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.
Skeptically Speaking First Radioversary
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.
I Am A Grassroots Skeptic: Desiree Schell
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.]
Reminder: Support Skeptical Radio
If you’re looking for a concrete way to support skepticism in the media, you’re in luck. Skeptically Speaking, the world’s first live call-in skeptical talk show, is in the last few days of its 2009 fundraising campaign. CJSR, the community radio station that airs the show, wraps up its 2009 FunDrive on Saturday, 10/3.
When you donate at the station’s website, you can indicate that you’re there to support Skeptically Speaking. This is your opportunity to show CJSR, and the media at large, that you appreciate having a reality-based perspective analyzing the issues of the day. And be sure to tune in to Skeptically Speaking at 8 pm Eastern every Friday night. If you’re not in Northern Alberta, you can stream the show live, or download the podcast at their website. Tonight, you can call in live and talk to Randall Munroe, creator of the geektastic webcomic xkcd.
Keep Skepticism On The Air In Canada
Skeptically Speaking, the world’s first live call-in skeptical talk show, is produced at CJSR, a community radio station in Edmonton, Alberta. If you know anything about community radio, you know that the lifeblood of the station is listener donations. And if you listen to Skeptically Speaking, you know that they manage to put out a great hour of radio (and a podcast) every week, despite equipment issues that would flummox the crew of the Titanic. (The ship, not the vastly overrated film.)
This is where you come in. CJSR is gearing up for its 2009 FunDrive, from September 23rd through October 3rd. With a small donation, you can show the station that you appreciate having a skeptical voice on the radio, and help them stamp out some of their technical difficulties. To contribute, please visit the station’s website. And be sure to tune in to Skeptically Speaking at 8 pm Eastern every Friday night. During the FunDrive, their guests will be Science Comedian Brian Malow on September 25th, and Randall Monroe, creator of XKCD, on October 2nd.
Grassroots Skeptics In The Media
I wrote a guest blog for the science website Pulse Project:
What are you doing to promote skepticism in your life? Sure, you’ve got your blog, and you’re a member of the JREF forums, and your feed reader is chock full of skeptical websites. You’ve made sure your kids are vaccinated, you’ve packed your iPod with every podcast that has the word “skeptic” in the title, and you roll your eyes when you see somebody reading “The Secret” on the bus. But what are you doing to help other people learn to think critically?
Read the entire post at Pulse-Project.org.
I recently appeared on Skeptically Speaking, the skeptic-themed call-in radio show produced at CJSR in Edmonton, Alberta. I spoke with host Desiree Schell about why I founded Grassroots Skeptics, and where I want to take the group in the future. The show airs live and streams online every Friday at 8pm Eastern. If you missed hearing it live, you can download the podcast version from SkepticallySpeaking.com. And come let me know what you thought of the interview in the forums.
Grassroots Skeptics On The Radio
Grassroots Skeptics founder K.O. Myers will be a guest on Skeptically Speaking – the world’s only live, skeptic-themed, call-in radio show – tonight at 8 pm Eastern. He’ll be trying not to ramble too much while talking about Grassroots Skeptics’ website launch, and his future plans for the group.
You can listen live, submit a question or download the show as a podcast through the show’s website. If you’ve got a skeptical event to announce, or something you’d like to say during the show’s weekly Speaking Up segment, send an email to feedback@skepticallyspeaking.com.