Skeptical Music: Links!

Thanks to our guests Omar Mouallem, Rodney Anonymous, George Hrab, Kim Barlow, and Mathias Kom.

And thanks to Desiree, Mike, Sean, Ryan, Nathan, and all the other listeners for making my ride on the Q Transmissions train fun and adventurous.

Rodney Anonymous Tells You How To Live

The Dead Milkmen

The Geologic Podcast

Mathias Kom + Kim Barlow = Spring Breakup

Omar “A.O.K.” Mouallem

Post-show Links: Media and Skepticism

Hi all,

Again, my apologies about the forced pre-taping of the show. It was done on extremely short notice and with a lack of sleep all around. The result was a very… non-linear… show structure.  So please do help us fill in the gaps.

Sean, Chris and myself are ready and able to continue this discussion in the comments below.

The resources we used for the show were:

CNN cuts science department

Environment Canada Scientists Censored

An actual skeptical article found in a mainstream paper

Study on the effects of media skepticism

Quantum Physics: Post-Show Links

Thanks very much to Dr. Anton Capri for being our guest this evening. As I said earlier… buy this man’s books. 

For those of you that missed it live, the podcast will be up tomorrow.

 
The resources I perused before the show include:
 

The Elegant Universe (video)

 

Common Sense Quantum Physics – An entire blog devoted to QP, and author creates easy-to-understand YouTube videos on the same topic.

 

A Beautiful New Theory of Everything (video)

 

Science of Humor: Schrodinger’s Cat – Quantum Physics can be funny! Really!

 

Welcome to the World of Quantum Energy Healing

 

Interview with Deepak Chopra about QEH

 

NY Times article on QEH

 

Thanks for listening, and for the great questions! See you next week.

 

Evolution: Post-show Links

Thanks so much to Greg Laden for being out guest. Everyone absolutely should check out this man’s blog, if you aren’t already a rabid follower, here. 

And psst… he has a new blog project with some other lovely people. Visit it here.

The links I used for today’s show were:

PBS Evolution FAQ
Talk Origins Creation/Evolution FAQ
“Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher” from a creationist website

And if you’d like to peruse the University of Alberta’s Darwin Day offerings, go here.

Thanks for listening!

Leaving your religion post-show links

We want to thank Nathan for being our guest today. Thanks! Your courage and openness was appreciated.

Here’s some links, some provided by Nathan.

MormonNoMore

Losing Faith and Lots More – LA Times article on leaving the Mormon Church

Keeping members a challenge for the LDS church

Wikipedia entry on the difficulty of proving a religion is the world’s fastest growing

Psychological Issues of Former Members of Restrictive Religious Groups

Stats Canada – The decline in religious affiliation and attendance

A deconversion vlog

Update: you can listen to this episode online here.

PZ Myers: Post-show links and such

 
Thanks again to PZ for being a wonderful guest and allowing me to keep him on the phone for over an hour.

Here’s some information about the debate:

Does God Exist – Featuring PZ Myers and Kirk Durston
Monday, January 26, 2009
5:30pm – 7:30pm
ETLC E1-001 University of Alberta
The cost for students is $2, non-students, $5. CFI Friends of the Center are free. All profits will be donated to a local charity.
For more information, visit the University of Alberta Atheists and Agnostics website here.

Directions to the event from a kind campus-based skeptic:

If you are coming by car the best place to park would be Windsor Car Park, which is on 116 st and 92 ave. Outside, you’ll see NINT and Chemical Materials Engineering. If you walk between the two of them, ETLC will be the first building on your right, after Chemical Materials Engineering.

If you are coming by bus, get off by St Joseph’s College, the first stop after the bus turns left past the Butterdome. Keep SUB on your left and follow the outside wall until you are on the far side and can see Agriculture and Forestry Centre. Keep AgFor on your left and follow a wide road toward the Computer Science Centre. Follow the road between CSC and AgFor and ETLC should be straight ahead.

Adventurous or cold attendees can enter SUB and try to follow the pedways to ETLC.

It sounds a little confusing, but that’s just how the place is laid out. All of the buildings should have signs posted outside them though, and there is a map here. ETLC is in C3/D3.
 

PZ will actually be in Calgary on Sunday, before he hits Edmonton. Find out more about his lecture on protecting evolution education in public schools here.
 

The JREF post I mentioned before the interview, about Obama’s inauguration speech,  is here.
 

Update: you can listen to this episode online here.

Paranormal Investigations: Post-show Links and Contest Winner

As announced on tonight’s show, the people have spoken and we have a winner in the Fervent Unbeliever Song Contest!

The first-place ribbon goes to Entry 4, the Leonard Cohen-esque rendition sung by David Climenhaga. Congratulations, David! Honorable mention goes to Entry 2, sung by Q Transmissions uberfan Nathan. To listen to those entries again, head back to the original entries page here.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered and voted. That was fun.  🙂
 

On to tonight’s show… thanks so much to the E.C.H.O.E.S team for being with us. You can definitely look forward to an upcoming show where Heather and I head out with crew for an investigation. Here’s tonight’s link round-up.

ECHOES website

Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) article on Ghosthunters

Ghosthunters International website

About.com article on orbs by a paranormal expert

Ghost Photos: A Close Look at the Paranormal

CSICOP article on Electronic Voice Phenomenon

Electromagnetic Field Meters

Study: Speech Recognition Without Traditional Speech Cues
 

And now to rush home and watch BSG. Woot!
 

Update: you can listen to this episode online here.

Post-show Links: The Future of Computers

Thanks very much to Michael Edwards for being with us, and for letting us know that we don’t need to feel bad about using Wikipedia for research. In his honour, here’s tonight’s link round-up:

Artificial Intelligence (Wikipedia)

The Turing Test (Wikipedia)

The Singularity (Wikipedia)

Open Source (Wikipedia)

Science Daily Article: Researchers develop intensive care system using AI

Free Software Foundation

TED Talks: The Singularity

Galaxy Zoo

Christmas!

Here are some of the references I used for today’s Xmas show.

The Guardian’s Science Weekly, from whence I got the darling little English skit.

An atheist writes the book for a new set of Christmas carols.

Julia Sweeney believes Christmas should stay in the public square. And she’s an atheist!

Christmas myths, parts one and two.

Another link.

Dawkins.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Organic Food: Post-Show Links

Thanks so much to Alex Bolivar for being our guest this evening. We now know too much about poop.

The resources I used for this show were:

“Organic” Foods: Certification Does Not Protect Consumers

Consumer Freedom (type “organic” in the search bar)

The Hypocrisy of Organic Farmers

The Organic Center: Do Organic Fruits and Vegetables Taste Better Than Conventional Fruits and Vegetables?

Science Daily: Organic Food Has No More Nutritional Value Than Food Grown With Pesticides, Study Shows

Science Daily: Verifying The Authenticity Of Organic Foods

Science Daily: Want To Reduce Your Food-related Carbon Footprint? What You Eat Is More Important Than Where It Came From

Alex also wanted me to post the sources that she mentioned:

Canadian Organic Standards

Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods by Jeffrey M. Smith 2007 ISBN 978-0-9729665-2-8

Why Eden Foods Chooses Not to Use the USDA Seal

Does Organic Farming Lead to Deforestation?

Ten-year comparison of the Influence of Organic and Conventional Crop Management Practices on the Content of Flavonoids in Tomatoes – J. Agric Food Chem. 2007, 55, 6154-6159

Organic Oats

Nutrient Content

When It Pays to Buy Organic

Organic Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies OECD 2003 Baed on the OECD Workshop on Organic Agriculture 23=26 September 2002. Washington, D.C.

Genetically Modifying Our Food

Good Growing: Why Organic Farming Works by Leslie A. Duram, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London 2005 ISBN 0-8032-6648-0