Craig Shearer

14 August 2023 Hi there It's been a very busy week for me, with various things happening, including recording the latest episode of our Yeah… Nah! podcast in which we interviewed Dr Siouxsie Wiles ... (465 words)

It's been a little while since I've checked in on the antics of the Voices for Freedom bunch, but, checking my email I have set up to monitor their comms, and from others who do the same, there's ... (1318 words)

Most kiwis will be aware that it's election year, with the general election only a few months away, scheduled for Saturday 14th October. Now, since NZ Skeptics is a charity we're definitely not in ... (610 words)

Hi there One of our regular readers (Hi Ray... and Paul) has requested we put a date on our newsletters, so you'll be receiving this on 31st July, 2023. This week I've got a review of the Ms. ... (454 words)

Last Sunday evening, my wife and I had the pleasure of attending the world premiere of Ms. Information at the Auckland International Film Festival. OK, that sounds a little more grandiose than it ... (690 words)

As I've commented in previous issues of the newsletter, I listen to the excellent podcast Be Reasonable, hosted by Michael Marshall (Marsh, as he's colloquially known). In the latest episode (#083, ... (1584 words)

Hi there As some regular readers will have noticed, I've not been writing the newsletter over the past few weeks. Mark, Bronwyn, Katrina, and others have stood in for me, writing a great set of ... (593 words)

As I mentioned in my introduction, my wife Susan and I have been on a month-long holiday in the US and Canada. I thought I'd give a few of the highlights which relate to skepticism that we ... (2198 words)

As I talked about in my introduction, I managed to catch an episode of Black Mirror on Netflix - an episode titled Joan is Awful. I'm going to discuss various plot elements, so SPOILER ALERT! In the ... (720 words)

So, I'm a Diet Coke drinker. I don't drink hot drinks, and never have for my whole life. At least from my teenage years, when hot drinks were introduced in the form of tea, I always found them too ... (674 words)

Hi there This is going to be my last newsletter for a little while. My wife and I will be off on a big trip tomorrow, starting in the USA, where I'll be attending a technical conference in Salt Lake ... (265 words)

No doubt everybody knows about the news of late last week about the indictment of former US president Donald Trump on various federal charges relating to his wilful retention of classified documents, ... (702 words)

The last time I wrote the newsletter, I announced our NZ Skeptics conference happening in Dunedin on the weekend of 24th - 26th November, at Taito Otago Settlers Museum. We can now reveal that, in ... (186 words)

A few weeks back I published an item that reviewed the book A Manual for Creating Atheists, by Peter Boghossian. In that item, I added a note that I was hesitant to recommend Peter Boghossian to ... (530 words)

We've ragged on “apostle” Brian Tamaki many times in the past, but this week has seen a new crusade emerge. Brian's co-leader of a new political party Freedoms NZ, along with another long-time topic ... (361 words)

Hi there This week I'm announcing our upcoming conference in Dunedin in November. I indulge in some schadenfreude about the demise of a disinformation promotor, and take a look at generative AI for ... (59 words)

As many readers will know, NZ Skeptics hold an annual conference. We hold these in various locations around the country, and this year we're holding it in Dunedin. The dates will be November 24th - ... (198 words)

In the past, we've covered the Disinformation Dozen - a group of twelve people internationally who were/are responsible for promoting a lot of mis- and disinformation, who rose to particular ... (1073 words)

You'd have to have been living under a rock to not have noticed the rise of AI (artificial intelligence) technology recently. It seems that hardly a day goes by without some new announcement about ... (960 words)

Hi there I've taken a break from the newsletter for the past couple of weeks, having been away on holiday in Australia. The newsletter has been competently handled by Mark, Bronwyn, and Katrina. My ... (620 words)

Sorry, but I'm going to write again about Tesla cars… It's been reported fairly widely on various news sites (here, here, and here, for example), that Tesla has been forced to recall over a million ... (563 words)

Book review - by Paul Docherty A Manual for Creating Atheists, Peter Boghossian, 2013, Pitchstone Press. Peter Boghossian, a former philosophy professor, has created a toolkit for how to have ... (617 words)

As I mentioned in my introduction, this week I was interviewed about superstitions on the RNZ Nights programme. You can listen to the item here. What prompted this discussion of superstitions was ... (718 words)

Hello This week I've an update on the NZ Skeptics $100K challenge, and take a look at a scam product I've seen advertised via an app I use. Bronwyn joins us again to take a look at Jolly Billboards. ... (37 words)

The last time I wrote my newsletter, I wrote about the NZ Skeptics $100K challenge. We'd just launched it, in conjunction with the NZARH (New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists), who ... (1249 words)

Of late I've been seeing some very scammy advertising online for a product that makes astounding weight loss claims. Yes, I know, there are a ton of them out there! One of the things I enjoy doing is ... (806 words)

Hello I've had a wee break off writing the newsletter for the past couple of weeks, as Brownyn and Mark have contributed lots of content, but it's my turn again this week - thankfully with some great ... (529 words)

At the beginning of this month, we launched our $100K paranormal challenge. The idea is that if somebody can demonstrate a paranormal ability or product, they get to claim the $100,000. Where is the ... (1062 words)

Bronwyn, being the troll that she is, asked if I'd be writing about EV fires this week, after seeing news articles, here and here posted about a fire on the Auckland Harbour Bridge, which involved an ... (600 words)

Hello This week's been a busy one for me, with Skeptics in the Pub in Auckland on Tuesday night, recording and editing our podcast on Wednesday night, and various other activities. Along the way, I ... (321 words)

There's been a recent hubbub around the efficacy of masks for reducing the spread of infectious diseases, with Covid being the most obvious one. Back at the end of January, the Cochrane Library (also ... (884 words)

I've written about Voices for Freedom many times in the past. For review, they're a group of anti-vaxxers and “freedom” lovers and generally anti-government agitators. They started back in 2020 ... (680 words)

By Katrina Borthwick This is about my unexpected adventure in skepticism a very long time ago in a galaxy not so far away. So winding the clock back to around September 2011, I was a regular ... (962 words)

By Bronwyn Rideout Due to a special request by chair Craig, I have delayed part 2 of my article on Geoff Botkin to write about a member of the Duggar family. I previously referenced the Duggar family ... (1437 words)

Hello It's hard to believe it's the end of February already, and the official end to summer, at least on a calendar month basis. With all the rain and weather events we've had, it's hard to think ... (359 words)

Last Friday I attended a service for Robert Woolf. Long time members of NZ Skeptics would recognise Robert's name as a committee member, and conference attendee. He also attended Skeptics in the Pub ... (815 words)

We've written about Liz Gunn before. For a refresher, she's a former lawyer, then broadcaster/presenter on Television New Zealand (Breakfast and Good Morning shows) and Radio New Zealand. She ... (897 words)

If you live in Aotearoa/New Zealand, which most of our readers do, it's time for the 5 yearly census. The census papers have been delivered by mail - I received mine a few days ago. But most people ... (547 words)

We've been promoting making submissions to the Therapeutic Products Bill. The NZ Skeptics committee has met and put together its official submission, and I've put in a personal submission. We ... (96 words)

Hi there As I write this on Sunday morning in Auckland, we're beginning to see the start of bad weather from Cyclone Gabrielle, which is expected to cause high winds and extreme rain in the upper ... (207 words)

I began my weekend on Friday night with a trip into the Auckland CBD to try to catch roving fundamentalist evangelical preacher Lincoln Russ. Russ has been popping up on my social media feeds for a ... (1888 words)

Part of the fun of being on the NZ Skeptics committee is that we get sent emails from folk with some “interesting” views. In many instances the emails we get are provocative trolling messages, or ... (1242 words)

It's 12th February as I write this. Happy Darwin Day! (And, a day before my birthday) Darwin Day celebrates the birthday of Charles Darwin and is generally used to promote science and the ... (355 words)

Hi there I've got a bumper crop of articles this week, from several contributors. Holly Blackler tells us about her efforts to secularise Wellington city. Katrina Borthwick writes about the Herbalist ... (120 words)

As most readers will know, I live in Auckland, which has been subject to torrential rain this weekend, resulting in wide-spread flooding, and three people dead, so far. It was certainly a ... (466 words)

This past week has been quite sad for me. We had to say goodbye to our dog Darwin. I hope you'll indulge me in some reflections on the experience. Darwin, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was named ... (579 words)

One of the most frequent questions I encounter, whether serious or not, is about driving an EV in the rain, or through a carwash. Of course, EVs are well built, and the normal expectation of driving ... (479 words)

Over the past couple of weeks, people have been reporting getting unsolicited messages via Facebook Messenger from various religious accounts. I got one myself, and thinking it was just ridiculous, ... (152 words)

By Holly Blackler For years, my hobby has been to walk the streets and collect up religious propaganda – most commonly, multicoloured ‘Free Tickets to Heaven'. Designed to catch the eye and trick ... (498 words)

By Katrina Borthwick Henry VIII was the sixteenth century Tudor king famously known for having six wives with mainly scandalous fates - divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, and survived. It ... (1407 words)

The New Zealand connections to Hare Krishna offshoot the Science of Identity Foundation By Bronwyn Rideout Content warning: This article will include links to Rama Ranson's blogs which include ... (1414 words)

Hi there This is my first newsletter for the year. I had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year and had some nice time off from work. Mark started off the newsletter last week with a Happy New Year to ... (289 words)

There's a new bill being introduced to parliament that is intended to replace our Medicines Act 1981 and the Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985. The bill is the Therapeutic Products Bill (TPB) and ... (2741 words)

Today I satisfied one of my pleasures - watching horror movies - and viewed M3GAN (obviously pronounced Megan) which opened late last week. I'd categorise the movie as science-fiction horror with a ... (386 words)

By Bronwyn Rideout Source| Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar As Mark and I continue to chip away at the NZ Skeptical Calendar project, my search for fringe groups in the Papers Past database introduced me to ... (1707 words)

Hello This week I've got a few topics to cover - there's been quite a lot happening recently! And, I've also got a guest article from Al Blenney about the origins of the anti-abortion movement. We're ... (300 words)

You would have to have been living under a rock for the last couple of weeks to not have heard about the case of the 4 month old baby at Starship Hospital needing heart surgery and, as part of that, ... (857 words)

Last Monday (12th December) there was a tragic incident in Wieambilla, Queensland, leaving six people shot dead. Four young police officers were attending the property for a routine matter (the exact ... (694 words)

In the good news department, Billy Te Kahika and Vinny Eastwood, professional conspiracy theory grifters, who organised protests during the Covid lockdowns in August last year, have now been found ... (78 words)

It's been a while since I've written about the former president of the US, Donald J Trump, but he's recently announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections, likely in an attempt to ... (439 words)

Hi there This newsletter will be a bit short (well, only two articles, but the second one is quite a long read!). As I write this, we've just finished our annual conference in Wellington, so it's ... (240 words)

The NZ Skeptics' Bravo and Bent-Spoon awards 2022 By Jonny Grady 2022 has been a hell of a year on the skeptical front. Following on from a year of growing COVID-19 vaccination conspiracy theories, ... (1513 words)

An atheist crashes the Franklin Graham gig in Wellington, New Zealand. This article was written by one of our conference attendees. He blogs at Atheist Addiction. If you like his work, please visit ... (6152 words)

Hi there We're now under two weeks away from our annual conference, being held in Wellington (25th - 27th November) - our first in-person meeting since the pandemic. We've got an exciting lineup of ... (135 words)

Last week we found out about a new short documentary that has been produced - Believing is Seeing. The documentary was made by Loading Docs, who we've featured before, having made a short ... (175 words)

Many skeptics will be familiar with the practice of some Christian fundamentalists to stand on street corners warning the public of their impending doom in hell should they fail to repent and believe ... (447 words)

This past weekend I visited the Go Green Expo, which is a show with the general theme of “green” or being ecologically mindful. Such things are usually a magnet for companies promoting bogus products ... (864 words)

This week I take a look at Halloween - today!, talk about Elon Musk's Twitter purchase, the Just Stop Oil campaign, and Bronwyn gives us an update about Highden Estate and ISTA. Oh, and buy your ... (50 words)

Happy Halloween! Today, as this newsletter goes out, it's officially the day of Halloween, or All Hallow's Eve, though, as I write this, in my neighbourhood, children are expected at my door this ... (522 words)

Our annual NZ Skeptics Conference, being held in Wellington on 25th - 27th November is just weeks away now. We've got some great speakers, plus the opportunity to spend time with like-minded people. ... (65 words)

This week the social media landscape changed. Elon Musk completed his purchase of Twitter, after a rather interesting historical timeline around the deal: Back in April, he revealed he was the ... (770 words)

In depressing (but expected) news this week, it seems that it's highly unlikely we'll be able to constrain global warming to 1.5C, and that we're on a path of irreversible damage to the climate which ... (339 words)

In just over a month we're having the gathering of the year - this year's in-person skeptics conference - our first since 2019. We'd love to see you at this year's conference, where we're planning a ... (202 words)

We've covered Alex Jones many times in the past. Alex Jones is a fairly well-known far-right radio show host and conspiracy theorist. Most skeptics will be aware of his InfoWars website, which ... (1255 words)

I'm encouraged by news from the Center for Inquiry (CFI), a skeptical organisation in the US. They are suing the CVS and Walmart pharmacies for their placement of homeopathic products alongside real ... (426 words)

We've talked about the local body elections over the past couple of months, and now the results are in. Local freedom, anti-vax and conspiracy theory group Voices for Freedom tried to sway the ... (228 words)

This week's newsletter is going to be a little different from normal - more of a stream of consciousness than a deep dive into particular topics. I hope you don't mind. This past couple of weeks have ... (1421 words)

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The NZ Skeptics Conference 2022 is being held in Wellington on the weekend of 26th and 27th of November. We'd love to see you there, in person. We've got some great speakers lined up, and it will be ... (60 words)

This past week has been replete with stories related to climate change. Firstly, there's Hurricane Ian which has wreaked havoc and destruction and loss of life in Florida most recently, but ... (645 words)

Hey, I know that there are some skeptics in Auckland. We're holding our first regular (monthly) Skeptics in the Pub this Tuesday night (4th October, 7pm) at Dice & Fork at Victoria Park Market. ... (46 words)

In my last newsletter I mentioned the local body elections which are currently underway. The elections have some candidates standing who are aligned with various “freedom” and anti-vax groups. The ... (169 words)

One of our readers from the other side of the world, a Kiwi living in Ireland has told us about a Destiny Church in the UK. Unfortunately the article is behind a paywall, but from what I've been ... (114 words)

This past weekend has been a pretty skeptically-active weekend for me. On Friday afternoon, I took a drive from Auckland down to Hamilton to meet up with Mark and Bronwyn, who'd driven up from ... (303 words)

So, as I've mentioned Mark, Bronwyn and I paid a visit to the Mormon Temple in Hamilton, or as it's more formally known, the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The temple ... (1331 words)

One of our skeptical operatives informed us of a Voices for Freedom flyer that's been turning up in mailboxes across the country. This one concerns masking. It seems that they're obsessed with mask ... (221 words)

Finally this week, I received my local body elections pack. I have the opportunity to vote for candidates for the Mayor of Auckland, and members of the Auckland Council, for a local board, and also a ... (264 words)

This week I'm taking a look at a cult-like organisation in Australia that's advertising itself on social media - The World Transformation Movement, or Human Condition. I'm left a little confused ... (77 words)

Popping up on my various social media feeds over the past year or so have been ads for “THE Interview”. I'm going to take a look at this and the movement behind it. “THE Interview” itself is an ... (1374 words)

This last week has been pretty astounding on the topic of conspiracy theorists. When I last wrote the newsletter, I mentioned the Fire and Fury documentary and how it had riled up those behind the ... (579 words)

Hello, it's Craig here - so, I'm back writing newsletters, after taking a three week break. A few weeks ago, I had a family event to attend - the occasion of my mum's 80th birthday, so I was away for ... (359 words)

Last week Stuff Circuit, part of the Stuff media organisation, released their Fire and Fury documentary. The documentary is a slickly produced piece of journalism, looking at the rise of the ... (1136 words)

And now that I've just written about Chantelle Baker, the latest news is that her page, where she shared a lot of her content, has been removed from Facebook for violating community standards. It's ... (173 words)

So in a couple of months we're all going to have the opportunity of voting in the local body elections, for our city, district and regional councils. And in some areas, there are elections for local ... (684 words)

This week I take a look at a media attack on our friend Dr Siouxsie Wiles, and talk about the European heat wave and climate change. I admit to the sin of spreading misinformation (it's coming from ... (59 words)

Last week some of our media engaged in an attack on Dr Siouxsie Wiles. Siouxsie, with her iconic pink hair, has been a leading voice globally, but certainly here in NZ/Aotearoa for a sensible, ... (627 words)

This past week has seen the alarming heat waves in Europe, with the UK seeing highest ever temperatures, exceeding 40C. Of course, it's hot in Europe, but the scary thing is that heat waves will ... (359 words)

Regular readers of our newsletter will have seen the “adverts” for our official podcast - Yeah... Nah!, which we record on a fortnightly basis. Mark, Bronwyn and I discuss recent skeptical topics, ... (688 words)

Just a friendly reminder that the Covid pandemic is not over. We continue to see cases and an alarmingly high daily death rate, which had an all time high of 32 people dying one day last week. And ... (665 words)

This week I cover the sad news that a local psychic challenge has ended, but with some hope for the future. And last week, the Georgia Guidestones ended their existence after one of them was ... (88 words)

I regret to inform you that the psychics have won. They've clearly demonstrated their abilities and the $100,000 challenge at Puzzling World in Wanaka is now over. Oops… that's not quite accurate! ... (838 words)

If you've been around skeptical circles for a while, you'll have no doubt heard of the Georgia Guidestones - a granite monument that was constructed back in 1980 in a rural area in the US state of ... (974 words)

I got into a conversation with some people on Twitter over this past weekend, after commenting on an article about people overdosing on vitamin D. The article talked about a man who overdosed on ... (714 words)

In my last newsletter, I put a call out for people to help with a project investigating pharmacies and the pseudoscientific products they had on their shelves. We got a good response, with several ... (148 words)

This week I've got an eclectic mix of topics. I cover Matariki weekend, the awful Roe v. Wade US supreme court decision and the implications here, and look at my carbon footprint. Bronwyn is taking a ... (48 words)

This weekend we saw the first official celebration and statutory holiday for the Māori new year - Matariki. Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars known as the Pleiades. We can see the ... (509 words)

Last week it was announced that the US Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade - the landmark case from 1973 that protected the rights of pregnant people in the US to have abortions. The ruling set ... (725 words)

This weekend I took a look at the FutureFit website. This site is designed to make people aware of their carbon footprint - the amount that their household is contributing to climate change through ... (403 words)

NZ Skeptics has been running a project that investigates products sold in pharmacies that are based on pseudoscience - you know the sort of stuff - homeopathy, and various herbal remedies with scant ... (128 words)

Way back when we first started writing the weekly newsletter, one of our earliest topics was the QAnon movement, and the shocking events of the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol in the US. This ... (353 words)

We've covered the Peter Ellis case before, and indeed, it was a particular focus of NZ Skeptics activity in the 1990s. For background, Peter Ellis was a childcare worker at the Christchurch Civic ... (567 words)

I continue to monitor the emails sent out by the Voices for Freedom crowd. My reaction is usually a combination of disbelief and despair. My impression is that they're struggling to remain relevant. ... (643 words)

Louise Wallace is a reality TV actor, most recently having appeared on The Real Housewives of Auckland - a show I've not seen, but the title of which puts me off immediately. She's also previously ... (741 words)

Hello skeptics, this week I've a few topics to cover - from the horrendous massacre in Texas, to some thoughts on a public lecture, and some reflections on the mis- and dis-information study done by ... (61 words)

It cannot have escaped anybody's notice that this week there was yet another mass shooting at a school in the USA - this time in Uvalde, Texas. There's been enough said in other places, and this will ... (337 words)

Over the past few months, I've been contacted a few times by one of our members sending information about Covid from the popular podcast TWiV - This Week in Virology. The podcast is hosted by Dr ... (769 words)

I'd like to draw attention to the work done by Te Pūna Matatini. They have released an initial report on mis- and dis-information in Aotearoa New Zealand. Their website has a resources page with a ... (209 words)

This week we're covering a few different topics. I look at some potential good news in relation to SIDS and look back at claims made about it in the past. We've got some bizarre claims of paranormal ... (74 words)

I was interested to read an article about the unexpected death of babies. This used to be called Cot Death, but is now referred to as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). There's also a broader term ... (637 words)

Now for a bit of an amusing item. For some time, skeptical organisations around the world have offered prizes to people able to demonstrate paranormal ability. The Australian Skeptics have a $100,000 ... (345 words)

Late last week saw some carnage in crypto markets - dubbed the crypto crash. We've covered cryptocurrencies and their associated technologies, such as NFTs many times. We've previously written about ... (462 words)

This week we take a look at the Broadcasting Standards Authority decision about a complaint from NZDSOS against Seven Sharp. We look at the Sovereign Citizen "Sheriffs" disruption of an ANZAC ... (46 words)

Late last year Dr Nikki Turner appeared on TVNZ's Seven Sharp current affairs program to talk about the number of people who would be expected to have medical problems from being given the Pfizer ... (591 words)

Recently there's been a flurry of activity from a group in New Zealand who believe that they are Sovereign Citizens - that they have disconnected themselves legally from the laws of our country. ... (500 words)

I hope you're enjoying a few days off at Easter weekend, maybe enjoying some Hot Cross Buns dripping with butter, and some chocolate eggs. This week I discuss some excellent work done by SkepChick ... (95 words)

It would be hard to miss that there has been some controversy in the science community in Aotearoa/New Zealand around the role of Mātauranga Māori (translated as Māori knowledge) in the school ... (339 words)

As I write this on the Sunday of Easter weekend, it was announced on Saturday evening that John Cameron, lead pastor at Arise church, had resigned his position on the board, though remains as an ... (683 words)

I might well be stealing Mark's thunder here, as he has written extensively on NFTs in the past. As you'll recall, Mark's opinion on NFTs is that they're basically a scam, with some nasty blockchain ... (347 words)

This week I delve into fringe groups becoming politically involved (as I expected they would do so). I look into website hacking for good, and also feature some pieces from guest authors on the ... (54 words)

I've previously revealed that I keep an eye on Voices for Freedom by subscribing to their email newsletter, where they send out communications to their flock. I don't pretend that they're not aware ... (695 words)

As a professional software developer, I'm aware of various ways in which websites can be hacked - and it's a constant battle keeping up with the latest knowledge and techniques to ensure safety. Mark ... (610 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics Newsletter. This week, I talk about deepfakes and the implications for propaganda, and detour back in time, reminiscing about speech synthesis technology of yesteryear. Our ... (74 words)

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, propaganda raises its head. Propaganda has always been a tool of war (and peace) but we're seeing escalation to new levels. Recently, a video was shared on ... (950 words)

We have a bumper issue of the newsletter this week, with contributions from quite a few people. And what a week it's been! The main event of the week, here in our country, has been the end of the ... (197 words)

Last Wednesday, the “anti-mandate” protest at the Parliament Grounds in Wellington, which had lasted for 23 days, came to an end. It was not an end that the protestors wanted, but was forced on them ... (879 words)

Speaking of Voices for Freedom, last weekend investigative journalist Melanie Reid from Newsroom did a video piece on the protest - Visit to Freedom Village - which featured the Voices for Freedom ... (488 words)

Just what are freedoms that the protest groups are saying are being trampled on and restricted? Two senior lecturers in Psychology at the University of Canterbury wrote a good piece on The ... (143 words)

I've written about Liz Gunn before. She used to be a respected broadcaster on TVNZ's One News, but has now gone well down the rabbit hole. Last year she claimed that an earthquake was Mother Nature's ... (195 words)

We don't often cover sports stories in our newsletter, and I'm certainly not one for writing them, but yesterday we heard the news of the untimely death of Shane Warne, the Australian Cricketer. ... (250 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. Much of the focus this week is on the protest at the Parliament grounds in Wellington, and the escalating numbers of Covid cases, with the widespread community ... (986 words)

And now for something completely different… This week I've changed broadband providers. I was previously with MyRepublic and the service was fine, but I've been a 2Degrees mobile customer for some ... (754 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week there's more news about COVID and more attempts to halt the vaccine rollout, including claims of undeclared nanoparticles in the vaccine! Then there's ... (103 words)

Sue Grey and Dr Matt Shelton have made some astounding claims about contamination of the Pfizer COVID vaccine. The specific claims are that there are undeclared nanoparticles in the vaccine. ... (441 words)

I've written in the past about NFTs - Non-Fungible Tokens, as they're called, and Mark has written about cryptocurrencies and the scams that surround them. This week, David Farrier, of Webworm ... (352 words)

Another person I've written about in the past is Dr Sam Bailey. To refresh your memory, she's a doctor, previously practising as a GP, based in Christchurch. She appeared on a TVNZ medical show - The ... (447 words)

In another topic I've written about before, a Voices for Freedom spinoff group The ‘Hood NZ were taking a case to the High Court to attempt to stop the rollout of the COVID vaccine, specifically for ... (115 words)

…It Just Tells Dirty Great Big Fat Whoppers! by Anthony Wharton – St-Helens, UK MEIER UNDER THE MICROSCOPE /EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL CONTACT. I continue to be fascinated with the ... (3787 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. It seems that the world, and New Zealand/Aotearoa, is a little crazy right now. The news of COVID's Omicron variant being on the loose in NZ is dominating the ... (61 words)

As you read this you'll know that the country is now back into the red traffic light setting. The Omicron variant of COVID is now out in the community and, given its transmissibility, expected to ... (427 words)

A week seems like a very long time at the moment! But just over a week ago, the island nation of Tonga experienced a huge volcanic eruption and resulting tsunami. The effect of the tsunami was made ... (323 words)

If you spend any time on social media you'll have no doubt seen fairly enigmatic posts with a grid of yellow and green squares in various combinations. This is Wordle - a daily word guessing game ... (513 words)

Amidst a global pandemic it's sometimes easy to miss science news. But this one really piqued my interest. This week it's been reported that the Curiosity Rover on Mars has seen some intriguing ... (180 words)

So, back to COVID vaccines. This past week has seen a huge amount of activity in anti-vax circles. Firstly, Brian Tamaki, leader of Destiny Church, and promoter of the prosperity gospel, is currently ... (883 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week I discuss the popular Netflix movie Don't Look Up, ponder the association between the holiday road toll and drownings, celebrate the continuing ... (117 words)

If you're a Netflix subscriber, you'll be able to watch a movie that's been the topic of some discussion in science circles. That is Don't Look Up - a satirical look at science communication. The ... (644 words)

Over the past week or so we've seen headlines separately related to the magnitude of the holiday road toll, and high number of summer drownings. To me, it seems that it's human nature to clutch at ... (541 words)

In my last newsletter I wrote about the successful launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. Post launch there were many operations that it had to go through to be successfully deployed, the most ... (237 words)

This week it's been reported that University of Auckland scientists Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles and Professor Sean Hendy have taken a case to the Employment Relations Authority. They're ... (330 words)

If you're a member of NZ Skeptics you should receive a reminder to renew your subs soon. If you're not currently a member, you can join us for a very reasonable cost. ... (32 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. I hope this newsletters finds you well and that a pleasant Christmas was had. This year there were claims that Santa's deliveries would result in a COVID ... (153 words)

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has successfully launched! The telescope project, 30 years in the making, is now heading to the L2 Earth-Sun Lagrange Point, about 1.5 million kilometres from ... (344 words)

I think we have cause to celebrate. Despite not knowing what 2022 will bring, Aotearoa/New Zealand has a pretty high rate of vaccination - with over 91% of the eligible population having received two ... (204 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week I look at the Australian Skeptics psychic survey, some more COVID-related stuff, UFOs, and I talk about my introduction to skepticism (and you can ... (32 words)

Our recent Skepticon saw Richard Saunders, from the Australian Skeptics, present the results of The Great Australian Psychic Prediction Project. Over the past 12 years, the Australian Skeptics ... (470 words)

No doubt this week you will have seen the “sting” executed by Paddy Gower from Newshub. If you haven't, Newshub journalist Paddy Gower organised an undercover investigation which revealed an ... (326 words)

It has emerged that there's a man who's been showing up to receive the COVID vaccine on behalf of other people (for which he's being paid), having up to 10 vaccinations in a single day. Obviously the ... (289 words)

NZ Skeptics occasionally received email asking about skeptical topics: English and grammar issues aside, our correspondent is asking what we think about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (the new term ... (387 words)

We love getting feedback on the newsletter, and hearing others' perspectives. And, we think that others would like this too. We're starting a new section in our newsletter which shines a spotlight on ... (359 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. These last few weeks have been very busy for me personally, culminating in our very successful Skepticon 2021 last weekend. I feel like I'm on the rundown to ... (100 words)

As I write this there's news breaking about a new variant of concern of the COVID virus, now named as Omicron. The Greek Alphabet, by Ben Crowder The naming of variants of concern follows the Greek ... (351 words)

Dr Sam Bailey has been in the news this week, which involved in a court case petitioning the High Court to stop the New Zealand Medical Council from investigating her. Sam Bailey is a prominent ... (372 words)

Back on YouTube channels again - you may have heard of the YouTube channel Veritasium. This one is a generally good science channel which has nearly 11 million subscribers. This week I came across ... (332 words)

It's been revealed this week that you can wash disposable masks, and reuse them. The current advice from the Ministry of Health is that disposable masks should be used once then thrown away. A group ... (183 words)

For those readers who are members of NZ Skeptics (as off 1st April 2021 - that was our cut-off date), you will have, by now, (hopefully) received your Skeptic Card in the mail, along with a couple of ... (290 words)

If you've been reading the newsletter for any time you'll be aware of the joint conference we ran with the Australian Skeptics last weekend. I hope you had a chance to attend and to view the talks. ... (228 words)

NZ Skeptics has its Annual General Meeting on Sunday 12th December. We'll be holding this online, and we'd encourage any interested members to come along. We're looking for a new treasurer this year, ... (89 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. We're very close to our annual conference which we're running in conjunction with the Australian Skeptics. I encourage you to check it out - and we'd love to ... (56 words)

…or up to 3 months after? Our fantastic online conference - Skepticon 2021 - in conjunction with the Australian Skeptics is fast approaching. We're online on 20th and 21st of November, but if you buy ... (160 words)

In my last newsletter from two weeks ago, I wrote about the vaccine exemptions that anti-vaxxers wanted to use. They intended to use the wording of section 7A of the COVID response act to exempt ... (347 words)

This coming week has the threat of action against the government with yet another protest organised by Destiny Church and its leaders Brian (variously adorned with the title of Bishop, or Apostle) ... (332 words)

It continues to amaze me the lengths science deniers and anti-vaxxers will go to to try to convince people of vaccine harm. This week, Daniel published some pictures from an anti-vax group on our ... (180 words)

Over the past couple of weeks, I've seen articles about Dominic Bowden on a new podcast about “wellbeing” called WellBeings. Dominic Bowden is a bit of a celebrity - having appeared on The Bachelor ... (300 words)

Last week Mark published an item from Stuart Landsborough, from Wanaka's Puzzling World about his recent epiphany about how we can deal with climate change. I found Stuart's item contained some great ... (601 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week has been exciting, with the release of a web site project supporting vaccination, updates to the COVID levels system, and a hacker revealing all. And ... (49 words)

Late last week NZ Skeptics published a spoof website built by Mark Honeychurch (NZ Skeptics Secretary and past Chair, and alternating newsletter author). We've written about the NZDSOS site in the ... (345 words)

This week has seen the introduction of the Traffic Light System to replace the COVID lockdown levels currently in place. This will take effect once all of the country's DHB's achieve a 90% fully ... (241 words)

Last week Sue Grey (lawyer) was back at the High Court challenging a “no jab, no job” order on behalf of aviation security workers who lost their jobs at the end of September for refusing the ... (360 words)

I'll preface this by saying that this is a topic I'm certainly not qualified to talk about. But this week has seen a couple of interesting stories. Local period underwear brand AWWA has been unable ... (273 words)

A recent article on the Ars Technica site details the story of a so-called ethical hacker who was employed by a company to build a pro-Trump fake news empire. (Note, this is the real fake news, as in ... (291 words)

Our Prime Minister has quite a reputation around the world, but did you know she's also able to cause earthquakes? Well that's according to a video from former TV presenter, Liz Gunn, who now, it ... (123 words)

If you're a regular reader of our weekly newsletter you'll know by now that we're running a conference in conjunction with the Australian Skeptics. Because of COVID-19 restrictions we made the ... (104 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. One of our readers emailed us this week after Mark's excellent editorial last week about skepticism and what type of skeptic you are. Our Facebook page ... (324 words)

We've been promoting the up-coming conference in conjunction with the Australian Skeptics for a few months now. However, we've got some news. After reviewing the situation with COVID on both sides of ... (264 words)

This past week has seen an appeal of the Peter Ellis child sex abuse case being heard in the Supreme Court. The Peter Ellis case revolved around supposed ritual abuse of children at the Christchurch ... (632 words)

In the last newsletter I wrote, I discussed an open letter, penned by Mary Hobbs. Since publishing one of our contacts wrote to supply some more details. It appears that Mary and her husband are ... (479 words)

Back to COVID seriousness now. It's been a frustrating week where we've seen the Delta variant now escape Auckland and head out to other parts of the country. The government has been in a difficult ... (322 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week I look at the daylight saving time that's just started, some COVID modelling comments and take apart another “open letter” from an anti-vaxxer to the ... (33 words)

As I write this on Sunday morning, we've now switched over to New Zealand Daylight Time, putting our clocks forward by one hour until early April next year. The touted benefits are that we can enjoy ... (335 words)

As everybody will know, the COVID pandemic is still here. This week we've seen the number of active cases continue to fall, and Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau has moved down into alert level 3. Professor ... (358 words)

This week I came across an article about a COVID anti-viral pill. There's some hope that an antiviral (similar to the well-known Tamiflu) could work that would be used to treat people with COVID. The ... (249 words)

And speaking of anti-vaxxers, there's another one that's emerged from the woodwork. Writing on the NZDSOS site (and COVID Plan B), she's penned an open letter to the government. Mary Hobbs is a ... (2944 words)

As mentioned in the Mary Hobbs response above, there's now a group of doctors in NZ standing up for vaccinations, mostly it would seem in response to the handful of those who are against them. ... (144 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week continues the level 4 lockdown in Auckland where I live. It's been interesting to watch the numbers and we should be encouraged by the shape of the ... (149 words)

Saturday this weekend marked the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 in the US. Of course, because of time zones it was Wednesday 12th September here in New Zealand when it happened, just after midnight. ... (162 words)

As I've written in the past, NZ Skeptics often receive comments in our inbox and people often criticise us for parroting the mainstream media (usually abbreviated to MSM). Recent commenters have ... (189 words)

Billy Te Hakiha is in the news again. You'll recall that he was recently arrested, with his “partner in crime” Vinny Eastwood, for violating the lockdown, and holding a protest. Billy and Vinny spent ... (230 words)

I've written in the past about Sue Grey, the lawyer and past candidate for The Outdoors Party. She's an out and out conspiracy theorist and her Facebook page is a magnet for the most rabid ... (267 words)

In the good news department this week, it was announced that there's been a shakeup at the Magic Talk network - a radio station that specialised in talkback. Peter Williams announced that he was ... (148 words)

This week NZ Skeptics submitted our view on the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill. This bill proposes prohibiting so-called conversion therapies which aim to change a person's ... (171 words)

Our annual conference is coming up in November, on the weekend of the 19th - 21. As we've previously publicised, we're holding it in conjunction with the Australian Skeptics. COVID willing, we'll be ... (396 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week our COVID lockdown continues, and I've some updates on that. And we got an email from EvoRich - details on our response below. Wishing you a great ... (44 words)

The COVID Delta outbreak in Aotearoa New Zealand continues, with Auckland (where I live) and Northland being remaining in level 4 and the rest of the country moving to level 3 from Wednesday 1st ... (727 words)

Most skeptics will be aware of the Steisand Effect - so called because of the unintended consequence of trying to suppress information - which happened to Barbara Streisand back in 2003 when she ... (1208 words)

Finally this week, and related to the Streisand Effect above, comes the tale from David Farrier, of the popular Webworm blog. Recently, David wrote about a certain doctor in Auckland at an ... (158 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week there's been a scandal over at the Snopes website. I get my COVID vaccine and we hear more about the situation we're in with climate change. Wishing ... (363 words)

Last weekend I got my first shot of the COVID vaccine. Given my advanced age of 55 years, I became eligible to book a vaccine, which is done through the “book my vaccine” website. I found the process ... (640 words)

This past week has seen the release of the IPCC's 6th assessment report on climate change. The report is issued every seven years. It's become increasingly obvious with successive reports, that the ... (193 words)

On a lighter note, this week there were two earth-shattering events that were meant to happen. The first was the Global Prayer to End Atheism, and the second with the prediction of Trump's ... (236 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week I cover another psychic sting, some good news from Facebook and a COVID-denier takedown in the UK, and finally questions around the very existence of ... (33 words)

We've talked about purported psychic medium Thomas John before. He's a shady character whose real name is Thomas John Flannagan. Previously convicted of stealing security deposits from renters after ... (293 words)

In good news this week, Facebook has finally shut down the anti-vax, conspiracy-theory-mongering group Voices for Freedom's page. They're upset: “Facebook cancelled our Facebook page Wednesday, with ... (389 words)

Speaking of COVID grifters, an amusing take-down has emerged from the UK.Piers Corbyn is an anti-vax activist, and elder brother of the former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn is ... (243 words)

One of the interesting aspects of being part of NZ Skeptics is that we often get contacted by people to espouse views and theories that diverge from the mainstream, evidence-based views on things. ... (379 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week there's more climate change news, protest by farmers, tradies and ute drivers, and more COVID dishonesty revealed. And make sure you scroll to the ... (44 words)

Over the past few weeks there have been various extreme weather events that are now being attributed to climate change, whereas once scientists were more cagey on the issue - saying that it's never ... (478 words)

So, on the back of increasing effects of climate change this week saw the “Howl of a Protest” event run by Groundswell NZ - a group that purportedly represents farmers and tradies and ute owners who ... (325 words)

Yes, the pandemic is still with us, and alarmingly new strains are emerging. Evolution does what evolution does. Currently the Delta variant is in the news, and it is more transmissible than the ... (195 words)

The drug Ivermectin is an anti-parasite drug (used on worms and head-lice), and has been touted as a treatment for COVID-19. On the anti-vaxx Facebook groups I monitor, it's frequently cited as the ... (359 words)

Sticking with the COVID theme, I reported in a previous newsletter about the website set up to allow medical professionals and “concerned citizens” to sign their name to the statement: “I support New ... (202 words)

As I've written before, one of the main purveyors of vaccine misinformation is the anti-vax, conspiracy theory group Voices for Freedom. You will have seen their distinctive branding with their blue, ... (306 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week I've some sad news to report - the death of Russell Tomes, who was one of our NZ Skeptics committee members. Russell was a prominent identity in the ... (44 words)

It is with great sadness that I have to report that Russell Tomes, a NZ Skeptics committee member died last week. Russell unfortunately had an undiagnosed heart condition and died of a heart attack. ... (298 words)

This past week saw the release of a report on misinformation, on research conducted by the Classification Office Te Mana Whakaatu. The Classification Office is traditionally responsible for ... (258 words)

An anti-vax paper was published recently in the open access Vaccines journal. “The Safety of COVID-19 Vaccinations - We Should Rethink the Policy”. The paper has now been retracted, though just ... (237 words)

You may be aware that there's currently a bill before parliament to change the way that fluoridation of our drinking water is handled. Presently District Health Boards have the individual power to ... (326 words)

In the good news department, YouTube has de-platformed local misinformant Vinny Eastwood, also joining another local, Damien De Ment, also banned. Vinny Eastwood was king of promoting conspiracy ... (91 words)

Did you know that NZ Skeptics is running an in-person conference again this year (after not running one last year because of COVID). This year we're running it in conjunction with the Australian ... (83 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. I have quite a variety of topics to cover this week - including choirs, dinosaurs, doctors, and EVs (to put them in alphabetical order!) Today is the winter ... (48 words)

Last weekend saw the release of a new policy by the government called the Clean Car Discount. The scheme provides a rebate, starting on the 1st July, for purchasers of low emissions vehicles (Battery ... (1453 words)

We're still in the COVID pandemic but last week I had some cause for cheer. I've previously reported on the actions of anti-vaxxer groups, who seem to be made up largely of privileged (and entitled) ... (135 words)

Speaking of anti-vaxxers, they've recently set up a website which allows people, including doctors, nurses and allied health professionals (including alt-med practitioners) to register themselves as ... (112 words)

Finally this week, in the bizarre category, I read an article by Ken Ham, of Answers in Genesis infamy - the arch-creationist and science-denying anti-evolution propagandist. Ken likely has an alert ... (177 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This Queen's Birthday weekend I've had the pleasure of travelling to Napier to visit my mother. Last newsletter, Mark mentioned sightings of UFOs in Hawkes Bay, ... (132 words)

We've mentioned Sue Grey in the past. She's the Nelson-based lawyer and co-leader of the NZ Outdoors party, and full on conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer. Her Facebook page is where she seems to ... (477 words)

We should be worried about the consequences of far-right conspiracy theories. In Belgium, Professor Marc Van Ranst has been the public face of science related to the COVID pandemic and the Belgian ... (162 words)

Sorry to harp on about anti-vaxxers, but there's another story this week that has emerged about prominent American anti-vaxxer Del Bigtree. Bigtree runs ICAN - the Informed Consent Action Network, ... (241 words)

I rarely watch broadcast TV, but on Wednesday night I happened to see a little of TVNZ's Seven Sharp programme. They featured a segment on acupuncture as an alternative to botox for reducing facial ... (224 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. The news at present is very much concentrating on the COVD vaccine, and it's been great to see a lot of attention paid to countering misinformation. Details ... (43 words)

The week before last we saw Sue Grey, a Nelson-based lawyer and co-leader of the NZ Outdoors party, bringing a case against the NZ Government claiming that the rollout of the COVID vaccine was ... (364 words)

I have a super-secret email account that I use to sign up to various mailing lists, including the Voices for Freedom mailing list. Boy do they put out some propaganda! From their latest email: ... (280 words)

Yet another anti-hero of the COVID story is Dr Simon Thornley, of the COVID Plan B group who we've mentioned many times in the past. Thornley is an odd case in that he's an academic at the University ... (312 words)

From the hard to believe it's real category, we found out about a revolutionary product being offered in New Zealand - Vortex Water! From their website, they explain: “In nature, water on it's (sic) ... (240 words)

If you've spent any time on the internet you'll likely have encountered Wikipedia - the community-edited encyclopaedia. Wikipedia gets a bad rap as it's possible for anybody to edit the content and ... (337 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. COVID vaccine rollouts continue to happen, and the more at-risk people here in New Zealand/Aotearoa are starting to get theirs. Still, there's opposition from ... (44 words)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the situation in India with COVID and how bad it was there. It turns out that it's not the worst place in the world to be (though certainly not anywhere near the ... (206 words)

I've been watching the Facebook page of Voices For Freedom. To me it's staggering the output of their page, with their frequent posts. often several a day. They have over 7,000 people following the ... (277 words)

NZ Skeptics were recently contacted by a journalist in response to an Official Information Act request which revealed the numbers of people and their occupations entering the country under the guise ... (409 words)

The Chinese launch vehicle - Long March 5B has been in the news over the past week. The rocket was launched at the end of last month to carry the living quarters of China's independent space station ... (378 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. The COVID-19 pandemic marches on throughout the world, and this week we're seeing tragic increases in deaths in India. Unfortunately it seems that the Indian ... (190 words)

An interesting video has appeared on YouTube which gives a rational explanation for a UFO video taken by US Navy personnel. The UFO video, promoted by Jeremy Corbell who runs a website called ... (282 words)

Essential oils are one of those trendy products that seem to be very popular at the moment, and they seem to be a great money-maker for their manufacturers and retailers, with the estimated market ... (175 words)

TV psychic Maurice Amdur, star of UK TV shows Maurice's Psychic World and Four Rooms has been left to pay £100,000 in legal costs after attempting to sue an insurance company for his loss of his ... (224 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. You'll no doubt be aware that the travel bubble with Australia was announced last week, and from next week people travelling between the two countries will have ... (212 words)

Research by the American Center for Countering Digital Hate has revealed that almost two-thirds of all misinformation about vaccines being spread on social media platforms such as Facebook and ... (213 words)

One of our contacts noticed an item on TVNZ news on the 7th March detailing a product being developed by the University of Otago for prevention treatment of type 2 Diabetes. A complaint was made to ... (797 words)

Last week Mark wrote an interesting item in the newsletter around Scientologists using deceptive means to lure people in to their “courses”. We got some feedback from a reader in the US - we love ... (305 words)

Many thanks to the people who have paid their 2021 membership subs. This is a final reminder to members who paid subs in 2020, but have yet to pay 2021 subs, that the 2021 subs are now due. Memberful ... (184 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. This week I've got a variety of topics I hope you'll enjoy! Wishing you a great week... ... (21 words)

Apparently, back in 2016 dozens of American Embassy diplomats in Cuba felt sick, and this has been dubbed Havana Syndrome. I'd never heard of this, but it came to my attention through an article ... (173 words)

A couple of weeks ago, I spent an enjoyable weekend away with some friends up in Russell, in the Bay of Islands. A couple of points from a skeptical perspective; firstly, one of my friends told me ... (554 words)

This week has seen the news of the ship (the Ever Given) that's been stuck for days in the Suez Canal. Interestingly, having glanced at the headlines and pictures, in my mind the ship was called the ... (203 words)

If you're in or around Christchurch, you may be interested in attending the Christchurch Skeptics in the Pub. One of our NZ Skeptics committee members, Jonathan Harper, is giving a talk about ... (53 words)

Thanks to some wonderful help from Susan Gerbic, we've now got a few of the 2019 conference talk videos up on our YouTube channel. There's now four videos up on a variety of topics from Jacinta ... (43 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics newsletter. It seems there's quite a lot of skeptically-related topics in the news at the moment. Perhaps there's a backlash to a lot of stuff that came out in 2020 that ... (89 words)

Big news this week is that the government is taking water fluoridation powers off local councils and giving it to the director general of health, Ashley Bloomfield. This is a good decision as it ... (158 words)

NDEs were in the media this week. Radio New Zealand did an interview with Professor Bruce Greyson who has a book out After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond. ... (509 words)

I read a very good article today in The Atlantic explaining some of the subtleties around the COVID vaccine. In particular we shouldn't be surprised when vaccinated people get infected. At the moment ... (163 words)

A few weeks ago I wrote about big cats reported sighted in Canterbury, and opined that what had been seen was likely a feral cat. This weekend, Stuff did a piece about how Jesse Feary had actually ... (88 words)

Hi there A big portion of this week's newsletter content was contributed by NZ Skeptics Committee member - Jonathan Harper. ... (19 words)

As everybody no doubt knows we're back in lockdown again - level 3 for Auckland and level 2 for the rest of the country. While the inconvenience is disappointing, as we've seen it is for the best. At ... (116 words)

Ken Ring is back selling his unproven weather, gardening, and best fishing predictions. You can also get his books on the global warming hoax, anxiety therapy, better parenting, and more on his ... (374 words)

Mark Honeychurch recently covered a Newshub story by Sarah Templeton in our newsletter (Reiki is Here To Save Us All) about a visit to a Reiki person by the reporter. (Practitioner, in my humble ... (326 words)

After some investigation it seems that this magazine (it's a stretch to call it a journal, a title which should be reserved for scientific publications) is being purchased by at least one public ... (259 words)

I can't say we'll be having this every week, but I found this amusing little joke on social media this week: Q: How many conspiracy theorists does it take to change a lightbulb? A: Do your own ... (36 words)

If you're a regular reader of our newsletter, you'll know that we're publicising annual membership of NZ Skeptics, which is extremely attractively priced being only $40, or $20 if you're unwaged. ... (165 words)

Hi there Conspiracies are in the news a lot lately. In recent newsletters we've talked about them a lot, and there's more to cover this week, both from an international and NZ-based perspective. ... (32 words)

In recent weeks there's been a bit of controversy on the airwaves in the form of talkback radio. Talkback radio's an interesting format - where else (apart from letters to the editor) do you get to ... (343 words)

Creationism is what drew me into skepticism. Back in the 90s when I was lecturing in software development, I had a work colleague who was a young earth creationist. Seemingly rational in other areas ... (224 words)

One of the joys or risks (depending on your perspective) of writing these newsletters is that we sometimes receive negative feedback. A few weeks ago I wrote about QAnon and the realisations that ... (630 words)

As no doubt everyone will be aware by now, there's been community transmission of COVID-19 in Auckland. Back to Level 3 for Auckland, and Level 2 for the rest of the country. Let's hope this is over ... (56 words)

NZ Skeptics membership runs on a calendar year basis and we're about to switch to a new system for collecting subs. If you're enjoying these newsletters and you're not a member, we encourage you to ... (395 words)

Hi there This week has been pretty interesting in the arena of skepticism. As you'll no doubt be aware, this week saw the inauguration of Joe Biden as president of the US and the beginning of his ... (485 words)

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage with close to 100 million cases over 2 million deaths worldwide. As I've said before we can be thankful that we pursued an elimination strategy here in New ... (402 words)

Welcome to the first newsletter of the new year. I think we can all agree that 2020 was a fairly exceptional year, and not in a good way. 2021 has rolled around, and the common expectation is that ... (79 words)

At the start of each year, it's common for psychics and mediums to put out a bunch of predictions for the coming year. These predictions generally fall flat, although a common strategy for some ... (140 words)

We're written about the Advance NZ political party in the past, and about their conspiracy-theory-driven policies and public statements. It's come to NZ Skeptics attention that they're now promoting ... (201 words)

As you'll no doubt know, 2020 ended seeing the successful and record-setting development of a range of vaccines for COVID-19 from various companies. New Zealand is in the privileged position of ... (200 words)

Around this time of the year it's common to be spending time with extended family and friends. As we've seen over the last few years with the rise of social media, it's easy for unsuspecting people ... (152 words)

NZ Skeptics is a registered charity. If you're already a member now's the time to pay your subs. If you're not a member, please consider joining us to support the work we do. Membership is only ... (52 words)

Renowned Otago researcher, Jim Flynn has died, aged 86. He discovered a very interesting effect - now named after him - the Flynn Effect, which states that IQ scores are increasing decade by decade. ... (126 words)

A few weeks back a monolith was discovered, in the desert in the state of Utah in the USA. Since then they've been popping up in various places around the world. The famous monolith from Kubrick's ... (210 words)

There was an interesting item this week on research by Kiwi scientists showing that Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is a real thing and not psychosomatic. As a ... (71 words)

Last week (December 10th) TVNZ's Seven Sharp programme had an item featuring a Ponsonby-based psychic medium by the name of Kimberly Stewart. The story was based on the premise that because 2020 has ... (181 words)

Welcome to the NZ Skeptics weekly newsletter. This week, you've got me, Craig Shearer, Chair of NZ Skeptics. ... (18 words)

In recent weeks we've reported several times on election outcomes - and, of course the recent US election continues to dominate the news. Far from it being over with a clear victory for Joe Biden and ... (186 words)

The world continues to be gripped by the COVID pandemic. Given that most of us are unable to travel internationally it's difficult to experience first-hand exactly how the rest of the world is ... (129 words)

This past week has seen the news of development of successful vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. The vaccines have a claimed efficacy of nearly 95%. This is good news, and a triumph for science and ... (305 words)

This week saw Dr Siouxsie Wiles take the supreme winner award at the Stuff-Westpac NZ 2020 Women of Influence Awards. Siouxsie, along with her artistic partner Toby Morris, has done a fantastic job ... (75 words)

This week Richard Saunders, from the Australian Skeptics pinged me online with a video of relevance to NZ Skeptics. Back in the 1990s Australian journalist Mike Willesee did a piece on a New ... (160 words)

My personal journey into skepticism began back in the early 90s before the internet was publicly available, but podcasts now form a significant chunk of the skeptical content that I consume. My ... (180 words)

What an amazing last few months it's been for the world. The world, of course, is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. How individual nations have responded to the pandemic has been quite diverse. ... (802 words)

This is a part of a talk Craig presented at the No Barriers Conference at Great Barrier Island in September 2019 I'd like to run through a few claims that anti-vaxxers make and explain errors and ... (1823 words)

With that odd title out of the way, I want to get to the heart of what our role should be as skeptics, and how to properly do scientific scepticism. My initial attraction to skepticism was because of ... (1165 words)

The NZ Scientology Headquarters opened to much fanfare in Auckland. Three local skeptics go along for the experience. Saturday 21st January was the opening of the new NZ Headquarters of the Church ... (1885 words)