502 Conversations - Science, Skepticism, Pseudoscience, Philosophy, and more.

Brian Kerby
  • 5.0 (3)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED DAILY

Audio uploads of Dedham TV's "502 Conversations". Conversations with experts in their fields about science; skepticism; medicine; quackery; pseudoscience; philosophy; belief, why and how we believe; knowledge; and more. Guests have included Dr. Paul Offit; microbiologist Natalia Pasternak; Julia Sweeney; Sheldon Helms; JAMA Editor in Chief Dr. Howard Bauchner; Massimo Pigliucci; James Randi; Ray Hyman; James Alcock; Dr. Harriet Hall; and others. Full interviews also available on youtube. © 2022 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

  1. Timothy Redmond ~ Highly Effective Thinkers: Critical Thinking for Kids

    OCT 23

    Timothy Redmond ~ Highly Effective Thinkers: Critical Thinking for Kids

    Timothy Redmond, PhD teaches high school history, government, and critical thinking and is an adjunct professor at Daemen College. He is a Jackson Center fellow, the recipient of the 2019 Toby Ticktin Back Award for excellence in Holocaust education, and an associate director of the Human Rights Academy. He is the author of Political Tribalism in America: How Hyper-Partisanship Dumbs Down Democracy and How to Fix It. Dr. Redmond also has a monthly newspaper column, “The Examined Life,” which appears in the East Aurora Advertiser.© 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. A video of this conversations is available at https://youtu.be/nmb5aOpim34

    1h 2m
  2. Raising A Skeptical Kid with Ronald Crouch

    OCT 1

    Raising A Skeptical Kid with Ronald Crouch

    Dr. Crouch, or Dr. Dad as he is known online, is a psychologist, former meditation teacher, and author. He has published research in peer-reviewed academic journals, written therapy workbooks for children, and is the author of the Beyond Belief book series, which teaches children critical thinking skills using fun paranormal mysteries. © 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. A video version of this show is available at Raisingaskepticalkid.com Inventing the randomized trial and the 1835 trial of homeopathy https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1676327/ 00:00 Intro and bio  01:56 How did Dr. Dad, raising a skeptical kid.com, andBeyond Belief come about?  02:56 Some definitions: What is skepticism, and what is critical thinking?  07:41 S.M.A.R.T skills  08:45 Response to: children are too young for criticalthinking, leave it to their parents and don’t ruin childhood.  10:55 What does research say about children and criticalthinking?  12:10 How to instigate critical thinking skills in children   13:28 Using spooky things and urban legends to teach critical thinking  16:43 Children teaching CT to adults  17:37 “Science itself isn’t enough to teach criticalthinking skills” - scientists that go astray, MDs that become homeopaths or acupuncturists  20:54 Homeopathy explained  24:54 A test of homeopathy  26:36 Using critical thinking to evaluate authority  29:35 Using paranormal shows to instill critical thinking  36:52 Critical thinking field trips  40:32 Beyond Belief books series for kids  42:27 Critical thinking for seniors…  46:10 Meditation and critical thinking  50:31 Dr. Crouch’s therapy workbooks for children, educationabout emotions and regulation of emotions  51:28 Wrapup and outro

    51 min
  3. Dr. Joe Pierre ~ False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things That Aren’t True

    APR 26

    Dr. Joe Pierre ~ False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things That Aren’t True

    Dr. Joe Pierre is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco; and the Unit Chief of the Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital Adult Inpatient Unit. He has extensive clinical experience working with individuals with psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, and those with “dual diagnosis.”Dr. Pierre has authored over 100 papers, abstracts, and book chapters and has been featured in numerous articles; media interviews, and the award-winning documentary Behind the Curve. © 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. A video version of this show is available at https://youtu.be/YhlDchaF-G4

    56 min
  4. The Telepathy Tapes: Hope or Hype? with Stuart Vyse, Psychologist & Behavioral Scientist

    MAR 23

    The Telepathy Tapes: Hope or Hype? with Stuart Vyse, Psychologist & Behavioral Scientist

    A video version of this show is available at ⁠⁠https://youtu.be/jNo6479P3C4 Stuart Vyse is a behavioral scientist, teacher, and writer, with a PhD in psychology. He is an expert on superstition and irrational behavior, and has been quoted in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times. Dr. Vyse has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, CNN International, the PBS NewsHour, and NPR’s Science Friday. Dr. Vyse is the author of several books, including Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, which won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association; Superstition: A Very Short Introduction; and, The Uses of Delusion: Why It’s Not Always Rational to be Rational.He is a contributing editor for Skeptical Inquirer magazine with his “Behavior & Belief” column, and has also written for the Observer, Medium, The Atlantic, The Good Men Project, Tablet, and Time.Dr. Vyse is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. © 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Further resources:stuartvyse.comfacilitatedcommunication.orghttps://www.youtube.com/@fcisnotscienceStuart Vyse “The Telepathy Tapes” article: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-telepathy-tapes-a-dangerous-cornucopia-of-pseudoscience/Prisoners of Silence PBS Frontline 1993 https://ia902900.us.archive.org/33/items/PrisonersofSilence/Frontline.S11E17.Prisoners.of.Silence.1993.VHSRip.AAC2.0.x264-rattera.mp4Project Alpha: https://skepticalinquirer.org/1983/07/the-project-alpha-experiment-part-1-the-first-two-years/https://skepticalinquirer.org/1983/10/the-project-alpha-experiment-part-2-beyond-the-laboratory/N-Rays “The story of N-rays, which fooled many respectable scientists, has been used ever since as a cautionary tale of how easy it is to deceive oneself into seeing something that is not really there.” https://www.aps.org/archives/publications/apsnews/200708/history.cfmand https://www.wired.com/2014/09/fantastically-wrong-n-rays/

    59 min
  5. Bernie Garrett ~ The New Alchemists: The Rise of Deceptive Healthcare

    FEB 21

    Bernie Garrett ~ The New Alchemists: The Rise of Deceptive Healthcare

    A video version of this conversation is available at https://youtu.be/uJ-ufcTJQnY Bernie Garrett, PhD, is a professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Nursing with over 35 years of experience in both critical care nursing and nursing education in the UK and Canada. He holds a PhD in information science, and has a number of specialist clinical and educational qualifications. Bernie Garrett has authored several science and clinical textbooks; chapters in edited books; and numerous research papers. His work is underpinned by a passion for health science and technology, and he holds provincial and national awards for his work in furthering nurse education. © 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. References:“An act establishing a board of registry in naturopathy.” n.d. https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2016/Chapter400.Atwood, Kimball C. and Massachusetts Medical Society. 2001. “Naturopathy: A Monograph.” https://centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2021/07/12132253/opposition.pdf.Garrett, Bernard M., and Roger L. Cutting. 2017. “Magical Beliefs and Discriminating Science From Pseudoscience in Undergraduate Professional Students.” Heliyon 3 (11): e00433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00433.Garrett, Bernie, Sue Murphy, Shahin Jamal, Maura MacPhee, Jillian Reardon, Winson Cheung, Emilie Mallia, and Cathryn Jackson. 2018. “Internet Health scams—Developing a Taxonomy and Risk‐of‐deception Assessment Tool.” Health & Social Care in the Community 27 (1): 226–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12643.Garrett, Bernie, Timothy Caulfield, Blake Murdoch, Matt Brignall, Atul Kumar Kapur, Susan Murphy, Erin Nelson, et al. 2021. “A Taxonomy of Risk‐associated Alternative Health Practices: A Delphi Study.” Health & Social Care in the Community 30 (3): 1163–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13386.Risk of Deception Tool https://news.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/RoD-tool.pdfRosa L, Rosa E, Sarner L, Barrett S. A Close Look at Therapeutic Touch. JAMA. 1998;279(13):1005–1010. doi:10.1001/jama.279.13.1005https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/187390“VHA Directive 1137- VA Provision of Complementary-Integrative Health.” n.d. https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTH/professional-resources/clinician-tools/cih.asp.

    59 min

  6. FEB 4

    Education Research Specialist Katharine Beals ~ The falsity of facilitated communication

    Katharine Beals has a PhD in linguistics, is adjunct assistant at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and is an adjunct professor at both the Drexel University and Temple University schools of education. Dr. Beals specializes in language and literacy acquisition in autism, language technologies for autistic individuals, educational challenges for students with autism, evidence based instruction, and the problems with FC as an intervention in autism. © 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Video version available at https://youtu.be/nldpkNllFDE Sources: D’Souza, K. (2022). A movement rises to change the teaching of reading. EdSource. https://edsource.org/2022/a-movement-rises-to-change-the-teaching-of-reading/675989 Travers, J., & Ayres, K. (2015). A critique of presuming competence of learners with autism or other developmental disabilities. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilitites, 50(4), 371–387. Travers, J. (2020). Rapid prompting method is not consistent with evidence-based reading instruction for students with autism. Perspectives on Language, Winter 2020. https://tinyurl.com/4up9y7nd

    58 min
  7. 2024 Cardiology Year in Review - with Dr. Christopher Labos

    JAN 1

    2024 Cardiology Year in Review - with Dr. Christopher Labos

    Cholesterol denialism Dr. Christopher Labos is a cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology. He spends most of his time doing things for which he does not get paid, like research, teaching, podcasting, and speaking with me. He writes for the Montreal Gazette, makes regular appearances on CBC radio and TV, and is co-host of The Body of Evidence podcast, where he and Jonathan Jarry take a skeptical eye at health claims and look at the body of evidence on a variety of health topics. He is also the author of the book: Does Coffee Cause Cancer and Eight More Myths About the Food We Eat. © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Video version available at https://youtu.be/JUJKfcEWiqY Links to topics/papers mentioned in the show: Cholesterol denialism https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/cholesterol-denialism-pseudoscience-2024a100083z Endurance exercise https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/too-much-good-thing-can-endurance-exercise-be-harmful-2024a1000fhx and https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0870255124000799?via%3Dihub Multivitamins, cocoa extract and dementia https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/996926 and https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/981780 https://www.mdedge.com/cardiology/article/270665/arrhythmias-ep/skip-potassium-after-cardiac-surgery Intermittent fasting https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/1000544 Sodium vs. potassium for BP https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/999805 Internal mammary ligation for angina RCT https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJM195905282602204 Chelation therapy https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/medical/study-gets-heart-controversial-chelation-therapy

    53 min
  8. Dr. Paul Offit ~ RFK Jr., Dr. Oz, and other health and human services nominees

    12/07/2024

    Dr. Paul Offit ~ RFK Jr., Dr. Oz, and other health and human services nominees

    Dr. Offit is a pediatrician; a professor of both pediatrics and vaccinology; director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is an expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology and is a member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee and has published hundreds of papers in medical and scientific journals. © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Video version here https://youtu.be/83vqu3_BbRw 00:00 Intro 00:24 Welcome and bio 02:02 Background for topics 05:35 RFK Jr.: conspiracy theorist 10:37 RFK Jr. "no vaccine has ever been beneficial" BS; and the real truth about vaccine successes 15:36 The potential fallout of having an anti-vaccination activist as head of HHS 18:11 Chronic disease vs. infectious disease 19:00 Dr. Oz for CMS? 20:36 Weldon for CDC? 22:57 Makary for FDA? 26:17 Instilling trust by admitting mistakes 27:26 Yet another RFK Jr. conspiracy theory 28:48 Bhattacharya for NIH? 31:16 COVID revisionism and lab leak BS 37:39 Politicizing science - contrarians over credibility 39:39 Nuanced messaging 40:46 Learning as you go, and the overall system at work 44:03 Ending on a positive note (for some…)

    45 min
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Audio uploads of Dedham TV's "502 Conversations". Conversations with experts in their fields about science; skepticism; medicine; quackery; pseudoscience; philosophy; belief, why and how we believe; knowledge; and more. Guests have included Dr. Paul Offit; microbiologist Natalia Pasternak; Julia Sweeney; Sheldon Helms; JAMA Editor in Chief Dr. Howard Bauchner; Massimo Pigliucci; James Randi; Ray Hyman; James Alcock; Dr. Harriet Hall; and others. Full interviews also available on youtube. © 2022 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

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