The Skeptic Zone

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:02:50 Brian Dunning, Bigfoot, Science Friction and more A vist to Skeptoid HQ in Oregon and chat to Brian Dunning about his long running podcast, the Bigfoot in his yard and the sucess of the documentary "Science Friction". https://sciencefriction.tv 0:14:30 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:12 Susan Gerbic in Haunted Las Vegas Join Susan as she explores the Zac Bagans haunted museum in the company of Kenny Biddle, Ben Radford and Coral Pollock. What do a bunch of skeptics make of a so-called paranormal location? https://thehauntedmuseum.com 0:20:27 TikTok Homeopathy This classic of quackery has found its way onto the popular social media pla...

Show Notes 0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:02:42 New Age Merry-Go-Round Join Richard Saunders and skeptical supporter Daryl Colquhoun as they once more head to the bizarre yet predictable alternative universe known as Mind Body Spirit. This festival of far-fetched and unproven ideas stretches back over 20 years. What new and ridiculous items can be seen this year? 0:18:56 Australian Skepti...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:00 Dr Siobhan O'Sullivan An historic vote in the NSW parliament has given Dr Siobhan the comfort of knowing people in her situation, appraoching the end of life, will be able to choose when they take their final breath. Euthanasia was legalised in NSW in the past week, bringing the state in line with the rest of Australia. https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/t...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:05:56 UFOs Invade the US Congress Again with the aliens! Yes once again UFOs disguised as jets and balloons are makimg the news. This time, those who can't handle the truth have taken their conspiracy theories all the way to capital hill in Washington. https://www.the-sun.com/news/5356929/us-wreckage-ufos-truth-congressman Mick West's videos https://youtu.be...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:12 You Can Count on Adrienne. With Adrienne Hill Adrienne Hill and Susan Gerbic visit "Explore & More", The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children's Museum in Buffalo NY and talk to Rebecca Glon , IT & Exhibits Manager. http://www.exploreandmore.org 0:17:46 TikTok Paranormal We scroll through the endless, live TikTok videos featuring people who think they have psy...

The Skeptic Zone #709 - 8 May 2022   Show Notes 0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:02:50 You Can Count on Adrienne. With Adrienne Hill This week Adrienne finds herself riding shotgun alongside Susan Gerbic as the tour they east coast of the USA. Also we learn about the new award given to Susan for her skeptical activism. Grief Vampires, Wikipedia and More - Presented by Susan Gerbic https://y...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:37 Maynard's Spooky Action Maynard interviews author George Ivanoff about his new book, "The Supernatural Survival Guide". How should young people approach investigating the strange, the mysterious and the unknown? What can we learn from George's book about the claims of the paranormal in Australia? THE SUPERNATURAL SURVIVAL GUIDE will tackle these and ot...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:22 Homeopathy on Trial On January 13, the Center for Inquiry reached a major milestone in its groundbreaking consumer-protection lawsuits against retail giants Walmart and CVS. CFI is suing these mammoth corporations over their deceptive sale and marketing of homeopathic products under the Consumer Protection laws of the District of Columbia, and on Janua...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:05:35 Science Friction with Brain Dunning You know those TV documentaries you see, and the science experts they feature? Did you know that producers often edit them out of context, and twist their words, to make it seem like they promoted some pop sensationalism instead of the real facts? Science Friction exposes this practice and gives the scientists a chan...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:10 Bob Swanson's Critical Thinking Videos Bob Swanson, Instructor / Lab Coordinator from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Mississippi State University, tells us of his videos about critical thinking, inspired by the claims of Power Balance wrist bands. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4znmeoL66Lkpaae5DYMHQWqQQl4jkG23 0:23:04 Australian Skepti...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:38 AVN Lose Again We talk to noted skeptical activist Ken McLeod about the Federal Court of Australia and its decision made against the Australian Vaccination Risks Network. Why is it that this anti-vax organisation keeps losing court battles? PDF of the court's ruling https://tinyurl.com/2hfubwkj 0:16:38 Nurses and Midwives Protest Once again nurses and...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:30 Meta Sued by Australian Watchdog Over Scam Ads Facebook owner Meta is being sued by Australia's competition watchdog for publishing scam ads for crypto on its platform. We look at even more questionable ads appearing on Facebook every day for such things as medical products and psychics. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-18/meta-sued-by-a...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:05:10 Arjun Nidigallu and Vulture Watch Vulture Watch is about creating awareness of exploitation, irrationality, discrimination or misinformation. It delves into the motives of such vulturous activities and looks at how it can hold such behaviour accountable. https://youtube.com/c/VultureWatch https://www.tga.gov.au/media-release/healy-world-australia-pty-l...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:32 Former TV Celebrity Chef Blunders Again Trolls are hijacking the death of 52-year-old Australian cricket legend Shane Warne to spread wild conspiracy theories. Report of the strange actions by Bent Spoon winner, Pete Evans. https://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/antivaxxer-trolls-hijack-shane-warnes-death/news-story/c1b84e32411c5ed37f34c2f12a72274f 0:12...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders and Stefan Sojka 0:11:35 You Can Count on Adrienne. With Adrienne Hill. Since this is The Skeptic Zone's 700th episode, Adrienne decided to see if there was anything interesting that she could find about the number 700 and she wasn't disappointed. Get ready for some math facts, more Barnum statements, and the significance of three and seven as it relates to 70...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:26 UFOs... Again? Today's skeptics tend to look upon reports of UFOs with more a sense of nostalgia than any real expectation of new and startling evidence of alien visitation being produced. As decade after decade passes and the aliens remain... shy... we can look back at all the UFO documentaries, books, TV specials and so on that each promised so much,...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:05:22 Nurses' Protest We head to the parliament building in Sydney Australia to report on the protest by nurses and midwives about the tough conditions they are facing since the outbreak of COVID-19. What we find is a sea of blue scrubs and a sea of blue facemasks. This report includes interviews with some of the nurses who took the time to make their voices...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:48 Any Day Now... I Promise! From the pages of 'The Skeptic', the journal of Australian Skeptics, Richard Saunders looks at the bait that keeps the believers hooked for years, decades, centuries, and millennia. 0:17:50 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by Adrienne Hill . http://www.skeptic...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:09 You Can Count on Adrienne This week Adrienne looks at the mystical and mysterious meanings behind the number 7. Is 7 good luck, bad luck, out of luck, lucky duck, or none of the above? What does numerology have to say about your personality? 0:14:29 An Award for Susan Gerbic CSI awards the Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking annually. Th...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:36 Interview with Craig Good "Relax and Enjoy your Food" is a new book from Craig Good. The diet and wellness industries, along with the supplement industry, have deep pockets and ill intent. Their primary victims are women, but everybody gets caught up in their web. After reading this book you'll be able to leave all that behind, eat a healthy diet, even...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:05:38 Sweden Survey Pontus Bockman drops by to tell us about the results of a recent survey into what people in Sweden believe. How many people still believe in a young earth, how many people are into astrology, how many people believe in conspiracy theories? http://www.vof.se 0:25:38 Bits and Pieces From around the Internet we find stories about people and...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:30 Facebook and Foot Pads A look at some of the ridiculous advertisements that appear on Facebook news feeds. From Foot Patches to Psychic Fairs and even Astral Projection, just what nonsense is being pushed out to thousands of Facebook users. 0:23:26 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? Read by A...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:40 Sydney Skeptics in the Pub Trivia Join Adrienne Hill and Richard Saunders as they deliver 30 tricky skeptical trivia questions. Have you got what it takes to get a good score? Test your skeptical knowledge with our curly questions. 0:28:30 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to...

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:30 Fired for getting a Vaccination A woman in Australia has been sacked from a wellness clinic for the terrible crime of getting a COVID-19 vaccination. Also we look into the claims of cures using cannabis. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-16/byron-bay-church-of-ubuntu-worker-covid-vaccination/100703588 0:23:52 The Skeptical Fairy The Skeptical Fairy A...