With the  specter of the holidays looming and conspicuous consumerism running amok, Skepticality delves into the topic of vice with Peter Sagal, host of the National Public Radio's popular quiz show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Peter is the author of The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things and How to Do Them.

Many Skeptic readers are all too aware of The Secret, a slick repackaging of the principles of New Thought and Unity Christianity.  This week, Skepticality tackles an altogether different secret. Derek and Swoopy talk with author and podcaster Stephen L. Gibson about his own new book, A Secret of the Universe. A far cry from most books that offer up a secret message, A Secret of the Universe is a work of dramatic allegory about how we come to form knowledge about the Big Questions: God, sexual ethics, morals, political ideology—and how those beliefs affect our actions, our lives, and the world around us. Then Derek gets an update from Jeff Wagg, General Manager of the James Randi Educational Foundation, about a recently administered Million Dollar Challenge in which Jeff himself became a test subject.

Recent episodes of Skepticality have touched on issues of outreach and activism in the skeptical community, and how skeptics like Jeff Wagg, Alison Smith and Daniel Loxton are using their particular talents to help nurture science and critical thinking. This week, Derek and Swoopy are pleased to continue this trend with their interview of evolutionary ecologist-turned-filmmaker Dr. Randy Olson.  Dr. Olson's film, Flock of Dodos: The Evolution - Intelligent Design Circus, is not your typical evolution versus ID documentary. Rather than simply pitting one camp against the other, this whimsical film explores how the two sides of the debate market their ideas to the public—and, more specifically, how the scientific community has failed to capture their audience as effectively as the Intelligent Design camp has done in recent years.

Who is the watchdog for paranormal scams and mistakes if we won't do it?  This week, Daniel Loxton (editor of Junior Skeptic) offers his own personal perspective on the future of skepticism as a movement. Presented as an original full-length audio article his op-ed essay argues that the search for a "new skepticism" is misguided—and that the early titans of skepticism had it right in the first place.  Then, Derek and Swoopy sit down with Daniel to talk about the skeptics paradox: that so many people feel exhausted and fed up by the paranormal, at the very time that the most exciting new developments—from podcasts to conferences to community—are firmly focused on our core paranormal concerns.  Has classic skepticism run its course? According to Daniel, we're only now getting ready to start.

This week Skepticality has a double bill of brainy, beautiful skeptics working to educate the public about the benefits of science and evidence-based reasoning.  Private Investigator Alison Smith (the founder of the Skeptical Analysis of the Paranormal Society) discusses her work and shares her thoughts about the recent lecture she gave on Skeptical Investigation as well as the Skeptic Smackdown debate she took part in, at Dragon*Con 2007. Lastly, we have a special clip of Dr. Pamela Gay explaining how astrophysicists look at Dark Matter in the Universe, recorded from a special Dragon*Con after party. We're also pleased to present the full length video from Dragon*Con's "Skeptic Smackdown" debate, featuring skeptics Michael Shermer and Alison Smith, and paranormal proponents Patrick Burns and Graham Watkins.

It seems for any particular social or interest group, there is a convention—including skepticism.  The danger is that niche meetings may speak best to those who have already heard the message.  For over a decade, Dragon*Con has been integrating factual science and space programming with science fiction material from popular literature, film, television and gaming, such as Star Wars and StarTrek.  This year, Derek and Swoopy worked alongside the directors of Dragon*Con's Space and Science programs  to bring a contingent of notable skeptics to the world's largest culture convention. On this episode, Jeff Wagg, general manager of the James Randi Educational Foundation and musician, author and skeptic George Hrab share their Dragon*Con experiences, and discuss how skeptics can promote their views at conventions to help the skeptical movement find a broader audience.

This week's episode of Skepticality features an interview with psychologist, skeptic, and author Dr. Richard Wiseman, recorded at the Australian Science Festival. Dr. Michael McRae (previously a guest on Skepticality to discuss integrating critical thinking into the classroom) sits down with Wiseman to discuss new approaches to skepticism and the role of new media in promoting interest in science. Also, Derek and Swoopy briefly talk about the skeptic turn out at Dragon*Con 2007.

This week, Skepticality tackles matters of politics on Earth, and discoveries out in the universe.  First up, environmental engineer Kelly Comstock returns to answer listener questions from our bottled water episode and address concerns about potential dangers lurking in municipal water systems (like chlorine and fluoride). Then, Derek and Swoopy check in with their favorite lobbyist, Lori Lipman Brown from the Secular Coalition for America, regarding ongoing investigations into abuses of non-theists serving in our military, how the question of separation of church and state is being highlighted in recent political debates, and what to look for when the legislature reconvenes in the Fall. Lastly, astrophysicist Dr. Pamela Gay shares her insights about recent media attention paid to NASA troubles, the paper by two German physicists who claim to have broken the speed of light, and the potential discovery of inorganic cosmic dust with lifelike properties.

Put down that designer bottle of H20!  Did you know that If you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend $1,400 US dollars annually? That same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents.  Wealthy nations like the United States have some of the cleanest, cheapest and best tasting tap water in the world.  The US is also the world's largest consumer of bottled water: 8.3 billion gallons in 2006 (about 26 gallons per person)! Will our rising demand for  bottled water harm our nation's aging water distribution and filtration infrastructure?  And why are groups like Presbyterians for Restoring Creation boycotting bottled water? On this week's Skepticality, Derek and Swoopy speak to Kelly Comstock, an environmental engineer and hydrologist who specializes in potable drinking water filtration technology, to answer these questions—and get to the bottom of the bottled water debate.

Does a belief in God undermine one's ability to be a skeptic?  This is the question Hal Bidlack seeks to answer this week, as he movingly recounts his own personal experiences as a man of faith—and as a skeptic and prominent member of the James Randi Educational Foundation. Atheism is relatively common within the skeptics community, and so it is sometimes supposed (especially in press accounts) that skepticism implies atheism. Dr. Bidlack is one of those who disagrees.

What's with all the media hype over the latest must-have electronic device, the iPhone?  This week on Skepticality, Derek and Swoopy talk to Rob Walch, host of the Today in iPhone podcast, about the cult of Apple's newest release and ask whether if it lives up to the hype. While it seems most humans on Earth are busy looking for iPhones, the National Academy of Sciences has published a report that states we need to start looking for alien life with novel biochemistries. Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay, hosts of the Astronomy Cast, help Derek and Swoopy interpret the new report "The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems", and what it means for the search for life in the universe.

On the last episode of Skepticality, the "Skeptical Inquirer's" own Benjamin Radford discussed new Nessie sightings and other lake monsters from his comprehensive book on the subject.  This week, Ben is back to tackle a brand new paranormal mystery from his own back yard. Almost over night, a video of a glowing, orb-like apparition at the courthouse in Santa Fe, New Mexico has soared into the media spotlight, with widespread news coverage and nearly 100,000 views on YouTube.  Was it the spirit of an infamous murderer, the ghost of a construction worker who met his demise, or a disturbed Indian burial ground? Derek and Swoopy discuss paranormal investigation in the age of viral video with author Benjamin Radford, who examined the video tape and went to the site to investigate the mysterious Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost.

Last week, new video surfaced of the elusive and famous Loch Ness monster and a £1 million prize was offered for proof of the creature's existence. There were over 30 sightings reported in 24 hours by concert goers at the "Rock Ness" festival who were offered "Nessie Snapper" cameras to keep an eye on the water as they rocked out through the weekend. On this week's Skepticality Derek and Swoopy talk to the Center for Skeptical Inquiry's own Benjamin Radford about his definitive book that investigates sightings of Nessie as well as other prominent lake monsters, Lake Monster Mysteries: Investigating the World's Most Elusive Creatures, co-authored by fellow skeptical investigator Joe Nickell.

On our last episode, Skeptic publisher Dr. Michael Shermer shared his thoughts about a recently televised Nightline debate between evangelical ministers Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron and "Rational Response Squad" members Brian Sapient and Kelly. Brian and Kelly contacted Skepticality, and Swoopy had a chance to talk with them this week about the work of the Rational Response Squad, and about what went on behind the scenes of the Nightline debate. Most relevant to skeptics, the gang discusses Brian's recent involvement in a lawsuit against Uri Geller, who recently pressured online video host YouTube to remove a James Randi Nova expose regarding his spoon-bending psychic claims. Also, Skepticality's Washington DC correspondent former Nevada State Senator Lori Lipman Brown, the federal lobbyist for the Secular Coalition for America updates Derek and Swoopy about legislative issues pertaining to nontheists.

Last week on ABC's Nightline, british journalist Martin Bashir was set to moderate a debate between members of The Rational Response Squad and Christian ministers Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron. Comfort and Cameron claimed that they could prove scientifically, without invoking the Bible or faith, that their god exists. Disappointingly the program that aired (after much editing) ran more like The Debate that Wasn't. Instead of letting the nonsense get to us, we called upon voices of reason and great debaters Dr. Michael Shermer and Dr. Phil Plait to cheer us up, and help make sense of it all.

Why does Australia give the world so many great skeptics? This week on Skepticality, Derek has a great time chatting with author, educator and noted Australian skeptic Lynne Kelly to find out the answer. It's been over a year since Derek and Lynne last spoke, and they catch up on topics ranging from current science, Australia's drought, critical thinking in the classroom and her latest book "Crocodile: Evolution's Greatest Survivor."

This week on Skepticality, author and skeptic Scott Sigler talks to Derek and Swoopy about finding the skeptic movement, and the recent success of his newly released, science-informed horror novel Ancestor (an Amazon.com bestseller). Scott also tackles the future of traditional book publishing in the age of podiobooks. Before we let him go, Scott reveals the names of the folks who will be receiving autographed copies of his books Earthcore and Ancestor. 

Skepticality is pleased to bring our listeners another great interview conducted by the founder of the Skeptic's Society, Dr. Michael Shermer. In this nearly hour long meeting of the minds, Dr. Shermer talks to author and Stanford emeritus Professor Philip Zimbardo on the release of his new book, The Lucifer Effect which ponders the question, what causes some people to commit acts of evil while others become unexpected heroes.

On a remote island in Lake Superior, scientists struggle to solve the problem of xenotransplatation - using animal tissue to replace failing human organs.

This week Derek and Swoopy talk to a legend in Skeptical broadcasting, Reginald Finley, known to his friends as The Infidel Guy and we take part in Monday Bloody Monday as we help launch the publication of author Scott Sigler's newest podiobook to print: Ancestor.

This week, Skepticality nears the end of its Amazing Meeting 5 wrap-up. Derek & Swoopy are honored to sit down with retired Lieutenant Colonel Hal Bidlack PhD, who is one of the warmest people in skepticism. Hal discusses not only his Master of Ceremonies role at past and future Amazing Meetings, but also his role as an Alexander Hamilton scholar and his own future career in politics. Then, Swoopy interviews Aussie educators Kylie Sturgess and Michael McRae about their work in bringing skepticism and critical thinking into their classrooms.

On this week's Skepticality, we continue our coverage of The Amazing Meeting 5. Derek and Swoopy talk with some of their favorite Real Skeptical Heroes including author and CSICOP spokesman Benjamin Radford, Mythbuster Adam Savage and the first Congressional lobbyist for non-theists and director of the Secular Coalition for America, Lori Lipman Brown.

This week we'll begin sifting through four days of audio and video with some of the best candid moments from the four day brain expanding extravaganza of The Amazing Meeting 5, featuring a cast of familiar characters as well as some brave new voices in skepticism.

This week Derek and Swoopy are practically out the door on the way to The Amazing Meeting 5, but before they go they talk with New York Times Best Selling author Michael A. Stackpole, chairman of the Phoenix Skeptics about the group's 2007 predictions list, and the accuracy of their 2006 predictions. Mr. Stackpole also discusses balancing skepticism in his daily life with his work as a science fiction author and role playing game designer, and gives his views on practical methods for teaching critical thinking.

This week on Skepticality, we kick off the first show of 2007 with a recording of author and lecturer Sam Harris speaking at the Symposium on Science, Religion & Politics, part of the Skeptic sponsored Caltech lecture series. Mr. Harris is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. Additionally, he makes regular appearances on television and radio to discuss the danger that religion now poses to modern societies.

This week the long awaited Mythbusters interviews finally surface. Conducted by Skepticality correspondent David Federlein, live at The Amazing Meeting 4, we bring you candid conversations with Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman and Kari Byron of the explosively successful Discovery Channel science show, The Mythbusters.