The Reality Check

Darren examines a video, that recently resurfaced, revolving around the premise that the solar system is a vortex. Cristina sniffs out the facts on recent reports that peanut butter could be used for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, Adam takes a look at whether watching television close-up can harm your eyesight.

On this week’s show, Pat hands us an interesting segment about why some people have trouble telling their left from their right.  Adam “mewses” whether adult cats only meow at humans and not each other. Finally, Darren predicts you may find the recent book Superforecasting:The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner well worth a read.

Just admit it, Checkers. That first segment title caught your eye and you knew Adam was back!  Adam raises a skeptical eyebrow at recent headlines claiming real science behind “Resting Bitch Face”. Cristina runs with a new study regarding the fate of fans in cities whose teams play in the Super Bowl. Finally, Darren unearths whether Greenland’s ice melt could actually change our gravity field. Really? Listen to find out!

With Adam and his antics enjoying the warmth of St. Lucia, the show must still go on! Darren breaks down the Zika virus and fills us in on what we should know. Cristina investigates whether we really need to get our wisdom teeth removed. Finally, Pat replies to a listener’s email by looking into common battery charging myths and whether they still apply today.

Ahoy, Checkers! With all the hype about a potential new planet discovery named “Planet 9”, we thought it would be good to get a reality check from our favourite resident astronomer Dr. Stuart Robbins, host of one of our fave podcasts, Exposing PseudoAstromony. Next, Cristina got excited when she heard a rumour about lettuce being somehow worse than bacon, then realized it’s always best to investigate claims that sound too good to be true. Finally, Adam takes on a segment suggested by former TRC host and all-around good guy Jon Abrams, who asks, “are cats really scared of cucumbers?”

Darren kicks off the show by revisiting and debunking some pervasive nutrition and fitness myths. Pat brings us another fun-filled edition of Name That: Game That. Finally, Adam finds a way to weave Sailor Moon into a segment addressing why can’t we see remnants of the Apollo Mission on the moon through a telescope?

Welcome, Checkers to your 384th episode of TRC! First Adam, addresses a listener’s email from last year asking whether Nikola Tesla contacted extraterrestrial life. Next, Cristina brings us up to speed with a recent FTC court settlement against Lumosity and their neuroplasticity claims.  Finally, Darren looks into a viral story about a man who allegedly sues his wife for birthing an ugly baby.

We like big facts and we cannot lie. The TRC crew reunite to kick off the New Year with a fun-filled show! Cristina butts in first with a story that was all over the internet recently: does typing ‘lardass’ into an iPhone autocorrect to ‘Kardashian’? Then the gang share their favourite, funniest, and most surprising segments from 2015. Pat hosts an Internet 2015 edition of Name That. Finally, Adam takes over to revisit last year’s “predictions” and asks the panel to set aside logic yet again to make predictions for 2016.

Merry New Year, Checkers!  This week, Adam takes the night off while Darren and honorary TRC’er Dallas Card join the Toronto crew in the flesh for another fun and informative show. Darren kicks off the festivities by revisiting the sometimes misunderstood cognitive bias called the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Dallas delves into deep artificial neural networks and debunks some myths around machine learning. Finally, Cristina examines whether the British really deserve the rep of having bad teeth.

With the Festivus upon us, Darren and Adam hand the reins of the sleigh over to Pat and Cristina for the fifth annual holiday show. The duo share the inside scoop behind this year’s parodies plus other highlights including the panel’s recommendations of stuff to watch, read or listen to (see the show notes!).  Extra bonus in your stocking is an excerpt from Dr. Ken Milne’s Skeptic’s Guide to Emergency Medicine Podcast. After recently guesting on TRC where he mentions the Spinach, Popeye, Iron and Decimal Error Story (SPIDES), Ken gets an interesting email from listener Bob Edmonds who he then invites on his podcast to help set the record straight. A huge thank you to all the ‘Checkers out there for listening every week. Have a safe and happy holiday!