Skeptics with a K
Skeptics with a K is the podcast for science, reason and critical thinking from the Merseyside Skeptics Society. Each episode features Mike Hall, Michael Marshall, and Dr Alice Howarth chatting about the things which interest them, often from a skeptical angle.
In continuous production since 2009, it is one of the longest running skeptical podcasts in the world.
You can show your appreciation for Skeptics with a K by joining our most dedicated fans on Patreon. Donate as little as £1 per month, and every penny helps us keep doing the things we do.
Latest Episode
Recording remotely for the first time since 2020, the team talk about sovereign citizens pushing common law nonsense at the Great Resist conference, and a new paper which looks at the statistics in so-called mind-body studies.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Previous Episodes
Alice and Marsh talk about their experiences with The Great Resist Conference in Derbyshire. Meanwhile, Mike has a personal bone to pick with Amazon.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
For the first episode back after QED, Alice talks about the effects of self-talk and Mike investigates claims made by the author of a new book on the 'Nocebo Effect'. Meanwhile, Mike visits HMP Dorchester with Emma.
You can support what we do by donating to our Patreon, or by leaving us a glowing review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. We really appreciate it!
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
We are live from QED 2024! Mike talks about the new mathematics of 'Terry-ology', Alice discusses the men who believe that semen retention will solve all of their problems, and Marsh baits the content marketing scammers who try to get articles on The Skeptic.
You can support Skeptics with a K, and the Merseyside Skeptics, by signing up to our Patreon. We won't try and upsell you with perks and prizes, but your donations help us do the things we do.
In the final episode before QED 2024, the team run down what is happening at the event. Mike talks about how posting 'goodbye Meta AI' won't stop Facebook using your data, and Marsh talks about a new AI tool to help regulators deal with pseudoscience claims.
In-person tickets for QED are available for just a few more days. Pick up yours now at qedcon.org
Alice, Mike, and Marsh are joined by special guest Emma, who talks about human egg donation and the people who think it should be stopped. Marsh talks about the prolific volume of news articles from Mercola.com, and Alice looks at the new wellness trend of transdermal patches for 'energy', 'dreams', and 'stress'.
If you want to donate to Emma's double marathon in support of the Prison Reform Trust, you can donate at justgiving.com/page/emma-mcclure-the-long-stretch
Tickets for QED 2024 are still available at qedcon.org, where you can see a live episode of Skeptics with a K, alongside InKredulous, Loremen, and the Body of Evidence.
Alice looks at the latest TikTok trend of 'sungazing', and Mike digs into a new study which says honest placebos help alleviate stress, anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, Mike tries to avoid small talk when he goes in for surgery.
Note: The description of Mike's surgery includes a few references to the surgery itself that squeamish listeners may want to steel themselves for.
Tickets for QED 2024 are still available, priced £189 for a full weekend of science, reason, and critical thinking.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Alice looks at the Scandinavian tobacco product Snus, and it's bizarre prevalence amongst English footballers, while Marsh examines the relationships between UK anti-abortion activists and wealthy American christian conservative groups.
The last few early bird tickets for QED 2024 are available now. Grab yours before the prices change!
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Marsh discusses the recent riots in cities around the UK, and Mike looks at a recent paper which claims to explain how the placebo effect influences pain. Meanwhile, Alice steps on a (metaphorical) hornet's nest.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Tickets for QED are still available; get yours while the early bird price lasts.
Submit your nominations for the 2024 Ockham Awards at The Skeptic.
Alice looks at the background of Hongchi Xiao, the TCM practitioner recently convicted of manslaughter for his promotion of paida lajin, or 'slapping therapy'. Meanwhile, Mike looks at the adverts which promote fake mobile games. Meanwhile, the whole team took part in Liverpool Pride.
Tickets for QED are still available, and there is only one month left of early bird pricing. Pick up yours today at qedcon.org/tickets
Marsh talks about the winners and losers for skepticism from the UK general election, and Alice looks at the popular Zoe app and the evidence for real-time glucose monitoring. Meanwhile, Mike has a stressful time in Lanzarote.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Alice asks if ultra-processed food is as dangerous as its made out to be, and Mike explains how the Internet was almost stolen. Meanwhile, Alice has to chase down her dog and Marsh goes to the athletics.
If you're in the UK, please go out and vote today!
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Marsh looks at strange polling data coming from the United States, and the research which calls it into question, while Mike looks at the unexpected findings in the work of Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer.
Tickets for QED are still available. Book yours now.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Marsh looks at the plethora of PR-based articles appearing in national and local newspaper websites, and Mike tackles claims that artificial sweeteners trick your body into producing insulin.
Applications for a speaking slot at SkeptiCamp Manchester 2024 are open now, and tickets for QED 2024 are on sale now.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Alice looks at the promotion of platelet-rich plasma for ‘ovarian rejuvenation‘, and Marsh digs into media reports that Jeremy Clarkson has been voted Britain's sexiest man. Meanwhile, Mike helps Emma running around Lake Windermere and the team marvels at the Northern Lights.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Tickets for QED are available now, at the early-bird price of £164 for the full weekend, or just £45 for the online live stream. Pick up yours at qedcon.org today!
Alice looks at the alternative medicine diagnosis of ‘adrenal fatigue’, and Mike talks about the Baltimore bridge disaster and asks when conspiracy theories swallowed the world. And the team discuss the first round of speakers announced for this year's QED.
Tickets for QED are now available, priced £164 for the full weekend. Pick up yours at qedcon.org
Alice discusses the manufacture of argan oil, and the medicinal claims made for it and other similar oils. Meanwhile, Marsh reflects on compassionate skepticism following the death of Daniel Dennett.
If you want to support the podcast, you can donate via Patreon - or leave us a glowing review on your podcasting app of choice!
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Marsh looks at the relationships between the Free Speech Union and the anti-mask/climate change denial website the Daily Sceptic. Meanwhile, Mike reports on court documents which reveal how Facebook steals data by spying on your encrypted internet traffic.
Plus, Alice and Mike feed the animals at the zoo.
Alice asks why a relatively small article on cider vinegar for weight loss got so much traction, and Mike looks at companies making overblown claims for cheap products via YouTube advertising. Meanwhile, the team gets the grips with our new recording setup.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Marsh looks at the environmental and social impact of outdoor digital advertising, and Mike gives the low down on the risks of glyphosate-based weedkillers. Meanwhile, Mike goes to watch Dune 2, Marsh goes to the athletics, and Alice is back!
We survive on donations from listeners like you. If you want to support the show and the work we do, you can sign up for a regular donation at patreon.com/merseyskeptics.
With Alice unwell, Mike and Marsh are joined by guest host Kat to talk about their recent meet-up with a group of flat earthers, and Marsh looks at regulatory problems between Trading Standards and the Advertising Standards Authority.
If you enjoy the show, it would be a great help if you can donate to us via Patreon, or leave us a glowing review on your podcasting platform of choice. It's really appreciated.
Get well soon, Alice!
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Alice investigates labial peels, the unregulated chemical peel for your vulva, while Mike asks whether we really do need to be drinking eight glasses of water per day.
Meanwhile, the team is having problems with YouTube.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Marsh investigates the recent appearance of 'ear seeds' on Dragon's Den, while Mike looks at how to change your life literally with Quantum Jumping. Meanwhile, Alice has some exciting news about an upcoming project.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Mike, Alice, and Marsh are joined by special guest Lana, who takes a look at the Drug-Free ADHD proponents. Meanwhile, Mike looks the software problems which resulted in the Horizon Post Office Scandal.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Welcome to 2024! Mike, Alice, and Marsh take a break from the usual format to answer listener questions, about skepticism and what we can learn from listening to people who we disagree with.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
For the final show of 2023, Marsh and Alice talk go in-depth on the psychic readings they saw at the Newark Mind-Body-Spirit festival. Meanwhile, Mike has a very old correction to make.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Mike looks at the popular US supplement Prevagen, and Marsh reports on what happened when he and Alice visited another Mind Body Spirit festival. Meanwhile, Marsh and Mike go to watch some Shakespeare.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Alice looks at a new product which sells supplements to enhance esports players, and Marsh looks at the health claims made by Gillian Anderson's G Spot. Meanwhile, Mike has three pizzas.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Mike looks at the all-in-one shopping app Temu and asks if there is more going on that meets the eye, while Alice looks at claims from TikTok that eating carrots can give you a tan.
Marsh fact-checks the parliamentary speech from anti-vaccine MP Andrew Bridgen, and Mike digs into why the first four episodes of Doctor Who are in dispute. Meanwhile, Alice tries to get a tetanus shot.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Donate to the Merseyside Skeptics Patreon at https://patreon.com/merseyskeptics. Your donations allow us to do the work that we do.
With QED behind them, the team take a well deserved rest. Instead, we have this rare archive segment originally recorded for episode 200, when Mike, Marsh and Alice were joined by Colin to tackle a new Fantastic Fact.
Live from QED 2023, Marsh looks at what Gematria says about QED and Skeptics with a K, Alice pokes fun at supplement pedlars Black Forest, and Mike reads savage podcast reviews.
With QED looming, Alice looks at the burgeoning Kardashian wellness empire 'Poosh', and Marsh asks if there is more to recent calls to ban nitrates and nitrites from school dinners than there may first appear.
This is your final call for QED tickets, with only the last couple of dozen remaining! Tickets are £149, £129 for students or under-18s, or just £39 to watch the live stream of the main stage. Pick up yours today at qedcon.org/tickets
This week, Mike talks about software piracy and copy protection, and the risk of a video game black hole, and Marsh looks at recent messaging from the World Health Organisation which seems to promote 'traditional medicine'.
Meanwhile, Alice and Marsh watch the birds of prey display at a music festival.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
The final few tickets for QED are available now - grab yours before it's too late!
In this extended episode, Mike looks at the recent 82 minute video from the YouTuber Medlife Crisis about the amazing power of the placebo effect. Meanwhile, Alice and Marsh stumble upon an injured man and step in to help.
Alice looks into the supposed health benefits of mouth taping, and Marsh dives into the career of the controversial cardiologist, and critic of mRNA vaccines, Aseem Malhotra.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
For more information about the petition demanding action from the General Medical Council against Dr Malhotra, visit https://goodlawproject.org/petition/the-gmc-must-take-a-stand-against-doctors-who-spread-false-and-misleading-information-about-vaccines/
To help support the judicial review, you can donate at https://actions.goodlawproject.org/gmc_crowdfunder
Marsh reports more on the Better Way conference, including the attendance of the MP for North West Leicestershire, Andrew Bridgen. Meanwhile, Mike returns from London to look at viral maths problems and why BODMAS isn't necessarily the answer.
Tickets for QED are still available, and Skeptics with a K will be appearing live! If you want to see the show recorded live, or the live InKredulous, you can pick up your tickets now from the QED website.
This week, Alice looks at media reports around the IARC classification of aspartame as carcinogenic and Mike asks 'why did the chicken cross the road?' Meanwhile, Marsh faces off against crypto scammers and Mike takes a holiday.
Tickets for QED are available now. Get yours today!
If you want to sign up to speak at SkeptiCamp, you can do that at sitp.online/skepticamp
To support Emma running to QED for the Prison Reform Trust, you can do that justgiving.com/page/emmarunstoqed
The regular team are joined again by Kat to talk about the recent Panorama documentary on the use of private clinics for ADHD diagnosis. Meanwhile, Mike finds out that his bathtub is incredibly tiny.
Tickets for QED are available now, pick up yours at qedcon.org
Mike, Marsh and Alice are joined by Kat, to talk about the opening session of the Better Way Conference, a three-day anti-vaccine event which promises to unveil a 'better way for health, freedom & sovereignty'.
If you want to donate to the Skeptics in the Pub Online QED attendance fund, or apply to the fund, you can do so at sitp.online/qed.
If you want to donate to Emma's efforts to run from Liverpool to Manchester for QED, in support of prison reform, you can do that at justgiving.com/page/emmarunstoqed
If you'd like to apply to speak at SkeptiCamp 2023, you can do that at sitp.online/skepticamp
And, of course, if you want to meet Mike, Marsh, Kat - and especially Alice - at QED 2023, tickets are available now from qedcon.org.
Marsh looks at the 'Healy' bio-resonance tool that works to support the energetic field of your body, and Mike looks at how science communicators can get the placebo effect wrong. Meanwhile, Alice has a swarm of bees appear outside her house.
If you want to donate to our Charity Walk in aid of Refugee Action, you can do that at justgiving.com/page/mss-charity-walk-2023.
This week, Alice talks about the Alexander Technique and the claims it can help with breathing problems including asthma. And Mike looks at how end-to-end encryption is impacted by the Online Safety Bill. Meanwhile, Marsh and Alice return from a trip to Bratislava.
Marsh looks at the conspiracist reaction to the UK government Emergency Alerts test, and Alice looks into the TikTok trend of 'mewing' and the dental field of orthotropics. Meanwhile, Mike has been watching Porridge.
Marsh investigates the radicalisation of the conservative website The Conservative Woman, and Mike takes a look at ChatGPT and its inability to stop lying. Meanwhile, Emma runs 50 miles and Alice climbs Arthur's Seat.
If you enjoy the podcast, please consider subscribing to our Patreon page. We don't take advertising or sponsorship on the show, all our funding comes from our listeners. We can't do this without you.
Alice dives into what is meant by 'open research' and why that is valuable, and Mike looks at TikTok and the recent US congressional hearings about banning the app. Meanwhile, Marsh returns from a holiday in France and Mike goes to live with giraffes.
In this one-off episode of Skeptics with a K, the regular team step aside for International Women's Day. Lana, Emma, and Kat get together to talk about co-sleeping and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, women's ultramarathon performance, and a recent paper which looks at young women and anal sex.
If listeners want to skip Lana's story on SIDS, it finishes at 0:44:30.
If you want to donate to Emma's efforts to raise money for Refugee Women Connect, visit refugeewomenconnect.org.uk/fundraisers/runningreallyfarforrefugeewomen.
Marsh looks at the Telegram furore around 15-Minute Cities and Alice investigates the practitioners of Kambo therapy, a folk medicine derived from tree-frog secretions. Meanwhile, Mike takes a last-minute trip to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
With Marsh unwell, Alice and Mike are joined by Emma to talk about the efficacy of interventions for prisoners with personality disorders, and the people who cheat at speed running computer games.
If you want to donate to Emma's efforts to raise money for Refugee Women Connect, visit refugeewomenconnect.org.uk/fundraisers/runningreallyfarforrefugeewomen.
Alice looks at the 'menstrual masking', the latest beauty trend from TikTok, while Mike looks closer at the Hawthorne Effect and whether the original Hawthorne experiments actually demonstrate the effect. Meanwhile, Marsh leads the rock 'n' roll life when he buys a new radiator.
Alice investigates the Tesla BioHealing medbed, which promises to recharge every cell in the body, and Marsh looks at the realtime slide of Andrew Bridgen MP into anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. Meanwhile, Mike plays the Good Samaritan on Christmas Day.
Welcome to 2023! This week, Mike talks about the promotion of misinformation on Twitter by its new owner Elon Musk, and Marsh looks into a website scam based around false copyright claims and backlinks. Meanwhile, Alice has a bad Christmas.
You can support the show by donating via our Patreon, or by leaving us a positive review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, or your podcatcher of choice.
For the final episode of the year, Mike, Marsh and Alice take a break from the usual format to talk about QED, how the event works, and our top tips on how we think skeptical events can be run.
Alice looks at the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, while Mike looks at the evidence for mix-and-match vaccination. Plus, Mike has some very strange dreams.
Coming to you live from QED 2022, Marsh talks about the best-selling book ‘Greatest Forgiveness: Bring Joy and Peace to Your Life with the Power of Unconditional Forgiveness’ by Qigong Master Zhi Gang Sha, Mike looks at the Heatfiniti portable heater (which can heat a 500 square foot room for just a dime), and Alice runs down her top five pseudosciences exploiting anyone going through the menopause.
In the final episode of Skeptics with a K before the return of QED, Mike talks about claims that one episode of Doctor Who was stolen from a ten year old, while Marsh investigates Biofield patches, the new quantum technology that uses beneficial frequencies and titanium to tell your body what to do.
If you want to donate to Emma’s efforts to raise money for the National Autistic Society by running around a prison, you can do so at justgiving.com/emmarunsaroundprison
If you want to donate to support the Merseyside Skeptics Society efforts to raise money for the Stroke Association, you can do that at justgiving.com/mssq
Alice is back from holiday, to talk about how to read a scientific paper, and Mike talks about how the prison system disproportionately impacts autistic people. Meanwhile, the whole team goes to see Brian Cox and Robin Ince live in Liverpool - with unexpected results!
Tickets for QED are still available, priced just £120 (£80 for students and under 18s).
With Alice away on holiday, Mike and Marsh are joined by Mark Horne to talk about the ancient aliens conference in Blackpool, and anti-aging claims of wave genetics. Meanwhile, Mike has been to Scotland.
Tickets for QED 2022 are still available, grab yours now at qedcon.org.
Marsh talks about what a new Monarch and a new Prime Minister means for skepticism, and Mike discusses scientific models and when we should break with them. Meanwhile, Alice has been to the European Skeptics Congress.
Alice takes a look into the facts behind the painkiller fentanyl and the reported dangers of accidental exposure, while Mike talks about autistic-coded characters in fiction and how their treatment impacts autistic people. Plus Emma takes Mike to see Hamilton live in London.
Tickets for QED are still available, priced £120 or £80 for students and under-18s.
If you want to see Alice live at the European Skeptics Congress, you can register here,
Mike, Marsh and Alice are joined by returning guest Emma to talk about the reasons behind the UK Barristers’ strike. Meanwhile, Marsh looks into a recent job posting for an NHS reiki practitioner, and Mike spills his drink on someone’s arse at the theatre.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
You can donate to the Marfan Trust, the beneficiary of our charity walk, at justgiving.com/merseyskeptics2022.
Tickets for QED are on sale now, priced £120 or £80 for students and under-18s.
Marsh is back! He re-joins Mike and Alice to talk about new evidence which says the Loch Ness monster is plausible, and the speaker Mas Sajady, who claims to have changed everything we knew about human transformation.
Tickets for QED are on sale now, pick up yours today.
While Marsh is stranded in the USA, Mike and Alice are joined by special guest Lana to talk about Mindfulness Meditation, Breast Implant Illness, and the latest TikTok trend ‘vabbing’. Meanwhile, Alice takes up permanent residence in the sunshine and Mike hands back his Doctor Who fan card.
Find Lana on Twitch at twitch.tv/alytanks.
Mike looks into the academic history of one of the world’s most prominent placebo researchers, while Alice talks about Poppy Delbridge and her presentation on Emotional Freedom Technique at the Get Well conference.
Tickets for QED are available now from qedcon.org.
Marsh and Alice take a long weekend in London to visit the Get Well conference, from the people behind What Doctor’s Don’t Tell You. Meanwhile, Mike looks into claims that Google has created a sentient artificial intelligence.
Tickets for QED 2022 are now available, priced £120 or £80 for students or under 18s. You can pick up your ticket today at qedcon.org.
Mike, Marsh and Alice are joined by Emma and special guest Aaron Rabinowitz to talk about the anti-vaccine, Sovereign Citizen, Q-friendly conference Better Way. Meanwhile, everyone gets COVID.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
For more from Aaron, you can find him on twitter at @ETVpod, and as host of Embrace the Void and Philosophers in Space. He also writes regularly for The Skeptic.
Part two of Alice and Marsh talking about their experiences at the Great Awakening Tour in Birmingham, where the event turned to Gematria, cryptocurrency, soul contracts, and the bizarre predictive power of the movie Back to the Future.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke
Note: we made an edit to the show after publication to remove some comments about a statue that was made by a problematic sculptor (which we did not realise until after publication).
Marsh and Alice present part one of their experiences at the Great Awakening Tour in Birmingham, a nexus of conspiracy theories, anti-vaccine activism, sovereign citizens, and amateur poetry. Meanwhile, Mike is excited for the casting of the new Doctor.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke
Note: we made an edit to the show after publication to remove some comments about a statue that was made by a problematic sculptor (which we did not realise until after publication).
Emma returns to talk about the planned changes to the parole system, while Mike ponders what was the first ever science fiction story. Meanwhile, Alice and Marsh talk about their adventures in South Wales and Mike cuts a cake with a sword.
Alice digs into the evidence behind the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and Marsh asks why charities who pedal nonsense about autism are able to maintain their charitable status. Meanwhile, Emma makes a flying visit to talk about the Manchester marathon.
If you want to donate to Emma’s marathon effort for Refugee Women Connect, visit justgiving.com/emmarunsmanchestermarathon
Alice looks into the claims that the COVID-19 vaccine causes changes in menstruation, and Mike falls down a rabbit hole when he asks why dogs need to take vitamins. Meanwhile, the whole team is exhausted from celebrating the civil partnership of regular guest host Emma.
Marsh gives an update on Gerson therapy, and how the Charities Commission regulates the promotion of alternative medicine. Meanwhile, Mike looks into the apparently eerie and uncanny ability of The Simpsons to predict the future.
This week, Mike, Marsh and Alice are joined again by Emma to talk about open prisons and the abscondment of Paul Robson. Meanwhile Alice talks about the human fascination with food and health, and Marsh gives an update about the White Rose and talks about reaching anti-vaxxers.
Please note that Emma’s story contains some references to sexual offences.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
If you want to donate to support Emma fundraising for Women’s Refugee Connect, you can do so at justgiving.com/emmarunsmanchestermarathon
Alice talks about the conspiracy theory which claims HIV cases are rising because of vaccinations, while Mike explains why you probably don’t need a VPN and takes a quick trip to the Apple Store.
Marsh looks at the YouTube interview between former London mayoral candidate Brian Rose and the conspiracy theorist David Icke. Meanwhile Mike talks about the claim that placebos are getting more powerful, and Alice finds an unconventional use for chopsticks.
This week, Marsh examines the nature of consensus and how people can be misled by it, while Alice looks into the topical Ayurvedic skin cream ‘Dermaved’, recently withdrawn after it was found to be adulterated with steroids. Meanwhile, Mike watches Hamilton.
Happy New Year! This episode, Mike annoys cryptocurrency fans talking about web3 and non-fungible tokens, and Marsh examines SEO-baiting ‘news’ articles and sponsored scientific studies. Meanwhile, Alice talks about her December commitment ceremony.
Mike exploits a captive Christmas audience to tell the story of the unknown actor who claims to have secretly played the lead in Doctor Who.
Alice and Marsh discuss what happened when they attended a raucous and public discussion on idea of Vaccine Passports.
Mike, Marsh and Alice are joined once again by Emma to talk about the recent decision to recall Colin Pitchfork to prison, and Marsh talks about the recent terrorist attack at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
Due to the nature of Colin Pitchfork’s offences, this episode makes occasional references to murder and rape which some listeners may wish to avoid.
Alice looks into Apitherapy, the practice of using bee stings for therapeutic purposes, and Marsh talks about COP26 and the ‘charitable’ lobbying efforts of climate change denial. Meanwhile Mike gets excited about the new series of Doctor Who.
Mike dives into a 2017 study on whether placebos require deception to work, and Alice looks at new research on the COVID-19 lateral flow tests and whether they’re better than we thought. Plus some disappointing news about QED.
Mike looks at a new paper from Australia which questions the power of placebo, Marsh investigates a new survey which claims half of young British people attend church every month, and Alice talks about what happened when she went in for surgery.
Marsh talks about the ups and downs of the regulation of chiropractors in the UK, and Mike talks about what exactly he means when he says ‘the placebo effect isn’t real’. Meanwhile, Alice gets annoyed at people being awful, and Mike visits the Covid test centre.
This week Alice talks about the website Healthline and their evidence review of mistletoe-based alternative therapy iscador. Meanwhile, Mike talks about ivermectin and the claims that it leaves people sterile.
In this bumper episode, Alice talks about the documentary ‘Sickness and Lies’, which claims social media influencers are faking chronic illness for attention and notoriety, and Marsh discusses the question mark over the authorship of the book ‘The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism’. Meanwhile, Mike takes up axe throwing and goes to see Free Guy.
This week, Marsh talks about the statutory and voluntary regulation of healthcare in the UK, and Mike talks about Apple’s plans to scan the pictures on your iPhone. Meanwhile, Alice ponders the return of the two-cheek kiss.
Note: Mike’s segment this week features frequent references to material depicting the abuse of minors, which some listeners may wish to avoid. The segment finishes at 0:30:23.
This week, Mike talks about the unintended consequences of decisions taken by web developers, and Alice talks about chlorophyll supplements and unhealthy relationships with food. Meanwhile, Marsh organised a party and went to see Black Widow.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Note: Alice’s segment touches on themes around eating disorders, which some listeners may wish to avoid.
This week, Alice talks about the conspiracy theory which says viruses don’t exist, and Marsh looks at the hilarious product gaffes which seem to cluster around the Dorset area. Meanwhile, Mike accidentally takes up gardening.
Mike, Marsh, and Alice are joined by returning guest Emma to talk about the furore surrounding the Parole Board’s recommendation to release Colin Pitchfork. Meanwhile, Mike looks at a research paper into the morality of autistic people.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Note: Emma’s segment in this episode includes references to indecent exposure, murder, and rape.
Marsh presents part three of his investigation into the White Rose, and their links to anti-semitism, holocaust denial, and white supremacy. Meanwhile, Alice looks at claims that the World Health Organisation is proposing a ban on women drinking. Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Note: This episode contains frank descriptions of racial discrimination and abuse.
Marsh presents part two of his three-part investigation into the White Rose. Meanwhile, Mike talks about the social effects of naming the COVID-19 variants and looks at whether SARS-CoV-2 may have leaked from a lab. Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
This week Marsh talks about the anti-vaccine and conspiracy misinformation group The White Rose, and Alice tackles the P-shot, which purports to treat erectile dysfunction and increase sexual stamina. Meanwhile, Mike goes to the doctor with his legs. Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
This episode, Alice talks about the controversy Orgasmic Meditation, its advocates at OneTaste, and their ongoing trouble with the FBI. Meanwhile, Mike reflects on autism and reframing past events after receiving a diagnosis.
This week, Marsh gives an update on London mayoral candidate Brian Rose, while Mike talks about vampires stealing from blood banks, a cursed mansion, and Jonathan Frakes.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Donate to our Patreon at patreon.com/merseyskeptics, or leave us a review on your podcasting library of choice. We really appreciate it!
Episode 300! Where Alice talks about the new NICE guidelines for management of chronic pain, Marsh tackles Jordan B Peterson’s claims on medical errors, and Mike has a confession to make.
It’s April Fools Day! Where Marsh talks about Brian Rose, the conspiracy-theorist, podcaster, and former Wall Street banker who is standing for Mayor of London, and Mike talks about Agave Nectar, placebos, and pancakes.
In this extended episode of Skeptics with a K, Alice talks about the planned redundancies from the University of Liverpool’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, and Mike discusses green software development, and how Bitcoin works. For more information on the redundancies at FHLS, visit www.hls47.co.uk.
Note: The opening segment to this episode features a conversation about sexual harassment and the murder of Sarah Everard which some listeners may find distressing. If you need to skip past this segment, it finishes at 0:21:27.
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COVID vaccines, cranberry juice, good bacteria, and D-Mannose. Plus whipping cream, jumping the queue, shoulder pain, and meringue nests. Nah, yer reet, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Adult autism, It’s a Sin, HIV myths and special interests. Plus wasting time, Valentine’s Day, and mixing vaccines revisited. Bartering bananas, it’s Skeptics with a K. Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
If you’re based in the UK and interested in getting an HIV test the NHS website can help find a test centres near you.
Podcast advertising, WhatsApp, and digital privacy. Plus raving about the cereal, the European Region, Record Breakers, and recommending mattresses. Fighting jet lag with bees, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Lateral flow, zip anatomy, the Society of Homeopaths, and the Professional Standards Authority. Plus exponential croissants, red gold, and Ready Brek. Count to five, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Welcome to 2021! Mixing vaccines, tiny little skirts, activated charcoal, and re-writing DNA. Plus making custard, living through history, mottled grey cheese, and French onion soup. Happy New Year from Skeptics with a K.
In this Christmas Eve episode of Skeptics with a K, Alice, Marsh and Mike take a break from the regular format to answer listener questions. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at Merseyside Skeptics.
Advertising arbitrage, hypnotic video games, Christmas movies, and content marketing. Plus duvet monsters, the Men in Black, and CGI babies. Solving it at the script stage, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Send your questions for our Christmas episode to podcast@merseysideskeptics.org.uk.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
COVID vaccination, bad science, and what happened at the Ockhams. Plus RNA, spike proteins, and John Cura. Annoying the French, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Note: There is a short audio glitch during the Ockham Awards segment, which appears to be from the original recording.
Orthopaedic surgery, Instagram woo, jugular veins, and Liverpool gyms. Plus anti-maskers, sports-casters, and the Poddington Peas. Taking the parachute, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Pastel QAnon, content farms, Facebook, and the CAP code. Plus watermelons, rampant horses, and vaccine misinformation. Dipping roses in honey, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Integrative cancer care, newspaper revenues, and the smart feed. Plus glutamine, the right kind turmeric, and doctors’ customers. Consuming curcuminoids, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke
Lockdown laws, Pizzagate, and contact tracing. Plus selling wardrobes, iPhone 6, and shoulder-barging pensioners. With Liverpool accents, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Nice to have Emma on without needing a content warning, huh? Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke
Pregnancy testing, inflatable sex dolls, and electronic waste. Plus Korean Barbecue, Bild Lilli, and Andy Capp. Just one pink line for Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke
Hair loss pills, Sovereign Nations, and business acumen. Plus broken cars, conceptual penises, and roaring in the mirror. Using the wrong microphone, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Find the all-new website the The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke
Missing breakfast, Eric Pickles, Mother-die, and giant hogweed. Plus telling lies, conferred legitimacy, and disguised advertorial. Cheating at dice, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Note this episode contains discussion of fatphobic language and attitudes.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Making babies, genius orphans, and milliamp-hours. Plus red days, swamp coolers, and tracking ovulation. Taking your temperature, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
In this episode of Skeptics with a K, Marsh and Alice talk about the recent BBC documentary on ‘alternative’ cancer treatments. This episode deals with a difficult subject matter throughout and some listeners may find the conversation distressing.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Web privacy, affiliate marketing, micro-targeting, and copy-and-paste. Plus spam comments, missing audiences and cookie banners. A round of applause for Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Homeopathic standards, blood groups, cod latin, and CEASE therapy. Plus web browser bugs, spike proteins, and ice cream. Like the boat scene in Willy Wonka, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Contact tracing, television scams, lockdown sceptics, and race in the UK. “Stay Sceptical, End the Lockdown, Save Lives!”
If you’re interested in more resources on racism, white privilege, and protesting, check out these links:
Books for understanding racism and white privilege (Instagram)Anti-racism resources (Google Docs)Scaffolded anti-racist resources (Google Docs)Podcasts About The Black British Experience (Bustle)Black Trans Protesters Emergency Fund (Instagram)A Safety Guide for Protestors (Instagram)
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
The Black Death, plasmic support, revitalisation fields, and naming disease. Plus losing balance, sunbathing with social distance, and growing a beard. Effective at an eight metre radius, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Note: this episode contains descriptions of race-based and other abuse.
Bill Gates, Black Seed Oil, and global depopulation. Plus thymoquinone, unusable kitchens, and Nigella Lawson. Not virologists, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke
Treatment compliance, vitamin deficiency, immune support, and unpublished research. Plus Alice’s birthday, green protection, and pretentious breakfasts. Still not winning awards, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke
Coronavirus pseudoscience, confirmation bias, fake news, and 5G telephony. Plus the Rocky Horror Picture Show, dancing nurses, and the school disco. Still in lockdown, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
COVID-19, astrologers, chloroquine, and chiropractic. Plus immune boosting meals, tidying up, and missing Doctor Who. Sitting at home, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Dowsing for cancer, German graffiti, and the bloody Illuminati. Plus caesium salts, type II pneumocytes, and 1970s Doctor Who. Stay calm! Remain indoors! It’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited byMorgan Clarke.
Australian Bushfires, COVID-19, and the comeback of astrology. Plus pigs legs, dingle-dangle scarecrows, and Mercury Communications. Governing the Anthropocene, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited byMorgan Clarke.
Mistletoe in the papers, auricular acupuncture, splitting your jeans, and a giant cock and balls. Plus travelling by train, talking to teenagers, and David Mitchell. Sitting on a toilet floor, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Note: This episode contains a brief reference to self-harm.
Mixed and edited byMorgan Clarke.
In this special extended episode, Alice, Mike, and Marsh talk about what happened when they watched every episode of the Netflix series The Goop Lab with Gwyneth Paltrow back-to-back.
Note: This episode includes conversations about eating disorders and suicide. Which is more warning about that than Netflix gives you.
Mixed and edited byMorgan Clarke.
Placebo creams, reviving drips, and magical contagion. Plus chewing gum, stray heads, and trampolines. Tossing in a Berocca, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited byMorgan Clarke.
Golden tickets, talking to the press, butt-chugging, and skeptical investigations. Plus Star Wars, cardboard crowns, and crashing into a lake. It’s a new year, and a new you, from Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited byMorgan Clarke.
V-care, spiritual insight, reusable applicators, and Diana Spencer’s boyfriends. Plus mistaken identity, ringers in the audience, and lurching to the right. Merry Christmas from Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited byMorgan Clarke.
Yoga cults, walking in Utrecht, attitudes to homeopathy, and what happened in Brazil. Plus perineum sunning, duck offal, aggressive emails, and rinsing beakers. Keeping in touch with our sexual energy, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited byMorgan Clarke.
Family trees, Tobey Maguire, eight million pixels, and a dog show. Plus centimorgans, attempted burglary, and the reverse Darth Vader. Featuring special guest presenter, Andy Wilson.
Mixed and edited byMorgan Clarke.
Weather forecasts, analysing homeopathy, and healthy DNA. Plus fast Internet, speed running acid rain, and getting drunk in Oxford. Sitting in the dark, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Hydrogen water, homeoprophylaxis, trusted sources, and vaccine ignorance. Plus retro gaming, dodgy Daleks, and what happened in Italy. It’s a squeaky pop from Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Snowflake advertising executives, Perkin’s Tractors, Churchill the Dog, and Thatcher the Unfriendly Ghost. Plus placebo arms, old age, and learning Italian. Pricing Alice’s blood for Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Songs of Praise, overselling cannabidiol, Lourdes Water and Berwick Upon Tweed. Plus climbing shoes, watching Friends, genodermatosis, and Scottish Universities. Make a channel in your peas for Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and edited by Morgan Clarke.
Vitamin E acetate, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, skincare, and sex toys. Plus God’s wife, salt and vinegar crisps, THC, and little hairy grapes. Have some Boza in the Boozer with Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and Edited by Morgan Clarke.
Loot boxes, Eurosceptics, New Zealand bees, and acyclovir. Plus left kidneys, Yellow Fever, the Social Attitudes Survey, and plastic scousers. Less funny than a Shakespearean comedy, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and Edited by Morgan Clarke.
Bylined authors, missed diagnoses, syndicated news wires, and Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome Plus erythema multiforme, Scottish Jails, and drinking rum with expats. Surviving the reformation, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Mixed and Edited by Morgan Clarke.
Ear seeds, DOOM clones, Prince Harry, and acupressure. Plus Fortnite, accidental piercings, and Tim Roth. All your base are belong to Skeptics with a K.
European homeopathy, browsing YouTube, flat earth posters, and oversized boxes. Plus auto-flushing toilets, robot shelves, and wearing a suit to the park. Rehearsing at 4am, it’s Skeptics with a K.
CEASE therapy, nutritional imbalances, Royal succession and salty livers. Plus musical theatre, leptospirosis, and the Women’s World Cup. Delivering drinks in a paper bag, it’s Skeptics with a K.
You can help stop CEASE therapists who claim vaccines are dangerous and that homeopathy can “cure” autism by contributing to Good Thinking’s legal fees here: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/gts-cease-psa/
Planning permission, fish healing, Pikachu hats, and water fasting. Plus sleepy dachshunds, composting humans, and touring Birkenhead. Literally in a different country, it’s Skeptics with a K.
It’s your last chance to get tickets for MSSX, just £29 for a full day of science, reason, and critical thinking, celebrating ten years of Skeptics with a K!
Hyperventilating, DIY, chimpanzee beds, and football parades. Plus breaking blinding, hypocapnea, role models, and feasting on fish. Doing zips up with our teeth, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Get your tickets for MSSX while you still can!Just £29 for a full day of science, reason and critical thinking, celebrating 10 years of the Merseyside Skeptics Society.
Lie detectors, HPV, pregnancy, and llamas. Plus Earth Domes, Frank Spencer, and seven-day creation. Cracking the Crystal Maze, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Get your tickets for MSSX today. Featuring Simon Singh, Britt Hermes, Emma McClure, Chris French, Meirion Jones, Dave Alnwick, and our own Dr Alice Howarth! July 6th. Liner Hotel, Liverpool. Be there!
Pokémon brains, caffeine power, vaccine denial, and solar cells. Plus nana-wire, birthdays, weasel words, and red wine. Trying not to make a fuss, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Horse chiropractic, tectonic plates, scouting with tanks, and acupuncture anaesthesia. Plus the Palace of Versailles, Dalekmania, regeneration, and creepy crawling babies. Just as good on Street View, it’s Skeptics with a K.
B12, Jack the Ripper, Master Masons, and eye bees. Plus American accents, Satanic hands, and the Wilderness Years. Time travelling in a flat, it’s Skeptics with a K.
It’s April, you fools! Charging VAT on justice, HAARPing on about climate, and getting hot under the waist-band. Plus space mirrors, albedos, and blue balls. Fertilising the sea, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Exfoliating dildos, energetic burps, and stirring food anti-clockwise. Plus medieval pubs, wasps nests, and bad backs. With top hats and badges, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Border control, neck pain, sick days, and Barmy Brussels Bureaucrats. Plus Happy Days, more escape rooms, secret backs, and birthday parties. Trading as a single economic bloc, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Get your tickets for MSSX, our tenth anniversary event, at mssx.co.uk
With thanks to the ever-mysterious Dr*T
Micro-needling, collagen, gaming YouTube, and the Flat Earth. Plus Eddie Brock, boiling steaks, machine learning, and canine ASMR. Shortening our telomeres, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Small hotels, electromagnetism, copper capsules, and wet hair. Plus love languages, tasty bananas, stairs, and sexy fishy fishy sexy fish sex. It’s a very late night, with Skeptics with a K.
Stronger cells, prostaglandins, the combined pill, and Pope Pius XI. Plus evening primrose oil, Stan & Ollie, vanilla pudding, and handsome John Rock. Taking a seven day break, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Get the latest information on our tenth anniversary event, MSSX, at mssx.co.uk. Tickets are available from February 1st.
Quitting cheese, Qikipedia, hormonal stew, and contract research. Plus COMT, broken cafetières, air beds, and oscilloscopes. Happy New Year from Skeptics with a K.
Find out more information about MSSX at mssx.co.uk, tickets are available from February 1st.
Richard Attenborough, charitable status, stagnant energy, and Christmas presents. Plus personal anecdotes, burying the lede, bottle caps, and foie gras. Driving in a flat earth taxi, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Secret Santa, Yorkshire Pudding, the Elf on a Shelf, and hibernating in a cave. Plus ruining Christmas, Aldi’s carrot, musical road trips, and vibrating alarm clocks. It’s a Bad PR Christmas run-down from Skeptics with a K!
Tearing apples, parole hearings, social media, and judicial reviews. Plus brightening lamps, magic soap, laddered tights, and conspiracy theories. With a big announcement, it’s Skeptics with a K.
If you need to skip through Emma’s discussion about sex offenders, it runs from 0:45:00 to 1:08:10.
Doctor Who, socialised empathy, an overstuffed walrus, and extreme male brains. Plus indulgent milkshakes, Body Worlds, six hundred thousand babies, and the Living Dead at Manchester Morgue. Excited by cars, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Fur envy oil, the Goop medical bag, Vitamin A, and what happened in Australia. Plus Kangaroos, Finnish coasters, and perfume flavoured sweets. Avoiding polar bear liver, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Back pain, blue pills, brain structures, and Blackpool. Plus diving helmets, p-hacking, oversold results, and Doctor Who’s aspect ratio. Speaking via satellite, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Depressed vaginas, space cars, vestibules, and forest ghosts. Plus pickled beetroot, sex therapists, Investment Banking, and vulvodynia. Photographed from the waist down, it’s Skeptics with a K.
In this special episode of Skeptics with a K, Marsh and Alice talk about Good Thinking Society’s in-depth new research into crowd-funded cancer treatments, recently published in the British Medical Journal. And Mike talks about going to the cat cafe.
Zapping cancer, 3000 gallstones, CAR T-cell therapy, and Get Carter. Plus parasites, immunotherapy, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, and the resonant frequency of dead flukes. Showing some promise, it’s Skeptics with a K.
If you want to volunteer to help at QED, visit qedcon.org/volunteers.To give your nomination for the Skeptic Magazine ‘Ockham’ awards, visit skeptic.org.uk/the-ockham-awards
Plastic-free July, red aspirin, homeopathy funding, and varicose veins. Plus Joe Pesci, hypnotic medicine, killing turtles, and tea bag stitching. Burying the lede, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Celebrity Big Brother, psychic venues, and the benefits of Green Tea. Plus potato superpowers, police boxes, injured feet, and orthogonal air. Making classic tea from a shrub, it’s Skeptics with a K.
New York City, hunting unicorns, tangible goals, and what happened at NECSS. Plus attentive moths, relationship ladders, the Impossible Burger, and consensual non-monogamy. With love springing forth endlessly from our hearts, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Walking on the beach, grounding rods, hot ankles, and the Monkey. Plus electric blankets, cheap shirts, screen recordings, and plane wi-fi. Covertly listening through your phone, it’s Skeptics with a K.
There are fewer than fifty tickets for the final QED of this decade remaining! Get yours now at qedcon.org.
High blood pressure, cannabinoids, days of the week, and high blood pressure. Plus complicated questions, sea lions, high blood pressure, and high blood pressure. More research needed, from Skeptics with a K.
To get your tickets for the last QED of this decade, head over to qedcon.org.
Aircraft with attitude, homeopathy prescriptions, twenty minutes walk, and flat planes. Plus Alice’s new job, arguable grounds, Mike’s Sega Mega Drive, and the Mighty Cheese. Listen to Marsh singing video game music in Skeptics with a K.
Get your tickets for QED now, as they’re running out fast: qedcon.org!
Debating Flat Earthers, placebo sleep, mountain walks, and long commutes. Plus serial addition, friendly physicists, controlling your data, and attracting crime. Wandering the streets of Birmingham whilst high, it’s Skeptics with a K.
There is still time to donate to our sponsored walk, at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/merseysideskeptics-mss. And remember QED tickets are still available, get yours at qedcon.org.
In the last of our three epic specials, Marsh and Alice talk about the Cosmic Egg, a model of the universe presented at the Flat Earth Convention in Birmingham.
If you want to donate to the Merseyside Skeptics Charity Walk, you can do through our Just Giving page.
In this, the second of three epic special episodes of Skeptics with a K, Alice and Marsh talk about what happened when they attended the Flat Earth Convention in Birmingham, and why scientists should play more Pac-Man.
In this special extended episode of Skeptics with a K, Mike, Marsh, and Alice are joined by special guests Emma and Laurie to discuss their trip to see professional conspiracy theorist and former sports broadcaster David Icke, at a live show in Liverpool*
Classical conditioning, Irish referenda, lavender oil, and pro-life rhetoric. Plus Ophelia Cabs, blastocysts, and a visit to the farm. With the latest on QED 2018, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Revitalising water, respiratory tract infections, homeopathy, and unnecessary antibiotics. Plus the Revenge of Frankenstein, hydrogen bonds, and mouth feel. Is this just nonsense? It’s Skeptics with a K.
Acromial bone spurs, cancer awareness, pink beer, and adipocytes. Plus terracotta, physiotherapy, body shaming, and just air. Making you feel better without altering the underlying illness, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Haitian pirates, ultra-processed foods, constipated cats, and Loose Women. Plus inappropriate cheering, disappointing celebrities, and the Lovely Eggs.Unknown in the domestic kitchen, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Hershey’s Kisses, prostate cancer, facilitated communication, and e-cigarettes. Plus nicotine nitrosamines, High Tea, Reece’s Pieces, and Cat Deeley. What’s safer than burning leaves? It’s Skeptics with a K.
If you’re interested in the charts Alice discussed on the show, we have links to the breast cancer mortality trends in women, breast cancer mortality by age in women, prostate cancer mortality trends, and prostate cancer mortality by age. You can also find the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer on the NHS website.
Driving to Cornwall, marching through London, charging phones, and testing blood. Plus picturesque windows, false positives, microprocessors, and skeptical songs.
If you want to support Britt Hermes in her legal battle, visit skeptics.com.au/britthermes.
Parole hearings, NHS homeopathy, making tea, and the Murder Bus. Plus The Last Jedi spoilers, indeterminate sentences, and procedures of limited clinical effectiveness. Milking the space cow, it’s Skeptics with a K.
If you need to skip through Emma’s discussion on sex offenders, skip to 42:15.
In this special bonus episode of Skeptics with a K, Mike talks about acupuncture, Alice scoffs at five hundred people, and Marsh tries not to throw a baby out of the window. We hope you have a great Christmas break, and we’ll see you in 2018.
Flat Earthers, fluorescing aluminium, water magnets, and silicon water. Plus thought experiments, tempura brain, phoning space, and Patreon. Without a crackle on the line, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma, thieving baby macaques, aristolochic acid, and traditional healing. Plus Justice League, science communication, aloe vera, and trainers. Listening to David Bowie drinking beer, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Artificial sweeteners, risk of dementia, and more from Chiropractors. Plus Thor 3, online calendars, excitable dogs, and avoiding exercise. With 95% confidence, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Cellline contamination, coffee Smarties, confirmation bias, and the Southampton Six. Plus fire alarms, SH-SY5Y cells, cat woo, and hurling Caramacs. Growing like stink, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Herbal tampons, foreign sweets, and the effect ofwireless signals on human body. Plus sperms, fentanyl, magi-cum, and a letter to the editor. Recorded live at QED 2017, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Toxic attitudes, conspiracy mongering, British prostates, and intensity modulated radiotherapy. Plus tinned ravioli, carpenters selling beef, learning to count, and sexist crocodiles. And a final call for QED from Skeptics with a K! Get your tickets for QED now atqedcon.org/tickets
Vaccination during pregnancy, science communication, and what happened in Las Vegas. Plus vertebrae, indirectlanguage, matched controls, and the remake of Dynasty. Taking patients at their word, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Measuring migraines, detox juices, deceiving patients, and the sodium-potassium pump. Plus fighting giraffes, denying the BRCA link, overselling research, and the latest news from QED. Remember to pick up your QED ticket right now, at qedcon.org.
Psychic telephone readings, magnetic sex toys, and cold Canadian eggs. Plus old fashioned cinemas, out-of-this-world orgasms, and Welsh baked goods. Bored of thrusting, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Visceral Osteopathy Technique, sham surgery, forklift trucks, and human bagpipes. Plus car repair logic, connective tissue, and a twenty minute conversation about biscuits. Seriously. Twenty minutes. You’re welcome.
Get your ticket for QED 2017 now at qedcon.org.
The cancer industry, the latest on homeopathy, Big Pharma cash-cows, and role models. Plus Spider-Man, official graphs, Time Lords, and cracking gravel. Non-authoritative content from Skeptics with a K.
You can take part in the consultation on NHS homeopathy prescriptions here:https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/items-routinely-prescribed/consultation/intro/
Please do! And tell other people to, too!
Undermining science, rehabilitating sex offenders, and the weird power of the placebo effect. Plus floating floors, questioning archaeology, movie spoilers, and special guest Emma.
If you need to skip our conversation on sex offenders, it finishes at 41:02.
Controlled demolitions, smart stickers, typical fires, and telomeres. Plus unicorn skin, wearable bollocks, fake gnus, and our local exclamations. In perfect frequency, it’s Skeptics with a K.
In this special bumper episode of Skeptics with a K, we celebrate our 200th episode! Featuring crystal butt plugs, amethyst dildos, protesting racists, and learning to drive. Plus cleaning hotel rooms, water polo, electromagnetic radiation… dead cells, Yorkshire Pudding, and sausages. Sausages! Sausages.
Flip-flops, green pills, nail polish, and saline injections. Plus crystal infusions, boring lectures, gene expression, and medical students. Lacking in significance, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Sponsor our charity walk for MerseyAid Refugee Support at mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/merseyskeptics.
Melatonin, native advertising, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and priming biases. Plus rubber hands, cell signalling, confused voices, and destroying asteroids. Tasting the mediterranean with a fork, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Get your tickets for QED 2017 at qedcon.org.
Immunotherapy, cataract surgeons, Herceptin, and Henry Beecher. Plus Black Salve, transparent jeans, Death Ligands, andimpersonating crickets. Using saline instead of morphine, it’s Skeptics with a K.
NHS Homeopathy, hydrogen peroxide, the Charity Commission, and Vitamin C. Plus bad backs, flat rats, a visit to the mouth of Hell, and why Mike is wrong about the Placebo Effect. With seven wives, it’s Skeptics with a K.
For more information on the Charities Commission consultation, visit gov.uk.
Berlin, topical analgesics, psychic testing, and Breath of the Wild. Plus porn shoots, random numbers, marching for Europe, and a half drunk Alice. It’s a brand new data blast from Skeptics with a K.
Travel sick dogs, inactive pacemakers, Samsung televisions, and depression. Plus ventricular outflow pressure, smart-device privacy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Siri. If you need to skip Alice’s segment, it finishes at 50m 5s.
For more information on the Charities Commission consultation, visit gov.uk/government/news/charity-regulator-consults-on-its-approach-to-organisations-promoting-complementary-and-alternative-medicines
Chocolate technology, Health Coaches, packing peanuts, and affiliates. Plus escape rooms, podcast appearances, youthful skin, and street evangelists. With a special diamond package, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Conferred legitimacy, interfering wizards, and blink reflexes. Plus burning rats, M-potencies, and arseholes. Exercising free speech, it’s Skeptics with a K (and Alice).
Erectile dysfunction, handwriting analysis, secret topical cream, and skeptical ethics. Plus passports, guest hosts, tunnels, and castingDoctor Who. It’s the secret of eternal youth from Skeptics with a K.
Gerson therapy, burnt toast, and jade eggs. Plus lazer quest, smokey whiskey, and candy floss. Followed by obnoxious eight-year-olds, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Dopamine, Angelina Jolie, European Regulations, and LD50. Plus quidditch, glitter, suits, and more placebo effect. There’s a 25% chance this is Skeptics with a K.
In this chaotic special episode of Skeptics with a K, Marsh and Dr Alice are drunk, special guest Emma has Kendal Mint Cake Liqueur, and Mike wonders what on earth is going on.
Be careful what you wish for from Skeptics with a K.
Peer review, branded packets, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and eczema. Plus Disprin, visiting the gym, bacterial viruses, and what happened in Australia. Reporting subjective outcomes, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Placebo pills, star-shaped balloons, skepticism in politics, and Matt Smith. Plus gastric ulcers, media cynicism, Chinese lanterns, and fantastic beasts. Stronger in Germany, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Bias, bugles, chemtrails, and colds. Plus knee surgery, barium salts, anti-perspirant, and tiling a bathroom. What do you think to that, Mr Skeptics with a K?
Destroying atheism, meal replacements, and male contraceptives. Plus bananas, wanking, evolution, and German chocolate. Square, practical, and good… it’s a crafty Skeptics with a K!
Unbalanced minerals, contraceptive pills, tech-savvy kids, and more of your questions. This special episode of Skeptics with a K was recorded live at QED 2016!
Aspartame poisoning, singing questions, higher education, and Homeopathy on the Wirral. Plus time travel, multiple sclerosis,and our favourite woo. In the run-up to QED, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Plant sperm, charity, homeopathy for HIV, and UFOs over Liverpool. Plus dentists, chemicals, bees, and a final shout-out for QED! With beautiful teeth, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Field archery, vibrating galvanometers, group 1 carcinogens, and scientific papers. Plus juggling plutonium, climbing Greek mountains, and the latest from QED. Producing legends by smashing bell-ends together, it’s Skeptics with a K.
In this very unusual episode of Skeptics with a K, Mike, Marsh, and Alice talk about the Edinburgh Festival, cell signalling pathways, acupuncture, The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy, Doctor Who, and the latest from QED.
It’s a golden bat hitting a golden ball out of the park, from Skeptics with a K.
Olympic Cupping, windy picnics, breast feeding, and religious communities. Plus superstitious athletes, forklift trucks, magic tomatoes, and derailed trains. Up at the snatch, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Facilitated communication, acupressure, Santa, and emesis. Plus long walks, Twister, spinning wheels, and copper sulphate. Sheltering under a cow for some shade, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Support our charity walk raising money for Mind at justgiving.com/mersey-skeptics.
Figure Segwaying, veterinary homeopathy, body image, and salad leaves. Plus hoodies, placebos, ribs, and the latest on QED. Needlessly insulting, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Get your tickets for QED at qedcon.org.
Breakfast doughnuts, Brexit, and the intent of cancer. Plus cold denial, insulting radio, and blebbing cells. Living the Dark Ages, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Donate to the Merseyside Skeptics charity walk in support of Mind at justgiving.com/mersey-skeptics.
Homeopathy in Liverpool, regression to the mean, mistletoe, and cancer. Plus Big Pharma, broken laptops, and healing crises. Keeping arnica behind the clock, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Have your say on the provision of homeopathy by NHS Wirral CCG at: surveymonkey.co.uk/r/5GP78LJDonate to Good Thinking Society at goodthinkingsociety.org/donate.
Microscopes, ninja turtles, bags of flour, and charging mats. Plus orbs of energy, lego ghosts, HIV, and cosmic ordering. Invisible to the naked eye, it’s Skeptics with a K. Part Two coming soon!
Get your QED tickets at qedcon.org/tickets.
Radio-frequency radiation, fibromyalgia, tech-hangovers, and misaligned chi. Plus Australians, pregnant rats, mobile phones, and the latest news from QED. Using a phone fourteen hours per day, it’s Skeptics with a K.
QED tickets are on sale now, get yours at qedcon.org/tickets
Wirral Homeopathy, red wine at the gym, menstruation, and the Moon. Plus addictive pizza, terrible restaurants, animal husbandry, and John Oliver. Being dragged across the room, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Let Wirral CCG know that homeopathy shouldn’t be funded on the NHS at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/5GP78LJ. You don’t need to be a Wirral resident, and you can skip questions which do not apply to you.
If you enjoy the show and want to support Merseyside Skeptics, you can donate via our Patron page at patreon.com/merseyskeptics.
Red Squirrels, fat wallets, global warming, and chiropractic. Plus energy efficiency, ageing, fighting cows, and New Romantic Alpacas. Forgetting how to use money, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Buy your tickets for QED at qedcon.org.
Impact Factors, Zoopharmacognosy, hyperactivity, and dead man’s shoes. Plus secateurs, green clay, and volcanic sulphur. Mis-reading social situations, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Tattoos, artificial gills, space travel, and evolutionary psychology. Plus Malteasers, watches, body hair, and moon lasers. Even without Marsh, it’s Skeptics with a K! Featuring guest hosts Laurie and Kat.
Aeroplane seats, amyloid plaques, quantum vision, and liquid nitrogen. Plus needles for your eyes, taxi numbers, and Jesus’s early carpentry work. Staring at the sun with a magnifying glass, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Nicotine, live blood analysis, eating almonds, and superior blasters. Plus cellular memory, rapping skeptics, ancient wisdom reiki, and converting atheists. Singing karaoke, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Car crashes, electro-smog, mindfulness, and lacrosse. Plus drinking goo, doing the dishes, insta-cancer, and NutriBlitz. Bringing consciousness to the present moment, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Old MacDonald, field archery, vets, and homeopathy. Plus Zika virus, hectares, the Spice Girls, and listener questions. Dismissed by a peer of the realm, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Sign the petition to blacklist homeopathy for animal care at change.org.
Quantum Bioinformation, cannabinoids, Ruth Rendell, and crystal meth. Plus happy cells, online shopping, Dumfries, and LL Cool J. On all-new equipment, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Fire in Dubai, scalar energy, herpes simplex, and laminine supplements. Plus blacksmiths, St Bernadette, and Killer Daltons. Well heeled and well bred, it’s Skeptics with a K. And apologies for the poor sound quality. Again.
Support the MSS, our work, and all of our podcasts by makinga monthly contribution via Patreon.
In this ridiculous and overlong episode of Skeptics with a K, Mike, Marsh, and Alice are joined by special guest host Laurie from the Merseyside Skeptics Society to talk about what happened at the public homeopathy consultation by Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group.
Add your voice to the consultation process at http://www.liverpooltalkshealth.info/homeopathy.
Allergies, magnets, negative ions, and bad bacteria. Plus infra-red photons, ketosis, and dreamy bollocks. Drinking anything handed to us, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Have your say on the Liverpool Homeopathy consultation at www.liverpooltalkshealth.info/homeopathy. All contributions welcomed (even those outside of Liverpool: simply skip the questions that are Liverpool-specific, they are non-essential).
Support the show and Merseyside Skeptics by donating via Patreon: http://patreon.com/merseyskeptics
Listener questions, more about homeopathy, and Marsh on the TV, Plus empathy, cheese twists, losing your shit, and skeptic fatigue. Looking a shambles, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Support the show and Merseyside Skeptics by donating via Patreon: http://patreon.com/merseyskeptics
Bacon, sausages, plutonium, and HUMAN DNA. Plus sexy drivers, rude commuters, boring dieters, and insuring your shoes. With issues not related to ketchup, mustard or relish… it’s Skeptics with a K!
Support the MSS, our work and all of our podcasts by making a monthly contribution via Patreon.
Coca-cola, spice cake, nail polish, and Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) Regulations 2004. Plus tales from Florida, tales from Italy, Alice getting drunk, and Back to the Future Day. It’s a ridiculous, overlong, and unedited episode of Skeptics with a K. We’re sorry.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, migrant bees, surgical instruments, and sleep paralysis. Plus Alzheimer’s, pesticides, Doctor Who, and genetic engineering. Who would fabricate news stories just to get clicks? Certainly not Skeptics with a K.
Hello Listeners. I hope you can hear me, because if you can’t we’re in trouble! In this accidental special episode of Skeptics with a K, Marsh talks about what happened when he went to see Peter Popoff in London earlier this year.
Slippers, collagen, football, and boiled eggs. Plus mincing proteins, bleeding deer, and what happened in Amsterdam. Standing on the Devil, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Lifting weights, grinding corn, what happened in Edinburgh, and the Berenstein Bears. Plus polymers, Sliders, Nelson Mandela, and California Proposition 65. Fully tested for contamination by GMOs, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Patreon, pride, hydration, and brown fat. Plus jugs, the Fonz, inside out moisturiser and slap-downs. With Warren in the corner, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Sign up for the Merseyside Skeptics Patreon Page! We will make the show shit if you don’t.
Featuring glasses, fortune tellers, dogs, more dogs, and lasers. Plus canal boats, gambling, giant plugs, and the Jimmy Hill Jesus.
Flat Earthers, soy beans, arsenic soup, and kettles. Plus Anne of Cleves, vaccines, ten pin bowling, and Mike’s t-shirt.
Last chance to donate to the Merseyside Skeptics charity walk.
Skinny jeans, trampolining, hair DNA, and allergies. Plus Belgium, fleas, drinking, and the family dog. Ridiculously hot (that’s a temperature-based comment, not conceit) it’s Skeptics with a K.
It’s episode 150! That’s a nice round figure. Featuring freemen, steak, batteries, and dis-ease. Plus alzheimer’s, dry docks, lonely mice, and crimes against manatees. Definitely only meaning one thing, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Genetic modification, Black Salve, pregnancy, and paracetamol. Plus cancer roots, bicarbonate of soda, designer babies, and ‘scientists.’ Only painful after the procedure, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Donate to the Merseyside Skeptics Charity Walk for Alzheimers Research at: Just Giving.
Internet time, Light Night, brain-boosting orange juice, and seminiferous tubules. Plus decapsulated testes, learning to swim, disappointing books, and two hours of pornography. Still buffering, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Crystal beds, purple vibrators, yoga positions, and cock chakras. Plus Metro-Gnomes, absent islands, glitter herpes, and Ultron. Laughing and vomiting while a piano plays, it’s the multi-award-losing Skeptics with a K.
Ethnic emoji, money for homeopathy, character encoding, and sexist behaviour. Plus alien heads, visiting London, andunconscious bias. And QED is almost here… eek!
Donate to the Good Thinking Society Homeopathy appeal at justgiving.com/Good-Thinking-Society-Appeal.
Amber necklaces, brain rotting, Kangen Water, and cereal bars. Plus shoes, wasps, Shakespeare, and the greatest mistakes of history. Feeling contrite, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Walking, root canals, Sarah Palin and witch doctors. Plus boiling nails, acupuncture meridians and sucking teeth. Without looking directly at the Sun, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Featuring raw food, evil gerbils, Mark Zuckerberg and the Silk Road. Plus hate speech, Black Salve, sniffing books, and the never-ending and bloody squirrel civil war.
Nominate your favourite podcast for an Ockham Award at the Skeptic website, http://www.skeptic.org.uk/
Big stars, big ships, big egos, and not-so-big operations. Plus mind control, propellers, hips, and body builders. Buzzing away, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Donate to the Good Thinking Society at goodthinkingsociety.org
Exploding viruses, bad luck, zapping blood and the Emperor’s New Music Player. Plus obese mice, broken phones, stool transplants and the importance of back-ups. Pouring over hard work, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Oxidative stress, topical urine, imprinted silica, and free radicals. Plus crashed vans, cloning, growing cress, and spoilers. Lots of spoilers. Really, spoiler alert. There are spoilers. Probably not using more than 10% of our brains, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Charlie Hebdo, ibuprofen, nematode worms and Gerson Therapy. Plus Sonic 2, turkey leftovers, giblets and really bad sound quality. With apologies, on many levels, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Happy New Year! Featuring milk, muesli, teddy bears and brown sauce. Plus ebola, MMS, apples and jaundice. Supplementing milk with cow poo, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Tasting wine, cancer quacks, chiropractorsand tannins. Plusresonance, faux apologies, Big Baz the Kangaroo and brainwashing patients. Merry Christmas from Skeptics with a K.
Iridology, naturopathy, acupunctureand Dad’s Army. Plus orgasms, Memento, glaucoma and the 2010 Winter Olympics Men’s Skiing. Still wondering what “rolfing” is, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Pain, grapes, nectar and thermal paper. Plus hand sanitisers,thermal paper, french fries, Bisphenol A and rat paws.Avoiding till receipts becauseour hands are still wet, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Serial killers, HIV, cancer cures and more from psychic shows. Plus blood stains, lanterns, and Michael Crichton. Pawning our shoes, it’s Skeptics with a K.
We are back! Again! With peer review, Back to the Future, replication, all the latest on QED… AND DEFINITELY NOTHING ELSE! Ahem.
Feeling rather sheepish, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Nicotine,marmalade, Monopoly and Grand Theft Auto. Plus the Bread Man, skeptical books and the Gateway Hypothesis. Feeding cocaine to mice, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Donate to the SGU legal defence fund at theskepticsguide.org/legaldefense.
Short legs, the power of prayer, cooking eggs and Coca-Cola Life. Plus amicable relationships, hanging around in graveyards, gullibility and omniscience. Subjectively true for you, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Wikipedia,Proton Beam Therapy and Skeptics in the Pub. Plus science outreach,travelling light andtalking to people you disagree with. Flying by the seat of our pants, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Statins, funding homeopathy, placebo effects, and the Ice Bucket Challenge. Plus badger, bat, colon, albatross, and anaphylactic lung. Scheduled bi-monthly (ish) it’s Skeptics with a K.
Spanish flu, visiting psychics, and flying to London. Plus children packing shopping, Miss Piggy, cholera toxin and the ravages of time. Getting out of chair 11% faster, it’s Skeptics with a K.
A special feature-length episode, celebrating five years of podcasting! Featuring food allergies, homeopathy, secret alien bases and juiced kale. Plus drug cocktails, confused wasps and a special mystery guest presenter.
With almost no self-indulgent and self-congratulatory back-slapping, it’s still Skeptics with a K.
Bumper episode! (Because our timekeeping is dreadful.) Featuring dowsing, death and disabilities. Plus kids, blindfolds, chewing gum, McDonalds and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Searching for explanationswe may never find, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Gummy bears, stem cells, superfood and parkour. Plus smokers, commemorative mugs, lip balm and milkshake. Permeating the lipid bilayer, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Godless babies, topical caffeine, aluminium discs and software for your brain. Plus the old bait-and-switch, Radiohead and reset buttons. As they mend the road behind us, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Featuring biscuits, stem cells, tempting your ex and maps of New York. Plus acid, fraud, computer generated planes and fluorescence. Masturbating the hypothalamus, it’s Skeptics with a K.
It’s election day! With immigrants, Europe, fishermen and pensioners. Plus grumpy brown mice, Omega Energies, ticklish rats and an elderly Turkish woman. Licensed to cull, it’s a bumper episode of Skeptics with a K.
If you want to donate to our fund for North West Cancer Research, visit our Just Giving page.
Psychics, Kenyan fisherman,gynosomes and nutritious seminal fluid. Plus, a lot of talk about penises. Really, an awful lot. At least half of the show.
Playing it with a straight bat, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Donate to our coastal walk for North West Cancer Research at our Just Giving page.
Update: An extended excerpt from Marsh’s piece can now be found on the Guardian website.
Blood, violence, crime and Chiropractors. Plus heavy metals, open access journals, tablet computers and a quick look back at QED 2014. Causing moral panic, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Anaemia, CD47, HeLa cell lines and cancer. Plus Neem, the planet Pleiades, gastric bands and valium,valium,valium,valium,valium,valium,valium,valium. It’s what you’ll need to get through this episode of Skeptics with a K.
Vitamin C, breast milk, Noah’s Ark and cancer. Plus HIV, the Tower of Babel, the Big Questions and half a football pitch full of elephants. With some big news from Colin, it’s the end of an era for Skeptics with a K.
Mobile phones, mugging, mormons and more homeopathy. Plus God’s patents, Advertising Standards and pamphleteer. With porridge that’s just right, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Married exorcists, lying calendars, overstimulated babies and dodgy hips. Plus snakes, swaddling, submarines and spaceport. From the year AD 1717, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Vegetarians, ghostly spiders, chemtrails and cannibals. Plus Eddie Murphy, killing angels, smashing wine bottles and NASA. It’s just science, from Skeptics with a K.
Stress, social policy, smoking and stage hypnosis. Plus teddy bears, Star Trek, critical thinking and sheeple. Chewing the cud, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Welcome to 2014! With airline pilots, psychics, rugby balls and websites. Plus mushrooms, Billy Graham, flying cars and walking faster. With some kind of unspecified investigation, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Ozone, God, pigs and Neil Young. Plus chimpanzees, asthma, cancer and the Bible. It’s the final show of 2013 from Skeptics with a K. Now in 24/192.
It’s a surprise new episode! Featuring Icelandic elves, alien origins, faith-based decisions and the tensile strength of Bounty bars. Plus lizards & sunburn, mountains &nudity, pamphlets &evolution and sugars &fat. Only a week late, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Blood cells, plant cells and picture cells. Plus Catholic bacteria, dodgy dossiers, Superman II and David Kelly. Though Colin is on holiday in Anglesey - it’s still Skeptics with a K!
Featuring special guest host Geraint Parry!
OooooooOOOOOooOooooOOoooo it’s the spooky Halloween episode of Skeptics with a K! Featuring poisonous venom infections, petrified giants, trick or treaters and, er, promiscuous students. Plus the Flash Bathroom Cleaner… of death! A dark and sinister bird… with giant mutant feet! And most terrifying of all… a ropey pun from Marsh.
Tickets for QED 2014 are now on sale - visit qedcon.org/tickets for yours now!
The accidental conspiracy special! With the SAS, Princess Diana, mountaineers and Jesus of Nazareth. Plus Tales from Texas, Renny Harlin, Withnail and I and tight red trousers. Honestly, we didn’t conspire to talk about conspiracies… co-incidences genuinely do happen! It’s Skeptics with a K.
Flowers, travel sickness, food banks and the European Union. Plus Julius Caesar, the abolition of Income Tax and the return of Question of the Week! Though Mike is still in Texas, it is Skeptics with a K.
Wedding cake, Barcelona, attics and UFOs. Plus airports, reflections, designer jeans and an English Professor. Rethinking out philosophy, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Hey baby, I love the way your heart beats at night in my dreams,It’s like a grenade in my jeep at the back door of my motel,So let’s make a mix tape and smash a pelican.
Atheists, psychics, mental illness and mice. Plus homicide, teen pregnancy, mass shootings and street preachers. With the return of Colin, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Homosexuals, cat reiki, the Loan Ranger and eyeball licking. Plus rainbows, jawbones, racoons and Christians. Sadly without Colin, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Psychic spies, flying fish, floppy disks and flying kicks. Plus the Asylum, the Touch of Death, aspirin and the CIA. They keep asking us back to do more… it’s Skeptics with a K.
Wily dogs, honorable homeopaths and statuesque statuettes. Plus mooning, leashes, stuffed toys and Brian Cox. On a really hot day, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Read the full ASA adjudication against the Society of Homeopaths.
The Age of Transparency,the Playstation Generation, prior plausibility and the British X-Files. Plus education policy, the Queen, laser eyes and blogging a pissy response. Attempting to communicate peacefully with UFOs, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Online dating, blood, cruelty and the Watchtower. Plus castles, YHWH, christenings and Coca-Cola. Appearing on the back of a chapati, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Hayfever, submarines, radio hams and goddesses. Plus Inspector Gadget, My Little Pony, Game of Thrones and Dogtanian. Slightly below-par on the editing front, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Atheist atrocities, harbour porpoises, three running horses and a second pregnancy. Plus asexual rabbits, gobstoppers, Jesus and more Mersey monsters. On the road to nihilistic social Darwinism, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Passive aggressive cats, chia seeds, seaside towns and sex. Plus camouflage netting, Ricicles and Jeremy Clarkson. Not deliberately feeding you bullshit this time, honest… it’s Skeptics with a K.
No show this week, but Mike has a confession for you all. We’ll be back in two weeks with the regular show - see you then!
Kurt Cobain, $5000, the Mersey Book of Monsters and the A41. Plus wardrobes, whisky, parapsychologists and Zener Cards. Not quite what it seems to be, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Heretics, redox signalling, anti-retroviral therapy and General Health. Plus native water, Aubrey de Gray, quacking videos and Richard Dawkins. Challenging the men of steel, it’s Skeptics with a K.
T-shirts, asteroids, Russians and worrying. Plus phone boxes, Amazon, the lizard overlords and your rubbish sex life. Recovering from a fever, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Bigfoot DNA, twitter and auriculotherapy. Plus Penelope Cruz, weight loss, journals and Findus. With regular interruption by sneezes and sniffles, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Cancer, cabbage, chem-trails and creationism. Plus serial killers, bacon, more cancer and mormons. Using social engineering in a multiple choice exam, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Rheumatoid arthritis, mutant fish, firm tomatoes and magic mistletoe. Plus Blue Monday, Rudolf Steiner, copper insoles and Jeffrey Dahmer’s cardigan. Stopping kids from using the computer, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Welcome to 2013! Featuring diets, dogs, measles and elves. Plus chance, cancer, sunshine and scientology. Building space cathedrals in the New Mexico desert, it’s Skeptics with a K. You were not there!
The final episode of 2012! Featuring journalists, Coronation Street, Snoop Dogg and HIV. Plus shamanism, engaging with the press, winging it and druidry. Oh, and the world didn’t end. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Skeptics with a K.
Dating, genetics, pea plants and Korean unicorns. Plus sugar daddies, monozygotic twins, golf and plenty of Knightmare. It’s another unedited special from Skeptics with a K.
A special live, raw, unedited show recorded on Wednesday 28th November 2012. Featuring the perfect pint, beanstalks, capillaries and rock genies. Plus evidence, enjoyment, and regression to the mean. Being nice to homeopaths, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Spirit guides, Korean elephants, theme parks and Challenge 25. Plus Withnail and I, Schrödinger’s cat, Busty Belinda and Kate Middleton. Collapsing the wave function, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Whales, psychics, genes and plum pudding. Plus Star Trek V, Channel 4 Racing, Mr Punch and the results of our psychic Halloween Challenge. Almost certainly val-val homozygous, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Wrinkles, psychics and declassified documents. Plus hula hoops, television, short intestines and the Halloween Challenge. Proud to be preaching to the choir, it’s Skeptics with a K.
The evolution story from the Sun is available here.
Musicals, cancer, Star Wars and Percy Shelley. Plus Magna Carta, doppelgängers, the Great Reform Act and Elizabeth I. Putting some maize into a rat, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Deaf gerbils, global consciousness and human chess. Plus more sports bracelets, hidden mormons and how not to argue. Oh, and all the latest news on QED (tickets now on sale http://qedcon.org). Making broad and over-reaching claims, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Nano-vibrations, short-wave radio, level-crossings and clumped blood. Plus shoes, smokers, sinus arrhythmia and the Godfather. Running over unicorns, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Oh, and QED is back! http://qedcon.org/.
Broken glass, internal combustion, hexes, cats and magnets. Plus curses, steam, nukes and (would you believe it) more bloody homeopathy! Rescuing the world from the Dark Ages, it’s Skeptics with a K.
The Olympics, Nescafé, horses and heart energy. Plus acultomancy, dictiomancy, hippomancy and pedomancy. Some people think we’re bonkers, but we just think we’re free — it’s Skeptics with a K.
Celebrating three years of podcasting! This is the podcast version of the show we streamed live over YouTube on Monday 23rd July 2012. Featuring sticky tape, skin, cats, dogs and Des Lynam. Plus pies, pirates, animal husbandry and a turkey cock. Crazy like a fox — it’s Skeptics with a K.
You can read the ASA adjudication on Kinesio tape at http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2012/7/LimbVolume-Ltd/SHP%5FADJ%5F165319.aspx
Ball play, dinner parties, dirty Brits and carefree adolescents. Plus strippers, barracudas, public schools and bosons.
Homeopaths, Italian judges, vaccination and pharmacists. Plus hearts, hitchhikers, poets and puns.
For more information on homeopathy regulation, see the Malleus Homeopathicum blog.
For more on the MMR story, see the Stuff And Nonsense blog.
Games, gardens, Greece and goals. Plus cats, corrections, children and confirmation bias. With British passports, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Crosses, barbecues, Greece and go-carts. Plus passwords, apple trees, unbelievers and Microsoft-certified advice. Getting away scot free, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Blood types, abseiling, Switzerland and more Marvel Avengers. Plus spiritualists, mammoths, trains and cinnamon crêpes. Suffering from a fever, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Read more about the Swiss Homeopathy report at Zeno’s Blog.
The Hobbit, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and Thor. Plus ghosts, power bracelets, frame rates and hot pink bollocks. In a special north-south configuration, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Featuring the Maginot Line, glowing soliders and cheap Audis. Plus waterfalls, worms, thunderbirds and gambling. Increasing the price by a penny every time you click, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Oversized wolves, persecuted Christians, cheating artists and damned dirty scientists. Plus charismatic televangelists, cancer, TED and France. With surprisingly few oral sex jokes, it’s Skeptics with a K.
What happened at QED, the Poe Toaster, holistic healing and congestion of the brain. Plus speeding tickets, blind monks, Daleks and Peter Cushing. Carrying a book like a bag, it’s Skeptics with a K.
In this special “as live” episode, Mike, Marsh and Colin talk about Miley Cyrus, the Lambton Worm and Chinese Lanterns. Plus Lawrence Krauss, fishing nets and the Cock Ring Collaboration. Without a hint of an edit, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Richard Dawkins, the historicity of Jesus, slave ownership and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Plus the snooze button, Monet and Snow White in the “Bad PR” Megamix. Culturally starved, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Remember to get your QED tickets! http://www.qedcon.org/
The power of prayer, robbing the rich and alternative realities. Plus the Lady of the Lake, dunking our buckets and getting the HOTs. Probably not as smart as Stephen Hawking, it’s Skeptics with a K.
It’s Australia Day! Featuring Chicken McNuggets, fingerprints, decoy sausages and DNA. Plus, sniffer babies, Jamie Oliver and Half Man Half Biscuit. With dreadful Aussie accents - it’s Skeptics with a bloody K.
Welcome to 2012. The end of the world starts here–with liars, Bob Holness, Zeta Reticuli, and Walt Disney. Plus Gary Coleman, the Star Trek theme, Comet Hale-Bopp and Johnny Cash. Fighting the law (though the law wins), it’s Skeptics with a K.
Christmas Special! Mike, Marsh and Colin take a look at Christmas-based myths. And we don’t just mean that one about the Son of God. That definitely happened. Oh, yes.
Psychics, visions, wells and railway lines. Plus Geena Davis, Belinda Carlisle, G.O.D. and Lucifer. With a low nourishment potential, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Aliens in the fridge, bullshit in the cage and cancer quackery in Texas. Plus chicken, bread, the Secret and drinking urine. By the power of Yahweh - it’s Skeptics with a K. Oh, and Mike got married.
Fairies, body voltage and Alice in Wonderland. Plus nicotine, geopathic stress and missing roofs. With only minor negative health effects, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Ronald Roland Emmerich, Dana Ullman, Psychic Sally and William Shakespeare. Plus Francis Bacon, Alan Smithee, John Benneth and Russell T Davies. With cries of ‘Penny Halloween!’, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Gambling, flooding, cheating and remote viewing. Plus basketball, Gilgamesh, Amsterdam and rolling green hills. With an entourage of eight people, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Romans, Guy Fawkes, Babylon 5 and Tanimal Farm. Plus grey ladies, communists, hang-man and haunted neutrinos. Singing the Australian National Anthem, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Bigfoot, Sasquatch, the Abominable Snowman and Yeti. Plus Ricky Gervais, Christian bloggers, ouija boards and scat. With sightly sloppier editing than usual, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Psychometrists, demographers, conspirators and historians. Plus Malawi, painting planes, lepers and cold reading. With an aura hex code of #FFC9F6, it’s Skeptics with a K.
With thanks to Peter Kanold.
Featuring muesli, CDT, nightmares and sniffer dogs. Plus cheese, cancer, creationism and controls. Shamelessly name dropping, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Skeptics with a K celebrates two years on the air, with a special episode which was streamed live on the evening of Monday August 8th 2011. Featuring Mr Sulu, Eight Legged Freaks, Internet Explorer 6 and touching guitars. Not numbers, but free men… it’s Skeptics with a K!
LSD, the end of suffering, balancing mediums and the Revelation to John. Plus Michael McIntyre, the BBC, Jehovah’s Witnesses and lions. Probably taking the piss, it’s Skeptics with a K.
The Whispering Witch, Bill Gates and Alien 3. Plus vaccination, Tetley Tea, pissing on the window and the Giant Book of Fantastic Facts Greatest Hits. Crossing the road to avoid you, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Cave aliens, the upside down mountain, unnecessary surgery and links to death. Plus twelve vicars, rain dances, Bergerac and washing your cock. Following a 4% decline in our mental ability, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Homeopathy Awareness Week Special! Featuring homeopathic tools, homeopath apologetics and homeopathy for insomnia. Plus the Human Centipede, Captain Kirk, 10,000 scandinavians and googling for Jeremy Clarkson’s penis. Letting people choose, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Dianétique, Blood Diamonds, the Rapture and logical fallacies. Plus, thalidomide, breasts, homeopathy and Philip Schofield. Forcing eggs back into chickens - it’s Skeptics with a K.
My Little Pony and God’s CV.Witches, psychics, awards for coffee.Running and biking on the BBC.It’s Skeptics with a K. So mote it be.
Jumping stones, massive dogs, lousy heads and meta keywords. Plus, unicorns, replicating studies, first-person shooters and the Alternative Vote.
Easter Special! Mike, Marsh and Colin discuss the story of Easter, the zombie apocalypse, snoring, smurfs and swastikas. Plus, vomiting in a bin, free tea at 13,000 ft, Colin’s missing day and the Raggy Dolls.
In this fracking episode of Skeptics with a fracking K, Mike, Marsh and Colin talk about a Christian’s view of fracking atheists, the effects of religiosity on your fracking mortality, and an earthquake in fracking Blackpool. Plus, Jonah, homeopathy on the Wirral, General Zod and (of course) fracking.
Dr Seuss and al-Qaeda, homeopathy on the Wirral, the Zion First National Bank and Wilfred Owen. Plus: God, Japan, Potential Rhymes, 200lbs of bricks, empathy and evolution. Staying indoors and covering up, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Marsh visits BBC Radio Merseyside to debate with the North West Friends of Homeopathy’s John Cook.
Fred Phelps vs Anonymous, Richard Wiseman vs Robert McLuhan, Attila the Hun vs gravity and Ernest Vincent Wright vs the letter ‘E’. Plus James Delingpole, Sultan Mustafa III, blankets from Russia and 582 baby boys.
Musk sticks, the first ever doctor, rollercoasters and headless monks. Plus Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, Florence Nightinggale, QED and the return of the British Chiropractic Association. With man-bags weighing in at 6.3kg, it’s Skeptics with a K.
QED has been and gone, so we’re taking a week off to recover. But rather than leave you totally empty handed, we decided to put out this short interviewfrom BBC Radio Five, featuring Marsh and a homeopath. We’ll see you for a full episode next time!
The BFG, hot sweet tea, dog heart slices and Kirsty Wark. Also Edward “West End” Jenner, homeopaths in Europe,Betelgeuse, the Apocalypse, and £11 worth of bull semen.
Welcome to 2011! Featuring menstruating chickens, Richard E Grant, the Quacking Christ and scaring spiders. Plus, America, Vitamin “Sea”, psychic predictions, assassinations and donuts.
Merry Christmas! (Yeah, yeah we know). Marsh and Colin are on holiday, so Mike presents some snippets cut for time from previous shows. Featuring R2D2’s Dad, Homeopathy in Wavertree, Tatty Raoul and Liberal Jean. Plus, from the archives, our debunking of the Nativity, first published as part of Episode #011.
Extended bumper episode! This episode of Skeptics with a K was streamed live over the Internet on Monday 13 December 2010. Featuring cold fusion, Toys “R” Us, hassidic diets, the Emo Buzz Lightyear, urine injections and the heaviest man in the world.
This episode was sponsored by the QED conference; for more information visit www.qedcon.org.
Mike’s mysterious tweet can be found at: http://bit.ly/eh0z8G
Power Balance, retroactive memory and owning the Sun. Also uppity flamingos, partying mushrooms, crushed sprouts and Richard Saunders. With the ability to correctly locate porn 53.1% of the time, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Tickets for QED are available from: http://qedcon.org/xawCMore information about the 10:23 Challenge: http://www.1023.org.uk/
A blast from the past! In the beginning, there was no 10:23 Campaign. There was no Giant Book of Fantastic Facts. Only three guys who decided to give podcasting a try. This is the previously un-published pilot episode of Skeptics with a K, recorded in the early Summer of 2009. Featuring Mike, Marsh, Colin - and a few more ums and ers than usual!
Colin is back… for Bad PR, Zombie Nuns, Unrepentant Women and the Third Dimension. Plus bananas, babies, the Crystal Maze and a giant Rubik’s Cube.
Live from TAM London. Mike and Marsh record a show in the hotel bar at the Hilton Metropole during TAM London 2010.
The Ancient Order of Druids, the curse of the M25 and accidental quacks. Plus Tony Robinson, yellow shucks, Formula One, Professor Chris French and a Phillips C60.
The Skeptics with a K discuss the 14th European Skeptical Congress, the Pope’s Holyrood speech and evolution denial in Northern Ireland. Plus the tale of the Dealer of Death, 30,000 witches, a dead dog and a rodent.
Bananaman, Vodafone, the Man in the Moon and Dennis Quaid. Plus magnetic feet, deformed children and the three-legged football player. It’s the big 30 for Skeptics with a K!
Homeopathy! Again! The Skeptics with a K take a break from the regular show format to talk about theprevalenceof homeopathy in English Primary Care Trusts. Plus, the latest information on QED. http://www.qedcon.org/
Psychics, pets, infertility, vodka, caramel slices and Bisphenol A. Plus Vesuvius, Red Rum, swastikas and the world’s best ampersand joke. Featuring guest hosts Al and Harris! QED.
More homeopathy (!), treating impotence, victimising Bosnians and permanent gastric fistulas. Diagnosed by passages from the Koran, it’s Skeptics with a K.
Malaria condoms, Michael Jackson, Dastardly & Mutley and the Million Ghost March. Plus, psychics seeking privacy, the accidental serial killer and Rick Moranis. Ruining the case for the defence, it’s Skeptics with a K.
From the archives! Back in February, Marsh visited Radio 5 Live to talk about homeopathy shortly before the publication of Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy; and during the aftermath of our own 10:23 Campaign.
Extended episode! Blasphemy in Pakistan, Jenkins in the Guardian, and homeopathy in parliament. Plus, Schrödinger’s Christ, Nelson’s Column, Marilyn Manson and woo in the workplace.
“Don’t breathe on shit”; “I was addicted to pornography”; “He procured of the Devil a girdle”; “His head was given to a fish”; “The town of Cornwall, in England”; “He has to grow new feet”; “I’m angling for some free Pepsi”
Acupuncture in Vietnam, ghosts and homeopathy, psychic pet detectives and the Man with the Golden Nose. Plus the horrors of the Evian factory, Ice Cream Man Lawyers and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Marsh from ‘Skeptics with a K’ calls into BBC Radio Oxford to talk about psychics and psychic healers - including an encounter with “Energy Worker” Adrian Pengelly.
Mice and the Mail; Voyager and Vista; Foxes and Fleas and; Homeopathy and Healing IBS.
Batman and the Health Ranger; Iron Man and Wheatgrass Juice; the Pope and the Civil Service; Scotland and Cannibals; and Fizzy Drinks and Old Age.
The Skeptics with a K discuss CRIMINON, skeptical limericks and speaking German aftera coma. Plus Pet Sematary, osteopaths and free falling from 18,000 ft.
Sausages, bacon, black pudding, pig’s blood, swine flu and Peppa Pig. Plus wanding what ails you, frozen sea captains and an uncle named Olaf… Of course it’s Skeptics with a K!
Mike, Marsh and Colin return to talk about arrogant Darwinists, the Moral Compass and green children. Plus dolphin chi, matter transmitters and contacting Jesus - what else but Skeptics with a C?
Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Susan Miller, Patricia Martin, Peter Fisher, Edzard Ernst, Robert Mathie and Barabbas. All these people, plus Mike, Marsh, Colin and the British Hirsute Andrews - it’s Skeptics with a K!
Homéopathes Français, Flat Earthers and the Old, Old, Very Old Man. With testicles both large and sound, it is Skeptics with a K.
In this special episode of Skeptics with a K, recorded in front of a live audience at Liverpool Skeptics in the Pub, Mike, Marsh and Colin discuss the Liverpool Mind/Body/Spirit festival, Otto Von Bismark, dinner party guests and shooing away broken bones. Plus, a special bonus lecture from Marsh on PR and the Media.
Clueless men, the scent of a woman, Gandhi’s glasses and logical fallacies. With two big mistakes to correct from last episode (whoops!) the guys return with a new episode of Skeptics with a K.
The Health Ranger vs the Shorty Awards; electrohypersensitivity revisited, dinosaur names and flying to the moon using only water. Find out what the skeptics really believe in episode 14 of Skeptics with a K.
Welcome to 2010. Mike, Marsh and Colin return to talk about Project Pterosaur, EFT, Ear Candling and the Man in the Iron Mask. Also, the latest news from the 10:23 Campaign.
Mike looks back at some of the unused stories we recorded for Skeptics with a K this year. Featuring the LHC Sabotaging itself from the future, Guy the Space Clown and the film which claims homeopathy can cure autism.
Christmas Special! The guys take a skeptical look at the traditional nativity story. Plus interdimensional portals over Norway, two full moons in the sky in January and your crazy homeopathic remedies.
Homeopathy Special! In this extended episode, Mike, Marsh and Colin discuss the government’s Evidence Check session on homeopathy, the Merseyside Skeptics Open Letter to Boots and the trials which support homeopathy. Plus, we have a psychic Power double, Jesus in the UK and a Fantastic Fact!
Lots about religion, lots about psychics. Emergency telephone numbers and (of course) Jesus’ cock. What else could it be? It’s the latest Skeptics with a K!
Seances and twitter, Mr T ‘s graduation, syndicated culture and lunacy. All this plus the homeopaths guide to physics, drugs classification and the result of our T-Shirt Competition in the latest edition of Skeptics with a K.
Acupuncture, pain pixies, breast enlargement by hypnosis and the fruit fly sexual tsunami. All this and more in the latest Skeptics with a K!
TAM London, the Revival Fellowship, curing sleep and Conservapedia. These things, and more, in episode 6 of Skeptics with a K!
Marsh returns to City Talk FM to discuss astrology with clairvoyant and astrologer Claire Petulengro.
Mike, Marsh and Colin return to talk about mobile phones and cancer, geopathic stress, reality distortion fields and mars bars.
Muzzled babies, Princess Diana’s psychic and the God Spot. Mike, Marsh and Colin talk about all this, plus Freddie Mercury, Madame Tussauds, woo in New York City, Liberace and more!
Mike and Marsh from ‘Skeptics with a K’ visit their local radio station, City Talk FM, to talk about scientific skepticism, the Merseyside Skeptics Society, and chat live with believers, including psychic Katie Keeley and Steve Goddard from shipoffools.com
Swine flu paranoia, UFOs over Glastonbury and transplanted personalities. Mike, Marsh and Colin return to take on these topics, plus one-legged cows, gangsta gnomes and more.
The guys discuss Mars, Ben Stein, giant sun-reflecting clouds, and more. Simon Perry from the Adventures in Nonsense blog calls in to talk about his campaign against chiropractors who claim to treat colic.
Our first episode! Mike, Marsh and Colin talk about electrohypersensitivity, moon landing denial, palm readers, holistic dentistry and more.