paths when promoting skepticism? All of these notions and views have intrigued me since taking part in the 'What Do I Do Next? Leading Skeptics Discuss 105 Practical Ways to Promote Science and Advance Skepticism' document. In response to my experiences I took an opportunity to speak to Michael McRae, a science communicator and former science teacher. He's the author of 'Tribal Science: Brains, Beliefs and Bad Ideas', out in 2011, and he blogs at www.tribalscientist.wordpress.com. Other episodes backdated and out by end of this weekend - thanks for your patience and thanks for continuing to listen to the show! Themes by Derek Miller ('P & P') at www.penmachine.com and Milton Mermikades ('365') at www.miltonmermikades.com. | 4 2 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #5 - On Sports Superstitions | Sport is an integral part of popular culture – heritage, sense of national identity and an almost religious relevance in the discussions of fans when they talk about their favorite team. It's unavoidable for reports about top athletes and sporting heroes to include a few 'so, what helps you make it this far?'. Naturally, that will include superstitious behaviors that this profession seems to develop! The popularity of sport combined with the fact that its participants are a traditionally superstitious group makes athletes the most famous of all superstitious people.Poem by Digital Cuttlefish: 'The Curse of the Buried Jersey' found at http://digitalcuttlefish.blogspot.com/2008/04/curse-of-buried-jersey.html.Theme songs are 'P & P' by Derek K Miller of http://www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com.Head to the official site at www.tokenskeptic.org and feel free to give feedback and pose questions in the comments or at tokenskeptic@tokenskeptic.org. | 11 1 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #4 - On Women and Paranormal Belief - Part One | One of the big questions that is asked about paranormal belief (and often quite controversial) - is whether men or women are more likely to believe. Which sex is more likely to be superstitious? There’s a lot of research and results point to both ‘nature and nurture’, enough to make this the first part of several investigations into the topic!Theme songs are 'P & P' by Derek K Miller of http://www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com.Head to the official site at www.tokenskeptic.org and feel free to give feedback and pose questions in the comments or at tokenskeptic@tokenskeptic.org. | 5 1 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #3 - On New Year Superstitions | New Year superstitions have always intrigued me - simply because there's so many of them and not much has been said about 'why?' From the recent news of injury in the Philippines due to unsafe use of celebratory fireworks, to the Scottish tradition of 'First Footing', there's a lot going on to commemorate the start of the New Year.Music used in this episode includes the Brobdingnagian Bards of www.thebards.net. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are ‘P&P’ by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and ‘365′ by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 31 12 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #2 - On Examination Superstitions | Although it is time for seasonal cheer, beer, what have you - the end of our school year for us in the southern hemisphere includes a fresh batch of abandoned lucky charms to clean out of my classroom. Here's a short run-down on some of the reasons why! This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to hear your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are 'P&P' by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and '365' by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. | 28 12 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanToken Skeptic #1 - On Santa | On Santa - a first-run effort at the show! Re-release for December, 2010.While listening to a great Skepticality podcast episode (www.skepticality.com), I found I had many unanswered questions. Delving into the research, I started checking out what research has been done into belief in Santa. Is it such a bad thing to believe in Santa... and how would you gather evidence about the pros and cons? Could belief in Santa, the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy and so forth, be a natural part of childhood development... and can it be used to tell us more about human nature? Intro song is 'P & P' by Derek K Miller of http://www.penmachine.com.Outro song is "What If Every Day Were Christmas", by Podsafe for Peace, produced by Slau and co-written by Orlando Pagan, from www.podsafeforpeace.org. | 25 12 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 144 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Sense about supersition IS the way!
Accessible presentations on the science of belief and the reasoning behind paranormal claims by an extremely intelligent and talented Australian. Although it's just started, I love it and find it inspiring to take a step back from judging some of the odder beliefs and learning the psychology behind superstitions. A+!
clear and to the point
A interesting podcast. The single topic style which investigates a superstition in detail much like Brian Dunning's Skeptoid podcast.
Great work
Kylie has a keen sense of the logic and illogical and presents the facts in an entertaining manner.
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