Skeptics Guide

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #975 March 13th 2024 Segment #1. Fraud Alert Tax Scams Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 - Pentagon UFO Report theness.com/ne... News Item #2 - Microplastic Risks www.nature.com... News Item #3 - Parasite Cleanse sciencebasedme... News Item #4 - Gut Microbe Communication today.ucsd.edu... News Item #5 - Interstellar Meteorite www.popularmec... Segment #3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mail Question #1: Thou I'm just wrapping up listening to episode 974 when you're discussing how English doesn't have a plural second person, and I have to share this because that same question of why it doesn't used to bug me: English DOES have a plural second person. It's "you." The singular second person in English is "thou." Much like in French with "tu" and "vous," "thou" was exclusively singular and informal while "you" could be plural or formal singular. Obviously we don't use "thou" today, and the leading theory is that because social classes became more complex over time, it was safer to politely address someone as "you" rather than make the social misstep of calling a peer or your better "thou." I would liken this to the modern rise of singular "they." I've only had the pleasure of listening to the SGU for about two years, but I'm looking forward to many more. I will be writing in again to ask some scientific questions that I've never been able to get an answer for that have bothered me for decades. Thanks for doing all you do, Helen Question #2: Mach Effect Drive Hi rogues! Long time listener. Love the work you do! Here's a question you may have covered in the past, but I saw a video about a Mach effect drive and immediately thought it was a scam! A space drive with no propellant??? "Umpossible" I thought!! • Two Scientists Are Bui... I then Googled it to get more info and came across the NASA website saying it was "credible"!! Wtf?? www.nasa.gov/g.... Can you folks break this down for me? Scam or science? Waddaya think? Thanks for the amazing podcast, consistently my favourite since the beginning! Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake - and you can play along. Theme: Equinoxes Item 1: On the day of each equinox, day and night are of equal length. Item 2: During the equinoxes, solar declination is 0°. Item 3: So-called solar outages, or equinoctial disruptions, refer to the fact that communication satellites are often partially or totally blocked for a few days either before or after the equinoxes. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "If you want to do seismic analysis, it’s ideal if you check with a seismologist first." Benjamin Fernando, planetary seismologist at Johns Hopkins University

[@nicholaicheck]

[0:23] Show goes off the rails early, featuring Boeing and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Executive Decision Making Process [9:41] Fraud Alert: Tax Scams [19:55] News Item #1 - Pentagon UFO Report [29:35] News Item #2 - Microplastic Risks [40:30] News Item #3 - Parasite Cleanse [49:04] News Item #4 - Gut Microbe Communication [59:07] News Item #5 - Interstellar Meteorite [1:26:05] Who’s That Noisy [1:11:44] Dallas plans [1:15:25] Chicago plans [1:16:16] Question #1: Thou [1:21:14] Question #2: Mach Effect Drive [1:26:55] Science or Fiction [1:38:07] Quote of the Week [1:39:23] Group discussion of expertise [1:44:20] Beating various large cats in a fistfight [1:47:48] Cathouses [1:48:52] Circling back to fighting various large cats

[@soupbonep]

There were some very good puns in this episode by Evan and the end was pretty funny when you all were talking about the idiots who think that they can beat a Lion in a fist fight. I don't think even a master of marshal arts would have a chance against a lion. No one could beat a gorilla let alone a chimp. A chimp will also rip your arms out. The upper body strength of non human primates is huge!

[@MrMaclovin]

Love the show, but how come the free KZbin version always comes out hours and hours before the Patreon version?

[@Jtexy]

Didn’t follow what you were saying about in the Boeing section really. 747max 8 was mentioned but I thought the issue was with the 737 max9

[@slianyong7550]

Pedant alert! 1:37:40 Isn't it "Vernal and Autumnal" versus "Solar and Vernal?" Just asking to make sure...

[@Malavander]

Dear whoever is in charge of the KZbin-ification of the podcast... 1. Please add timestamps. 2. Please format the show info into something readable. 3. Add a relevant thumbnail that clues into the subject matter. 4. Profit Even the least professional, fly-by-night channels I subscribe to somehow find the time to do all these things.

[@BapaG33]

I have been a longstanding listener of the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast and often find myself in agreement with the perspectives and information presented. However, when it comes to the topic of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), your team seems to disregard the testimony of many credible and professional individuals who have witnessed such phenomena over the years. You appear to accept without skepticism the recent government report stating that there is nothing remarkable to report on the subject. Setting aside anecdotal accounts from average citizens, there have been numerous professionals from the military, government/intelligence agencies, and aviation sectors who have either had access to relevant information or directly witnessed these phenomena themselves. You would have to have decided that these people are liars. While I have not personally experienced anything anomalous like UFOs, ghosts, or cryptids, it seems that there is a substantial body of evidence surrounding the UFO subject that warrants further examination rather than outright dismissal.

[@Xen0Phanes]

You clearly haven't listened to their back catalog or read any of their books.

[@BapaG33]

@@Xen0Phanes meaning? I’ve listened to SGU for years. They’ve never accepted the evidence as something that needed further investigation and usually express contempt for the people who have provided sworn testimony

[@Xen0Phanes]

​@@BapaG33 Everything you brought up has been discussed many times on past episodes. You should email your comment to them and maybe you'll get a response if not I recommend you keep listening to their back catalog.