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Monday, August 14th, 2006 | ISSN 1556-5696

eSkeptic: the email newsletter of the Skeptics Society

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Announcing Skepticality:
The Official Podcast of Skeptic Magazine!

Listen to our new, free, bi-weekly podcast audio program! Skepticality is a top-rated audio talk show dedicated to skeptical topics and interviews. On this premiere episode of the re-launched Skepticality, Dr. Michael Shermer joins hosts Derek & Swoopy to celebrate our exciting new creative partnership.

LISTEN to the new episode
(5.4mb MP3)

What is a “podcast”?

A podcast is an audio or video recording distributed over the internet. Most are like radio-on-demand: regularly released talk shows that can be downloaded as digital audio files onto your own computer, and then played using an appropriate application (such as Apple’s iTunes, which is available for free, for both Mac and Windows).

Many people transfer the downloaded audio file from their home computer to an Apple iPod or other portable MP3 player (the word “podcast” is abbreviated from “iPod” and “broadcasting”) to be enjoyed on the go. But no such extra hardware is necessary, and your computer’s own speakers are an excellent way to listen.

For those with iTunes

For those with Apple’s iTunes installed, you can go directly to the Skepticality iTunes page to see their directory of past episodes. Previous episodes have included guests such as James Randi, Phil Plait, Marc Zimmer, Jennifer Michael Hecht, and Lawrence Krauss.

snapshot of the iTunes podcast directory

I am very pleased to announce a new creative alliance between the Skeptics Society and the top-rated Skepticality — now the official podcast of Skeptic magazine! We are excited to be working with Derek & Swoopy of Skepticality, who are pros at developing and presenting professional podcasts for the skeptical and scientific communities. As we move into yet another medium for communicating science and skepticism, we have here an opportunity to reach more people — and especially younger skeptics — with provocative and stimulating content.

And let me add that I personally find all the new sources of audio content via the net to be a real boon to staying on top of what’s hot in science and culture, not to mention keeping one’s brain stimulated. For the past 25 years I have been cycling a couple of hours a day, six days a week, and in that time I have gone through thousands of audio cassette tapes of lectures (via a Sony Walkman); then books on tape through the company of the same name; then digital books via audible.com (on an iPod); and then digital college courses through the Teaching Company. In just the past couple of months I have discovered podcasts, thereby enriching my cycling and driving experience. Compared to listening to podcasts of interviews and lectures, talk radio sounds like noise — irritating noise, obnoxious noise.

With Skepticality we hope to bring you stimulating, educational, and enlightened materials from which we can all continue growing.

— Michael Shermer
  Executive Director, Skeptics Society

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