Water bottles, hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial soap, vitamin supplements, broad spectrum antibiotics - ancient man had none of these things, and yet in harsh conditions he not only survived, but thrived. The study of evolutionary medicine illuminates how the past adaptation of early humans to their ancestral environment now affects contemporary humans with our vastly different diet, life expectancy, degree of physical exercise, and hygiene. This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Dr. William Meller, MD about his book "Evolution RX" which delves into the latest research in genetics, biology, and early human history in order to better understand a wide array of human health conditions and the ways in which our bodies have evolved to combat them.

Absinthe. The very name of this anise-flavored spirit has become synonymous with the forbidden. Associated with marijuana and other illicit drugs, it is said to cause hallucinatory and psychoactive secondary effects, delusions, criminal tendencies, convulsions, tuberculosis and death. At the start of the 20th century, these beliefs were reported by the media, widely promoted by the French wine industry, and spread via propaganda posters. This led to a ban on absinthe in Europe and the United States (lasting nearly 100 years). This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Cheryl Lins, owner of Delaware Phoenix Distilleries in Walton, New York, about how this once-accepted and popular drink came to be outlawed and misunderstood — and how it was eventually resurrected at the hands of skeptics and scientists.

Cryptozoological creatures like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and the Chupacabra have fascinated and inspired monster hunters for generations, providing endless reports of sightings, unverified film footage and blurry photographs to feed the public imagination. Thankfully, this kind of speculation and storytelling has also given rise to a new generation of skeptical investigators who use the tools of science to dig into monster claims. This week on Skepticality, Derek & Swoopy talk with Benjamin Radford, Dr. Karen Stollznow, and Blake Smith — the team from the podcast MonsterTalk.

This week on Skepticality, Swoopy catches up with biologist-turned-filmmaker Dr. Randy Olson, whose latest book, Don't Be Such A Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style deals with the image and communication issues facing scientists in the new media era. Some of the book's key messages (don’t be so cerebral; don’t be so literal-minded; don’t be such a poor story teller; don’t be so unlikable) are also on display in Dr. Olson's newest feature film, Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy.  The new movie, a mockumentary that humorously relates just how hard it is to get a film about science made in style-conscious Hollywood, is the closing film at the Imagine: Science FIlm Festival in New York this week.

One of the refrains of skepticism is that reality is often more amazing than fiction. This is most assuredly true of the stories reported by investigative journalist, filmmaker and author Jon Ronson, who has delved time and again into the worlds of conspiracy theorists and extremists. This week on Skepticality Swoopy talks with Jon Ronson about his experiences bonding with skeptics at the recent Amazing Meeting London, his bizarre cruise (and rare interview) with psychic Sylvia Browne, and his 2004 auto-biographical book The Men Who Stare at Goats which will be released this November as a feature film starring Ewan McGregor and George Clooney.

On this week's Skepticality, Derek and Swoopy have just returned from Charlotte PopFest, a unique music festival with proceeds benefitting the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Unexpected local media backlash against the PopFest benefitting a group of "evolutionists" is further evidence why events like this one, the first of it's kind, are so important. These sentiments are echoed in this week's short interviews with PopFest musician Jill Sobule, members of the Charlotte Atheists and Agnostics and Keith Williams, a local Charlotte skeptic who wrote a letter to WBTV Charlotte to express his concern over their reporting of the PopFest as an example of "Science and religion butting heads".

This week, Derek and Swoopy recap Skeptrack at Dragon*Con 2009 and chat with musician James Deem about the upcoming music festival Charlotte Pop Fest. Not your average music festival, this year Charlotte Pop Fest (September 24-26th) will celebrate the life of Charles Darwin and all proceeds from the event will benefit the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science.

On April 20, 1999, two boys left an indelible stamp on American society when they carried out their plan to kill as many of their high school classmates as they could. The very word "Columbine" has come to represent a specific brand of unthinkable horror: when children make a calculated decision to murder their teachers and peers. In the chaos and aftermath of that April day, legends and misinformation quickly proliferated. A great deal of what was reported about Columbine was simply not true. Author Dave Cullen has spent the last ten years of his journalistic career studying the lives of the residents of Littleton Colorado as they were before, during, and after this shattering event. Cullen's seminal book on the subject, Columbine, delves deep into the psyches of the killers, the victims, and their families — to set the record straight not only about what really happened on that fateful day, but why.

This week Skepticality releases the entertaining wealth of recent audio Derek recorded at the James Randi Educational Foundation's "Amazing Meeting 7" conference in sunny Las Vegas. The diverse nature of modern skepticism is well represented in interviews featuring Jennifer Ouellette (author of The Physics of the Buffyverse) and magician Michael Goudeau (executive producer of Penn and Teller's Bullshit!). Best of all, Skepticality shares thoughts from one of the founding fathers of the skeptical movement — psychologist Dr. Ray Hyman.

This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Dr. Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado and author of Wild Justice. His book examines the differences—and startling similarities—between the observed morality and emotions of human and non-human animals.

This week on Skepticality, Derek & Swoopy recap The James Randi Educational Foundation's Amazing Meeting 7 conference, which took place this past week in Las Vegas, Nevada. Derek recounts his many adventures as a TAM7 attendee, including his interviews and discussions with TAM Guests including Ray Hyman, Jennifer Oullette and MythBuster Adam Savage. Looking at this epic convention in a new way, Swoopy shares her impressions of following the conference from home via social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook and uStream.

"Don't try this at home! …This trick just might kill you! … Fool your friends, amaze your family and scam your way to free drinks!" These taglines and more invite the average college student to study with spiky-haired rabble rouser, Brian Brushwood — skeptic, author and award winning magician — via his popular podcast Scam School. This week Derek & Swoopy talk with Brian about his work. Digging into the biggest scam of all, they reveal that Brian Brushwood is the epitome of the modern skeptic. Beneath the bar room bravado lurks the mind of well-studied, articulate critical thinker.

Though the celebrated and the famous have long used the glare of the spotlight to highlight personal causes, rarely has fame been used to such staggering effect as by Jenny McCarthy. Since 2007, this former Playboy model now turned autism activist has advocated for parents to stop vaccinating their children against deadly diseases. This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Derek Bartholomaus, creator of “The Jenny McCarthy Body Count” website. This chilling and controversial site utilizes data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to keep a running tally of illnesses and deaths from vaccine preventable diseases - a sobering reminder of the human cost of anti-vaccination rhetoric. On a lighter note, Derek & Swoopy also talk with Junior Skeptic Editor Daniel Loxton about the launch of the “Skeptics Mix Tape” project. This eclectic collection of songs of science and skepticism are available as free MP3s from Skeptic.com.

Mass extinctions, rising temperatures, and changing glaciers may sound like current events, but Earth scientists are learning that this type of climate change is nothing new.   This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Dr. Donald R. Prothero about his new book Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs: Evolution, Extinction, and the Future of Our Planet. Prothero discusses the links between the climate changes that have occurred over the past 200 million years.   Dr. Prothero also discusses "Ida," a 47-million year old fossil the media is hailing as yet another "missing link." Is Ida all she is hyped up to be — or is this Darwinius masillae just one more transitional fossil supporting the theory of evolution?

This week Skepticality is pleased to have back paranormal investigator Benjamin Radford. Derek talks with Ben about his recently concluded "Great Psychic Detective Challenge" which came about through amazing claims made to Ben while he was a guest on the Skeptiko Podcast. We also catch up with JREF (James Randi Educational Foundation) President Dr. Phil Plait about the upcoming Amazing Meeting 7, to be held in Las Vegas July 9-12.

This week Skepticality is pleased to once again speak with noted 'Quirkologist' Richard Wiseman, the Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom and fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). Swoopy talks with Professor Wiseman about his recent paranormal investigations and the initial findings from his Hauntings: The Science of Ghosts project that was presented as part of the 2009 Edinburgh International Science Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This week Skepticality celebrates it's long awaited 100th episode with a look back at past shows, thoughts about future installments and well wishes from their friends the skeptic community including Dr. Phil Plait (the Bad Astronomer), George Hrab (The Geologic Podcast) and Brian Dunning (The Skeptologists).

Why do we think aliens are out there? Is Earth really being visited? Will aliens really be short, gray, and hairless? What happens if we pick up a signal from another world?  These are just a few of the questions this week's guest tackles regularly, in his role as the senior astronomer for the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute. Dr. Seth Shostak talks with Swoopy about the ongoing search for life in the universe, as chronicled in his new book Confessions of an Alien Hunter: A Scientist's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

In 2007, Junior Skeptic Editor Daniel Loxton called for renewed focus on classical skeptical activism in an essay entitled "Where Do We Go From Here?" Released simultaneously as a PDF from Skeptic.com and as an audio essay on Skepticality, this article drew tremendous positive response. But many listeners wanted to know, what’s the next step? How does one become a skeptical activist? This week, Skepticality and Skeptic.com are pleased to release the follow-up project, "What Do I Do Next?: Leading Skeptics Discuss 105 Practical Ways to Promote Science and Advance Skepticism." Daniel Loxton returns to tell Swoopy how a panel of 13 skeptics contributed almost 30,000 words of impassioned, in-depth commentary to this groundbreaking document — and how skeptics like you will take it to the next level.

This week's Skepticality hits the highlights and plays excerpts from Atlanta Skepticamp. Topics from the two day "un-conference" included: raising children to be critical thinkers; homeopathy; the question of what organic food labels really mean; and (in discussion with the hosts of the American Freethought podcast) the role of new media in promoting the growth of the skeptical community. Also, Derek & Swoopy check the Skeptic events calendar to keep listeners updated on upcoming Skepticamps and other events for skeptics around the world.

On a special Thursday edition of Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Dr. John M. Harris, curator of the George C. Page Museum at Rancho La Brea. Yesterday, it was announced that a new excavation near La Brea has unearthed the largest known cache of fossils from the last ice age including an eighty percent in-tact mammoth, named Zed.

This week on Skepticality we check in with author and paranormal investigator Benjamin Radford. A regular contributor to LiveScience.com and Managing Editor for Skeptical Inquirer magazine, Ben talks with Derek & Swoopy about his recently completed fourth book and his investigations into weird paranormal mysteries — including UFO sightings in New Jersey, the haunted hotel where President Obama stayed prior to his inauguration, and the claims of police department psychics.

The United Nations has declared 2009 the "International Year of Astronomy." Coinciding with both Galileo Galilei's celestial discoveries in 1609 and the publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia Nova (which described the fundamental laws of planetary motion), the International Year of Astronomy celebrates 400 years of discovery and exploration of our elegant universe. It is an unprecedented opportunity to showcase some amazing science — and to inspire cosmic wonder. On this episode of Skepticality, Derek & Swoopy talk with astronomer, educator, and podcaster Dr. Pamela Gay about the many exciting global events people can enjoy during the International Year of Astronomy. She also shares her thoughts about the changing face of NASA, and about some thrilling recent astronomical discoveries.

On a recent episode of Skepticality, guests Kate Holden and Tiana Dietz proposed their joint project, "Visit Discovery," which encourages people to visit Seattle's Intelligent Design think tank The Discovery Institute. Is there hope of fostering better dialog between advocates of science and proponents of Intelligent Design? This week's guest, Maria Maltseva, a Seattle skeptic and practicing attorney, talks with Derek & Swoopy about her own recent visits to The Discovery Institute, where her talks with Institute insiders yielded a wealth of interesting information.

Rarely is mathematics a major plot component on American television. The exception, of course, is the current hit prime time CBS television drama Numb3rs.  "We all use math every day: to predict weather, to tell time, to handle money. Math is more than formulas and equations: it’s logic. It’s rationality. It’s using your mind to solve the biggest mysteries we know." So begins every episode — astonishingly — of one of the consistently highest rated programs in its time slot. Now in its fifth season, Numb3rs has helped pave the way for a whole new generation of science-based programming on American television. This week Swoopy talks with Cheryl Heuton and Nicolas Falacci (the creators and Executive Producers of Numb3rs) about the challenges of creating a fictional TV drama chock full of real science and mathematics.

Over the past several episodes, Skepticality has endeavored to showcase an eclectic range of skeptical activism.  Our recent guests have overwhelmingly agreed that everyone has something to offer — and that "activism" comes in many flavors.   This week, Derek & Swoopy talk with bloggers Kate Holden and Tiana Dietz, who recently had an unorthodox adventure at the well-known Intelligent Design think tank The Discovery Institute. These unapologetic rabble-rousers discuss the controversial tactics that took them where few skeptics have gone before.