{"podcast":{"title":"The Skeptic Zone","slug":"the-skeptic-zone-509869","podcast_index_feed_id":509869,"rss_url":"https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://www.skepticzone.tv","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/9/c/4/3/9c437cc1e235746e/itunes_thumbnail_2016.jpg","author":"Richard Saunders","episode_count":938,"summary":"The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason. Join Richard Saunders and his team of reporters for your weekly dose of skeptical news and interviews, reports and comments. Past guests have included, James Randi, Stephen Fry, Tim Minchin, Eugenie Scott, Dr Phil Plait, Michael Marshall, Dr Steve Novella, Dr Pamela Gay, Jon Ronson, Dr Ben Goldacre, Simon Singh, Prof. Richard Wiseman, Dick Smith, Banachek, Prof. Chris French, George Hrab, Tim Ferguson, Dr Paul Willis and many, many more. Featuring Australian radio legend Maynard with his Spooky Action, Jo Alabaster from the 'Evidence Please' blog, Eran Segev's Grain of Salt, Dr Rachael Dunlop with 'Dr Rachie Reports' and Heidi Robertson aka 'The Raw Skeptic'.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-12T22:17:13.912435+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-skeptic-zone-509869"},"episode":{"title":"The Skeptic Zone #898 - 21.December.2025","slug":"the-skeptic-zone-898-21-december-2025","published_at":"2025-12-20T22:44:01+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-skeptic-zone-509869/the-skeptic-zone-898-21-december-2025","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-skeptic-zone-509869","url":"https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-898-21december2025","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/clean/secure/skepticzone/the_skeptic_zone_898_20251221.mp3?dest-id=15261","summary":"0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:04:26 2026 Bent Spoon Now's your chance to nominate an individual, company or product in Australia that, in your opinion, is worthy of the Bent Spoon Award. Do you have your eyes on a psychic? Or maybe a particularly wacky peddler of magical thinking. Or could it be an alternative medicine practitioner using advanced nonexistence science! Nominations are now open via the link below. https://www.skeptics.com.au/about/activities/bent-spoon 00:11:58 Woo Watch! With Kate Thomas The Great Supplement Displacement Once again, Kate puts on her skeptical glasses and looks closely at an aspect of the wellness and supplement industry. Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR), a form of carnitine supplement, is widely suggested to reduce or eliminate brain fog by enhancing mental clarity, focus, and energy production in brain cells. But what's the real story? Sometimes a few grains of truth are scattered around an otherwise extraordinary claim. Kate Thomas on TikTok and Instagram https://linktr.ee/PrescribeorPass Kate's New Podcast! \"On The 'Mones\" https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/on-the-mones/id1862699491?i=1000741949131 0:21:40 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Dee this week? Read by Adrienne Hill . http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:35:28 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised newspapers on a search for references to Energy Medicine. 2003.04.28 - The Hour - Connecticut 2003.04.28 - Manila Standard http://www.trove.nla.gov.au https://vivaciouslivingcentre.com.au/therapists/metatron-bioresonance-scanning","meta_description":"0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 00:04:26 2026 Bent Spoon Now's your chance to nominate an individual, company or product in Australia that, in your…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3429,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-skeptic-zone-509869/episodes/the-skeptic-zone-898-21-december-2025/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-skeptic-zone-509869/the-skeptic-zone-898-21-december-2025.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}