If you are interested in the bible, I highly recommend their podcast. They tackle it in a scholarly and skeptical manner. It’s for anyone who wants to learn and understand. Very interesting stuff. And yes, they’re all atheists. They didn’t mention it for several episodes. Not that it matters too much. Good scholarship is good no matter who says it.

And if you feel like saying thanks to the guys for mentioning us, go to the link above and say hi. Or better yet, after listening to a few episodes, go to iTunes and give them an honest review. That’s the best way to help them.

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• Curiosity Aroused: Investigation, Exploration and the pursuit of truth. This show is built upon the idea that it’s fun to seek out the answers to life’s questions. This is a Skepchick/Rebecca Watson podcast. This is quite new, so there are only 3 episodes, but it’s interesting and well done.
• Skeptics With A K: The podcast by the Merseyside Skeptics Society in the UK. This is entertaining, fun and informative. These guys are like SGU in the UK. They are the ones that did the Homeopathy 10²³ “overdose” event. It was brilliant.
• The Skeptics Testament: this is a fairly new podcast (since January of this year). I just found it and am not sure what to make of it, but I wanted to share it with you. It’s a skeptical, critical look at the bible. But I can’t figure out if they are atheists or christians. (Edit: I think they said they are atheists in the 4th episode, or thereabouts). But they seem to know their stuff from what I can tell from the first 2 episodes, and it’s informative.
• EDIT: I forgot about The Token Skeptic: a weekly look at superstition, paranormal belief and the science behind it all. The podcast covers a range of ideas and issues, stemming from psychology, philosophy and ethics, science, critical thinking, literacy and education.

Edit: Gerald recommended a bunch of podcasts:

• MonsterTalk: presented by Skeptic Magazine. Critically examines the science behind cryptozoological creatures.
• Skepticality with Derek and Swoopy. The official podcast of Skeptic Magazine. With interviews and information on science and skepticism.
• Skeptoid with Brian Dunning: A primer on a single pseudo-scientific or paranormal topic.
• The Amazing Show with James Randi: a fireside chat.
• The Skeptic Zone: Australian podcast for Science and Reason. Varied and light-hearted.
• Skeptically Speaking: Canadian interview-format live radio call-in talk show with host Desiree Schell.
• The Reality Check: The Ottawa Skeptics talk show podcast.
• The Pseudo Scientists: the Young Australian Skeptics talk show podcast.
• Geologic Podcast: A skeptical comedy rant show from rock musician George Hrab. For a mature audience.
• Audiomartini: A radio program relating to the paranormal from a skeptic’s point of view
• Afternoon Tea with Richard Wiseman: An interview show hosted by psychologist Richard Wiseman.
• Are We Alone? SETI’s science and skepticism podcast, with host Seth Shostack. (subscribe through iTunes)
• Brain Science Podcast: weekly neuroscience show, hosted by physician Ginger Campbell.

If you try these out, let us know what you think!

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You may have noticed the tab under the banner that says Library. That lists all the books and media we each recommend. Feel free to contribute to it. In that list you’ll find that Tim recommended a book called  Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel L. Everett. Brent found an interview on Groks Science Radio Show with the author.

Daniel has three stories to share:

The first is from RadioLab. Here’s the description from the page:

Parasites: What’s gotten into you? In this hour we explore nature’s moochers – the good, the bad, and the hideous. We have stories of lethargic farmers, zombie cockroaches, and even mind-controlled humans (kinda, maybe). Could parasites be the shadowy hands that pull the strings of life?
Carl Zimmer plays defense lawyer, trying to exonerate parasites for their wrongs, while Jad and Robert argue in defense of the victims. Our producer Lulu Miller comes in to moderate a lightning round of: “Parasites: are they evil, or are they awesome?” The parasites in question are the zombie wasp, the nematode, and the lovey-dovey blood fluke.

From NPR he sends a story about throwing out the Primordial Soup theory:

Is the “primordial soup” theory — the idea that life emerged from a prebiotic broth — past its expiration date?
Biochemist Nick Lane thinks so. The University College London writer and his colleagues argue that the 81-year-old notion just doesn’t hold water.
Lane tells NPR’s Guy Raz there’s another possible explanation for the emergence of life. But before we get to that, why toss out the soup theory?
Lane says the idea of a primordial soup goes back to 1929, and great biologists like J.B.S. Haldane.

And he shares another story from NPR about “mystical” baboons:

I’m not saying something magical happened. I can’t. Because I’m not a baboon.
And neither is Barbara Smuts, though she spent years in the field in East Africa studying baboons.
What Smuts saw one day in Africa while watching a troop of some 30 baboons is one of the more mysterious baboon tales ever. Her account was published in the Journal of Consciousness Studies a few years ago, and when I told the story to my co-host Jad Abumrad, on NPR and WNYC’s Radiolab, he was leery. He couldn’t explain what the baboons did, but when I proposed an explanation, he found it ridiculous.

The next two are from me (Neece):

How about an iron-plated snail? This little hydrothermal-vent-living creature was discovered in 1999. Scientists at MIT have been studying it. Here is the paper that they published. They write, “the shell is “unlike any other known natural or synthetic engineered armor.” It’s amazing

Life isn’t easy for the “scaly-foot gastropod”. This humble snail lives in hydrothermal vent fields two miles deep in the Indian ocean, and is surrounded by vicious predators. For example, there’s the “cone snail”, which stabs at its victims with a harpoon-style tooth as a precursor to injecting them with paralyzing venom. Then there’s the Brachyuran crab, which has been known to squeeze its prey for three days in an attempt to kill it. Yowsa.

Ah, but the scaly-foot gastropod has its own tricks. To fight back, it long ago evolved a particularly cool defense structure: It takes the grains of iron sulfide floating in the water around it and incorporates it into the outer layer of its shell. It it thus an “iron-plated snail”.

The other day Brent and I shared podcasts and radio shows with you. Well, I just found a new one! From Skepchick.org comes a new podcast called Curiosity Aroused. There’s one episode up now which is about calorie restriction for long life. It’s very interesting.

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~Edit: I’ve added descriptions for you!

Brent’s Favs:

• The Center for Inquiry’s Point of Inquiry: Point of Inquiry explores CFI’s three research areas:
  • Pseudoscience and the paranormal (Bigfoot, UFOs, psychics, communication with the dead, cryptozoology, etc.)
  • Alternative medicine (faith healing, homeopathy, “healing touch,” the efficacy of prayer, etc.)
  • Religion, humanism, and secularism (church-state separation, the effects and proper role of religion in society, the future of secularism and nonbelief, etc.)
    Rotating hosts Chris Mooney, Karen Stollznow, and Robert Price bring engaging and thought-provoking interviews and commentary on a broad range of topics to each episode of Point of Inquiry.
• NPR’s Science Friday: A weekly radio talk show on NPR from 2-4pm on Fridays. Each week, they focus on science topics that are in the news and try to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join Science Friday’s host, Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science – and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.
• Groks Science Radio Show and Podcast: a weekly science radio program and podcast produced in Chicago, USA and Tokyo, Japan. The show broadcasts on radio stations across the country and can also be heard as a podcast. Each week, the hosts, Dr. Charles Lee and Dr. Frank Ling, take an in-depth look at recent events in the world of science and technology, and examine the effects of recent discoveries on our daily lives.
  Each episode features an interview with a leading scientist, researcher, or industrialist discussing stimulating work in their field. The show often includes a humorous and entertaining segment; plus the world famous question of the week!
• IEET: Changesurfer Radio: a weekly, syndicated public affairs radio show transmitting a sexy, high-tech vision of a radically democratic future
• Fast Forward Radio: A convergence of emerging technologies and emerging possibilities is at the heart of this, the greatest period of transformation in human history. Our world is changing in ways that are hard to predict…sometimes even hard to imagine. FastForward Radio is your guide to an astounding future that lies ahead — and that will be here sooner than you think!

Neece’s Favs:

• SGU: The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe and a 5 minute weekly podcast at the same place; SGU 5×5: a weekly Science podcast produced by the New England Skeptical Society (NESS) in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) : discussing the latest news and topics from the world of the paranormal, fringe science, and controversial claims from a scientific point of view.
• Scientific American’s Science Talk (they have other podcasts here): Join host Steve Mirsky each week as he explores the latest developments in science & technology through interviews.
• Reasonable Doubts (Your Skeptical Guide to Religion): A special focus on counter-apologetics. They provide detailed counter-points to the fallacious logic and blatant misinformation used by religious apologists when attempting to discredit skepticism and provide rational arguments for their dogmas. They also defend the sufficiency of reason, science and naturalistic philosophies to provide a satisfactory and morally compelling understanding of the cosmos, human nature, art and culture. They try to do this all with fair-mindedness and humor. Winner of the Peoples Choice Podcast Award for best religious/inspirational podcast of 2009
• The Naked Scientists and another podcast, Ask the Naked Scientists: The Naked Scientists are a group of physicians and researchers from Cambridge University who use radio, live lectures, and the Internet to strip science down to its bare essentials, and promote it to the general public. Each week, listeners of all ages and backgrounds tune in on a Sunday evening to hear creator Dr. Chris Smith, together with his entertaining scientist sidekicks, interview renowned scientists and researchers from all over the world and take science questions on any subject live from the listening public.
• StarTalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson: a radio show devoted to all things space and is hosted by renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
• Mr. Deity (video, not podcast, but you can subscribe through iTunes): a webshow that looks at the every-day life of the creator and everything he must endure as he attempts to manage his creation.

~Edit:

Tim’s Fav:

• FFRF: Freedom From Religion Foundation: Slightly irreverent views, news, music and interviews

Here’s one from Gerald:

• MonsterTalk. It is all about cryptozoology: bigfoot, Loch Ness monster, etc. It takes a skeptical look at these things and is sponsored by Skeptic Magazine.

Feel free to contribute your favorites!

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Here’s what the site says about the interview:

Dr. Darrel W. Ray is author of three books, two on organizational psychology. He has been a psychologist for over 30 years. After practicing counseling and clinical psychology for 10 years, his focus shifted to organizational psychology and consulting. A longtime student of religion, his latest book is The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture.

In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Darrel Ray talks about religion being like a virus, elaborating on Richard Dawkins’ concept of the meme. He explains why the metaphor of God belief being like a virus of the mind is so useful. He details how religion is communicable, and propagated through vectors, just like biological pathogens, and why the rational “immune system” of children makes them more susceptible to the contagion. He explores why some people are immune to the God virus, and how to inoculate children from it, such as through exposure to many strains of the virus early in life. He describes the role that guilt over sex has in the success of the God virus. He discusses whether there is a skepticism virus, and why he feels atheism is a poor organizing principle, but why humanism is not. And he talks about the New Atheist agenda, and the best ways to engage in “public health measures” to protect people from the God virus.

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Perhaps you might enjoy this 1/2 hour podcast:  Dr. Moira Gunn interviews Chris Mooney, author of the book Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens our Future.  Some things I found interesting in the podcast were their discussions about how to determine what is a good baseline for science literacy in a rapidly-changing science environment (ie. stem cell research didn’t even exist when many of us were in school), where do you go to get good science info, why is science literacy important in politics and citizenship and policy, how has the science community dropped the ball in public science literacy.

Link to Podcast (you can stream or download the episode)

Bias disclaimer:  I am a website editor for the provider ITConversations.

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