The Reality Check

Cristina kicks off the show with a basketball related myth in honour of her beloved Toronto Raptors; did NBA legend Manute Bol really coin the phrase ‘My Bad’? As the only TRC co-host who is not married, Darren scrutinizes an article citing research that suggests unmarried people are happier, probably just to rub it in. Finally, Adam vents his Fornite pet peeve that the game just doesn’t get the Doppler Effect.

Our favourite Food Scientist is back to tackle some of your most pressing food-related questions. Ever find a 3 week old fry under a car seat? Stuart breaks down why fast food seems to last forever without going bad. Next, he tells us about why onions make us cry and what we can do about it. Bonus question: why do we “rest” beef and chicken but not fish? Pat rounds out the show with a 3 vs 1 edition of everyone’s favourite mostly guessing game “name that” where the crew teams up against Stuart.

Darren kicks off the show dropping a bombshell on the panel when he looks into reporting around the U.S. government seizing records for phone lines assigned to the Associated Press  and its journalists. Cristina finds out if we can prove rap is the most important music since 1960 using Science. Finally, Adam revisits his segment on plastic vs cloth bags after a listener points out he may have failed to consider the consequences of plastic on our environment.

This week Pat looks at the Social Insurance Number, what it is and who can ask for it. Darren ponders how many humans there are now, how many there were and how many there will be. Adam checks out rumours that someone made a life sized doll of a Sonic the Hedgehog character, Sally Acorn, built around a human skeleton.

This week, Cristina is fired up about an article she saw in a recent fitness magazine glorifying aura readings and aura photography. Darren asks, “What’s the deal with stand-up comedy NDAs?” after a comedy club posts a notice ahead of Louis CK’s set. Finally, Adam scrutinizes how well websites track your browsing history.

With the term ‘gaslighting’ popping up everywhere (again), Adam looks into the origins of the term, what is and isn’t considered gaslighting, and whether the cries that Trump is ‘gaslighting America’ fit the context. Cristina brings some needed levity after discovering an AskReddit thread listing people’s most highly believable facts that turned out to be B.S. Finally, Darren explores how the idea of the Loch Ness Monster may have manifested in our collective consciousness.

Adam is off this week but ‘5th Beatle’ Dr. Stuart Robbins joins the rest of the crew LIVE at TRC studios! First, Pat looks into headlines that a video game called Assassin’s Creed Unity could be used to help rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral. Stuart schools us on a topic that has been consuming his life for the last 18 months: planetary cartography. Lastly, Darren discusses controversial scenes depicting animal suffering in the new nature documentary ‘Our Planet’.

Happy Pagan Spring Weekend! Darren kicks off the show by looking at recent media coverage around Dr. Katie Bouman and how she ‘accidentally’ became the face of the Black Hole project. Adam brings us another fur-midable look at cats and asks how many lives do cats really have? Finally, Cristina has to remind us why ‘measles parties’ are a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea.

My very excellent mother says it’s a new TRC! Cristina kicks off the show with a look at the dicey world of social influencers and sponsored medical content. Next, Darren tells us more about his trip to Egypt and considers how to use critical thinking when faced with the social pressure to buy things while travelling. Lastly, Adam gets all math-y on us when he asks: on average, what is the closest planet to Earth?  

A little extra content for all you checkers this week! Given the recent headlines about the first image of a black hole, Pat and Cristina give our favourite astronomer a call to help us understand what it means. Dr. Stuart Robbins is a research scientist in the field of planetary geophysics.

This week Adam looks at Shen Yun Performing Arts and investigates its ties to the Falon Gong, the Chinese Government, Communism and organ harvesting. Next, Cristina examines a longstanding notion that Walt Disney arranged to have his corpse frozen in a cryonic chamber to be revived at a later date. Lastly, Darren gives an overview of Phil Plait’s book ‘Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing Hoax'.

This week, Greg Brown and Mitch Moffit, the dynamic duo behind the hugely successful AsapSCIENCE YouTube channel and Sidenote podcast, grace TRC’s studio for a fun and fact-filled show! Mitch kicks things off with their popular Sidenote segment, “What Did We Learn This Week”, by examining the influence of trees on the urban heat island effect. Greg brings us a fascinating look at how farming culture influenced pronunciation. Finally, Producer Pat helms a hilarious round of ‘Spot The Fake’ featuring Greg, Mitch, Cristina, Darren and Adam.

Happy Spring, Checkers! Pat kicks off the show with one of his fun deep dives and looks into a suspicious online video of an amusement park ride that has gone viral to the tune of over 100 million views. Next up, Darren follows up on his segment from last week to answer ‘why do so many Egyptian statues have broken noses?’ Finally, Adam examines whether or not the police could track you down using a DNA database and ponders the implications.

The whole crew is back on the cast this week! Fresh from his trip to Egypt and Jordan, Darren digs into some fascinating ancient Egyptian myths. After seeing car commercials lauding J.D. Power & Associates awards for the umpteenth time, Cristina asks ‘wtf are the J.D. Power Awards?’ Finally, Adam tries to determine the true origin of the term “hocus pocus”.

We are thrilled to have Dr David Stukus back on TRC!  He tells us what the science has to say about introducing allergenic foods into an infant’s diet plus he answers some checker’s questions.  Dave is a pediatric allergy and asthma specialist at Nationwide Children’s hospital. He’s the social media medical editor for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and a member of the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters.  He is an author, podcaster, and a strong advocate of science based-medicine on Twitter.

Dr. Stuart Farrimond is back and we are chuffed! Specializing in food science, Stuart is a former medical doctor turned science and medical writer, presenter, and educator who makes regular appearances on British TV, radio and international publications including the Independent, the Daily Mail, and New Scientist. Why do we toot when we eat magical fruit? Do we really need to store eggs in the fridge? Answers to these fun q’s and more on this week’s show.

With Darren and Adam away, Pat and Cristina have a chat with historian and author Joe Coohill. Better known as Professor Buzzkill from the podcast of the same name, Joe recently put out an interesting episode about border walls in history; why they were built and whether on not they worked. We then turn the show over to Joe for his episode on the topic.

Cristina brings the stats and facts behind recent measles outbreaks and highlights the importance of teaching young people how to think critically. Darren explores whether Canada's forests actually emit more carbon than they absorb. Lastly, Adam investigates whether comments about flat earth and ‘Islamophobia’ by a Quebec-based city councillor were taken out of context.

Pat exhausts several resources to help answer the burning question on our minds this Winter. Should you leave windshield wipers up, or down? Adam unpacks the ‘Bell Let’s Talk Day’ campaign which takes a chain-letter approach to raise awareness around mental health. Lastly, Cristina dips into TRC’s mailbag and takes on a listener’s request to highlight astrophysicist Cecilia Payne.

Cristina kicks off the show by separating the facts from the fumbles around Super Bowl myths. Darren digs into Canada’s latest Food Guide and asks whether its current revamp is line with the best evidence and data available. Finally, Adam ponders whether noise meters at sports events are all fake.