The Reality Check

The whole crew is back on the cast this week! Fresh from his trip to Egypt and Jordan, Darren digs into some fascinating ancient Egyptian myths. After seeing car commercials lauding J.D. Power & Associates awards for the umpteenth time, Cristina asks 'wtf are the J.D. Power Awards?' Finally, Adam tries to determine the true origin of the term "hocus pocus".

We are thrilled to have Dr David Stukus back on TRC!  He tells us what the science has to say about introducing allergenic foods into an infant's diet plus he answers some checker's questions.  Dave is a pediatric allergy and asthma specialist at Nationwide Children's hospital. He's the social media medical editor for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and a member of the Joint...

Dr. Stuart Farrimond is back and we are chuffed! Specializing in food science, Stuart is a former medical doctor turned science and medical writer, presenter, and educator who makes regular appearances on British TV, radio and international publications including the Independent , the Daily Mail , and New Scientist . Why do we toot when we eat magical fruit? Do we really need to store eggs in the...

With Darren and Adam away, Pat and Cristina have a chat with historian and author Joe Coohill. Better known as Professor Buzzkill from the podcast of the same name, Joe recently put out an interesting episode about border walls in history; why they were built and whether on not they worked. We then turn the show over to Joe for his episode on the topic.

Cristina brings the stats and facts behind recent measles outbreaks and highlights the importance of teaching young people how to think critically. Darren explores whether Canada's forests actually emit more carbon than they absorb. Lastly, Adam investigates whether comments about flat earth and 'Islamophobia' by a Quebec-based city councillor were taken out of context.

Pat exhausts several resources to help answer the burning question on our minds this Winter. Should you leave windshield wipers up, or down? Adam unpacks the 'Bell Let's Talk Day' campaign which takes a chain-letter approach to raise awareness around mental health. Lastly, Cristina dips into TRC's mailbag and takes on a listener's request to highlight astrophysicist Cecilia Payne.

Cristina kicks off the show by separating the facts from the fumbles around Super Bowl myths. Darren digs into Canada's latest Food Guide and asks whether its current revamp is line with the best evidence and data available. Finally, Adam ponders whether noise meters at sports events are all fake.

It's a brand new TRC! First, Darren looks at the backlash over a recent confrontation between protesters and school kids at the Lincoln Memorial. Cristina examines 'puffery' and its implications in the world of advertising. Pat rounds out the show by fact checking the movie 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and goes straight to the man himself, Brian May, to corroborate a longtime story that he uses a sixpence...

The TRC crew is back to usher in the New Year with a fun-filled show! First, we look back at our favourite segments from 2018. Next, Pat challenges the panel with a year in review game of 'Name That'. Lastly, Adam revisits the gang's 'predictions' from last year and we set aside logic yet again to guess at what might happen in 2019.

Happy 2019, Checkers! The crew will be back with regular shows soon. In the meantime, we bring you a fascinating interview with Dr. Kim Hellemans about the neuroscience of addiction.  Kim is an award-winning neuroscientist and the chair of the department of neuroscience at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. She is also a co-host of Minding The Brain podcast. Enjoy!

Happy holidays, Checkers.  The RC crew is off but Adam couldn't stay away from the mic.  He belongs in the air! We bring you a holiday segment all about reindeer.  Is the Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer TV special problematic? Just how shiny would that nose have to be to guide a sleigh?  Are Santa's reindeer female?

The RC crew is off for the festive season but controversy around the 1940's song 'Baby It's Cold Outside' is swirling. We revisit a segment from Darren breaking down the song's lyrical content with Dr. Stuart Robbins as a guest panelist. We also bring you parodies Pat and Cristina did on previous Xmas shows including a second song making the news due to an inappropriate lyric. Enjoy!

What's up, Checkers? This week's show was recorded on "Giving Tuesday" so Darren brings us an update on effective giving and how to make informed decisions about the charities you support. Dr. Stuart Robbins 'phones-in' with a follow-up on flat earther arguments and the late heavy bombardment. Adam rounds out the show with a follow-up to his recent segment on U.S. citizenship, after a listener ask...

This week, Cristina revisits a topic covered on last week's show by guest Dr. Stuart Farrimond after a couple of food inspectors, who also happen to be Checkers, write in about food safety guidelines. András Pinter, host of the European Skeptics Podcast, joins the panel for an interesting discussion about the tourism industry and how a tour guide can strike the right balance between skepticism and...

Another fun and fact-filled episode comin' at you! Our favourite resident food scientist and author Dr. Stuart Farrimond is back with a new book about the science of Spice. He schools us on how to make the perfect roast turkey just in time for your festive holiday dinners. Next, Adam looks into all the brouhaha over a cigar-shaped interstellar object that zoomed through our solar system and that s...

Hey Checkers! First, a heartfelt thank you on this Remembrance Day to those who serve or have served to protect our freedoms. Adam kicks off this week's show with an update on the anti-vax article that was published then quickly removed by the Toronto Sun newspaper. Cristina's girlfriends inspire an update on beauty product claims where she explains industry laws and teaches us which claims to be...

Welcome to your weekly dose of TRC! Adam kicks things off by addressing a syndicated column filled with anti-vaccine misinformation and pseudoscience that was recently published in the Toronto Sun newspaper. "Physics Commando" Barry Panas schools us about errors in school textbooks after hearing a recent episode where Darren cites the Earth's mass. Finally, Pat drops a bombshell on the panel with...

This week, Darren goes back billions of years to give us a fascinating look at early Earth. Adam takes a deep dive into how recent academic journals in the field of "grievance studies" were successfully published despite being a hoax. After NBA star Lebron James raised some eyebrows when stating his 11 and 14 year olds drink wine, Cristina looks into whether there is any tangible evidence to suppo...

Your weekly dose of fun and facts is here! We definitely had a lot of laughs taping the show this week. First, Producer Pat points his skeptical lens at the recent Banksy incident rocking the Art World to find out if Sotheby's really got pranked, or did we all just get Banksied? Darren brings the panel's mood way down with an overview of the bleak reality reported in the recent UN Climate Change R...

This week, Adam looks into rumours that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is really the son of former Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro. Cristina blazes through some myths and misconceptions around The Cannabis Act which legalizes the recreational use of cannabis in Canada as of October 17. Finally, Darren wraps up the show with a closer look at Sean Carroll's book, The Big Picture: On the...

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, Checkers! We bring you another fun and fact-filled show to digest alongside that slice of pumpkin pie. First, Darren looks at the history of abortion laws in Canada after a listener points out that our collective perception on a previous show was false. Cristina ponders how useless the long-standing spelling rule, "I Before E, Except After C" actually is. Finally, Adam...

This week, the RC crew are stoked to have Dr. Stuart Farrimond on the show. A former medical doctor turned science and medical writer, educator, and author, Stuart uses one of our favourite comfort foods, 'Mac and Cheese', as a vehicle to debunk cooking myths. Pat trolls us with another game of 'Name That: Spot The Fake' edition resulting in some entertaining banter. Finally, Darren looks into flu...

Happy Fall, Checkers! Darren is finally back where he belongs with The RC crew and kicks off the show asking whether fundamental value differences are as fundamental as they seem. Cristina tries to get to the bottom of rumours that suggest Apple will be ending MP3 music downloads on its iTunes platform in 2019. Finally, Adam looks into recent claims that Sony Music released "fake" Michael Jackson...

With Darren still away in Europe, the crew get sucked into a vortex of shenanigans when former beloved TRC co-host Elan Dubrofsky and guest Dina Xirlin stop by. Cristina kicks off the festivities with an update on a recent lawsuit against Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP and its unfounded product claims. Adam investigates whether hot dog companies are colluding with bun companies to sell more of both produc...

Darren is still in Europe and Adam is still trying to cobble together internet access in his new rural home.  Fear not, 5th Beatle and our favourite astronomer fills in. This week's show is dedicated to a single question from Checker, Mitchell, who asks: "are flat earthers for real?" Dr. Stuart Robbins tells us about the 'evidence' offered for a flat earth and the science that refutes it.