Mystery Spirit Apophenia

Bronwyn and Mark have returned from Christchurch with tales of Decult, which they’re happy to share with everyone. Mark gives us a rundown of the talks he sat in on, while Bronwyn talks about an unfortunate clash with another organisation that had booked rooms at the same venue as Decult. Katrina then looks into the reality around the urban legend of poisoned or tampered candy, and finally Mark has been sleuthing, trying to find out when International Skeptics’ Day is, and uses this to question the timing of the Global Skeptics in the Pub events. About this episode Articles we talk about: Global Skeptics in the Pub Why is October 13 known as “International Skeptics’ Day”? Poisoned Candy Decult 2026 Intrigue at the cult conference Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-10-27

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

Katrina is back, and Tim Atkin is also joining us for this episode of the Yeah… Nah! podcast. We start off talking about some cheeky changes that have happened in Rationalist House in Auckland, adding labels to all the portraits on the walls declaring them to be part of the “Dead Old White Men” series. Katrina lets us know what advice the NZ Police are now giving to their officers for how to deal with Sovereign Citizens. And finally Tim, Bronwyn and Mark talk about their recent visit to the “premiere” of a creationist movie called Universe Designed - needless to say, none of them were overly impressed by the evidence for God’s hand in creating the universe. About this episode Our guests: Tim Atkin Articles we talk about: Review: Universe Designed Updated Guidance for Police on SovCits Dead Old White Men Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-07-20

We’re missing a member in this episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast - Katrina has abandoned us. But have no fear, journalist Anke Richter has joined us in Katrina’s stead. Anke recently visited the US to attend the ICSA’s annual conference on cults, and tells us all about how it went - including the fact that she won an award for her work organising the Decult conference here in New Zealand. We also get some inside info on speakers for the second Decult, happening this October in Christchurch, and share our unvarnished opinions on the new Gloriavale documentary series. About this episode Our guests: Anke Richter Useful links: https://decult.net/ Articles we talk about: Devotion: Obedience or Betrayal - The most frustrating Gloriavale documentary A 2026 Australasian cult and religion update Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-07-06

It’s a little quieter on this week’s episode of the Yeah… Nah! Podcast, with no guests to speak of, or to. Instead, Mark debriefs us all about his recent visit to a Christian who pretends to be an atheist so that his church audiences can learn how to challenge non-believers. Katrina talks about flow state, and how pseudoscience peddlers are happy to sell products to induce it, even though they have no evidence their products work. Mark dunks on Elon Musk, looking into the history of the HyperLoop concept, the Boring Company, the Urban Loop and the sad reality of what has been delivered so far in Las Vegas. And finally Bronwyn explains how a bunch of half-remembered facts from the 1980s have led to an online conspiracy theory - no, not the Mandela Effect, this one’s called the GATE program, and has people thinking that maybe they were being tested as kids to see if they could be a CIA psychic warrior. About this episode Articles we talk about: The G.A.T.E. Program: A conspiracy theory for elder millennials The (Hyper)Loop: Monorail, Monorail, Monorail… Flow State Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-06-22

We’re almost outnumbered by guests in this episode of the Yeah… Nah! podcast, with Lee Traynor joining us to tell us about his foundation’s offer of scholarships to attend the 2026 NZ Skeptics conference. We also have James Kerr on to talk about his article responding to Patrick Medlicott’s claims about degrowth. Then our regulars have their say, talking about Chris Ashenden and his AG1 supplement company, the wild goose chase to invent a reactionless drive, and the reality and disinformation around Kessler syndrome, where earth’s orbits may end up being filled with a cascade of debris. About this episode Our Guests: Lee Traynor James Kerr Articles we talk about: Scholarships for students at the 2026 New Zealand Skeptics Conference, Christchurch Degrowth is exactly the wrong solution to Climate Change AG1: The Lazarus of supplements, part 2 A Skeptical Reaction to Reactionless Drives Kessler Syndrome Newsletter issues these articles appear in: 2026-06-08