Podcasts about The Amazing Meeting

Joe Nickell, the world renowned paranormal investigator, died earlier this week at the age of 80. He was a great inspiration to us here at The Reality Check and it was a great pleasure for some of us to have met him back in 2009 at The Amazing Meeting. At that time we recorded this interview, originally used in episode 53 of the show, where we talk with Joe Nickell about his fascinating career.

On this WPN Call #416, Dr. Jim Garlow is joined by State Senator Brian Jones, an American politician and pastor who serves as the senator for CA's 40th State Senatorial District. He discusses everything you need to know about the meeting between President Trump and LA Mayor Karen Bass regarding the county's recent major fires.      Website: https://sr40.senate.ca.gov/     Dr. Jim Garlow has partnered with Pastor Mario Bramnick and Adam Schindler to bring you World Prayer Network (WPN), which seeks out Holy Spirit given strategies for how to be an effective and contagious Christ-follower in our present national situations. WPN hosts weekly prayer calls to seek out strategies for the transformation of nations, including our own. During these live calls, we share briefings from key leaders and then pray into what we see and hear from the Lord.     Follow us on social media:  facebook.com/wellversedworld twitter: @wellversedworld instagram: @wellversedworld www.wellversedworld.org

How to maximize wins and minimize losses, explained by four experts on game theory. Game theory is a useful tool for decision-making in situations where the outcome depends on multiple parties. It provides a systematic way to analyze the interdependence of individuals or organizations and their potential strategies. Not only does game theory help you identify the optimal strategy for achieving your goals, it can also help you avoid the sunk-cost fallacy — the tendency to persist in an endeavor because of the resources you've already invested. By taking into account the potential actions and responses of other players, game theory allows you to minimize your losses and make informed choices that lead to better outcomes. Whether you're negotiating a business deal or making investment decisions, game theory can be a valuable asset in helping you make smarter choices and achieve your objectives. Chapters:- 0:00 What is game theory? 1:08 War: Learn from Reagan and Gorbachev 2:58 Poker: The sunk cost fallacy 5:56 Zero-sum games: The minimax strategy About Kevin Zollman: Kevin Zollman is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also an associate fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, visiting professor at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (part of Ludwig-Maximilians Universität), and an associate editor of the journal Philosophy of Science. His research focuses on game theory, agent based modeling, and the philosophy of science. Zollman is the co-author of The Game Theorist's Guide to Parenting: How the Science of Strategic Thinking Can Help You Deal with the Toughest Negotiators You Know--Your Kids, with Paul Raeburn. About Annie Duke: Annie Duke has leveraged her expertise in the science of smart decision making to excel at pursuits as varied as championship poker to public speaking. For two decades, Annie was one of the top poker players in the world. In 2004, she bested a field of 234 players to win her first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. The same year, she triumphed in the $2 million winner-take-all, invitation-only WSOP Tournament of Champions. In 2010, she won the prestigious NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Prior to becoming a professional poker player, Annie was awarded the National Science Foundation Fellowship. Thanks to this fellowship, she studied Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. About Liv Boeree: Olivia "Liv" Boeree is a poker player, TV presenter and model from England who won the 2010 European Poker Tour in Sanremo. Born in Kent, Boeree studied at Ashford School before going on to earn a First Class Honours degree in Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. She was the #1 ranked female player on the Global Poker Index as of November 2015, and #6 on the female all-time live poker winnings list. About Julia Galef: Julia Galef is a New York-based writer and public speaker specializing in science, rationality, and design. She serves on the board of directors of the New York City Skeptics, co-hosts their official podcast, Rationally Speaking, and co-writes the blog Rationally Speaking along with philosopher of science Massimo Pigliucci. She has moderated panel discussions at The Amazing Meeting and the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, and gives frequent public lectures to organizations including the Center for Inquiry and the Secular Student Alliance. Julia received her B.A. in statistics from Columbia in 2005. About Big Think | Smarter Faster™ ► Big Think The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. ► Big Think+ Make your business smarter, faster: https://bigthink.com/plus/ Get Smarter, Faster With Interviews From The Worlds Biggest Thinkers. Follow This Podcast And Turn On The Notifications Rate Us With 5 Stars Share This Episode --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bigthink/message Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sermon preached by Pastor Jason Van Bemmel on Dec. 17, 2023-- -An Amazing Meeting Between Four People- - Luke 1-39-56-by Pastor Jason Van Bemmel-What does -Christmas faith- look like----A. A Hasty Journey and a Simple Greeting-B. John the Baptist's Response-C. Elizabeth's Response-D. Mary's Response-E. The One Who Causes Such Excitement--What About You--

0:00:00 Introduction Maynard with Richard Saunders 0:05:40 The Next Wave From the pages of the Skeptic Magazine, the Journal from Australian Skeptics, Richard Saunders casts an eye to the horizon in search of predicted tsunamis. He's still waiting. http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:15:50 QED - Andy Wilson QED is a two-day science and skepticism convention taking place at the Mercure Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester from the 23rd-24th September 2023. Fantastic speakers from the worlds of science and entertainment will be joining them for a weekend celebration of science, reason and critical thinking. They aim to be an inclusive event, welcoming attendees from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and genders. http://www.qedcon.org/ 0:26:52 You Can Count on Adrienne Skeptical visitors in Calgary, Canada. Adrienne, plays host to various visiting skeptics from around the world. Listen in as she meets up with Craig and Susan Shearer from New Zealand, Faith and Rodriguez from the United States, and Andras G Pinter (co-host of the ESP Podcast) from Hungary. 0:46:36 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised Australian newspapers on a search for references to "The End of the World". http://www.trove.nla.gov.au Also   10 Years Ago The Skeptic Zone #248 - 20.July.2013 A interview with members of the Skeptical Society of St. Louis - At the Amazing Meeting we chat to Missy Rung-Blue, Dave Blue and Mike Bateman - A Week in Science (extra update) with Dr Paul Willis - A interview with Derek Colanduno - At the Amazing Meeting we chat to Derek Colanduno from the popular Skepticality Podcast. https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-248-20-july-2013

Astronomer Phil Plait joins us to discuss his new book, Under Alien Skies, in which he describes what it would be like (through human eyes and real physical experiences) to actually travel to Saturn, Mars, asteroids, and distant stars. Also, we discuss the recent surge in UFO sighting as well ad his famous talk at The Amazing Meeting more than a decade ago in which he asked all science communicators and critical thinkers to approach those who believe in pseudoscience with empathy and respect instead of scorn and vitriol. And, we run through the history of James Randi's popularization of the big-S Skeptic movement.- Phil Plait's Substack: https://badastronomy.substack.com/- How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome- David McRaney's Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmcraney- YANSS Twitter: https://twitter.com/notsmartblog- Show Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.com- Newsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.com

The Lord keeps highlighting things for me that I hadn't realized already. For the Good Spiritual Hygiene book, order at: https://happybooks.me/hygiene

As Stephan sets the record for longest time ever driving between San Diego and Orange Counties, Bill is joined by Sherri Wiseman who leads Pacific Life's AMAZING Meeting and Events Marketing Team. Bill and Sherri discuss a wide variety of topics including the 2023 Leaders Conference, future plans for the Educational Symposium and what makes Pacific Life Events so special. Additionally, at the end of the podcast, Bill checks in from BBQ Heaven.

More great books at LoyalBooks.com

More great books at LoyalBooks.com

In this short and casual episode, I recount my time at The Amazing Meeting 8 and my conversation with James Randi. (I also share some opinions). Show Notes: https://groupthink.kinja.com/update-james-randi-d-j-grothe-named-in-atheist-sexis-1061925771 https://skepchick.org/2012/06/why-i-wont-be-at-tam-this-year/ https://the-orbit.net/entequilaesverdad/2014/09/15/so-much-wrong-james-randis-rape-culture-remarks/ https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/07/richard-dawkins-draws-feminist-wrath-over-sexual-harassment-comments/352530/ https://qz.com/613270/brazen-sexism-is-pushing-women-out-of-americas-atheism-movement/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mothball-prophecies/support

Ben and Garth review the Wikipedia page for James Randi. The Amazing Randi everybody’s favourite gay, Canadian, skeptic. Randi escaped from the police station in Valleyfield Quebec not a famous prison. Uri Geller, Peter Popoff, Allison Dubois and Eldon Byrd. Watch Penn and Tellers Bulls Hit, Psych (or just the theme song) and Kings of Pain. Audi Murphy’s cameo in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Being friends with Kim Jon Un. How long could you live without food or water in your own house? What can David Blain do for 63hours 42 minutes and 15 seconds that James Randi can only do for 55 minutes? Silva Brown vs Amanda Berry. The Magic Castle in LA and The Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas. Ben and Garth disagree on acupuncture, cupping, yoga, meditation, massage and Steve Martian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Randi Humour Door Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumourDoor Humour Door YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr5ucoBBUNfpjLfc0EWM0ww Humour Door Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humourdoor/ Humour Door Twitter: @thehumourdoor humourdoor.com.au wikireviewpodcast@gmail.com Theme: I Live For The Bass Drum - DJ S3rl https://djs3rl.com Art Work: https://www.instagram.com/bjo0se/

Possibly the best man to ever be on a podcast, this week is the super interesting jack of all trades and skeptic extraordinaire George Hrab! George Hrab of the Philadelphia Funk Authority and The Blue Turtles is one of the most diverse guests we have had! We chat about the importance of travel, being alright with creating "sub par" content, and why his own 600+ episode podcast is called The Geologic Podcast even though it has nothing to do with geology. The gang also talks about The Amazing Meeting, Lord of the Rings, and how much stuff we really need!

This is some of the greatest conversation ever recorded! Adam ashby , Sarah ashby, and Ian Brock sit back and relax, debate, and talk about anything that pops into our crazy minds. We are excited about our tenth episode and hope you enjoy it as much as we have making it!https://www.spreaker.com/show/3098724/episodes/feedhttps://www.facebook.com/wildlyuninterestingpodcast/?modal=admin_todo_tour

(Opprinnelig publisert: 16.9.2011) Tilstede: Leisha, Bendik, Gunnar Sendingsleder: Leisha Intervju: Joe Nickell Kan infeksjonssykdommer i barndommen føre til lavere intelligens? Vi diskuterer denne artikkelen hvor forskere mener å ha funnet en slik sammenheng. Det å redusere kviser bare ved å holde opp telefonen din mot kinnet virker litt søkt. Saksøkt faktisk. [oppdatert død lenke] I episode #318 i spalten «Rare ting som kan hjelpe i kampen mot kreft», så finner vi bakteriesporer. Virtuell schizofreni i datamaskiner leder til nye ideer om hva som forårsaker schizofreni i mennesker. Joe Nickell er en undersøker av det paranormale. Han har sett på Loch Ness-monsteret, blødende Mariastatuer, og dagboken til Jack the Ripper. Marit og Bendik fikk slå av en prat med ham under The Amazing Meeting i Las Vegas i sommer. Ukens anbefaling: Bok: I døde språks selskap. (Pax forlag) Forfatterens blogg (på svensk): Ur språkens tunnlar  

(Opprinnelig publisert: 10. august 2011) Tilstede: Gunnar, Bendik Leisha Sendingsleder: Gunnar Intervju med James Randi som Marit og Bendik gjorde når de var på The Amazing Meeting 9 i Las Vegas. Vi anbefalte også kommende arrangementer, blant annet den andre utgaven av den norske skepsiskonferansen Kritisk masse (17.–19.2.2012). (RIP... -red. anm.) I tillegg: PZ Myers til Skeptikere på puben Oslo 15.8.2011 og Upopulær aften om dommedag 2012 22.8.2011.

Evan Bernstein, co-host of the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast, shares how he got over being nervous being on stage in front of huge audiences at skeptical conferences like The Amazing Meeting, how he instills confidence in his kids, and why he doesn't let online trolls get him down.  Find Evan: @SkepticsGuide The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe Podcast Find BoldAdulting: @BoldAdultingBoldAdulting.com Sponsored by the BoldAdulting online class: How to deal with the 3 most stressful parts of grad school: AKA All grad students think they suckFree preview at bit.ly/how-to-deal-with-grad-school-stress-slides

This week Kyle, Matthew and Producer Natalie sit down with comedian Luke Jensen (from the "What Did We Learn?" podcast) to discuss scientific skepticism… or do they? Luke talks about growing up Lutheran and how becoming a skeptic led to his current path in comedy. They discuss the importance of having a skeptical mind and debunking falsities through science, as learned from the Amazing James Randi… as well as the insufferable nature of skeptics. Other topics include the dangers of confirmation bias, body image (because tangents), and Matt reminisces about once "helping" his friend with a jellyfish sting at the beach. Weekly Rads: How sanitary is it to wash a handkerchief?, The Cadillac Tramps, Yogurtland's new fruit purees Raddendums: The Amazing James Randi, Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, Adam Ruins Everything, Harry Houdini, Uri Geller, An Honest Liar, Skepticon, The Amazing Meeting, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, Michio Kaku, Penn Jillette, Skeptic magazine, Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World," James Randi's "Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions"

We are joined by George Hrab of the Geologic podcast and blog, the drummer of the Philadelphia Funk Authority, frequent emcee of skeptic conferences like The Amazing Meeting, QED, and Australian Skeptics Convention, and the most frequent guest on the SGU. WebsitePodcastNECSS This episode is brought to you by: Nuclear Sponsor - US$20.00 - US$35.00 per month* Russ from the Kitsap Atheists & Agnostics* Travis Megee* Frank* Darryl GoossenPlatinum Sponsor - US$8.00 - US$19.00 per month* Virginia Dawn* Paul Burkey* BT Motley* George* Hugh Mann* Robert Ray from the Humanists of the North Puget Sound* AlexGold Sponsor - US$4.00 - US$7.00 per month* Mark* The Flying Skeptic* Renee Davis-Pelt* Mike Price* LaTonya* Duncan* Jaded Zappa* Will* Henry* AlanBronze Sponsor - < US$4.00 per month* Mark* Peter* Heather* Shawn* Al from South Carolina * Archway Hosting provides full featured web hosting for a fraction of the cost of traditional shared hosting. You get all the benefits of shared hosting, without the sticker shock or extra fees. Check them out at archwayhosting.com. You can find us online at www.atheistnomads.com, follow us on Twitter @AtheistNomads, like us on Facebook, email us at contact@atheistnomads.com, and leave us a voice mail message at (541) 203-0666. Theme music is provided by Sturdy Fred.

We are joined by George Hrab of the Geologic podcast and blog, the drummer of the Philadelphia Funk Authority, frequent emcee of skeptic conferences like The Amazing Meeting, QED, and Australian Skeptics Convention, and the most frequent guest on the SGU. WebsitePodcastNECSS This episode is brought to you by: Nuclear Sponsor - US$20.00 - US$35.00 per month* Russ from the Kitsap Atheists & Agnostics* Travis Megee* Frank* Darryl GoossenPlatinum Sponsor - US$8.00 - US$19.00 per month* Virginia Dawn* Paul Burkey* BT Motley* George* Hugh Mann* Robert Ray from the Humanists of the North Puget Sound* AlexGold Sponsor - US$4.00 - US$7.00 per month* Mark* The Flying Skeptic* Renee Davis-Pelt* Mike Price* LaTonya* Duncan* Jaded Zappa* Will* Henry* AlanBronze Sponsor - < US$4.00 per month* Mark* Peter* Heather* Shawn* Al from South Carolina * Archway Hosting provides full featured web hosting for a fraction of the cost of traditional shared hosting. You get all the benefits of shared hosting, without the sticker shock or extra fees. Check them out at archwayhosting.com. You can find us online at www.atheistnomads.com, follow us on Twitter @AtheistNomads, like us on Facebook, email us at contact@atheistnomads.com, and leave us a voice mail message at (541) 203-0666. Theme music is provided by Sturdy Fred.

This episode Derek has a conversation with Zack Wienersmith, the creator/author of the popular web comic series 'Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal' (SMBC). Zach was a speaker at The Amazing Meeting 13, so while they were both in the same building Derek was able to get some time with Zack to discuss how he got interested in science, skeptical thinking, and how the two relate... or not.

Derek presents another interview from his trip to The Amazing Meeting 13, a recorded interview with Dr. Dean Edell. Dr. Edell had an impressive array of popular media shows on radio and television over the course of his career. He promoted science based medicine to the masses and fought against shoddy medical reporting and pseudoscience throughout his time communicating to the public. Back in 2010 he announced his retirement from his media career, Derek got to catch up with Dr. Edell at TAM to talk about his retirement, and what drove him to keep fighting against anti-science, and to push well founded medical information when much of the mainstream media seems so lax to do so.

Derek presents another interview from his trip to The Amazing Meeting 13,a recorded interview with Yvette d'Entremont, AKA SciBabe, an analytical chemist with a background in forensics and toxicology. Before working full-time as a science writer and public speaker, Yvette worked as a chemistry professor and a toxicology chemist researching pesticides for safety. She now runs her own blog/website, SciBabe, dedicated to debunking pseudoscience that tends to proliferate online and in society. In this episode find out how SciBabe came to be and why she ended up focusing her work on clearing up misinformation about science, food and nutrition.

This episode Derek brings another interview from his trip to The Amazing Meeting 13, a discussion with Edwina Rogers. Edwina is currently the CEO for the Secular Policy Institute where she is helping bring more critical thought into the halls of American Government. Find out more about how a conservative from rural Alabama came to be such a major champion for science and critical thinking.

*LIVE at Sydney Skeptics in the Pub* *Recorded on the 6th August 2015*   0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders and Stefan Sojka with Maynard   0:04:30 Report on TAM13  Richard Saunders reports on The Amazing Meeting.   0:08:00 Evidence Please... with Jo Alabaster Jo looks at the bizarre claims of Orgone energy   0:22:30 Grain of Salt.... with Eran Segev Eran with news of an Israeli TV show, "The Drillers" or "HaKodchim"   0:32:18 A Week in Science The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation with a mission to bring science to people and people to science.   0:35:40 Dr Rachie Reports.... with Dr Rachael Dunlop The importance of being a good science communicator.   0:45:40 The Raw Skeptic Report with Heidi Robertson Life in far north coast of NSW, the woo capital of Australia.   0:57:13 "Dr Stefan Sojka" Dr Stefan with a cure for your over-stuffed wallet.

This episode continues our series of special content which Derek recoreded while attending The Amazing Meeting 13. Just after she gave her talk on stage, Derek sat down with Natalia Reagan, anthropologist, writer, actress, and comedienne. Using her specialized knowledge in primatology, she was one of the judges on the television show, "10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty". Find out a bit more about how Natalia decided to leverage her advanced science degree and experience into a form of skeptical outreach which has been seen by millions.

Guests - Caroline Gayle / Ginger Liu / Rob Steiner

Guests - Rick McLeod / Steve Hill / Susan Gerbic / Ben Radford

Guests - Jamy Ian Swiss / Brian Keith Dalton / Dean Cameron

This week Derek talks a little about his upcoming trip to The Amazing Meeting. And, runs some news and updates from the band of Skepticality Contributors.

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders   0:05:15 James 'The Amazing' Randi In the lead up to The Amazing Meeting, TAM13, we chat to James Randi and ask what to expect. .    0:25:30 A Week in Science The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation with a mission to bring science to people and people to science.   0:29:30 No Jab - No Play - No Way Reports from the Sydney and Brisbane anti-vaccination protests.

Guests - Brett Loudermilk / Scott Nery / Rob the Balloon Guy

Our guest this week is Susan Gerbic. Susan is a skeptical activist involved in many activities, the one we focus on most in this episode is Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia, an organization working to improve the content and citations of Wikipedia. During the episode, Kyle recommended Susan's talk a The Amazing Meeting 9 which can be found here. Some noteworthy topics mentioned during the podcast were Neil deGrasse Tyson's endorsement of the Penny for NASA project. As well as the Web of Trust and Rebutr browser plug ins, as well as how following the Skeptic Action project on Twitter provides recommendations of sites to visit and rate as you see fit via these tools. For her benevolent reference, Susan suggested The Odds Must Be Crazy, a fun website that explores the statistical likelihoods of seemingly unlikely situations. For all else, Susan and her various activities can be found via SusanGerbic.com.

Derek releases another interview which was conducted at The Amazing Meeting 2013. This time he sits down with Dr. Donald Prothero to discuss another of his books which were released in the past few weeks, 'Reality Check: How Science Deniers Threaten Our Future'. Find out why Dr. Prothero has dedicated so much of his time attempting to ensure the public becomes more scientifically literate, and what he fears will happen if it doesn't happen.

This week Derek releases one of the interviews that he recorded while at The Amazing Meeting. On the first day of TAM, the new book penned by Daniel Loxton and Donald Prothero, 'Abominable Science', made its debut. So, Derek stole some time with Daniel and Donald to talk a bit about their latest collaboration, and get some of their impressions from their time doing the research into the many Cryptozoological topics packed into the informative tome.

Introduction -Richard Saunders 0:03:30A interview with members of the Skeptical Society of St. Louis. -At the Amazing Meeting we chat to Missy Rung-Blue, Dave Blue and Mike Bateman. 0:13:28 A Week in Science (extra update) with Dr Paul Willis -The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation with a mission to ‘bring science to people and people to science’. 0:17:35A interview with Derek Colanduno - At the Amazing Meeting we chat to Derek Colanduno from the popular Skepticality Podcast.  

Introduction Richard Saunders 0:03:15 A chat with D.J. Grothe, president of the James Randi Educational Foundation D.J. fills us in on the latest news about TAM2013, The Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas this July 0:20:40 Dr Rachie Reports  This week Dr Rachie appears on ABC radio to take call in questions about vaccination. 0:40:50 A Week in Science  The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation with a mission to ‘bring science to people and people to science’. 0:23:18 Maynard's Spooky Action...  Special guest this week is Dr Paul Willis from the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus). Maynard also chats to people at Sydney Skeptics in the Pub

0:00:00IntroductionRichard Saunders -0:04:16Maynard's Spooky Action.. at TAM 2012An interview with James Randi.......... need we say more? - 0:24:00The James Randi Educational Foundation $1,000,000 ChallengeRichard Saunders and Maynard take us behind the scenes of the $1,000,000 challenge held at The Amazing Meeting. Includes interviews with Spencer Marks from IIG and Jamy Ian Swiss. -0:44:12 Richard Saunders chats to Isil Arican and Cuneyt Ozdas, the people behind the skeptical blog for Turkish speakers, "Yalansavar".

This week, members of the skeptical community gathered en masse in Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in the James Randi Educational Foundation's 9th annual Amazing Meeting.Just off the plane from the conference, team Skepticality share their interview with TAM 9 keynote speaker - author and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Dr. William Atkinson is a Medical Epidemiologist in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. He has worked for CDC for 23 years, with most of this time spent in immunization-related activities. His current principle responsibility is the development of technical and training materials for immunization providers - he teaches doctors and nurses how and when to give vaccines.??He practiced his skepticism in solitude for more than 20 years. This all changed after a chance encounter with Maria Walters at his first Amazing Meeting in July 2010.??Bill will be discussing the "Hug Me, I'm Vaccinated" promotion - how and why it started, and it's first big project: a pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination clinic at Dragon*Con 2010. Come see Angels and Enchanters (and Maria and DJ and Matt and a host of others) get protected from pertussis!??[ Slides of Dr. Atkinson's presentation are available at http://podcasts.abruptmedia.com/AtlantaSkeptics/asitp-0012.pdf ]

Dr. William Atkinson is a Medical Epidemiologist in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. He has worked for CDC for 23 years, with most of this time spent in immunization-related activities. His current principle responsibility is the development of technical and training materials for immunization providers - he teaches doctors and nurses how and when to give vaccines.??He practiced his skepticism in solitude for more than 20 years. This all changed after a chance encounter with Maria Walters at his first Amazing Meeting in July 2010.??Bill will be discussing the "Hug Me, I'm Vaccinated" promotion - how and why it started, and it's first big project: a pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination clinic at Dragon*Con 2010. Come see Angels and Enchanters (and Maria and DJ and Matt and a host of others) get protected from pertussis!??[ Slides of Dr. Atkinson's presentation are available at http://podcasts.abruptmedia.com/AtlantaSkeptics/asitp-0012.pdf ]

On this episode of the Magic Newswire's "This Week in Magic" we are joined by Banachek and Eric Mead. As our readers will know by now, at James Randi's "The Amazing Meeting," it was announced that Banachek would take over the management of the JREF Million Dollar Challenge.  Eric Mead joins us to discuss his foray into the world of mentalism and his experience as one of the hosts of the Essential Magic Conference.

This week after returning from The Amazing Meeting 8 - a conference celebrating skepticism and critical thinking sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation, Skepticality is pleased to host a round table discussion with a distinguished group they have dubbed "Team Skeptic". Daniel Loxton (editor of Junior Skeptic and author of Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be), Blake Smith (paranormal investigator and creator of the Skeptic podcast Monster Talk) and Tim Farley (creator of WhatsTheHarm.net and the Skepticality contributor of This Week in Skeptic History) discuss their impressions of this year's Amazing Meeting Las Vegas with hosts Derek and Swoopy.

00:00:00 - The Paleopals are joined by Ryan North, a computational linguist and creator of Dinosaur Comics (as well as a Canadian).  The Americans have beers and the Canadians have other stuff, some more interesting than beer, and some less so. 00:08:45 - Ryan North talks to us about computers using linguists and helps us sort out articles involving computers (supposedly) cracking indecipherable dead languages and how and why to save languages that are going extinct. 01:11:23 - Northern Ryan joins the usual suspects for Trailer Trash Talk.  We attack Piranha 3D, with surprising results.  We trade more stock than usual, find out if it's long, short, or both. 01:24:23 - We check in with Ryan at The Amazing Meeting in Vegas and plug our live recording at Cal Academy Nightlife on July 15th.  Then, we settle in on what is really important, you (talking about or to us).  Ben reads a classic review which sparks a Roman history duel between Ryan and Ben.     Music: Wavin' Flag - K'Naan I Fought Piranhas (Album Version) - The White Stripes

Banachek is an American mentalist and skeptic. He has written numerous books and invented various magic and mentalism effects, and is often sought out by top entertainers such as David Blaine, Lance Burton, James Randi and Criss Angel. He has been the recipient of a number of awards and recognitions, including the Dave Lederman Memorial Award (Awarded for Creativity in Mentalism) and the Dunninger Memorial Award (Awarded for Distinguished Professionalism in the Performance of Mentalism), both awarded by the Psychic Entertainers Association, as well as the College Campus Novelty Act of the Year, and the Entertainer of the Year on two occasions, all awarded by the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities. He is renowned for fooling scientists at Washington University into believing that his supposed psychic abilities were genuine during the Project Alpha hoax in the early 1980s. In 2009, he conducted a preliminary test of psychic claimant Connie Sonne's dowsing ability for the James Randi Educational Foundation's Million Dollar Challenge that was witnessed by hundreds in person at The Amazing Meeting 7 in Las Vegas, NV. In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Banachek recounts his origins as a mentalist in South Africa, including how James Randi's books influenced the development of his worldview. He talks about his involvement helping develop Penn and Teller's bullet catch, the current finale to their Las Vegas show. He describes his role in Project Alpha, and explores to what extent he thinks the researchers involved were aware of his and his colleague's deceptions. He details the role that magicians and mentalists may play in informing the public about psychic and other paranormal claims, and describes the virtues of being an open-minded skeptic as opposed to a "debunker." He talks about his role n the James Randi Educational Foundation's Million Dollar Challenge, and recounts his preliminary testing of Connie Sonne's dowsing ability in front of a live audience at The Amazing Meeting 7, in Las Vegas in 2009. Link of interest: http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

The Amazing Meeting 70:00:00      Introduction - Richard Saunders & Stefan Sojka0:06:30     Report from TAM 70:50:10     Dr Rachie Reports With Dr Rachael Dunlop1:00:00     THE THINK TANK - Special from Las Vegas!

This week on Skepticality, Derek & Swoopy recap The James Randi Educational Foundation's Amazing Meeting 7 conference, which took place this past week in Las Vegas, Nevada. Derek recounts his many adventures as a TAM7 attendee, including his interviews and discussions with TAM Guests including Ray Hyman, Jennifer Oullette and MythBuster Adam Savage. Looking at this epic convention in a new way, Swoopy shares her impressions of following the conference from home via social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook and uStream.

James "The Amazing" Randi is a world-renowned magician, skeptic and investigator of paranormal claims and is a central figure in the founding of the world-wide skeptical movement. Perhaps best known for the One Million Dollar Challenge, in which his educational foundation awards $1,000,000 to anyone who is able to show evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event, under test conditions agreed to by both parties. Randi has appeared widely in the media, including on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show at least 22 times and he is also a regular on Penn and Teller’s Showtime series, Bullshit!  He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the MacArthur Genius Grant, and the American Physical Society's Forum Award for Promoting Public Understanding of the Relation of Physics to Society. He is the author of many books, including The Truth About Uri Geller, Flim-Flam! and The Faith Healers. In this interview with D.J. Grothe, James Randi talks about the future of The Amazing Meeting, his annual popular critical thinking convention in Las Vegas. He also discusses various faith healers he has investigated, and his real motivations in doing so. He talks about the first faith healer he exposed in Toronto as a teenager. He explores reasons why faith healers he has debunked still persist in their TV empires. He shares his views of Ernest Angley. He recounts his expose of Peter Popoff, including Popoff's use of an earpiece to receive information about his congregants that they believed was revealed by the Holy Spirit.  He explains why people believe in faith healers despite evidence to the contrary. Other faith healers he criticizes include Pat Robertson and his "Words of Knowledge," V.A. Grant, Oral Roberts, and Filipino psychic surgeons, recounting some of their deceptive methods they use to beguile believers. He talks about the special place "psychic surgery" has in the Pentecostal Church. He compares faith healers' methods to the methods of psychics and "cold readers" such as John Edward, and explores whether faith healers are deliberately deceptive or are merely self-deceptive. He also debates whether faith healing might actually work on occasion, due to psychological phenomena such as the placebo effect. And he talks about the role that magicians should play in exposing frauds in the public interest. Also in this interview, James Underdown, scientific paranormal investigator and executive director of CFI's Hollywood branch, recounts his experiences with Benny Hinn's healing crusades, and talks about how Benny Hinn may or may not be like Adolph Hitler.

This week Skepticality is pleased to have back paranormal investigator Benjamin Radford. Derek talks with Ben about his recently concluded "Great Psychic Detective Challenge" which came about through amazing claims made to Ben while he was a guest on the Skeptiko Podcast. We also catch up with JREF (James Randi Educational Foundation) President Dr. Phil Plait about the upcoming Amazing Meeting 7, to be held in Las Vegas July 9-12.

Continuing from last week's interviews recorded at the "Amazing Meeting 6" conference, Derek & Swoopy talk with secular lobbyist Lori Lipman Brown and her father Mel Lipman (both secular humanists with backgrounds in law and government).  They also speak with mentalist Banachek, who has been responsible for putting more magic and mentalism on American television than any other magic consultant in the world. While the paths of these skeptics seem widely divergent, Derek & Swoopy learn that their common decision to further skepticism within their chosen professions illuminates many similar truths…

This week on Skepticality, Derek and Swoopy return from the desert with highlights from "The Amazing Meeting 6" conference in Las Vegas (hosted by the James Randi Educational Foundation). Joining them are two skeptics who are changing the face of popular science: astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, and MythBuster Adam Savage.   The incomparable Neil deGrasse Tyson (Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, current host of Nova Science Now, and the only astrophysicist to be named one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive") talks with Swoopy about getting the United States back on track as science innovators. (He also sets the record straight about Pluto.) and in his third appearance on Skepticality, Adam discusses his evolution from artist and model maker to skeptic and television scientist—as well as thoughts about his life after MythBusters. 

James Randi, famous debunker of frauds, talks about the "Amaz!ng Meeting" coming up in Las Vegas, and SciAm editor Mark Alpert discusses his new physics novel, Final Theory . Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news. Web sites mentioned on this episode include www.sciam.com/daily, www.badscience.net, www.randi.org, www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4vgsZmleoE

The One-Year Anniversary Show!Show Notes:The Orson ChairIntroYear recapThanksUgly Auction DressAsk George   - god logic  from Marcus in Sweden- packaging  from Dan on MySpace- drums  from Mat in England- organized skepticism  from Alasdair- Who Dogs the Whatzis  from Carrie P.Mat's Package from Fortnum & MasonReligious Moron of the WeekA Guy from Idaho  from DubshackNorma Giannani & Archbishop Timothy Dolan Soccergirl Stops ByAmazing Meeting?!Show close ...................................... Mentioned in the show Slau's site; Ms. Information's blog; Soccergirl Incorporated; The Amazing Meeting and Geo's amazing show listing. Score more data from the Geologic Universe! Get George's music at CD Baby and iTunes, and Non-Coloring Book at Lulu, both as download and print editions. Have a comment on the show, a topic for Minoishe Interroberg, or a question for Ask George? Drop George a line and now you can write to Geo's Mom, too! Ms. Information says: Happy Anniversary, Maestro- and thanks to everyone who has been a part of this past year.

On this week's Skepticality, Derek talks with Dr. Phil Plait (a.k.a. "The Bad Astronomer"), Alison Smith (founder of the Skeptical Analysis of the Paranormal Society), and author Michael A. Stackpole (leader of the Arizona Skeptics) about the recent Amazing Meeting 5.5 conference on the topic of "Skepticism and Activism." These distinguished guests also reveal details of their plans for 2008, and Phil sheds some light on possible impending "Death from the Skies",  the subject of his soon-to-be-published second book.

This week, Skepticality nears the end of its Amazing Meeting 5 wrap-up. Derek & Swoopy are honored to sit down with retired Lieutenant Colonel Hal Bidlack PhD, who is one of the warmest people in skepticism. Hal discusses not only his Master of Ceremonies role at past and future Amazing Meetings, but also his role as an Alexander Hamilton scholar and his own future career in politics. Then, Swoopy interviews Aussie educators Kylie Sturgess and Michael McRae about their work in bringing skepticism and critical thinking into their classrooms.

On this week's Skepticality, we continue our coverage of The Amazing Meeting 5. Derek and Swoopy talk with some of their favorite Real Skeptical Heroes including author and CSICOP spokesman Benjamin Radford, Mythbuster Adam Savage and the first Congressional lobbyist for non-theists and director of the Secular Coalition for America, Lori Lipman Brown.

This week we'll begin sifting through four days of audio and video with some of the best candid moments from the four day brain expanding extravaganza of The Amazing Meeting 5, featuring a cast of familiar characters as well as some brave new voices in skepticism.

This week Derek and Swoopy are practically out the door on the way to The Amazing Meeting 5, but before they go they talk with New York Times Best Selling author Michael A. Stackpole, chairman of the Phoenix Skeptics about the group's 2007 predictions list, and the accuracy of their 2006 predictions. Mr. Stackpole also discusses balancing skepticism in his daily life with his work as a science fiction author and role playing game designer, and gives his views on practical methods for teaching critical thinking.

This week the long awaited Mythbusters interviews finally surface. Conducted by Skepticality correspondent David Federlein, live at The Amazing Meeting 4, we bring you candid conversations with Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman and Kari Byron of the explosively successful Discovery Channel science show, The Mythbusters.

What do pin up photos of famous Skeptics and The Amazing Meeting have in common? This week's episode of Skepticality of course. Skepticality correspondent David Federlein interviews Skepchick founder Rebecca Watson about the 2007 Skepchicks and Skepdudes calendar followed by Derek and Swoopy talking to The Bad Astronomer Dr. Phil Plait about his Skepdude photo as well as his contributions to the upcoming Amazing Meeting 5. Plus a sneak peak at next week's Mythbusters interviews.

James Randi comes back to Skepticality! This time around Randi shares his thoughts on Bad Book Authors, The Amazing Meeting 4, A story from the Million Dollar Prize, and Intelligent Design vs. Evolution.