Yeah... Nah!

We’re missing a member in this episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast - Katrina has abandoned us. But have no fear, journalist Anke Richter has joined us in Katrina’s stead. Anke recently visited the US to attend the ICSA’s annual conference on cults, and tells us all about how it went - including the fact that she won an award for her work organising the Decult conference here in New Zealand. We also get some inside info on speakers for the second Decult, happening this October in Christchurch, and share our unvarnished opinions on the new Gloriavale documentary series.

About this episode

Our guests:

Anke Richter

Useful links:

https://decult.net/

Articles we talk about:

Devotion: Obedience or Betrayal - The most frustrating Gloriavale documentary

A 2026 Australasian cult and religion update

Newsletter issues these articles appear in:

2026-07-06

It’s a little quieter on this week’s episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast, with no guests to speak of, or to. Instead, Mark debriefs us all about his recent visit to a Christian who pretends to be an atheist so that his church audiences can learn how to challenge non-believers. Katrina talks about flow state, and how pseudoscience peddlers are happy to sell products to induce it, even though they have no evidence their products work. Mark dunks on Elon Musk, looking into the history of the HyperLoop concept, the Boring Company, the Urban Loop and the sad reality of what has been delivered so far in Las Vegas. And finally Bronwyn explains how a bunch of half-remembered facts from the 1980s have led to an online conspiracy theory - no, not the Mandela Effect, this one’s called the GATE program, and has people thinking that maybe they were being tested as kids to see if they could be a CIA psychic warrior.

About this episode

Articles we talk about:

The G.A.T.E. Program: A conspiracy theory for elder millennials

The (Hyper)Loop: Monorail, Monorail, Monorail…

Flow State

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2026-06-22

We’re almost outnumbered by guests in this episode of the Yeah… Nah! podcast, with Lee Traynor joining us to tell us about his foundation’s offer of scholarships to attend the 2026 NZ Skeptics conference. We also have James Kerr on to talk about his article responding to Patrick Medlicott’s claims about degrowth. Then our regulars have their say, talking about Chris Ashenden and his AG1 supplement company, the wild goose chase to invent a reactionless drive, and the reality and disinformation around Kessler syndrome, where earth’s orbits may end up being filled with a cascade of debris.

About this episode

Our Guests:

Lee Traynor

James Kerr

Articles we talk about:

Scholarships for students at the 2026 New Zealand Skeptics Conference, Christchurch

Degrowth is exactly the wrong solution to Climate Change

AG1: The Lazarus of supplements, part 2

A Skeptical Reaction to Reactionless Drives

Kessler Syndrome

Newsletter issues these articles appear in:

2026-06-08

In this episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast, after advertising our annual conference we get stuck into talking about some weird and wonderful topics. Starting with our guest Dan Ryan, who has been looking into Highden Temple’s new cryptocurrency, Highden Coin, and how badly it’s been configured. Katrina talks about a new breakthrough in de-extinction, with the invention of artificial eggs. And Mark is unimpressed with Aires Tech and their pendants that supposedly protect you from “dangerous” EMF.

About this episode

Our Guests:

Daniel Ryan

Articles we talk about:

Conference Update

A Spiritual Cryptocurrency from Highden Temple

Egg or Chicken

Aires Tech: not Tech, but definitely Airy-fairy

Newsletter issues these articles appear in:

2026-05-25

In this episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast, the team have found some very disparate topics to talk about. Firstly, Mark has some thoughts about Richard Dawkins’ recent article where he wonders out loud if Claude and other AI models may be conscious. Katrina has pulled on a thread she picked up in a sci-fi book, and has ended up trying to find out if there’s anything to the Buddhist idea of Tukdam - monks whose consciousness supposedly lives on in their bodies for days after they’ve died. Bronwyn has had enough of seeing AG1 adverts on YouTube and elsewhere, so has looked into the company’s founder and his shady past. And Mark covers all things looksmaxxing, focusing on the most popular looksmaxxer today, Clavicular, and the pseudoscientific beauty regime he puts himself through in the pursuit of physical perfection.

About this episode

Articles we talk about:

Clavicular: Looksmaxxing, Mogging and Bonesmashing

AG1: The Lazarus of supplements, part 1

Tukdam

The continuing problem of AI Sycophancy

Newsletter issues these articles appear in:

2026-05-11