Watch this Space... - Skepticality

Phil turned Randi

Watch this Space…

Interview: Dr. Phil Plait

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Long-time listeners may recall that Skepticality's very first interview guest was Bad Astronomy author and popular science blogger Dr. Phil Plait. This past week the James Randi Educational Foundation (one of the leading organizations to promote critical thinking and examination of pseudoscience) announced that The Bad Astronomer himself will be the new JREF President. Now, Dr. Plait returns to Skepticality to tell Derek & Swoopy not only about interesting advances in privately-funded space travel and the future of NASA under a new presidential administration, but also about exciting developments in his own career — including his new role at the JREF, changes for Bad Astronomy, and Phil's impending trips to the Galapagos and Dragon*Con 2008.

Show Notes

Date – August 12th, 2008 read by Swoopy

The Amazing Adventure cruise has departed for The Galapagos.
Randi told us last winter that he was looking forward to meeting Lonesome George.
Word is that George may soon be a father!
The first ever Skeptics track at Dragon*Con 2008 in Atlanta will feature:
The Amazing Randi
Dr. Michael Shermer
Dr. Phil Plait
Dr. Steven Novella
Benjamin Radford
Alison Smith
Michael A. Stackpole
Richard Saunders
The JREF announced that Dr. Phil Plait had been named the new President.
The Bad Astronomy blog is now a part of Discover.
Dr. Plait went to ComicCon and hung out with famous nerds.
Bad Astronomy video clips are available on Hulu.
Phil is also one of the Skeptologists.
There has been SOME discussion about NASA by US Presidential candidates.
Barack Obama has changed some of his thoughts about delaying Constellation.
We already have 700 million in contracts with Russia for Soyuz flights.
Most of this has to do with lack of funding.
Space X had it's third failure in trying to launch Falcon.
Space X had the remains of over 200 people on board when it exploded.
They lost James Doohan – AGAIN!
The moon hoax is more popular than ever. The Mythbusters are covering it!
Phil is BFFs with Adam Savage.
A listener wants to know why we can't just SEE the stuff we left on the moon?
Phil's book Death from the Skies will be available on October 16th.
We'll get to maybe actually SEE Phil at Dragon*Con 2008.
Bump – eSkeptic – Skeptic.com
NASA has abandoned plans to get Orion into service by 2013.
At best, US Astrononauts may not return to the moon until 2020.
Space X will likely beat NASA to the punch, or possibly Virgin Galactic.
Any US space travel in the meantime will be via the Russian Space Agency.
Then we can buy rocket packs and go to the moon and become florists.
You can still visit the old Bad Astronomy website, or the new one.
Skepticality was named Podcast of the Week by the Times of London.
The review was not exactly kind to American skeptics – make that sceptics.
We lost a good friend – the blue collar scientist, Jeff Medkeff to cancer.
Jeff named asteroids after us in 2006; 106537 McCarthy and 106545 Colanduno
Robert Lancaster of the Stop Sylvia Browne website has suffered a stroke.
Our thoughts and wishes go out to the Medkeff and Lancaster families.
Skepticality outro.

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