Yeah... Nah!

It’s all about weird sounds in the latest episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast, with a bumper crop of topics. After a chat about a recent email from an ex-member and how the Global Skeptics in the Pub went, Katrina gives us all a helpful primer, describing the phenomenon of apophenia. Then we move on to some practical examples of potential apophenia - Mark has been hearing voices coming from the walls of his house, Bronwyn has dug into the history of Spirit Boxes, devices that are meant to allow ghosts to communicate with us, and Mark has built a browser-based spirit box that you can use to hear what your friendly neighbourhood ghosts are trying to tell you.

About this episode

Articles we talk about:

Decult Discount

Global Skeptics in the Pub

Confessions of a Skeptic: Why my favorite "Homeopathic" Cramp Spray actually works (and it’s not the chemistry)

Had an apophany lately? 

Audio in the walls

Boo AM: Ghosts on the Air

Emulating a Spirit Box

Newsletter issues these articles appear in:

2026-10-12

Resources we mention:

https://radio.skeptics.nz

https://decult.net

https://www.globalskepticsinthepub.net/2026

The feedback continues in this episode of the Yeah… Nah! podcast, with more emails from newsletter readers about how we should handle reporting of unsettled science. Bronwyn also lets us all know about a supposedly haunted Cat in the Hat costume. The team talks about Do Less, a book that promised to help Katrina organise her life but instead delivered a lot of pseudoscientific mumbo-jumbo. Bronwyn dives into the numbers for how charities spend their money, seeing where the sweet spot is for spending on administration costs vs doing good works. And Mark wonders whether he’ll get a better night’s sleep if he tapes his mouth shut, and what the science says about this Tik Tok trend.

About this episode

Articles we talk about:

Do Less: Delegate it to the Universe 

Making Cents of Charity: Admin costs - Is 30% too much, or not enough?

Mouth Taping

Newsletter issues these articles appear in:

2026-09-30

We’ve had a bunch of feedback to the last newsletter, rightly calling out an article on UV that relied on weak evidence. The resulting conversation, continued in this episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast, revolves around how (if at all) we publish articles that aren’t on solid ground when it comes to the level of evidence for their claims. We also wonder whether robot vacuums are secretly spies living in our houses, talk about how child sponsorships don’t always deliver what you’ve been promised, and try to figure out why people think their destinies are being stolen.

About this episode

Articles we talk about:

Response to Lance Kennedy's UV article

Are the Robot Vacuums out to get us?

Making cents of charity: Child Sponsorship

Making cents of charity: Child Sponsorship, Part 2

Destiny Swapping

Newsletter issues these articles appear in:

2026-08-31

2026-09-14

The crew are incensed in this episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast, first talking about rude Mormons. Then the conversation turns to “psychic” Sue Nicholson, and some of the outlandish claims she made at a recent Spiritualist Church fundraiser in Wellington. Mark explains the idea behind Angel Numbers, and reveals a surprising critic. And Katrina details an “ancient” amphitheatre that turns out to be nowhere near as old as it’s claimed to be.

About this episode

Articles we talk about:

Sue Nicholson at the Petone Spiritualist Church

Angel Numbers

The ancient amphitheatre that has stood for… decades

Newsletter issues these articles appear in:

2026-08-17

2026-08-31

After a break to go down to Christchurch for the 2026 NZ Skeptics conference, our podcast hosts are back and keen to chat about all things conference related. Katrina fills us in on the weekend of talks, Mark reports back on the annual award winners, and Bronwyn lays out what the Society’s been up to in her Chair report. Then Mark goes off-script, talking about his trip back to Wellington, and some of the awful music he and his travelling companions found in charity shops between Christchurch and Picton and were forced to listen to.

About this episode

Articles we talk about:

The Conference in Photos: Saturday Morning

“You can’t give someone insight, you have to let them come to the realisation themself”

2026 AGM Chair’s Report

2026 NZ Skeptic Awards

Newsletter issues these articles appear in:

2026-08-17