Hallelujah!
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Here are the notes from this show, originally broadcast May 17, 2014. They’re lengthy, so I’m just going to dump them all, raw and uncut. Enjoy!
(Also, note that the Dark Dungeons movie is out now! You can get it for $5, and the bonus features for another $2.50.)
Hello and welcome to the Irreverent Skeptics podcast! I’m your host, Jon Ownbey, and joining me today in the unending fight against the forces of darkness are Erno Marttila, Michael McElroy, Mike Bohler, and Dumbass!
And special guest – The Astronomer Royal of Karl Mamer’s “The Conspiracy Skeptic” Podcast and the brains and brawn of the “Exposing PseudoAstronomy” podcast, Stuart Robbins!
Today, we’re going to talk about the Satanic Panic – that period during the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s when the devil was always lurking just around the corner. If the Religious Right is to be believed (and if not them, who can you trust?), diabolical influences were everywhere in pop culture – from music and movies to games and toys. Where did it all start? What were some of their wildest claims? Is it still going on today? Let’s dip our toes into the lake of fire, pinch our noses to keep out the smell of burning brimstone, and take a journey through hell to find out the truth.
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On Wednesday, January 7, a US Second Circuit Court decision affirmed that New York students have to be vaccinated within two weeks of entering public school.
The plaintiffs “argued that the statutory vaccination requirement, which is subject to medical and religious exemptions, violates their substantive due process rights, the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Ninth Amendment, and both state and municipal law.”
One of the plaintiffs, Dina Check, testified that she is Catholic and stated, “How I treat my daughter’s health and her well-being is strictly by the word of God.” I don’t know a single Catholic who would say this; Catholics typically aren’t anti-medicine (with a few notable exceptions, like contraception). She even said this herself – she “testified that she did not know of any tenets of Catholicism that prohibited vaccinations.” She claimed that her child had had adverse reactions to vaccinations before, and that she asked God for guidance and protection. (The Almighty was unavailable for comment.)
On March 22, 2014, Jon, the two Mikes, and Erno had a chat about their backgrounds with regard to religion, science, and skepticism, and how the podcast itself came to be.
Special guest Adam Reakes, host of the Herd Mentality Podcast, joined Jon, Brandi, and Erno to talk about his show and share some good news about how the Australian Vaccination Network, a group that spreads misinformation and helps spark outbreaks of preventable diseases in Australia, faced some serious legal challenges. We also discussed how insurance covers woo-woo treatments such as chiropractic and homeopathy, and how this gives them an unearned air of legitimacy. Adam also had exciting news about a project he’s working on that every exorcist is sure to love!
The intro music for the interview is “Go” by Guineo (David Ramírez and Avelino Herrera). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 Generic License. Find the original at http://guineo.atlantes.org/guineo%20-%20go.mp3.
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Erno read part of the script for an exorcism during the show… so we decided to run with it. Enjoy this little bit of goofiness.
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On March 15, 2014, we called upon the power of the Great Cosmic Juju to cast out the digital demons from our show. Oh, and we also talked about exorcisms throughout history and across religions! Join us, for WE ARE MANY AND OUR NAME IS LEGION BBLUGHGAHGLAGGUHGUDHGKJDLGK
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March 8, 2014 saw the second half of our two-part series on Scientology. Do your KSWs and help pass a gangbang sec check! This time we talked about celebrity Scientologists, Scientology in pop culture, interesting Scientology factoids, Scientology lingo, and more!
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Way back on March 1, we did our first in a two-part series on everyone’s favorite UFO cult, Scientology. Grab your e-meter, rustle up a body thetan or two, and join us as we discuss the history of the church, some of its most noteworthy scandals, its weird beliefs, and more!
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Keep an eye out for Xenu! In just 3 short hours, we’ll be chatting about the Church of Scientology. Join us, won’t you?
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