Skepticism

Marian Call & More at CONvergence!

There’s less than a month until we’ll all be hanging out in Minneapolis at SkepchickCon, our annual schedule of panels at CONvergence. We’ve just learned that Marian Call will now be in attendance to play a live show! Plus, we’re thrilled to host Boing Boing’s Maggie Koerth-Baker and science advocate Shawn Otto, both of whom will be signing books on Friday at 5pm. We’ll also have friends like Desiree Schell, Freethought Bloggers PZ Myers, Greg Laden, Stephanie Zvan, and a whole mess of Skepchicks, Teen Skepchicks, and Mad Art Lab contributors.

This year, we’re in a larger room than before because we’re just so damned popular. Here’s a look at what’s going on in our track room (“Bloomington”) – note that not everything in that room is a SkepchickCon panel but we’ll probably all want to stick around for things like Toy Customization because frankly that sounds like a lot of fun. Here are just a few of our panels:

Skepchicks Save the Day AND Your Money!
Heina Dadabhoy, Maria Walters, Ashley Hamer, Amy Davis Roth, Rebecca Watson
3:30pm Thursday
Just a good ol’ fashioned round of excoriating BS products that are aimed at women. I may use this as another excuse to rant about douche for a bit. Maybe.

Who Will Save the Polar Bears?
John Abraham, Maggie Koerth Baker, Greg Laden, Shawn Otto, Paul Douglas
3:30pm Friday
and
The Chilling Effect of Climate Change Denialism
Greg Laden, Maggie Koerth Baker, Don Shelby, Shawn Otto, John Abraham
12:30pm Saturday
Last year, our climate change panel filled up the room and it took place at like 6 am. So this year, you should probably arrive early to get a spot at both of these.

The Science of Evolution
Greg Laden, Bug Girl, Matt Kuchta, PZ Myers
3:30pm Saturday
Another hot topic. Maybe we’ll get a creationist or two in the audience!

Invisible Superheroes
Laura Okagaki, Rebecca Watson, PZ Myers
9:30am Sunday
We’re going to talk about our favorite women who made great contributions to the sciences but who don’t get their due.

And many more!

Plus, as always you’ll be able to join us in the Skepchick party room (number 227, same as previous years!) Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights where we’ll be mixing up delicious drinks (yes, the Buzzed Aldrin will be there, don’t worry) and staying up all night talking science and skepticism to any hapless soul who wanders in. Freethought Blogs will also have an adjoining party room in 228, so we expect this to be a truly epic weekend.

So pick up your ticket today! All you need is a badge for CONvergence – the SkepchickCon panels and party room are all free, thanks to the generous donations of our awesome readers.

And thanks to the folks at CONvergence plus our own Kammy Lyon, SkepchickCon even has a shiny new anti-harassment policy. Check it out!

It’s going to be an awesome event. I can’t wait to see you all there!

Featured image of Marian Call by Brian Adams.

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

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6 Comments

  1. I live in Bloomington (which is where the hotel actually is, but I suppose you can keep pretending it’s in Minneapolis), and I can’t decide if I should go to SkepchickCon or not. To go or not to go?

  2. Do PZ and Greg know they are on a panel with a real life pseudoscientist to discuss the evidence of alien influence on ancient society? The panelist is part of a group that will be promoting a pseudoscience conference taking place in Minnesota in October.

    Can we have a cosplayer present to say things like ‘Hulk smash puny argument’ whenever the words ‘unexplained’ ‘could it be’, or ‘the bible says’ come up? Or maybe someone could develop a drinking game.

    In case you think you won’t be annoyed, here is what George Noory had to say about one of his books: “Carl Sagan once spoke of the need to balance the scientific method with pure, unadulterated wonder. Scott Alan Roberts picks up that mantle by examining the Nephilim, the hybrid offspring of the intercourse between human women and ancient extraterrestrials.”

    1. Are you referring to the Ancient Alien Debate on Saturday at 5:00? If you are then yes, PZ and Greg know what they’re getting into. As far as I understand it, the Ancient Alien guy asked for a debate. CON organizers contacted me to see if any of our people would be interested. Greg and PZ jumped at the chance. Desiree is there to moderate. I anticipate a very lively and interesting discussion. :)

      1. Wow, didn’t know about the Ancient Alien debate, going to have to see if I can get to that one too now…too many things to do!!

        My only issue (and tiny one it is) is that the party rooms start so late. My wife and I will be there with our son, and with our standard work week wake-up time being 4:30am, I’m not sure how many nights we’ll be there that late…but I’ll for sure try to be there. Probably won’t partake in the Buzzed Aldrin’s due to the drive home each night, but we’ll see.

        It’s an awesome event and I’ve been so happy to see the skeptic track develop over the last few years. Here’s to hoping this keeps going on for the foreseeable future :)

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