The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott

Polarizing Fukushima wastewater

Have you heard the news? The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is dumping radioactive waste into the Pacific ocean! Is this a travesty or is it a manufactured controversy? The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan is planning to dump over 1 million tonnes of radioactive wastewater in the ocean. Environmental groups around the world are outraged. Protesters line the streets in Korea. Chinese governments are boycotting Japanese products. Headlines scream about radioactive fish. What’s going on? It’s time for a Rational View.
Support the podcast at Patron.podbean.com/TheRationalview
Join the Facebook discussion @TheRationalView
TwiX @AlScottRational
Instagram @The_Rational_View
#TheRationalView #podcast #fukushima #nuclearwaste #polarization #fakenews #radiophobia #polarization

Are we facing insect armageddon?

In this episode I want to investigate claims in the news of an insect Armageddon. Specifically it has been reported that insect populations around the globe have plummeted by up to 75% in recent years. As anecdotal evidence of this old timers like myself use the car windshield as a gauge.  Back in the day, any summer drive would end up with your windshield plastered with insect carcasses. These days they are often pristine. Are we witnessing the ecological collapse prophesied by climate scientists? Insects are important to ecosystems and their disappearance would have huge impacts in terms of pollinators, and food chains. Is this real, is it global, and what is causing it? Maybe this is a good thing if mosquito populations are dropping. In terms of a potential tipping point where the loss of insects causes whole ecosystems to collapse, the honest answer is we just don’t know when the point of no return is.
Support the podcast at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView
Come and chat on Facebook @TheRationalView
TwiX @AlScottRational
Instagram @The_Rational_View
#TheRationalView #podcast #insects #armageddon #pesticide #ALAN #windmills #extinction

Origins of the anti-nuclear movement

In this episode I answer the question, 'Who is misinforming the public about nuclear energy and why?'. I touch on the influence of the oil industry on anti-nuclear disinformation, and I explore the origins of the anti-nuclear protest movement.
Support the podcast at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView
Give me your opinion on Facebook @TheRationalView
Twitter 'X' @AlScottRational
Instagram @The_Rational_View
#TheRationalView #podcast #nuclearenergy #disinformation #antinuclear #bigoil #greenpeace #protest

Dr. Michael Shermer on science and skepticism

This episode is a re-release of my amazing interview with the definitive skeptic, Dr. Michael Shermer.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  I should be back in the studio for next week's episode.
Dr. Michael Shermer received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University. He has been a college professor since 1979. Dr. Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the podcast The Michael Shermer Show, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. For 18 years he was a monthly columnist for Scientific American. He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers, and has appeared on Oprah, Dateline, 20/20, and the Colbert Report. His two TED talks were voted in the top 100. He has been interviewed in countless documentaries and was the co-host of the Family Channel television series, Exploring the Unknown. Neil deGrasse Tyson has called him “a beacon of reason in an ocean of irrationality”.
Support the podcast at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView
Join me on Facebook @TheRationalView discussion group
#TheRationalView #podcast #science #skepticism

What’s all the fuss about superconductors?

In this episode I want to follow up on last week’s podcast regarding the announcement of the discovery of a room temperature ambient pressure superconductor, how scientists addressed the claim, and compare it with the cold fusion announcement and ongoing scientific controversy from the 1980’s.
Help me spread The Rational View at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView
Join the Facebook discussion @TheRationalView
'X' @AlScottRational
Instagram @The_Rational_View
#TheRationalView #podcast #superconductors #science #verification #falsification #coldfusion

Superconductors, UFOs, lab leaks, and climate change

In this episode I provide a round-up review of current events in science, and the popular controversies surrounding these issues. The recent announcement of room temperature superconductivity promises to be the biggest scientific breakthrough of the century if verified. We should know in days if it is true. The US congress heard testimony that UFOs are actually aliens visiting us from other worlds. There has been a recent surge of interest in the possibility that COVID-19 was caused by a lab leak in the Wuhan institute of virology. In addition to all of this, surface temperatures in the North Atlantic ocean are hotter than we've ever seen at this time of year. What should we take from all of this? This is a job for The Rational View
Support the podcast at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView
Find The Rational View on Youtube if you like videos.
'X' @AlScottRational
#TheRationalView #podcast #UFOs #climatechange #lableak #superconductivity

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson on The Rational View

This episode is a special treat and a bit of a throwback to when I achieved one of my podcast goals. In honour of The Rational View blowing past 100,000 downloads this month, this is a re-release of my interview from almost two years ago with the famous Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium. I hope you can sit back and relax and enjoy it with me. Thank you for supporting the podcast! Famed astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson was named the Sexiest Astrophysicist alive in 2000 by People magazine. Selected as one of the 100 most influential persons in the world by Time magazine in 2007, Dr. Tyson was awarded the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication in 2017.
Support the podcast at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView
Register for my newsletter at www.TheRationalView.ca
Twitter @AlScottRational
TikTok @TheRationalView
#TheRationalView #podcast #NeildeGrasseTyson #science #communication #outreach #polarization  

Dr. Jack Gilbert describes how the microbes in our gut keep us healthy

In this episode I have an interview with a leading scientist specializing in gut microbiota. These are the microbes that live in your intestine and help you digest your food. Our DNA does not have all the enzymes we need to break down food into the vitamins and minerals we need. We live in a symbiotic relationship with this microbial ecosystem.  We provide the microbes a home and they provide us with nutrients. When the ecosystem gets out of whack we can get sick. Sometimes we take anti-biotics to cure an infection and that throws a huge wrench into this ecosystem. I’ve seen a lot of folks saying probiotics help to build a robust microbiome, and I’ve also heard a lot of folks saying that anything you eat gets killed in the stomach. I’d like to hear what the experts have to say.
Professor Jack Gilbert joined UCSD in 2019 where he is a Professor in Pediatrics and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Associate Vice Chancellor for Marine Science, and Director of both the Microbiome and Metagenomics Center and the Microbiome Core Facility. He uses molecular analysis to test fundamental hypotheses in microbial ecology.
He cofounded the Earth Microbiome Project and American Gut Project, has authored over 400 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology, co-authored the book “Dirt is Good,” and is the founding Editor in Chief of ASM mSystems journal. He founded BiomeSense Inc to produce automated microbiome sensors.
Support the podcast at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView
Add your two cents on Facebook @TheRationalView
Twitter @AlScottRational
Instagram @The_Rational_View
#TheRationalView #podcast #microbiome #gut #probiotics #health #nutrition

Dr. Lee McIntyre makes war on disinformation

In this episode I am digging into the topic of ‘fake news’ and the risk of weaponized disinformation campaigns on social media.  To enlighten us on this topic I have a returning guest who provided us with a great perspective last year on how he reached out across the aisle by going to a pseudo-science conference and talking directly with science deniers. 
Returning guest Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. Formerly Executive Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University.  McIntyre is the bestselling author of POST-TRUTH (MIT Press, 2018) along with thirteen other works of fiction and nonfiction, including DARK AGES (2006), and THE SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE (2019).
McIntyre has had appearances on CNN, PBS, NPR and the BBC -- and has spoken at the United Nations, the Aspen Institute, and the Vatican. He starred in the docu-series INFODEMIC: Global Conversations on Science and Misinformation. In November, 2018, McIntyre went undercover at the Flat Earth International Conference in Denver, Colorado, as research for his newest book, HOW TO TALK TO A SCIENCE DENIER (2021). and he is just about to publish a new book ‘On Disinformation’.
Support the podcast at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView
Give me you opinions on Facebook @TheRationalView
Twitter @AlScottRational
Instagram @The_Rational_View
#TheRationalView #podcast #disinformation #socialmedia

Dr. Brooke Goldner shares nutritional advice for autoimmune disorders

In this episode I have an interview with a doctor who advocates nutritional treatments for autoimmune diseases. On her website she claims to have become Lupus-free by avoiding foods that cause inflammation. She provides testimonials of full recoveries from Rheumatoid arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis and many more. This is particularly interesting for me as I have family members with autoimmune diseases. This give me hope, but the biggest question on my mind is that if this works why isn’t this mainstream medicine? What is going on? I’ve heard it stated by Dr. Joel Furhman that the medical establishment doesn’t want nutritional cures, and one could get the impression that big pharma would be motivated to suppress, or at least not promote nutritional cures for autoimmune disorders.  I’m skeptical, let’s get a Rational View.
Dr. Brooke Goldner is a board certified medical doctor and the author of 3 best-selling books, Goodbye Lupus, Goodbye Autoimmune Disease, and Green Smoothie Recipes to Kick-Start Your Health & Healing. She has been featured in multiple documentaries such as Disease Reversal Hope and Eating You Alive, has been featured on TV news and the Home & Family Show, as well as many radio shows and podcasts, and is a highly sought after keynote speaker.
She has been featured on the front cover of Vegan Health & Fitness Magazine 3 times, including the cover of Fit Over Forty. She was featured in the Journal of Disease Reversal reversing  lupus in herself, as well as publishing multiple case studies in reversing end stage lupus nephritis (kidney failure) with her hyper-nourishing nutrition protocol for autoimmune disease-reversal. 
She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with honors for genetic  research in leukemia and neurobiology, was a graduate of the  Temple University School of Medicine, was Chief Resident at UCLA-Harbor Residency, and is the sole autoimmune professor for the Plant-Based Nutrition Certification from Cornell University. She is a member of the Forbes Health Advisory Board, the founder of GoodbyeLupus.com and creator of the Hyper-nourishing Protocol for Autoimmune Reversal.
Support the podcast at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView
Chat with me on Facebook @TheRationalView