The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe
Podcast #26: January 17th 2006 (Download MP3)
Topics:
Issue #1. Psychic Predictions for 2005
Issue #2. Darwin Day
Issue #3. Guest – Eric Altman from the Penn Bigfoot Society
Issue #1. Psychic Predictions for 2005
Gene Emery is a science writer who tracks psychic predictions. Here is a summary of how psychics faired in 2005:
http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/predictions-2005.html
Issue #2. Darwin Day
Dear Fellow Darwin Day Celebrants,
Darwin Day, February 12, 2006, is not far off and it is a pleasure to contact you once again to encourage you to register your EVENT on the Darwinday.org Web site, so that we can all feel encouraged by our common desire to Celebrate especially Darwin, Science and Humanity. Many thanks for having participated in previous years. We look forward to hearing from you again! It's our belief that the citizens of the world long to be involved in human progress. So, if we join together to celebrate those things that unite us, and use the tools we have developed such as basic scientific knowledge, intellectual maturity and rational thought, to solve our differences -- together we can build a better world.
We have begun to notice that as we come closer to Darwin's bicentennial birthday on February 12, 2009, more and more colleges, universities, humanists, freethought organizations, libraries, museums, private groups and churches are joining the annual international Darwin Day Celebration of Science and Humanity! If you have not previously participated we hope that 2006 will be the year you join in the fun and informal education. The increasing response to this idea appears to be at least partially due to the attempts of fundamentalists to discredit the scientific theory of evolution with superstition and pseudo-science under the guise of "Intelligent Design." It's time for those of us who know better to respond creatively with a Darwin Day Celebration!
The staff here at DarwinDay.org has been very busy this past year and we are pleased to report that the Darwin Day organization has greatly improved its website and our ability to communicate with large numbers of people. This ability will allow us to encourage the development of many more Darwin Day Celebrations worldwide. Please take time to read the new information we have recently posted, and will frequently update on the Darwin Day homepage. We're currently featuring early registrations for 2006. There are also improvements to be found in most sections of the Web site. For instance, under "News & Views" we have recently added statements and essays that support evolution and the need to celebrate Darwin, Science and Humanity -- so do take a little time to browse!
Finally we have introduced a section on the home page about the "Two Emancipators", born on the same day in the same year: Abraham Lincoln, emancipator of the American slaves, and Charles Darwin, emancipator of the human mind. Essays supporting this view are linked to the homepage for your convenience.
Sincerely yours,
Robert J. ("Bob") Stephens, Ph. D.
Emeritus Director, Cell Biology Program
SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute)
President, Darwin Day Celebration, a nonprofit, tax-deductible 501(c)(3) corp.
http://www. DarwinDay.org
Issue #3. Guest – Eric Altman from the PA Bigfoot Society
Eric Altman is the director of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society. He writes: “My interest in Bigfoot began at the age of 10. I spent most of my childhood reading books on Bigfoot. At the age of 14, I met stan Gordon who would inspire me to become a Bigfoot field researcher. in 1999, Steve Anderson, Henry Benton and I formed the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society. In January of 2000. I was given the position of Director of the PBS which I have held since. My wife Kathy and I currently reside in Jeannette PA.”
http://www.pabigfootsociety.com/index.html
Issue #5. The Starchild Project
http://www.theness.com/articles.asp?id=30