TRC #306: Facebook Mood Manipulation Study + Steven Spielberg Dinosaur Hunter + Wage Gap Between Sexes

Posted on 19 July, 2014 by Pat

Director Steven Spielberg with TriceratopsWith Pat away for the second week in a row, the gang calls in the big guns in the form of public health and stats professional Dina Tsirlin to sub in. Darren leads off the show by answering if Facebook deliberately made people sad and what, if anything, was learned. Next Adam discusses the odd reactions some people had to a photo of Steven Spielberg beside a triceratops. Dina closes things out by answering a listener email about whether there is a wage gap between men and women.

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TRC #305: Null Hypothesis Significance Testing + Racist Dogs + UFO Sighting Distribution

Posted on 13 July, 2014 by Pat

anova_warning_signPat’s away but the guys still pull off one of the greatest episodes of all time with #305. Elan starts off the show with an overview of Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST). P-values galore! Next, Adam looks into whether some dogs are racist and why that may be. Darren closes out the show by discussing a recent article that measured the most common times and places that supposed UFO sightings occur.

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TRC #304: Productivity Hacks + Name That Topical Edition + Sheng Long

Posted on 5 July, 2014 by Pat

ShengLong-screenEpisode 304 of The Reality Check will likely break every podcast record ever set. Darren leads things off by analyzing some productivity hacks he read on the internet. Pat then leads a game of Name That, with a totally topical theme. Adam ends the show by answering if Sheng Long was a real Street Fighter character.

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TRC #303: Earlobe Creases + Is Venus The Cat A Chimera? + Why Do Our Fingers Prune?

Posted on 28 June, 2014 by Pat

Venus-icanhasEpisode 303 of TRC is here.   First, Pat takes a ‘frank’ look into whether earlobe creases are a sign of heart disease.   Next, Adam purrrrrsues an answer to whether the beloved internet cat, Venus, is truly a chimera.   Lastly, Elan dives hand first into the question of why our fingers prune in water.

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TRC #302: Female vs. Male Hurricanes + Airplane Food + Surgical Masks

Posted on 21 June, 2014 by Pat

sailor_moon_episode_19_sailor_mars_wearing_a_maskThe gang is fully recovered from the episode 300 celebration (301 was the hangover episode) and explodes which their best episode yet with number 302. Darren leads the way with a segment about some recent research on whether female-named hurricanes kill more people than their male-named counterparts. Next, Pat discusses if airline food tastes worse than food on the ground. Elan closes things out by looking into why people are wearing surgical masks out in public.

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TRC #301: Finish Your Plate + Fertility Game + Turing Test News

Posted on 14 June, 2014 by Pat

plateEpisode 301 of The Reality Check is the pinnacle of audio media. The show begins with Adam looking into whether parents should tell their kids to “finish their plates”. Next, Elan hosts an exciting rendition of the classic TRC game, Science Fact or Science Fiction, with a theme of fertility. Darren closes things out by discussing whether or not the Turing Test was recently passed.

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TRC #300: Vanessa’s Law + Mistakes Were Made + Bad Student Writing + Best and Worst Segments

Posted on 7 June, 2014 by Pat

this is podcastAll four panelists are back together to celebrate 300 episodes of The Reality Check!  Pat starts us off with a look a Vanessa’s Law.   Adam then takes us through some mistakes that were made in the last 100 episodes.   Darren gives us a light-hearted segment about bad student writing and the show closes with a look at the panelists’ favourite and least favourite segments.

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TRC #299: Godzilla + Book Reviews + Snuff Films

Posted on 31 May, 2014 by Pat

godzilla-face-palmEpisode 299 has arrived!   With Elan away, the rest of the crew still delivers.   First Adam looks into whether on not Godzilla could exist.  Darren then gives us not one, not two, not three but FOUR book reviews.  Lastly Pat looks into whether there has ever been a true snuff film.

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TRC #298: China Study + Conscious After Decapitation + Asteroids vs Comets vs Meteoroids

Posted on 23 May, 2014 by Pat

GuillotineWith both Darren and Adam away, former host Jon Abrams steps up in style! First Elan takes a look at the book ‘The China Study.’ Next Jon asks whether someone decapitated by a guillotine might see their own body. Lastly Pat looks at the difference between asteroids, comets, meteoroids, meteors and meteorites.

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TRC 297: Most Relaxing Song + “Dangerous” Beers + Paternal Mitochondria

Posted on 17 May, 2014 by Pat

dog_headphonesTRC episode 297 would win the podcast equivalent of a Pulitzer if that kind of thing existed. Pat leads off the show with some investigative journalism into whether or not scientists really did discover the most relaxing song of all time, as was reported widely in the media. Next, Elan looks into a article that has been trending about beers that should be avoided at all costs because they have dangerous ingredients. Darren closes out the show by exploring if mitochondria is only inherited through the maternal line.

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