Skeptics Guide #1015

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1015 December 7th 2024 Live from DC Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – The Science of Tipping https://www.sciencealert.com/experiment-reveals-how-pressure-to-tip-can-unexpectedly-backfire News Item #2 – JonBenet Ramsey Case https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/27/us/jonbenet-ramsey-killing-netflix-documentary/index.html News Item #3 – Primordial Black Holes https://theness.com/neurologicablog/finding-small-primordial-black-holes/ News Item #4 – Oldest Alphabet https://phys.org/news/2024-11-oldest-alphabet-unearthed-ancient-syrian.html News Item #5 – Food Distribution https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/08/food-supply-chain-networks-why-sustainable-practices-fail-and-approaches-to-improve-them/ News Item #6 – Goop Spiral https://english.elpais.com/lifestyle/2024-12-02/is-gwyneth-paltrows-business-empire-nearing-its-end-goop-ends-2024-with-lawsuits-and-layoffs.html Segment #2. Live Q&A The Rogues answer several live questions. Segment #3. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: Winter Item 1: Lightning is just as common during snowstorms as rainstorms, but is harder to see and hear due to the dense snow. Item 2: Although rare, snow has fallen in recent times near sea level in the Sahara desert and the Atacama desert. Item 3: Aomori City in Japan is the snowiest city in the world with an average annual snowfall of about 26 feet. Segment #4. Skeptical Quote of the Week America's leadership must be guided by learning and reason, or else those who confuse rhetoric with reality and the plausible with the possible will gain popular ascendancy, with their seemingly swift and simple solutions to every world problem. John Fitzgerald Kennedy