Yeah... Nah!

In our last Yeah… Nah! episode of 2025, we have an odd mix of topics to cover - but that doesn’t stop Bronwyn from being able to connect them somehow, as well as tie them in with the theme of Christmas. After some housekeeping, Mark talks about his foray into nature documentaries, dissecting a scene from the 1970s movie “Animals are Beautiful People” and questioning whether any of it is real. Katrina has a dream that one day she might be able to walk into her kitchen and ask a 3D printer to make her a meal, but it turns out that that day is probably a long way off. And Bronwyn has found out (shock horror) that a Netflix documentary series about a claimed UFO abduction plays fast and loose with the truth. About this episode Articles we talk about: Doomsday Comedy reaches New Zealand 2025 AGM Chair’s Report Give me 3D printed dinners (please) Can Elephants Hold Their Drink? Review: The Manhattan Alien Abduction Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-12-08 2025-12-22

In this episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast, our team of intrepid podcasters reveal that the NZ Skeptics’ fundraising offer is just $50 shy of our $2,000 target. Mark then launches into an impassioned monologue about climate change and some of the correspondence he’s received recently. In the aftermath of the recent failed rapture predictions, Bronwyn has been keeping an eye on Tik Tok and has found the Next Big Thing for outraged Christians, a demon-possessed alarm clock. Katrina’s read a parenting book, Hunt, Gather, Parent, and has tried out some of its suggestions - although she remains skeptical about just how scientific the advice is. And finally the team talk about the second season of John Campbell’s documentary series on Destiny church, titled Under His Command, and wonder whether there’s scope for a more thorough look into the church and its finances. About this episode Articles we talk about: Donate to Siouxsie and double your money Why aren’t we skeptical about climate change? Please don’t offer me opinion disguised as fact How low do we want the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere? Hunt, Gather, Parent - Book Review The ghost in the machine: Are Hatch alarm clocks the highway to hell? Review: Under His Command, Season 2 Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-11-10 2025-11-24

In this special episode of the Yeah… Nah! podcast, we talk with longtime skeptic Siouxsie Wiles about taking her employer, Auckland University, to employment court over their lack of support for her science communication work. We get to hear some of the inside scoop about the court case, and try to figure out why the university chose to go down the legal path rather than making a few simple changes to their policies. About this episode Links to resources we talk about: Period People Aotearoa: https://www.toiaria.org/our-projects/period-people-aotearoa/ Period People donations: https://support.auckland.ac.nz/ppa Spinoff piece about why Siouxsie’s crowdfunding: https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-11-2025/siouxsie-wiles-why-im-crowdfunding-despite-winning-my-legal-battle

We’ve covered some serious topics in this week’s podcast, and some that are thankfully a little more light-hearted. Mark talks about a media request the NZ Skeptics have received to answer questions about UFOs, hoping to make it abundantly clear that despite a number of UFO articles on our website, we don’t actually believe that little green men are visiting us. Bronwyn has delved into our project to collate events of skeptical interest, and looks at what skeptical events happened this fortnight in history. Katrina tackles a more serious topic, of Parental Alienation, asking whether this “syndrome” is even real. And finally Mark continues in this serious vein by looking into New Zealand’s main Men’s Rights website, wondering why the site’s members seem to spend most of their time denigrating women and posting pseudoscientific nonsense. About this episode Articles we talk about: Interview Request for Student Magazine Project This fortnight in skeptical history - October 28th to November 9th The Problem with Family Court Social Science MENZ vs Reality Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-10-28

We have more topics than usual on this week’s Yeah… Nah! podcast episode, with Bronwyn talking about Zholia Alemi and RFK Jr’s circumcision claims, Mark talking about the new book The War on Science and Avi Loeb’s doom and gloom predictions that aliens are coming to kill us, and finally Katrina talking about Gerson Therapy and another sad case of someone foregoing proper medical treatment, with dire consequences. Plus we have an update of sorts on the (non)Rapture of 2025. About this episode Articles we talk about: Wham, Bam, Autism scams: Circumcisions and Autism The Actual War on Science Gerson Therapy strikes again More bad medicine: Updates on the Zholia Alemi case Avi Loeb Strikes Again Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2025-10-13