The Reality Check

Darren looks into whether COVID-19 kills more men than women after a friend shares an article suggesting women are more adversely affected by the pandemic. When toy maker Hasbro announced they are rebranding Mr. Potato Head with a gender-neutral name, Adam ponders, how do potatoes actually reproduce?

The mantra when Pat was learning to drive was ‘hands at 10 and 2 o’clock’ when gripping the steering wheel. Turns out, all of us Gen X’ers may need a driver refresher course. Adam does a deep dive into recent headlines citing a huge increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in North America. Our favourite planetary scientist, Dr. Stuart Robbins, tells us about the fascinating rules around naming stuff in space.

Cristina’s back this week asking the important questions...are McDonald’s eggs frozen? If you’re still reeling from the gut punch that was 2020, Darren brings us a delightful segment on “Good News in 2020’ you probably missed, Conservation edition. Our pal, planetary scientist Dr. Stu, fills us in on the work he is doing related to doublet craters formed by binary asteroids and why it’s important.

Adam and Darren are reunited and happily hijack this week’s show. Darren breaks down the post hoc fallacy, aka ‘after this, therefore because of this’, and examines it in the context of COVID vaccines. Adam goes deep on the mysterious so-called monoliths making headlines over the last year, giving new meaning to the saying, ‘What’s up, Cuboids?’

In what has become a yearly ritual to highlight the futility of ‘predictions’, Adam, Producer Pat, and Cristina guess at what might happen in 2021 and revisit the panel’s 2020 predictions to see how we did. Spoiler: no one had ‘pandemic’ on their list.

Aaand...we’re back! This week we dedicate an entire show to chat with our good mate and frequent guest, Dr. Stuart Farrimond, medical doctor turned science communicator and food scientist. Stu joins Pat and Cristina to chat about his latest, and top-selling book, “Live Your Best Life: 219 science-based reasons to rethink your daily routine,” (or “The Science Of Living” if you live outside of North America).

Planetary scientist and Hall of Famer guest Dr. Stuart Robbins joins Pat and Cristina to respond to a listener who asks why the Earth experiences two high tides instead of just one. Adam brings us a PSA on the dangers of double male end adapters, known as ‘suicide cords’. Dr. Stu rounds out the show with a follow-up to Adam’s ‘Life On Venus?’ segment from September by addressing the accuracy of a recent study published by astronomers claiming phosphine - a potential marker of life - was discovered in Venus’ atmosphere.

Adam wonders if brussel sprouts deserve their bad rap for tasting horrible and makes an interesting discovery in the process. Cristina looks into whether the song ‘12 Days Of Christmas’ is coded so persecuted Christians could pass down the tenets of their faith under the radar. Lastly, Darren brings us a roundup of recent additions to his book shelf: “The Ethics of Influence”, “The Science of Evil”, “The Quest for Cosmic Justice”, “What Algorithms Want” and “Is This Anything?” 

Adam discusses themes from ‘The Village Effect’ by author and psychologist Susan Pinker who posits that face-to-face contact is crucial for learning, happiness, resilience and longevity. In a related segment, Darren looks at data to determine if there is evidence to support reports that we’re currently experiencing a loneliness epidemic.

Cristina kicks off the show with a look into why so many music albums run much longer than back in the day. Adam explores whether enormous pyramids were discovered in Antarctica. Lastly, we rerun a segment from Darren with tips on donating to charities effectively, ahead of Giving Tuesday on December 1st.

Darren kicks off the show by exploring how to talk and think about causality for something as complicated as 2020’s U.S. election. Next, Cristina takes a fascinating look into the rules around naming babies worldwide and what can happen if parents don’t give their baby a name.

Cristina kicks off the show with an overview of how the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory tests for COVID-19. After archeologists discover a 2000 year old feline geoglyph carved into the hillside in Nazca Lines, Peru, Adam asks, “Is it really a cat?” Darren rounds out the show with a look at Coca-Cola and whether long-time reports of the beverage containing cocaine hold up.

After negative reaction and backlash to Amy Coney Barrett using the term, Adam digs into whether ‘sexual preference’ is offensive. Next, Darren brings us another book review roundup including some titles that recently spawned several headlines: ‘Rage’ by Bob Woodward, ‘Disloyal’ by Michael Cohen, ‘Rules for Radicals’ by Saul Alinsky and ‘What We Say Goes’ by Noam Chomsky.

With the U.S. election on the horizon, can we really trust the election polls? Darren does a deep dive to find out. Next, Adam wonders what it means to ‘take the red pill’ after seeing a tweet by Elon Musk. Lastly, after Producer Pat wins a Raptors jersey in a scratch-and-win contest, Cristina ponders why he has to answer a skill-testing question before claiming the prize. 

Yesterday we lost a giant in the critical thinking community. James Randi died at the age of 92. This is an interview with him from August 2010. Randi began his career as a magician and later devoted his life to investigating paranormal, occult and supernatural claims. He will be missed.

This week we bring you two fascinating segments. First our resident planetary geophysics expert, Dr. Stuart Robbins, is back to help us with a listener email about how we calculate the mass of the earth. We also dig into the difference between weight and mass. Adam rounds out the show with a deep dive into whether an Irish court has ruled that Subway bread is not bread asking, ‘what is a sandwich anyways’?

This week, we bring in the experts to bring YOU two great interviews! First, Cristina looks at the controversial ‘Benadryl challenge’ on TikTok and has a discussion with Dr. David Stukus about the potential danger of this over-the-counter medication. Dr. Stukus is a Paediatric allergy & asthma specialist and the Social Media Medical Editor for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Next, our resident research scientist who studies planetary geophysics, Dr. Stuart Robbins, tells us some surprising information about the luminosity of the moon.

After the huge backlash around the recent release of coming-of-age drama ‘Cuties’ on Netflix, Pat examines what this film is about. Darren rounds out the show with a deep dive on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ staggering wealth and wonders: is he too rich?

Adam looks behind the latest headlines that suggest we may have discovered life on the planet Venus. Cristina takes us down a fun rabbit hole when she explores how David Bowie pulled off one of the biggest art hoaxes in history. Finally, Darren crushes three book reviews spanning wildly different, equally fascinating topics: ‘From Darwin to Derrida’, ‘The History of the Future: Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality’, and ‘Life After Google’.

Cristina looks into the safety of so-called ‘essential’ oils when it comes to use around children. Friend of the show, Dr. Stuart Robbins, answers a question about why those picturesque astronomy photos of galaxies far, far away are so colourful. Finally, Darren asks if former United States Presidents are actually allowed to drive.