Deep Friday Man Gong

We’re joined on this episode of the Yeah… Nah! podcast by NZ Skeptics committee member Dan Ryan, who recently found that Falun Gong were being less than honest when running stalls at his local market. We also hear from Katrina about Louis Theroux’s new documentary on the “manosphere”, Mark about the Auckland Deep Thinkers group, who don’t appear to be thinking very deeply, and Bronwyn, who has been looking into the history of Friday the 13th and its superstitious beliefs. About this episode Articles we talk about: Friday the 13th x 3: The mayhem, the meme, and some math Inside the Manosphere – Louis Theroux Auckland Shallow Thinkers A Cult has infiltrated my Market Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-03-16

In this episode of the Yeah… Nah! podcast, we start off with a short chat about Thomas Driver, followed by an extended amount of blathering from Mark, who fills us in on both his visiting Mormons and some emails the NZ Skeptics have been receiving recently asking if we can publish their articles on our website. Bronwyn has debunked one of Mark’s pet theories, the idea that there’s been an uptick in mushrooms being sold as complementary medicine recently because of companies who were planning to grow marijuana having to repurpose their equipment. And finally Katrina has found the curious case of a French academic who seems to have not only created a fake award to make himself look important, but also faked the existence of multiple organisations that are supposedly linked to the award. About this episode Articles we talk about: Medical Marijuana and Mushroom Mania My first Book of Mormon Stories Philology Fictionology Fragment 176–191: Poisoning AI Summaries? Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-03-02

We’re all over the show in this episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast. After an impromptu discussion about the UK’s Metropolitan Police and their decision to force members of secretive groups like the Masons to declare their memberships, we launch into several of the topics that were covered in last weekend’s newsletter. Starting with Jeffrey Epstein, Mark talks about several different ideas people have had that there may be secret codes embedded in the recently released email batches. Bronwyn has found an early Skeptic in New Zealand, and chronicles her deep dive into the adventures of Thomas Driver challenging psychics over a century ago. And finally Katrina has looked into the Uncanny Valley, to see what the science is behind this interesting phenomenon and what the kids of Tik Tok are doing with it. About this episode Articles we talk about: Uncanny Valley Hidden Messages in the Epstein Emails? Dead Skeptics Society: Thomas William Driver, aka Professor Robert Kudarz, Part 1 Dead Skeptics Society: Thomas William Driver, aka Professor Robert Kudarz, Part 2 Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-02-02 2026-02-17

In this episode of the Yeah… Nah! podcast we spend most of our time talking with Jared Brandon about his shiny new YouTube channel, Unholy Light. Jared is attempting to tackle some of the simple-sounding but tough topics related to Christianity, like defining the words they use such as “faith”. Mark also talks about Shawn Bolz, a “prophetic” teacher who has been shown to have most likely been using hot reading techniques to wow Christian congregations around the US, and Kristina Dines, a woman whose toes were supposedly magically restored years after they had been amputated, after she attended a faith healing church service. About this episode Our Guests: Jared Brandon Useful Links: Unholy Light Articles we talk about: Christian Hot Readings Show me the Toes! Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-02-02

We’re back after a hiatus over the Christmas break, with a look into all things skeptical. The team starts off talking about Megalag’s latest videos covering the Honey browser extension debacle. Bronwyn has been looking into the new season of The Telepathy Tapes, and also checking out whether a recent umbrella review of alternative treatments for autism has found anything positive (spoiler: it hasn’t). Katrina is currently being spammed with adverts for “natural” menopause treatments, and has checked out whether any of them have any merit (spoiler: they don’t). And finally Mark has been looking into a relatively new aerospace startup called Reflect Orbital, to see if their business model of shining sunlight onto solar farms at night makes financial sense (spoiler: it doesn’t). About this episode Articles we talk about: Menopause Supplements Wham, Bam, Autism scams and a grand slam: Telepathy Tapes, Autistic Barbie, and a systematic review. Reflect Orbital: Engineering marvel or just smoke and mirrors? Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-01-20

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