NZ Skeptics Articles

Free Conference Tickets…

8th June 2026

…if you’re a student. Come on, you knew there was going to be a catch! But, if you are a student or know one who might be keen, please check out Lee Traynor’s article below where he explains a little about his very generous offer of covering the ticket costs for up to 20 students coming to our conference. Lee’s been to some of our conferences in the past, visited us at the Wellington Skeptics in the Pub, and also helped out with our still-to-be-finished-off (and the fault here lies entirely with me) plagiarism project.

As well as hearing from Lee, we’ve received a response to Patrick’s article about degrowth from James, our long-time Skeptics in the Pub Wellington organiser who is also an economist. James has some strong feelings/opinions/thoughts on degrowth, and seems to have done a great job of countering some of the claims in Patrick’s article while keeping things cordial. It’s great to have pushback like this, even though it can be a bitter pill to swallow at times. I swear the fear of someone taking the time to write to us and tell me I’m wrong is a great motivating factor for checking and double-checking my articles to make sure that what I’ve said is either a) true, or b) clearly marked as opinion. The fact that this also helps reduce the risk of a defamation lawsuit is an added bonus.

Bronwyn has finished her two-part series on AG1, this time looking into what’s in the product, and whether it’s something people need. I’ve investigated some of the more well-known attempts to make physics-defying reactionless drives, and found that they’re all, predictably, pseudoscience. And finally Katrina has continued the space theme, writing about the science, and pseudoscience, of satellite debris chain reactions.

Mark Honeychurch

Scholarships for students at the 2026 New Zealand Skeptics Conference, Christchurch

Lee Traynor - 8 June 2026

Scholarships for students at the 2026 New Zealand Skeptics Conference, Christchurch

This year the NZ Skeptics will be offering 20 full scholarships to attend the 2026 New Zealand Skeptics Conference in Christchurch. The scholarships cover the full cost of conference admission for one person each (but no travel, accommodation, or meals outside of the conference event). Scholarships are available to students enrolled in any secondary or tertiary educational institution in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Degrowth is exactly the wrong solution to Climate Change

James Kerr - 8 June 2026

Degrowth is exactly the wrong solution to Climate Change

Climate change is real, substantively human-caused and represents a serious problem that humanity needs to put real effort into solving. I believe this, not because I have “done my own research”, nor because it fits my ideology, but because the consensus of experts (in this case, climatologists) have concluded that it is true, and a good sceptic must follow the evidence where it leads.

AG1: The Lazarus of supplements, part 2

Bronwyn Rideout - 8 June 2026

AG1: The Lazarus of supplements, part 2

Jonathan Milne's Powder Keg podcast about AG1 and its founder, Chris Ashenden, is equal parts frustrating and fascinating. Fascinating with regards to the depth and breadth of his investigation, and frustrating to hear about how he was allegedly scooped by Scott Carney in May 2024. Carney re-broke the story about Ashenden's criminal charges, information Milne says that Carney would not have possessed if Milne hadn't shared that information first. But them's the breaks when you're a professional journalist in a lawsuit-phobic country, and maybe the October 2024 release of Powder Keg ultimately worked in its favour as it would be Carney who would bear the brunt of AG1's initial legal posturing, while Milne's work down under continued to be underestimated. Audio clips are played throughout the podcast in which Ashenden downplays the seriousness of the charges he faced. As Milne notes, Ashenden allegedly misleads his audiences about the extent to which reparations were and were not paid, and frames the whole real estate debacle as something he persevered without any remorse about the victims. Milne, for his part, interviewed Ashenden's former employees, investors, and ex-tenants with minimal interference.

A Skeptical Reaction to Reactionless Drives

Mark Honeychurch - 8 June 2026

A Skeptical Reaction to Reactionless Drives

Although the chemicals in rocket propulsion have changed over the years, from kerosene and liquid hydrogen, to complex ammonium perchlorate compounds and more recently liquid methane and oxygen, the basic idea of how it all works is the same - following Newton's idea of action and reaction (or conservation of momentum), if you shove stuff out the back of a rocket, it pushes the rocket forward. The more mass you shove out, and the faster it's shoved, the quicker the rocket moves.