Talks

In June 1609, two judges departed Bordeaux for the French-Spanish border to investigate a growing witchcraft panic. In the French Basque Country, witches were said to abduct children, whisking them away to nocturnal gatherings where they worshipped the devil. Frightening tales of cannibalism, vampirism, and demonic sex terrified their parents. Within four months, the witchcraft commission had executed perhaps as many as 80 women men, and the growing panic spread into Spain. In 1612, one of the judges, Pierre de Lancre, published a sensationalist account of this diabolical underworld, shaping how the sabbat—the black, beating heart of Europe’s witch-hunt—has been imagined ever since. But what really happened at these supposed gatherings of witches? This talk uncovers the hidden truths behind these lurid legends.

Religion is unique to humans (as far as we can tell), and universal across cultures. But at the same time, religion clearly isn’t for everyone. How did our species evolve to have religion, and why are so many abandoning it? In this talk, I’ll showcase some of my lab’s work over the years on atheism – how atheists are perceived globally, how stigmatization of atheism distorts our scientific theories, and how understanding atheism can help us form better scientific questions about religion, morality, and human nature.

We see food marketing everywhere – on TV, online, on billboards, bus shelters, sports stadia – but does it really affect what we eat? Nobody wants to believe they are being manipulated by the food industry and their bright and dynamic promotions, but unfortunately the evidence does suggest that ‘advertising works’. In this talk, I’ll share the many different ways in which food marketers grab our attention and persuade us to think positively of their brand and to buy and consume their products. I’ll discuss how our exposure to marketing can differ depending on where we live and how we are personally targeted with content online, as well as how advancing digital technologies are driving changes in our experiences of marketing now and in the future.

Time is running out for the most endangered group of birds on the planet – the vultures. With threats including persecution and poaching, over 70% of the world’s 23 vulture species are facing extinction. But vultures, often referred to as nature’s clean-up crew, are critical to sustaining healthy environments by controlling disease. We must fight desperately to save these maligned birds, starting with changing people’s minds (and hearts) about them.

Join members of the Merseyside Skeptics Society in attending QEDcon, the UK's leading science and skepticism convention, which takes place in Manchester each year.

For those who aren't familiar, QEDcon is a two-day celebration of science, reason and critical thinking. It's an event where 500 skeptics from around the world gather in a hotel in Manchester to enjoy a mix of fascinating speakers, lively panel discussions, interactive workshops, and live podcast recordings. It’s a great social event, and it’s always a huge amount of fun.

Whether this is your first QED or your tenth, we’re sure you’ll enjoy attending – it’s a great opportunity to learn, share ideas, and foster discussions, in a fun, social environment.

Speakers at QED will include: magician and psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman; journalist and investigator of wellness culture Rina Raphael; archaeologist and ‘ancient aliens’ debunker Dr Flint Dibble; health tech and wearables expert Professor Bola Grace; medical doctor and social media health myth debunker Idrees “Dr Idz” Mughal; open-source intelligence investigator and disinformation specialist Joe Ondrak; and security expert and ‘people hacker’ Jenny Radcliffe, and much more.

Alongside the mainstage line-up of speakers, there will be lively panel discussions, interactive workshops, and live podcast recordings, plus an evening of comedy and entertainment.

Tickets for QED are available at qedcon.org/tickets, at an early bird price of £164 (or £189 after September 2nd).

There will also be a FREE one-day Skepticamp event taking place at the hotel on Friday 18th October, where speakers from the audience will present a series of short talks on a wide variety of subjects. For more details visit sitp.online/skepticamp.

There will be plenty of Merseyside Skeptics Society members there, so we look forward to you joining us!

Please note, this is a joint event put on with the Greater Manchester Skeptics Society. It is being held in Manchester, not Liverpool. Our usual monthly events will return in November in our usual location.

In this talk, Noah Lugeons combines two of his passions; video game history and terrible Christian media. In so doing, he explores both the history of Christian video games and the larger role that Christianity has played in the development of secular games. In a who’s who of the worst video games of all time, Noah will guide the audience through a half century of digital cross-gathering, Sunday school attending, Christ-praising, Bible-verse collecting, and baby throwing.