Archive for category Skeptics in the Pub
Brexit Night: What we know, and what we don’t know
Posted by Alice in Skeptics in the Pub on January 17, 2019
When: Thursday, February 21st 2019, 7.30pm-11.00pm
Where: Frederiks, Hope Street, Liverpool
Since the referendum of June 2016, the UK government has had an almost exclusive focus on Brexit – yet, with the UK due to leave the EU on March 29th, major questions still need to be answered, and crucial details remain unclear.
In our special Brexit event, we’ll hear from a range of experts about what Brexit means for their area of expertise, what we know about what impact Brexit will have, and what we still don’t know.
Speaking this evening will be:
- Professor Michael Dougan on Brexit and the Law
- Dr Sarah Clement on Brexit and the Environment
- Dr Ruxandra Trandafoiu on Brexit and EU nationals in the NW of England
- Dr Raphael Levy on Brexit and Science, Funding and Collaboration
- Nicola Throp on Brexit and Energy Security
Professor Michael Dougan is Professor of European Law at the University of Liverpool. He specialises in EU Law, particularly EU constitutional and institutional law, legal relations between the EU and its Member States, the law of the Single Market and free movement of persons / EU welfare law.
Dr Sarah Clement s a Lecturer in Environmental Management and Planning at the University of Liverpool. Her research focuses on the role of governance in managing human impacts on ecosystems, with an emphasis on how society can reform policy and governance to deal with large scale social and ecological changes, such as climate change, overconsumption, demographic shifts, or economic transformation.
Dr Ruxandra Trandafoiu s is a Reader in Communication at Edge Hill University. She recently completed the fieldwork stage of a research project looking at the impact of Brexit on EU nationals in the NW of England (project led by Dr Zana Vathi, Edge Hill University). Ruxandra worked as a journalist and art critic in Romania, before embarking on an academic career. She writes on migration, nationalism and EU politics.
Dr Raphael Levy is Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry at the University of Liverpool, focusing on the structure and applications of nanoparticles in biological imaging. He is Chair of the Institute of Integrative Biology Public Engagement and Communication Committee.
Nicola Throp has spent almost a decade in the energy sector, working as an energy analyst for an utilities consultancy before taking on her current role in energy procurement.
More information:
Matt Lodder – ‘Not Just for Sailors!’ – A Sceptical Account of The History of Western Tattooing
Posted by Alice in Skeptics in the Pub on December 13, 2018
When: Thursday, January 17th 2019, 7.30 – 11.00 PM
Where: The Casa Bar, 29 Hope Street
In this talk, Dr Matt Lodder will examine the history of a tenacious cliché — the idea that tattooing ‘now’ is a newly-emerged fashion trend suddenly finding favour amongst wider demographics than in the past, when it was confined to sailors, bikers, criminals and ne’r-do-wells. In a heavily-illustrated talk, tracing relentless examples of this claim in the British and American press from the present day backwards into the late 19th century, the talk will present a wider picture of this oft-maligned practice, and at the same time ask questions about cultural amnesia, the role of journalism in shaping our collective sense of history, and the problematic relationships between academic scholarship and popular understanding.
More information:
Skeptics in the Pub Quiz!
Posted by Alice in Skepticism, Skeptics in the Pub on October 24, 2018
When: Thursday,November 29th 2018, 7.30 – 11.00 PM
Where: The Casa Bar, 29 Hope Street
PLEASE NOTE: this event will take place DOWNSTAIRS in The Casa. Regretfully, this room is not wheelchair accessible.
On this rare fifth Thursday in November we’re organising a general knowledge pub quiz.
Join your host, Dr Tom Williamson, in The Vines for a night of rational enquiry; it’s free to enter and there will be prizes for the best performances on the night! Tom is, of course, excluded from winning a prize, unless you count being carried aloft through the streets of Liverpool on the shoulders of his peers for producing a magnificent quiz. Everyone is welcome, feel free to share and invite your friends…
More information:
Charlotte Hardman – Feeding the mind: Is chocolate really as addictive as cocaine?
Posted by Alice in Skeptics in the Pub on August 31, 2018
When: Thursday,November 15th 2018, 7.30 – 11.00 PM
Where: The Casa Bar, 29 Hope Street
Why is it so difficult to stop eating the chocolates even though we’re full? A popular idea is that certain foods like chocolate are addictive and that “food addiction” explains why so many people are overweight.
But does food really have the same effects on the mind and body as hard drugs? Or is food addiction simply a myth or an excuse for over-eating?
To answer these questions, I will talk about the latest scientific research on food and addiction with a particular focus on the role of psychology. I will consider the similarities but also the key differences between eating and substance use disorders.
Dr Charlotte Hardman is a lecturer in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Liverpool. Her research examines the factors which influence appetite, eating and food preferences and she has worked in this area for more than 15 years, including designing and testing interventions to change eating behaviour. She has a PhD in Psychology and has published over 40 scientific papers in prestigious journals including Nature Reviews Endocrinology and the International Journal of Obesity.
More information:
James Crossland – Fake News is Old News: The British Origins of 21st Century Psychological Warfare.
Posted by Alice in Skeptics in the Pub on August 30, 2018
When: Thursday, September 20th 2018, 7.30 – 11.00 PM
Where: The Casa Bar, 29 Hope Street
In recent years, the idea of the internet being “weaponised” to disseminate propaganda and warp public perceptions has been presented as a new means of waging war. The idea of one state using the latest communications technology to engage in psychological warfare against another, however, is far from new, nor is it the uniquely Russian practice that it is often presented as today. As this talk will explain, so many of the psychological warfare techniques used by the trolls of today were not developed in Russian “bot factories”, but in top secret radio stations in Britain over 70 years ago. There, during the country’s darkest hour, a rag-tag group of journalists, poets and political hacks conspired to wage a war of words against Hitler’s Germany, and in so doing pioneered what we in the 21st century now call fake news, targeted propaganda, and communications hi-jacking.
James Crossland is a Senior Lecturer in International History at Liverpool John Moores University. A specialist in the history of modern warfare, intelligence and the laws of armed conflict, he is the author of War, Law and Humanity: the Campaign to Control Warfare, and Britain and the International Committee of the Red Cross, 1939-1945.
More information:
Paul Duncan McGarrity: A Practical Guide to Attacking Castles
Posted by Mike in Skeptics in the Pub on June 9, 2018
When: Thursday, July 19th 2018, 7.30 – 11.00 PM
Where: Frederiks, 32 Hope St, Liverpool
From the age of sieges and chivalry comes a show about medieval love, adrenaline junkies and an insane quest for glory. Join comedian and archaeologist Paul Duncan McGarrity as he explains how modern life could be so much better if we all take a moment and learn how to attack a castle. From the host of the Ask an Archaeologist podcast and live show comes another hour of hysterical historical fun.
‘A more pleasant way to pass an hour could scarcely be found’ (BroadwayBaby.com).
More information: