The Reality Check

We like big facts and we cannot lie. The TRC crew reunite to kick off the New Year with a fun-filled show! Cristina butts in first with a story that was all over the internet recently: does typing ‘lardass’ into an iPhone autocorrect to ‘Kardashian’? Then the gang share their favourite, funniest, and most surprising segments from 2015. Pat hosts an Internet 2015 edition of Name That. Finally, Adam takes over to revisit last year’s “predictions” and asks the panel to set aside logic yet again to make predictions for 2016.

Merry New Year, Checkers!  This week, Adam takes the night off while Darren and honorary TRC’er Dallas Card join the Toronto crew in the flesh for another fun and informative show. Darren kicks off the festivities by revisiting the sometimes misunderstood cognitive bias called the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Dallas delves into deep artificial neural networks and debunks some myths around machine learning. Finally, Cristina examines whether the British really deserve the rep of having bad teeth.

With the Festivus upon us, Darren and Adam hand the reins of the sleigh over to Pat and Cristina for the fifth annual holiday show. The duo share the inside scoop behind this year’s parodies plus other highlights including the panel’s recommendations of stuff to watch, read or listen to (see the show notes!).  Extra bonus in your stocking is an excerpt from Dr. Ken Milne’s Skeptic’s Guide to Emergency Medicine Podcast. After recently guesting on TRC where he mentions the Spinach, Popeye, Iron and Decimal Error Story (SPIDES), Ken gets an interesting email from listener Bob Edmonds who he then invites on his podcast to help set the record straight. A huge thank you to all the ‘Checkers out there for listening every week. Have a safe and happy holiday!

On this week’s show we have lots of questions!  First Cristina looks into a viral video claiming that Starbucks hates Christmas.  Next Darren wonders when the common cold is contagious.  Lastly Adam examines a second viral video, claiming to be an interview with Stanley Kubrick where he admits to faking moon landings.

On this week’s show, tis the season for Darren to revisit charitable giving and effective donations. Pat fills us in on an email from a TRC’er who asks us to break down premium vs regular gas. Finally, Adam channels his inner Elf to enlighten us on Santa’s not-so-secret spy.

TRC is in the house! This week, Darren takes us for a spin to explore the ethical dilemma of self-driving cars. Adam takes a peek into the growing trend of Adult Colouring Books and their potential health benefits. (No, not that kind of adult colouring book.) Finally, Cristina mouths off about how clever marketing made bad breath sound like a medical condition.

Not even a power failure can stop the TRC crew!  First Cristina examines unethical experiments that ended up changing medicine.  Next, Pat runs the crew through a game of “Name That” where the goal is to “game it.”   Lastly, Adam wonders why people didn’t smile in old photographs.  

TRC do it live!  This week’s show was recorded in front of a live audience at Skepticamp Ottawa.  First Darren takes a look at recent headlines suggesting that a study has found religious children are less altruistic than their nonreligious counterparts.   Next Adam bites into claims that euthanized dogs and cats are showing up in commercial pet foods.  

Pat kicks off this week’s show by reflecting on TRC listeners, future projects and ways to support the show.   Next, Darren brings us one of his trademark philosophical segments with an exploration of immortality.   Lastly Cristina takes a look at bloodletting.  Is that still a thing?

G’day TRC’ers!  On this week’s show, Pat takes a look at a recent U.S. government report to give us an update on Conversion Therapy. Cristina goes down under to investigate whether the Australian accent was influenced by their drunk forefathers. Finally, Adam applies the scientific method to see if vampires could get drunk from drinking a drunk person’s blood.

BOO! This week, Darren looks closely into the reporting around the recent published study from WHO’s cancer agency (IARC) regarding links between cancer and the consumption of red and processed meat. Adam applies logic to break down the science of Gremlins. Finally, Cristina takes on another controversial post on Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle blog Goop suggesting wearing a bra causes cancer.

Emergency medical doctor Ken Milne and host of The Skeptic’s Guide to Emergency Medicine podcast is a totally gnarly dude! He takes time out to join the panel and talk about the knowledge translation project which he founded. Pat teaches us all a few things with a riveting game of Name That featuring Nobel Prize trivia. Finally, Darren gives us a spirited segment by looking into whether people in China are stealing corpses for ghost weddings.

Cognitive scientist and author Jim Davies joins the crew this week for a riveting discussion about his book ‘Riveted.”   Next Adam surveys the evidence about whether political polling is effective.  Lastly, Cristina chews on the question of whether extraneous factors affect judicial decisions. Enjoy!

TRC drops four segments this week for your listening pleasure. First, Pat scours the research after a listener writes in questioning whether antibacterial soap is more effective at killing germs.  Adam taps into the recent health claims lauding the benefits of Maple Water. Cristina looks into why anti-vaxxers are up in arms over a recently published funded study. Finally, Darren takes an exhaustive look at which countries are the highest CO2 emitters.

Not even the flu can keep Producer Pat from finally bringing you this week’s episode of TRC! First, Darren explores whether or not encouraging people to follow their passion when choosing a career is sage advice. Next, Cristina takes on a listener’s suggestion and points a skeptical lense at the weather forecasts made by the Farmer’s Alamanacs. Finally, Adam checks into whether or not the claim that Subway has Halal-only restaurants is fact or fiction.

TRC brings you a hella diverse show this week!  First, Pat sidles up to the bar code to determine whether the 666 conspiracy theory holds any weight. Next, Adam takes a facts-based look at the recent controversy around 14 year old Ahmed Mohamed’s homemade clock. Finally, Darren points his skeptical lense at the political argument that small business tax cuts stimulate job growth.

An action packed show this week!  Susan Gerbic joins the crew to discuss Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia.   Next, Cristina tells us about an industry funded study on butter with surprising results. Lastly, Darren looks into facts and stats about deaths from heat and cold.  

Three interesting segments this week.  First, Cristina addresses a listener email ‘aboot’ cultural stereotypes and subjective judgments based on people’s accents. Next, the gang is once again joined by Dina Tsirlin who looks into some shocking facts about electroconvulsive therapy.  Lastly, Adam takes aim at recent headlines suggesting that a cat ‘took’ a bullet for a kid.  

  The Reality Check celebrates its 7th birthday! This week we’re bringin’ the science and the sci-fi with two fact-filled segments. First, Darren kicks things off with an analysis of the Reproducibility Project which looks at experimental and correlational studies published in the field of Psychological Science. Adam dives head first into recent DNA studies on octopuses and the resulting headlines suggesting they come from an alien world.

  On this week’s show, Cristina rouses the panel with some research that addresses whether we can ever really catch up on lost sleep. Guest Lars Péloquin explains the concept of Trickle-down Economics. Finally, Pat looks into why NASA recently had to address rumours which suggested an impending Asteroid catastrophe.