Yeah... Nah!

We’re almost outnumbered by guests in this episode of the Yeah… Nah! podcast, with Lee Traynor joining us to tell us about his foundation’s offer of scholarships to attend the 2026 NZ Skeptics conference. We also have James Kerr on to talk about his article responding to Patrick Medlicott’s claims about degrowth. Then our regulars have their say, talking about Chris Ashenden and his AG1 supplement company, the wild goose chase to invent a reactionless drive, and the reality and disinformation around Kessler syndrome, where earth’s orbits may end up being filled with a cascade of debris. About this episode Our Guests: Lee Traynor James Kerr Articles we talk about: Scholarships for students at the 2026 New Zealand Skeptics Conference, Christchurch Degrowth is exactly the wrong solution to Climate Change AG1: The Lazarus of supplements, part 2 A Skeptical Reaction to Reactionless Drives Kessler Syndrome Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-06-08

We’ve covered some serious topics in this week’s podcast, and some that are thankfully a little more light-hearted. Mark talks about a media request the NZ Skeptics have received to answer questions about UFOs, hoping to make it abundantly clear that despite a number of UFO articles on our website, we don’t actually believe that little green men are visiting us. Bronwyn has delved into our project to collate events of skeptical interest, and looks at what skeptical events happened this fortnight in history. Katrina tackles a more serious topic, of Parental Alienation, asking whether this “syndrome” is even real. And finally Mark continues in this serious vein by looking into New Zealand’s main Men’s Rights website, wondering why the site’s members seem to spend most of their time denigrating women and posting pseudoscientific nonsense. About this episode Articles we talk about: Interview Request for Student Magazine Project This fortnight in skeptical history - October 28th to November 9th The Problem with Family Court Social Science MENZ vs Reality Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-10-28

Katrina’s back and in top form for this episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast, updating us on the latest research into keto diets, and recent experiments in mice. Mark has an up-date on the failed Rapture prediction, with a new date being suggested of the 7th of October, and a hand-waving excuse as to why it didn’t happen on the 24th. And there was no way Bronwyn wasn’t going to cover the recent claims by Trump and RFK Jr in the US that paracetamol use in pregnancy is the cause of autism. About this episode Articles we talk about: The 2025 Keto Mice Update Why was the Rapture predicted for September the 24th? And why didn’t it happen? Wham, Bam, Autism scams: Paracetamol. Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-09-29

This week in the Yeah… Nah! podcast, there’s a smorgasbord of skeptical topics for you to gorge yourself on. Bronwyn has updates to her previous articles on Cryonics, the Warrens, the Campbells and ISTA, while Katrina has concerns about how poor numeracy can have detrimental health outcomes. And Mark has been patiently waiting for a new game, Silksong, to be released, and has found an interesting parallel to how conspiracy theorists behave amongst the many people hyped up about the game’s long-awaited release. About this episode Articles we talk about: Skeptical Updates Numeracy and Health Outcomes Silkposting and Rabbit Holes Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-09-01

Despite the fact that all our podcast hosts wrote about the same topic for our newsletter this week, we’ve still ended up with a variety of discussions for the podcast. Bronwyn and Mark not only talk about The Telepathy Tapes, but also about their visit to see a talk given by Brother Guy Consolmagno, the head Vatican Astronomer. Katrina thoroughly debunks the idea that quantum entanglement could explain telepathy between individuals who have been in close proximity to each other, and Mark laments the end of his regular Skeptical Activism evenings in Wellington. About this episode Articles we talk about: Wham, Bam, Autism scams: The Telepathy Tapes Part 1 Quantum communication in telepathy The Talk Tracks Goodbye Activism Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-08-04

Katrina’s been away on holiday, so we’ve replaced her in this episode with Aaron, an ex Jehovah’s Witness who’s spent some time on the NZ Skeptics committee. Mark and Aaron talk about Aaron’s attempt to prove Mark wrong about Diet Coke, and the lessons learned from this test about blind testing. Bronwyn completes her series on cryonics with a grab-bag of interesting facts she’s learned. And Mark seems to have got more than he bargained for when he looked into a silly idea about how you’re supposed to “implant” seeds so that they can better serve your needs. About this episode Articles we talk about: Diet Coke Blind Test Over-confidence and Cola Seed Imprinting and Anastasia’s Ringing Cedars Ringing Cedars in New Zealand? A brief history of immortality: 80 years of Cryonics Part 3 Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-06-09 2025-07-07

Having been a week late with the last episode, we’re following up with an on-time episode, meaning you can listen to Yeah… Nah! two weeks in a row. This week Katrina wonders whether Trump’s Golden Dome idea of a missile defence shield around the US has any merit, and Bronwyn talks about the history of cryonics (not cryogenics). We also chat about our plan to cover the Telepathy Tapes, and suggest that some of our more intrepid listeners might want to try to listen to that podcast before we start talking about it - but beware, it’s horrifically pseudoscientific and intellectually painful to listen to. About this episode Articles we talk about: The Golden Dome A brief history of immortality: 80 years of Cryonics, Part 1 Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-06-09