Skepticrat
Latest Episodes
191: Skepticrat191 – Brescape Velocity Edition
On this week’s episode: Kevin McCarthy speaks for a house divided … We finally find the line for “bullshit not even the Tories will support” … And now that we got the private sector involved, space travel is finally failing EFFICIENTLY. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat https://www.policygenius.com https://www.hellofresh.com/skepticrat65 Headline Sources: US House barely gets McCarthy as speaker and immediately does horrible things: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/09/us/politics/house-republicans-irs-funding.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/12/trump-impeachment-mccarthy-house-republicans/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/10/us/politics/house-republican-committee-weaponization-government.html Rail and ambulance strikes: when is industrial action planned?: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/11/rail-ambulance-strikes-when-is-industrial-action-planned-in-january Anti-strike bill: Shapps to get power to decide minimum service levels: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/10/anti-strike-bill-unveiled-in-commons-but-no-detail-on-minimum-service-levels Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders bans use of term ‘Latinx’ in state documents: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/12/politics/latinx-sarah-huckabee-sanders-order-arkansas-reaj Attempt at First Satellite Launch From Britain Fails: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/09/business/uk-satellite-launch.html https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64218883 UK politician suspended for comparing COVID-19 shots to Holocaust: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/11/conservative-mp-suspended-for-comparing-covid-jabs-to-holocaust
190: Skepticrat190 – Spurious George Edition
On this week’s episode: Southwest Airlines tries to commit suicide by customer … Trump’s taxes show suspiciously large write offs for “magical beans” … And a men’s rights activist makes a reGRETAble mistake. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat https://www.policygenius.com https://www.hellofresh.com/skepticrat65 Headline Sources: Dems release Trump’s tax returns: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/30/politics/donald-trump-tax-returns-released/index.html Southwest sucks so hard: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/business/southwest-flights-canceled-travel.html Greta Thunberg triggers Andrew Tate into helping police arrest him (but not really): https://www.npr.org/2022/12/30/1146257976/andrew-tate-greta-thunberg-romania-arrest-trafficking https://www.calmdownben.com/p/romanian-cops-did-not-find-andrew?sd=pf George Santos is an epic-level liar: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/nyregion/george-santos-ny-republicans.html Psychic’s advice from deceased father leads man to $40,000 lottery win: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/12/29/lotto-Maryland-Lottery-psychic-message-father/6621672346839/ Ben Shapiro hated Glass Onion because the plot of the mystery movie was deceptive: https://uproxx.com/viral/ben-shapiro-glass-onion-complains-deceptive-plotting-twitter-reactions/
189: Skepticrat189 – Schadenfreudian Slip Edition
On this week’s episode: We’ll wrap up the year because we forgot to get you a Christmas present … We’ll miss obvious topical references because we recorded this a week early … And lots of tea, lots of schadenfreude. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat https://www.policygenius.com https://www.hellofresh.com/skepticrat65 Another amazing word of the day idea from Susie Dent: https://twitter.com/susie_dent Headline Sources: Ted Cruz is an embarrassing failure: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/us/politics/cruz-jackson-antiracist-baby.html Chat GPT freaks a bunch of people out, is cool: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/05/what-is-ai-chatbot-phenomenon-chatgpt-and-could-it-replace-humans Trump’s legal woes plague him all year: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/donald-trump-investigations-lawsuits/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/trump-organization-fraud-trial-verdict/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/09/politics/judge-throws-out-trumps-rico-lawsuit-against-hillary-clinton-and-democrats/index.html https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/18/garland-to-appoint-special-counsel-for-trump-criminal-probes-00069451 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trumps-tax-returns-now-hands-house-democrats-lengthy-court-battle-rcna59488 Stewart Rhodes convicted for seditious conspiracy: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/29/1139454126/oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes-seditious-conspiracy-verdict-trial Alex Jones sentenced to pay $1 billion to Sandy Hook families: https://apnews.com/article/shootings-school-connecticut-conspiracy-alex-jones-3f579380515fdd6eb59f5bf0e3e1c08f And another $0.4 billion: https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-shootings-business-connecticut-alex-jones-c6d0563dc17e7bfa83a881b44e7b9eec Mahsa Amini protests lead to possible abolition of Iran’s morality police: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-morality-police.html
188: Skepticrat188 – How to Drag Your Trainin' Edition
On this week’s episode: Joe Biden murders Thomas the Tank Engine with his BARE HANDS … We learn that the sentence for voter fraud in Ohio is basically noogies … And Alex Jones plays host to a nazi-themed episode of The Masked Singer. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat https://www.policygenius.com https://www.hellofresh.com/skepticrat65 Another amazing word of the day idea from Susie Dent: https://twitter.com/susie_dent Headline Sources: Biden administration passes bill to avert rail strike: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/us/politics/rail-strike-biden.html Kanye West praises Hitler in Alex Jones interview: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/01/kanye-west-alex-jones-hilter-interview/ Elon Musk leaks internal Twitter discussions about Hunter Biden’s laptop: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/02/musk-leak-twitter-hunter-biden-files-00072015 https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/tech/musk-twitter-hunter-biden/index.html Mauna Loa volcano erupts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/12/03/mauna-loa-volcano-tourism-crowds/ A hard look at New York’s controversial new approach to the homeless: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/nyc-hospitalize-mentally-ill-what-matters/index.html After using robocalls to suppress votes, Wohl and Burkman have to register voters: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/01/us/politics/wohl-burkman-voter-suppression-ohio.html
187: Skepticrat187 – Recrudescence Edition
On this week’s episode: Elon makes us long for the humble brilliance of Krang … The World Cup gets so immoral even NFL fans will get uneasy … And Herschel Walker has some important information that could affect your vampire weekend. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat https://www.policygenius.com https://www.hellofresh.com/skepticrat65 Another amazing word of the day idea from Susie Dent: https://twitter.com/susie_dent Headline Sources: Trump announces 2024 campaign and MAGAGA plan: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/fact-check-trump-announcement-speech-2024 Respect for Marriage Act gets Republican support in the Senate: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/us/politics/same-sex-marriage-bill-senate.html Twitter death spiral: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/technology/elon-musk-twitter-workers-quit.html Qatar bans beer sales at FIFA stadium: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/sports/soccer/world-cup-beer-qatar.html Herschel Walker veered off in a campaign speech to rant about werewolves killing vampires: https://www.businessinsider.com/herschel-walker-veers-off-speech-to-rant-about-werewolves-vampires-2022-11 Honey, wake up; the new metric prefixes just dropped: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-earth-ronnagrams-metric-prefixes-voted.html
186: Skepticrat186 – Election Eve '22 Edition
On this week’s episode: Lulu la doing democracy stuff … Elon Musk literally borrows our oddly charming “giving away a free thing” business model … And Andrew Torrez has some helpful tips on how to set up your panic room on Tuesday night. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat https://www.policygenius.com https://www.hellofresh.com/skepticrat65 Headline Sources: Brazil’s Bolsonaro does not concede to Lula, but authorizes transition: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazilian-court-orders-roadblocks-cleared-bolsonaro-silent-election-loss-2022-11-01/ Netanyahu on course to lead Israel’s most right-wing government ever: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/middleeast/netanyahu-israel-election-results-intl/index.html Biden Warns That ‘Big Lie’ Republicans Imperil American Democracy: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/02/us/politics/biden-speech-democracy-election.html Recreational marijuana legalization is on the ballot in these states this November: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/04/politics/marijuana-initiatives-arkansas-maryland-missouri-north-dakota-south-dakota/index.html Architect of the Capitol is hilariously corrupt: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/11/02/architect-capitol-blanton-cars-investigation/ #TrumpIsDead trends on Twitter as users test Elon Musk’s approach to fake news: https://news.sky.com/story/trumpisdead-trends-on-twitter-as-users-test-elon-musks-approach-to-fake-news-12736249 Elon Musk Takes a Page Out of Mark Zuckerberg’s Social Media Playbook: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/02/technology/musk-twitter-advertisers-civil-rights.html Stephen King tells Elon Musk to go fuck himself over monthly charge for blue checks: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-tells-stephen-king-104157420.html Ina Garten’s husband sexting: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/entertainment/ina-garten-jeffrey-texts
185: Skepticrat185 – Truss Falls Edition
On this week’s episode: Tim Ryan is coming to save us … Donald Trump will finally get some competition in the “hilariously inept, celebrity-owned, right-wing, bigot-themed social media” space … And Liz Truss gets out after 6 weeks, just in time to satisfy the heartbeat rule. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat https://www.hellofresh.com/skepticrat65 https://www.policygenius.com Headline Sources: Liz Truss is gone after the shortest PM term in British history: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/20/world/liz-truss-news https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/10/all-hell-broke-loose-for-liz-truss-on-wednesday.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/19/world/europe/liz-truss-lettuce-stream.html Tim Ryan Beats the crap out of JD Vance: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jd-vance-alex-jones-ohio-debate_n_634e1b5ee4b051268c4cf1e6 Appeals court blocks Biden’s student loan cancellation efforts: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/21/1130705453/student-loan-cancellation-blocked-lawsuit-appeal Kanye West is buying Parler: https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/17/23408443/kanye-west-ye-parler-free-speech-social-media-platform FDA Warns Against Using NyQuil As A Chicken Marinade: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fda-nyquil-chicken-warning_n_632a1a3ce4b0ed991abdeada Anti-woke superhero movie conned out of a million dollars in fan donations: https://gizmodo.com/vox-day-anti-woke-rebel-s-run-1849682896 About Chuck tingle pounding Theodore Beale in the butt: https://www.vox.com/2016/5/26/11759842/chuck-tingle-hugo-award-rabid-puppies-explained
184: Skepticrat184 – Walker Ex-Estranger Edition
On this week’s episode: Far leftist and marijuana crusader Joe Biden? … Herschel Walker will make it most of the way through this intro without a new scandal breaking … Annnd he just said “I’m DB Cooper.” To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.hellofresh.com/skepticrat65 https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat https://www.policygenius.com Headline Sources: Russo-Ukraine war inches ever closer to possible nuclear conflict: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/7/biden-says-nuclear-armageddon-risk-highest-in-60-years https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/03/russia-has-no-full-control-of-any-of-four-annexed-ukrainian-provinces https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/07/russia-military-commanders-dismissed-war/ At NYU, students were failing organic chemistry so they fired the professor: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/us/nyu-organic-chemistry-petition.html Area man is arrested for parody and The Onion files a Supreme Court amicus brief: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/04/us/the-onion-supreme-court.html https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-293/242292/20221003125252896_35295545_1-22.10.03-Novak-Parma-OnionAmicusBrief.pdf Herschel Walker took a hit out on a fetus: https://www.thedailybeast.com/pro-life-herschel-walker-paid-for-girlfriends-abortion-georgia-senate https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/07/walker-abortion-georgia-senate/ Biden pardons federal simple possession charges for marijuana: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/us/politics/biden-marijuana-pardon.html Lizzo plays a 200-year-old crystal flute, accidentally summons a swarm of trolls: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2022/10/02/lizzo-plays-a-200-year-old-crystal-flute-accidentally-summons-a-swarm-of-trolls
183: Skepticrat183 – AlphaRearo Edition
On this week’s episode: We’ll get cheeky about a chess cheater’s choices … Mike Lindell will get something in the drive thru that’s unpleasant even by Hardee’s standards … And Donald Trump declassifies nuclear secrets while drinking a glass of water. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.greenchef.com/skepticrat135 https://www.policygenius.com https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat Headline Sources: Mike Lindell sues FBI for taking his phone at a Hardee’s drive-thru: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/09/21/mypillow-ceo-mike-lindell-sues-fbi-for-seizing-his-phone-at-a-hardees-drive-through/ https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-mike-lindell-got-boxed-in-at-the-hardees-drive-thru https://www.newsweek.com/hardees-trolls-mike-lindell-discount-if-you-still-have-phone-1743179 Spotted lanternflies are thriving in the Northeast; scientists fear they could spread farther: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/24/us/spotted-lanternfly-habitat-expanding-climate/index.html Trump supporters commit still more voter fraud in effort to prove that there was voter fraud: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-technology-lawsuits-donald-trump-voting-6a1324cc6cf45c95ca086a5c81617b15 Magnus Carlsen vs Hans Niemann cheating scandal: https://en.chessbase.com/post/is-hans-niemann-cheating-world-renowned-expert-ken-regan-analyzes https://nypost.com/2022/09/23/world-class-chess-champ-breaks-silence-after-resignation/ Three baby chimps kidnapped from a sanctuary and their abductors are demanding a ransom: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/23/africa/chimp-kidnap-dr-congo-intl-scli/index.html NASA seeks to nudge an asteroid on Monday: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/interactive/2021/nasa-rams-an-asteroid-planetary-defense/
182: Skepticrat182 – Gone With the Windsor Edition
On this week’s episode, tranphobic trolls lose their safe space, Trump loses at losing again, and the UK reveals its one-in, one-out policy on Lizzes. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: https://www.betterhelp.com/skepticrat https://www.policygenius.com To check out our sister show, The Scathing Atheist, click here: https://audioboom.com/channel/scathing-atheist To check out our sister show’s hot friend, God Awful Movies, click here: https://audioboom.com/channel/god-awful-movies To check out our half-sister show, Citation Needed, click here: http://citationpod.com/ To check out our sister show’s sister show, D and D minus, click here: https://danddminus.libsyn.com/ Headline Sources: Queen Lizzy dies: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/08/queen-elizabeth-ii-britains-longest-reigning-monarch-dies-aged-96 Kiwi farms shuts down: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/sep/07/techscape-kiwi-farms-cloudflare Judge tosses Trump’s suit against Hillary Clinton and the rest of Earth: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/09/trump-hillary-clinton-lawsuit-2016-election/ Liz Truss becomes UK prime minister after meeting Queen at Balmoral https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/06/liz-truss-becomes-uk-prime-minister-meeting-queen-balmoral NY declares state of emergency over low polio vaccination rates: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/09/health/new-york-polio-disaster-emergency/index.html Kim Jong Un declares North Korea a “nuclear weapons state”: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/10/1122196021/north-korea-declares-itself-a-nuclear-weapons-state