Advisors

Susan Gerbic
Leonard Tramiel
Greg Dorais
Dan Dugan, Sound Designer		web
Dean Edell, M.D., ABC Medical Reporter
Andrew Fraknoi, Former Chair, Astronomy Department, Foothill College
Donald Goldsmith, Ph.D., Astronomer and Attorney
Mark Hodes, Education Consultant
Alexander Jason, Investigative Consultant
David Knapp, Ph.D., Physicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Lerner, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, California State University, Long Beach
Larry Loebig, CEO, CaliforniaCom, Inc.	email	web
John E. McCosker, Ph.D., Director, Steinhart Aquarium, California Academy of Sciences
Kit Moser, Science writer
Richard J. Ofshe, Ph.D.,U. C. Berkeley
Kevin Padian, Ph.D., Professor, U. C. Berkeley
James Randi, Magician, Author, Lecturer
Francis Rigney, M.D., Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center
Terence Sandbek, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist	email	web
Eugenie C. Scott, Ph.D., Anthropologist; Founding Director, National Center for Science Education
Robert Sheaffer, Technical Writer, UFO expert
Ray Spangenburg, Science Writer
Jill C. Tarter, Ph.D., U.C. Berkely. Chair Emeritus, SETI Institute

Wonderfest – Online

Eugenie Scott, Ph.D.

WHAT: Conspiracy Theories
As an old adage (mistakenly attributed to Confucius) notes, it’s difficult to find a black cat in a dark room, especially when there is no cat. Conspiracy theories have long been prevalent in the United States, but today they seem to be especially popular – from politics to popular culture – particularly on social media. In the spirit of another adage, “even paranoids have enemies”: there are real conspiracies, and some of them are important and even dangerous. How do we distinguish the real conspiracies from the tinfoil-hat ones?

WHO: Eugenie Scott, former Exec. Director, National Center for Science Education

WHEN: Thursday 6 May 8pm PDT (03:00 UTC)

WHERE: Online. CLICK for more information.

HOW: Brought to you by Wonderfest

SkepTalk – Online

Tara C. Smith, Ph.D.

WHAT: Vaccine hesitancy in the era of COVID
The anti-vaccine movement has broadened in scope over the past year, using arguments of “medical freedom” to bring in COVID-19 deniers and anti-maskers into the fold. Concerningly, the movement has also grown more politically polarized, as those who believe COVID is a hoax and masks don’t work tend to lean right politically. With COVID-19 vaccines now becoming increasingly available, this talk will describe what has happened in the past year in anti-vaccine spaces, and what can be done to minimize hesitancy and work toward ending the pandemic.

WHO: Tara C. Smith holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Toledo and a Certificate in Agricultural Safety and Health from the University of Iowa College of Public Health. She is currently a professor in the College of Public Health at Kent State University. Previously she was the co-director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa. Her research has involved studies of Ebola and emerging zoönotic diseases, of MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in pigs and humans, and vaccine hesitancy She blogs on Science Blogs at Aetiology, where you can read her thoughts on these and other subjects, as well as the microbiology of zombies. Really. Check it out.

WHEN: Thursday 13 May 7:30pm PDT (02:30 UTC)

WHERE: Online. (Link coming soon)

HOW: Brought to you by the Bay Area Skeptics

WHY: Because we are curious creatures.