SGU Episode 774

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SGU Episode 774
May 9th 2020
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 773                      SGU 775
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Guest
RS: Richard Saunders
Quote of the Week
It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.
William Kingdon Clifford, mathematician and philosopher
Links
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Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

Voiceover: You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

(laughs) (laughter) (applause) [inaudible]

Wandering Magnetic North Pole ()

• BBC News: Scientists explain magnetic pole's wanderings

Air Plasma Jet Propulsion ()

• Phys.org: Fossil fuel-free jet propulsion with air plasmas

Hydrogen Breathers ()

• ScienceAlert: Some Astronomers Think We Should Be Looking For Hydrogen-Breathing Aliens. Here's Why

Murder Hornets ()

• Smithsonian Magazine: No, Americans Do Not Need to Panic About ‘Murder Hornets’

Prayer for COVID-19 ()

• NPR: Clinical Study Considers The Power Of Prayer To Combat COVID-19

Who's That Noisy? ()

• Answer to last week’s Noisy: Baby hippos

New Noisy ()

[British man discussing a finding of David Dunning's]

Science or Fiction ()

Answer	Item
Fiction	Artificial fertilizer
Science	Urine fertilizer
Science	Haber-Bosch process

Host	Result
Steve	swept

Rogue	Guess
Richard	Artificial fertilizer
Jay	Artificial fertilizer
Cara	Artificial fertilizer
Evan	Artificial fertilizer
Bob	Artificial fertilizer

Voice-over: It's time for Science or Fiction.

Theme: Agriculture
Item #1: Artificial fertilizer is responsible for 80% of current world food production.
Item #2: The Haber-Bosch process, used to fix nitrogen, consumes between 1-2% of the world’s energy usage.
Item #3: One adult’s urine contains enough nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to fertilize enough food production for 50-100% of one person’s food requirements.

Skeptical Quote of the Week ()

It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.
– William Kingdon Clifford, mathematician and philosopher (1845-1879)

Signoff/Announcements ()

S: —and until next week, this is your Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.

S: Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information, visit us at theskepticsguide.org. Send your questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. And, if you would like to support the show and all the work that we do, go to patreon.com/SkepticsGuide and consider becoming a patron and becoming part of the SGU community. Our listeners and supporters are what make SGU possible.

Today I Learned

• Fact/Description, possibly with an article reference
• Fact/Description
• Fact/Description

References

Vocabulary