Skeptoid - Listeners Have a Say
Aired: 2014-07-04
Duration: 04:24


=== Why I Support Skeptoid (03:32) ===

[00:00:00]  You're listening to Skeptoid.
[00:00:02]  I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.
[00:00:05]  Shut up, you!
[00:00:12]  My name is Larry Kuhn, and I'm an IT director at the University of California, Irvine, as well as a sports writer covering NBA basketball for sites such as ESPN.com.
[00:00:22]  I know Brian Dunning personally, but this message would be the same even if I didn't.
[00:00:27]  I consider myself a skeptic, which means I'm always looking for evidence.
[00:00:31]  I'm looking for logic and critical thinking, and I'm looking for the facts.
[00:00:35]  Skeptoid provides all of this on a weekly basis, covering controversial topics in a rational, coherent, and entertaining manner, always separating what's real from what isn't.
[00:00:45]  I've been a weekly listener for years, and I'm a supporter.
[00:00:49]  As skeptics, it's our duty to support programming like Skeptoid to ensure that it remains available and reaches as many people as possible.
[00:00:57]  As Brian says, you're listening to Skeptoid, a listener-supported program.
[00:01:02]  So what are you waiting for?
[00:01:03]  Support it.
[00:01:05]  My name is Dave, and I live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, and I run a small business out of my home.
[00:01:12]  I listen to over 20 hours a week podcasting, and one of my favorite podcasts is Skeptoid.
[00:01:18]  Skeptoid offers a good starting point for critical analysis on a wide variety of subjects.
[00:01:24]  Some of my favorite subjects that Skeptoid has covered include the pseudoscientific health fads like homeopathy and the gluten-free movement, as well as some of the conspiracy theory episodes like water fluoridation and the Building 7 collapse.
[00:01:38]  I like to support Skeptoid by setting up a recurring monthly PayPal payment.
[00:01:44]  The nature of human psychology, like it or not, is that we can often outthink ourselves, fool ourselves, as it were.
[00:01:51]  We are products of our environment and our upbringing.
[00:01:54]  Only when we learn to challenge ourselves and accept that our perspective is jaded, do we begin to develop the discipline to think beyond what we accept at first glance?
[00:02:03]  The skeptic's view is what develops to dig deeper, think through options and proof, apply logic, and follow a process to help us keep from fooling ourselves.
[00:02:13]  This is the value that Brian Dunning brings with the Skeptoid podcast.
[00:02:17]  It's simple.
[00:02:18]  It makes me think.
[00:02:20]  Hi, my name is Jason and I live in Michigan.
[00:02:23]  I support Skeptoid mainly for three reasons.
[00:02:26]  First, it's a fun and quick way to learn about a topic I usually wouldn't otherwise know anything about.
[00:02:30]  It saves me the time of having to track down the facts buried in the interwebs.
[00:02:34]  I also listen to Skeptoid because it is one of the few places I can get a scientific view of something that usually is only covered in a non-science-based way.
[00:02:41]  Finally, I support Skeptoid because Big Pharma, or wait, Big Petroleum, Misanto, I forget who pays me now.
[00:02:49]  By the way, if you think the last reason is at all true, you really need to listen to a lot more Skeptoid.
[00:02:59]  Questionable Adam here from HeardMentalityPodcast.com, contacting you from the year 2074 using Deepak Chopra's Cosmic Consciousness Time Traveling Fax Machine.
[00:03:10]  When I'm feeling insufficiently skeptical, I jump straight onto Skeptoid.com to boost my dopamine, serotonin, and critical thinking levels.
[00:03:19]  Using this community resource for the last 70 years, I've been able to help others overcome addictions to homeopathy.
[00:03:26]  Producing a quality podcast each week is a huge job, a full-time job, and it needs to be supported.

=== Funding the Full-Time Job (00:51) ===

[00:03:32]  For just a few dollars a month via Set and Forget PayPal donations on Brian's site, you can help support edutainment to assist myself and others.
[00:03:41]  I do.
[00:03:42]  You should too.
[00:03:44]  I must run!
[00:03:45]  Emperor Deepak has detected my movements.
[00:03:48]  I'll contact you soon.
[00:03:52]  If you enjoy the Skeptoid podcast and you think it's important for others to hear, please keep in mind it is entirely dependent upon listener support.
[00:04:00]  The show and the website are free of advertisements, and it's a tax-deductible public charity.
[00:04:06]  This is only because almost enough of you support the show with recurring monthly micropayments, which I need to keep it going.
[00:04:13]  If you're not already a supporter, please come to skeptoid.com and click on support skeptoid.
[00:04:20]  A few clicks in less than a minute, and you're done.
[00:04:23]  Thanks for listening.