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Explore every episode of the podcast Hunting Humbug 101

Dive into the complete episode list for Hunting Humbug 101. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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1–49 of 49

TitlePub. DateDuration
Episode 49: False attribution (original episode)21 May 2016
Episode 48: The best of Jef (original episode)06 May 2016
Episode 39: Begging the question (original episode) 11 Dec 2015
Episode 38: Appeal to authority (original episode) 27 Nov 2015
Episode 37: Moral equivalence (original episode) 13 Nov 2015
Episode 36: Special pleading (original episode) 31 Oct 2015
All enlightened critical thinkers agree, this is the best podcast on fallacies going around. And this episode on Special Pleading is one of the best we’ve produced to date. If you disagree, it’s because you don’t have the kind of cognition and sensibility required to recognise quality. It could also be because of the environment in which you are listening to it, the type of music player you are using and/or your headphones. If you had decent equipment and were in a place that allowed you to concentrate properly, you’d no doubt agree with me…

Direct download: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0036.mp3

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for less than US$3 from:
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Episode 35: Skeptics' circle (original episode)18 Sep 2015
Episode 0034: Factoid propagation (original episode)04 Sep 2015
Episode 0033: Burden of proof (original episode)21 Aug 2015
Episode 0032: Simple minded certitude (original episode)08 Aug 2015
Episode 0031: The WTF? Fallacy (original episode)26 Jul 2015
Episode 0030: The Art of Humbug Detection (original episode)11 Jul 2015
Episode 47: Psychonanalysing tool (original episode)22 Apr 2016
Episode 0029: Wishful thinking (original episode)21 Jun 2015
An original episode where we looked at wishful thinking, with examples from Oprah and The Secret.

Direct download:

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
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Episode 0028: On belief (original episode)05 Jun 2015
An original episode where I interviewed a practicing psychic. I asked her to answer questions about paranormal phenomena and what the basis of her belief is. I was joined by Ben who I discuss this with – in terms of Thomas Gilovich’s book How We Know What Isn’t So – The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life.

Direct download:



The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
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Episode 0027: Talking skeptically22 May 2015
Episode 0026: Sanctimony (original episode) 08 May 2015
This is an original episode, previously recorded with my father Jef, in which we looked at Sanctimony.

Clips from:
Here’s the link to the direct download.
The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
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Episode 0025: Single cause 25 Apr 2015
Episode 0024: Exaggerated conflict (original episode)10 Apr 2015
Episode 0023: Perfect solution27 Mar 2015
In this episode we look at Perfect Solution.

The first example is looking at the use of technology in cricket for umpiring decisions.Audio of the cricketing legend, Sachin Tendulkar: http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/video_audio/530928.html?genre=9

The second example is about the flu vaccine: http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/flu-shot-risks-benefits/2013/06/14/id/510050/

Here's the cdc information page about a the flu vaccine: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm

Direct download of the episode: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0023.mp3

__________________
The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 0022: Browbeating (original episode)13 Mar 2015
This is an original episode on Browbeating. It was also our last look at the fallacies of Jenny McCarthy. We were totally sick of her. Other examples from Christopher Hitchens and Dr. Evil.

Here’s a direct link to the episode: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0022.mp3
Episode 0021: Weasel words28 Feb 2015
Episode 0020: Stacking the deck (original episode)13 Feb 2015
This is an original episode on Stacking the Deck.

















Direct download: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0020.mp3

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 46: False compromise and false balance (original episode)08 Apr 2016
Episode 0019: Unfounded generalisation31 Jan 2015
In this episode we look at Unfounded Generalisation

The clips for this episode come from QANDA episode Monday 10 November, 2014
This is your Brain on Climate Change

Some further reading:


Direct download: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0019.mp3

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 0018: False cause; correlation error (original episode)17 Jan 2015
Episode 0017: Ad hominem (original episode)02 Jan 2015
This is an original episode on Ad Hominem.

Show notes (stuff we mentioned that you might want to follow up, or not, whatever… totally up to you):

  • An example of likening a contemporary political leader to Hitler from people who’d been to see a talk by Al Gore organised by moveon.org (no points for guessing the leader of who I speak...) . This is obviously a case of cherry picking, but nonetheless…. Here's the youtube clip I used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiOpOGJsLhU. (I also slipped in a bit of Monty Python here (Gumbies)


Direct download: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0017.mp3


The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
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Episode 0016: Immunised hypothesis19 Dec 2014
In this episode Ben and I discuss Immunised Hypotheses: http://www.skepticsfieldguide.net/2013/01/immunised-hypothesis.html

Clips from:


Also discussed, Kiai Master vs MMA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEDaCIDvj6I


Direct download: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0016.mp3

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 0015: Gibberish (original episode)05 Dec 2014
This podcast is an original episode on Gibberish: http://www.skepticsfieldguide.net/2012/12/gibberish.html

One example we use is from Yes Prime Minister - The Smoke Screen.

The other examples are from Richard Dawkins' Tanner Lectures. (The gibberish comes in the form of questions asked to Richard Dawkins.)
  • Richard Dawkins - The Religion of Science - Part 2 - at about 31 minutes into the audio if you want to hear the original.
  • Richard Dawkins - The Science of Religion - Part 2 - at about 11 minutes.


Direct download: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0015.mp3 The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 0014: Bad faith21 Nov 2014
Bad faith http://www.skepticsfieldguide.net/2013/01/bad-faith.html  Dr Oz Dr Oz was forced to face a senate hearing into dietary supplements. Audio from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and somewhere else on YouTube: Defending Jo Hockey (sort of, not really) http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-13/shorten-seizes-on-hockeys-poor-people-dont-have-cars-comment/5668468 
A careful and better analysis is looking at fuel expense as a proportion of income. 
And in a June 2014 submission to the Senate Economics Committee inquiry into the proposed excise rise, the Australian Automobile Association stated that: "Research indicates that the people who use their cars most frequently are in the outer metropolitan areas and  rural and regional areas where there are lower incomes, less jobs, and little or no access to public transport"
To back this the treasurer produced Treasury figures showing that absolute spending on petrol is higher in high-income households, and showing that high-income households tend to have more cars.
The same figures, expressed as a percentage of income, which is the obvious and accepted way of measuring the relative impact of a household cost, shows that households in the highest quintile spent 1.37% of their income on petrol and those in the lowest quintile spent 4.54%. In other words petrol eats up more than three times as much of an average poor household’s income than a rich household’s, because the rich household has 11 times the income from which to pay its petrol bill. So whatever its other merits, an increase in petrol excise will have a bigger impact on the poor household’s budget than the rich household’s, not the other way around. Which was already pretty obvious, really.
Chiropractors and Simon Singh: 
Other mentions Oatmeal and Ted Cruz on Net Neutrality
http://theoatmeal.com/blog/net_neutrality

Rumsfeld
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_known_knowns


Direct download https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0014.mp3
The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 0013: Non sequitur (original episode) 08 Nov 2014
Episode 0012: False dichotomy and false dilemma (original episode)25 Oct 2014
This is a combination of two original episodes. False dichotomy and dilemma, and then some feedback.

These are the three examples we specifically speak about on the podcast:

Direct download of the MP3 here: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0012.mp3

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 0011: Feedback10 Oct 2014
Not a full episode. A response to feedback as a test for recording via google hangouts on air.

Back with a full episode next week.

Direct download: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0011.mp3
Episode 0010: The naturalistic fallacy26 Sep 2014
In this episode we look a the naturalistic fallacy, both the “is-ought” problem and the appeal to nature. Direct link: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0010.mp3 Section 1: Reading from the book

Section 2: Appeal to nature The “Food Babe”

Wikipedia entry: Vani Hari, also known on her blog as the Food Babe, is an American blogger, known for her criticism of the food industry. She has gathered over 350,000 signatures via petitions pressuring food companies to remove ingredients from their products or change their production processes.[2][3] Companies including Kraft, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Subway, have changed or reconsidered ingredients in their products as a result of her campaigns.[4][5] Her work has in turn been criticized as pseudoscience.[2][6][7]

Source of audio clips from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHjm8lbgc3I and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7MrIZYLYtk

The ingredients of an “all natural banana”: http://jameskennedymonash.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/ingredients-of-an-all-natural-banana/ Some excellent blog posts responding to the Food Babe’s scientific illiteracy:

The Food Babe defends her lack of scientific training: http://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2014/06/14/why_big_food_fears_the_food_babe.html

Hari says she doesn’t need scientific degrees to be intellectually honest and know how to research. As a teenager, she was a nationally-ranked debater, who spent summers in the Dartmouth College library researching topics, she says.

Section 3: The “Is-Ought” problem

From “Creation Today” If evolution is true: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv0UmnWXqQY

Ken Buck: being gay "a choice," birth an "influence" like "alcoholism"

From “Meet the press” 10/17/2010. Kenneth R. "Ken" Buck is the District Attorney for Weld County, Colorado, and is a candidate for the 4th District U.S. Congressional seat in Colorado.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyyCkBaCfis
Feedback, ideas, suggestions or comments: theo.clark@skepticsfieldguide.net or @theojclark on twitter.
___________________________ You can buy a copy of the eBook for about $4. Check out the website www.skepticsfieldguide.net for a free version of the first edition and direct links to Amazon Kindle, Google Play, or LULU. Please leave a review on Amazon, or Good reads etc. if you can, and leave a review or rating on iTunes. That really helps.
Episode 45: Impugning motives and poisoning the well (original episode)25 Mar 2016
Episode 0009: Moving the goalposts and red herring (original episode)12 Sep 2014
This is an episode from the original run of the podcast. It looks at Moving the goalposts and Red herrings.

Direct download: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0009.mp3
Episode 0008: Misuse of statistics, and misunderstanding of randomness and probability29 Aug 2014
Misuse of statistics _________________
Clip from original episode A bit from the classic British show, Yes Prime Minister. _________________
Apple WWDC keynote 
Apple CEO Tim Cook at this year’s World Wide Developers Conference Keynote. He points out that Apple has an install base of 80 Million Macs.

Based on NetMarketShare data, as of May 2014, Windows 8 can be found on about 14 percent of all PCs currently running Windows. But with an overall market share of about 1.5 billion, Windows PCs represent nearly 91 percent of all computers in use worldwide. In simple terms, that means that Windows 8, widely considered a “failure” by critics and competitors, is in use on about 210 million PCs worldwide. That’s more than 5 times the install base of Mavericks, and more than 2.5 times the install base of every Mac currently in use. (Source: http://www.tekrevue.com/windows-8-outpaces-os-x-mavericks/)

This also ignores other points of difference. Windows 8 is a major update that pretty much people only get with new machines and have to pay for. Maveriicks is a minor free upgrade by comparison.

Full keynote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w87fOAG8fjk
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Andrew Bolt and climate contrarians  Analysis of this factoid:


Original Youtube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NDfwkr8hig
_________________

Misunderstanding of probability _________________
Sally Clark wrongful conviction  From a Ted Talk by Peter Donnelly. http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_donnelly_shows_how_stats_fool_juries#  Background - Wikipedia on Sally Clark: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Clark
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Evolution and spontaneous beginning of life From URCall.org, a community of Christians sharing their ideas about the relationship between faith and science.

Original Youtube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-0AksTzfx0

Fred Hoyle's junkyard tornado: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkyard_tornado
_________________


Book I’m part of the way through reading: How to not be wrong: http://www.jordanellenberg.com/how-not-to-be-wrong/

Direct download of the episode: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0008.mp3
_________________


The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
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Episode 0007: Misuse of Information (Original Episode)15 Aug 2014
This is an original episode, however I have cut some of it out to add to the next episode.

This episode is going to focus on the misuse of science information.

The next episode will be on the misuse and misunderstanding of statistics. It will be a new one with Ben, but include some of the original episode on misuse of information - about statistics.

Direct download of the episode: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0007.mp3

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 0006: Brain gym and the argument from imagination01 Aug 2014
As with the previous episode, this is partially based on my presentation at Brisbane SkeptiCamp 2014

Clips and information from this episode can be found here: http://www.skepticsfieldguide.net/2011/11/three-ways-of-examining-brain-or-any_26.html

A focus of this podcast was on the argument from imagination.

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 0005: Factoid propagation - brain claims19 Jul 2014
Episode 0004: False Analogy (Original Episode with a new bit)05 Jul 2014
This episode looks false analogy.

This is an episode from the original run of the podcast. It also includes a newly recorded part looking at the Australian Prime Minister's recent trouble when trying to explain the tough new federal budget cuts using an analogy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMbfdW3HVRE

Direct download of the episode: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0004.mp3

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBB0XEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KBB0XEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=theskesfiegui-20&linkId=BKRFY4A2TZJFOBJJ
Episode 0003: False balance20 Jun 2014
Show notes In this episode we look at false balance.

We discussed the Dunning-Kruger effect with some Dunning-Kruger like accuracy (we got the vibe of it right). Check out the original paper here: https://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~suh/metacognition.pdf

Clips looked at:


I was interviewed on The Skeptic Zonehttp://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-294-8june2014

Penn & Teller’s Bullshit episode on vaccines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLcOz4EKrxg

Some other good commentary about false balance

____________________________________________
The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from: Direct download of the episode: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0003.mp3
Episode 0002: What is Humbug! (Original Episode)08 Jun 2014
This was the first episode in the original run of Hunting Humbug 101. In it we (my Father Jef and I) discuss the general idea of fallacies and critical thinking and why we were moved to write a book on fallacies.

Here's the link to the post most of this discussion is based around - Fallacy.

The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from: Direct download of the episode: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0002.mp3

Episode 0001: Homeopathy - appealing to tradition 27 May 2014
This episode looks at the fallacy of appealing to tradition
  1. Reading from the book: www.skepticsfieldguide.net/p/ebook
  2. NHMRC draft Information Paper: Evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy for treating health conditions: http://consultations.nhmrc.gov.au/public_consultations/homeopathy_health
  3. Australian Homeopath Anna Lamaro on The Project. Audio courtesy of the Skeptic Zone podcast: http://skepticzone.libsyn.com/webpage/2014/04 
  4. Anna on ABC Breakfast: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-09/ana-lamaro-australian-homeopathic-association-on-news-breakfast/5378632
  5. Greg Hope - President of the Australian Homeopathic Association - on ABC radio: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2014/s3981552.htm
  6. More of Anna on The Project
  7. The BBC Horizon documentary "BBC Horizon - Homeopathy The Test": http://youtu.be/vcBHKMJDHaU 
  8. Clip to analyse for Episode 3: http://youtu.be/LW7Id4GUzhU
The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from: Direct download of the episode: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0001.mp3 (18 mb)
Episode 44: Change your mind (original episode) 26 Feb 2016
Episode 43: Mind, body, wallet (original episode)12 Feb 2016
Episode 42: The slippery slope (original episode) 29 Jan 2016
Episode 41: Argument by slogan (original episode)16 Jan 2016
Episode 40: Argument by artifice and Bad faith (original episode) 25 Dec 2015
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