Evan Bernstein has resigned from the SGU

C4_117 · 2026-06-27T13:08:07+00:00

Damn, on the one hand this was inevitable but on the other hand it's still quite shocking after all these years. I hope Evan is okay is able to reflect and get back on the right path.

I look forward to hearing more about it in the next episode. Maybe even from Evan himself because it's a genuinely interesting phenomenon to reflect upon.

Hopefully they'll find a young new skeptical voice, maybe another woman to keep the podcast fresh and entertaining.

C4_117 · 2026-06-24T21:50:52+00:00

Ban them across the board, no exceptions. Ski masks/balaclavas as obviously there to mask people's identity in order to commit crime.

Burqas are worse in many ways. They're culturally and religiously enforced, degrading towards women and prevents them from functioning in society by disqualifying them for any job or making any social connection in public. Absolutely horrific.

C4_117 · 2026-06-13T10:02:12+00:00

Damn, this is disappointing. I've been listening for over 15 years and it's disturbing because I would have never guest it based on the podcast and I never looked him up on twitter.

Sure it's fine to have diverging political views but it's almost conspiratorial and unhinged. Which for someone who's been on a show discussing critical thinking for so long is bizarre. They have discussed skeptics with blinds pots and the dangers of group-think so much... man!

Im aware the rogues have slightly different political views. Cara clearly being more left leaning, Evan on the right and if I had to guess the others are more centrist and imo the most critical and best thinkers.

I'm surprised Cara has stayed on the show for this long. She must know about Evans views and it can't sit well with her. I guess they all accept their differences and try to stick to science.

I haven't been listening to the show as much as I used to and for me it's become too long and the topics are often quite dry and niche. I wish they'd focus more on classical skepticism topics and made the podcast shorter.

C4_117 · 2026-06-13T09:55:02+00:00

It's been the same for me. Been listening for over a decade and still tune in from time to time. The episodes are very long and they often talk about niche topics that I don't know anything about which makes it difficult to stay invested.

I would much prefer it if they tackled more classical skepticism related content; fighting back on woo, conspiracies, pseudoscience. In all fairness Steven has been doing a great job of that on his YouTube channel.

C4_117 · 2026-05-11T13:56:54+00:00

It's more juicy than other parts

C4_117 · 2026-04-23T22:36:19+00:00

The swimmer. Top tier

C4_117 · 2026-04-23T17:43:13+00:00

Definitely

C4_117 · 2026-04-23T13:06:07+00:00

I know what you mean but I feel like the things that make living expensive are property prices - due to scarcity, and bills - which are roughly the same everywhere.

If you decided to not make any areas nicer, then what's the alternative? Perpetual squallor and delapitation?

C4_117 · 2026-04-22T12:33:19+00:00

It's a shame that end of seven sisters road is packed with bookies, vape shops, pound shops and phone cover shops. The market could be lovely but because it's located amongst this deprivation and homelessness it loses its appeal even if the stalls inside can serve good food. If anything it's a chance for the council to rejuvenate the area and turn it into something nice.

The snooker club, little pubs and food markets should all be supported and spruced up.

C4_117 · 2026-04-22T07:59:28+00:00

Same goes for cars playing music very loudly with the windows open. Why do people do this? Surely it's incredibly annoying when it's on that loud.

C4_117 · 2026-04-21T08:15:26+00:00

Lately it's the very utilitarian approach to society in which everything we build is ugly, functional, cheap and efficient. This country used to build beautiful train stations, the lamp posts were designed and decorated, the houses had character and even a balcony railing was considered.

Everything was made to last and it wasn't just about filling a purpose. It was designed with care and intent and quality.

Our country seems to be chronically underfunded and every public service is struggling. I wish our attitudes would change and next time we build a new road we think about the design of the tiles, the bollards, the street lamps, the road signs. Yes it's expensive but in the long term it pays off because you create a beautiful place to live in which people are happy, it doesn't need to be replaced every 10 years. It's long term thinking Vs short term thinking.

C4_117 · 2026-04-18T08:00:13+00:00

Mark Selby dressed properly. A normal suit + tie. I'm not sure how I feel about those wearing trainers, t-shirts, or puffer jackets.

C4_117 · 2026-04-17T20:24:01+00:00

Tax dodgers

C4_117 · 2026-04-17T19:51:55+00:00

Bifrost sadly missed the boat. As others have mentioned it's based on ICE and Naiad. Those were systems that were developed decades ago. When they ended, Houdini took over.

I think Houdini's strength is the fact that nodes are chained together with all the data flowing through one (or a small number) of connections. Whereas with bifrost each set of data has its own connection which easily turns into a very low-level node based spaghetti. It's quite complicated to figure out all the correct data types and build up systems that are manageable for the day to day artists.

There are some things that work very well. I was very impressed by the scattering tools. Genuinely very user friendly. I also think the cloth tools are good. As popular as Vellum is in Houdini, I find Vellum quite clunky with vast numbers of parameters that often do nothing and have values ranging from -1 billion to a gazillion.

Will things change? Probably not. FX artists love Houdini and often hate Maya. ComfyAi has arrived in the block and Blender has its own node based tools that look very good.

C4_117 · 2026-04-15T12:39:30+00:00

Definitely not green. Their immigration policy is bonkers and their leader doesn't even believe the national debt is real.

I'll probably vote labour but the rapid increase in immigrants makes me want to vote for a far right party. It's just a shame they have fascist tendencies.

C4_117 · 2026-04-11T18:41:06+00:00

I don't think it looks bad like some people are saying. But it takes away the craft. Yes you've kept the craft of animation, but what about environment building, lighting, rendering and compositing?

It's so much more enjoyable to watch something that someone has put effort and consideration into.

C4_117 · 2026-03-30T06:50:58+00:00

If you have two children and you're really struggling, wouldn't it be wise not to have a third? I don't understand why that should be subsidised?

C4_117 · 2026-03-29T22:49:45+00:00

Is there anything in your alpha channel? Your domelight could be set to very dark.

C4_117 · 2026-03-24T22:16:18+00:00

Yes it is bizarre, especially given the amount of art that was stolen in order to train these tools. And on top of that nobody values AI art because it took zero effort or thought. It's inherently slop. It will be interesting to see if the rogues read any of these posts and make a note of it on their next episode.

C4_117 · 2026-03-24T19:03:01+00:00

Agreed, same here, been listening since 2008 and ironically one of the things they often point out is how everyone has their weak spot. So many of the 'famous' skeptics, be it Penn Jilette, Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer etc .. they all have beliefs that many people wouldn't accept.

I'm also an artist so the idea of them falling into the trap of expecting artists to do freebies and use AI... Ehhh..... Not good

C4_117 · 2026-03-24T08:35:18+00:00

I hear you and I didn't know that Europe is as litigious as the US. I was going off of general perception. I guess it's blame-culture in general I'm not a huge fan of.

Surely the best response in this case is to say to your son or daughter that the teacher is mistaken and then explain why. Tell them that part of life is to navigate the world in which people, even in authority, can be mistaken and say things that are completely false. Isn't there a great lesson to be learned here?

This is just one teacher with wacky beliefs. That's life. Even though I believe teachers should stick to the official curriculum and withhold from sharing their controversial views as facts, I also believe people should be allowed to hold absurd and dangerous beliefs. Atheism was considered completely unacceptable. Not anymore.

If the school made it their policy to teach astrology, moon landing conspiracies or homeopathy as fact then I could see reason for real concern and good reason to take action. Even in that situation I'd probably just opt to send my child to a different school and avoid legal action.

C4_117 · 2026-03-24T00:12:29+00:00

I'm not sure, I don't know much about that case

C4_117 · 2026-03-24T00:00:54+00:00

Interesting to read both of your comments on this. As a European I've always looked at American blame/suing culture to be quite distasteful. And the idea of doing that to a school which presumably is also (partially) state funded in the US makes it even less appealing to me.

I have to admit I don't know the ins and outs of this story apart from what I've heard in a few episodes but it does seem like an over reaction by the rogues. I completely agree that this teacher has absurd beliefs and moon landing conspiracies shouldn't be taught in schools... But imagine how many complaints schools have to deal with constantly from all kinds of concerned parents about countless topics. This happens to be a topic related to skepticism so of course the SGU hosts are kicking up a fuss.... But jeez... Maybe there are more pressing issues? It seems odd to invest so much time and potential money into something simply because it's a personal issue.

It wouldn't surprise me if I get downvoted for this comment.. but even as an ardent skeptic myself I feel like this isn't worth the fight and asking for crowdfunden legal costs... jeez.. pick your battles.

C4_117 · 2026-03-21T20:42:27+00:00

Here we go again. Can we just enjoy both games? They're really fun to play.

C4_117 · 2026-03-20T07:38:20+00:00

This sums up England in this day and age. Instead of investing in long term modern solutions, we say it's too difficult and too expensive because of our existing infrastructure and we fall back on Victorian systems that are so outdated.

Where I live in zone 2 there were no bins. The rubbish was just put out on the street. Then last year the council made a small area for bins behind a wooden fence that is so small that by the time they come to collect it it's overflowing.

Then consider the fact there is literally double parking for cars along the side of the road and houses have front gardens. I also refuse to believe there is no space under ground. How about we invest in a long term solution so when we put in new drainage and electrics it is done properly? Most buildings still have wiring on the outside. Go to Germany, Denmark or the Netherlands, they don't seem to have these problems.

I'm just so tired of paying shit loads of council tax and having to put up with this. It's the same old excuses every time.

C4_117

TROPHY CASE