Synopsis
IdioFacto is the science podcast that sorts the factual from the fabricated.
Episodes
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COVID-19
21/04/2020 Duration: 56minThe entire world has been plunged into absolute madness. This week, with the help of friend of the show: Dr. Sam Laucirica, we discuss the topic that requires no introduction: COVID-19 SHOWNOTES Pew Research Report https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/08/nearly-three-in-ten-americans-believe-covid-19-was-made-in-a-lab/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=9a8a1fc2a0-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_09_06_59&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-9a8a1fc2a0-400906701 Proximal Origin of SARS-Cov-2 Article https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9 Guardian Article regarding Face Maskshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/14/should-everyone-be-wearing-face-masks Article from Australia’s Science Channel regarding Flattening The Curvehttps://australiascience.tv/we-can-shrink-covid-19-curve-not-just-flatten/ Science-Based Medicine COVID-19 Newshttps://sciencebasedmedicine.org/more-covid-19-news/ Kurzgesagt Coronavirus video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtN-goy9VOY Amoeba sisters
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Season 2 Update (VideoFacto 1)
15/04/2020 Duration: 07minOur first ever VideoFacto is just to give you an update on what we've been up to for the last four months during our protracted hiatus, and get you excited for the resumption of our regular schedule next week. If you'd rather see the video, head over to our Facebook, Instagram or YouTube pages to see our ugly mugs.
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CRISPR & Numerology
18/12/2019 Duration: 45minAs a nice follow on from Last weeks GMO episode, Levi explains the process of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats...or CRISPR for short. Matt then runs us through numerology where he assigns Levi a name number which dictates his personality.....or does it? Show notes for CRISPR CRISPR Timeline - https://www.broadinstitute.org/what-broad/areas-focus/project-spotlight/crispr-timeline Live Science article on CRISPR - https://www.livescience.com/58790-crispr-explained.html Gif showing CRISPR CAS9 in action - https://www.livescience.com/60938-a-breathtaking-new-gif-shows-crispr-chewing-up-dna.html TED Ed video on CRISPR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tw_JVz_IEc WIRED Video on CRISPR explained in 5 levels of complexity - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sweN8d4_MUg Diagram of CRISPR in action - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRISPR#/media/File:Crispr.png Song about CRISPR CAS9 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k99bMtg4zRk Show notes for Numerology Bobby McFerrin videohttp
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The Scientific Method & GMOs
03/12/2019 Duration: 01h03minThis week Matt explains a topic that we've been meaning to get to for a while and one that get referenced weekly; The Scientific Method. Levi then discusses Genetically modified organisms, how they work, and then of course the hysteria surrounding GMO foods. Show notes for the Scientific Method “Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes” - Lakatoshttp://www.csun.edu/~vcsoc00i/classes/s680f11/Lakatos.pdf Khan Academy Scientific Method Article https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-biology-foundations/hs-biology-and-the-scientific-method/a/the-science-of-biology Khan Academy Scientific Method Video https://youtu.be/N6IAzlugWw0 Show notes for GMOs RationalWiki article on Seeds of Death documentary https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Seeds_of_Death “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23692271-sapiens Seeds of Death Youtube documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6OxbpLwEjQ Kurzgesagt GMO vi
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Time-Keeping Devices & 5G
26/11/2019 Duration: 54minFirst of all we would like to apologise for Levi's recording quality in the first half of the episode. It's a good reminder that we are amateurs recording this in our bedrooms at home. With that out of the way, we have put together a very interesting episode this week. Levi ticks off Time-Keeping devices throughout history and Matt lets us know whats all the buzz about the new 5G cellular network Show notes for Time Keeping Devices A history of time keeping devices https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcwOBkghwWA Informative video on time keeping devices https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At5atF4mKiU The clock that changed the world - Documentary on John Harrisons Mechanical Clock to claim the longitude prize. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-g27KS0yiY Show notes for 5G Scientific American article: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/we-have-no-reason-to-believe-5g-is-safe/ asut Press Release: https://e3.marco.ch/publish/sunrise/821_3887/20190327_MM_asut_Faktencheck_5G-EN.pdf cNet Arti
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Probability & Tarot
12/11/2019 Duration: 43minWhat are the chances that we would make it to episode 20? We certainly didn't see this in our Tarot Cards. That's right listeners in this weeks episode Matt takes us through chance and probability and Levi covers Tarot Cards SHOW NOTES FOR PROBABILITY “Jesus Saves” Story https://www.today.com/health/man-wearing-jesus-saves-race-bib-collapses-t165597 Risk of Death - Florida Museum https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/odds/compare-risk/death/ “Why Our Brains Do Not Intuitively Grasp Probabilities” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-our-brains-do-not-intuitively-grasp-probabilities/ “How Randomness Rules Our World” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-randomness-rules-our-world/ SHOW NOTES FOR TAROT Itai Ivtzan Paper on Tarot cards http://www.awarenessisfreedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/TarotCardsPaper1.pdf Divination with Tarot Cards: An Empirical Study: https://www.susanblackmore.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/JSPR-1983.pdf
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Multi-Level Marketing (w/ Yeah No Yeah)
05/11/2019 Duration: 40minHey listeners, I haven't heard from you in ages! I hope you've been well. It would be so good to catch up and chat about a great new opportunity for you and us! You would basically be your own boss and work your own hours which gives you so much freedom. And the best part about it is that you can employ all your friends and family as reps! Sound like something you might be interested in? Well, listen to this week's episode on Multi-Level Marketing; a collaboration with our sisters over at "Yeah No Yeah!" Check them out wherever you get your Podcasts. SHOW NOTES FOR MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING Yeah No Yeah Podcast https://yeahnopodcast.com/ “Multi-Level Marketing Has a Problem: YouTubers Keep Talking About It” - Molly Kendrick https://bit.ly/34oexLn “The Case (for and) Against Multi-level Marketing” FTC Report https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/public_comments/trade-regulation-rule-disclosure-requirements-and-prohibitions-concerning-business-opportunities-ftc.r511993-00008%C2%A0/00008-57281.pd
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Homing Pigeons & Bigfoot
29/10/2019 Duration: 49minEpisode 18 begins with a (not so) brief conversation with friend of the podcast Dr. Sam Laucirica about some of the points raised during the previous episode on NCGS. Levi then takes us back to a familiar place with a conversation about homing pigeons and Matt runs Occams Razor over some of the more popular bigfoot sightings. SHOW NOTES FOR HOMING PIGEONS Homing Pigeon Navigation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdXkcO6s_dI Homing Pigeon Interesting Facts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A6HN73oIps&t=206s Homing Pigeon Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdJ5q9cyPmk&t=391s Plus a bit of good old Wikipedia and associated articles found within SHOW NOTES FOR BIGFOOT Jacobs Photos - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) http://www.bfro.net/avevid/jacobs/jacobs_photos.asp Black Bears and Mange https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/06/04/black-bears-are-going-bald-it-might-be-even-worse-than-it-looks/ Patterson-Gimlin Filmhttps://youtu.be/-x3__akoM5w Bigfoo
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MRI & Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity
22/10/2019 Duration: 51minIn IdioFacto 17 Matt takes a look inside MRI and Levi attempts (and struggles) to decode the confusing language around Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity (keep you eyes out for a bonus episode with Dr. Sam Laucirica to discuss this further. Show notes for MRI “Introduction to MRI Physics”https://youtu.be/Ok9ILIYzmaY MRI Soundshttps://youtu.be/6Aj2QspPf7s MRI History https://www.magnetic-resonance.org/sources/Magnetic%20Resonance%2012th%20edition%202019%20Offprint%20History.pdf Show notes for NCGS Coeliac Australia info pagehttps://www.coeliac.org.au/gluten-sensitivity/ Pamela Cureton presentation on NCGS anmd Coeliac Diseasehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_sjiWCdmUg ABC Gluten Doccohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rktpxe9gFfA United European Gastroenterology Journal Articlehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4406911/ Video featuring Dr. Joseph Murray, M.Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYczEi_l-h0
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Space Travel & Moon Landing Conspiracies
15/10/2019 Duration: 53minWelcome to our first real episode back in season 2. In IdioFacto 16 Levi takes us on a Journey that's out of this world and Matt debunks some of the more sensible (but still silly) conspiracies surrounding the moon landing (spoiler alert; it really happened!) Show notes for Space Travel Challenges of leaving space http://www.dynamicscience.com.au/tester/solutions1/space%20science/challengeoflvnerth.htm First German space rocket https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/edn-moments/4397678/German-rocket-is-1st-to-reach-space--October-3--1942 Laika the Cosmonaught Dog https://time.com/3546215/laika-1957/ Show notes for the Moon Landing Conspiracy Film Expert Explanation - The Conversation https://theconversation.com/moon-landings-footage-would-have-been-impossible-to-fake-a-film-expert-explains-why-118426 Lunar Landing Sites - Express https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1151363/Moon-landing-hoax-NASA-fake-lunar-landing-sites-visible-on-Moon-LRO Mythbusters Season 6 Episode 3: Moon Landing Hoa
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IdioFactoid - Season 2 Preview
11/09/2019 Duration: 26minMatt and Levi chat about nothing in particular and preview Season Two of IdioFacto, which starts October 16, 2019. Apologies for the occasional audio clipping, we have a new setup that we're still getting the hang of.
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15 - Internet & Glyphosate (SEASON BREAK)
18/06/2019 Duration: 40minIn the final episode for season 1 Matt employs the help of his brother Michael to educate (and confuse) us about the internet and Levi walks us through the pseudoscience behind Glyphosate scaremongering. Show notes for the Internet The never ending knowledge of Master Michael McCabe Show notes for Glyphosate Glyphosate LD50 http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/dienochlor-glyphosate/glyphosate-ext.html Comment on IARC report https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wk/cej/2018/00000027/00000001/art00012 Glyphosate Use and Cancer Incidence in the Agricultural Health Study https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/110/5/509/4590280 IARC Report https://monographs.iarc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mono112-10.pdf IARC list of carcinogens https://monographs.iarc.fr/list-of-classifications-volumes/?fbclid=IwAR1lP3nzKqbNFqI7oX3Cu8uLyVT61EQHYqlpw1S-Ly0fS8KKeppI6eT1J3M European Chemicals Agency report https://echa.europa.eu/-/glyphosate-not-classified-as-a-carcinogen-by-echa
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14 - International Space Station & Close Encounters of the First Kind
11/06/2019 Duration: 37minThis week Levi takes us on a virtual tour through the ISS and Matt discusses close encounters with Unidentified Flying Objects SHOW NOTES FOR THE ISS ISS Live stream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMfcoT_lO80 ISS timeline https://www.issnationallab.org/about/iss-timeline/ Configuration diagram https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/ISS_configuration_2017-06_en.svg Wikipedia article on all scientific research conducted on the ISS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_research_on_the_International_Space_Station SHOW NOTES FOR CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE FIRST KIND The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe book is an invaluable primer for all things extraterrestrial, check that out for a crash course in the skeptical bent on UFOs. Daily Mail article: https://dailym.ai/2K9WOS4 CNET article: https://cnet.co/2pf1itG CIA Database of UFO Research (Declassified): https://bit.ly/2rRa8jj
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13 - Cephalopods & Antioxidants
04/06/2019 Duration: 34minThis week on IdioFacto Matt discussed the strange and wonderful Class of Cephalopods and Levi gets realistic about Antioxidants SHOW NOTES FOR CEPHALOPODS. Octopus escape: https://youtu.be/949eYdEz3Es Cuttlefish changing colours: https://youtu.be/K5CZ74ybnbE Octopus beak and radula: https://youtu.be/Q-jBksy7z8U Again, I used my Campbell, Reece & Meyers first year biology textbook, Biology for a bunch of information, and a lot of knowledge I had from a great Invertebrate Zoology class I did back in my second year at Uni. SHOW NOTES FOR ANTIOXIDANTS Cochrane review on effect of antioxidants on mortality - https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007176.pub2/full Cochrane review on antioxidants vs gastrointestinal cancers - https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004183.pub3/full? Victorian government advice on antioxidants - https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/antioxidants Australian government health advice on antioxidants - https://www.he
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12 - Nuclear Power & Simon Sinek
28/05/2019 Duration: 39minOur weather series is over! This week Levi runs you through nuclear energy and Matt pulls apart Simon Sineks pop psychology. NUCLEAR POWER Uranium energy density https://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/f/fuelcomparison.htm Information on Uranium and nuclear energy http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/introduction/what-is-uranium-how-does-it-work.aspx Video on Thorium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMuxjHLLk0E Chemical equations and reaction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBdVK4cqiFs How uranium becomes nuclear fuel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apODDbgFFPI SIMON SINEK Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace: https://youtu.be/hER0Qp6QJNU Simon Sinek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/ Simon Sinek Biography: https://startwithwhy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Simon-Sinek-Bio_April-2019.pdf Millennials in the Workplace - A Communication Perspective on Millennials’ Organizational Relationships and Performance: https://link.springer.com/content/
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11 - Climate Change
21/05/2019 Duration: 47minIf you haven't listened to IdioFacto 10 or our weather based IdioFactoid, we recommend you check those out first to give you a good understanding of some of the concepts we discuss in this episode. Matt and Levi both discuss Climate Change and dispel some of the common myths and arguments from climate change "skeptics" (climate change deniers). Greenhouse Gases https://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/climate-campus/climate-system/greenhouse-gases/ Thermohaline Circulation https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/ocean-conveyor-belt/ A good general resource for an overview of skeptical climate change arguments: https://skepticalscience.com/ Joel Pett comic: https://www.gocomics.com/joelpett/2009/12/13 “Consensus on consensus” article: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002/pdf “A Reconstruction of Regional and Global Temperature for the Past 11,300 years” in Science: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6124/1198.abstract Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
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IdioFactoid - Weather Records & Weather Data Manipulation
15/05/2019 Duration: 16minWith time running out in a busy weekend we decided to save our climate change special until we could give it the time it deserves. Enjoy this meteorologically themed Idiofactoid in the mean time
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10 - Carbon Cycle & Long Range Weather Forecasting
07/05/2019 Duration: 51minThis week we start introducing important meteorological concepts before our climate change special next episode. Matt givs us a run down of the Carbon Cycle and Levi gets an interview with Senior Climatologist Robyn Duell to discuss long range weather forecasting Show notes for the Carbon Cycle Khan Academy video: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-ecology/hs-biogeochemical-cycles/v/carbon-cycle World Meteorological Organisation: https://youtu.be/E8Y6L5TI_94 Show Notes for Long Range Weather Forecasting Interview with Robyn Duell - Senior Climatologist, Bureau of Meteorology
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IdioFactoid - Draining Water & Spurious Correlations
30/04/2019 Duration: 18minIn this short installment of IdioFactoid Levi clears up the myth behind water down the plug hole and Matt runs us through some Spurious Correlations Show notes on DRAINING WATER Video on draining paddle pool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXaad0rsV38 Show notes on SPURIOUS CORRELATIONS Spurious Correlations website: http://tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations Inhibitory Spillover Paper: https://lirias.kuleuven.be/bitstream/123456789/282526/3/MO_1007.pdf
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