Wed, 22 February 2012
In Australia, it's the start of the University year. But is it so simple to find or start a club for your atheist / secularist / skeptical / freethinking undergraduate self ? I've taken the challenge to find out what happens if you are a student who says "Perhaps there is no God..." In 2010, Rhys Morgan made headlines across the UK for discovering a disturbing and hazardous “cure all” called Miracle Medical Solution, lent his name to a libel reform claim and investigated the claims of the Burzynski clinic. On Rhys’ blog, he wrote: “If you’re involved in the skeptical and/or atheist community, it’ll have been pretty hard to miss the University College London Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society storm in which they were asked by their union to remove this image from a promotional Facebook page for their weekly pub meet because someone had found it offensive and complained.” Since that time, Rhys has also become an advocate for speaking out about supporting student groups. Lyz Liddell is the Director of Campus Organizing for the Secular Student Alliance, coordinating the campus organizing team to deliver the SSA’s services and resources to affiliate groups and individual students. She leads development of new resources and helps build relationships with other organizations to promote acceptance of secular students. She volunteers with her local off-campus organization, the Humanist Community of Central Ohio, and is a member of the Challenge the Gap advisory board for Foundation Beyond Belief. Many thanks also to Madge and Ash of the UWA Atheists and Skeptics Society and Felix Bloomfield of The ANU League of Extraordinary Atheists. ***** The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Feedback to tokenskeptic at gmail.com Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.bandcamp.com. Direct download: Token_Skeptic_109_-_On_FreeThinking_Students_With_Rhys_Morgan_And_Liz_Liddell.mp3 Category:general -- posted at: 4:30 PM Comments[0]
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Fri, 17 February 2012
A first for the Token Skeptic podcast: an interview with Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom, who are the directors/producers of the forthcoming documentary on James Randi, called An Honest Liar. An Honest Liar profiles the life of famed magician turned professional skeptic James "The Amazing" Randi as he embarks on a series of public crusades to expose America's beloved psychics, mentalists, preachers, and faith healers with religious fervor. Along the way, the film will show how easily our perceptions can be fooled - by magicians, con artists, and even documentaries. Justin Weinstein has been making documentaries for broadcast, theatrical release, or commercial clients for over 10 years. Most recently, he wrote and edited Being Elmo; A Puppeteers Journey, which premiered at Sundance in 2011 (Special Jury Prize). Prior to that, Weinstein produced science and environmental documentaries, including Face Off at Coal River Mountain for Al Jazeera English, and the feature documentary about the global coal problem Dirty Business, produced in collaboration with Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. Earlier, Weinstein produced numerous projects for ABC News, Peter Jennings Reporting, and PBS, including Hot Politics for Frontline and the ABC News special, Last Days on Earth. Tyler Measom is the co-director/producer of the documentary film Sons of Perdition, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, screened at over 45 festivals and was acquired by the Oprah Winfrey Network. Measom is also the producer of the feature film, TAKE, starring Minnie Driver and Jeremy Renner. He has written, produced and directed over one hundred commercials, short documentaries and industrials for a wide range of national and international clients. ***** The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Feedback to tokenskeptic at gmail.com Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.bandcamp.com. Direct download: Token_Skeptic_108_-_On_An_Honest_Liar_-_Interview_With_Justin_Weinstein_And_Tyler_Measom.mp3 Category:general -- posted at: 1:37 PM Comments[0]
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Thu, 16 February 2012
Alom Shaha grew up in a strict Bangladeshi Muslim community in South-East London in the 1970s and 80s. He was expected to go to mosque regularly and recite passages in Arabic from the Quran, without being told what they meant. Alom spent his teenage years juggling two utterly different worlds: a chaotic, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic family life on a council estate, and that of a student at a privileged private school set amongst the idyllic green playing fields of Dulwich. In a charming blend of memoir, philosophy, and science, Alom explores the questions about faith and the afterlife that we all ponder. The official site for the Young Atheist's Handbook is at http://alomshaha.com/yah.html. Alom will be touring Australia at the end of February: Alom Shaha's "The Young Atheist's Handbook" tour will be heading to Perth (for the Perth Writers Festival), Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra (and possibly Sydney) - more details here. ***** The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Feedback to tokenskeptic at gmail.com Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.bandcamp.com. Direct download: Token_Skeptic_107_-_On_The_Young_Atheists_Handbook_-_Interview_With_Alom_Shaha.mp3 Category:general -- posted at: 4:49 AM Comments[0]
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Tue, 14 February 2012
With many thanks to Daniel Keogh and Renae Sayers - this is with permission and with love to you. A great Valentine's Day gift idea for that special geek in your life. Detailed step-by-step instructions can be found here. Created by: Daniel Keogh - http://twitter.com/ProfessorFunk The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org. Direct download: How_to_Make_Mobius_Strip_Love_Hearts.mp4.m4v Category:general -- posted at: 5:00 AM Comments[0]
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Wed, 8 February 2012
Here's a little something you might not know about me - I'm a student at a university that offers courses in alternative medicine. As a consequence, this leads me to be concerned that there's graduates from my school believing that their these courses are fully endorsed by the scientific community at large. But if you're a student studying for qualifications in homeopathy, reflexology, naturopathy and the like - I say you should be rethinking what your college is offering you. More recently there's been a number of scientists and supporters of science, who have been voicing their concerns too. As reported in the New York Times: Friends of Science in Medicine — a recently formed group that includes more than 400 prominent scientists, doctors, academics and consumer advocates from Australia and overseas — wrote to the vice chancellors of Australian universities last month. They outlined their concerns about what they called the “diminishing of the standards applied to the teaching of science in our universities” and “the increased teaching of pseudoscience.” Dr Rob Morrison is the National Vice-President of the Australian Science Communicators, a patron of National Science Week South Australia and a Freelance Science writer / Broadcaster and Professorial Fellow Flinders University. He's also one of the founding members of Friends of Science in Medicine. The Friends of Science In Medicine have a number of documents online for you to read as to their goals and here's a list of supporters. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.bandcamp.com. Direct download: Token_Skeptic_106_-_On_Friends_Of_Science_In_Medicine_With_Dr_Rob_Morrison.mp3 Category:general -- posted at: 3:24 PM Comments[0]
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Sat, 4 February 2012
At a time when we really need our children to be gaining a good understanding of the nature of science, pseudoscience seems to be on the rise. Rather than ignore it, or lambast it in a general way, a better approach may well be to make use of the teaching opportunities that pseudoscience offers”. Alison Campbell is a blogger for the NZ Science Blogs and works at the University of Waikato in the science and engineering faculty. With many thanks to the New Zealand Skeptics, this talk featured at the 2011 Conference on the 27th August, held in the Rochester-Rutherford Hall in Christchurch (on the Canterbury University campus) and Gold, the Chair-Entity of the New Zealand Skeptics. Thanks also to the CUSP podcast, who have featured an interview with me on their show. The 2012 New Zealand Skeptics Convention will be held on Friday 31 August-Sunday 2 September at Otago University, Dunedin. The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Direct download: Token_Skeptic_105_-_On_Teaching_Skepticism_With_Science_Alison_Campbell.mp3 Category:general -- posted at: 2:23 PM Comments[0]
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Fri, 3 February 2012
I'm heading north to Europe - again! The Sixth World Skeptics Congress, May 18-20, 2012 in Berlin, Germany! Episode One Hundred and Four features an interview with the renown German skeptic Armadeo Sarma, who is the the founder and Chairman of the German Society for the Scientific Investigation of Para-Sciences (GWUP), Chairman of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) and Fellow and Executive Council member of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He has written, lectured and debated on dowsing, methods of investigation, the Shroud of Turin, homeopathy and the goals of skeptical organisations. The Sixth World Skeptics Congress will be an intellectually stimulating three-day event, dealing with claims ranging from the paranormal and supernatural, to fringe science issues and scams. Major topics at this event will be science and pseudoscience in education, addressing in particular anti-evolution claims and origin myths, and the problems of risk and benefit assessment, addressing alternative medicine. The official site is at http://www.worldskeptics.org - and check out their Facebook group at and Twitter at @gwup and the official Twitter hashtag is #6WSC12! The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Direct download: Token_Skeptic_104_-_On_The_World_Skeptics_Congress_In_Berlin.mp3 Category:general -- posted at: 9:39 AM Comments[0]
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Sun, 29 January 2012
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", the "What Is Chemistry?" and "Why Does The Earth Spin?" videos. 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 available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Direct download: Token_Skeptic_103_-_On_Science_Videos_With_Veritasium.mp3 Category:general -- posted at: 2:25 PM Comments[0]
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Fri, 27 January 2012
Just when you thought skeptical podcasts weren't saying enough about climate change denialism this week! 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 guide for communicators in all areas (not just climate) who encounter misinformation. Josh Rosenau has been a Public Information Project Director at NCSE since 2007. He pursued a doctorate at the University of Kansas, studying the ways ecological competition shapes the ecological niche and geographical ranges of species. When creationists on the Kansas board of education sought to undermine evolution education in 2005, Josh worked with grassroots groups and the media to improve public understanding of the issues, and to defend honest and accurate science education. He blogs at Thoughts From Kansas at ScienceBlogs.com. Check out the NCSE's new climate change website section, and consider joining NCSE. Direct download: Token_Skeptic_102_-_On_Skeptical_Science_With_The_Debunking_Handbook_And_NCSE.mp3 Category:general -- posted at: 12:10 PM Comments[0]
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Sun, 8 January 2012
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, the Young Australian Skeptics Skeptical Blog Anthology is still available to purchase at Lulu.com. The Young Australian Skeptics Skeptical Blog Anthology on the Scientific American Website. The Young Australian Skeptics Skeptical Blog Anthology on the JREF Swift Blog.
The Token Skeptic Blog – now on FreeThought Blogs at http://freethoughtblogs.com/tokenskeptic. This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Direct download: Token_Skeptic_101_-_On_SummerCoast_SkeptiCamp.mp3 Category:general -- posted at: 3:50 AM Comments[0]
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Token Skeptic Podcast (general)
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