The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
Presentation
Hosted bySteven Novella
Jay Novella
Bob Novella
Evan Bernstein
Cara Santa Maria
GenreScience and skepticism
UpdatesWeekly
Production
No. of episodes1,572 Edit this on Wikidata
Publication
Original releaseMay 4, 2005
Ratings4.53125/5 Edit this on Wikidata
Related
Websitehttp://www.theskepticsguide.org Edit this on Wikidata

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (SGU) is an American weekly skeptical podcast hosted by Steven Novella, MD, along with a panel of contributors. The official podcast of the New England Skeptical Society, it was named to evoke The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The show features discussions of recent scientific developments in layman's terms, and interviews authors, people in the area of science, and other famous skeptics. The SGU podcast includes discussions of myths, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, the paranormal, and other forms of superstition, from the point of view of scientific skepticism.

Hosts

The SGU podcast was first released in May 2005. The original lineup of the podcast consisted of the Novella brothers, Steven Novella, Robert "Bob" Novella and Jay Novella, along with Evan Bernstein, and Perry DeAngelis. DeAngelis contributed until his death in 2007, shortly before his 44th birthday. Rebecca Watson joined in 2006 and later left the podcast in 2014.[1] Cara Santa Maria joined the cast in July 2015.

The podcast is affiliated with the New England Skeptical Society and with the SGU Productions LLC.[2]

Until 2018 there were no full-time employees of the podcast, although that was in part due to a defamation lawsuit filed by Edward Tobinick that consumed financial resources that would have otherwise been available.[3] In 2018 Jay Novella, who had previously both been one of the cast and managed the podcast's website, was employed full-time as a result of reaching a Patreon target of 3,000 donors.[3]

Production

SGU live recording at CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas. From left to right: Rachael Dunlop (guest), Evan Bernstein, Jay Novella, Steven Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and Bob Novella.

Segments include interviews, discussions of significant but largely unknown figures in science, short games and puzzles played with the audience or between the panellists, and accounts of relevant events in the news that relate to skepticism. Shows last about 80 minutes, although on September 23, 2011, SGU produced a 24-hour-long podcast with contributions by skeptics from around the world. It was referred to as SGU-24.

Theme music

The show's theme music is "Theorem" by the San Francisco rock band, Kineto.[4] The theme was acquired from the Podsafe Music Network. Prior to the November 2, 2005 show, Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me with Science" was the show's theme.

Guests

Many Skeptics' Guide episodes contain interviews. Often the interviews feature well-known scientists or skeptics, for instance Massimo Pigliucci or Joe Nickell. Rarely the guests are proponents of fringe or pseudoscientific views. Some episodes have guest rogues, such as Bill Nye, participating in the entire podcast. Notable guests include the following:[5]

Show date Episode Guest Description
Frequent guest---James RandiA Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic, founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation
Frequent guest---Phil PlaitAn American astronomer and skeptic, former president of the James Randi Educational Foundation, known as "The Bad Astronomer"
Frequent guest---George HrabMusician, skeptic podcaster
Frequent guest---Richard SaundersAn Australian skeptic, podcaster and professional origamist[6]
June 29, 20055Michael ShermerFounder of The Skeptics Society, author of Why People Believe Weird Things[6]
September 7, 2005 12 Steve Milloy Founder of junkscience.com
October 6, 200515Chris MooneyAuthor of The Republican War on Science[6]
July 5, 200650Gerald PosnerAuthor of Case Closed[6]
July 12, 200651Neal AdamsA proponent of the hollow and expanding earth hypotheses[6]
October 4, 200663Michael ShermerFounder of The Skeptics Society, author of Why People Believe Weird Things[6]
December 13, 200673B. Alan WallaceThe president and founder of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies[6]
January 31, 200780TellerOne-half of the illusionist team Penn and Teller[6]
February 7, 200781Adam Savage and Tory BelleciFrom the Discovery Channel show MythBusters[6]
February 15, 200782Christopher HitchensJournalist and literary critic, author of God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything[6][7]
February 15, 200782Matt StoneCo-creator of South Park[6]
February 21, 200783Julia SweeneyFormer Saturday Night Live cast member[6]
April 18, 200791Susan BlackmorePhD in parapsychology, skeptic, and author[8]
July 25, 2007105Jimmy Carter39th President of the United States, Nobel laureate[6][9]
September 5, 2007111Bill Nye"The Science Guy"[6]
November 14, 2007121Paul KurtzCommittee for Skeptical Inquiry founder and chairman of the Council for Secular Humanism
July 16, 2008156Neil deGrasse TysonAn American astrophysicist and science communicator
August 26, 2008162Richard SaundersAn Australian skeptic, podcaster and professional origamist
October 8, 2008168PZ MyersAn American biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) and the author of the Pharyngula science blog
January 15, 2009182Michio KakuTheoretical physicist
April 22, 2009196Seth ShostakAn American astronomer and senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute
May 13, 2009199Rusty SchweickartAn American Apollo astronaut
October 28, 2009219Mark EdwardMentalist
March 25, 2010245George HrabMusician, skeptic podcaster
August 11, 2010265Rhys MorganTeenage consumer advocate
May 9, 2011304Jon RonsonAuthor of The Psychopath Test
November 19, 2011331Neil deGrasse TysonAn American astrophysicist and science communicator
December 3, 2011333Rhys MorganTeenage consumer advocate
September 8, 2012373Billy WestVoice actor on Futurama and other shows
September 29, 2012376Pamela GayAstronomer and podcaster
October 20, 2012379Jamy Ian SwissClose-up magician
November 17, 2012383Bruce HoodPsychologist and author
December 1, 2012385BanachekMentalist and director of the JREF Million Dollar Challenge
January 5, 2013390Massimo PigliucciPhilosopher and author
January 26, 2013393Zack KopplinEducational activist
March 2, 2013398Jon RonsonJournalist and documentary film maker
May 11, 2013408Don McLeroyCreationist and former member of the Texas State Board of Education
June 22, 2013414Daniel LoxtonIllustrator and editor of Junior Skeptic magazine
June 13, 2013417Paul OffitPediatrician and vaccine advocate
August 10, 2013421Michael E. MannClimatologist
August 24, 2013423Sanal EdamarukuAuthor and founding president of Rationalist International
August 31, 2013424Cara Santa MariaScience communicator
October 12, 2013430Marty KleinSex therapist and author
November 9, 2013434Chris Mooney and Indre ViskontasScience writers and Podcasters
November 16, 2013435Gerald PosnerJournalist and author[10]
December 7, 2013438Susan Gerbic & Tim FarleyFounder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia & The creator of WhatsTheHarm.net [11]
January 11, 2014443Mark CrislipMedical doctor and podcaster
January 25, 2014445Karen StollznowLinguist and podcaster
March 1, 2014451Michio KakuPhysicist and science communicator
March 15, 2014453Jennifer OuelletteScience writer
April 5, 2014456James MarstersActor and musician
May 3, 2014460Elise AndrewFounder and maintainer of the "I Fucking Love Science" Facebook page
September 27, 2014481Daniel DennettPhilosopher and cognitive scientist
July 21, 2018680Bill Nye"The Science Guy"[12]
December 15, 2018701Susan GerbicFounder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia discussing that project[13]
March 9, 2019713Susan GerbicFounder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia discussing New York Times coverage of psychic sting operation on Thomas John[14][15]

Recognition

The Skeptics' Guide won the 2009 Podcast Awards in the "Education" category, and the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014 Podcast Awards in the "Science" category.[16]

It was also a 2014 "Dose of Rationality" Top 10 Podcast,[17] and a 2010 Physics.org Best Podcast nominee.[18]

Sponsors and membership

On July 30, 2013, Steven Novella announced that the SGU would begin offering membership and airing sponsors. Novella went on to say that the money raised would go into funding skeptical activities, including but not limited to, development of skeptical educational content and web-series such as "Occ The Skeptical Caveman". The addition of sponsors is not permanent, according to Novella, they shall be removed "if 4% of listeners support the SGU through membership at an average of the $8 per month level."[19] Though membership has begun, the SGU continues to publish a free weekly sponsored podcast. Membership entitles one to an ad-free version of The SGU, extra content, and discounts to NECSS (The Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism). Membership range from $4/month to $200/month.[20]

Additional financial support from listeners is provided through Patreon. The SGU has established several goals after achieving a certain number of financial supporters. A major benchmark was reached in 2018 with 3,000 Patreon supporters that sustained enough predictable income for a full-time employee.[3] Other benchmarks include a 12-hour and 24-hour live show after reaching 4,000 and 5,500 supporters, respectively. These live shows may be located on the most complete and accurate reproduction of the Starship Enterprise Star Trek: The Original Series set, which was built by James Cawley and can be seen on the SGU Patreon page introduction video.[3]

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe book

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake is a 2018 book written by Steven Novella and co-authored by the other current co-hosts of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast—Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Bernstein. It also contains posthumous material from former co-host Perry DeAngelis. The book is meant to be an all-encompassing guide to skeptical thinking. In an interview with The European Skeptics Podcast, Jay Novella describes their approach to writing the book from the "point of view of an alien species observing the earth from a skeptical perspective using critical thinking," reminiscent of the podcast's namesake The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Watson, Rebecca (December 27, 2014). "Why I've Left SGU". Skepchick.org. Skepchick. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ Senapathy, Kavin (June 14, 2022). "Conquering Secular and Skeptical White Supremacy in America". The Humanist. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "TheESP Ep. #160 – Jay Novella & The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe". soundcloud.com (Podcast). March 4, 2019. Event occurs at 1:16:26. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Kineto's Myspace page". Archived from the original on June 14, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Episode list". theskepticsguide.org. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe podcast archive, archived from the original on May 3, 2013
  7. ↑ Gerbic, Susan (September 28, 2017). "An Interview with CSICon Speaker Bob Novella". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  8. ↑ "SGU Episode 91". sgutranscripts.org. SGU Productions. Archived from the original on November 24, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Larry King needs a new format". The Herald Tribune. January 21, 2008. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  10. ↑ "SGU Episode 435". SGUtranscripts.org. SGU Productions. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  11. ↑ "SGU Episode 438". SGUtranscripts.org. SGU Productions. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Podcast #680 – July 21st, 2018". theskepticsguide.org. SGU Productions. July 21, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Podcast #701 – December 15th, 2018". theskepticsguide.org. SGU Productions. December 15, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Podcast #713 – March 9th, 2019". Facebook.com. SGU Productions. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Podcast #713 – March 9th, 2019". theskepticsguide.org. SGU Productions. March 9, 2019. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Podcast Award Winners 2005-2014". The People's Choice Podcast Awards. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  17. ↑ Sacerich, Robert (July 9, 2014). "The 2014 "Dose of Rationality" Top 10 Podcasts!". Rationality Unleashed. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  18. ↑ "The physics.org web awards 2010". Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  19. ↑ "The SGU and Skeptical Activism". Neurologica Blog. July 30, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Member Subscription". The Skeptics Guide To The Universe. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
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