Skeptic: Promoting Science and Critical Thinking

2010 Episodes

March 2nd: Imagine Science

Imagine you’ve just completed your PhD in molecular biology and genetics. Would enrolling at NYU film school be your next logical career step? Unlikely as it may sound, that’s exactly what Alexis Gambis, creator of the Imagine Science Film Festival decided to do.

This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Alexis about the surprising and yet natural collaboration between scientists who dedicate their lives to studying the world we live in, and filmmakers — who have the power to interpret and share this knowledge with a broader audience than ever before.

This week also includes the debut of a new segment: “This Week in Skeptic History,” hosted by notable skeptical activist Tim Farley (creator of the WhatsTheHarm.net).

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February 17th: Welcome, Mr. President

Last week’s Skepticality featured Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, who told us about his decision to step down from his role as President of the James Randi Educational Foundation to take on an exciting new television opportunity.

In this episode, Derek catches up with the JREF’s incoming President, D.J. Grothe. Formerly host of the Point of Inquiry podcast at the Center for Inquiry, D.J. talks about his new role at the JREF and about his new podcast, For Good Reason.

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February 9th: Eyes to the Sky

For a myriad of reasons, NASA is in the news this week. For an update on everything astronomical, Skepticality is proud to welcome back The Bad Astronomer himself, Dr. Phil Plait (author of the popular books Bad Astronomy, Death from the Skies and his award-winning blog at DiscoverMagazine.com).

Swoopy chats with Phil about this week’s planned launch of the space shuttle Endeavor (one of five final missions marking the retirement of the shuttle fleet by the close of 2010); the surprising recent announcement of President Obama’s plans to increase NASA’s funding but cancel the Constellation program already five years underway; and, Phil’s own tough decision to step down as president of the James Randi Educational Foundation in order to extend his skeptical outreach to a global audience through television.

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January 26th: Skepticism’s Unknown Trailblazer

This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with a true skeptical original: Skeptics Society co-founder Pat Linse, co-publisher and Art Director of Skeptic magazine. She is among skepticism’s most influential pioneers — and yet, she has rarely stepped into the public spotlight.

Among Pat’s many groundbreaking innovations was the creation of Junior Skeptic (the 10-page kids’ critical thinking insert bound within Skeptic magazine). Joining Pat in this interview is current Junior Skeptic editor and illustrator Daniel Loxton, here to talk about their latest creation: a full-color children’s book released this week by Kids Can Press, entitled Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be.

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January 5th: Worlds of Their Own

“The Universe does not bend itself to our ignorance.” This simple truism is just one of the many observations made by author, skeptic and former president of the National Center for Science Education Robert J. Schadewald (who died of cancer on March 12th, 2000).

This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Robert’s sister Lois Schadewald, who compiled and published a humorous, insightful volume of her brother’s articles, essays and interviews in 2008. Entitled Worlds of Their Own: A Brief History of Misguided Ideas; Creationism, Flat-Earthism, Energy Scams, and the Velikovsky Affair, Robert Schadewald’s work reminds us that in order to understand the difference between science and pseudoscience we must investigate the unique claims and personalities of some of history’s most unorthodox thinkers. Only then can we begin to learn what leads some people to embrace critical thinking and science, while others cling to their own realities despite all the evidence in the universe.

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