Category Archives: Events

Interesting events around the UK and beyond

Win tickets to Questival.

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Questival is a weekend camping trip organised by The National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies and Leeds Atheist Society, inspired by Camp Quest UK, and is sponsored by the British Humanist Association.

Unlike Camp Quest, which is aimed at children, Questival is for fully grown atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers and all those who embrace a naturalistic rather than supernatural world view. The event, whilst aimed mainly at students, is open to adults of all ages. The weekend features comedienne Iszi Lawrence and Skepchick Rebecca Watson. The theme will be… having fun!

Questival runs from 5pm on Friday 13/08/2010 until 4pm on Sunday 15/08/2010. The event will be held at Dalesbridge Camp Site, Austwick, Near Settle, North Yorkshire, LA2 8AZ. The site has a good 2G signal for all mobile networks and has free WIFI available.

In addition to walks around the Dales, discussions about critical thinking and logical fallacies, scientific method and pseudo-science, philosophy and ethics, Iszi Lawrence and Rebecca Watson will be attending to speak at the event.

Tickets can be purchased from the British Humanist Association, however it would be advisable to purchase quickly as tickets are selling quickly and only a small number remain.

How to win two tickets

The Skeptic has two tickets (worth £60 total) donated by the organisers, to give away as part of a competition. To win the tickets, email competitions@skeptic.org.uk with your answer to the following:

What activity, event or product would you like sceptical groups to hold or develop within the UK?

The tickets will be given to the individual who submits the idea judged to be the best, by staff from The Skeptic and by any other nominated judge(s). Responses should be concise and feasible. The competition will close at midnight (GMT) on Saturday 07/08/2010. By submitting ideas, you agree they may be used or developed at a future point.

    Little Atoms with Helen Keen – Friday 16th July 19.00 on Resonance 104.4FM

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    On this week’s show, Neil Denny and Rebecca Watson talk to comedian Helen Keen.

    Helen Keen is a stand-up comedian and writer, she was a finalist in the 2005 Funny Women competition and the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition and has been nominated for the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year award. She won the first Channel 4 New Comedy Writing Award in 2005. Since then she has written for, among others, Channel 4′s Friday Night Project and BBC Radio 4′s The Now Show and is currently developing scripts with BBC3, Channel 4 and BBC Radio 4. Helen’s award winning show about space, It is Rocket Science!, is being re-launched at this years Edinburgh Festival and is currently being developed into a show for Radio 4. Helen is also co-hosting a new show, Starstruck!, at Edinburgh with Astrophysicist Dr Sophia Khan.

      Little Atoms with Timothy Garton Ash – Friday 9th July 19.00 on Resonance 104.4FM

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      On this week’s Little Atoms, Neil Denny talks to Timothy Garton Ash.

      Timothy Garton Ash is the author of eight books of political writing or “history of the present”. They include The Magic Lantern, The File, History of the Present and Free World. His latest is Facts Are Subversive: Political Writing From a Decade Without a Name. He is Professor of European Studies and Isaiah Berlin Professorial Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford, and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. His essays appear regularly in the New York Review of Books and his weekly column for the Guardian is widely syndicated in Europe, Asia and the Americas. He has received many awards for his writing, including the Somerset Maugham Award and the George Orwell Prize.

        The Rise of the Conspiracy Theory

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        The Rise of the Conspiracy Theory

        In association with TAM London 2010

        Wednesday 20th October 2010, 19.00 – 21.00 @ The Horse Hospital.

        Central to the ideologies of the totalitarian regimes and authoritarian governments of the 20th century, conspiracy theories were commonly used against groups; socialists, anarchists, the Kulaks, the Jews. Then something changed, and conspiracy theories became in the popular imagination something that was committed by the government. From Pearl Harbour to JFK, from the Moon landings to Princess Diana time and again the government, the establishment or “Military-Industrial complex” is seen to act against the people’s interests. By the time we get to 9/11, it seems that people are willing to believe governments capable of anything. How did this change in emphasis arise? Is it justified? Joining Neil Denny, presenter of the Little Atoms Radio Show to discuss the rise of the conspiracy theory are;

        David Aaronovitch – Writer, broadcaster and commentator, Times Columnist and author of Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History.

        James McConnachie – Author of The Book of Love: In Search of the Kamasutra, The Rough Guide to Sex, and co-author ofThe Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories.

        Jon Ronson – An acclaimed filmmaker and broadcaster, who made the 5 part series Secret Rulers of the World and the award winning Tottenham Ayatollah for Channel 4, and author of Them: Adventures with Extremists and The Men Who Stare at Goats.

        Francis Wheen – Deputy editor of Private Eye, and a News Quiz regular. Author of How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World: A Short History of Modern Delusions and Strange Days Indeed.

        This event is ticketed. Tickets cost £4 each and can be purchased via Paypal below.

        http://www.littleatoms.com/liveatoms.htm

          Little Atoms with Rebecca Skloot – Friday 2nd July 19.00 on Resonance 104.4FM

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          On this week's Little Atoms, Neil Denny talks to Rebecca Skloot.

          Rebecca Skloot is a science writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Discover, and many other publications. She is the guest editor of The Best American Science Writing 2011 , a contributing editor at Popular Science magazine, and has worked as a correspondent for WNYC's Radiolab and PBS's Nova ScienceNOW.

          Skloot served for eight years on the Board of Directors of the National Book Critics Circle, where she was a vice president and judge for their yearly book awards. She has a B.S. in biological sciences and an MFA in creative nonfiction. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, her debut book, took more than a decade to research and write, and instantly became a New York Times best-seller.