Synopsis
Can two skeptics solve the world's issues? Scientific skepticism is the practice of seeking whether extraordinary claims are supported by extraordinary evidence. It may be helpful not to think of skepticism as the opposite of optimism, but as the opposite of unquestioning certainty.In this weekly podcast, Harrison and Jake use a combination of science, skepticism, free thought and rationality to challenge all popular and unpopular beliefs. As a general warning, if you hold views near and dear to your heart, they may be challenged in this podcast. We often attempt to challenge our own beliefs in order to let nothing go unquestioned. As a result, we will frequently get off-topic and there will be swearing, name-calling and jokes in very poor taste. Welcome to the Wet Blanket Skeptics podcast, where there are no sacred cows allowed.
Episodes
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2018-08-27: The Illusion of Explanatory Depth, Optimism Bias, and Futurism
27/08/2018 Duration: 58minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about the illusion of explanatory depth, optimism bias, Alex Jones, Tinder, bitcoin, socialism, capitalism, economics, the war against the media, futurism, and teleportation. References: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/~rlawson/PDF_Files/L-M&C-2006.pdf https://twistedsifter.com/2016/04/artist-asks-people-to-draw-bicycle-from-memory-and-renders-results/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-infowars/apple-youtube-and-others-drop-conspiracy-theorist-alex-jones-idUSKBN1KR0MZ https://gizmodo.com/woman-tricks-dozens-of-men-on-tinder-into-showing-up-fo-1828467914 https://www.npr.org/2017/03/02/517915510/americas-complacent-class-how-self-segregation-is-leading-to-stagnation
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2016-12-04: The Sunk Cost Fallacy
04/12/2016 Duration: 01h27minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about recording in-person, the sunk cost fallacy, Richard Spencer, the election results, the Pope, zipper merging, sacred cows, and lessons learned. References: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/251836-we-re-so-self-important-everybody-s-going-to-save-something-now-save http://arstechnica.com/cars/2014/07/the-beauty-of-zipper-merging-or-why-you-should-drive-ruder/ Harrison’s recommended podcasts: http://pennsundayschool.com/ Skepticism: http://www.theskepticsguide.org/ and http://ohnopodcast.com/ Rationality: http://rationallyspeakingpodcast.org/ Economics: http://www.econtalk.org/ Politics: http://the-e-r-podcast.foreignpolicy.com/
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2016-11-20: Ramble On
20/11/2016 Duration: 49minIn this week's podcast, Harrison, Jake and Joe talk about the election results, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, diabetes, the Bermuda Triangle, space travel, and audio issues. References: http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/11/07/tuesday-shouldnt-change-the-narrative/ http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/myths/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccdfzq2M1Ec https://www.facebook.com/officialdanagould/posts/947789788661093 http://skepdic.com/bermuda.html http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/12/trans-teen-suicide-spike-post-election https://www.washingtonpost.com/2016-election-results/us-presidential-race/
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2016-11-13: Sugar
13/11/2016 Duration: 01h08minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about voting, TCM, meteorology, sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, addiction, food documentaries, DNA, and the Bermuda triangle. References: http://phys.org/news/2016-10-scientists-great-barrier-reef.html#nRlv https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/14/great-barrier-reef-severe-stress-not-dead-yet http://www.yalescientific.org/2010/09/mythbusters-does-sugar-really-make-children-hyper/ https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/high-fructose-corn-syrup/ https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-sweetener-wars-hfcs-strikes-back/ http://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/high-fructose-corn-syrup-addictive-myth/ https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/does-the-movie-fed-up-make-sense/ https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4088 http://azdailysun.com/news/national/human-dna-tied-mostly-to-single-exodus-from-africa-long/article_4dd9c676-bf0c-52c0-8a79-8249722ef66d.htm
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2016-11-06: Skepticism 201
06/11/2016 Duration: 01h19minIn this week's podcast, Harrison, Jake, and Joe talk about the show’s final episodes, Katie May, chiropractic, unfriending on social media, scientism, Skepchick, Rebecca Watson, elevatorgate, rape accusations, Exxon, the Great Barrier Reef, and devil’s milk. References: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9TpRfDdyU0 http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/10/20/mystery-solved-chiropractic-manipulation-of-the-neck-did-cause-katie-mays-death-from-stroke/ https://gimletmedia.com/episode/9-forensic-science http://www.innocenceproject.org/ http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/le-a.asp http://www.theskepticsguide.org/ http://skepchick.org/ http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1004-tavris-what-is-rape-20151004-story.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGMi0UtvTIc http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-18/exxon-decides-to-fight-new-york-s-climate-change-probe http://www.outsideonline.com/2112086/obituary-great-barrier-reef-25-million-bc-2016 http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/devils-milk-could
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2016-10-09: Scientism
09/10/2016 Duration: 01h11minIn this week's podcast, Harrison, Jake, and Joe talk about racism, heroin, vaccine-preventable diseases, chiropractic, scientism, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Kurt Vonnegut, climate change, and time crystals. References: https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/heroin/what-are-immediate-short-term-effects-heroin-use http://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/heroin/organs.html http://time.com/27308/4-diseases-making-a-comeback-thanks-to-anti-vaxxers/ http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/586 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0393082067 http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2013/08/steven-pinker-embraces-scientism-bad.html https://gradycarter.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/20120831-115749.jpg http://www.popsci.com/neil-degrasse-tyson-just-proposed-government-that-doesnt-work http://s3.amazonaws.com/libapps/accounts/9119/images/notripevpyr.jpg http://www.openculture.com/2016/07/in-1988-kurt-vonnegut-gives-seven-pieces-advice-to-people-living-in-2088.html http://www.climatecentral.org/news/400-ppm-c
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2016-10-02: Joe and the Litmus Test
02/10/2016 Duration: 01h01minIn this week's podcast, Jake is absent, so Harrison performs a skeptical litmus test on Joe, where they talk about vaccines, psychics, ghosts, conspiracy theories, and more. *Spoiler alert for Zoolander 2* References: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfdZTZQvuCo http://www.skepticink.com/tombc/
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2016-09-25: Placebo
25/09/2016 Duration: 01h20minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about the illusion of explanatory depth, randomized controlled trials, placebos, placebo effects, alternative medicine, marijuana, and a Chinese satellite. References: http://herewearepodcast.com//episode/64/philip-fernbach http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/02/492394717/fda-bans-19-chemicals-used-in-antibacterial-soaps https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_in_the_Land_of_Chalk_Drawings https://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/08/21/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0A_7JVce2g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-hYHqnyhvI http://huffpost.com/us/entry/203990 https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-it-worked-for-me-gambit/ http://bestbuds.com/fbi-hackers-smoke-weed/ http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/chinas-tiangong-1-space-station-will-fall-to-earth--somewhere--in-2017-20160921-grlodq.html
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2016-09-18: #election2016 Again
18/09/2016 Duration: 01h26minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about bidets, Rob Zombie, third-party candidates, Clinton cash, the Trump Foundation, Gary Johnson, Aleppo, Jill Stein, Ajamu Baraka, voting strategies, truth, and conspiracy theorists. References: http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-bidet-toilet-seat-washlet/ http://chemistry.about.com/od/waterchemistry/f/Can-You-Drink-Distilled-Water.htm http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/evidence/gold.html http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/jul/07/fact-checking-donations-clinton-foundation/ http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/9/12/1569223/-The-Trump-Foundation-is-a-real-scandal-and-it-should-be-a-campaign-ending-scandal http://www.politifact.com/personalities/gary-johnson/ https://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/comments/4yf1kk/cnn_recently_hosted_a_green_party_town_hall_i/ http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gist/2016/09/former_bush_adviser_kori_schake_explains_her_pledge_to_vote_for_hillary.html http://thehill.com/policy/defense/295409-johnson-tops-amon
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2016-09-11: Mental Illness
11/09/2016 Duration: 01h11minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about jet fuel, steel beams, lifestraws, pulchronomics, the autism spectrum, methane clathrate, the difference model, denial of mental illness, depression, Politifact, and protesting oil pipelines. References: http://www.givewell.org/international/health/water/process http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martha-ts-laham-/sitting-pretty-good-looking-people-make-more-money-but-its-not-all-roses_b_8203894.html http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd/index.shtml http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2014/08/how-much-methane-came-out-of-that-hole-in-siberia/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_clathrate http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/health/flossing-teeth-cavities.html http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/most-depressed-adults-in-the-u-s-remain-untreated/# http://mentalpod.com/ https://www.netflix.com/title/80046193 http://www.heraldnet.com/news/state-to-receive-14-million-for-mental-health-facilities/ http://www.washingt
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2016-09-04: The Flu Vaccine
04/09/2016 Duration: 01h04minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about Women’s Equality Day, flu shots, mountain dew, gas bubbles, interstellar probes, and Joe Mercola. References: Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty http://sciencenewsjournal.com/flu-vaccinated-mothers-protect-newborn-children-according-new-study/ http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/10-flu-myths http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/do-flu-shots-cause-the-flu-12-influenza-vaccine-myths-busted/ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3699516/Watch-shocking-moment-Earth-WOBBLES-Remarkable-footage-shows-weird-phenomenon-caused-leaking-methane.html http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/news/10.1063/PT.5.2035 http://acsh.org/news/2016/08/17/joe-mercola-hits-a-new-low-saying-zika-is-caused-by-vitamin-a-deficiency/ http://www.givewell.org/
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2016-08-28: Feminism
28/08/2016 Duration: 01h29minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about karma, feminism, the patriarchy, rape culture, men’s rights, and abortions.
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2016-08-14: Takin’ It Easy
14/08/2016 Duration: 03minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake are takin’ it easy.
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2016-08-07: Local Food
07/08/2016 Duration: 01h04minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about rainforests, the squatty potty, bidets, local food, rising sea levels, and guns on campus.
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2016-07-31: Episode 20: Special Rambling Edition
31/07/2016 Duration: 01h10minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about rambling, Mark Fuhrman, conspiracy cascades, stuff we hate, toilets, hippies, karma, the pledge of allegiance, freeganism, hate speech, GMO labeling, and Jill Stein.
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2016-07-24: Politics and Islamophobia
24/07/2016 Duration: 01h13minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about iTunes ratings, rambling, skepticism, Politics, Islamophobia, CSIcon, and violence.
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2016-07-17: Polyamory
17/07/2016 Duration: 01h12minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about skepticism, rationalism, vegetarianism, polyamory, monogamy, Pokémon Go, Black Lives Matter, and All Lives Matter.
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2016-07-10: Libertarianism
10/07/2016 Duration: 01h14minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about libertarianism, classic liberalism, anarcho-capitalism, taxation, theft, and Gary Johnson.
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2016-07-03: Police Brutality and Vegetarianism
03/07/2016 Duration: 01h05minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about terrorism, police brutality, vegetarianism, veganism, hate speech, and emotional violence.
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2016-06-26: Appeal to Nature Fallacy and Social Conservatism
26/06/2016 Duration: 01h08minIn this week's podcast, Harrison and Jake talk about the appeal to nature fallacy, social conservatism, profiling, and the recent Arizona meteor sighting.