Yes it’s time for Skeptic vodcast number 4… which features a Darwinian adventure you can’t afford to miss.

Dany

dany@skeptic.org

This week features news, events, my super speedy science and sceptical book review, plus a mini film I made during my trip to see the play Inherit the Wind with Kevin Spacey. Plus, see whether Christian comedian Andrew Watts loses his religion…

Skeptic Vodcast 3
Here are the links related to this vodcast:
http://www.oldvictheatre.com
http://www.lse.ac.uk/events
http://www.starsuckersmovie.com/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Predictably-Irrational-Hidden-Forces-Decisions/dp/0007256523
http://www.indiansceptic.in
http://www.cfilondon.org/2009/04/20/monsters-from-the-deep/
http://www.dublinparacon.com/

If you want to hear more of me, my light-hearted skeptical podcast can be linked to through iTunes here or you can find it through http://thebigcigarette.com

Dany

“Reading this book is like getting punched in the face by Carl Sagan. Frightening, yet oddly exhilarating.”
- Daniel H. Wilson, author of How to Survive a Robot Uprising

A lively astronomy primer that uses cataclysmic scenarios to explain the universe’s most fascinating events. According to astronomer Philip Plait, the universe is an apocalypse waiting to happen But how much do we really need to fear from things like black holes, gamma-ray bursts, and supernovae? And if we should be scared, is there anything we can do to save ourselves? With humour and wit, Plait details the myriad doomsday events that the cosmos could send our way to destroy our planet and life as we know it. This authoritative yet accessible study is the ultimate astronomy lesson. Combining fascinating and often alarming scenarios that seem plucked from science fiction with the latest research and opinions, Plait illustrates why outer space is not as remote as most people think. Each chapter explores a different phenomenon, explaining it in easy-to-understand terms, and considering how life on earth and the planet itself would be affected should the event come to pass. Rather than sensationalizing the information, Plait analyses the probability of these catastrophes occurring in our lifetimes and what we can do to stop them. With its entertaining tone and enlightening explanation of unfathomable concepts, Death from the Skies will appeal to science buffs and beginners alike.

Reviews:

“Plait, an astronomer and author of the popular Web site badastronomy.com, presents ‘in loving detail’ the many, many ways the human race could die, from temperature extremes and poisonous atmosphere to asteroid impacts and supernovae explosions. Such a state of destruction existed some 65 million years ago, when a giant meteoroid struck Earth, sending up so much flaming debris that ‘the whole planet caught fire’ and the dinosaurs were wiped out. Solar flare activity could bring on another Ice Age. Worse yet would be a gamma ray burster, a collapsed star whose radiation would be comparable to detonating ‘a one-megaton nuclear bomb over every square mile of the planet.’ Plait discusses insatiable black holes, the death of the Sun and cannibal galaxies — including our own. Balancing his doomsday scenarios with enthusiastic and clear explanations of the science behind each, Plait offers a surprisingly educational and enjoyable astronomical horror show, including a table listing the extremely low odds of each event occurring. He gives readers a good scare, and then puts it in context.” Publishers Weekly © Reed Business Information, Inc

“Phil Plait has done it again. He brings his unique and funny voice of reason and sanity to bear on making sense of a deadly universe. If things worked the way I wanted them to, any reporter about to do another “sensational” story on deadly meteors would consult this volume and BANG! Common sense would find it’s way into the news. How strange would THAT world be? On his blog and in his books, Plait is an important source of sanity and critical thinking, with just the right sense of wonder, reminding us that the universe is an amazing enough place without having to make crap up about it..”
— Adam Savage, from Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters

“These Doomsday scenarios are as gripping as any science fiction, but– amazingly–each one is grounded in carefully researched science. Plait’s message is simple: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow–or five billion years from now–we die!”
- Simon LeVay, Ph.D., author of When Science Goes Wrong: Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery

“Reading this book is like getting punched in the face by Carl Sagan. Frightening, yet oddly exhilarating.”
- Daniel H. Wilson, author of How to Survive a Robot Uprising

Tribute to vaccine’s forgotten man
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Roger Daltrey: homoeopathy saved my baby’s life
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Brits increasingly opting for complementary medicine
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Man “grows some skin on his finger”, world press goes wild
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Psychics not all they’re cracked up to be
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As David Blaine breaks the record for fooling the most amount of people with the least amount of effort
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Philipp Von Boeselager
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Red and green meet brownshirts
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Albert Hofmann: 1906-2008
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Spooky goings-on at library
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UPDATE – Storm over global-warming sceptic hurricane man – April 30, 2008
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Have you used Chinese medicine?
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Have they really invented a miracle pill that will let you eat as much as you want and STILL lose weight?
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Do vitamin supplements do more harm than good?
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Fielding to launch Paranormal Channel
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Jail for pervert got by psychic
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Glowing orange UFO caught on film
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An utterly shambolic chat with Robin Ince
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The secret of eternal youth? Try a tomato
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I predict.. you’ll sue a psychic
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The Litvinenko files: Was he really murdered?
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“Mediums, spiritualist and clairvoyants convene on Trafalgar Square to protest against the new rules intended to offer consumers more protection against fraudsters”

http://www.swa.org.uk

The Spiritual Workers Association.

They seem like a very interesting group. They are meeting at 12pm in Trafalgar Square on Friday 18th 2008 to wave banners about.
At 2pm they will be presenting a petition to Downing Street.
Apparently they will be interviewed by BBC Radio London beforehand.

Magical chance to make a million
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Project for Doctoral Studies in States of Consciousness and Parapsychology
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Boston Skeptics in the Pub: April 21
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London England BA Meetup! Now with more Randi!
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Ghost-hunters hold vigil in Saffron Walden
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Charity set for spooky encounter
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Unforgettable Hen Nights with Haunting Breaks
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End of Consciousness
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God is behind some of our greatest art
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The debate Richard Dawkins chose to forget
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Clairvoyant wins cash prize
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Acupuncture for headache relief
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Happy now? The course claiming to replace the blues with true happiness
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Laws targeting mediums spot on
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What is a soul?
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Parapsychology and the Skeptics Author, Chris Carter Sees Scientific Evidence for ESP
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Thanks to the Dudley News
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Writing about science
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Free help to beat depression
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UFO: what the nurse saw
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UFO ‘gave me the heebie-jeebies’
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TV phone-in shows face crackdown
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British Humanist Association welcomes stricter regulations on spiritualism
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Spooky support for charity
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Science: We Were Wrong, And We Can’t Explain This
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Atheist versus Bishop
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Expelled Conspiracy Revealed!
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SHOP IN THE SPOTLIGHT OVER HOMEOPATHIC CLAIMS
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Ben Stein Dukes it Out with Darwin
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ROBBIE WILLIAMS RECORDS UFO DOCUMENTARY
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Have UFOs come back to the South?
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Ghost hunt at the Ruins
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Ruth the Truth shuns psychic limelight
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Call to rescue ‘evangelical’ from misunderstanding
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Arthur C Clarke: science’s critical cheerleader
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Latest UFO news in from India
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UFO spotted in Wigan (video)
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More UFO theories
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Evidence from the physical world
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