Live Skeptoid Shows

See the Calendar | Continuing Professional Education

26C3 Congress, Berlin

Brian Dunning, producer and host of the Skeptoid podcast, is available to speak at your event or organization.

Audiences

Corporate and industry conferences, universities, local and civic clubs. All material is clean and appropriate for any audience.

Business / Continuing Professional Education

We also offer talks for professional organizations, showing how all-too-rare critical thinking in business can improve your bottom line. Certified for CPE in some industries.

"How to Beat Misinformation"

BEFORE IT BEATS YOU

United States of Misinformation Brian's flagship talk, and the one you probably want.

All of us believe lots of things that aren't true, and most of us don't even try that hard to correct ourselves. The result is a global, wide-ranging, conflicting, and contradictory flood of misinformation that drives bad decision making at every level. Build a better life, a better business, and make better choices with data driven policy, and shut out the misinformation society screams into our ears.

45 minutes - 1 hour, including Q&A. Email to inquire about fees and scheduling.

Specialty topics

If you're looking for something a little more specific, consider one of these:

We Are All Conspiracy Theorists		We Are All Conspiracy Theorists Conspiracy theory culture has, unfortunately, become mainstream. But it didn't happen by itself. It was largely driven by cultural trends openly embracing absurd conjectures, giving license to the conspiracy theorist inside each of us. Copies of Brian Dunning's 2018 book "Conspiracies Declassified" can be purchased in bulk from Simon & Schuster for author signing. Book this

How to Be a Skeptical Documentary Filmmaker		How to Be a Skeptical Documentary Filmmaker All documentary filmmakers have a point they want to make. But if you're promoting scientific skepticism, that means you're either preaching to the choir (which is a waste of time and money), or you're trying to persuade an audience of something to which they're actively hostile. Can this minefield be successfully navigated? Can optionally be paired with a screening of Science Friction (86 min), The UFO Movie THEY Don't Want You to See (93 min), or Principles of Curiosity (40 min). Book this

Sounds from Beyond!		Sounds from Beyond! An hour packed with weird recordings and sounds from all areas of the paranormal - it's the most fun you've ever had learning critical thinking! Ghost sounds, backwards recordings, radio broadcasts from outer space! Hear the weirdness, and learn the fascinating truth behind each one. Book this

Waterspouts & Swamp Gas: Challenging Popular Assumptions		Waterspouts & Swamp Gas: Challenging Popular Assumptions Science communicators do almost as much bad science as anyone. This talk blows the lid off some of the huge mistakes the media has made, some terrible but popular so-called "skeptical" explanations for famous phenomena. It's a lot of fun, covers a lot of ground, and exposes a lot of stories and urban legends you've heard of. The concepts it presents — thinking errors, perceptual errors, preconceived notions and biases — are universally applicable to professionals in any industry or to students in any subject. Book this

Miracle or Science?		Miracle or Science? An insider's look at five religious miracles that are far more interesting when we discover what actually took place. Simple debunking is just as useless as uncritical belief; the real excitement comes from learning the history and the context. Book this

Costs & Scheduling

Please email to inquire.

See the Calendar

Brian spoke about conspiracy theories to my class on domestic terrorism. When thinking about how pervasive conspiracy theories are and the potential consequences of deliberate and unchecked misinformation, I was happy to introduce my students to the critical thinking tools that Skeptoid offers every week. Thank you for the work you do and your eagerness to engage university students. - Trace Lasley, American University

This was one of the best talks of the year in our local skeptics program. Often when skeptics examine evidence-based claims, we focus on science and overlook historical claims. As this program showed, history may have been misreported and is open to critical examination. Dunning chose a variety of interesting examples from across time and cultures, examining their historical contexts and the likelihood they happened as commonly reported. It was unique, informative and fun. - Jeanine DeNoma, Oregonians for Science and Reason

Student comments:

The information from the talk was both informative and very relevant to a class on skeptical inquiry

Great presentation; caused me to go back to my paper as not just debunking, but of why it was stared as a myth.

I feel like Mr. Dunning did a good job of thoroughly covering his topics.

I really enjoyed his talk and would have loved for it to be longer. It was very helpful in observing how "wackies" can develop and why some hold on far beyond the time they should have faded away. As a benefit, he was well-spoken and thorough.

I was interested enough to look into the stories after the talk, but he told them quite exhaustively.

It also inspired me to watch his weekly podcast. The talk was perfect for this class.

I found it to be useful is I now know about his work and can view it even after the class is over. Another benefit of this format is that it is easy to for me to share it with friends, family and anyone else who needs to use their brains more effectively.