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PODCAST

The Reality Check

The Reality Check

Canada"s weekly podcast that explores a wide range of controversies and curiosities using science and critical thinking.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

39:49

TRC #659: Chatting ChatGPT + LED Masks Worth The...

The Reality Check ·

2022/12/11

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.

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22:40

TRC #658: Iran Protest Misinfo + Medieval Peasants...

The Reality Check ·

2022/11/27

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.

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25:55

TRC #657: Greenwashing + Is Social Media Bad For Us?

The Reality Check ·

2022/11/15

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.

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28:38

TRC #656: Origins Of Halloween + Halloween Myths +...

The Reality Check ·

2022/10/31

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.

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29:02

TRC #655: Is Nuclear Power Racist? Sexist? Ageist? +...

The Reality Check ·

2022/10/17

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.

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30:46

TRC #654: What Is Inflation? + John von Neumann: The...

The Reality Check ·

2022/09/11

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.

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55:56

TRC #653: Ethics In Scientific Research with Dr....

The Reality Check ·

2022/08/25

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

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30:12

TRC #652: JWST With Dr. Stu Robbins + Rogers Outage

The Reality Check ·

2022/08/04

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.

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32:42

TRC #651: LaMDA Sentient? + Is Chlorine Smell From...

The Reality Check ·

2022/07/13

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.

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27:05

TRC #650: Dishwasher Vs Hand Washing + Dog Breed &...

The Reality Check ·

2022/06/06

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.

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24:04

TRC #649: Is Russia Committing Genocide In Ukraine? +...

The Reality Check ·

2022/04/24

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and since that time have committed all manner of atrocities. But is it genocide? Darren tackles this difficult topic. Next, Adam looks into the idea that there are no ugly old buildings and survivorship bias.

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30:09

TRC #648: Slapgate Conspiracy + The Science Of Moonfall

The Reality Check ·

2022/04/18

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”.

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09:36

TRC #647: Coalitions Are Democratic?

The Reality Check ·

2022/04/08

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”.

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26:02

TRC #646: Donating During Disasters + Domestication...

The Reality Check ·

2022/03/27

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.

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09:09

TRC #645: The Panther of Kharkiv

The Reality Check ·

2022/03/17

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.

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34:26

TRC #644: Ottawa Convoy Confusion

The Reality Check ·

2022/02/19

The trucks, the honking, the bouncy castles, the hot tubs. It’s all Darren today. As a resident in downtown Ottawa, he gives us his thoughts on the “freedom convoy” which has been occupying the city centre for over three weeks. Are the international stories correct? What do the protestors want, and have they really been peaceful?

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31:32

TRC #643: Catalytic Converters + Masked People More...

The Reality Check ·

2022/02/13

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.

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47:58

TRC #642: Annual Prediction Show: 2022 Edition

The Reality Check ·

2022/01/20

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.

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34:23

TRC #641: Dangers Of High Density Crowds + Memes:...

The Reality Check ·

2021/12/23

Cristina delves into the fascinating yet terrifying science of high density crowds in light of the recent Astroworld music festival tragedy. Adam takes a closer look behind popular memes. Are they data mining, pushing elaborate conspiracy theories, or just plain old clickbait? Darren gives us a great overview of Steven Pinker’s latest book “Rationality”, which explores the concept of collective rationality in society.

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26:22

TRC #640: Effective Donating 2021 + Longest Lunar...

The Reality Check ·

2021/12/01

Darren brings us an important overview of the recent updates from the charity evaluation website GiveWell to help inform your charity donation decisions this holiday season. Adam rounds out the show by scrutinizing claims that the recent lunar eclipse was the longest eclipse of this century and next.

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437 results

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