The Rationable Podcast

In this enlightening episode of Rationable Conversations, we are joined by  Dr Kevin Folta  a molecular bio logist and passionate advocate for science communication. The discussion covers a wide range of topics, including modern farming techniques, the science behind GMOs, the reality of organic farming, and combating pseudoscience in agriculture. We delve into the origins and misconcept...

Rohin Francis from  @MedlifeCrisis  joins us to talk about the differences, both good and bad, between the medical systems of the US, India and the UK. If you've wondered about the strengths and weaknesses of these medical systems and how they effect our everyday lives, you have to listen to this conversation! Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBw...

In this milestone episode of Rationable Conversations, we are joined by Dr. Supriya Malik, the executive director of the Canadian Autism Network and a developmental psychologist with 18 years of experience. Dr. Malik discusses her work with Embrace, a mental health and developmental care platform in Delhi, and sheds light on topics such as ADHD, autism, neurodivergence, early diagnosis, and the im...

In this episode, we sit down with Evan Bernstein from the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. Evan shares his journey into skepticism, the impact of the Skeptics Guide, and his personal background, including his religious upbringing and transition to skepticism. We delve into various topics, such as the role of skepticism in understanding the latest scientific and skeptical news, free will, the pseudo...

Cara Santa Maria joins us for an riveting conversation on the science and pseudoscience of mental health and therapy in the context of the book she and Stephen Hupp recently compiled and edited called Pseudoscience in Therapy. Cara is a science communicator and is now a clinical psychologist working with cancer patients. She is the host of her podcast called Talk Nerdy and also a co-host on the Sk...

Dr Jonathan Stea is a clinical psychologist in Alberta, Canada, and has recently written a book called Mind the Science. We talk about how the wellness industry and its many pseudoscientific practices are exploiting your mental health to make money off you. If you have ever wondered about reiki, energy healing, accupuncture, Goop and others and how legitimate their claims are, you need to listen t...

Anand from Pale Blue Thoughts joins me to discuss the origins of astrology and its application in Nadi/Nari patra astrology in India. Sounds intriguing? Anand will astound you with his insights in this video. Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group or the Telegream chan...

Jansher Singh, otherwise known as The Indic Atheist talks about his journey into atheism and his perspectives on Indian religion and politics. Go subscribe to his channel here:  @theindicrealist  and find him on In stagram with the same handle. Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conv...

Adrienne has been quite an active member of the skeptics community in the US and Canada and is an advocate for awareness of Tourette's Syndrome, especially for teachers. Intro and outro music: Heat by Distill: https://youtu.be/XIm7ASjSTn8   For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, visit www.berationable.com .  Questions, suggestions or just want to get i...

UFOs, or rather, UAPs, have been in the news a lot lately, mostly thanks to the US Congress discussing the matter with three ex-military people who claim they have evidence for non-terrestrial spacecrafts. In other words, aliens. This hearing gave the movement a lot of legitimacy. But do we really have evidence for aliens visiting Earth? I speak to Brian Dunning, creator and host of the Skeptoid p...

Recently, Dave Farina of  @ProfessorDaveExplains  had a debate with James Tour about the origin of life and, according to most scientists in the field, he destroys James Tour's position that we have no proof that life began naturally. In this interview, I talked to Dave about how he prepared for the debate, his debate strategy, his episode on gender identity and lots more. James Tour Deb...

What do all the letters of LGBTQIA+ stand for? Are there only two genders or a spectrum? Is being transgender a real thing? What are the pronouns we should use? Should we use the pronouns at all? Is being queer natural? What does the science say? What kind of person is intersex? Sayantan Dutta, a non-binary activist and journalist, answers all these questions and more. So if you're wondering about...

Trick or Treatment by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst: https://amzn.to/2GeVEjW Contact Edzard: https://twitter.com/EdzardErnst My interview with Thomas Westbrook (  @HolyKoolaid  ): https://youtu.be/jTV_p5Js6hc Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group or the Teleg...

Do you have any enquiries, recommendations, or simply wish to connect with me? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group. Contact me at abhijit@berationable.com . For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com . Support and get involved with Rationable on Patreon at patreon.com/rationable .

Kyle Polich, from the podcast Data Skeptic, talks about the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs), what they do and what the future of AI seems to be. Thank you so much for listening to The Rationable Podcast. If you like this show, please subscribe, share, rate it and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to make it easier for others to find it. Also, subscribe to the Rationable channel on Youtub...

This time, I'm interviewing Sanal Edamaruku, one of the big guys in the Indian rationalist movement. He is the founder and president of Rationalists International and President of the Indian Rationalist Association. He has done so much over the years to fight for scientific temper and rationality in India. In fact, Sanal had to leave India when a group of Christians in India started threatening hi...

Krish Ashok has dedicated a lot of his spare time to understanding the science behind the foods we eat, in general as humans, and specifically as Indians. In this interview, he shares mind-blowing facts and busts many myths and pseudoscientific ideas that we all have encountered about the food we eat. This has been one of the most fascinating conversations I've had to date. If you are a foodie, th...

Now, I started my journey into atheism back around 2010. When I first started identifying as an atheist, the first podcast I started listening to was The Thinking Atheist created by Seth Andrews. His soothing voice, friendly demeanor and down-to-earth, humanistic values made me connect with him instantly. He would speak openly about his perspectives, his arguments and the challenges he faced every...

Rob Palmer, Columnist and Skeptical Activist, joins us again on behalf of Recovering from Religion, or RFR for short. RFR helps those doubting their religious beliefs to come to terms with it and take action to maintain their social, mental and physical well-being. They have hotlines and online chats where their volunteers speak to callers who are doubting their faith and answer the many questions...

Have you ever had your palm read? Have you had a psychic reading? How accurate was it? And are you wondering if astrological or psychic readings really work? Susan Gerbic and Mark Edward are here to answer those questions. They are stalwart skeptic activists in the US, and have been doing a lot of amazing work over the years to see how psychics and astrologers work and also exposed them for taking...

Pranav Radhakrishnan joins us on Rationable Interviews to discuss why people believe in pseudosciences like alternative medicine and gurus like Sadhguru. We also discuss his experience as a science communicator and a sceptic and his experience building his channel, @ScienceIsDope. His content is very well-researched, written and produced, and you should definitely subscribe to his channels. Affili...

Richard Saunders, Rob Palmer and a group of sceptic activists from all over the world analyzed over 4,000 predictions from 207 psychics over 2 decades to see how accurate they were. This was called the GAPPP. Here's my full interview with Rob Palmer from Skeptic Inquirer Magazine as we discuss the GAPPP project. The Great Australian Psychic Predictions project analysed all psychic predictions broa...

Vimoh has a podcast call in show and two youtube channels where he comments on religion, superstitions and politics twice a week. In this interview, we discuss a large range of topics including castes, karma, the right books to educate ones self on Hinduism and the right to ridicule religion. Affiliate links for the books mentioned. Please buy through these and support the channel. Thank you! Ridd...

References & Further Reading Resources and Further Reading: https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17489539.2012.674680 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8441353/ https://archive.org/details/PrisonersofSilence https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/blog/a-magician-cannot-dispute-fc-or-can-he https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXAxkqsCbvk https://www....

Dr Cyriac Abby Philips is a firebrand twitter sceptic who regularly shares science-based information and research regarding alternative medicine – Ayurveda in particular. He's a Hepatologist and has been studying the side effects of Ayurvedic preparations on the liver. His research and clinical cases have discovered how many Ayurvedic preparations may be harming you more than healing you! He joins...