Skepticality
Encyclopedia
Skepticality is the official biweekly podcast
of The Skeptics Society
's Skeptic
magazine. It explores rational thought
, skeptical
ideas, and famous myths
from around the world and throughout history. Beginning in April 2005, it has featured interviews with famous skeptics, such as James Randi
, and scientists, such as author and astronomer Phil Plait.
Skepticality is co-hosted by Derek Colanduno
and "Swoopy" Robynn McCarthy
.
address, Apple CEO
Steve Jobs
mentioned Skepticality as one of the top nine podcasts at the iTunes Music Store. On that same day, the podcast's future was thrust into uncertainty. Little over an hour after Jobs's comment, co-host Derek Colanduno suffered an aneurysm
-like brain AVM
. Two days later, in an emotional three-minute message, Swoopy announced his condition on Skepticality. For the next week, as he lay in a medicated coma
, friends of Derek broadcast messages of hope via the podcast. More detail on Derek's personal website. http://www.colanduno.com/?page_id=86
Swoopy and Derek's wife provided daily updates of Derek's condition via the show's online message board
s. Weeks later, he regained consciousness and began undergoing therapy. Swoopy gradually found time to produce new shows, calling on others to act as co-host. In December 2005, Derek returned to the weekly broadcast, as he now requires only part-time rehabilitation.
After an episode on February 12, 2006, the hosts took the longest break the program has seen since its inception http://www.skepticality.org/p_listentopast.php. No updates of the podcast were posted via the feed or the website from that time until August 14, 2006. During that time, however, the hosts remained active on the podcast's website discussion forum. In a posting made to the forum on June 11, 2006, Derek Colanduno noted work towards—and the possibility of—an imminent episode http://www.skepticality.com/iboard/. The long-awaited episode finally appeared on August 14, 2006, with an announcement that Skepticality was now the Skeptic magazine's official podcast.
, Phil Plait, Pamela Gay and skeptical musician George Hrab
.
http://www.slackerastronomy.org/ , the naming of Asteroids 106545 Colanduno
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db_shm?sstr=mccarthy and 106537 McCarthy
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db_shm?sstr=colanduno was announced to the world. The asteroids were named in homage to the hosts of Skepticality by their discoverer the late Jeff Medkeff
, who said, "My naming of these asteroids for you is a token of my esteem for you and your accomplishments. Someday, I hope to meet you two." http://www.skepticality.com/iboard/.
and Best Science Podcast award at the Podcast Peer Awards, selected by registered fellow podcasters. Both presentations were made at Dragon*Con 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia
.
On November 22, 2007, the Skepticality podcast was listed as "Site of the Week" on SciFi.com's Sci Fi Weekly.
On August 9th, 2008, Skepticality was named "Podcast of the Week" by The Times
.
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
of The Skeptics Society
The Skeptics Society
The Skeptics Society is a nonprofit, member-supported organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs. The Skeptics Society was originally founded as a Los Angeles-area skeptical group to replace the defunct...
's Skeptic
Skeptic (U.S. magazine)
Skeptic is a quarterly science education and science advocacy magazine published internationally by The Skeptics Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs...
magazine. It explores rational thought
Rationality
In philosophy, rationality is the exercise of reason. It is the manner in which people derive conclusions when considering things deliberately. It also refers to the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons for belief, or with one's actions with one's reasons for action...
, skeptical
Skepticism
Skepticism has many definitions, but generally refers to any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere...
ideas, and famous myths
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
from around the world and throughout history. Beginning in April 2005, it has featured interviews with famous skeptics, such as James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
, and scientists, such as author and astronomer Phil Plait.
Skepticality is co-hosted by Derek Colanduno
Derek Colanduno
Derek Colanduno is an American skeptic and podcaster. He is the creator and co-host, with Robynn "Swoopy" McCarthy, of the talk show Skepticality, the official biweekly podcast of The Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine....
and "Swoopy" Robynn McCarthy
Robynn McCarthy
Robynn "Swoopy" McCarthy is an American skeptic and podcaster. She is the producer and co-host, with Derek Colanduno, of the talk show Skepticality, the official biweekly podcast of The Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine...
.
History
On September 7, 2005, during a keynoteKeynote
A keynote in literature, music, or public speaking establishes the principal underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address...
address, Apple CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
mentioned Skepticality as one of the top nine podcasts at the iTunes Music Store. On that same day, the podcast's future was thrust into uncertainty. Little over an hour after Jobs's comment, co-host Derek Colanduno suffered an aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
-like brain AVM
Arteriovenous malformation
Arteriovenous malformation or AVM is an abnormal connection between veins and arteries, usually congenital. This pathology is widely known because of its occurrence in the central nervous system, but can appear in any location. An arteriovenous malformation is a vascular anomaly. It is a...
. Two days later, in an emotional three-minute message, Swoopy announced his condition on Skepticality. For the next week, as he lay in a medicated coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
, friends of Derek broadcast messages of hope via the podcast. More detail on Derek's personal website. http://www.colanduno.com/?page_id=86
Swoopy and Derek's wife provided daily updates of Derek's condition via the show's online message board
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s. Weeks later, he regained consciousness and began undergoing therapy. Swoopy gradually found time to produce new shows, calling on others to act as co-host. In December 2005, Derek returned to the weekly broadcast, as he now requires only part-time rehabilitation.
After an episode on February 12, 2006, the hosts took the longest break the program has seen since its inception http://www.skepticality.org/p_listentopast.php. No updates of the podcast were posted via the feed or the website from that time until August 14, 2006. During that time, however, the hosts remained active on the podcast's website discussion forum. In a posting made to the forum on June 11, 2006, Derek Colanduno noted work towards—and the possibility of—an imminent episode http://www.skepticality.com/iboard/. The long-awaited episode finally appeared on August 14, 2006, with an announcement that Skepticality was now the Skeptic magazine's official podcast.
Recurrent Guests
The show has a number of guests who have been featured on more than one show. Amongst them are James RandiJames Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
, Phil Plait, Pamela Gay and skeptical musician George Hrab
George Hrab
George Joseph Hrab is a drummer, guitarist, composer and podcaster known for performing rock, funk and jazz and for exploring atheist, skeptic and science themes in his work. He has released six albums as a solo artist.-Musical career:Hrab performs in several genres of music, but most often in...
.
Asteroids
In an interview with Derek during the June 1, 2006 episode of Slacker AstronomySlacker Astronomy
Slacker Astronomy is a weekly audio podcast about astronomy news that aired weekly from February 14, 2005 to September 14, 2006. After that, it branched out as a video podcast, blog, forum and a wiki called Slackerpedia Galactica....
http://www.slackerastronomy.org/ , the naming of Asteroids 106545 Colanduno
106545 Colanduno
106545 Colanduno is an asteroid. It was discovered by Jeffrey S. Medkeff on November 28, 2000. Its provisional name was '. It was named after Derek Colanduno, American producer and co-host of the podcast Skepticality. It has an absolute magnitude of 15.1 and an orbital period of 1932.37...
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db_shm?sstr=mccarthy and 106537 McCarthy
106537 McCarthy
106537 McCarthy is an asteroid. It was discovered by Jeffrey S. Medkeff on November 23, 2000. Its provisional name was '. It was named after Robynn "Swoopy" McCarthy, American producer and co-host of the podcast Skepticality. It has an absolute magnitude of 16.1 and an orbital period of 1283.12...
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db_shm?sstr=colanduno was announced to the world. The asteroids were named in homage to the hosts of Skepticality by their discoverer the late Jeff Medkeff
Jeffrey S. Medkeff
Jeffrey S. Medkeff was born in 1968 and died on 3 August 2008. He was a prominent science writer and educator. He was also a designer of robotic telescopes, a minor philanthropist, and an advocate of personal and sexual freedom.-Early life:Medkeff was born in Akron, Ohio in 1968, and was raised in...
, who said, "My naming of these asteroids for you is a token of my esteem for you and your accomplishments. Someday, I hope to meet you two." http://www.skepticality.com/iboard/.
Awards
In 2007, Skepticality was recognized for excellence in podcasting with the Best Speculative Fiction News Podcast award at the Parsec AwardsParsec Awards
The Parsec Awards are a set of annual awards created to recognize excellence in science fiction podcasts and podcast novels. The awards were created by Mur Lafferty, Tracy Hickman and Michael R. Mennenga and awarded by FarPoint Media...
and Best Science Podcast award at the Podcast Peer Awards, selected by registered fellow podcasters. Both presentations were made at Dragon*Con 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
.
On November 22, 2007, the Skepticality podcast was listed as "Site of the Week" on SciFi.com's Sci Fi Weekly.
On August 9th, 2008, Skepticality was named "Podcast of the Week" by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
.
External links
- Official site
- Skepticality Media Kit
- Podcast Peer Awards article in USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
. - Parsec Awards 2007 Winners
- Sci Fi Weekly's Site of the Week