Skeptic Check: Skeptic Seth

Big Picture Science

Are you skeptical? Sure, you raise an eyebrow when some Nigerian prince asks for your bank numbers, or when a breakfast cereal claims that it will turn your kid into a professional athlete overnight.

But what do you really know about the benefits of organic milk? Or the power of whitening ingredients in your toothpaste? How credible is what you read on Twitter?

Today, information overwhelms us, and the need to keep our skeptical wits about us has never been greater. We follow Seth around as he faces the daily onslaught of hype and hokum.

It’s Skeptic Check, our monthly look at critical thinking … but don’t take our word for it!

Guests:

• Steven Novella – Assistant professor of neurology at Yale University School of Medicine and host of the “Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe” podcast

• Guy P. Harrison – journalist and author. His latest book, Good Thinking: What You Need to Know to be Smarter, Safer, Wealthier, and Wiser, will be in bookstores in October 2015.

• Andrew Maynard – Professor in the School for Innovation in Society, Arizona State University

• Peter Adams – Senior vice president for educational programs with the News Literacy Project

• Daniel Armistead – Dentist, Palo Alto, California

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