Do you listen to podcasts while you're scrolling memes on socials? This is the start of a newish series of blog posts called Memewhile, where I round up my favorite skeptical (critical thinking and science) podcast episodes from the past few weeks.
Skeptical must-listens:
Conspirituality: The Telepathy Tapes
- In which infamous Facilitated Communication makes a come back and is amplified by Joe Rogan.
https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/241-unravelling-the-telepathy-tapes
Clarity Lab: Are Parabens Actually Toxic?
- Wonderfully insightful evidence-based examination of parabens with lots of notes from a cosmetics insider.
https://www.sirishealth.org/clarity-lab
GLP Science Facts & Fallacies: Our food is poisoning us? Here are the facts about red dye, pesticides and processing
- Why is red dye being banned in the US? The answer may surprise you!
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2025/01/22/glp-podcast-our-food-is-poisoning-us-here-are-the-facts-about-red-dye-pesticides-and-processing/
Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta: Disinformation Warfare Against Food, Farming and Medicine
- Thoughtful and careful rebuttal of congressional testimony. The type of thing I suspect we'll need a lot more of if RFK Jr gets his way.
www.colabra.ai/podcasts/talking-biotech
Skeptics Guide to the Universe
- This podcast comes out every week and tends to give a nice skeptical overview of news items, so I recommend it generally.
https://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcasts
Honorable mentions (reserved for non-skeptical podcasts):
Bankless: Will Quantum Computing Kill Bitcoin?
- These bros are BIG TIME crypto-pilled, but on this episode one of their guests is Dr. Scott Aaronson, the Theoretical Computer Scientist famous for his work on quantum computers and AI. Aaronson is also a noted skeptic of extraordinary claims about quantum computation. It makes for a great discussion.
https://www.bankless.com/podcast/will-quantum-computing-kill-bitcoin-scott-aaronson-justin-drake
The Rest Is Classified: How China Spies: Trump, TikTok, and Taiwan
- In this podcast episode a couple of former intelligence analysts give their takes on why TikTok, in particular, is seen as a national security threat, while other social media is not. It's a perspective on the topic I haven't quite heard anywhere else.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-china-spies-trump-tiktok-and-taiwan/id1780384916?i=1000684921207