Skeptics Mix Tape 2009
Think the best skepticism is the kind you can rock to? We’re pleased to offer you this selection of songs of science and skepticism — completely free! Download these MP3 files for non-commercial use at home or in your classroom. (Many of these songs are also available commercially from iTunes.)
Free for use on your podcast or radio show are a selection of Public Service Announcements in support of critical thinking, science, and the Skeptics Society. We’ll be expanding the selection in the coming months, so check back again soon.
Please do tell your friends about the whole set here at www.skeptic.com/mixtape09 or, share this page on Facebook.
Songs in this collection
Jonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton: “I’m a Mason Now”
Influential geek-rock superstar Jonathan Coulton explains why you might want to “stay on the good side of the guy who’s got the secret handshake down.” For conspiracy lovers everywhere. Parental Advisory: suitable for all ages
DOWNLOAD this song (2.1 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Dr. SETI
Dr. SETI: “Cosmic Carl”
Folk singer Dr. SETI (sometimes known as Dr. Paul Shuch, the man credited with designing the world’s first commercial home satellite TV receiver) leads a live audience in a fond shout-out to the late, great astronomer Dr. Carl Sagan. Parental Advisory: suitable for all ages
DOWNLOAD this song (1.1 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Bandleader Timothy Sellers
Artichoke: “Mary Anning”
The snappiest ditty from Artichoke’s acclaimed alt-rock concept album 26 Scientists, Vol. 1 (A–M), “Mary Anning” tells the story of the self-taught woman who discovered the first fossil plesiosaur — and paved the way for Darwin to rewrite the history of life. Parental Advisory: suitable for all ages
DOWNLOAD this song (2.2 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Overman
Overman: “Evolution Rocks”
A retro-styled educational tune that harkens back to Saturday morning cartoons, this is a quick survey of Charles Darwin’s life, insight, and impact on our understanding of biological change through geologic time. Parental Advisory: mild criticism of Darwin’s contemporary opponents, including religious thinkers
DOWNLOAD this song (3.3 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Being 747
Being 747: “Shake Your Backbone”
A snapshot of evolutionary time, this song comes from the educational multimedia show Amoeba To Zebra, which offers a musical exploration of natural history in 55 minutes. This show can be booked for schools in the UK. Parental Advisory: suitable for all ages
DOWNLOAD this song (4.2 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Chris Hardwick (left)
& Mike Phirman
Hard ’n Phirm: “Carbon Cycle”
Mike Phirman and Wired magazine science correspondent Chris Hardwick (a former MTV host) are a comedy music duo with a heart of pure science. Here they offer a jaunty, straight-faced reflection on our ephemeral place in the biosphere’s carbon cycling. Parental Advisory: Clean radio edit (with bleeps)
DOWNLOAD this song (2.6 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Coco Love Alcorn
Coco Love Alcorn: “Thinking Cap”
In a brand new song recorded especially for the Skeptics Mix Tape 2009 project, Canadian indie darling Alcorn conjures up a distinctive blend of jazz, soul, folk — and critical thinking. Parental Advisory: suitable for all ages
DOWNLOAD this song (2.8 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Tales from the Birdbath
Tales from the Birdbath: “The Scientist”
A punk rock veteran’s affectionate description of the grueling research lifestyle led by his wife (hardworking endocrinologist, science writer, and rock drummer Rebecca Hernandez). Parental Advisory: suitable for all ages
DOWNLOAD this song (1.6 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Celia Chavez
Celia Chavez: “P. T. Barnum”
With lyrics like “accepting deception as part of the show,” former P!nk backup singer Celia Chavez builds a haunting, off-kilter love song on the memory of 19th century showman, skeptic, and huckster P. T. Barnum. Co-written with Hilary Gardner. Parental Advisory: suitable for all ages
DOWNLOAD this song (2.15 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Dirty Dishes
Dirty Dishes: “Lily the Pink”
“Lily the Pink” is a satirical send up of early patent medicine mogul Lydia Pinkham. This version was arranged and performed by country bluegrass trio Dirty Dishes (featuring Lisa Olafson, Suzie McKenney, and fiddler Alison Porter). Parental Advisory: suitable for all ages
DOWNLOAD this song (4.4 MB MP3) >
READ the companion article about Lily the Pink >
VISIT the artist’s website >
band member Paul Tozer
The Bad Detectives: “Rattlesnake Oil”
An energetic, tongue in cheek, rockabilly sales pitch for traditional snake oil medicine (“It’s good for what ails you…It clears phlegm, cures gout — and drives demons out”) this song makes note of the true medicinal ingredient in many such patent potions: booze. Parental Advisory: Very mild innuendo. Refers to alcohol.
DOWNLOAD this song (4 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
George Hrab
George Hrab: “Skeptic”
If skepticism had an anthem, this might well be it! Echoing with the chorus “You can’t believe what a skeptic I am,” this is rock artist George Hrab’s stinging (yet compassionate) indictment of promoters of lucrative alternative medicine schemes. Parental Advisory: mild bad language
DOWNLOAD this song (6.7 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Bonus Track (added January 2012)
Monty Harper
Monty Harper: “Junior Detectives Club”
From his CD “ Get a Clue ” comes this fun children’s song featuring The Center Stage Singers.
DOWNLOAD this song (2 MB MP3) >
VISIT the artist’s website >
Suggest your own song for the next mix tape
Do you have an awesome skeptical song of your own that you’d like to submit for a possible sequel to this project? Email Junior Skeptic Editor Daniel Loxton and tell him about it. If it’s a good fit, your song could end up on the next Skeptics Mix Tape.
Public Service Announcements
Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer on
the Spiritual Beauty of Science
Skeptic Publisher Michael Shermer reflects on the soaring power of science to uplift us, inspire us — and humble us before the majesty of the cosmos. ”Anything that generates a sense of awe may be a source of spirituality,” Shermer says, “and science does this in spades.”
DOWNLOAD this PSA (2 MB MP3) >
Phil Plait
Phil Plait speaks out
Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait (President of the James Randi Educational Foundation) wants “to exhort you to think. Just think. When you see something, when you hear something that doesn’t sound right, just think about it. That’s really all it takes…”
DOWNLOAD this PSA (2 MB MP3) >
Skeptic magazine plug
CONTENT: “Hungry for more skepticism? Want to learn the truth about the scientific controversies of our time? Then subscribe to Skeptic, the quarterly magazine Stephen Jay Gould called ‘the best journal in the field.’ To subscribe, visit Skeptic.com today.”
DOWNLOAD this PSA (144 KB MP3) >
eSkeptic plug
CONTENT: “Want to stay abreast of the latest from Skeptic magazine and the Skeptics Society? Want cutting-edge skeptical articles delivered straight to your inbox every week? Then subscribe to eSkeptic, the free electronic newsletter of the Skeptics Society. Visit Skeptic.com to sign up.”
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Detecting Baloney
The Baloney Detection Kit Sandwich (Infographic)
For a class project, a pair of 11th grade physics students created the infographic shown below, inspired by Michael Shermer’s Baloney Detection Kit: a 16-page booklet designed to hone your critical thinking skills.
FREE Video Series
Science Based Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine
Understanding the difference could save your life! In this superb 10-part video lecture series, Harriet Hall, M.D., contrasts science-based medicine with so-called “complementary and alternative” methods. The lectures each range from 32 to 45 minutes.
FREE PDF Download
Is Terrorism an Existential Threat?
This free booklet reveals 10 myths that explain why terrorism is not a threat to our way of life or our survival.
FREE PDF Download
The Top Ten Strangest Beliefs
Michael Shermer has compiled a list of the top 10 strangest beliefs that he has encountered in his quarter century as a professional skeptic.
FREE PDF Download
Who believes them? Why? How can you tell if they’re true?
What is a conspiracy theory, why do people believe in them, and why do they tend to proliferate? Why does belief in one conspiracy correlate to belief in others? What are the triggers of belief, and how does group identity factor into it? How can one tell the difference between a true conspiracy and a false one?
FREE PDF Download
The Science Behind Why People See Ghosts
Do you know someone who has had a mind altering experience? If so, you know how compelling they can be. They are one of the foundations of widespread belief in the paranormal. But as skeptics are well aware, accepting them as reality can be dangerous…
FREE PDF Download
Top 10 Myths About Evolution (and how we know it really happened)
If humans came from apes, why aren’t apes evolving into humans? Find out in this pamphlet!
FREE PDF Download
Learn to do Psychic “Cold Reading” in 10
Easy Lessons
Psychic readings and fortunetelling are an ancient art — a combination of acting and psychological manipulation.