Skeptical Activism Campaign Manual

July 14th, 2011 by K.O. Myers

Skeptically Speaking host Desiree Schell is set to present a workshop on Grassroots Skeptical Activism at The Amaz!ng Meeting in Las Vegas. The program adapts evidence-based techniques and tactics from social movements, and explains how to plan and execute an effective campaign around issues of importance to the skeptical community.

Schell and Atlanta Skeptics organizer Maria Walters, along with labor organizer Trevor Zimmerman, have compiled their techniques into a Skeptical Activism Campaign Manual. It will help you identify skeptical issues that will benefit from activism, set goals, plan strategies, communicate with the media and your target audience, and evaluate your results. If you’re interested in taking your work as a skeptic to the next level of effectiveness, the manual is a must-have resource. Download your free copy now!

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Help Support Skeptical Radio

November 3rd, 2010 by K.O. Myers

Here at Grassroots Skeptics, we’re big fans of Skeptically Speaking, the world’s first live skepticism-themed call-in talk radio program. The show features thought-provoking interviews with scientists, authors, and experts, spreading science awareness by making complex topics engaging and entertaining, while still being informative. I’ve recently had the privilege of joining the team as a producer and editor, and I’m so excited that it’s a little ridiculous.

One reason that I’m so proud to be a part of the show is the opportunity that it offers for organizers and activists to promote their own skeptical and science outreach projects. It’s helped Grassroots Skeptics spread the word about our work from the moment we launched, and there are dozens of other science and critical thinking projects that have benefited from appearing on their “Speaking Up” segment. The show has gotten its message out on the 22 stations that broadcast it across North America.

Now, you can help keep the show on the air, spreading the virtues of science and critical thinking. Skeptically Speaking is produced at the studios of CJSR, a community radio station in Edmonton, Alberta. The station is having their annual FunDrive fundraising campaign, and your donation on behalf of the show will not only help keep the station running, but it will let their staff and management know that skeptical programming is something that you want on the radio.

This Friday, November 5th, you can listen AND watch the show live at 8 pm EDT for a retrospective, listening back to some of the best bits from past shows. The entire team will be in the studio, to share our thoughts on the clips, and give away a bunch of fabulous prizes. If you can’t listen live, you can donate any time before Saturday, November 6th. And be sure to note Skeptically Speaking in the “Show Donated To” field.

Please, help us keep Skeptically Speaking on the air, and help us prove that there’s a place for science and skepticism in the broadcast media. We’ll repay your generosity with another year of fantastic radio.

And a classically fashionable button.

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Grassroots Skeptics on Skeptically Speaking

June 16th, 2010 by K.O. Myers

Despite my two previous appearances, Desiree Schell, host of the radio show and podcast Skeptically Speaking, has agreed to have me back to talk about our Grassroots Organizing workshop at The Amazing Meeting 8. She’ll also be speaking to the James Randi Educational Foundation’s Jeff Wagg and Auston Luton about all the other exciting things scheduled for this year’s TAM. The show airs live at 8 pm Eastern on Friday night, or you can listen at your leisure when the podcast comes out early next week.

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TAM Grassroots Workshop Lineup

June 9th, 2010 by K.O. Myers

The Amaz!ng Meeting 8 kicks off on July 8th, and we’ve been busily working out the details of our workshop on Grassroots Skeptical Organizing.

The workshop starts at 2 pm on Sunday, July 11. We’ve got two hour-long sessions planned, featuring a fantastic lineup of local skeptical organizers and activists. They’ll share short presentations, and answer audience questions, in order to arm you with plenty of practical advice for starting a local skeptics group, attracting new members, and planning great events.

The first session will focus on founding and growing a local skeptics group. The presenters are:
Travis Roy, co-founder and president of Granite State Skeptics
Chip Denman, co-founder of National Capital Area Skeptics
Michael Feldman, co-founder of New York City Skeptics
Robynn “Swoopy” McCarthy, co-host of Skepticality and co-director of Skeptrack at Dragon*Con

This session will be moderated by Michael Blanford, Director of Education at the James Randi Educational Foundation.

Session two is all about planning and running events for local groups. The presenters are:
Maria Walters, member and event organizer for Atlanta Skeptics
Maggie McFee, tech wizard for the Boston Skeptics
Naomi Baker, founder of the Houston Skeptic Society
Reed Esau, creator of the SkeptiCamp open conference model

This session will be moderated by Desiree Schell, host of the Skeptically Speaking radio show and podcast.

We’re really excited about this event, and we hope to see you there. You can register for TAM and get more scheduling info at the JREF’s website, randi.org.

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Grassroots Skeptics Speakers Bureau Is Live

April 2nd, 2010 by K.O. Myers

Today, we’re proud to announce the launch of our brand new Skeptical Speakers Bureau. We’re hoping to make it easier for local skeptical organizers to find speakers for their events. We also want to help budding skeptical activists raise their profiles, and make it easier for them to get their message out there.

Whether you’re a skeptical organizer planning an event, or a skeptic with something to say, please check out our new Skeptical Speakers Bureau. Browse our fabulous lineup, submit a request for an appearance by one of our speakers, or add your name to the list for organizers to find.

We also would like to welcome Patrick Jerome to the staff of Grassroots Skeptics. Patrick is the president of the Jackson Skeptical Society in Jackson, Mississippi. He joins us as the Coordinator for our Speakers Bureau. He’ll be responsible for handling the requests for appearances that we receive.

Finally, we’d like to thank Kylie Sturgess, host of the Token Skeptic podcast, and Desiree Schell, host of the radio show Skeptically Speaking. In addition to signing up to speak, they’ve both worked hard behind the scenes to recruit speakers in the weeks leading up to the launch. Ladies, thanks for everything.

A copy of our official press release is available here.

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Skeptically Speaking First Radioversary

March 26th, 2010 by K.O. Myers

I discovered Skeptically Speaking late in the Summer of 2009, while I was in the early stages of assembling Grassroots Skeptics. And it isn’t an exaggeration to say that Grassroots Skeptics wouldn’t be what it is today without the show.

Skeptically Speaking speaks to exactly what I think skepticism should be. It’s not just a skeptical podcast, it’s a platform for outreach.  With a weekly lineup of impeccably researched, thoroughly engaging interviews, the show is spreading awareness of science, reason and critical thinking to a broader audience. And the “Speaking Up” segment provides skeptic-friendly media exposure and valuable public speaking practice to local skeptical organizers. That example, that formula of community outreach combined with support for local activists, has been a constant source of inspiration to me.

Desiree and her team were kind enough to invite me to appear on “Speaking Up” to announce the launch of our website, and later to promote the creation of our Speakers Bureau, which rolls out at the end of March. As I’ve slowly expanded the scope of the organization, Desiree’s unflagging support and sage advice have been invaluable.

When fans started discussing the idea of honoring the show’s first anniversary, I felt that the least I could do to repay that kindness was to offer a space to assemble a tribute. Please allow me to proudly present the Skeptically Speaking First Radioversary Fan Page. If you’d like to contribute your own entry to the lineup, please contact us at GRSkeptics [at] gmail.com. You can also show your support for the show by becoming a fan on their Facebook page, following them on Twitter, and leaving them a glowing review on iTunes.

Desiree, Mike, Ryan, Grant, Jarret, Jill, Josh and Sean. Thank you for all your hard work and enthusiasm over the last year. You’ve helped to spread reason and critical thinking beyond the microcosm of self-identified skeptics. You’ve managed to make some heavy science accessible as well as entertaining. And you’ve helped to raise awareness of many skeptical projects, including my own, that might not otherwise have gotten noticed. Here’s to many more years of skeptical radio. As long as you’re broadcasting, we’ll be listening.

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I Am A Grassroots Skeptic: Desiree Schell

November 5th, 2009 by K.O. Myers

Desiree Schell is the host of Skeptically Speaking, the first live skeptic and science themed radio talk show. Skeptically Speaking is produced at CJSR in Edmonton, Alberta, and airs on Friday night from 8 to 9 Eastern. More information and links to stream the show or download the podcast are at http://skepticallyspeaking.com.

On Skeptically Speaking, we discuss a wide range of skeptical and science topics with a variety of people that you might not have heard of. Well, you may have heard of Adam Savage, Phil Plait or Randall Munroe, but that’s beside the point.

We also do interviews with people like you. Yes, you. The woman organizing a skeptical event. The guy who has a bone to pick with with a specific pseudoscience. The person who has a new website or podcast. Our Speaking Up segment gives you the chance to get the word out to skeptical people all over the world.

Let’s face it, outreach is part of skepticism. We all do it, whether we’re talking to our parents about why they shouldn’t buy into that multilevel marketing scheme, explaining the misinformation around the H1N1 vaccine with our coworkers, or forwarding that snopes.com entry on why typing in your PIN number backward on the ATM machine does not, in fact, summon the police.

But what if you want to take your skeptical activism one step further? Maybe you’ve been asked to represent your local skeptics group on a panel, and you’ve never spoken in front of an audience. Or you’re a blogger that’s been doing some great work, and the mainstream media has asked you for a comment. How can you be sure that you can speak to the issues in a clear and effective way?

What better way to get some real-world practice than on a friendly, rational skeptical radio show? The show airs live in Edmonton, Alberta and is rebroadcast throughout Canada, the US and online. You can reach out to thousands of people who are already open to and interested in what you have to offer, while also getting some valuable public speaking experience.

The whole Skeptically Speaking team is committed to skepticism as a community; the best way to keep that community thriving is to stay connected, and to encourage each other in our endeavours. We’ll work with you to make sure that your piece is radio-ready, and you’re as comfortable as you can be. People are doing some great things out there, and we think everyone should hear about them.

If you’re ready to have your say, do send an email to feedback@skepticallyspeaking.com. Put “Speaking Up” in the subject line, tell us a bit about what you’d like to discuss, and we’ll contact you to set up your very own 5 -7 minutes of live, on-air goodness.

In Skeptical Solidarity,

Desiree Schell

[EDITOR'S NOTE: I took advantage of an invitation to appear on Speaking Up when we launched GrassrootsSkeptics.org in September of 2009. Despite my nerves, I managed to sound halfway competent, and the exposure was extremely valuable in helping get the word out.]

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