Bronwyn Rideout

While I remain unconvinced by the premise of cryonics, I've come away with the impression that most cryonics companies currently in operation have protocols that enable the ethical treatment of family members caught unawares by their loved one's unorthodox final wishes. In one Alcor case study, staff were reported as telling one family that the condition of their daughter's body made it hard to justify proceeding with suspension, as the cooling and freezing process would exacerbate the damage to the brain caused by autopsy and transport delays. While this should be a given, I think many skeptics will agree that when it comes to fringe and pseudoscientific enterprises, the bar for decency is all too often on the floor. However, the aftermath of the Chatsworth incident (in which 9 patients thawed out) revealed that such protocols really benefit the companies. It ensures that the majority of their customers are prepared, true believers.

In the June 9th edition of the newsletter, Mark wrote about the Russian right-wing new religious movement called Anastasianism, or the Ringing Cedars. I won't retread what he and the fairly detailed Wikipedia page cover, but I'm here to report that, despite Mark's hopes, Anastasianism is not isolated to the Wellington suburb of Brooklyn; its adherents and admirers can be found throughout New Zealand.

Cryonics is the pseudoscientific practice of freezing humans (and animals) with the hope that medicine and science will reach a point in their advancement where reanimation will be possible.

On May 23rd, Australian actress Clare McCann faced the devastating loss of her 13-year-old son.

In August of 2023, I wrote two articles about the Two-by-Twos (TBT), a sect with “2” many names, and just as many problems. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 to catch up.

The story of the Commonwealth Covenant Church (CCC) has been hanging out in the chasms of my Google Drive for some time. A while ago I was asked about cults or sects that might be in the Wairarapa besides the 2x2s. This group came up in my search, although much of what I found about their activities was not based in the Wairarapa but rather in the Hutt Valley. The CCC is not the easiest group to research, as their numbers had thinned considerably by the early 2000s, and numbered just six by 2013. They were a long-dead congregation by the time anything would be recorded on the web. Archival records are limited (or restricted), and when the CCC does warrant a mention in a book or academic work, it's limited to one or two lines.

I doubt anyone could have anticipated the degree to which the death of Pope Francis has drawn the attention of the internet. The fervour is likely fueled by the unexpected fan base that sprang up around the 2024 movie Conclave, a film about the quiet intrigues of cardinals as they select the next pope. I'm confident there is a media literacy paper in here about the intersection of prestige films with a meme culture informed by reality television. But until then, I'm enjoying a very niche form of mash-up humour while I can get it.

I had YouTube running as background noise while marking some essays the other day, and my playlist decided to reward my lack of attention with a new video by one of my favourite channels, Keya's World. It's a great channel that follows the various scams and scammers in the entrepreneurial and health & wellness spaces. Keya has an interesting perspective on it all, having once been deep into the woo. Her commentary style won't be to everyone's taste, but I'm always fascinated by what she finds; her videos on Matthew McConaughey's foray into motivational speaking/self-improvement are appointment viewing. This time, however, it wasn't McConaughey that pulled me away from my stack of essays.

It was announced this week that RFK Jr. has hired David Geier as an analyst on a new study into the links between Autism and vaccines. A link that was debunked years ago, which even its most profitable holdout, American charity Autism Speaks, disavowed about a decade ago. This decision is just another in a series of attacks the White House has made against the disabled, and against science in general.

A couple of months ago, the YouTube algorithm (correctly) decided that I would be interested in several videos where YouTube content creators dunk on TikTokers. But instead of spilling cold tea on influencer gossip, YouTube gave me a conman magic show that would make Randi spin so fast in his grave that he would be considered a renewable source of energy.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV from here on in) is described in its press release, and in the opening scenes of each episode, as inspired by a true story, with certain characters and events being fictionalised or created. Standard stuff for this type of ripped-from-the-headlines, true crime docudrama. However, with the ongoing defamation lawsuit around another Netflix property, Baby Reindeer, we can forgive the producers and writers for wanting to preserve their creative license.

Share International is an interesting offshoot of Theosophy, putting a space-age twist on the works of Alice Bailey and Helena Roerich. Established by Scottish painter Benjamin Creme in 1974, Share has many of the same goals as Bailey's Lucis Trust and associated organisations: pooling spiritual energy to help humanity, and receiving guidance from the Ascended Masters. What makes Share International unique amongst its neo-theosophical kin is its heavy focus on the emergence of a specific Ascended Master called Maitreya, who will supposedly resolve the world's various ills. The Ascended Masters are not alone in their work, as UFOs and crop circles are signs that various space brothers are assisting them in their rescue of Earth. Creme has made numerous statements and predictions on Maitreya's behalf, many about his full public emergence, and almost none of which came true. However, that has not stopped Share International from claiming that all and sundry weather phenomena and tricks of the light are evidence of his continued presence. I'll try to give a brief profile and history of Share International, one of the more spiritual UFO groups that exist today.

Tena koutou katoa. This is my first end-of-year report as Chair, and I want to begin by thanking the 2024 committee and acknowledge the contributions of those who left over the year: Sara Passmore, Josh Voorkamp, and Louise Richardson.

It started innocently, with a late-night doom scroll through Instagram stories when the following reel, cross-posted from TikTok, appeared:

In early August, MediaWatch in Australia released a segment about low-level laser therapy, an Autism treatment now available in Queensland, that had been profiled in local media as successful in helping non-speaking Autistic children speak.

I've been watching LifeWave for a while. Along with the Olive Tree People, LightWave has been one of the MLMs many ex-consultants of Monat, a hair and skincare MLM, have been joining since several key leaders and consultants were expunged from that company a few months back. It's hard to beat talking Olive Trees when it comes to MLM concepts, but this one really takes the cake.

It has been a busy week for me, and today has been the first day I've been able to unwind and reflect on everything that has happened. It has been good, but it has been a week bookended by two conferences, a board meeting, and a UFO lecture where I've had to do a lot of code-switching from professional skeptic, to professional disabled/Autistic person, to skeptical UFO enthusiast, to midwifery PhD researcher and lecturer, and finally back to skeptic. I am unreserved in enjoying the DeCult conference, and am pretty happy that I got to see 95% of the talks I wanted to see.

It has been a while since I wrote about pseudoscience and scams around curing Autism, but that doesn't mean I haven't been collecting a whopper or two to share.

During our “very special” episode of the Yeah…Nah podcast with Anke Richter, Anke referred to an anti-cult organisation that was taken over by Scientology. The group she was referring to was the Citizen's Freedom Foundation / Cult Awareness Network (CAN), which was founded by Ted Patrick in 1978. Although he had no formal education or training, Patrick was a pioneer of deprogramming, which he developed in response to the expansion of various cults and religion movements throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Deprogramming was always controversial, but seen as a necessary evil by many parents who paid Patrick and others like him to return their (often adult) children to them. Methods employed by Patrick and others included abduction, sleep and food deprivation, emotional abuse, desecration of symbols of the detainee's faith, and sometimes physical violence.

Are you desperately seeking a side hustle? Then consider the perennial growth industry of astrology. Projected to reach $22.8 billion by 2031, prognosticators thrive in times of uncertainty. As I wrote back in 2022, their reach has never been wider, with social media platforms providing a new audience with the promise of few or no regulations regarding health claims or disinformation.

So… I was planning on writing about an Autism scam that did the rounds on Australia news networks this month. Instead, Mark unintentionally sent me down a rabbit hole when he asked for an article about the approaching 100th anniversary of the Spiritualist Church Of New Zealand Act 1924 next month. It's branded a National Spiritual Day, which I'm anticipating may cause confusion and upset in other religious circles.

Our Skeptical Calendar, where we attempt to find at least one event of skeptical interest from New Zealand for each of the 366 days of the year, is nearly finished now, with just 20 or so days that we don't have an event for remaining. Here are the events that happened on this day in history for the next two weeks:

Let me preface this article by stating, mustering my best Dr McCoy impression, that I'm a midwife and am certainly not a sports nutritionist, dietician, food scientist, government bureaucrat, etc. I profess total ignorance on this topic, and welcome any of our readers who do have the appropriate expertise to write in or join us on this week's podcast to share their knowledge.

We often connect satanic panic to the 1980s through to the early 1990s, but Australian brothers and screenwriting team Cameron and Colin Cairnes weave a tight narrative with a setting that feels authentic to its late 1970s setting, which teetered between occult curiosity and a fear of anything unseeable and unknowable. There is a sufficient commitment to the amount of brown in the costuming and set design, but the extent of their commitment to the bit is evident in the flairs of detail in both the exposition and side characters. There are the mundane references to sweeps week and more apropos callbacks (or should that be callouts…) to Anton LaVey and Ed and Lorraine Warren. If you want to know more about the deep-cut references, you can check out this article by Warped Perspective.

The MLM Olive Tree People came to my attention a year ago, and I've been keeping my ears open for any news of expansion because the conceit of the entire MLM at present is something to behold. At the time, I was more interested in following a different MLM called Elomir. Elomir sold oral film strips that can apparently assist in mental clarity and weight management, but operations quickly flamed out due to poor stock management and poor stock in general. Some Elomir reps landed in The Olive Tree People MLM, just as some Monat reps are attracted to it now.

Despite the ribbing I get from Craig on the podcast about telling listeners to “Watch this space!”, Skeptics know that I can at least be relied upon to share any interesting updates that come my way about past articles. And boy, do I have an update for you all!

I bring a shorter contribution this week, inspired by a couple of requests I have received courtesy of the Culty Conversations Facebook page. One was a DM which notified me that archived versions of Ohad Pele's website, kabalove.org, were removed from the Wayback Machine, and asked if I could advocate for the website to be reinstated. Flattered though I am that others think I have that much sway with an American non-profit, I wasn't surprised that this happened. It's an easy enough process, and there are several websites and blog posts about how to have your website removed. I mean, even the Internet Archive itself provides instructions on how to submit such a request, albeit with the caveat that there are no guarantees.

Publisher: Te Herenga Waka University Press

Last week we received a request from the editor of the Katikati Advertiser asking for our response to a story that was being written about a psychic:

In December 2020, a patient at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Centre in Alabama accessed or wandered into the hospital's fertility clinic through an unsecured door. Said patient then also accessed the cryogenic nursery, and removed several frozen embryos from containment.

Over the last couple of weeks we've received a few emails from members about our membership system, specifically the renewals process. We're happy to report that, if you see a charge on your card from the NZ Skeptics, it's not a scam - it's simply that your account is set to auto-renew each year.

Following up on my MMS piece in September 2023, and Lousie Richardson's update two weeks ago, it appears that this living man can't help but make the headlines.

A significant update came about this week, as ISTA and the Safer Sex-Positive & Spiritual Communities (3SC) issued a joint statement about the completion of the mediation process they had been working through.

Publisher: Massey University Press

In honour of our upcoming conference, rather than giving a day-by-day recount of skeptical history, I pulled some Dunedin-specific events to share. While I wouldn't say Dunedin is the strangest place in New Zealand (that crown is currently held by Canterbury), its denizens are certainly trying their damnedest to convince us all about how haunted they are.

As a major fan of Fall and Hallowe'en, the sudden absence of the holiday from my calendar was one of the few points of culture shock I had when I migrated to New Zealand. I soon found out that nothing could unite the members of this fine nation more than a chorus of tut-tutting about how corporate and how American Hallowe'en was, how tacky it was to send your kids out begging for treats, how much the holiday glorified chocolate, and so on and so forth. It can get a little grinchy sometimes, especially in the comments section of the NZ Herald website.

In my newsletter article last week, one of the dates referred to the 2018 trial of Zholia Alemi, a former Auckland University medical student who was able to practise psychiatry across the NHS and evade discovery for two decades before being undone by her own greed. I was reminded about two other, peculiar cases of fraudster doctors in NZ and thought that it would make a good article and segment in the most recent episode of the Yeah...Nah podcast.

2021: A group called Doctors Stand Up For Vaccination releases an open letter to the New Zealand public stressing the importance of vaccination. The letter is signed by 6535 registered doctors. - 2022: After being closed for a 2-year renovation project and a few weeks of public tours, the Hamilton Mormon Temple is rededicated. Listen to the Yeah… Nah episode about Bronwyn, Craig, and Mark's road trip to tour the temple here!

1980: Colin Gardener and his neighbour Helena Bradley see a lioness near Gardener's home in Wellington. Which is notable because New Zealand has no indigenous big cats. A police search around the Meadowcrofts property turns up nothing. A few days later, Gardener and another neighbour, Maurice Bradley, catch another glimpse of the creature and determine that it is not a lioness but just an unusually big ex-domestic cat. - 2021: After 23 years, Christchurch City Council call time on paying The Wizard of New Zealand. The Wizard aka Ian Brackenbury Channell, was paid $16,000/year by the council for acts of wizardry and other wizard-like services. At the time, Channell has received $368,000 for his services.

Part 2 - GcMAF (Group specific component protein Macrophage-activating factor)

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that impacts behaviour, communication, and socialisation. The exact cause of Autism is unknown, and there is no single gene that is Autisticassociated with the condition. Almost 200 genes can increase the likelihood of Autism due to mutation or possible epigenetic causes. Autism presentation varies widely, and that ranges from Autistics who live independent lives with minimal support to Autistics who require significant support with communication and day-to-day living. It is not unusual for an Autistic to move along that spectrum depending on what emotional, societal, economic, or health pressures are placed on them.

The Skeptical Calendar is 90% done and far be it for the Editors of this illustrious newsletter to even suggest its readers go out and be newsworthy, we might have a few days you want to aim for.

Country of Origin: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States; now headquartered in Utah.

After some false starts over the past three years, I finally had the opportunity to attend a Gnostic Mass. As far as Occult/Esoteric groups go, the Gnostic Mass is one of, if not THE, most accessible occult ritual for an outsider to observe and partake in. To understand why attending a Gnostic mass in New Zealand was on my to-do list, it's pertinent to understand what it is and who it was written for.

In part 2 of this study into the secretive group most commonly known as the Two-by-Twos (TBT), I'll give an overview of the current state of the sect and the numerous controversies it has faced in recent years.

The TL;DR version of this story is that the Two-by-Twos (TBT) is an international Christian home church movement of the protestant kind founded in Ireland in 1897. Their name is inspired by their ministers, celibate and single men and women, who travel in same-sex pairs and stay for weeks or months at a time with members who live in their jurisdiction; they commonly refer to themselves as The Truth. The TBT is nontrinitarian, meaning that they eschew the Christian doctrine that the holy trinity (Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit) are coequal, coeternal, and united in a single being; readers will be familiar with larger nontrinitarian groups like the Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, Unitarian and Unitarian Universalists Christians, and the Mormons. However, not all flavours of nontrinitarianism are the same, as the wikipedia page outlines and the TBT are unitarian in their outlook - The holy spirit is a force from God while Jesus is God's fully human son. Amongst other beliefs are that the TBT knows the true path to salvation while other churches and religions are false; salvation is not attainable through the bible alone but through "works" as well.

In no way was I properly attired for a prolonged counter protest.

The goings on of the late “Bishop” Douglas Metcalf and the Full Gospel Mission/God Squad/Camp David have been on my list to profile for awhile. When I'm able to steer the conversation to my special interest (MLMs, Cults, New Religious Movements etc.,) it is truly touch-and-go whether my unsuspecting audience has even heard of this group. It isn't as if the shenanigans of The God Squad were ever under the radar or have fully faded from public consciousness; Christchurch newspaper The Press has always kept their finger on that pulse and publish updates on former members while ex-followers Serafina Tané and Rosina Claxton/Ngapaki Rose have made their stories available for Australasian news outlets in recent decades. Metcalf's group also draws comparison to a far better known Branch Davidian's and, albeit less frequently, is a topic for American podcasts.

For every Bill Gothard who terrorises his followers into believing that music with a fast beat will bring them closer to the devil, there is a Sri Chinmoy who is driven to play music, albeit atonally, in order to get closer to god.

Amazon Prime released a 4-part docu series titled Shiny Happy People on June 2nd, 2023.