Edinburgh Skeptics Presents...

We're back! For one episode. Maybe more, we don't know. But we had a lot of interest in this talk from people who couldn't make it for whatever reason (mostly the novel coronavirus, as it turns out). So we popped a C90 in, hit record and play, and we're happy to bring you it just in time to kill 69 minutes-worth of lockdown.

After its victory in the December 2019 election, Johnson's radicalised Conservative Party succeeded in imple...

Join us for a special episode of the podcast recorded at QEDCon 2018. QEDCon is the UK's best (only?) skeptical conference and each year a large contingent of Edinburgh Skeptics migrate south for the weekend to Manchester for it. There are talks, panels, podcast recordings, and the chance to mingle with like-minded people and swap ideas for the future.

As we have done for the past few years we took the opportunity to talk to some i...

Are you enjoying this year's Fringe? Why not step into our time machine and enjoy something you may have missed from last year's Fringe! Traditionally we have a few nights every year where we find the best in nerdy, scientific and skeptical content from around the Festival. Whether you like maths, music, gay animals or the power of the mind there's something in this episode for you.

@BabaBrinkman - the evidence based rapper
@Be...

From the middle of last year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe run we present an amuse bouche of acts from this year's Free Fringe that have a skeptical bent. We scoured the festival to find the best in nerdy material, rationalism, skepticism and other cool stuff and the result is this podcast of three cracking acts. Go and see them if they're on near you!

Your MC for this podcast is ex-EdSkeptics chair Ewan Leeming.

Charlotte Mykur...

Theoretical zombiologist Dr. Smith joined us during the 2017 Fringe to explore the real science behind a potential zombieism outbreak. Zombieism is a fairly new field but has great relevance in our everyday lives. Unfortunately Dr. Smith's very interesting talk was heavy on visuals/video and not really appropriate for audio release. Thankfully he very kindly agreed to answer our questions beforehand on this very important issu...

Join the current members of the Edinburgh Skeptics committee for the official unveiling of our Skeptics on the Fringe 2018 programme. This year's diverse roster includes talks on blasphemy, historical medical woo, fracking and many other interesting and varied topics. Plus we have details of our super special Fringe competition!

All of our events are at The Banshee Labyrinth Chamber Room (Venue 156) on Niddry St. (just off the...

Here's our interview with Dr. Paul Dimeo from the University of Stirling on drug testing in sport. In it we introduce Paul to skepticism, hear what a mess cycling is, and generally have one of the most depressing conversations about sport that might have ever taken place. But it was a good one.

Dr Paul Dimeo has been a lecturer at Stirling since 2002. He began researching drug use in sport and testing from a historical perspective....

Drug testing is a perennial topic in sports these days. High profile suspensions, accusations at world champions and a clamour for "clean competition" in the face of apparent state-sanctioned doping has seen the subject's importance to the public seemingly increase in recent years. This talk - part of our 2017 Edinburgh Fringe run - will explore the reasons why drug testing fails to catch organised cheats, and in many cases punishe...

Note: Bit of mic trouble in this one - sorry!

Quite some time after the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe our chair Mark Pentler sat down in his own living room with his fellow committee member Heather Pentler to chat about autism and the many myths surrounding it. They also talk about Issac Newton and the ghosts, plus there's a preview of our 2018 Meadows Festival stall.

Heather has been an active skeptic for the last 7 years and is currently...

Ever wondered what is the difference between Aspergers and autism but been too embarrassed to ask. There are many myths and misunderstandings about people with autism. EdSkeptics' very own Heather Pentler is here to fill your knowledge holes. Heather's talk seeks to dispel some of the myths and expose some of the awful practices and "cures" that are on offer.

Heather has been an active skeptic for the last 7 years and is c...

Dr Katie Speckles spoke for us during the 2017 Fringe about Mathematical Life Hacks. It's a talk she's done for lots of SITP groups across the country and we were very pleased to welcome her to Edinburgh. Unfortunately her talk was quite visual in nature, so there's no real point podcasting it. However, we did interview Katie about maths and it's use in real life, her own life as a maths communicator, and of course we asked her our...

In part two of our "we're actually releasing an episode!" special we sit down with Tamasin Cave from Spinwatch to delve even deeper into the murky world of politics and corporate lobbying.

Tamasin is a writer and campaigner with Spinwatch, which investigates corporate PR and lobbying. She is co-author of A Quiet Word: Lobbying, Crony Capitalism and Broken Politics in Britain, which shines a light into one of the darkest and least-u...

Sorry for the long break. We'll really try our best to get out this last few podcasts and then we'll probably take an even longer break... who knows. Here's a full talk and interview from last year's Edinburgh Fringe run.

Tamasin Cave will talk about the UK's £2bn lobbying industry and the tactics they use to bend government to their will: how lobbyists build relationships with government; their manipulation of the media; the way t...

Before her talk on the dangers of the Jehovah's Witnesses and cults in general our chair Mark Pentler sat down for a conversation with Lydia Finch to learn more about her life both in and out of the church, along with some silly stuff as well to lighten the mood a bit...

Lydia Finch was born and raised a Jehovah's Witness (JW), but left the organisation at age 18 over twenty years ago. Recently, she has directed her attention to th...

[A few tech issues on this one, folks. Sorry about the audio quality]

Cults and Skepticism: How one ex Jehovah's Witness fell into the 'trap of independent thinking'

Historically the purview of atheist, secular, and humanist organisations, Ms. Finch wants to expose the workings of these cults to the scientific and skeptical communities and show why although, Jehovah's Witnesses are considered a small fringe religion, their...

On a cold and raining late-December evening EdSkeptics chairperson Mark Pentler sat down with ex-Beagle 2 team member Dr Dean Harris to talk about space, the perils of going to Mars, and whether a failure is really a failure if you learn from it. Also some silly stuff...

Dean started his career working on the British-built Beagle 2 Mars at Leicester University. Although it was declared lost, 11 years later the craft was found to ha...

In the early 21st century, a group of British adventurers, scientists, engineers and explorers launched a mission to Mars. The mission was called Beagle 2 and was led by the late Professor Colin Pillinger. The mission attempted to answer one of the most profound questions asked by humanity (and David Bowie): Is there life on Mars? Beagle 2 was expected to land in 2003, but fell silent. A core of enthusiasts continued the hunt ...

Before her talk for us as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017 Deborah Hyde sat down with Heather Pentler to talk about her love of vampires and her skeptical history...

Deborah Hyde wants to know why we believe in things that probably aren't there. What's the story behind the folkore of the macabre, from fairies to ghosts to werewolves to vampires? Using history, folklore and psychology, she has spent many years writing, tal...

The Vampire has fascinated Western Europe from the early 1700s, but the tradition was a real part of Eastern European lives for a considerable time before that. In the last three centuries, the icon has been taken up in art of all kinds – literature, film and graphics – and it has had a lasting effect on fashion and culture. But what is the authentic story behind tales of the predatory, living dead, and can we unde...