Skeptics Guide #1106

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1106 September 17th 2026 With guest rogue Jesse Boulard Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – How Dangerous is AI https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqgk5e2j0gg8o News Item #2 – Memories of 9-11 https://theconversation.com/your-memories-of-how-you-heard-about-9-11-may-well-be-wrong-weve-been-asking-the-same-people-what-they-remember-for-25-years-291820 News Item #3 – Solar is Booming https://theness.com/neurologicablog/solar-is-booming/ News Item #4 – GPT-6-Astra https://openai.com/index/gpt-6-astra/ News Item #5 – Frisson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisson Segment 2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Educating Children My best friend, Bonbon, and I have been long time listeners of your show. It is truly a highly of our week. We are so grateful for the time and energy that you all devote into improving skeptical literacy for all. We were both very impressed (and not surprised) with how intelligent your daughter is (I understand there are many kinds of intelligence). I am a new mother and thinking about how to educate my daughter is a top concern of mine. (Of course, I plan to raise her as a skeptic.) I was wondering what your thoughts are regarding public school vs private school and if you feel there is a difference in education/long term "success"? I imagine if you are a motivated parent at home, you can certainly overcome some of the deficiencies, but I'm curious if you have come across any data regarding this and if you are comfortable sharing, what was your approach when making these decisions for your own children. Thank you again for all that you do! Cheers, Yasmina Segment #4. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Item 1: A new study concludes that Venus likely had a large moon early in its life, which was likely destroyed by a later collision. Item 2: Researchers are now in the home testing phase of a robotic arm, fused to the bone with muscle and nerve integration allowing for natural control and sensory feedback – a truly bionic limb. Item 3: A new analysis of human ancestor fossils finds that Australopithecus species remained significantly arboreal in their locomotion, while Homo species were fully terrestrial. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week “Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that’s not why we do it.” ― Richard P. Feynman


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