This is the podcast version of the Skeptics in the Pub Online live-streamed talks. We take the audio and give it to you in a nice easy podcast feed for you to listen at your pleasure. All of the talks are still available on our YouTube channel if you want to see any visuals/slides/etc. We will release the live shows as we do them on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month and on weeks when there isn't a live show, we will release an episode from the archive.
Skepticamp 2025 — Talk 01 — Suspicious Minds: The Predictable Irrationality of The Traitors — Jim Cliff
This audio is a part of the Skepticamp 2025, that happened in front of a live audience on October 24th 2025 in Mercure Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester and was live streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/sitp/
About the talk:
With stressful competition and very little actual evidence to go on, TV smash hit The Traitors is a masterclass of flawed reasoning and leaps of logic. In this talk, Jim will look at some of the shakiest arguments contestants across the world rely on when hunting traitors, to see if we can learn from their mistakes.
About the speaker:
Jim is one of the hosts of the Fallacious Trump podcast, where he and co-host Mark Levermore explain logical fallacies using examples from Trump (as well as pop culture and UK politics)
The music used in this episode is by Thula Borah and is used with permission.
2 Nov 2025
It’s (not) all in your head – Dr Anna Fieldwalker
Chronic pain affects over 40% of the UK population, including around 18% of adolescents, with up to 6% of young people experiencing severe chronic pain. Despite its high prevalence, understanding and education around chronic pain remain limited. Long-term pain is strongly linked to reduced quality of life, increased healthcare use, and poorer long-term physical and psychological outcomes. In young people especially, chronic pain can disrupt school, social development, and emotional wellbeing. Yet, awareness and support remain lacking in both clinical and everyday settings. This talk aims to provide a clear overview of what chronic pain is, explore key risk factors that contribute to its development and persistence, and discuss current approaches to treatment and management. We’ll also touch on emerging strategies and the importance of early intervention. In short, we’ll explore why chronic pain sucks so much - and what the heck we’re trying to do about it.
Anna Fieldwalker (she/her) is a postdoc research associate at Great Ormond Street Hospital, working on a new pain management programme for young people with all kinds of chronic pain. Her background is in psychology, with a keen interest in pain, VR, music, videogames, and swearing at computer screens.
The music used in this episode is by Thula Borah and is used with permission.
3 Aug 2025
The Shawl of Suspicion: Why we still don’t know the identity of Jack the Ripper – Mike Hall
Jack the Ripper is one of the most well-known serial killers in history, with stories of his gruesome exploits permeating popular culture to an unprecedented degree. Despite almost 150 years having passed since the appalling Whitechapel murders, we are still none the wiser about who he was, what drove his terrible crimes, or why they suddenly stopped. But could that be about to change? At the start of 2025, several news outlets reported that the identity of Jack the Ripper had been finally confirmed, using astonishing DNA evidence. But is it all really as it appears? Should we just learn to let Jack the Ripper go?
Mike Hall is a web developer and Doctor Who fan (not in that order). He is a founding member of the Merseyside Skeptics Society, where he currently serves as secretary and treasurer. Since 2009 he has been producing and presenting the popular skeptical podcast Skeptics with a K, the longest running skeptical podcast in the UK. He is also on the organising team for QED, the UK's premier skeptical conference, which is now in its final year.
The music used in this episode is by Thula Borah and is used with permission.
Who has been a guest on Skeptics in the Pub Online Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Cass Peters
Dr Rebecca Wismeg Kammerlander
Daniel Buvarp
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
88,084
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
4.3 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 59 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
70
Social presence
0
YouTube
85
Engagement
32
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