Bay Area Skeptics

WHAT: In 1980, James Randi made an historic visit to Australia that formed the basis for the Australian TV documentary “James Randi in Australia”, commissioned by Australian businessman Dick Smith. An elaborate, controlled test of dowsing involving buried water pipes – approved by dowsers themselves – is established, and confident dowsers set forth to demonstrate their abilities. What do you think happens? The original film has been lost for decades, and the only known copy was an old VCR tape in poor condition that had been recorded off of television. For the 45th anniversary of this founding event of the Australian Skeptics, Richard Saunders and Glenn Brady digitally restored the copy to a print of amazing fidelity to the original. Richard joins us to watch the video and discuss the significance of the documentary to the history of skepticism, and also how they restored the film. Whether you’re a techie or a skeptic, you’ll want to join us. It’s fair dinkum!

The culture wars have now fully consumed the issue of sex and gender, placing the biological sciences at the front lines, an uncomfortable place for a scientific discipline. Nonetheless, contrary to what the culture warriors want people to believe, diverse sexual behavior is not a new development, or even a human one. It didn’t just emerge from a progressive culture; it’s the product of billions of years of evolutionary experimentation throughout the animal kingdom. Nature, it turns out, has made a lot of space for diverse genders and sexual behaviors. And why? Because when it comes to evolution, diversity wins. Sex, the reactionaries say, should only be for procreation between a man and a woman, anything else goes against nature. Well, nature would like a word.
WHO: Nathan Lents is Professor of Biology at John Jay College, of The City University of New York, where his laboratory studies genome evolution of apes, humans, and extinct hominins, as well forensic genetics in plants and nonhuman animals. He also writes book reviews, is a frequent contributor and scientific expert for both print and television media, and is the author of three popular science books:

This is a casual evening of socializing on Zoom with fellow skeptoids and other curious humans from around our oblate spheroidal Earth. Please join us!

This free event is brought to you by the Bay Area Skeptics. All are welcome.