This was one of the highlights of this summer’s James Randi Educational Foundation Amazing Meeting 9. It’s a panel discussing our future in space and, in particular, whether humans should continue exploring in person or stay on the ground while our technological marvels do the dangerous job of traveling beyond Earth gravity. The panelists were […]
My friend Phil Plait is one of the smartest people I know. He’s an astronomer and author with real enthusiasm for his subject, which he put on display recently at at TedX conference in Boulder. In his 14-minute presentation, he described the dinosaur-killing asteroid that hit the Earth 65,000,000 years ago and how modern-day scientists […]
Jamy Ian Swiss, who helped devise the Million Dollar Challenge tests for so-called psychics last month on the “Beyond Belief” episode of “Primetime Nightline,” looks back at whether the show presented skepticism (and the James Randi Educational Foundation) in a good light. Like me, he was mostly happy with the results. Speaking of Randi, here’s […]
Michele Bachmann has been catching flak for comments she made about vaccines this week, comments which put her into the same qualified-to-lead-America camp as Jenny McCarthy. Monday night, Bachmann went after Rick Perry for an executive order he signed in 2007 mandating that girls entering sixth grade be vaccinated against cervical cancer. Specifically, the vaccine […]
I became familiar with Michael Shermer‘s work through his presentations at the James Randi Educational Foundation‘s annual Amazing Meeting, where Michael is almost always the first speaker. In addition to publishing Skeptic magazine, he has written several books, including “Why People Believe Weird Things” and “Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design.” I invited […]
ABC’s “Nightline” is on in primetime tonight with an hour about psychics that is supposed to include a skeptical viewpoint, thanks to the James Randi Educational Foundation. Banachek, who oversees the JREF’s Million Dollar Challenge, will appear on the show to put some self-proclaimed psychics to the test (thanks to some protocols designed by Randi […]