Episode One Hundred And Three – 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” video. 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…
Episode One Hundred And Two – 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! This, however, is an exclusive that you won’t have heard before! 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…
Episode One Hundred And One – On SurfCoast SkeptiCamp – Interview With Mick Vagg
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,…
Episode One-Hundred – 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…
Episode Ninety-Nine – 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…
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Top Ten Episodes Of The Token Skeptic Podcast For 2011
Results of the recent survey that listeners completed for the Token Skeptic podcast! Top Ten Episodes as voted by the public (brackets show corresponding number in Libsyn stats) – interestingly enough – Top 11 is: #60 On Token Skepticism: The Best Of, which ranks 14th in downloads!: 10) #88 – On Codes Of Conduct Part II – Sexism, Skepticism And Civility Online (58) 9) #1 – On Santa Claus (2) 8 ) #72 – On Unbelievable – Interview With Lawrence Leung (39) 7) #4 – On Women And Paranormal Beliefs (Part One) (1) 6)#79 – On Project Barnum – Interview With Hayley Stevens (90) 5) #9 – On Skepticism and Communication – Interview With Michael McRae…
Fill In The Token Skeptic Survey – 2011
I’d Appreciate Feedback! I’m after basic demographics, what features you enjoy, what episodes you like (or even loathe) and what suggestions you have for the future of the Token Skeptic Podcast. If you have the time – click here to take this simple survey that will help the show in the future. Get The Word Out! Share this post with the world.
Token Skeptic In New Zealand – And What’s Next At Dragon*Con!
Just a quick update about ‘What’s going on?’ Thanks to dodgy internet access and being far too busy just before my travels, I’ve yet to sort out the little hiatus in the Token Skeptic show with episode #77 (do note - the interview with Sara Mayhew and Jack Scanlan, Episode #76, is corrected and out!)… but I do have the slides from the talk I gave at the recent New Zealand Skeptics convention, held in Christchurch! You can download the slides I used here for one of the talks: Token Skeptic Podcasting At NZ Skeptics Convention 2011 (pdf). The photo is taken by Gold, the Chair-Entity of the New Zealand Skeptics, just as I was talking…
Token Skeptic Lecture At UWA And Critical Thinking And Philosophy In Schools Conference
I recently got back from some fantastic lectures in Melbourne earlier this month – at RMIT, Melbourne University, Monash University and for the newly-launched Melbourne Skeptics and Melbourne Eastern Hills Skeptics Skeptics in the Pub with Warren Bonett of Embiggen Bookstore (which will soon open in Melbourne). Now I’m doing more presentations this week – on philosophy, critical thinking in schools and podcasting! Get The Word Out! Share this post with the world.
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Episode One Hundred And Three – 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” video. 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…
Episode One Hundred And Two – 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! This, however, is an exclusive that you won’t have heard before! 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…
Episode One Hundred And One – On SurfCoast SkeptiCamp – Interview With Mick Vagg
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,…
Episode One-Hundred – 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…
Episode Ninety-Nine – 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…
Episode Ninety-Eight – 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…
Token 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…
Episode Ninety-Seven – 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,…
Episode Ninety-Six – On Critical Thinking And Santa (Again) – Interview With Matt Lowry
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…
Episode Ninety-Five – On Skeptical Women Online – Julia Lavarnway, Susan Gerbic and Desiree Schell
If you’re interested in earlier episodes about women in skepticism? Try Episode Eighty-Eight – On Codes Of Conduct Part II – Sexism, Skepticism And Civility Online. 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…
Episode Ninety-Four – 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…
Episode Ninety-Three – On Science And Blogging – An Interview 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. You can see the upcoming events at the Royal Institution of Australia (RIAus) here – the program he discusses…
Top Ten Episodes Of The Token Skeptic Podcast For 2011
Results of the recent survey that listeners completed for the Token Skeptic podcast! Top Ten Episodes as voted by the public (brackets show corresponding number in Libsyn stats) – interestingly enough – Top 11 is: #60 On Token Skepticism: The Best Of, which ranks 14th in downloads!: 10) #88 – On Codes Of Conduct Part II – Sexism, Skepticism And Civility Online (58) 9) #1 – On Santa Claus (2) 8 ) #72 – On Unbelievable – Interview With Lawrence Leung (39) 7) #4 – On Women And Paranormal Beliefs (Part One) (1) 6)#79 – On Project Barnum – Interview With Hayley Stevens (90) 5) #9 – On Skepticism and Communication – Interview With Michael McRae…
Episode Ninety-Two – On The Truth About Conspiracy Theories – Dragon*Con 2011 Panel
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…
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