Skeptics with a K

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Skeptics with a K
File:SwaK logo.png
Skeptics with a K logo
Presentation
Hosted by Mike Hall
Michael "Marsh" Marshall
Colin Harris (2009–2014)
Alice Howarth (since 2014)
Genre Scientific skepticism
Updates Fortnightly[1]
Publication
Debut 28 July 2009
Website merseysideskeptics.org.uk

Skeptics with a K (SwaK) is the official podcast of the Merseyside Skeptics Society,[2] a skeptical organisation based in Liverpool, UK.

Name

Skeptics with a K's tagline is "the podcast for science, reason and critical thinking".[3] In concordance with the MSS' name, the podcast's title was chosen to emphasise that, unlike the word 'sceptical' with a c, being 'skeptical' with a k "[is] not about just saying 'no' to things, it's about thinking about them. And we use the American spelling – skeptic – because, in the States, the word isn't as strongly linked to cynicism. It's not seen as being as negative as it is over here."[4] On April Fools' Day 2010, SwaK released a spoof episode titled "Skeptics with a C", in which the hosts departed from their regular skeptical analysis, and suddenly accepted all paranormal and pseudoscientific claims with ease after their normally critical evaluation of the news.[5]

Hosts

The current lineup: Michael "Marsh" Marshall, Mike Hall, and Alice Howarth, at the 2015 QED conference in Manchester.

Mike Hall is the main host of Skeptics with a K, doing each episode's intro and pre-recorded outro and editing the podcast's episodes that are recorded on Monday until publishing them on Thursday. He and Michael Marshall, on air steadily referred to as "Marsh", have been present at every episode (except for a few compiled episodes hosted by Mike alone) since its inception. Colin Harris completed the trio with his trademark goodbye "It's been wonderful", but was occasionally absent (for example, at the QED live recordings), and after a period of infrequent stand-ins by others, he decided to quit the show in March 2014 just before the birth of his first child, to dedicate time to his family.[6] He was replaced by MSS secretary Alice Howarth, who was featured on SwaK since April 2014.[7]

  • Mike Hall (since July 2009), specialises in religion versus atheism and debunking conspiracy theories (e.g. those surrounding 9/11)[8]
  • Michael "Marsh" Marshall (since July 2009), specialises in bad pr (nonsense news articles) and homeopathy[9][10][11]
  • Colin "Col" Harris (July 2009–March 2014)
  • Alice Howarth (since April 2014), specialises in cell biology[7][12]

The hosts have appeared as guests on other popular podcasts including 'The Pod Delusion, The Skeptic Zone, Cognitive Dissonance and the Token Skeptic.[13][10][14]

History

File:Skeptics with a K presenters (cropped).jpg
The original presenters (Mike, Marsh and Colin) at a Liverpudlian SitP event.

Its first episode was recorded on 28 July 2009, at Mike Hall's home, and published on 1 August 2009.[3] The dinosaur-wallpapered room, first revealed to the audience on the live filmed episode #077,[15] has been the standard recording location ever since.[9] The podcast features hosts Mike Hall, Michael Marshall ("Marsh") and Colin Harris ("Col"), in April 2014 replaced by Alice Howarth, discussing recent events from a skeptical angle. Co-host Michael Marshall described it as, "a fairly-shambolic, overly-enthusiastic and snarky mix of science, skepticism and sarcasm."[16] The idea for SwaK came from the conversations Mike and Marsh were having in the pub about news and ideas, such as the 10:23 Campaign,[17] that they wanted to share with a wider audience.[9]

A fact check on the children's book The Giant Book of Fantastic Facts was popular semi-regular segment, until it concluded with a "Best of" edition on 14 July 2011.[18] On 1 April 2013, an entire episode consisted of fictional stories including a parody of Ghost Busters, a story about the "Mersey Book of Monsters" and one about the "Paranormal Investigation Society Scotland (PISS)",[19] which was revealed in "Episode #095.5 – the Confession".[20] The hosts managed to mislead many skeptics who couldn't tell the entire show was a hoax. Tim Farley was among the few who doubted only particular segments, and after contacting Marsh, who admitted they had made up all news items but requested it be kept a secret, turned it into a challenge for the listeners of Virtual Skeptics to find out which skeptical podcast's early April episode was a hoax.[21]

Other special episodes include radio discussions with psychics, clairvoyants, numerologists, astrologers and especially homeopaths,[22] and a live recording from TAM London.[23] For its fifth anniversary, SwaK produced an extended episode on 31 July 2014 featuring Colin as special guest.[24]

Marsh extended his speciality for spotting bad PR in the news that he developed over the years on SwaK to holding public lectures about the subject at Skeptics in the Pub meetings throughout the UK, skeptical conferences such as the 2013 European Skeptics Congress in Stockholm, Sweden, and an interview on BBC Radio 4's More or Less programme.[25]

Reception

The Metro described the podcast as "light-heartedly pick[ing] apart current affairs to explore science and critical thinking."[26] Stichting Skepsis blogger Willem-Jan Zeist included Skeptics with a K (referred to as “The English Lads”) among the 12 best skeptical podcasts, and especially praised its "bad PR" segments, although warning that listeners "should be able to handle both vulgar language and bad puns!"[27]

References

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  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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    Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.(3:07)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 (English) (Swedish) Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.(14:27)
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  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.(46:00)
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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    (English) (Swedish) Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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    Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.(11:36)
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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