SGU Episode 405
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| SGU Episode 405 |
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| 20th April 2013 |
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| (brief caption for the episode icon) |
| Skeptical Rogues |
| S: Steven Novella |
B: Bob Novella |
R: Rebecca Watson |
J: Jay Novella |
E: Evan Bernstein |
| Guests |
JR: Jon Ronson |
SS: Simon Singh |
| Quote of the Week |
Still our knowledge of the planets was meager, and where ignorance lurks, so too do the frontiers of discovery and imagination. |
| Links |
| Download Podcast |
| SGU Podcast archive |
| Forum Discussion |
Introduction
You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.
S: Hello and welcome to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. Today is Saturday, April 6th, 2013, and this is your host, Steven Novella. Joining me this week are Bob Novella...
B: Hey, everybody.
S: Rebecca Watson...
R: Hello, everyone.
S: Jay Novella...
J: Hey, guys.
S: Evan Bernstein.
E: Good evening.
S: And, we have two very special guests with us this week. Simon Singh...
SS: Hello.
S: Simon, welcome back. And Jon Ronson.
JR: Hey.
(laughter)
S: Thanks so much for joining us, Jon.
R: "Hey"
E: "Hey"
JR: Ah, It just came out that way. I wasn't trying to be louche. It just came out. I wasn't thinking in loucheness.
E: It sounds like Brian Cox is with us.
S: It happens. Right, Bob?
R: Good word. Loucheness. I'm going to use that three more times today and then it'll be mine.
E: Today is short.
?: I don't even know what that means.
JR: Louche.
?: It means to be loose?
JR: No, the way I see "louche" is to be like... Oh I don't know.
S: Casual? Laid back?
JR: Yeah. Like Oscar Wilde. Simon you're nodding in agreement.
S: Oscar Wilde.
SS: I was just about to say "Oscar". That was going to be my "louche" example.
JR: Yes.
S: So, for those who may not know, Jon Ronson is a journalist and author, author of "Them", "The Psychopath Test", "The Men Who Stare at Goats" and you have some upcoming work we're going to talk to you about. And Simon Singh, also a journalist and author, author of "Trick or Treatment?", and "The Big Bang". So thanks to the both of you for joining us. We're o'er at NECSS, Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, and we're recording a live show. And one of the great things about this is, we get "Hey Jon, join us up on the show". It's awesome. But we're going to start this show like we do with all of our shows with "this day in scepticism", Rebecca.
R: Should we do the thing where we mention that there's an audience here? Let's hear the audience.
(audience applause and shouting)
R: Now they're on an episode.
(laughter)
This Day in Skepticism (2:04)
- April 20, 1535: First sundog painting
Special Report ()
- Simon Singh's New Book: Mathematics of the Simpsons
News Items
Bitcoins ()
http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/13/beyond-the-bitcoin-bubble/
Internet Criminals ()
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jonronson
BRAIN Project ()
Evidence of Dark Matter ()
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/14apr_ams/
Hallucinating Music ()
Science or Fiction ()
Item #1: A new cancer treatment being tested on mice shows no side effects – the treatment attacks only cancer cells and leaves the neighboring healthy cells alone. Item #2: A comparative biology study shows the life expectancy of a mouse can double from 4 years to 8 years with an infusion of stem cells from the naked mole rat. Item #3: Scientists have developed a means of allowing the thoughts of a person to control the movements of a mouse.
Skeptical Quote of the Week ()
Still our knowledge of the planets was meager, and where ignorance lurks, so too do the frontiers of discovery and imagination.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Announcements ()
S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at theskepticsguide.org, where you will find the show notes as well as links to our blogs, videos, online forum, and other content. You can send us feedback or questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. Also, please consider supporting the SGU by visiting the store page on our website, where you will find merchandise, premium content, and subscription information. Our listeners are what make SGU possible.
References
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