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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

19:00

TRC #724: Mistletoe + Christmas Tree Lights

The Reality Check ·

2025/12/18

As Christmas approaches we bring you the history of two popular decorations you might see this holiday season. Darren looks at the history of the mistletoe as a decoration, symbol of fertility and God killer. Adam looks at the first use of lights on a Christmas tree and it may be older than you think!

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43:17

TRC #723: The Introduction to Darren McKee's...

The Reality Check ·

2025/12/05

With AI safety still underrated yet imperative, in this bonus episode of the show we share the Introduction to "Uncontrollable: The Threat of Artificial Superintelligence and the Race to Save the World" by Darren McKee.

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25:31

TRC #722: Effective Giving + The Mona Lisa

The Reality Check ·

2025/12/02

Today, December 2nd, is Giving Tuesday. Darren gives an overview of the concept of Effective Giving, with some tips on how your charitable donations could will lead to the most good in line with your own priorities. Adam tackles a few claims about the Mona Lisa, inspired by not all that evidence based viral clips. What were the original colours of this painting, and did it only become popular after being stolen years ago?

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01:00:00

TRC #721: Our 2023 Interview with Yoshua Bengio

The Reality Check ·

2025/11/21

Two years ago we interviewed Yoshua Bengio, the prominent AI researcher, about his long career in AI where he helped build the foundations for the tools millions use around the world every day. We discussed the future of AI systems, including the importance of AI safety. Since then, Yoshua Bengio has continued to achieve great success in his career in both work on AI and raising awareness about their risks. This bonus episode is a repeat of Darren McKee and Adam Gardner's interview with him from

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45:04

TRC #720: Diabetes and DKA + Name That: Spot The Fake

The Reality Check ·

2025/11/17

We've got two special guests on the latest show! TRC alumni Pat and Cristina join us with a couple of great segments. First Critina tackles a number of myth about diabetes, including her own recent serious experience with DKA or diabetic ketoacidosis. Then Pat delights us with another round of everyone's favourite mostly guessing game Name That: Spot the Fake edition. This game has a special twist that really challenged the contestants.

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30:33

TRC #719: The Disney Point and Smoking + Book...

The Reality Check ·

2025/11/05

Is the "Disney Point" the bizarre result of certain images of Walt Disney around Disney Parks with cigarettes edited out to give the illusion of a unique pointing style? Adam weighs the evidence. Then Darren gives us a couple of book reviews. First up is Shadow Cell by Andrew and Jihi Bustamante, a real life exploration of the world of espionage by former CIA operatives. Next is Algospeak by Adam Aleksic, which examines how social media algorithms inflence language online and in the real world.

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27:38

TRC #718: Philosophical Zombies + Vampires and...

The Reality Check ·

2025/10/21

With Halloween coming up we bring you some spooky segments on zombies and vampires! Darren looks at the thought experiment about philosophical zombies also known as p-zombies. Does this idea make that much sense? Then Adam looks at cases of tuberculosis taking place in New England which, to people without a proper understanding of the germ theory of disease, were thought to be vampirism.

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28:11

TRC #717: Air Conditioning in Europe + Book Reviews:...

The Reality Check ·

2025/10/07

Why does air conditioning seem to be more common in North America than in Europe or other places around the world? Adam looks at the many factors that can encourage or hinder adoption of AC in various places. Darren gives us book reviews on a variety of topics with “What Is Real? The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics” by Adam Becker and “Good and Real: Demystifying Paradoxes from Physics to Ethics” by Gary Drescher.

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28:58

TRC #716: Depicting Intelligence in Fiction

The Reality Check ·

2025/09/22

How is intelligence portrayed in works of fiction? In books, films and TV, we often see depictions of very smart of sometimes less intelligent people, but it’s never totally realistic. Darren leads a conversation about various fictional portrayals of intelligence from Ender Wiggin and Sherlock Holmes to Joey Tribbiani and Homer Simpson. When do they get it right and why, and what do they often get wrong?

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28:34

TRC #715: Mashup: Trees

The Reality Check ·

2025/09/09

Wood you believe that it’s all about trees on the latest episode of The Reality Check podcast? Here are two classic segments about trees. First up is an interview with tree expert Owen Clarkin who gets to the root of many tree facts. That segment may have planted the seeds for a future segment so we leave you with Pat who looks into claims that the Amazon rainforest is the Earth’s lungs.

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59:11

TRC #714: Superman Movie Discussion

The Reality Check ·

2025/08/15

It’s a different kind of show this week as Darren and Adam discuss the recently released Superman film. The movie, directed by James Gunn, stars David Corenswet as Superman. The discussion includes a look at box office results and factors contributing to them, criticism of art and the various things we like and dislike about the film. Though it isn’t a particularly sciencey topic, we can’t help but apply our own brand of critical thinking to some aspects of the film. The film is currently in

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46:39

TRC #713: Testosterone Replacement Therapy + Book...

The Reality Check ·

2025/07/30

This podcast is not sponsored by anyone selling testosterone and its hosts aren’t on T, but there are a many who are! Adam looks into testosterone replacement therapy, TRT, and its connection to some podcasts which are popular with men. Darren then gives us some reviews of five books: Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company by Patrick McGee, An Immense World by Ed Yong, Canada Alone: Navigating the Post-American World by Kim Richard Nossal, Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in

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46:33

TRC #712: AI Make Brain Dumb? + Mentalism

The Reality Check ·

2025/07/09

Is AI making us dumber? Darren looks into a recent study, which spawned some less than great press coverage, trying to assess where or not using LLMs is making us less intelligent. We didn’t really come to very good conclusions because we’ve been using too much AI. Adam gives an overview of mentalism, inspired by some recent podcast appearances by Oz Pearlman which have gone viral and brought some mainstream attention to this practice.

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32:34

TRC #711: Are Dire Wolves Back? + Book Review...

The Reality Check ·

2025/06/06

Could it be that dire wolves are no longer extinct? Researchers at Colossal Biosciences claim to have accomplished de-extinction of these long extinct wolves. Adam looks at the authenticity of their claims and examines what exactly they did to create these so called dire wolves. Then Darren does another book review roundup, looking at Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks by Yuval Noah Harari, Stoicism: How to Use Stoic Philosophy to Find Inner Peace and Happiness Paperback by Jason

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04:04:27

TRC #710: Remembering Dr. Stuart Farrimond

The Reality Check ·

2025/05/27

Sadly, we recently got the news that our friend and frequent TRC contributor Dr. Stuart Farrimond passed away. Stuart was a medical doctor who had a brain cancer diagnosis at age 25. His treatment and side effects meant he had to stop practicing medicine. Stu reinvented himself as a food science expert - appearing on countless television and radio shows. He later became a best selling author of science education books. He will be missed.

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39:47

TRC #709: 100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla + Evidence of Alien...

The Reality Check ·

2025/05/20

Who would win in a fight, 100 men or 1 gorilla? If you’re thinking that question is too vague then you’ll love Darren’s analysis of the situation. Adam looks at claims that we’ve found evidence of alien life on an exoplanet called K2-18B. I’m not saying it’s aliens but… listen to the episode to find out!

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30:09

TRC #708: The Telepathy Tapes + AI Cheating At Chess?

The Reality Check ·

2025/04/21

The Telepathy Tapes is a popular podcast that tells the story of non verbal people showing evidence of psychic abilities and logging on to a psychic virtual chat room called The Hill. Adam looks into how realistic these claims are given what we know about Facilitated Communication. Darren looks into some AI programs that seem to have been cheating at chess! What are they doing and what could this mean for the future of Artificial Intelligence?

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29:05

TRC #707: Is Tim Hortons Canadian? + Mysterious...

The Reality Check ·

2025/04/07

Is Tim Hortons Canadian? Darren takes a look at the history of the popular coffee and donut chain to see just how Canadian it is and what it even means to be a Canadian company. Adam dives into some recent news which suggests that there are massive structures underneath the Great Pyramid of Giza. Is this even possible? Could that structure be a Tim Hortons restaurant?

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20:15

TRC #706: An AI Generated Podcast by NotebookLM

The Reality Check ·

2025/03/26

Could Artificial Intelligence do a better job of recording a podcast than Darren and Adam? For this bonus episode we try something a little different. Darren gave Google’s NotebookLM the introduction Uncontrollable, his book on AI safety, and asked it to generate a podcast based on the content. Listen to what it produced! A somewhat convincing exchange between two virtual podcast hosts talking about concerns about the looming threat of AI. Following this simulated episode the real human hosts of The

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40:36

TRC #705: Book Round Up: Family Unfriendly and One...

The Reality Check ·

2025/03/16

After reading two books touching on the theme of birth rates Adam gives us an overview and discussion on Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be by Timothy Carney and One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger by Matthew Yglesias. Then Darren looks into whether or not Highway 401 in Toronto is the busiest highway in the world.

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