Category Archives: Skeptic News

Little Atoms with James Hannam – Friday 4th June 19.00 on Resonance 104.4FM

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On this week's Little Atoms, Rebecca Watson and Neil Denny are joined by writer James Hannam.

James Hannam is a historian of science specialising in the relationship between science and Christianity in the Medieval and Early Modern eras. He took Masters (2003) from Birkbeck College, University of London and a PhD (2008) in the History and Philosophy of Science at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. James' reviews and articles have been published in the academic journals British Journal of the History of Science, Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliography Society, Science and Christian Belief and Perspectives on Science and Faith. James Hannam is the author of God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science.

    Little Atoms with Sue Armstrong – Friday 28th May 19.00 on Resonance 104.4FM

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    On this week's show, Neil Denny talks to Sue Armstrong.

    Sue Armstrong is a science writer and broadcaster living in Edinburgh. As a foreign correspondent she worked for a variety of media including the New Scientist and BBC World Service. She has also undertaken a variety of assignments writing reports for the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS. Sue's latest book is A Matter of Life and Death: Inside the Hidden World of the Pathologist.

    Join Neil this Friday evening at 19.00 on Resonance 104.4FM in London or via the live feed at www.resonancefm.com worldwide.

      Little Atoms with Martin Robbins – Friday 21st May 19.00 on Resonance 104.4FM

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      On this week's show, Neil Denny and guest host Richard Wilson talk to Martin Robbins.

      Martin Robbins is a researcher and science writer. he currently works in R&D solving scientific problems for a small software company, and previously worked as an ecological modeller for the British Antarctic Survey. The common research theme in Martin's career to date has been understanding complex systems in various domains. Martin is the proprietor of the Lay Scientist blog, and a regular contributor to the Guardian's Comment is Free. He is currently writing a book about Bad Science in the Developing World.

       

      Richard Wilson read Philosophy at University College London and his first book, Titanic Express, recounts his search for the truth about the death of his sister Charlotte, who was killed in Burundi in 2000. He now works for a human rights organisation and lives in London. Richard's latest book is Don't Get Fooled Again: The Sceptic's Guide to Life.

       

      Join Neil and Richard this Friday evening at 19.00 on Resonance 104.4FM in London or via the live feed at www.resonancefm.com worldwide.

        CFI logo competition.

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        CFI UK needs a new logo (for boring admin reason – Charity Commission application). Winner gets life membership (free entry to Conway Hall events) plus the glory.

        The rules are:
        - Your design should be created in vector format, but emailed for judging as a 400×400 pixel JPG or PNG file no bigger than 300Kb in size.
        - It must include the letters CFI UK.
        - It should reflect the ethos of the Center for Inquiry.
        - It should look good in both colour and greyscale, and be suitable for use in the website masthead, letterheads, t-shirts, publicity posters and banners.
        - The design must be your own original work, and not contain elements which are subject to third party copyright.
         
        Something with a candle (Enlightenment, Prometheus, etc.) echoing the standard CFI logo would obviously be suitable, but anything considered as long as it looks cool.
         
        Submit entries to Stephen Law at think [at] royalinstitutephilosophy.org
        Deadline June 15th.

          Michael Thalbourne, 1955-2010

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          It is with great sadness that I write to tell you that Australian parapsychologist Michael Thalbourne has passed away. I am glad to have known Michael and to have worked with him. I will miss him greatly. He was a creative and original thinker, not to mention highly intelligent and prolific in his output. He made major contributions to parapsychology and anomalistic psychology and his ideas have certainly had a major influence on my own thinking on these topics.

          
Some of you will be aware of the fact that Michael was a long-term sufferer from bipolar disorder and you may recall that on a previous occasion I sent out an email via the paranormal email network announcing his death by suicide. On that occasion, it transpired that I, along with dozens of others, had been the victim of a hoax and Michael was in fact still very much alive. The hoaxer was Michael himself, in one of his manic phases. I was, therefore, somewhat suspicious when I received an email a few days ago ostensibly from Bryan Thalbourne, Michael's brother, informing me that Michael was in hospital in a coma having been found unconscious at his flat. Since then, I have been informed by Bryan of Michael's death. On this occasion, I have taken steps to try to ensure that the emails are genuine (e.g., by contacting third parties) and I now believe that, unfortunately, they are.

          
Yours in sadness,
          Chris.