After having watched all six Sharknado films Adam decides to do some research into the science of these not at all ridiculous films, uncovering the truth about the plausibility and historical precedent for a tornado filled with living sharks. Darren gives us a book review of Renée DiResta's Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality, which explores how powerful influencers are able to affect what people believe.

Could meditation ever be harmful? Darren examines the evidence to determine if meditation, which can have many benefits, might sometimes have a negative impact on people's lives. Adam looks at the idea of cavemen and wonders if, as their name suggests, that they really spent all that much time in caves.

Artificial Intelligence or Artificial Creativity?  Can an AI be more creative than a human?  Darren looks at a study which attempts to answer this question.  With the upcoming solar eclipse occurring in North America on April 8th, Adam examines the risk of staring at the sun and gives some tips on how to view an eclipse safely.

I'm not saying they're aliens but … they're aliens. Adam uses hard hitting science to evaluate the validity of these allegedly non human mummified remains which were presented to the Mexican Congress in the fall. A shocking discovery which puts into question everything we know about our world or a hoax? Darren gives us a review of Peter Attia's book Outlive, an exploration of the science behind living a longer and better life.

Darren gives us a news roundup of some recent things happening in the world of AI including OpenAI's text to video tool Sora, Google Deepmind's Gemini 1.5, as well as what implications this and other upcoming technologies could have on our lives.  Adam tries to find out if there was ever anyone who really baked a file into a cake to break out of jail as many children's cartoons have lead us to believe.

We try something a little different on the latest episode of The Reality Check. Having recently seen the movie Oppenheimer Darren and Adam have a discussion about this great film. If you haven't seen the movie already it might be a good idea to check it out before listening to the show!

Put down that poinsettia salad, checkers.  Darren looks into a popular myth that poinsettia plants are poisonous to animals, including people.  Then Adam looks into what's been going on with Mickey Mouse and Steamboat Willie as he explores trademark, copyright and what it means to enter the public domain.

This year we retire our annual prediction segment with a final look back at how accurate, or rather how innacurate, we were in our predictions of what would happen in 2023. Darren examines the validity of a popular claim that people with Down syndrome are stronger. Finally we end the show with a special announcement from Pat and Cristina.

The crew gets to interview TRC's very own Darren McKee, author of the critically acclaimed book, 'Uncontrollable: The Threat of Artificial Superintelligence and the Race to Save the World'. We chat about the challenges of writing a first book, some of the key takeaways, and have a few laughs along the way.

Wondering what the heck is going on with AI?  Why are some people so concerned?

Darren's new beginner-friendly book Uncontrollable: The Threat of Artificial Superintelligence and the Race to Save the World addresses exactly those questions.

In an engaging and easy-to-read style, it explores the promise and peril of advanced AI, why it might be a threat, and what we can do about it. No technical or science background required! 

Available on:

Amazon US 

Amazon Canada

and many other Amazon marketplaces as well.

World-renowned AI expert Yoshua Bengio talks with Darren McKee and Adam Gardner about his long career, why advanced AI could be harmful, and whether open-source of powerful AI models is a risk.

Cristina delves into the latest FDA advisory announcement shedding light on the ineffectiveness of phenylephrine, a widely used ingredient in several nasal decongestants. Adam revisits the myriad of news stories and worries surrounding bees and the issue of colony collapse disorder.

What's the difference between a bar of soap and the stuff we use to clean dishes, laundry and cars, and can you just use any of those in the shower? Adam tries to find out whether the stuff that's fit for baby ducks if good enough for you skin. Darren gives us a review of Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky, which asks interesting questions about free will, whether we have it and what the implications are.

It's another mashup where we give you three segments from previous shows.  First we revisit Pat's deep dive on a viral video of an amusement park ride.  Next Adam takes on an Avril Lavigne conspiracy that she died and was replaced by a double.  Finally, Cristina does what Cristina does… taking on Gwyneth Paltrow.

Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Dall-e. Darren digs into an explanation of how artificial intelligence generates images and whether or not it is just copying.  Cristina looks at the fascinating history of why a computer glitch is called a bug. 

Adam digs into recent headlines about UFOs and whistleblower David Grusch.  Does this give any promising evidence that aliens may be among us?  Next Darren ponders how our future AI overlords might treat us. Assuming they don't eliminate us, will we make great pets?  It's a new TRC!

Cristina kicks off the show with a deep dive into the history of forensic fingerprinting and challenges a commonly accepted notion that no two fingerprints are alike. Adam brings us a buttload of a segment when he probes into the origin and meaning of the term. Darren rounds out the show with an always fascinating look into the world of AI, specifically why given extinction concerns, AI researchers don't quit.

Darren shares some thoughts and leads an interesting discussion about what might be reasonable approaches to the difficult and complicated topic of artificial intelligence. Pat brings us another smashing game of "Name That: Spot The Fake." Can you do better than the TRC crew?

The TRC crew brings you a mashup about fire and smoke.  Adam looks into headlines about the Amazon rainforest. The facts may surprise you.  Pat addresses a listener's question about whether the rainforest is the Earth's lungs responsible for 20% of the oxygen we breathe. Darren investigates whether wood fires pose a danger to your health.

In March of this year, auroras were seen in many places on earth.  Though the auroras are usually seen far up north on the globe they can occur further south.  But what are the risks associated with this kind of event?  "The Technology Trap" by Carl Benedikt Frey looks at how the history of technology can help us better understand economic and political polarization in the age of automation.  Darren gives us a review. 

A recent study done by Consumer Reports shows that dark chocolate bars contain lead and cadmium.  Should you be concerned? Cristina digs into it.  Next, after watching the movie "65", Adam looks at the debate about how dinosaurs went extinct and when.

Pat puppeteers a delicious intro. Finally, what took us so long? We had a chat with Canadian podcast pioneer and author Karl Mamer. Karl has a new book out called "The Skeptics Book of Lists". He's a fascinating character with many stories to tell. We hope you enjoy!

Welcome to episode 6-6-6! Darren does a deep dive on the digits steeped in the Book of Revelation and why some historically associate it with the 'number of the beast'. Pat challenges the crew to a fresh and always fun installment of Name That: Spot The Fake. Can you do better than the TRC crew?

We look at some fundamental ways of cultivating critical thinking on the latest show.  Darren looks at some common cognitive biases and logical fallacies and how to use these in order to have a better more accurate understanding of the truth of the things we face every day.  Then Adam looks at the science behind the  belief that you should let your leftovers cool down at room temperature before putting them in the fridge.

Cristina investigates a pervasive belief that standing in front of a microwave oven poses health risks. Darren and Adam have another fascinating discussion with Dr. Roman Yampolskiy. This time it's about his recent work regarding the Simulation Hypothesis, which proposes that all of our existence is a simulated reality. Dr. Yampolskiy is a computer scientist at the University of Louisville where he is the Director of the Cyber Security Laboratory in the Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science. He is an author of over 100 publications including numerous books.

Cristina digs into the rare weather occurrence called thundersnow after witnessing lightning and thunder during a recent snowstorm. Adam checks the origins of 'the customer is always right in matters of taste', and asks, are they? Darren rounds out the show with a look at Matthew Ball's best-selling book "The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything".

Dr. Roman Yampolskiy is a computer scientist at the University of Louisville where he is the director of the Cyber Security Laboratory in the department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science. He is an author of over 100 publications including numerous books. 

In what has become a yearly ritual to highlight the futility of 'predictions', Adam, Producer Pat, and Cristina guess at what might happen in 2023 and revisit the panel's 2022 predictions to see how they did.

Happy New Year, Checkers! Darren lays out the Three Laws of Robotics, as devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov, and why they are seemingly reasonable yet flawed. Adam bites into a segment about the Apple logo and ponders whether it's based on the biblical apple that signifies the Fall of Man. 

'Twas the night before Christmas so Cristina asks the proverbial question…did Coca-Cola really invent the now ubiquitous image of Santa Claus? Adam rounds out the show checking claims that the world's population hit 8 billion people on November 15, 2022. Have a safe and happy holiday, Checkers and thank you for listening!

Le Gang is back! The freethinking foursome kick off the show with Darren taking us down an entertaining rabbithole that is the AI text bot, ChatGPT. Cristina investigates if at-home cosmetic LED masks are worth the hype and introduces us to evidence-based YouTubers Doctorly in the process. Finally, Pat orchestrates a delightful - as Darren would say - game of Name That: Spot The Fake.

Darren clears up some misinformation about a viral post that Iran was planning to execute 15,000 protesters.  Adam looks into a claim that medieval peasants work far fewer hours than we do in modern times.  Lastly we check in with our fifth Beatle, Dr. Stuart Robbins, about the slug in response to a listener email.

Greenwashing is making unsubstantiated claims to deceive consumers into believing that a company's products are environmentally friendly.  Cristina takes us through it. Darren asks: Is social media bad for us?  The answer must be yes, right? As usual, it's complicated.

It's an all hallows eve mashup!  Darren takes us through the interesting history of Halloween.  Cristina debunks some long held Halloween myths and, lastly,  Adam wonders if less kids are trick or treating. 

Can we say that AI is going in the wrong direction, as it does our art and writing while we suffer doing laundry and dishes? It's just Adam on the show this week as he overanalyzes a viral tweet by looking at how much the time and way we do chores has changed for the better over the centuries, while looking at what AI could do to improve the situation.

Adam ran into a recent article which posed questions about whether nuclear power presents issues of racism, sexism and ageism.  He takes a deep dive and explores if and how this could be true.  Next up, our favourite astronomer and 5th Beatle joins us to talk all about lenses, following up on a segment about daredevil "Mad Mike" Hughes who died in a homemade rocket attempting to "prove" the Earth is flat.

Darren is joined by our resident economics expert, Lars, for an interesting conversation about inflation, deflation and related economic issues. Darren and Lars discuss the biography "The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann", who is a revered mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath.

On Saturday the world lost a world renowned cardiovascular researcher in a tragic accident.  It was the day of his 50th wedding anniversary. Over the course of his 50-year career, he published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles and his work has earned some of the most prestigious research awards.

His name was Dr. Jeffrey Robbins, father of our good friend and TRC's 5th Beatle, Dr. Stuart Robbins. In honour of Stuart's father and his scientific legacy, we are running an interview Stuart did with him in 2014 for his Exposing PseudoAstronomy podcast about ethics in scientific research. Our hearts go out to Stuart and his family. 

It's been a while since we had our favourite planetary scientist Astro Stu on the show! Stuart gives us a breakdown on the James Webb Space Telescope, what we're seeing in released images, and what's next for the mission. Adam rounds out the show with a look into the recent "massive" Rogers Communications outage that disrupted telecommunication services for over a quarter of Canada's population.

Le Gang is back together at last! We kick off with an interesting discussion about a claim that the Google LaMDA Chatbot has become sentient. Adam investigates whether the smell most people associate with chlorine is due to its reaction with pee. Darren rounds out the show with a look at David Chalmers' book 'Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy', an analysis of our technological future.

In an effort to settle a hot household debate, Cristina looks into whether it's more eco and pocket friendly to hand wash dishes versus using your dishwasher. Adam checks out a new study that suggests dog personalities have little to do with their breed. Lastly, Darren gives us an overview of the bestselling book, "The Road to Unfreedom" by Timothy Snyder, which chronicles the rise of authoritarianism.

As Will Smith's slap during the Academy Awards trends online, a picture of the moment has gone viral suggesting Chris Rock wore a prosthetic cheek pad. Cristina digs into it. Next, Adam takes a look at the science, or more precisely lack thereof, in the latest sci-fi flick, "Moonfall".  

On Tuesday, March 22, the Liberals and New Democratic Party announced a confidence and supply agreement to further each of their interests.  Darren takes a look at whether this is undemocratic, whether it is what Canadians voted for and if it's a "backroom deal".

Cristina looks at the dark side of charitable donation and shares valuable advice and insight from Humanitarian Logistics expert Dale Herzog. Adam dives into new research around domesticated silver foxes and revisits Animal Domestication Syndrome. Darren reviews Thomas Sowell's 'Intellectuals and Society' - a discussion on the relevance of intellectuals - and he has some feelings about it.

What were the first mammals like? Darren examines what characterizes a mammal and explores the world of early mammals, who coexisted with the dinosaurs. Adam investigates the discourse around a viral question which asks "Would you rather be stuck in a forest with a man or a bear?", using some simple statistics to inform the issue.

Short show for you this week. The internet was recently abuzz about a cat named Mikael.  Supposedly, Ukrainian army cats were trained to spot and direct the location of Russian sniper lasers. The story discussed was of Mikael, "The Panther of Kharkiv", who followed laser spots to identify four snipers, leading to their deaths.  This is indeed Adam's wheelhouse and he digs in to find the truth.

Cristina looks into why thefts of catalytic converters in cars has soared lately. Adam takes a skeptical lens to recent headlines suggesting that wearing face masks make people seem more attractive. Finally, Darren brings us a fascinating exploration of New Year's resolutions and considers why humans make them.

In what has become a yearly ritual to highlight the futility of 'predictions', Adam, Producer Pat, and Cristina guess at what might happen in the new year and look back on our guesses from last year.