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Canada's weekly podcast that explores a wide range of controversies and curiosities using science and critical thinking.
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Join us to explore the universe. Each episode we tackle one question and ask Stuart Robbins, a professional astronomer, to help us understand the topic in under 5 minutes without a script. The show is a crossover of the Exposing PseudoAstronomy podcast and the award winning The Reality Check podcast.
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A Series of Dialogues with John P Milton, founder of Way of Nature, and a pioneering ecologist, spiritual teacher, meditation master, vision quest leader and shaman. John began exploring deep stillness via Solo time in Nature, & has synthesised the essence of multiple wisdom traditions to create a common ground approach that help us connect to source awareness, & reveal an authentic way of being that aligns with our purpose, & cultivates harmony with Source (true nature), Self (inner nature) ...
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TRC #705: Book Round Up: Family Unfriendly and One Billion Americans + Is The 401 The Busiest Highway In The World?
40:36
40:36
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After reading two books touching on the theme of birth rates Adam gives us an overview and discussion on Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be by Timothy Carney and One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger by Matthew Yglesias. Then Darren looks into whether or not Highway 401 in Toronto is t…
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Joe Nickell, the world renowned paranormal investigator, died earlier this week at the age of 80. He was a great inspiration to us here at The Reality Check and it was a great pleasure for some of us to have met him back in 2009 at The Amazing Meeting. At that time we recorded this interview, originally used in episode 53 of the show, where we talk…
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TRC #703: Jevons’ Paradox + American vs. Canadian ingredients in food
34:13
34:13
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Darren revisits a topical segment from the past looking at Jevons’ Paradox which suggests that as a resource becomes more efficient, it may paradoxically be consumed more. Then Adam looks at some recent controversies about artificial colouring in Froot Loops cereal, how those are labeled in the US and Canada and what that means.…
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TRC #702: Talking Close Relationships with Dr. Cheryl Harasymchuk
39:37
39:37
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With Valentines Day coming up we are taking this opportunity to revisit a romantic segment we did five years ago with Dr. Cheryl Harasymchuk. In this interview she discusses the work she does in the Positive Activities in Intimate Relationships (PAIR) Lab at Carleton University in which they study factors that promote and hinder positive activities…
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TRC #701: How Many Birds Do Cats Kill? + Book Review Roundup
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42:44
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It is often said that cats are responsible for the death of countless birds. Adam looks at where these numbers come from and wonders whether they are all that accurate. Darren gives a review of four books which he recently read. He’ll share an AI and human summary of “My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel” by Ari Shavit, Enemies and N…
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TRC #700: The Rise of Podcasts + Are False Beliefs More Common?
38:39
38:39
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It’s the 700th episode of The Reality Check podcast! On this special show we look back at the last 16 years to see how much things have changed since way back in 2008. Darren looks at the history of podcasts and how far we’ve come and then Adam looks at which false beliefs have become more or less over time since the show started.…
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TRC #699: Was Lamarck That Wrong? + What Do Animals See On A TV?
41:24
41:24
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When it comes to evolution many focus on what Jean-Baptiste Lamarck got wrong with his model of inheritance. Darren looks at what he got right and considers his discoveries in light of the scientific understanding of the world of his time. Adam, based on first hand anecdotal evidence of many cats and dogs, wonders what pets see when they looking at…
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TRC #698: Converting Office Space to Housing + Book Review: The Singularity is Nearer
27:39
27:39
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Why don't they just convert all of the unused office space to housing? Adam looks at the challenges involved in converting office buildings to residential space. Then Darren gives us a review of Ray Kurzweil's recent book The Singularity Is Nearer.
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TRC #697: Did Hedy Lamarr Invent Wi-Fi? + Name That: Spot the Fake
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We have some very special guests on this week's episode as TRC alumni Pat and Cristina join us with some great segments. Cristina looks at the truth behind a viral meme that says that famous actress Hedy Lamarr invented Wi-Fi, and gives us some background on this fascinating woman's life. Then Pat delights us with everyone's favourite mostly guessi…
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TRC #696: Did Sakana AI Change Its Own Code? + Who is Margaret Hello?
32:11
32:11
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Could an AI rewrite its own code? Has it perhaps already done so? Darren looks at the story which suggests that an AI Scientist, developed by Sakana AI, was able to change its own source code. What exactly happened and are you worried enough about it? Then Adam investigates the truth behind a viral claim that we say “hello” on the telephone because…
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TRC #695: The Science of Sharknado + Book Review: Invisible Rulers by Renée DiResta
38:08
38:08
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After having watched all six Sharknado films Adam decides to do some research into the science of these not at all ridiculous films, uncovering the truth about the plausibility and historical precedent for a tornado filled with living sharks. Darren gives us a book review of Renée DiResta’s Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality, w…
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TRC #694: Can Meditation Be Harmful? + Did Cavemen Live in Caves?
33:42
33:42
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Could meditation ever be harmful? Darren examines the evidence to determine if meditation, which can have many benefits, might sometimes have a negative impact on people’s lives. Adam looks at the idea of cavemen and wonders if, as their name suggests, that they really spent all that much time in caves.…
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TRC #693: When Is Soap Not Really Soap? + Book Review: Determined
30:49
30:49
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What’s the difference between a bar of soap and the stuff we use to clean dishes, laundry and cars, and can you just use any of those in the shower? Adam tries to find out whether the stuff that’s fit for baby ducks if good enough for you skin. Darren gives us a review of Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky, which a…
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TRC #692: Cultivating Critical Thinking + Letting Food Cool Before Refrigerating It
37:50
37:50
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We look at some fundamental ways of cultivating critical thinking on the latest show. Darren looks at some common cognitive biases and logical fallacies and how to use these in order to have a better more accurate understanding of the truth of the things we face every day. Then Adam looks at the science behind the belief that you should let your le…
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TRC #691: Why Can’t AI Do Laundry and Dishes?
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19:20
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Can we say that AI is going in the wrong direction, as it does our art and writing while we suffer doing laundry and dishes? It’s just Adam on the show this week as he overanalyzes a viral tweet by looking at how much the time and way we do chores has changed for the better over the centuries, while looking at what AI could do to improve the situat…
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TRC #690: Early Mammals + Would You Rather Encounter a Man or a Bear in the Woods?
32:25
32:25
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What were the first mammals like? Darren examines what characterizes a mammal and explores the world of early mammals, who coexisted with the dinosaurs. Adam investigates the discourse around a viral question which asks “Would you rather be stuck in a forest with a man or a bear?”, using some simple statistics to inform the issue.…
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TRC #689: The Science of Dune's Sandworms + AI Personal Assistants
37:05
37:05
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Could the huge Sandworms in Frank Herbert's Dune really exist? Adam looks at how scientifically plausible these odd creatures might be. In light of recent news about Open AI's GPT-4o and Google's Project Astra, Darren look at the latest advances in AI personal assistants, speculates where this could be leading and shares a passage from his book Unc…
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