Whatʼs On at QED

Prof. Bola Grace has over two decades of Healthtech experience across industry and academia. She has extensive senior leadership experience providing strategic and technical direction and delivering award-winning digital health products.Within academia, she lectures, supervises research projects, and publishes in leading journals, including on topics such as reproductive health, and the role of big data in healthcare. She holds a PhD from University College London and an Executive MBA from University of Cambridge Judge Business School. She is a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, Member of the Institute of Directors, and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

Dr Sabine Hossenfelder is a physicist, author, and science communicator. She currently works at the Munich Institute for Mathematical Philosophy and is Creative Director of the popular YouTube channel ‘Science with Sabine’, with over 1.29 million subscribers. She is author of the books ‘Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray’ and ‘Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions’.

Robin Ince is many things. A multi award winning comedian, author, broadcaster, bibliomaniac and a populariser of scientific ideas. He is perhaps best known as the co-host and co-creator of the Sony Gold Award winning BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox. As a stand up Robin has toured the world, and as an author he has written four acclaimed books, the latest of which, Bibliomaniac, earned him the prestigious Booksellers Association Author of the Year award. Robin co-created the Cosmic Shambles Network and created the groundbreaking science variety night Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People which has been adapted worldwide. He has received an Honorary Fellowship of UCL, an honorary doctorate from Royal Holloway College (University of London), and is a fellow of the British Science Association.

Dr Idrees Mughal, widely recognised as Dr Idz, is a distinguished medical doctor with a Master's degree in Nutritional Research and board certification in Lifestyle Medicine. He is an internationally renowned expert, celebrated for his published work, including his book ‘Saturated Facts.’ Dr Idz frequently appears on prominent national TV outlets such as the BBC, ITV, and 60 Minutes Australia, where he debunks widespread and harmful health myths. With a substantial social media following of over three million, he is acclaimed for his evidence-based refutations of inaccurate health advice. Dr Idz also conducts educational workshops and lectures at various schools, universities, hospitals, and health institutes throughout the UK. Additionally, he is actively engaged in several research publications within the medical and nutritional fields.

Dr Joe Ondrak is the Research, Technology, and Policy Senior Analystat Logically – a company using AI and human experts to tackle the harm caused by online mis- and disinformation. He and his team analyse domestic and international disinformation from a host of sources, from hostile state campaigns to domestic conspiracy groups. His PhD – ‘Digesting Creepypasta: Social Media Horror Narratives as Gothic Fourth-Generation Digital Fiction’ – explored how social media blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction when used as a venue for storytelling, and the wider implications for society. His research interests include virality and memetics, the ‘truthiness‘ of false narratives, and all things to do with digital text and what it can do (for good or ill).

Jenny Radcliffe, aka The People Hacker, has spent a lifetime learning how to use the ‘human element’ to gain access to the buildings, data and information, and the things we would wish to keep private. A burglar for hire, a professional con-artist, and an expert in Non-verbal communications, deception and persuasion techniques, she is an ethical Social Engineer, a ‘people hacker’ hired to break security measures using psychology, con-artistry, cunning and guile. She has led simulated criminal attacks on businesses of all types and sizes, running crews with varied expertise and experience, in order to help secure client sites and information from malicious attacks. She is a regular speaker at leading security and corporate events including Infosec, Rant, DISA, Nordic IT Security, ICS2, Trend Micro, Cisco, NTT, Bright talk, and Cyber Security Week. Jenny is also a go-to guest expert on the human element of security, scams and social engineering, has appeared on numerous television and radio shows, online media and traditional press outlets, and was a ‘HQ Hunter’ in the TV show HUNTED for Channel 4, were she performed various OSINT and undercover roles and was seconded to the special operations unit of the show. She hosts the award winning podcast ‘The Human Factor’ interviewing industry leaders, bloggers, experts and fellow social engineers and con-artists about all elements of security.

Rina Raphael is a journalist who specializes in health, wellness, and misinformation. She covered the wellness industry for Fast Company magazine and has also written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, and New York magazine, among other publications. She is the author of The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop and the False Promise of Self-Care and her wellness industry newsletter, Well To Do, covers wellness trends and news.

Dr Shema Tariq is a Principal Research Fellow at University College London’s Institute for Global Health and Honorary Consultant HIV Physician at the Mortimer Market Centre. Shema qualified in Medicine from Newcastle University in 1999, is trained in both Medical Anthropology and Epidemiology, has a PhD in Public Health, and is a former Fulbright Scholar. Shema is recognised internationally as a leading expert in the care of women living with HIV, leading a number of large studies and founding one of the UK's largest specialist clinics for women living with HIV transitioning through menopause. She has authored national and international guidelines and is a Trustee of two charities, Positively UK and Tommy's. Shema is passionate about the meaningful inclusion of women in HIV research, in all their diversity, to ensure equitable HIV care.

James Wison, aka ‘The Sleep Geek’, is a globally renowned sleep expert who has helped hundreds of thousands of people sleep better with his considerate, caring and no nonsense approach, called Taking The Stress Out Of Sleep, which rather than delivering prescriptive and unsuccessful world-class-basics, gives people an understanding of their sleep, and how to get the best sleep they can, within the constraints of jobs, kids, pets, hobbies, relationships and all the things that an impact on our sleep. He has worked with Marks & Spencer, Next, Pataks, Under Armour, and helped West Ham United’s men’s team win the Europa Conference league as their sleep coach. He regularly appears in the national press, on radio and on TV, where he was one of the four experts on Channel 4’s The Secrets Of Sleep, as well as numerous appearances as an expert on BBC Breakfast. He is the creator of the Sleep Bollocks Awards, which are designed to call out the misinterpretation of the science around sleep, and the ridiculous claims, advice and approaches some brands and experts promote.

Prof. Richard Wiseman (University of Hertfordshire) has published over 100 academic papers examining the psychology of magic, illusion, and the paranormal. He has written several popular psychology books (including The Luck Factor and 59 Seconds) that have been published around the world and created psychology-based YouTube videos that have attracted over 800 million views. He is one of the most followed psychologists on social media, and the Independent On Sunday chose him as one of the top 100 people who make Britain a better place to live. A Member of the Inner Magic Circle, Richard acts as a creative consultant on several stage and television projects, including work with Derren Brown. Richard has been described by Elizabeth Loftus as ‘one of the world’s most creative psychologists.’ The first season of his On Your Mind Podcast reached No.1 in Apple Podcast’s Science charts, and in 2023 Richard was given the Royal Society’s prestigious David Attenborough Award for his research and public engagement activities.

We often see extraordinary claims being made about unusual and unlikely skills, talents and abilities. And while the world would be enormously exciting if we could find someone who could really read minds, talk to the dead, predict the future, or manipulate objects with the power of thought, before we believe that these things are real, we’re going to need to see some evidence.

This is where skeptics come in, and testing paranormal claims has been a regular part of skeptical activism, stretching all the way back as far as the great Harry Houdini. But how does one verify unusual claims? How can tests be designed to allow genuine skills to flourish, while thwarting the would-be faker? What controls need to be put in place to be as fair as possible, without sacrificing rigour and reason? And how can we distinguish between a real result and a fortunate fluke?

These are precisely the questions that will be answered in our workshop, hosted by veteran tester of the paranormal, Professor Chris French.

Stretch every synapse, attenuate your amygdala and nourish your neurons, as your team fights it out in a contest designed to sort the smart cookies from the daft biscuits. The winning team will receive the glory that is the QED Quiz trophy, and the eternal respect of the QED-going audience. This year’s quiz will again be presented by Ian Hawkins, The Ivy Club’s Resident Quizmaster, and a former writer for BBC Radio Four’s The News Quiz and The Now Show. Places will be strictly limited, but you can guarantee your place by registering in advance via this quick form (but only complete it if you have your QED ticket and are planning to attend!).