SGU Episode 173

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SGU Episode 173
November 12th 2008
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 172                      SGU 174
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
R: Rebecca Watson
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
'Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.'
Bertrand Russell
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
SGU Forum

Introduction

You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

News Items ()

Junk DNA ()

• http://www.physorg.com/news145038245.html

Mini Nuclear Reactor ()

• http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1089
  http://www.theskepticsguide.org/sgublog/?p=367

Chandrayaan-1 Update ()

• http://www.universetoday.com/2008/11/08/chandrayaan-1-now-successfully-in-lunar-orbit/
  http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMJD85KXMF_index_0.html

Phoenix Ends ()

• http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/

Child Witches ()

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/3407882/Child-witches-of-Nigeria-seek-refuge.html

Interview with Paul Offit ()

• Paul Offit is a pediatrician and the author of the book: Autism's False Prophets.

Science or Fiction ()

Item #1: A new study finds that eliminating sugary sodas from high schools significantly reduced obesity levels over a two year period. Item #2: A new study finds that the majority of commercial television stations are providing the bare minimum of mandated educational/informational programming for children, and much of that is minimally educational. Item #3: The UK is suffering a critical shortage of sperm donation.

Quote of the Week ()

'Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.' - Bertrand Russell

S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by the New England Skeptical Society in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation and skepchick.org. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at www.theskepticsguide.org. For questions, suggestions, and other feedback, please use the "Contact Us" form on the website, or send an email to info@theskepticsguide.org. If you enjoyed this episode, then please help us spread the word by voting for us on Digg, or leaving us a review on iTunes. You can find links to these sites and others through our homepage. 'Theorem' is produced by Kineto, and is used with permission.

References