Science for the People

Dr. Marc MacKenzie, medical physicist, discusses radiation: why a little can be good, why a lot can be bad, and why radiation is more important than you think. And on Speaking Up, we discuss The James Randi Educational Foundation with Bart G. Farkas.

We spoke to Martin Bridgstock and Kylie Sturgess, who recently completed one of the largest surveys of paranormal, pseudoscientific, superstitious and conspiracy theory beliefs in Australia. They've studied how age, gender, religion, and voting preference relate to belief in the paranormal, and whether there's a single underlying tendency to be "a believer". Some of their conclusions are quite different than what we've seen in other studies. What does this mean mean for skeptical education and outreach? And on Speaking Up, we talk to Richard Stelling with The Skeptic Exchange.

We spoke with Nicky Garratt, guitarist for the legendary punk band, the UK Subs, who also happens to be an outspoken skeptic. Does speaking out against pseudoscience, magical thinking and unexamined beliefs get in the way of damning the man? And, by popular demand, we introduced our new semi-regular segment "Ask a Pharmacist" with Scott Gavura. Answering all the questions you'd ask your own pharmacist, if the line wasn't so long.

We spoke with Brent Homan from the Canadian Competition Bureau, about their attempts to combat health fraud. Questionable cancer cures, fake vaccines, miracle machines, creams and treatments. What's the government doing to educate consumers and smack down the bad guys? And is it working?

Nancy Walton helps us explore the intricacies of human research ethics. The Millgram Experiment. The Stanford Prison Experiment. Randomized trials on orphaned and abandoned children. Stem cell research. Studying the effects of torture. Does "ethics" mean what you think it means? And on Speaking Up, we talk about chronic illness and alternative health with Joey Haban.

Paul Ingraham is a Vancouver Registered Massage Therapist and science writer who criticizes questionable practices in alternative health care -- and his professional regulator calls it offensively unprofessional and wants to censor his website with tens of thousands of dollars in legal defense expenses at stake. Science-based alternative health? Rebellion within the alt-health ranks? And on Speaking Up, we about Science Online 2010 with Bora Zivkovic.

Discussing the intersection of science fiction and skepticism with Derek Colanduno, co-host of the podcast Skepticality. Saying that "both involve science" is only scratching the surface. And on Speaking Up we talk about horror movie superstitions with Jill Powell.

Keith Schon of Cataphora discusses how computers can track behavior, and find out all your dirty little secrets. What are the limits on what your company is allowed to find out about you, and how are they doing it? How do we figure out, after the fact, whether "Yeah, go do that" means "Yes, grab me some lunch" or "Yes, perpetrate that multi-million dollar fraud scheme." And what do your online behavior patterns say about you? And on Speaking Up we discuss sports superstitions with Colin McIntyre.

From comedy and music, to scientific studies and how we respond to them, to blogging vs. mainstream media, to attention-grabbing stunts... is all publicity good publicity, or do our own efforts sometimes work against us? With Greg Laden, biological anthropologist and author of Greg Laden's Blog and Omar Mouallem, rapper and journalist. And on Speaking Up: Made With Molecules with Raven Hanna.

We discuss the challenges and successes of the Canadian evidence-based community with contributors to the new Canadian skeptical blog, Skeptic North. Guests include Steve Thoms from Ontario's Niagara Region, Jonathan Abrams from Ottawa, and Jesse Brydle from Vancouver.