The Skeptopus Podcast

Captain Storm and Dangerous Dan attend the Amazing Meeting conference in Las Vegas and discuss at least 10 different topics and 100 fascinating ideas. We take a few minutes to discuss each speaker we saw at the conference and some of the things we thought were especially interesting. You’ll love this episode just because there are so many different interesting things to pursue more information about. Topics Include:Martial ArtsScience MoralityDoubtful NewsSex Con MenReligion -vs- Scienceand much much more!! Sources Michael Shermer & the Ask First principal The ask first principal is outlined in Michael Shermer’s book, The Science of Good and Evil http://shop.skeptic.com/merchant.mvc?&Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SS&Product_Code=b090PB He also expands on these principals in a blog post reply to Massimo Piliucci http://www.michaelshermer.com/tag/morality/ Get started with rbutr here http://rbutr.com/ Doubtful news - Sharon hill http://doubtfulnews.com/ Martey Klein - junk science moral panics and sex (slide deck) http://www.martyklein.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/TAM-slides.pdf Hiyaa podcast http://www.hiyaapodcast.com/ Warrior Rituals fail http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i5hCczfGYv0#t=259 Scientific followup http://scienceblogs.com/neurotopia/2007/10/01/martial-idiocy/ The science of martial arts http://fightnomics.com/ Magician telling the truth - max maven http://www.maxmaven.com/ Cara Maria’s posts http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cara-santa-maria/ The honest liar - Jamie Ian Swiss http://honestliar.com/ Studies on human morality behavior http://danariely.com/ Eventually all the TAM videos will be available here http://www.amazingmeeting.com/videos/

This episode we have a grab bag of topics for your brain holes. We have Doc Shai talking about how memory works. Storm talks about those pesky agnostics. Anna talks about Chemtrails. Dan talks about how your occupation affects your world view. Sources Memory Studies: http://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/ http://www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty/faculty_page?id=41&area=3 Science in Occupations: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/engineering-design-process/engineering-design-compare-scientific-method.shtml http://www.rasch.org/rmt/rmt243b.htm http://skepticalsports.com/ http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-04-07/ http://www.skeptic.com/downloads/10_Easy_Psychic_Lessons.pdf http://www.gailsheehy.com/Game/chapters/PredictableCrises.pdf http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2000/11/01/290855/

This week Captain Storm and Dangerous Dan explore the issue of:  Gun Control in a two part podcast.  This episode we arranged a tag team debate with four panelists: Gun Leaning: Retired Navy Commander, skeptic and author: Al Bell Gun industry professional: Matt Trujillo (tru-hee-oh) Regulation Leaning: Professional soccer mom and feisty skeptic: Diane Fortune The greatest bow hunter in the valencia north valley homeowners association: Anna Maltese Sources: Science of measuring gun violence http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10881&page=19 Gun Control stats (regs, homicide rates, etc), country by country http://www.gunpolicy.org/ Firearms by region http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/ U.S. Homicides by weapons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ushomicidesbyweapon.svg Police Executive Research Forum (local law enforcement initiatives) http://www.policeforum.org/library/critical-issues-in-policing-series/GunsandCrime.pdf Australian Gun Control Act (NYT article by Prime Minister Howard) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/opinion/australia-banned-assault-weapons-america-can-too.html?_r=0 Snopes.com fact-check on Australian Gun Control Act/GCA rumor: http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp Fact checking on Nazi gun control policy… http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/files/67-harcourt.pdf Excellent discourse on Harcourt’s findings http://www.salon.com/2013/01/11/stop_talking_about_hitler/ President’s Executive Actions List on Gun Control http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/556894/white-house-gun-violence-reduction-executive.pdf U.S. v. Miller http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._v._Miller National Firearms Act of 1934 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Firearms_Act Firearm Injury in the U.S. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/ficap/resourcebook/pdf/monograph.pdf Legal Analysis of Second Amendment decisions by the Supreme Court http://www.spectacle.org/996/2d.html ATF history (1791 - present) and the challenges they face http://cloudfront-2.publicintegrity.org/2013/02/11/12155/current-gun-debate-may-not-help-beleaguered-atf Violence Policy Center, NRA corporate contributors list http://www.vpc.org/press/1104blood.htm NRA’s bill riders denying funds for gun science http://www.salon.com/2012/07/25/the_nras_war_on_gun_science/ NRA History and the Revolt in Cincinnati (very interesting read) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/achenblog/wp/2013/01/13/nra-history-the-making-of-the-gun-lobby/ Violence Policy Center on Women and Handguns http://www.vpc.org/studies/myth.htm Pediatricians and the NRA gag order http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/02/pediatricians_and_nra_physician_gag_rules_and_the_cdc_aca_and_states.html Hidden Life of Guns Project (assault weapons ban, etc.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/22/AR2011012204243.html Hospital shootings (guns taken from armed guards to use against others; ‘good guy with gun will stop bad guy with a gun’ counterargument data) http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(12)01408-4/abstract Excellent discourse on various gun related issues http://factcheck.org/2012/12/gun-rhetoric-vs-gun-facts/ THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: ZERO-GUN AMERICA http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/12/the-single-best-anti-gun-death-policy-ending-the-drug-war/266505/ 2009 Murders http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/offenses/expanded_information/homicide.html GENERAL GUN FACTS ABOUT GUN VIOLENCE IN THE US http://factcheck.org/2012/12/gun-rhetoric-vs-gun-facts/ Original Intent and Purpose of the Second Amendment http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndpur.html Right of Self Defense http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_self-defense Right to keep and bear arms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_keep_and_bear_arms English precedent The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution was heavily influenced by the English Bill of Rights 1689, which restricted the right of the English Crown to interfere with the personal right to bear arms. District of Columbia v Heller http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/50849/district-columbia-v-heller-scalias-majority-opinion/ed-whelan

This week Captain Storm and Dangerous Dan explore the issue of:  Gun Control in a two part podcast.  This episode we arranged a tag team debate with four panelists: Gun Leaning: Retired Navy Commander, skeptic and author: Al Bell Gun industry professional: Matt Trujillo (tru-hee-oh) Regulation Leaning: Professional soccer mom and feisty skeptic: Diane Fortune The greatest bow hunter in the valencia north valley homeowners association: Anna Maltese Sources: Science of measuring gun violence http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10881&page=19 Gun Control stats (regs, homicide rates, etc), country by country http://www.gunpolicy.org/ Firearms by region http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/ U.S. Homicides by weapons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ushomicidesbyweapon.svg Police Executive Research Forum (local law enforcement initiatives) http://www.policeforum.org/library/critical-issues-in-policing-series/GunsandCrime.pdf Australian Gun Control Act (NYT article by Prime Minister Howard) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/opinion/australia-banned-assault-weapons-america-can-too.html?_r=0 Snopes.com fact-check on Australian Gun Control Act/GCA rumor: http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp Fact checking on Nazi gun control policy… http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/files/67-harcourt.pdf Excellent discourse on Harcourt’s findings http://www.salon.com/2013/01/11/stop_talking_about_hitler/ President’s Executive Actions List on Gun Control http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/556894/white-house-gun-violence-reduction-executive.pdf U.S. v. Miller http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._v._Miller National Firearms Act of 1934 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Firearms_Act Firearm Injury in the U.S. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/ficap/resourcebook/pdf/monograph.pdf Legal Analysis of Second Amendment decisions by the Supreme Court http://www.spectacle.org/996/2d.html ATF history (1791 - present) and the challenges they face http://cloudfront-2.publicintegrity.org/2013/02/11/12155/current-gun-debate-may-not-help-beleaguered-atf Violence Policy Center, NRA corporate contributors list http://www.vpc.org/press/1104blood.htm NRA’s bill riders denying funds for gun science http://www.salon.com/2012/07/25/the_nras_war_on_gun_science/ NRA History and the Revolt in Cincinnati (very interesting read) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/achenblog/wp/2013/01/13/nra-history-the-making-of-the-gun-lobby/ Violence Policy Center on Women and Handguns http://www.vpc.org/studies/myth.htm Pediatricians and the NRA gag order http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/02/pediatricians_and_nra_physician_gag_rules_and_the_cdc_aca_and_states.html Hidden Life of Guns Project (assault weapons ban, etc.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/22/AR2011012204243.html Hospital shootings (guns taken from armed guards to use against others; ‘good guy with gun will stop bad guy with a gun’ counterargument data) http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(12)01408-4/abstract Excellent discourse on various gun related issues http://factcheck.org/2012/12/gun-rhetoric-vs-gun-facts/ THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: ZERO-GUN AMERICA http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/12/the-single-best-anti-gun-death-policy-ending-the-drug-war/266505/ 2009 Murders http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/offenses/expanded_information/homicide.html GENERAL GUN FACTS ABOUT GUN VIOLENCE IN THE US http://factcheck.org/2012/12/gun-rhetoric-vs-gun-facts/ Original Intent and Purpose of the Second Amendment http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndpur.html Right of Self Defense http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_self-defense Right to keep and bear arms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_keep_and_bear_arms English precedent The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution was heavily influenced by the English Bill of Rights 1689, which restricted the right of the English Crown to interfere with the personal right to bear arms. District of Columbia v Heller http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/50849/district-columbia-v-heller-scalias-majority-opinion/ed-whelan

This is a recording of a live event on January 27th 2013 -  sponsored by the San Diego Coalition of Reason.  www.sdcor.org This was a discussion of  What is Atheism, Skepticism,  & Secular Humanism. The Speakers were Sean Taylor  www.hfsd.info, Debbie Allen  www.hfsd.info/, Niveque Storm www.sandiegoskeptics.com and the famous magician and skeptic Jamie Ian Swiss. honestliar.com More event information here, links and thanks from Sean Taylor: We would like to thank Mark Olsson again for the use of his building.  You can find more out about his company here: http://www.seektechinc.com/ Additionally, we would like to send a BIG thank you to Jamy Ian Swiss for participating and contributing to the event.  For more information about Jamy Ian Swiss and the Skeptic movement on the national level, please visit his website, www.hoestliar.com; and the James Randi Educational Foundation at www.randi.org. San Diego Skeptics Michael Shermer says a skeptic is “one who questions the validity of particular claims of knowledge by employing or calling for statements of fact to prove or disprove claims, as a tool for understanding causality.” We San Diego skeptics are a bunch of bad ass critical thinkers. We believe that learning howto think is more important than learning what to think. We are tired of the age old questions about god and religion. Those questions have no relevance in the day to day life of someone who believes that science is the best method that human beings have found for finding truth. Why hang out with the San Diego Skeptics? Because it’s self defense for the mind. The world is full of people trying to sell you something, whether it’s a time share, health food, medical treatments, a new drug, or a new law. Critical thinking is the only way to vaccinate your brain against these masters of manipulation. We believe in training our brains in the art of mental defense by learning science, logic and reason in a causal atmosphere that emphasizes fun activities. Our goal is to keep our minds and our bodies in fighting shape so we can better navigate this crazy world. Find events on our meetup group at www.sandiegoskeptics.com or come chat with us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/sandiegoskeptics. Thank you again to Debbie Allen.  Debbie again is the President of the Humanist Fellowship of San Diego (www.hfsd.info).  Thank you also to HFSD for providing the snacks and waters for the event.  To donate to the Humanist Fellowship or contact Debbie Allen, please visit the HFSD website. Thank you Jim Eliason for moderating, contributing and co-organizing this great event.  To get in contact with and see what Jim is up to , please visit the Meetup site for the San Diego New Atheists and Agnostics(http://www.meetup.com/san-diego-atheists-agnostics/members/45526792/) and the new atheist show out of San Diego, “Make a Believer Out of Me” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEx8fmw4TxQ). As a co-organizer of this event, board member with the Humanist Fellowship of San Diego and community activist for the San Diego Coalition of Reason (sdcor.org), I, Sean Taylor thank you all for joining us at this event in something that we are all passionate about and really enjoy discussing.  You may contact me through just about any of the Meetup sites under SDCoR and directly thru the “Make a Believer Out of Me” program (http://www.youtube.com/user/MABOOMshow?feature=watch).

This week Captain Storm and Dangerous Dan explore the question: Can you trust the government.  Joining us are two expert skeptic thinkers Steve Obergfell and Anna Maltese.  In this, our pilot show, we dive into great discussion on U.S. government history and how the government works while drinking rum and saki.  We also talk about government conspiracy theories, the fourth estate, the foundation of democracy and the reality of government corruption. Sources http://blog.ted.com/2012/08/13/how-pervasive-has-government-distrust-gotten/ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/24/gallup-poll-revealing-distrust-of-government-activism-could-help-romney.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/us/politics/poll-finds-anxiety-on-the-economy-fuels-volatility-in-the-2012-race.html?_r=0 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-real-reasons-americans-distrust-government/2011/11/08/gIQA3mB30M_blog.html http://www.people-press.org/2011/08/25/section-4-anger-and-distrust-in-government/ http://www.democracy21.org/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC=%7B91FCB139-CC82-4DDD-AE4E-3A81E6427C7F%7D&DE=%7B4821A89A-7F6A-4B56-B282-59C6778C3FEF%7D http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/whyhouseandsenate.htm http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/13/fighting-against-special-interests-and-public-interest-a-year-change http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Transparency_and_Open_Government/