Yeah... Nah!

In this VERY special episode, Mark and Bronwyn talk with Anke, a journalist with a long-standing interest in cult groups who is organising a weekend conference in Christchurch in October that focuses on all things culty. We talk about cult survivors, cult experts, the difficulties of organising a large event, and Anke’s hopes for the future.

We’ve not scared Katrina or Brad away yet, so the Yeah… Nah! team are marching on, to pastures new. Both Mark and Bronwyn have been poking around astrology software, trying to figure out what, and who, makes it tick. Brad has tried to make sense of the impossible - homeopathy - and its use in treating horses. And Katrina looks into creative ways to get high both legally and for free.

It’s our first episode with new co-hosts Katrina Borthwick and Brad MacClure, so the Yeah… Nah! squad 2.0 get to work tackling some topical issues. Bronwyn, Katrina and Mark have all suffered through watching the entire season of spiritual healing reality TV show Lost Resort, and have a lot to say about it. Katrina has looked into a dubious chiropractic company who caused a New Zealand scientific paper to be retracted. Brad complains about a fellow old-white-man who’s been complaining about the Olympics. And Mark points out the clinical ineffectiveness of the Throckmorton Sign in radiology.

It’s the end of an era for the Yeah… Nah! podcast as we bid Craig farewell. After we recover from the shock of his departure, we get down to business. Brian Paavo joins us from his helicopter to tell us about his recent visit to Scientology in Honolulu, Bronwyn snakes her way through Spiritualist history, from the enactment of the Spiritualist Church of New Zealand Act 1924 through to Red Seal Toothpaste, and Mark dunks on a couple of new personal AI devices.

Craig is back and as busy as ever, so you might be listening to this podcast on a day that is not Thursday. This week we are chewing the fat about intuitive eating, The Divine Light Mission, and bad batteries.

Craig is away again this week, and again we’ve had to call on two committee members to do the job of one. Returning guests Dan Ryan and Katrina Borthwick try not to get bogged down by bad data, either historical or contemporary; Mark takes transubstantiation to its logical extreme; and Dan needs tech support for a sentient laptop monitor.

Craig is away this episode and singing his heart out at the World Choir Games, leaving Bronwyn and Mark to fill the hole he’s left in their hearts (at least for the next two weeks). Fortunately, they’ve been able to replace him twice over with TWO special guests! Committee member Brad MacClure returns to discuss placebos, and Hamish Dickson makes his podcast debut to share his visit to the Dunedin Spiritual Expo. Bronwyn is back on her Colin Amery nonsense, and Mark talks about everything. If you are in Auckland next week, be sure to stay listening for our Membership corner, for a special Skeptics in the Pub announcement.

“Yeah…Nah!” says hell yeah to another episode with a smorgasbord of features. Craig tags along to a Matariki celebration; Bronwyn wonders if her sugar-free electrolytes are illegal, and Mark keeps himself busy as always; getting the NZ Skeptics out of the YouTube naughty corner, attending a creationist “education” session.

Your faithful podcasters are testing the limits of the NZ Skeptics’ insurance policy in this episode. Craig laments on Michael Shermer’s turn towards the unskeptical; Mark reads Sue Nicholson’s memoir, so you don’t have to; and Bronwyn examines the life of a former global Skeptics challenge contender, Colin Amery. Heads up for mentions of suicide and child death.

Buckle in for a wild yet contemplative ride. We’re talking about the fast-tracked ‘gamer’ saint and Jason Scamoa. Craig may be onto a winner with an astrology-based betting system, and Bronwyn and Mark try to beat Wellington on a not-great day by checking out the School of Practical Philosophy.