The Reality Check

It’s another mashup where we give you three segments from previous shows.  First we revisit Pat’s deep dive on a viral video of an amusement park ride.  Next Adam takes on an Avril Lavigne conspiracy that she died and was replaced by a double.  Finally, Cristina does what Cristina does… taking on Gwyneth Paltrow.

Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Dall-e. Darren digs into an explanation of how artificial intelligence generates images and whether or not it is just copying.  Cristina looks at the fascinating history of why a computer glitch is called a bug.   

Adam digs into recent headlines about UFOs and whistleblower David Grusch.  Does this give any promising evidence that aliens may be among us?  Next Darren ponders how our future AI overlords might treat us. Assuming they don’t eliminate us, will we make great pets?  It’s a new TRC!  

Cristina kicks off the show with a deep dive into the history of forensic fingerprinting and challenges a commonly accepted notion that no two fingerprints are alike. Adam brings us a buttload of a segment when he probes into the origin and meaning of the term. Darren rounds out the show with an always fascinating look into the world of AI, specifically why given extinction concerns, AI researchers don’t quit.

Darren shares some thoughts and leads an interesting discussion about what might be reasonable approaches to the difficult and complicated topic of artificial intelligence. Pat brings us another smashing game of “Name That: Spot The Fake.” Can you do better than the TRC crew?  

The TRC crew brings you a mashup about fire and smoke.  Adam looks into headlines about the Amazon rainforest. The facts may surprise you.  Pat addresses a listener’s question about whether the rainforest is the Earth’s lungs responsible for 20% of the oxygen we breathe. Darren investigates whether wood fires pose a danger to your health.

In March of this year, auroras were seen in many places on earth.  Though the auroras are usually seen far up north on the globe they can occur further south.  But what are the risks associated with this kind of event?  “The Technology Trap” by Carl Benedikt Frey looks at how the history of technology can help us better understand economic and political polarization in the age of automation.  Darren gives us a review. 

A recent study done by Consumer Reports shows that dark chocolate bars contain lead and cadmium.  Should you be concerned? Cristina digs into it.  Next, after watching the movie “65”, Adam looks at the debate about how dinosaurs went extinct and when.

Pat puppeteers a delicious intro. Finally, what took us so long? We had a chat with Canadian podcast pioneer and author Karl Mamer. Karl has a new book out called “The Skeptics Book of Lists”. He’s a fascinating character with many stories to tell. We hope you enjoy!

Welcome to episode 6-6-6! Darren does a deep dive on the digits steeped in the Book of Revelation and why some historically associate it with the ‘number of the beast’. Pat challenges the crew to a fresh and always fun installment of Name That: Spot The Fake. Can you do better than the TRC crew?