Edzard Ernst

Physician, skeptic, questioner of medical claims

How to Become a Charlatan

During my 30 years of researching so-called alternative medicine (SCAM), I have seen more charlatans in action than I ever cared to. With ample occasion to identify and study their most lucrative strategies of deception, I am therefore in a good position to advise people who feel tempted to embark on a journey towards charlatanism in the realm of SCAM. In my lecture, I will provide 10 simple, yet valuable lessons for the budding charlatan on his or her road to fame and riches. They invariably involve putting greed and personal gain before ethics and morals. At the end of my discourse, you might therefore feel that the life of a charlatan is not for you after all. In that case, I hope you will nevertheless have gained valuable (and perhaps amusing) insights in how to prevent charlatans from harming and exploiting the public.

Edzard Ernst is an internationally-recognized scholar of alternative medicine as well as a skilled translator of science to the public. An MD/PhD, Dr. Ernst retired in 2012 as chair of the University of Exeter’s Complementary Medicine Department after having led the program since 1993. He has founded three medical journals and published over 1000 papers in peer-reviewed journals. His books, including A Scientist in Wonderland: A memoir of searching for truth and finding trouble and Trick or Treatment? Alternative medicine on trial with Simon Singh, have been translated into over a dozen languages. Among other awards, Ernst received the John Maddox Prize from Nature and Sense About Science. He is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. During the last 25 years, Prof Ernst’s research has focused on the critical evaluation of most aspects of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM). His goal is always to provide objective evidence, reliable information, and critical assessments. This ambition does not endear him to many believers in SCAM.

Comedy of Skepticism Panel:
What’s so Funny About Skepticism?

What’s so funny about skepticism? Plenty! Emery Emery, well-known comedian, podcaster (“Skeptically Yours”, “Ardent Atheist”), and film editor, hosts fellow skeptical comics Leighann Lord, Celestia Ward, and Ian Harris in an unserious discussion of a serious topic: how to use humor to bring people to scientific skepticism?

Emery Emery is a film editor and producer, comedian, and skeptic. Most recently he directed Skeptoid Media’s Science Friction, a 2022 documentary film about scientists who are misrepresented by the media. He also was the editor on the famous (or infamous) Paul Provenza film, The Aristocrats which is about what some consider the funniest joke ever told. A long-time comedian, he also hosts the podcast “Skeptically Yours”.

Leighann Lord co-hosts the Center for Inquiry’s “Point of Inquiry” podcast, and hosts the Youtube video series from the Center for Scientific Inquiry, “Skeptical Inquirer Presents”. She is a veteran standup comedian who has appeared on HBO, Comedy Central, The View, Netflix, and Showtime's "Even More Funny Women of a Certain Age." Her Dry Bar Comedy special has had over one million views. The Wall Street Journal called her “People with Parents Podcast” one of the “10 Podcasts for Older Adults That Promise to Entertain—and Enlighten”. Leighann (winner of the AHA Humanist Arts Award) is the author of several humor books including: Dict Jokes and Real Women Do it Standing Up, available on Amazon. 

Celestia Ward is a caricaturist, editor, writer, skeptic, and columnist. She is the content producer and cohost of the weekly podcast “Squaring the Strange”. Her work has been featured on the cover of  Skeptical Inquirer.

Ian Harris' act is a fascinating and funny mix of spot-on impressions and clever, cutting-edge comedy. He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, Comedy Central, and two, one-hour TV specials Critical & Thinking, and ExtraOrdinary. The Arizona Daily Sun said, “There are not too many humorists who provoke their entire audience to think, but somehow Harris is capable of doing just that.”  Though his cerebral and often risky style of comedy has earned him comparisons to favorite thinking-man's comics like Lenny Bruce, Bill Maher and George Carlin, Ian uses his unique point of view and an impressive array of comedic talents to deliver a thought provoking style of stand-up all his own. 

Kenny Biddle

Skeptic, podcaster, skeptical investigator, technical expert

From Ghost Hunter to Skeptical Investigator

In the 1990s, I believed pretty much everything; ghosts, demons, bigfoot, etc. It wasn't until one night in Gettysburg, PA that I began to realize I might be wrong. Come along on my journey from blind believer to skeptical activist, and learn why I continue to attend even more paranormal-themed events than before. 

Kenny Biddle Kenny Biddle is a ghost hunter turned science enthusiast and skeptical activist. He routinely investigates various claims of the paranormal: personal experiences, ghost gadgets, eerie photos, and spooky videos. His investigations are featured in Skeptical Inquirer, both in his online column (A Closer Look), the print magazine, and his video series, Ghosts in the Machine. Kenny hosts the livestream show, the Skeptical Help Bar, every Friday night, where he blends skepticism and science with the atmosphere of a local bar. He’s also a co-host of the “Three Tortured Souls” podcast, which tackles fringe topics from three perspectives. Kenny frequently hosts workshops on how to deconstruct and understand paranormal photography, video, and lectures on how to investigate and solve mysteries. In 2020, Kenny was elected a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Engaging With True Believers and Denialists Panel

Experts from Australia, the UK, and the US discuss the evergreen issue of science denial and knowledge resistance. Hosted by Eugenie C. Scott

Prebunking, Debunking and Otherwise Talking to True Believers and Denialists

The problem of knowledge resistance – the tendency to hold fast to erroneous information regardless of evidence or reason – is international. Experts from the UK, Australia and the US will reflect on how to explain denialism, what works to change minds towards a more accurate understanding of the world, and how we might fend off the further expansion of misunderstanding and error. These questions are relevant to a wide range of issues of interest to skeptics, from conspiracy theories, to the rejection of climate change and other science denialisms, and much more.

John Cook John Cook holds a Ph.D. in cognitive science from the University of Western Australia. Currently he is a postdoctoral research fellow with the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub. His research focus is understanding and countering misinformation about climate change, with an emphasis on using critical thinking to build resilience. In 2007, he founded Skeptical Science, a website that won the 2011 Australia Museum Eureka Prize for the Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge. In 2013, he published a paper quantifying the 97% scientific consensus on climate change which was highlighted by President Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. In 2015 at the University of Queensland, he led the development of a Massive Open Online Course on climate science denial, that has received 40,000+ enrollments from over 185 countries. He co-authored the college textbooks Climate Change: Examining the Facts and Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis, as well as the book Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand. In 2020, he published the book Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change applying critical thinking, inoculation research, and cartoons, to engage and educate readers about climate misinformation. He is also a recipient of the Friend of the Planet award from the National Center for Science Education in the US.

Michael Marshall is the Project Director of the Good Thinking Society, Editor of The Skeptic, and President of the Merseyside Skeptics Society. He regularly speaks with proponents of pseudoscience for the “Be Reasonable” podcast, and presents investigative reporting on the “Skeptics with a K” podcast. His work has seen him organizing international homeopathy protests, going undercover to expose psychics and quack medics, and co-founding the popular QED conference. He has written for the Guardian, the Times, The New Statesman and New Scientist.

Mick West is the author of Escaping the Rabbit Hole - How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect and the host of the podcast, "Tales From The Rabbit Hole". Both focus on developing tools for understanding and helping people who have been sucked into conspiracy theories. He's a retired videogame programmer who helped make the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Franchise. Mick also runs the website Metabunk.org, where he investigates conspiracy theories, debunks pseudoscience, and analyzes UFO videos.

Hosted by Eugenie C Scott, who is a biological anthropologist and retired Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, which she led for 27 years. She is internationally-known as an expert on the creationism/evolution controversy, and is a Fellow of the Committee for Scientific Inquiry.

Madison Dapcevich

investigative reporter, science writer, marine researcher

Navigating The Infodemic With Snopes.com

Snopes Science Reporter Madison Dapcevich will discuss how the fact-checking website Snopes makes sense of the cacophony of misinformation and disinformation that has come to characterize the internet since the beginning of the pandemic. She will discuss lessons learned from debunking during these sanity-challenging times and describe how Snopes, as a team, separates fact from fiction on a daily basis.

Madison Dapcevich Before debunking digital rumors for Snopes, Madison spent several years working on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., reporting on agricultural and environmental issues throughout the Rocky Mountains, and covering breaking science news in the tech sector of San Francisco. She will be joining SkeptiCal from E/V Nautilus, a deep-sea research vessel where she also serves as a science communication lead. Madison’s reporting has been featured in several publications, including TIME, Business Insider, and those published during her staff positions at EcoWatch and IFLScience.

Steven Novella, MD

Physician, skeptic, podcaster

When Skeptics Disagree

Even well-meaning skeptics can disagree on topics that are scientifically ambiguous, or perhaps when political or other ideologies intervene. Over the last few decades these points of conflict have come and gone, from climate change to GMOs. How have skeptics dealt with them?

Dr. Steven Novella is an associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine, specializing in ALS, myasthenia gravis, neuropathy, and erythromelalgia. He heads the team responsible for the well-known skeptical podcast, “The Skeptics Guide to the Universe” and helped found the New England Skeptical Society (NESS) , of which he currently is president.  He is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.