Little Atoms with Tracy King and DC Turner (and Tim Minchin) – Friday 8th October 19.00 on Resonance 104.4fm
On this week’s show, Neil Denny Rebecca Watson are joined by Tracy King and DC Turner, and special guest Tim Minchin.
Tracy King is the Managing Director of February Marketing is the organiser of TAM London and co-organiser of The Big Libel Gig. She speaks on a range of topics including viral marketing, advertising psychology and using marketing in science communication and critical thinking. She is the Producer of Tim Minchin’s “Storm” movie, a regular writer for Skepchick and The Skeptic Magazine (UK), and her work has appeared in Nature and elsewhere.
DC (Dan) Turner is a designer and animator with a unique style of character design. He has worked for brands including Sony, Vodafone, Barclays, ITV, PKR, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, T Mobile and Woolworths. As well as animated shorts, he designs and builds award-winning Flash games and composes soundtracks.
Tim Minchin is.. well you know who Tim Minchin is.
October 8, 2010 at 12:31 am | Events, Little Atoms, Skeptic News | Comments Off
Little Atoms with Michael Brooks (and guest host Stuart Clark) – Friday 1st October 19.00 on Resonance 104.4fm
Michael Brooks, who holds a PhD in quantum physics, is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is a consultant at New Scientist, and the author of the acclaimed non-fiction title 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense and the techno-thriller Entanglement. Michael’s latest book is The Big Questions: Physics.
His writing has also appeared in the Guardian, the Independent, the Observer, the Times Higher Education, the Philadelphia Inquirer and (his proudest byline) Playboy. He has lectured at New York University, The American Museum of Natural History and Cambridge University. As well as contributing to traditional outlets for science, such as BBC Radio 4′s Today Programme and Material World, he has a regular live slot on the George Lamb Show on BBC’s 6 Music radio station, where he is regularly asked to explain everything in the universe.
Stuart Clark is one of the UK’s most widely read astronomy journalists. A former editor of Astronomy Now, He has a PhD in astrophysics and until 2001 was director of public astronomy education at the University of Hertfordshire. In 2001 the Independent ranked him alongside Stephen Hawking and Sir Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, as one of the ‘stars’ of British astrophysics teaching. A regular contributor to such magazines as New Scientist and BBC Focus, he is the author of several books, including Galaxy. But it was his first work of narrative nonfiction, The Sun Kings, that established him as a popular science writer par excellence. Stuart’s latest book is The Big Questions: The Universe.
September 30, 2010 at 7:25 pm | Events, Little Atoms, Skeptic News | Comments Off
Weekly news and blog roundup: I predict a riot
More than 10,000 people take to the streets to protest against pope
Saturday’s protest saw nearly 20,000 people unite against the pope, making it, by the National Catholic Register’s own admission, “one of the largest protests against a pope in modern history.” Meanwhile, around 80,000 Catholics amassed in Hyde Park, where the pope later led an evening prayer vigil. With only a reported 5% and 11% of British Catholics conforming to the pope’s stances on contraception and homosexuality respectively, we can only hope that most got the wrong address.
Read more here.
Watch or read speeches from the protest here.
‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal stalls as US Senate Republicans block bill
The extent to which gay intolerance remains an issue never ceases to amaze me. This week Republican senators blocked Obama’s promised end to the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ policy, which allows the dismissal of gays from the US armed forces if they reveal their sexuality. Democrats failed to swing even a single Republican’s vote, and a couple even voted against the policy’s withdrawal themselves.
Read the Guardian’s news coverage here.
‘Draw Muhammad’ cartoonist Molly Norris changes name, goes into hiding at FBI’s insistence
The cartoonist who inspired ‘Everybody Draw Muhammad Day’ has changed her name and gone into hiding at the advice of the FBI after a fatwa was issued against her. A radical Islamic leader linked to the recent Times Square bombing attempt placed her on an execution hit list and wrote that her “proper abode is hellfire.” This in response to her published cartoon with an anti-censorship message, which itself followed Comedy Central’s editing of a South Park episode that depicted the Islamic prophet. RIP Molly Norris: a martyr for a noble cause.
Read the Washington Post’s news coverage here.
[Via HumanistLife]
Mass suicide fears over LA sect allayed
When a group of sect members went missing, leaving behind letters wishing goodbye to their living relatives and claiming they would soon meet their deceased ones in heaven, they naturally ignited fears of a mass suicide. Fortunately the group, which included several children, has been found alive after a tip off to police. CNN reported that one sect member said they were all “perfectly OK”, and were angry to find that such an extensive search was under way.
Read Sky’s news coverage here.
[Via Richard Dawkins]
Science reporting on the BBC. Your chance to have a say.
The BBC has commissioned Steve Jones, UCL’s star geneticist, to write a report on the impartiality of science reporting on the BBC. It’s an issue that many of you will have some strong opinions on, and luckily you can make them heard by emailing them to trust.science@bbc.co.uk
Read more here.
[Via DC’s Improbable Science]
********************************
Please feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to reply as quickly as possible. Until next time, take care of yourself, and each other.
If you come across something that you think our readers would enjoy, send a tip my way at will [at] skeptic [dot] org [dot] uk.
September 24, 2010 at 1:45 pm | Blog Round-up | Comments Off
Weekly news and blog roundup: The evil has landed
Pope’s visit marked by lower attendance
The Queen and the Prime Minister have expressed warm welcomes towards Pope Benedict XVI, but no one else seems to care about his arrival. The pope landed in Scotland yesterday, but was welcomed only by sparse crowds, and thousands of tickets to that evening’s open mass remained unsold. I guess when you alienate yourself from women, children, gays and anyone else with any sense, that doesn’t leave many left.
Watch Channel 4’s news coverage here.
[Via Atheist Media Blog]
Shots fired at Afghanistan Koran protest
Despite the Koran burning event’s cancellation, at least two people have been killed and nine injured in violent protests in Afghanistan. In Kabul, police prevented protesters from marching into the city centre, but still they blocked a road chanting “death to America”. As tyres were burned and stones thrown, police fired warning shots into the air, and were met by Taliban fire.
Read the BBC’s news coverage here.
British Science Festival
The British Science Festival is underway in Birmingham. Although you’ve already missed Dr. Petra Boynton on ‘the science of pulling’, you can still catch ‘the rap guide to evolution’, ‘archaeology through the ages’ and other events. And if the kids get restless, Cadbury World is only around the corner.
Find out more and buy tickets here.
Irish Minister for Science in anti-science scandal
Conor Lenihan, the Irish Minister for Science, had planned to attend the launch of a book in which evolution is described as “a fairytale for adults”, until widely criticised for his decision. Lenihan said he “remains to be convinced” by the author’s arguments, but defended his original decision saying that “diversity of opinion is a good thing”. His withdrawal was reportedly in response to a request from the author, but opinions on the matter are diverse.
Read more here.
[Via NeuroLogica]
Imam in the box
Dragons’ Den here we come! The imam of a large Parisian mosque has invented an easily-erectable ‘mosque in a box’, suitable for Parisian’s on the move. Simply pop one up in your office space to recreate the feelings of a traditional place of prayer suitable for all your spiritual needs. Available in polystyrene and deluxe models.
Watch the BBC’s news coverage here.
********************************
Please feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to reply as quickly as possible. Until next time, take care of yourself, and each other.
If you come across something that you think our readers would enjoy, send a tip my way at will [at] skeptic [dot] org [dot] uk.
September 17, 2010 at 9:57 am | Skeptic News | 1 Comment »
Weekly news and blog roundup: Read all about it (in the TV guide)
Pressure mounts against Koran burning
A small US Church is under criticism for its plans to hold a Koran burning event on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Their opponents include many religious moderates, who are worried that the event will send a message of nationwide intolerance for Islam, from which many fear repercussions. Unfortunately, it’s like water off a duck’s back to the event’s organiser, who still wishes only to fight fire with fire.
Read the BBC’s news coverage here.
*Update: This morning the event’s organiser announced that the Koran burning will be put on hold. He first cancelled the event, but changed his decision after finding that, as he sees it, he was lied to about the relocation of the ‘Ground-Zero mosque’.*
Read more here.
Vince Cable to signal cuts to science funding
Vince Cable has announced plans to cut science funding, reserving it only for commercially useful or “academically outstanding” research. While we could happily cut off some of the fat – studies into making the perfect cuppa perhaps – the plans risk expending many projects whose immediate significance is ‘only’ to further our understanding of a subject. President of the Royal Society Martin Rees also worries that “cuts would create the impression that UK science is in relative decline and make the UK a less attractive location for mobile talent and investment.”
Read the BBC’s news coverage here.
The trouble with the pope
This Monday Channel 4 is airing a little something to get you in the mood for the upcoming protests against the pope’s UK visit. In it, Human Rights campaigner Peter Tatchell scrutinises the beliefs and policies of Pope Benedict XVI, including all your favourite hits: opposition to contraception, condom use and embryonic stem cell research, and of course, the child sex abuse scandal. The program starts at 8PM. (The programme’s website doesn’t give the duration, but I shouldn’t think it wise to make other plans for that night given the subject matter.)
Read more here.
[Via Richard Dawkins]
VoYS stunt a success
This week Voices of Young Science (VoYS) donned their lab coats and took to the streets in protest against a Department of Health-proposed scheme to regulate practitioners of traditional medicine on everything but their medical training. The stunt, which saw young medics dishing out diplomas in ‘Old Wives’ Tales’ to members of the public, was a great success. A big thank you to everyone who made it!
Read more about the proposed scheme and the event here.
Stephen Hawing on M-theory and creation
This week, in an interview for BBC Newsnight, Professor Stephen Hawking talked about M-theory – “the theory of everything” – and its implications towards creation stories. M-theory, he explained, is the culmination of all six string theories, and predicts that the universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing, eliminating the need for a creator.
All week this latest brush with the religious has had Hawking under fire from people who couldn’t hope to understand the maths behind his reasoning, yet remain certain he’s wrong.
Watch Professor Stephen Hawking on Newsnight here.
[Via Atheist Media Blog]
Royal London Homeopathic Hospital rebranded
The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, that favourite institute of Prince Charles’, has changed its name. It was suggested that the hospital, which offers other alternative treatments including acupuncture and reiki, change its name to something along the lines of ‘Hospital for palliative and supportive care’, which might at least have been a small victory. Instead, it is now the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine (read: the Royal London Hospital for Integrated, and therefore accepted, Medicine). Clearly Charlie’s friends, in the wake of homeopathy’s recent negative publicity, have merely retreated to a less controversial-sounding brand name.
Read more here.
[Via DC’s Improbable Science]
********************************
Please feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to reply as quickly as possible. Until next time, take care of yourself, and each other.
If you come across something that you think our readers would enjoy, send a tip my way at will [at] skeptic [dot] org [dot] uk.
September 10, 2010 at 6:43 am | Blog Round-up | Comments Off