502 Conversations - Science, Skepticism, Pseudoscience, Philosophy, and more.

This episode may also be viewed as a video here https://youtu.be/A564BmrXTAo Andy Norman has a PhD in Philosophy from Northwestern University and is the award-winning author of Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think. andynorman.org His research illuminates the evolutionary origins of human reasoning, the norms that make dialogue fruitful, and th...

This episode may also be viewed as a video here: 502 Conversations with Dr. Christopher Labos . Dr. Christopher Labos is a cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology, and the author of the new book "Does Coffee Cause Cancer? and Eight More Myths About the Food We Eat" at doescoffeecausecancer.com He writes for the Montreal Gazette, and makes regular appearances on CBC radio and TV. He is...

This episode may also be viewed as a video here , or at 502conversations.com Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. He is the author of several books, including How to Talk to A Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason; The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fr...

This episode may be viewed as a video here 502 Conversations with Melanie Trecek-King . Melanie Trecek-King is the creator of ThinkingIsPower.com, an online resource that provides critical thinking education to the general public. She is currently an Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College, where she teaches a general-education science course designed to equip students with c...

This episode may be viewed as a video at 502 Conversations . Todd Stiefel is founder and president of the Stiefel Freethought Foundation and he is also president of Heretical Reason Productions and the founder and chair of the ScienceSaves campaign. He is an activist and philanthropist, and has gifted over $8.7 million to charitable causes. When not raising funds and advocating for the principles...

A conversation with Dr. Naomi Oreskes, professor of the History of Science, and author of Why Trust Science, and Merchants of Doubt. This episode may be viewed as a video here. Dr. Oreskes is a world-renowned earth scientist, historian and public speaker, as well as a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blo...

This episode may be viewed as a video here Dr. Paul Offit on 502 Conversations Dr. Paul Offit reappears on 502 Conversations for a Covid vaccine update, including a discussion of the bivalent booster. He also speaks about the flu 2022; a potential RSV vaccine; tips for budding writers; and more.  © 2022 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited. Dr....

When his daughter was diagnosed with anorexia, Craig Good got an up close look at how important it is to have a healthy relationship with your food. As the author of Relax and Enjoy Your Food, he’s put on his science communicator hat to untangle the myths that keep us anxious and less healthy than we could be.  Craig Good spent thirty one years at Pixar (and Lucasfilm before that) where he wo...

Dr. Paul Offit discusses his book "Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far". Brian Kerby and Dr. Offit talk about current studies regarding Vitamin D; mammographies; stents; supplements; and more.   This episode may be viewed here. Paul A. Offit, M.D., is a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospita...

Joe Uscinski, PhD, is a Political Scientist at the University of Miami. He studies public opinion and mass media, with a focus on conspiracy theories and related misinformation.  He received his bachelor's degree from Plymouth State University, his Master's from University of New Hampshire, and his Doctorate from University of Arizona. His research has appeared in Journal of Politics, Politic...

Rob Palmer, aka The Well Known Skeptic.  Rob is a former spacecraft designer, aerospace project engineer, programmer, and software engineer. An erstwhile believer in biorhythms, ancient aliens, ESP and all kinds of pseudoscientific nonsense, he is now the eponymous author of the Skeptical Inquirer column "The Well Known Skeptic", in which he writes book reviews, conducts interviews with skept...

This episode may also be viewed as a video here: 502 Conversations with Medical Sociologist Robert Bartholomew Robert Bartholomew is co-author of Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria. In this conversation, he speaks about Havana Syndrome and its symptoms; mass psychogenic illness (MPI) and its symptoms; historical examples and documen...

CAUTION: This episode contains descriptions of gay conversion therapy that are equivalent to mental and physical abuse.   A discussion with psychology professor Sheldon W. Helms regarding Gay Conversation Therapy, its various iterations,  the fallacy of the concept, the brutality of its implementation, and the failure of the government to intervene in a meaningful way. This episode may a...

Topics discussed include intuition vs. critical thinking; how he chooses a topic; science journalism vs science communication; what constitutes a legitimate disagreement between scientists; and much more. Jonathan Jarry is a science communicator with the McGill Office for Science and Society, dedicated to separating sense from nonsense on the scientific stage. He is a biological scientist, with a...

Brian Deer's 2020 book "The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Science, Deception, and the War on Vaccines" chronicles Deer's exposition of the MMR/autism fraud that Andrew Wakefield perpetrated.  In this comprehensive Q&A,  Brian Deer talks about red flags he noticed right away;  exposing the multiple layers of the fraud; how the case series passed review and was published in the Lan...

Where are we now? Boosters; Omicron; Sars-Cov2 drift; science communication; possibilities of a Covid-19 supervax; pig hearts; and more.  This episode may be viewed on youtube here. Paul A. Offit, M.D., is a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is an expert on vaccines, immuno...

Recorded at CSICON 2019. Dr. Natalia Pasternak earned a bachelor degree in Biology from Institute of Biosciences of the University of São Paulo and a PhD and two postdoctoral fellowships in Microbiology, in the field of Bacterial Genetics at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences.   She is a founding partner and president of “A Question of Science” Institute, the first Brazilian nonprofit...

Paul A. Offit M.D. is a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases; Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; and Professor of Vaccinology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, is a Board...

A discussion about belief and knowledge; "knowledge of" versus "knowledge debt"; expertise and authority; deduction vs. induction vs. intuition vs. revelation; and more. I should point out that when relating my previous conversation about knowledge with Dr. James Alcock, in addition to the comment about content and the degree of conviction, Dr. Alcock did speak of Plato's justified, true, belief r...

Comedian, writer, producer, actor, monologist, voracious reader, atheist, and Center for Inquiry board of director Julia Sweeney. Some of Julia’s TV credits include Brooklyn Nine- Nine, Fraiser, Family Guy, Mad About You, and of course her multi-season stint as a cast member on SNL. She has appeared in films such as Pulp Fiction, Vegas Vacation, and Stuart Little. Julia is also a playwright and ha...

Described as “the cream of the crop” of entertainers, Banachek is the world’s leading Mentalist. His talents are so incredible that he is the only mentalist ever to fool scientists into believing he possessed “Psychic powers”, only to later reveal he was fooling them. He’s astounded audiences around the world, and has been featured on CNN Live, NBC’s Today Show, Inside Edition, ABC’s Nightline, th...

Brian Kerby Q&A's with Consulting Occultist and author Mark Edward. Mark discusses his book "Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium", his work on the Psychic Friends Network, being named a "Psychic Superstar", and the "World's Greatest Psychic" and more...much more. Mark Edward has been involved in skeptic activism since circa 1989, and was on the editorial board of Skeptic Magazine...

Dr. James Alcock has a PhD in psychology and teaches at York University in Toronto. His research interests are focused on belief and in particular, on why people believe in things that have no scientific basis. A noted critic of parapsychology, he is a fellow of Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and also on the editorial board. He has received CSI’s highest award, the In Praise of Reason award. He i...

A Q&A with Dr. Harriet Hall of skepdoc.info regarding acupuncture, statistics, quackery, chiropractors, homeopathy, naturopathy and more.  Dr. Hall is a retired family physician and former Air Force flight surgeon. She writes about medicine, so-called complementary and alternative medicine, science, quackery, and critical thinking.  She is an editor and one of the five MD founders of...

A conversation about how we are fooled, belief, why and how we believe; shut eyes and cold readers; cognitive psychology; making sense of the world; magic, mentalism, and trickery; and more, with: Ray Hyman, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Oregon; James Alcock, Professor Of Psychology, Glendon College, York University; and James The Amazing Randi, Magician and Escape Artist, Demyst...