The Skeptic (UK magazine)

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The Skeptic
The Skeptic summer 2009.jpg
The Skeptic cover for Volume 22, Issue 2, 2009: Parapsychology: Dead or Alive?
Editor-in-ChiefMichael Marshall
CategoriesScience magazine
FrequencyQuarterly
PublisherMerseyside Skeptics Society
Year founded1987
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.skeptic.org.uk
ISSN0959-5228

The Skeptic is a British magazine and is billed as "the UK’s longest running and foremost sceptical magazine, which examines science, skepticism, secularism, critical thinking and claims of the paranormal."

History, format and structure[]

It was founded in 1987 by Wendy M. Grossman, and subsequently edited from 1988 to 1998 by Toby Howard (The University of Manchester, UK) and Professor (University of Huddersfield, UK). From 1998 to 2011 it was edited by Professor Chris French,[1][2] and from 2011 to 2020 by Deborah Hyde.

Since 2020 magazine has been edited by Michael Marshall and Dr. ,[3] and published by the Merseyside Skeptics Society. Regular columnists and authors contributing articles to the publication have included Mark Duwe, Chris French, Wendy M Grossman, Mike Heap, Paul Taylor and Mark Williams. Neil Davies routinely provides artwork for the cover, whilst centrefold pieces were contributed by Crispian Jago. Other artwork is routinely contributed by Donald Rooum, Tim Pearce, Andrew Endersby and Barbara Griffiths.[4]

The magazine is also supported by an Editorial Advisory Board which includes the following notable individuals: James Alcock, Susan Blackmore, Derren Brown, David Colquhoun, Brian Cox, Richard Dawkins, Edzard Ernst, Stephen Fry, Simon Hoggart, Bruce Hood, Ray Hyman, Robin Ince, Paul Kurtz, Stephen Law, Elizabeth Loftus, Richard McNally, Tim Minchin, PZ Myers, Phil Plait, Massimo Polidoro, Benjamin Radford, James Randi, Ian Rowland, Karl Sabbagh, Simon Singh, Karen Stollznow and Richard Wiseman.[5]

Official podcast[]

In 2008, an independent, rationalist talk show airing on London's Resonance FM called Little Atoms became The Official Podcast of The Skeptic Magazine.[6] New episodes of the show are released on an almost weekly basis. The show has been produced by Neil Denny, Padraig Reidy, Anthony Burn and Richard Sanderson since September 2005.[7][8]

Lecture series[]

It is also linked to the long running London based monthly lecture series, Skeptics in the Pub[9] along with Prof Chris French's Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit lectures at Goldsmiths.[10]

Ockham Awards[]

The 2016 Ockham Awards
Deborah Hyde grants the 2013 Editor's Choice Ockham to The Pod Delusion team.
Matt Dillahunty presents Alan Henness the 2015 Event / Campaign Award for "Stop the Saatchi Bill".
Britt Hermes thanks the skeptical community for the 2016 Blog Ockham.

The Skeptic magazine annually awards the Ockham Awards, or simply the Ockhams, at QED. This occurred for the first time in 2012, and the award ceremony has been considered a highlight of the conference ever since.[11] The Ockhams were introduced by editor-in-chief Deborah Hyde to "recognise the effort and time that have gone into the community’s favourite skeptical blogs, skeptical podcasts, skeptical campaigns and outstanding contributors to the skeptical cause."[12] The winners are selected by a panel, from submissions by the skeptical community.[13] The ironic award 'for the most audacious pseudo-science', "The Rusty Razor" (introduced in 2017), is determined entirely by public vote.[14] "The Editors' Choice Award" is a special Ockham without a category, chosen by the current and past editors-in-chief of The Skeptic, Chris French, Wendy Grossman and Deborah Hyde.[13]

The name refers to Ockham's razor, formulated by English philosopher William of Ockham (c. 1285–1347). The trophies, designed by Neil Davies and Karl Derrick, carry the upper text "Ockham's" and the lower text "The Skeptic. Shaving away unnecessary assumptions since 1285." Between the texts, there is an image of a double-edged safety razorblade, and both lower corners feature an image of William of Ockham's face.[12]

Winners[]

Best Skeptic Blog
  • 2012: SkepChick – Rebecca Watson et al.[12]
  • 2013: The Quackometer – Andy Lewis[15]
  • 2014: Leaving Fundamentalism – Jonny Scaramanga[16][17]
  • 2015: Hayley is a Ghost – Hayley Stevens[18]
  • 2016: Naturopathic Diaries – Britt Marie Hermes[11]
  • 2017: Always Look on the Bright Side of Death – Crispian Jago[14]
Best Skeptic Event / Campaign
Best Skeptic Podcast
  • 2012: The Pod Delusion – James O'Malley & Liz Lutgendorff[12]
  • 2013: The Token Skeptic – Kylie Sturgess[15]
  • 2014: Skepticality – & Robynn "Swoopy" McCarthy et al.[17]
  • 2015: The Godless Spellchecker – Stephen Knight[18]
  • 2016: Say WHY To Drugs – Dr. Suzi Gage[11]
  • 2017: The European Skeptics Podcast – András Pintér, Jelena Levin, Pontus Böckman[14]
Best Skeptic Video
  • 2012: "Storm" – Tim Minchin (skeptic video); "The Strange Powers of the Placebo Effect" – Daniel Keogh and Luke Harris (science video)[12]
  • 2013: "Skepticism Advert" – Shut Up Infinity[15]
  • 2014: "Superstition ain't the way" – Kylie Sturgess[17][20]
For Skeptical Activism
Editor's Choice
The Rusty Razor

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Moshakis, Alex (2019-01-27). "Truth detectives: the know-it-all skeptics railing against fakery". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  2. ^ "Weird ... or what?". Goldsmiths, University of London. September 18, 2008.
  3. ^ "Editorial Board". The Skeptic. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  4. ^ Columnists and Authors
  5. ^ Editorial Advisory Board
  6. ^ Little Atoms Archived September 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Marshall, Ben (Jan 17, 2007). "Why blogs are going straight to video". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  8. ^ Marshall, Ben (February 27, 2007). "Weekly web trawl: ephemera, anger and smut". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  9. ^ Skeptics in the Pub
  10. ^ Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit (APRU)
  11. ^ a b c d e Korteweg, Leon (2 December 2016). "QED 2016 – verslag van een lang weekend tussen skeptici". Skepter (in Dutch). Stichting Skepsis. 29 (4): 45–46. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Hyde, Deborah (2012). "The Skeptic Magazine Awards 2011: Winners". The Skeptic. 23 (4). Archived from the original on 2017-10-23.
  13. ^ a b Hyde, Deborah. "The Ockham Awards". The Skeptic's website. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  14. ^ a b c d e "2017's Ockham Awards for Excellence in Skeptical Activism". The Skeptic. 14 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d e Hyde, Deborah (2013). "Who won the Ockham's?". The Skeptic. 24 (3).
  16. ^ Scaramanga, Jonny (22 April 2014). "On mind-controlling cults, Fred Phelps, and Ockham Awards". Leaving Fundamentalism. Patheos. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  17. ^ a b c d Colm (15 April 2014). "QEDCon 2014 – A Roundup". Sunny Spells. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  18. ^ a b c d "The Ockhams 2015". The Skeptic. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  19. ^ "More misleading claims at NHS Homeopathic Hospitals". The Nightingale Collaboration. 7 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  20. ^ "Superstition ain't the way: Kylie Sturgess at TEDxPerth". TEDx. October 2013. Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  21. ^ a b "The Ockhams 2018". www.skeptic.org.uk. The Skeptic Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  22. ^ a b c "Ockham Awards 2020". The Skeptic Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Ockham Awards 2021". The Skeptic. 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  24. ^ Jonathan O'Callaghan (16 October 2017). "The Worst Pseudoscience Of The Year Award Has Been Announced!". IFLScience. Elise Andrew. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop wins award for 'pseudoscientific nonsense'". The Age. 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  26. ^ Gunderman, Dan (16 October 2017). "Gwyneth Paltrow-led wellness brand Goop earns 'Rusty Razor' award for 'worst pseudoscience'". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 2017-10-17. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  27. ^ Hale, Tom. "This Year's Award For The Worst Pseudoscience Is Especially Deserved". www.iflscience.com. IFLScience. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  28. ^ Pritchard, Tom. "This Year's 'Worst Pseudoscience Award' Goes to Anti-Vax Fraud Andrew Wakefield". www.gizmodo.co.uk. Gizmodo. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  29. ^ "Ockham Awards 2021". The Skeptic. 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-10.

External links[]

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