SciSchmoozing By Reality, Not By Decree

New York, 5 April 2025 - BBC

Hello again science fans,

Lumelang hape barati ba mahlale,
[Sesotho is the language of Basotho who live in Lesotho, “which nobody has ever heard of” and whose imports now have a 50% tariff, the highest of any country.]


SCIENCE

More than a million people participated in over 1400 “Hands Off” protests Saturday. I joined the protesters at the intersection of San Pablo Dam Road and Appian Way in El Sobrant


¿Does Evidence Actually Change Minds?

¿Have you seen our latest BAS Skeptalk? It covers the most impactful research happening today in scientific skepticism and is a MUST WATCH for anyone interested in changing minds. I’ve been waiting for this talk for months and it did not disappoint. The talk is available here: https://bit.ly/BASpenn

A common skeptical goal to change minds to broaden a belief in science, evidence, and critical thinking. Sadly, we haven’t had much success in this (as proven by the current state of conspiratorial belief in society), we have much work to do here.

Right now, social media algorithms are pushing people to consume progressively mor


Josh Rosenau
12 March 2025

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Viruses

Texas is currently experiencing an historic measles outbreak, including the first measles death in the US in a decade. The virus is remarkably effective at surviving in the air and on surfaces, and at infecting unprotected people.

For years, skeptics and public health experts have warned about the risks of declining vaccination rates, worrying about the likelihood of outbreaks just like this. Measles vaccination in particular depends on the presence of extremely high rates of vaccination in the public. The virus spreads so easily between unvaccinated people that suppressing an outbreak requires populations to have vaccination rates of at least 95%. Tha


Chaos and the SciSchmooze

Bob Siederer
24 February 2025

Hello again Science Fans!

In the two weeks since I last wrote the SciSchmooze, so much has happened in the world related to science that I’m not sure where to begin. I usually start collecting articles in the two weeks prior to the issue and have 10 - 15 to write about. Today, I have 28! Things have happened so fast, however, that some of them are sure to be outdated. So let’s see if I can make heads or tails of what I’ve saved for this issue.

Starting with … Space

Have you forgotten about Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the two astronauts who were sent to t


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