Whatʼs On at QED

Nearly 50% of people believe in Atlantis, or a technologically advanced civilization from the Ice Age. The reality is that belief in pseudoscience is rising in our world today. People are not ignorant through a fault of their own, but because misinformation is often more easily accessible than good information. In this presentation, Dr Flint Dibble will critically examine his journey in high-profile engagement with the Atlantis ‘lost civilization’ branch of pseudoarchaeology, from Joe Rogan and newspaper headlines to Twitter and YouTube. Drawing upon up-to-date misinformation research, he will present effective strategies for engaging with the media and on social media, addressing the dangers and benefits of public engagement.

Dr Joe Ondrak will discuss how horror fiction traditions are useful in understanding contemporary conspiracy culture, moving from false documents and found footage to creepypasta and QAnon. Taking a formalist and stylistic approach, he will look at how platforms shape meaning and create a cognitive environment for justification of conspiracy belief.

Dr Idrees Mughal, better known as Dr Idz will explore the rise of the Internet as the primary source of health information and the positive and negative implications of this. He will work through a series of short video clips where we'll be critically dissecting the key signs to look for in someone's communication that makes health advice more or less likely to be reliable, and target some important buzzwords to look out for as well as offer some other resources one can use to help combat the misinformation maze we're faced with every day.

Jenny Radcliffe, aka the People Hacker, has spent a lifetime learning how to use the ‘human element’ to gain access to 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 is also a go-to guest expert on the human element of security, scams and social engineering, and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows.

Join Prof. Richard Wiseman as he takes a deep dive into secret world of magic and illusion. Witness some of the world’s great optical illusions, explore the secret psychology of magic, discover what happens when you put the paranormal to the test, find out why learning to perform the impossible is good for you, discover how to transform a tea towel into a chicken, and much more. An informative and (hopefully) entertaining romp through a lifetime of academic adventure.

Historian Dr Agnes Arnold-Forster blends neuroscience and psychology with the history of emotions and medicine to explore the evolution of nostalgia from its first identification in seventeenth-century Switzerland (when it was held to be an illness that could, quite literally, kill) to the present day. Now, nostalgia is a social and political emotion, vulnerable to misuse, and one that reflects the anxieties of the age. It remains one of the many ways we communicate a desire for the past, dissatisfaction with the present and our visions for the future. In this talk, Arnold-Forster explores this complex, slippery emotion, taking it as a lens through which to consider the changing pace of society, our collective feelings of regret, dislocation and belonging, the conditions of modern and contemporary work, and the politics of fear and anxiety.

Physicist and YouTuber Dr Sabine Hossenfelder will try to make sense of recent developments in quantum technology. What can we reasonably expect from quantum computing, quantum measurements, and the quantum internet? Sabine Hossenfelder 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’.

When you think about HIV, who do you think of? Did you know over half of the global population of people living with HIV are women and girls? That transwomen are 66 times more likely to be living with HIV than cisgender individuals? In the UK there are about 30,000 women living with HIV. Yet, their stories and experiences of HIV rarely appear in the media, in culture or in research. In this talk, Dr Shema Tariq will give you an overview of HIV in women in 2024, focusing on how gender shapes risk and experiences of HIV and the importance of representation in research. She will highlight the importance of intersectionality-informed approaches in HIV, drawing upon my own work on HIV and menopause, and the pivotal role of women (in all their diversity) throughout the history of HIV.

We have always sought new ways to improve our well-being, but what we’re witnessing today is an unprecedented cultural and historical moment. Wellness is more than just a $4.4 trillion industry — it's a movement now. According to NielsenIQ, health and wellness was ’the single most powerful consumer force.’ Never before have we seen this level of focus on self-improvement, with U.S. millennials labeled the most ’health-conscious generation.’

Rina Raphael asks why we became a self-care nation? What is propelling increased interest in sectors like mindfulness, yoga, and ’alternative medicine’ and what are the promises and drawbacks of our increased devotion to the pursuit of health? Amidst all the hype and hyper-consumerism — of which there's plenty to go around — social media, medical institutions, policymakers, and the mainstream media all play a role.

We have never been so aware of the importance of our sleep, but the more we know, the worse our sleep seems to get. The main driver of this is the way some experts and brands create hysteria, make claims dripping with hyperbole, and ultimately end up selling us snake oil that just doesn’t work. In this talk, ‘the Sleep Geek’ James Wilson will help the audience understand 15:10 how sleep works and go through some of the most common fads and bad advice that is ruining our sleep.

Comedian and bibliomaniac Robin Ince talks about the size of the universe and the things in our brain with poems and stories. Robin is multi award winning comedian, author, broadcaster, 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.

Health technology continues to redefine the delivery of healthcare, from better understanding of our bodies, to significant breakthroughs in the treatment of diseases. The wearables and sensors market was valued at $1.6 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $4.6 billion within five years. People now have health and fitness information at their fingertips. As these sensors can connect to other devices, mobile phones, tablets, cloud services, AI and health platforms, they support the digital ecosystem. They play a vital role in monitoring, tracking, personalised treatment plans, and real-time data collection, contributing to improved access to care and more efficient management of chronic conditions. However, the vast amount of health data, often without professional guidance, can be overwhelming for users, with concerns around clinical relevance. Prof. Bola Grace will discuss how the healthtech sector uses unnecessary medicalisation and the expansion of diagnostic boundaries for economic gain. Concerns about privacy and security, data ownership, consent, and liability are on the rise, and must be addressed and regulated.

Since HIV hit the public consciousness in the 1980s there have been a wide range of influences on the lives and experiences of people living with HIV. Stigma and bias has affected access to treatment and prophylaxis as well as creating harmful stereotypes about the type of person who is HIV positive. Meanwhile, scientific and medical advances have revolutionised treatment and the prevention of transmission of the virus which has changed the lives of people living with HIV.

In our panel to discuss experiences of living with HIV in the 21st Century, we'll cover physical, psychological and social impacts of HIV highlighting the huge progress in HIV management, and outlining key challenges. Our panel will feature Dr Shema Tariq, Matthew Hodson, LeaSuwanna Griffith, Yvonne Richards-Cooper, and chair Dr Alice Howarth.

Artificial Intelligence has experienced a significant surge, driven by generative image systems and expansive language models. DALL-E emerged in 2021, ChatGPT in late 2022, and since then they have been joined by a host of similar services, including those that generate videos and music. This rapid development has reignited concerns on AI safety and ethical considerations surrounding these tools. In a landscape often sensationalised by the media and influenced by vested interests, objectivity can be elusive.

Our panel will attempt to navigate the nuanced terrain shaped by these developments. Led by experts who sidestep sensationalism, we'll delve into the realms of academia and education, examining the future of student evaluation, the ethical dimensions of copyright vis-à-vis AI training, the glaring biases within AI, and the ensuing implications. We'll also scrutinise the role of governments in safeguarding society from these evolving challenges. The question arises: what truly warrants concern, and how apprehensive should we be? Featuring Junaid Mubeen, Dr Emily C. Collins, James Ball, and chair Rick Owen.

It is often said that class is the great divide in British society, but what does social class mean in 2024? Is it a set of escalators where we can easily move up and down? Or more like an open prison, where only occasionally do a few manage to escape? If you are born working class do you remain that way, regardless of how your life changes? And to what degree does the class your born into define or limit your opportunities in life, and the discrimination or favour you might encounter?

Joining host Andy Wilson to pick apart the role of class in modern society will be Dan Evans, Lizzi Collinge MP, and Tracy Shildrick.

Less than a month after the UK election, race riots raged in cities and towns across the UK, ignited by disinformation about the name and nationality of the murderer of three young girls in Southport. Online networks built through Covid conspiracism became vectors of misinformation and organisation, contributing to attacks on Muslim communities and people of colour, and culminating in attempts to burn hotels filled with refugee families.

How did the misinformation spread so quickly, and what role did online channels dedicated to conspiracy theories around Covid, vaccines, and the Great Replacement play? What was the role of tech platforms, and to what degree were rioters manipulated by cynical actors - domestic and international? Featuring Dr Joe Ondrak, Lewis Thorogood, Michael Marshall and chair Dr Alice Howarth.

Whether you sleep like a baby (whatever that means), need a solid ten hours or feel refreshed waking up while it’s still dark; our society has a LOT to say about sleep. Not sleeping enough will knock years off your life but sleeping too much is lazy. Napping is both a superpower you can use to unlock your productivity and the worst thing you can possibly do if you want to sleep. Not to mention the time you sleep best, whether you’re a night owl or a morning lark, says everything about who you are and your value to society.

But how much of what we understand about sleep is actually true? Does screen time before bed damage our sleep? Can mouth taping help us sleep better with less snoring? Can hacking our sleep improve our productivity and should employers be encouraging it? Does our sleep quality and pattern tell us hidden things about our health, wellbeing and general lifestyle? We put these questions and more to our sleep experts to understand the science, debunk the pseudoscience and learn how to unlock the true potential of our sleep.

Featuring James Wilson, Prof. Richard Wiseman, Louise Berger, and chair Andy Wilson.

Women being judged for how they do things is nothing new, but against a backdrop of recent heartbreaking scandals in labour care, what does it mean to give birth in 2024? How much pressure are women under to forgo interventions during labour in pursuit of the seemingly holy grail of ‘natural’ birth, and what trauma does that leave women and their families with afterwards? Despite advances in modern medicine, why does it seem for childbirth, medicine and the advice women are given seems to have regressed? Featuring Dr Agnes Arnold-Forster, Catherine Roy, Dr Annabel Sowemimo, and chair Nicola Throp.

Helen Keen and Evie King are former stand up comics who have both ended up in the respective realms of loneliness and death. Not literally, although at some point they inevitably will. Helen is completing PhD research on loneliness and neurodivergence, and Evie is a council funeral officer who has written a best selling book about her job carrying out services for those without family or money.

If our panel sounds depressing then fear not, because their insights will hopefully relieve you of your 3am fears and allow for new ways of thinking about how we live and die authentically.

Featuring Evie King, Helen Keen, and chair Nicola Throp.

If skepticism is a battle to bring to light pseudoscience, misinformation and outright fraud, investigative journalism is often the frontline, with many of the most important moments in skeptical history coming as a result of the right journalist being in the right place to ask the right question at the right time. How do journalists know which threads to pull? How do they check facts and source claims? And how do they do all of this without falling foul of legal threats?

Our panel to talk through the professionally curious world of investigative journalism will be Meirion Jones, Rina Raphael, Layla Wright and Michael Marshall.

Hosted by science communicator Jonathan Jarry and cardiologist Dr Christopher Labos, the award-winning medical podcast The Body of Evidence aims to contextualise findings in the realm of health research and answer the public's most pressing questions about the biomedical sciences while also being funny and entertaining. On a special live episode at QED 2024, Jonathan will speak with Lewis Thorogood, a junior software developer who was drawn into opposing public health measures and vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic and who later changed his mind. The two will discuss radicalisation and conspiracy ideation in the face of a major health crisis. Thorogood's story is a reminder that we are all susceptible to adopting fringe beliefs, especially in the face of world-changing events.

The award-winning European Skeptics Podcast is about to enter its tenth year of covering skeptical news and promoting skeptical activism. Their back catalogue of around 450 episodes contains analyses of skeptical trends and concerns, as well as hundreds of interviews with people from all over the world. The current hosts are based in Hungary, Germany, and Sweden and the show’s outreach is truly international, with an active network beyond Europe. Featuring Pontus Böckman, András Pintér, Brian Eggo, and Claire Klingenberg.

InKredulous is the skeptical, satirical panel show from the Merseyside Skeptics Society. Since the very first QED in 2011, the live taping of InKredulous has been one of the weekend’s highlights, with each show bringing together some of our favourite comic minds for an unpredictable ramble through a mix of topical tales and unlikely stories from pseudoscience history.

Featuring Michael Marshall, Noah Lugeons, Hayley Stevens, and your host Andy Wilson.

Join James Shakeshaft and Alasdair Beckett-King as they ‘investigate’ forgotten folklore in front of a live studio audience. Robin Hood? The Loch Ness Monster? Pfff! Too mainstream. Loremen is about folklore you probably haven't even heard of. Previous subjects include the Ghost Duck of Stoke, the London Monster and Gef the Talking Mongoose. And who could forget, the Mickleton Hooter?

Two absolute legends will tell stories from the British Isles, and then grade them according to the completely arbitrary Loremen Scoring System. Also featuring guest Hayley Stevens

Skeptics with a K is produced by the Merseyside Skeptics Society and features QED co-organisers Mike Hall, Dr Alice Howarth, and Michael Marshall.

First published in August 2009, each episode features skeptical breakdowns of credulous newspaper stories, the latest health fads, myths and misconceptions, and reports on skeptical activism and undercover investigations. Almost 400 episodes later, including multiple QED live shows, Skeptics with a K has become one of the most popular skeptical podcasts from the UK.

Twenty years ago in January, the Freedom of Information Act came into force in the UK, providing a useful tool for journalists, activists and skeptics alike. No more cover-ups. No more hidden corruption.

At first it worked. We could even get access to Top Secret documents... but gradually, government and complacent information commissioners strangled the flow of information.

Join experienced journalist Meirion Jones for our FOI workshop, as he talks through the tricks they use, how you can fight back, give advice on any ongoing cases, and how to pressure a government to accept that sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Discover how to give the most engaging, interesting and memorable presentations possible. This workshop will guide you through the secrets of how to deliver a standout presentation from design to delivery. Led by award winning presenter Dr Jamie Gallagher the session explores how to banish nerves, create eye-catching visuals and how to create a narrative around even the most complex of topics.

Following this workshop, you should be able to understand how to turn research into a compelling narrative, prepare a high quality, engaging pitch/presentation, feel comfortable and confident while delivering talks, understand the use of language, body language and visualisation in presenting.

At our Magic for Skeptics workshop, you can join Professor Richard Wiseman as he journeys into the fascinating world of magic and skepticism. Discover the key psychological principles that magicians use to astound their audiences, learn physics-based stunts that can be used to both educate and entertain, and go backstage with the psychics and uncover some of the tricks of paranormal trade. A hands-on and interactive session that takes a deep dive into deception, psychology, science, skepticism, and the paranormal.

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!).