Skepticast #134
Category: Skepticism
Posted on: February 16, 2008 3:42 PM, by PZ Myers
Hey, there I am — I got interviewed by Steve Novella for the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, and it's now available as a podcast.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Search
Profile
PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
…and this is a pharyngula stage embryo.
• a longer profile of yours truly
• my calendar
• Nature Network
• RichardDawkins Network
• facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Atheist Nexus
• the Pharyngula chat room
(#pharyngula on irc.synirc.net)
I reserve the right to publicly post, with full identifying information about the source, any email sent to me that contains threats of violence.
Random Quote
(Complete listing)As Christians try to force prayer into public schools, they often settle for a 'moment of silence.' But that supposedly innocuous 'moment of silence' is a deafening roar to a nonbeliever.
Judith Hayes, In God We Trust: But Which One? (Madison, WI: FFRF, 1997), p. 163.
Recent Posts
- Nice lecture
- A little light of reason shines in Indiana
- Excuses, excuses
- Orac on Gupta
- First out of the starting gates: Oklahoma!
- The ways of the Bush administration are inscrutable and stupid
- Unclear on the concept
- The scientist in the white coat
- I'm not so sure about this pick
- Today the buses, tomorrow…the world!
A Taste of Pharyngula
(Complete listing)Evolution of alcohol synthesis
An updated book list for evolutionists
Recent Comments
- Wowbagger on I'm in good company
- Brownian, OM on Unclear on the concept
- windy on Mark your calendars, Minnesotans!
- Brownian, OM on Unclear on the concept
- John Morales on Unclear on the concept
- Kemist on Excuses, excuses
- Aerik on Unclear on the concept
- John Morales on Nice lecture
- Paper Hand on Nice lecture
- Nathan on SENATOR Al Franken!
Archives
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
Blogroll
(Complete listing)Other Information
Subscribe via Email
Stay abreast of your favorite bloggers' latest and greatest via e-mail, via a daily digest.
« Hypocrisy? From the Expelled guys? Say it ain’t so! | Main | Carnivalia and an open thread »
TrackBacks
(TrackBack URL for this entry: )
Comments
a match made in heaven
Posted by: Brian W. | February 16, 2008 4:02 PM
Hooray! The sound quality is even pretty good.
Posted by: jeffrey rowland | February 16, 2008 4:09 PM
Thats a fantastic podcast, glad to finally hear you on it PZ!
Posted by: MikeB | February 16, 2008 4:38 PM
Um...
The banner ad on the right side of the page was for Expelled. Not sure who to contact, but they really should get on that.
Posted by: Eric | February 16, 2008 5:18 PM
Looking forward to listening to this. Been a fan of the SGU podcast for some time now. Highly recommended to all those of an inquiring and skeptical mind.
Posted by: gsb | February 16, 2008 5:20 PM
Great job PZ. Especially on bringing up your atheism, the skeptic movement needs to quit pussyfooting around. How can you deny the existence of ghosts, but treat the holy ghost with kid gloves.
I love SGU, but I think the time has come for the skeptic movement to embrace atheism as part of its MO.
Posted by: mindcore | February 16, 2008 5:29 PM
Hey, I'm a film guy trying to be all "science-y" Please check out my "theory" on consciousness and tear it apart (but be kind)
Analogous Thinking
Anyhoo, your site is awesome. I will have to listen to this podcast post-haste!
Posted by: Jay | February 16, 2008 5:38 PM
If you are new to the SGU....consider joining the message boards. 'lots of good debate in there. We can always use some more science professionals in there
Posted by: CleveDan | February 16, 2008 6:04 PM
RE #4:
It's 4 hours later and the banner ad is still there. I'd be really pissed off if it were my site. But then again, making money off the promoters of this movie can't be all bad. I'm not sure how Google ads work but I think the host site gets paid for each click through. Maybe we could all go over there and run up the bill and make some money for SGU.
Posted by: Don Smith, FCD | February 16, 2008 9:08 PM
On the other hand, by using a vertical banner we get to see Ben Stein dressed like he's about to go onstage with AC/DC.
Posted by: J | February 16, 2008 9:16 PM
You can't blame them if the provider of banner ads puts that up, it's not within their control. As Don said in #8, go ahead and click on it a couple times, make some money for SGU and get a good laugh at the same time. If it was on my site, I'd have a big arrow pointing at it telling people to do just that.
Posted by: Cephus | February 16, 2008 9:30 PM
I've been hoping this would happen for a long time. I love that podcast, and I love this blog, and I was about to write in and suggest they interview you. Can't wait to hear how it turned out!
Posted by: Zimmy | February 16, 2008 10:06 PM
Did the presenter actually closed the lines by saying: "God bless you both?" He he if this isn't ironic what is?
Posted by: Stavros | February 16, 2008 10:11 PM
So PZ, explain to someone who isn't in academia, what is the reason for why you don't go into researching cephalopods? Are you simply more interested in zebra fish, leaving as you said, cephalopods as a side interest, or are zebra fish more profitable scientifically, or would a transition between studies be inconvenient or even impossible at this stage in your career? All the art kids want to know.
Posted by: Michael X | February 17, 2008 4:31 AM
If I was a bettin' gal, I would so place money on you being quote mined regarding that quip about you and Dawkins "out-militanting" each other.
Posted by: Niobe | February 17, 2008 7:36 AM
I specially liked the point Steve Novella and PZ Myers made on complexity and design. If life was designed it would be simple and elegant, not unnecessarily redundant and complex at multiple layers as we observe. Design would be about simplicity, as the saying goes: "Perfection is not when you can't add anything, perfection is when you can't remove anything" (Mozart?).
Posted by: marko | February 17, 2008 8:15 AM
My two favoratest entertainments all rolled into one gooey yumminess! Hooo!
Posted by: Gud All Mitey | February 17, 2008 11:12 AM
Hey, I've seen ads for Expelled show up on my sidebar too, particularly on posts like these. While it might not be cricket to encourage my milli-PZ of readers to defraud the system, I can't help it if they appreciate irony. . . .
Posted by: Blake Stacey | February 17, 2008 12:39 PM
here is a short video of Dr.Steve Novella talking about why he does the SGU podcast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPkUIOWsXrE
http://youtube.com/clevedan
Posted by: CleveDan | February 17, 2008 4:46 PM
... silly nitpicking comment... but at the beginning when they were talking about Cotton Mather I'm fairly certain they (both people talking) said "anti-climatic" when they meant "anti-climactic"... verbal typo... but just sounded messed to my ear... "anti-climatic" sounds like the fact was ideologically opposed to weather.
Posted by: Spinoza | February 17, 2008 8:12 PM
During the segment about the Easington town council paying for a psychic to exorcise state housing, one of the hosts commented that it would have been cheaper and more effective to purchase a baseball bat to beat them (the superstitious occupants) with. Yuck, not funny at all.
Posted by: Norm | February 17, 2008 9:21 PM