In 1441, Margery Jourdemayne was burned alive at Smithfield. She was a commoner cunning-woman – or witch – yet her social group contained the highest in the land. Join us as we put aside our expectations to uncover the politics, religion, social classes, law and context of Margery’s fifteenth century life and death.

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.

The Grand Unified Theory of Bullshit suggests that no matter where it’s from, all bullshit smells the same. In their new book, Cecil and Tom describe not only the harms of a variety of commonly held forms of grift and bullshit, but also offer a plan on what steps need to be taken in real terms to reduce your susceptibility to bullshit.

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.

Some stories hit the headlines for the wrong reasons – Frankenfoods, Climategate and more – but over the last two decades more scientists have engaged openly with the press and how this has helped transform the way science is reported. But not everything has moved in the right direction, resulting in a worrying blurring of lines between scientific data and government ‘messaging’.

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.

Whilst the association between inequality and violence has been replicated many times, the underlying mechanisms for the association have not previously been investigated. This talk will discuss the idea of violence as an adaptation; as well as how inequality may affect your cognition, and lead to an increased likelihood of violence.

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.

Since 2015, the long-running conspiracy theory of a flat Earth has increasingly gained a foothold in the mainstream. What was once a concept on the fringes of society is now a widespread idea held by millions, including politicians, media personalities, athletes, and celebrities. Where did this theory come from and why is it suddenly everywhere?

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.

Racing Green explores how science in motorsport and the efforts of engineers to go a hundredth of a second faster ripple into our daily lives. We use the aerodynamics of a Formula 1 car to keep our food cool in the supermarket and stop skyscrapers wreaking havoc; crash helmets and rear view mirrors keep us safe; and the cutting edge of our future – from electric and autonomous vehicles, 3D printing and virtual reality – began on the track.

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.

Social media is not an even playing field. Algorithms promote the most engaging content over all else, which often means false claims and inflammatory rhetoric are given undue prominence. Bad actors understand this, and have weaponised these platforms to do great harm over the course of the pandemic. The only viable solutions start with holding Big Tech accountable for this state of affairs.

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.

Just over fifty years ago we landed on the moon … or did we? Yes.

Unfortunately, we live in a time where a disturbingly large proportion of the population happily fuel the flames of conspiracy despite overwhelming evidence. So, we’re going to take an express tour through their ‘top’ items – with your help!

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.

From the bike tyre that grips the road to a non-stick pan, our lives are controlled by friction. In this talk, Laurie will explore the role of friction in both the manufactured and natural worlds and how surface science, and our ability to manipulate stickiness, have developed throughout history. If you’ve ever wondered how ancient Egyptians could move colossal stone blocks, or why earthquakes happen, you might find the answers here.

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.

While most people accepted the realities of the new coronavirus, little white stickers began to appear in public around the world claiming it was a hoax. It was co-ordinated grassroots campaign by a group calling itself The White Rose, urging members of the public to join their encrypted messaging channels. So that’s what Michael Marshall did. After months undercover, he has reported on the various conspiracy theories, and how groups radicalise vaccine hesitant people.

This event will be online, on the Skeptics in the Pub Twitch channel.