The Rationable Podcast

It’s a special honour to have a Rationable Interview with Leonard Tramiel. He a good friend of Rationable, of course. You might have seen him in the Rationable Conversations group on Facebook if you’re a part of it. Join in if you’re not.

He’s also an accomplished sceptic in his own right. He’s a member of the board of the Center for Inquiry (CFI). This is an organisation of sceptics that publishes the Skeptical Inquirer magazine and holds the annual CSICON sceptics’ conference in Las Vegas, which is where I first met Leonard.

Leonard is also on the Council of Advisors for the Search for Extraterrestrial Life (SETI)! Yes, that SETI. He has worked with the California Department of Education to help them improve the quality of their textbooks. That’s not surprising at all when you know he’s been a volunteer 8th-grade astronomy teacher as well.

Last but not least, Leonard started his career working under his father in Atari, developing their very first gaming platforms. Yes, that Atari!

So we had a nice long chat about his early life, his passion for physics and astronomy, his family life and being the son of Jack Tramiel, who revived Commodore International and enabled the creation of one of the very first PC microchips that contributed to the dawn of personal computing. We also talked about his time at Atari, his encounter with Jill Tarter of SETI (who inspired the character of Dr Ellie Arroway in Carl Sagan’s novel Contact), his pet peeves with science literacy and much much more.

I would love to do another interview with him so if you have any questions, be sure to drop them in the comments or mail them to [email protected].

Reference Links

The story of Commodore and the 8-bit generation | Leonard Tramiel | TEDxMidAtlantic

Leonard Tramiel and the 6502 chip - 8Bites - #TheCommodoreStory [4K]

Why Jack Tramiel left Commodore by Leonard Tramiel (2015)

Leonard’s interview with Jill Tarter: https://centerforinquiry.org/conferences/csicon/2016/interview-tarter.html

Intro and outro music: Don't Stop performed by Nothing More, from their album, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. The sound clips have been used with their permission.

For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, please visit www.berationable.com.

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

Richard Saunders, a life member of Australian Skeptics and a CSI fellow, is a world-famous sceptic from Australia who has been doing activism, speaking, podcasting and promoting sceptics from around the world for decades. Other than that, he is just a fun, chilled out guy who loves origami and cats. In this interview, we chat about UFOs and ancient aliens, psychics, astrology, Power Balance bands and lots more.

Richard has been kind enough to air interviews with me and promotions for The Rationable Podcast on The Skeptic Zone. He does this for a lot of sceptics all over the world and without asking for anything in return. Now that’s being just a wonderful human being, don’t you think?

I met Richard through Brian Dunning of Skeptoid.com, who I had met at CSICON 2018 in Las Vegas, NV, USA. That event has seriously changed my life. If you haven’t gone, you should definitely try to. But first, you should come to Skepticon 2020, which promises to be a brilliant virtual convention for sceptics around the world.

Links & references

Attend the Skepticon sceptic’s conference: https://www.skepticon.org.au

Richard Saunders on Dragoncon’s Skeptic Track: https://youtu.be/-ZHWCD9i9L8

Rationable’s talk at Dragoncon’s Skeptic Track: https://youtu.be/eFLM0UzVrFY

The Skeptic Zone Podcast: https://www.skepticzone.tv/

The Skeptic Zone Podcast Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/skepticzonepodcast

Challenging the Astrologer, Milton Black: https://youtu.be/q-fjymxOrGE

Debunking Power Balance Bands: https://youtu.be/yd0Gb9EgkHA

Richard’s Origami Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuzfqFJyj3esv0N6DlEzLzCzNwWb1Ocgb

Intro and outro music: Don't Stop performed by Nothing More, from their album, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. The sound clips have been used with their permission.

For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, please visit www.berationable.com.

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

In the final part of my interview with Dr Sumaiya Shaikh, we discuss her work as a science communicator. She founded Altnews Science to challenge pseudoscience in India.

She has noticed how much alternative medicines like Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy, Siddh and Unani have grown in our country and the dangers they pose to us and the ones we love.

So she founded Altnews Science to debunk misinformation and share the real science behind the news. For example, she has written several excellent articles regarding COVID-19 and even the Patanjali Scam that tried to take advantage of people during the pandemic.

All that and a lot more await you in this episode. Enjoy!

References and links:

Altnews Science: https://www.altnews.in/topics/science/

Arsenicum Album to fight COVID-19: https://www.altnews.in/homeopathic-drugs-such-as-arsenicum-album-30-promoted-by-ayush-do-not-boost-immunity-against-covid/

Patanjali’s Corona Kit: https://www.altnews.in/no-patanjalis-coronil-has-not-been-approved-by-ayush-ministry/

Rationable’s Take on Patanjali’s Corona Kit: https://www.berationable.com/rationable-blog/2020/6/coronakit-or-con-examining-patanjalis-coronavirus-treatment

Donate to Altnews: https://www.altnews.in/donate/

More about Dr Sumaiya Shaikh

Twitter: https://twitter.com/neurophysik?lang=en

Website: http://sumaiyashaikh.com/

Altnews Science: https://www.altnews.in/topics/science/

Intro and outro music: Don't Stop performed by Nothing More, from their album, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. The sound clips have been used with their permission.

For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, please visit www.berationable.com.

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

Here’s the second edition of my interview with the fantabulous Dr Sumaiya Shaikh. In this episode, we discuss the dark yet fascinating world of violent behaviour and the science behind it.

It all starts when I ask about Philip Zimbardo’s controversial Stanford Prison Experiment that demonstrated how dehumanising people can enable the most heinous abusive behaviour. I had initially dipped into this topic in my first article for Rationable, which you can read here. From there, Dr Shaikh talks about Hitler, the Nazis and Neo Nazis, extremist movements like ISIL and the communal violence closer to home in India, some of which have affected her life directly.

This is going to be a long episode, but immensely intriguing, poignant and informative. It will change how you think of extremists and violent people. In other words, it’s totally worth it.

So, go for a long walk, fetch your favourite beverage and strap in for a deep dive into the darkest depths of human behaviour.

Listen to Part 1: The fascinating science of pain

Find Out More About Dr Shaikh And Her Work

Twitter: https://twitter.com/neurophysik?lang=en

Website: http://sumaiyashaikh.com/

Altnews Science: https://www.altnews.in/topics/science/

Intro and outro music: Don't Stop performed by Nothing More, from their album, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. The sound clips have been used with their permission.

For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, please visit www.berationable.com.

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

Dr Sumaiya Shaikh and I had a fantastic interview where we talked about a variety of topics. The interview has been split into three parts so that you can take it in one bite at a time.

In the first part, we open the conversation with her work in the study of the neurophysiology of pain. There’s a lot more to pain than you may think, and we get a fascinating glimpse of that today.

Find out more about Dr Shaikh and her work:

Dhruv Rathee interview: Science Behind Depression: https://youtu.be/tZ5qIpJHeNU

Twitter: https://twitter.com/neurophysik?lang=en

Website: http://sumaiyashaikh.com/

Altnews Science: https://www.altnews.in/topics/science/

Intro and outro music: Don't Stop performed by Nothing More, from their album, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. The sound clips have been used with their permission.

For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, please visit www.berationable.com.

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

To celebrate Doctor's Day India 2020, I speak to Dr Shantanu Abhyankar, MD, MBBS, Gynaecology, and Dr Anand Khare, MD Psychiatry.

We discuss Coronil, Patanjali's so-called coronavirus cure, Sushant Singh Rajput's passing and its effects on mental health awareness along with Ayurveda, alternative medicine, boosting immunity and how to survive the pandemic and lots more.

References & Links

Dr Shantanu Abhyankar: https://kivihealth.com/satara/wai-cit...

Rationable interviews Dr Abhyankar: https://www.berationable.com/rationab...

Dr Abhyankar's TEDx Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/dr_shantanu...

Dr Abhyankar at CSICON 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hf9z...

Dr Anand Khare: https://www.practo.com/mumbai/doctor/...

Can you boost your immune system?: https://www.berationable.com/rationab...

Corona Kit or Con: Examining Patanjali's Coronavirus Treatment: https://www.berationable.com/rationab...

Does Homeopathy Work?: https://www.berationable.com/rationab...

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

Patanjali has courted controversy by releasing their “Corona Kit” consisting of Ashwagandha, Tulsi, Giloy, Shwasari Juice and Anu Tel. They claim to have done a clinical trial and found it 100% effective. But there's still no sign of the study and its results. Rationable examines their claims more closely.

Links

RCTs: https://www.berationable.com/rationable-blog/2019/6/11/what-is-evidence-part-1-randomised-controlled-trials

English Jagran: https://english.jagran.com/lifestyle/coronavirus-treatment-this-ayurvedic-medicine-can-cure-covid19-patients-in-514-days-claims-patanjali-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-10012921

Boosting Immunity: https://www.berationable.com/rationable-blog/can-you-boost-your-immune-system

RBD: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3630917/

ACE2: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/angiotensin-converting-enzyme-2/pdf

The Body of Evidence - The Gauntlet: https://youtu.be/6ug9ZTewcrE

Withanone and CAPE for SARS-CoV-2: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07391102.2020.1772108

Press on IIT and AIST Study on Ashwagandha: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/diagnostics/ashwagandha-can-be-effective-covid-19-preventive-drug-finds-research-by-iit-delhi-and-japans-aist/75820118

Withaferin A on Herpes Simplex virus: https://bmcbioinformatics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2105-12-S13-S22

Ayurveda on Sinusitis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22557218/

Divya Shwasari Ras: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332220302547

Anant Bhan Twitter Thread: https://twitter.com/AnantBhan/status/1275407524368248832?s=20

Patanjali’s clinical trial registration: http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/showallp.php?mid1=43900&EncHid=&userName=patanjali

Dr Sumaiya Shaikh: http://sumaiyashaikh.com/about/

Dr Sumaiya Shaikh’s tweet to Patanjali: https://twitter.com/Neurophysik/status/1275558711428354050?s=20

Intro and outro music: Don't Stop performed by Nothing More, from their album, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. The sound clips have been used with their permission.

For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, please visit www.berationable.com.

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

Can you boost your immune system? In a way, yes, but not in the way the promoters of alternative medicine want you to think. But there are ways to keep your immune system healthy and functioning optimally. Let’s dig a little deeper into how the immune system works, how to keep it healthy and whether or not it can protect you from infections like COVID-19.

Home workouts

Paid: ATHLEAN-X | Six Pack Abs and Building Athletic Muscle

Free: Fitness Blender

Digging Deeper

How to boost your immune system - Harvard Health

SGU: https://youtu.be/0Ah2p1q2qLU

Seeker Human: https://youtu.be/ZTz4qA1gX3k

Medsimplified: https://youtu.be/k9QAyP3bYmc

https://www.ted.com/talks/emma_bryce_how_does_the_immune_system_work?language=en#t-37095

The Gut: Where Bacteria and Immune System Meet

The role of gut microbiota in immune homeostasis and autoimmunity

Covid-19: Can 'boosting' your immune system protect you?

Demystifying the manipulation of host immunity, metabolism, and extraintestinal tumors by the gut microbiome

Intro and outro music: Don't Stop performed by Nothing More, from their album, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. The sound clips have been used with their permission.

For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, please visit www.berationable.com.

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

Welcome to the first interview of The Rationable Podcast! I’m calling it Rationable Interviews, for what it’s worth. This episode features an interview with Dr Shantanu Abhyankar, a gynaecologist by profession and a sceptic activist based in Wai, Maharashtra.

I met the good doctor and his wonderful family during the CSICON 2018 in Las Vegas where he presented a white paper on the accomplishments of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) or Maharashtra Blind Faith Eradication Committee and their hard work to implement legislation against superstitious practices and harmful rituals.

We speak about his journey from homoeopathy to mainstream medicine, which gives us a very interesting insight into the relationship between alternative medicine and mainstream medicine in India.

We explore the relationship between Ayurveda and homoeopathy, their parallels and convergences along with the potential of Ayurveda if it is properly researched. Links:

Dr Shantanu Abhyankar on TEDx PICT: https://youtu.be/zXKcRklWkcA

Dr Abhyankar’s blog: https://shantanuabhyankar.blogspot.com/

Dr Abhyankar on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dr-Shantanu-Abhyankar-223318794895179

Dr Abhyankar on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShantanuWai

The Magic of Reality (Marathi) by Richard Dawkins translated by Dr Shantanu Abhyankar: https://amzn.to/3aGNUE9

Why is Sex Fun (Marathi) by Jared Diamond translated by Dr Shantanu Abhyankar: https://amzn.to/2S7X3zo

Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) or Maharashtra Blind Faith Eradication Committee: http://antisuperstition.org/

The Guru Busters: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2D6C82AA61986624

Does Homeopathy work?: https://www.berationable.com/rationable-blog/2019/03/20/does-homeopathy-work?rq=homeopathy

Intro and outro music: Don't Stop performed by Nothing More, from their album, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. The sound clips have been used with their permission.

For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, please visit www.berationable.com.

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

Another episode of fact-checking coronavirus forwards on social media. Today, we find out why COVID-19 cannot be prevented by homoeopathy, raw onions, vitamin C, vitamin Bs and blowdryers through science and critical thinking.

Intro and outro music: Don't Stop performed by Nothing More, from their album, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. The sound clips have been used with their permission.

For the full transcript along with links to citations and further reading, please visit www.berationable.com.

Questions, suggestions or just want to get in touch? Find me on Instagram and Twitter @berationable and on Facebook @Rationable. Join the conversation on the Rationable Conversations Facebook group and email me at [email protected]. For more content like this, visit www.berationable.com.

Podcast outro

Thank you so much for listening to The Rationable Podcast with me, Abhijit. For the show notes, transcript, references and further reading, visit www.berationable.com. Let’s continue the conversation on the Rationable Conversations group on Facebook and @berationable on Twitter. You can also write to me at [email protected]. If you enjoyed this episode consider subscribing to the podcast and sharing it with your friends and family. Until next time, be rationable.