Book Review: "Counterknowledge"

"Counterknowledge" is a portmanteau created by Damian Thompson to describe the mass of misinformation and disinformation being propagated by quack doctors, conspiracy theorists, pseudoscientists and pseudohistorians in the modern age. As the name suggests counterknowledge is the enemy of knowledge; whereas as one is drawn from research, experience and logic, the other comes from the imagination, superstition and irrational thinking. Thompson's book reveals how the blatant disregard for empirical facts and lack of rational thought seems to becoming ever more fashionable. Once the stuff of fringe "thinkers", urban mythmakers, New Age adherents, self-styled mystics and the paranoid, now counterknowledge is seeping into the mainstream and gaining ill-deserved respectability.

Pseudoscience has skipped the robust peer reviews and clinical testing that science has to endure. Now completely unscientific methods like homeopathy have found their way onto the NHS and being paid for by taxpayer's money. Aromatherapy has no basis whatsoever in modern science and its benefits have never been properly measured under controlled scientific conditions, and yet it has found its way into nearly every health spa, beauty treatment clinic or mainstream bubble bath company in the developed world. On the other side of the coin we have similar irrational thinking supporting conspiracy theories that scare people into staying away from modern medical procedures. Despite the huge weight of evidence of tremendous benefits incurred by vaccinations over the past two centuries, a wave of counterknowledge has prompted a reasonable percentage of parents from not allowing their children to take the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) jab.

The subject of conspiracy theories haunts "Counterknowledge" as it rightfully argues that they are the most popular form of pseudohistory being propagated. The book appropriately begins at a dinner party where a politician begins discussing his view that the 9/11 attacks were all part of a US government conspiracy. For a brief moment it seems that the politician's audience have become captivated by this theory. However, and to the author's relief, a rational thinker is present who is able to argue the ridiculous implausibility of a scheme. Science doesn't support any of the theories put forward for the destruction of the towers by conspiracy theories, especially not the controlled demolition one supported by the so-called "Truth" movement. As Thompson points out the Bush Administration certainly had its critics and enemies at the dinner, but few of them could shift their thinking from the president being incompetent or just plain wrong to being something resembled a James Bond villain!

Conspiracy theories are rife in our society and the flames of this weird way of looking at the world were appropriately fanned by a historically inaccurate work of fiction in 2003. Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" takes the thoroughly debunked research of pseudohistory, "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail", and creates a thriller comprising of secret societies, hidden messages in works of art and a hidden truth that the heart of Christianity. Thompson rightfully puts the real history of HBHG and subsequently "The Da Vinci Code", which has its fictional story prefaced with a "fact" about "The Priory of Sion". He leads us, as Tony Robinson did in his documentary "The Real Da Vinci Code" and David Aaronovitch did in "Voodoo Histories", back to a work of alternative history created by Gérard de Sède, with the collaboration of the draughtsman Pierre Plantard in the 1940s to '60s. "The Priory of Sion" has been proven and even admitted by its creators to be a hoax created in around 1956, not the "real organization" of 1099 that Dan Brown claims in his novel's "factual" preface.

Thompson links in another important principle found in Dan Brown's book to the thinking behind counterknowledge. He demonstrates this in Brown's hero, the renegade professor Robert Langdon whose method for studying history involves making giant leaps to connect various events even when there is no sufficient date to support these claims. Such an approach is, of course, very much in line with the conspiracy theorist, but it is also in line with the methods of the hyperdiffusionist. And it is the area of hyperdiffusionism that Thompson should be most applauded in drawing attention to. This is the belief that a superior civilization is really responsible for the creation of the architecture and society of other previously thought to be indigenous civilizations across the globe. One example of hyperdiffusionism is the theory that the Chinese discovered the Americas and brought civilisation to them. This, Thompson argues is another growing form of pseudohistory and it is becoming more and more prevalent in the mainstream.

Thompson argues that there are a lot of reasons for the emergence of counterknowledge, but sees a lot of it stemming from the rise of postmodernism. It's something I had never considered before, but having now read Richard J. Evans's excellent 1997 book "In Defence of History" I can see where he is coming from. Much of the propagation of counterknowledge comes from celebrities and postmodernists. However, it has also become the unforeseen by-product of political correctness. Thompson rightfully points out how religious freedom and tolerance has allowed the teaching of creationism in some schools and the right for students not to attend classes that teach evolutionary theory on the basis of their religious beliefs. Thompson himself is a Catholic, the editor of a Catholic newspaper for that matter, but this is never something that he puts into his arguments. However, he does feel that whilst many sceptics spend most of their time combating fundamentalist Christians on Creationist theory, confronting Muslims on the issue is almost a taboo subject. This is in spite of the huge number of Muslims who do not accept evolutionary theory.

As can be imagined, "Counterknowledge" is a controversial book, even though if you break down its areas of study shouldn't really be controversial. After all, he is not the one arguing against mainstream science, history and logic as we know it. However, his critics range from obvious opponents who support the areas he attacks to even those who should be in his field. Many of the obvious opponents, particularly the conspiracy theorists who are still convinced by HBHG, often hit the author with the ad hominen argument of his Catholic faith. As previously stated, this doesn't even come into the book, although Thompson is quite vocal about his criticism of stances taken by the Vatican on creationism. Those on his side too, who have large numbers of atheists and agnostics, can also feel uncomfortable about this fact. I see it as rather refreshing. In this time where creationism has become such a loud talking point, it is worth remembering that not only did a large number of Anglicans support Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, but that the Catholic Church's current stance acknowledges it as do most rational Christians, including the Church of England.

Another common criticism from fellow sceptics comes the fact that book is quite brief, despite covering quite a variety of topics. In this respect they are annoyed it doesn't delve deep enough. I don't see this as a handicap. There are plenty of weighty books written by the likes of Michael Shermer, Richard Dawkins, Richard Wiseman, Ben Goldacre, Christopher Hitchens and so on discussing pseudoscience and mysticism, often more in the form of collected essays rather than chaptered books. If you want to go down the historical avenues you can look do no better than David Aaronovitch's book on conspiracy theories, "Voodoo Histories", or Kathryn Olmsted's "Real Enemies" or if you want to go deeper still into the roots of the postmodern problem, Richard J Evans's "In Defence of History" is a fantastic if fairly academic read. So, there is room for a lighter introductory book. What I like about it is that unlike most of the rational sceptical books I enjoy, is it leans more towards history than science and helps to give a broader view of what is happening in our society today. Its delivery makes for a very readable insight into the nonsense thinking that is creeping into our education systems, local bookstores and even at government level.

Damian Thompson's work is the perfect bait to hook the person in the street who might have half believed conspiracy theories and pseudoscience. "Counterknowledge" gives readers some straightforward and effective tools to help them lean towards rational critical thinking, science, historical theory, reason and logic.

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Don't forget to check out Jamie Clubb's main blog www.jamieclubb.blogspot.com

Child Writers Beware!

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“You are turning me into a sceptic” my wife said waving a mock accusation finger at me. As a mobile nail technician my wife comes back with a whole of host stories from her various colour clients and I just knew this was the start of just such an anecdote. Without elaborating I understood what sort of episode had occurred. A naïve person had just been told the truth about something they had invested a large degree of belief in and my wife now wondered whether or not it had been worth commenting in the first place. In the sceptical world this is called debunking. It is more popularly known as “pissing on someone’s strawberries”.

The woman looked at my wife with a beaming smile on her face. Being a mother, my wife knew that look all too well. It’s that smile that says pride like no other. A pride reserved for one’s child. “My daughter is having her short story published!” the woman announced. “Congratulations” my wife commented, as you would, and waited to hear how this came about. Apparently the young girl, aged 11, had entered a competition through her school to have her short story published in a book of collected stories. It would appear this woman’s daughter was a young girl of rare talent. But before we assign her to the ranks of child author stardom alongside Dorothy Straight, Anne Frank, David Klein and Susan Eloise Hinton, there is more to the story. My wife does not mince her words. “Are they are asking you and other parents to buy this book?” she said. Wishing to demonstrate the proof of her offspring’s literary success the woman pulled out the letter that revealed this exciting news. It was a letter she hadn’t read very well.

It all seemed good. Too good! My wife is the long suffering spouse to a writer, so she has had to read the type of letters writers receive from people who agree to publish. Rarely are prospective publishers who have agreed to take a gamble on paying for the printing and production of your unproven work reveal their joy in the acceptance letter. The letter is usually business-like and straight to the point. This wasn’t one of those letters. This was a letter that began with the great news that her daughter had been “chosen” to appear in the book and then ended with an order form. This was a letter that now wanted this woman to pay almost £15 per copy of a book that contained all the “chosen” children’s stories. My wife put the obvious rhetorical question, “I don’t mean to rain on your parade but don’t you think that this has gone out to all the parents of all the children who entered this ‘competition’”.

The initial reaction to this new development was anger. It is a typical response to anyone who has invested belief in something they so desperately want to believe and then been shown a convincing argument that throws serious doubt over said belief. Involve a person’s child and that belief can be strong. Denial is an also a common defence mechanism especially if the argument reveals that the believer has been duped in some way. My wife didn’t push the issue, being a mother herself she could empathize with the raw maternal feelings present at the time.

Vanity publishing comes in many forms. It can prey on the desperate new writer and in this time where fame has become a type of currency, the temptation to pay in order to get your name on the front of a dust jacket is more alluring than ever. There is a very legitimate way to pay for your work to get into print and some very reputable publish on demand (POD) services provide this. I know a good number of great authors, such as Geoff Thompson and Heather Vallance, who have found self-publishing to be a much more profitable avenue for their books than the traditional method. It is also worth noting that even the great epic poet, John Milton, self-published. It is debated that the lines between vanity publishing and other self-publishing services have blurred since digital media and the emergence of the internet. However, the distinction remains that vanity press derive all their profits from having writers pay for their work to be printed and have no real vested or direct interest in the authors being able to sell.

What is particularly disreputable about the type of vanity publishing described in this article is that not only is it targeted at parents via their children, but that it is not really very honest. It doesn’t seem to present much of a competition in the first place and worse still the “prize” is for the parent to pay for a book that includes their child’s work alongside countless others. Actually it probably would have cost far less to have the short story self-published by a reputable POD like Lulu.com. Unfortunately I do not have the name of this particular group, although “Young Writers” appear to offer a similar service and charge the same amount for their poetry competition books. There is a strong rebuttal offered in a comment to a reviewer on Dooyoo.com http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/services-misc/young-writers/1320735/

The next time my wife saw her client a rational cooling off period had done the woman some good. Rather than going deep into denial she saw reason. She went to her daughter’s school to investigate a little further. She spoke to her daughter’s teacher about this “competition”. The teacher was delighted to announce that all of her students had got their work into the book. Hey, what are the chances! Now who do you think might have been on a commission there?

Don't forget to check out Jamie Clubb's main blog www.jamieclubb.blogspot.com

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The Woman Writer

I have recently been in contact with Sylvia Kent, a brilliant and enthusiastic journalist who sometimes writes on the Rosaire circus family, hence our connection. However, I was recently fascinated to read about her new book "The Woman Writer: The History of the Society Women Writers and Journalists". At the risk of sounding patronizing, I find the history of women's writing an interesting and inspirational focus of study. I was drawn to the life and works of Mary Wollstonecraft through her daughter, Mary Shelley, and honoured her in my 2009 anniversaries article. Wollstonecraft is often considered to be the prototypical feminist, although I think she was far more than that. She was a philosopher, writer and intellectual working in a field that was more than dominated by males, it was a domain made virtually impossible for women to access in Wollstonecraft's time and for almost a century after her death. We tend to forget that her daughter, the Brontes, Jane Austen, Beatrix Potter and so on were the exceptions to the rule of their time. They came from more or less privileged backgrounds and had to have exceptional talent and driving force, not to mention useful contacts, to get their heads above the parapet and their work out there. Widespread literacy is a relatively new thing anyway and it was even rarer with women up until the 20th century. Women authors in the 19th century nearly always adopted male pseudonyms. Whenever I bemoan how hard it is to get a work published or, harder still, to get paid, I am often reminded that my sex has had it relatively easy when it comes to selling the craft!

The Woman Writer

The History of The Society of Women

Writers & Journalists

Author Sylvia Kent

Published 1 December 2009 at £12.99, paperback original ISBN-10 9780752451596

An account of Britain’s oldest writing society dedicated to women’s writing through its 116-year existence

· The first in-depth history of the Society of Women Writers & Journalists.

· Published to commemorate the centenary in 2010 of former president Joyce Grenfell’s birth.

· Sylvia Kent explores the lives of some of the Society’s most famous members. Illustrated with over 100 photographs.

Over a century old and still thriving. The Society of Women Writers & Journalists has just published its history which reads like a “Who’s Who” of notable women from the twentieth Century. Although the SWWJ was created for women, the concept was the brainchild of a man – a clever, enterprising newspaperman – Mr Joseph Snell Wood. Given the small number of women in journalism at the time, almost every practising woman journalist must have applied for membership.

Since its creation on 1 May 1894, the Society has attracted the company of many of the world’s most famous women writers, journalists, poets, playwrights and associated creative people involved in the wider world of literature, film, music, theatre and entertainment. Author, Sylvia Kent, delved deeply into the Society’s archives and has produced fascinating cameos of its famous members: great names of Victorian media and later are included, such as Lady Sarah Wilson who reported from Mafeking on the Boer War, Alice Meynell, who almost became the first female Poet Laureate; American playwright, Pearl Craigie our first president; Agnes Elsie Thorpe, big game hunter; Marie Stopes who campaigned for birth control; Radclyffe Hall whose book on lesbianism was banned in the UK in the 1920s though it was exceedingly popular in the USA; Constance Smedley, founder of International Lyceum Clubs, Clemence Dane actor and playwright. Latterly, the Society welcomed Elizabeth Longford, well known biographer; Nina Bawden, famous for “Carrie’s War”; Jacqueline Wilson recent Children’s Laureate, and our current Life President, Baroness Williams of Crosby.

Information on the early days of many magazines and societies makes fascinating reading. Included are: The Gentlewoman, The Lady, The Stage, Good Housekeeping amongst the periodicals and the BBC, International Lyceum Clubs, the London Press Club, the New Cavendish Club, PEN, the RNA, the Society of Authors, Swanwick Summer School, the Women’s Press Club and the Stationers’ Livery Company all had connections.

Sylvia Kent is a columnist working for Newsquest and a freelance writer. She is Archivist/Press Officer for the SWWJ, vice-president of Brentwood Writers’ Circle and a Patron of the Essex Book Festival 2009/10. This is Sylvia’s seventh book, published whilst supporting other writers, particularly in the field of local history. She is a Trustee at the Cater Museum, Billericay.

Available from all good bookshops, Amazon and The History Press.

Direct sales – telephone 01235 465577 or www.thehistorypress.co.uk

For information about talks or interviews, please contact

Kerry Green at The History Press on 01453 732 512 or via www.sylviakent.blogspot.com

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Icon Series: Indelible Marx - Groucho Marx

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“Here’s to our wives and girlfriends – may they never meet!”

Julius Henry Marx, most famously known as Groucho Marx, is perhaps the wittiest comedy actor I have ever had the pleasure of hearing or watching. His fast-wit skill, along with his other talents, was perfected with his four brothers, Chico, Harpo, Gummo and Zeppo, through the hard graft of the Vaudeville stage and then brought to big screen with the advent of "talkies" and finally ending with a hugely successful game show.

“I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception”

I first got into the humour, caricature and icon of Groucho Marx when I was 17 years old. That was some four decades after Groucho’s golden age in films. In fact, I was only 13 months old when this wondrous comedy icon passed away. It was winter of 1993 and my father had won a couple of industry awards for his work with animals in films and one of the prizes was a coffee table book on the history of films. I was drawn to this light reading and enjoyed looking up the various icons I had become interested in over the years. When it came to comedy, Groucho Marx was the only one of famous siblings mentioned. The photo showed him wooing his regular straight foil in the movies, the great Margaret Dumont. I read the short bio with interest, particularly noticing the witty quotes that were all attributed to this comic legend. I mentioned him to my business studies tutor just off hand and she immediately confessed to being a fan of the Marx Brothers, telling me more about the rest of the gang. I was about to see them all for myself before the year was out.

Icon Series: Elizabeth Bathory Revisited?

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Elizabeth Bathory, “The Blood Countess”, is often accepted in the mainstream, without question, as one of the world’s most prolific and sadistic serial killers. A 16^th and 17^th century Hungarian noblewoman, Bathory is often compared to Vlad “Dracula” Tepes, Gille de Rais and Tamerlane the Great. Women are rarely linked to recreational or sexually motivated crimes. There have been very few accepted female serial killers or, more specifically, recreational murderers, and those who have been recorded as such are often hotly debated as not fulfilling the criteria. Bathory, however, seems to tick all the boxes and her position as an almost all-powerful aristocrat who had the legal powers of life and death over many helps forward many of today’s theories on modern serial killers.

My Favourite Podcasts

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I would be very interested to read a decent argument against the concept of podcasts. Free entertainment and free education readily accessible to anyone who has a computer and internet access has got to be a good thing. I grew up on a travelling circus, so we were often on the move and my wonderful mother could not always read to me, so audio books became a substitute. As a writer, I take on reading like a type of training. Unfortunately my hectic, time-consuming and demanding schedule can make getting the volume I need to get in very difficult at times. However, taking Stephen King's advice I use the audio book, which I can listen to on my lengthy car journeys and when my eyes are too tired at night to make up the extra hours. The podcast can be a recording of a radio programme or an audio book or can be uniquely created for the purposes of being downloaded. Some are even visual as well as audio, but this doesn't suit me. If I can watch it I might as well read it. You simply get a free account with iTunes or another "proprietary digital media player application" and search and download your chosen podcasts from there.

I have varied interests and I subscribe to numerous podcasts, too many to justify listing in this review. Below is a list of my absolute favourites, but there are many other very good ones. I admit to having a bias for a lot of BBC work, but this is only because Radio 4 provides such well produced programmes.

History Podcasts

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History

You don't get nor do you need a better produced programme than this. Dan Carlin and his team take a lot of time and care with these podcasts that focus on a wide range of historical subjects, sometimes forming a series. The research is great and it is good solid history not sensationalism, in fact, Carlin even addressed pseudohistory in an early episode. However, the real appeal is Carlin's own reflections and idiosyncrasy, something I liked in the great crime historian, Martin Fido. Carlin speaks with a theatrical intensity, which marks him out as a storyteller and there are understated sound effects in the background that adds to the experience. At present there are three different formats. The main ones are lengthy pieces on particular subjects in history such as the Punic Wars or the Battle of the Eastern Front. Then there are the Blitz editions, shorter more general pieces, which Carlin created in response to listeners moaning about there being too long a wait between podcasts. And then from time to time Carlin interviews his favourite historians. This is a great podcast that is always worth the wait and is understandably one of the most popular of its kind in the world.

In Our Time

This is Melvyn Bragg's academic weekly series on history. The series accepts at least a peripheral understanding of the subject matter, as Bragg interviews a board of very erudite academics. It's still a great listen and brings up fascinating details, as well as debates on certain areas of history. Bragg is a highly experienced chair on such discussions and does a great job of keeping everything together as passionate academics are often wont to tangent off on their favourite area of study. Like all Radio 4 podcasts the programme has superb sound quality and does not contain any musical accompaniment.

BBC History Magazine

This is BBC History Magazine's twice weekly podcast and a great promotional tool for the UK's most popular history magazine. However, it is far more than a marketing gimmick or at least it has evolved from that status. Now it clearly has a life of its own and the style takes its lead from TV programmes. Reporters visit various locations and interview all writers to each issue. I can't tell you how many great books I have bought because of this great podcast. This podcast uses Mozart as its signature tune.

The History of Rome

Mike Duncan is sometimes considered to be up there with Dan Carlin as far as quality history broadcasting is concerned. His podcast is also a very professional and fascinating programme. From the earliest records of the Roman Empire, Duncan takes us throughout its fascinating history. He does bring up various theories on certain eras and, like Carlin, he follows empirical evidence in his account of historical events, however, I would like to see a bit more scepticism from him. For example, there is some compelling and not to mention commonsensical arguments in the mainstream concerning whether the emperor Caligula really was a complete raving lunatic. Tony Robinson brought this interesting idea up in his series on the Romans. Having said this, Duncan is much fairer with Domitian an emperor loathed by the senate who tried to paint him in the same light as Caligula and Nero, but actually probably did a reasonable job. This podcast is generally weekly and has its own short gentle signature tune.

Historyzine

Since its start this podcast seems to be preoccupied with the War of the Spanish Succession, which it has serialized now for over a year. However, there are other areas also covered in every episode that seem to promise other subjects being possibly on the agenda. Every episode has a bit of trivia on the history and origin of a word used in the English language. Also, every episode contains a very balanced review of another history podcast, which has been very helpful. Each episode contains a different introduction tune, which is always a piece of classical music.


Literature

Librivox

Librivox gives you the opportunity to download a huge and fast-growing library of classic titles. Anything that has fallen into the public domain is fair game to this impressive group. This means you have free access to a vast range of titles in the English language. You can either download the full unabridged book in its entirety in one go or get an episode every time you go onto iTunes like any other podcast. I have downloaded works by Mark Twain, Ayn Rand, Rudyard Kipling, Mary Shelley, George Orwell,
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edward Gibbon, Hans Christian Anderson, Oscar Wilde, Aesop, Bram Stoker and many others. There is, of course, a drawback. Librivox is supported solely by volunteers, amateurs who read and record chapters of the books. This means that every single chapter begins with a short introduction advertising Librivox and the person reading the piece. The sound quality is generally quite good, but the reader's abilities to read out loud vary tremendously. Some do a fine a job, but there are others who are not so clear or have difficulty putting much energy or personality into the task. Also, some books seem to have been read by a voice synthesizer for some very strange reason and are best avoided. As you can expect production values are pretty basic, but this hasn't stopped me from enjoying listening to some of the greatest books and stories ever written.

Pseudopod

This is a superbly produced weekly horror podcast. After an informative introduction, detailing background information on this week's author, the reader for the week reads a professional short story from the horror genre. The stories are always adult in content and it is a real treat to get access to so many different works not in the public domain. Each episode is then finished with an entertaining sign-off, discussing the subject of the story or other related works. Occasionally, but rarely there is a review Pseudopod has its own creepy industrial sounding signature tune, which is pretty cool.

World Book Club

I am not quite sure how regular this podcast is as it seems to download as and when. However, it is a very professional programme focusing on one author each episode. The author is invited to read excerpts from his or her most famous or latest book and then to answer questions from the studio audience or from emails and telephone calls from around the world. It is a great premise and a huge variety of authors have been on the show, covering a very broad range of genres from Michael Bond (creator of Paddington) to Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose) to Lionel Shriver. If you love literature then this programme is a must for you.

Scepticism

Skeptoid

Brian Dunning's no frills but extremely informative programme on single sceptical issues. This is a very consistent weekly science podcast, focusing on debunking myths, urban legends, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience and other weird phenomena. Dunning sees himself as the Al Gore of sceptics, but I think he does himself a disservice. He has a very frank and direct approach to public speaking, not without warmth and certainly not without humour. He is also clearly very interested in education and dedicates special episodes to answering questions posted specifically by students. He also has his own live educational show, designed to promote science and his website is extremely interactive with a forum and places to post up comments on individual shows. No stranger to controversy Dunning dedicates regular shows to addressing his critics too. Another divergent type of episode is also one where he addresses any mistakes he may have made, promoting the importance of critical thinking. However, the main shows are all about single extraordinary topics where scepticism can be applied. I subscribe to all the main sceptic programmes, but Skeptoid is nearly always the one I listen to first. This is mainly due to its short and sharp approach, giving the facts in an entertaining way and generally focusing on a single issue.

Little Atoms

Little Atoms is a British sceptical podcast. It takes its lead from the Enlightenment, focusing on science and rationalism. The format is solely interviews and is comparable to the American "broadsheet" type podcast, Point of Inquiry, which is also worth listening to. What I like mainly about Little Atoms is the focus on ideas. It is not scared to move away from the negative side of scepticism and look at the exciting ideas that are coming out of the ever progressing world of science. Furthermore, it expands its field in history, my main area of interest, and social studies. Conspiracy theories also get a regular debunking too. Interviewees have included Alan Moore (graphic novel author of "From Hell", "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", "Watchmen" and so on) and Michael Shermer ("Why People Believe Weird Things").

The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe (SGU)

This is the New England Skeptic Society's rather lengthy yet regular podcast containing a panel of scientific sceptics. The show includes guest interviewees and focuses mainly on current topics in the media. On a scale of seriousness in the sceptical world I would put Point of Inquiry at the top (it's a bit like "The Times" of sceptical podcasts) and The Good Atheist at the bottom (this is a much more fun orientated sceptical podcast), and the SGU comes somewhere in the middle. It has the right balance of humour and serious science. It also takes account of the length of its programmes and has addressed this by producing a great companion podcast called the SGU 5 x 5. This is a five minute podcast with a panel of five sceptics addressing a single subject such as homeopathy or logical fallacies.

Martial Arts

I couldn't write a review on my favourite podcasts without mentioning podcasts on my very dear friends Geoff Thompson and Iain Abernethy.

Geoff Thompson

Richard Barnes interview Geoff Thompson every week on his weekly article. Geoff made his name through promoting realistic self defence concepts and was quite a controversial and inspirational figure in the martial arts. He certainly inspired me to change my training methods. However, after writing many books on this topic Geoff moved more into motivational work, screenplay and stage play writing. His movie "Clubbed" came out in 2009 and his short film "Brown Paper Bag" won a BAFTA. His articles nowadays are generally self-reflective philosophical works, what he calls "journey notes", and provide the general focus of his discussions with Richard Barnes. However, since the podcasts inception a lot more has been added to the show. Emails and letters are answered and discussed all with a lot of anarchic humour. Richard Barnes, a former radio DJ, adds in a lot of regular running gags, making the whole show a peculiar yet entertaining hybrid.

Iain Abernethy

Iain Abernethy is at the forefront of the UK's pragmatic traditional martial arts revolution. A keen and thorough knowledge of history along with a determined practical attitude have helped Iain become one of Europe's most sought after martial arts coaches. Iain's podcasts also focus on articles he has written for his blog and as time has gone on have become more controversial. His podcast is always well plotted out with a strong and thorough argument made.

Comedy

Ricky Gervais

This is a bit of a shameless promotion of Ricky Gervais's audio books. I say audio books, when really they are "discussion" Ricky and his fellow writer, Stephen Merchant, have with Karl Pilkinton. I say discussions they are more like bullying sessions. I have been a fan of Ricky Gervais's work since The Office and I nearly always find him entertaining. So, yes, these are generally just promotional excerpts and Ricky telling us, with intended post-irony, how free the podcast is wears a little thin after a while, but they are still very funny.

BBC Friday Night Comedy

This is the Friday series of comedy programmes on Radio 4. Sometimes it is the "News Quiz" with Sandi Toksvig and sometimes it is the "Now Show" with Punt and Dennis. Both are satirical and both contain some great comedians. So, if you like "Mock the Week" and "Have I Got News for You" then you will probably enjoy this weekly podcast.


Miscellaneous

Thinking Allowed

Sociology professor Laurie Taylor presents this weekly Radio programme. There are often two topics per show although special shows have completely focused on a single topic over multiple episodes. Taylor has a wonderful gentle style, often introducing a topic with reflections from his own life. Subjects almost always centre on a new academic book or a new social science paper, where Taylor interviews the book or paper's writer. Letters and emails are also read out to regarding an issue covered in the previous episode, usually providing additional information or corrections. Subjects go across the whole spectrum of sociology, stretching into criminology (a personal interest of mine) and sometimes even neurology.

Start of the Week

Andrew Marr's Monday morning programme for Radio 4, where he leads an overlapping series of interviews-cum-discussions on a newly released book, film or TV series. Marr attempts a tenuous theme, interviewing each author/creator in turn, but allowing questions and comments from the other interviewees. It makes for an interesting listening experience, as interesting links are found between otherwise quite different pieces of work or media.

Stephen Fry's Podgrams

I don't whether Stephen Fry is choosing to continue with his podcasts, but it is a shame if he has finished. Still available for subscription or downloads, Stephen decided on an interesting format. One episode would be a carefully considered and plotted out topic of his choice and the next one would be a more off-cuff style ramble. It worked for a while with the hugely intelligent and interesting celebrity providing a lot of fascinating information before launching into a truly hilarious tirade against some pet hate or another. Definitely worth a listen.

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My 10 Misunderstood Movies

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It is a little difficult to title this list. I thought about calling it "Ten Most Challenging Movies", but this is not really true. The Woodsman and Casualties of War are perhaps the only really challenging films listed here as far as I am concerned. I have settled for "Misunderstood" because of the way I have witnessed either the general public or the general consensus of critics go in their reception of a particular film. I am also quite prepared to take an objective and self-depreciating step back, and consider that I might have missed the pain point of the film gone the wrong way too. What I am saying is that I might be mistaken as well, which still goes to show how great these particular films are in that they make the viewer think.

1. Scum

A film set in the brutal borstal system still in operation in the 1970s. Often considered to be the breakout movie for director Alan Clarke, this signalled the beginning of unresolved rift between him and regular writer, Roy Minton. The problems occurred over changes made by Clarke without Minton's consultation when the BBC TV play was turned into a TV movie for Channel 4. Clarke would go on to prove himself in his later work, but Minton should be considered the unsung hero of the piece and his comments regarding the responses the film got are very interesting.

Minton was horrified when he heard a cheer go up in a cinema as Carlin (the main protagonist) dispatched his opposite number, "Baldy", in another wing of borstal cementing his position as the "daddy". This is the notorious "Where's ya tool?" scene. All of Carlin's fights are won using complete street savvy, with him armed and his opponents unarmed (for the purists, I count smashing Pongo, the previous Daddy's head into a wash basin when attacking him from behind as use of a weapon). The scenes are some the best dramatized versions of the strategies of the philosopher samurai, Myomoto Musashi. When Carlin takes out this particular inmate he does so by using the element of surprise and finishes him with a torrent of racial abuse calling him a "coon" and a telling him to "rub some coal dust over those bruises you black b*stard". Now, I am not saying that Carlin in a hate-filled bigot. Few people make that mistake. His language is just realistic for a 1970s inmate of a high security offenders' institution and is used like a weapon - nothing personal, just survival. However, this move that hardly represents the fall of a tyrannical regime by a philanthropist. Carlin is definitely a more sympathetic character than his predecessors and even shows signs of kindness to others - the intellectual rebel, Archer, in particular - but there are examples that he is no better than any of the other thugs and puts his own selfish survivalist agenda ahead of everyone else.




2. Doubt

Doubt is perhaps one of the most intentionally thought-provoking films I have ever seen. Set in a Roman Catholic school for boys it starts as a battle between tradition and change. Then it shifts our sympathies back and forth between one character that might represent coldness and discipline, but might also hold the actual moral truth, and another that although represents openness and kindness, might be responsible for sexually abusing a boy in the school. Sister Aloysius is the severe principle of the school and sees all agents of change from ballpoint pens to secular Christmas songs as signs of the decline of morals. As far as she is concerned the newly arrived Father Flynn is embodiment of change, wishing to move the school and the Catholic Church with the times. Between the two we have Sister James, a young novice nun and teacher, who seems to represent the audience.

Doubt is perfectly titled, using a very uncomfortable subject to throw us into a position directly between the state of belief and disbelief. The nature of scepticism is at its heart and, interestingly enough, this scepticism has nothing to do with the film's religious setting. Sister James works well as a conduit for all feelings related to this middle ground. She questions Sister Aloysius's obvious prejudices that might influence a confirmation bias regarding Flynn's guilt. Having said this, it is Sister James who is first suspicious of Flynn's relationship with the new boy and when she happily accepts his explanations, Aloysius is quick to point out that she is exhibiting wilful belief without sufficient evidence.

Doubt is one of those films that won't let you rest. Like Sister James, when you feel comfortable you are suddenly hit from a different angle. This is best illustrated in the scene where Aloysius confronts the mother of the child she suspects is being abused. I won't spoil the film for you, but the mother's argument adds a completely new dimension to the whole story.

John Patrick Shanley, who wrote the play the film was based on, said that his intention was to produce a story where audiences would be left creating the final act for themselves. This is what makes Doubt so effective.




3. Once Were Warriors

Jake "The Muss" is an even less likely heroic figure than Carlin. And yet, like Carlin, he is regularly quoted around beer tables by men who fanaticize about being tough as if Jake were another Dirty Harry or Rocky. Sure he is the alpha male through and through, a position many males instinctively aspire to, as he easily physically beats any man who challenges him, and he might be the life and soul of most parties, playing his guitar and cracking jokes. However, he is no success story. Jake can see no further than the self-imposed stigma of his racial caste. He is the descendent of slaves, married to a descendent of slave-owners. He is an alcoholic and one of the worst types of alcoholic. He has no time for any of his children. Because of his deficiency as a farther, one will end up in a juvenile detention centre, another joins an infamous street gang and his daughter will be raped by one of his drinking cronies, leading her to commit suicide. Meanwhile Jake beats and rapes his own wife. The one opportunity Jake gets to be a family man is short-lived as soon as he spots a bar and goes in for a drink. In the end his only use is as blunt instrument of violence primed and pointed by his long suffering wife to inflict retribution on his daughter's rapist.




4. The Woodsman

The most ignorant criticism this film received was that it, in some way, mitigated or created sympathy for paedophilia. What it does do is bring some realism, some maturity and some undeniable humanity to this darkest of issues. As a father and a self defence coach the film challenged me to face some very uncomfortable facts. Paedophiles are not faceless monsters that strike from the shadows. When they are discovered they may be loathed and feared by the masses, but they are also friends and relations to good people and good people befriend them after discovering their terrible crime.

The Woodsman offers no potential solutions and refuses to allow either soft-soaping liberal types or narrow-minded conservatives to have their way. There is the glimmer of redemption in the character of Walter, but equally the argument that paedophiles can never be truly be "cured" is also implied. Walter is a sympathetic character, but his past crimes are never played down in any way.




5. Swimming with Sharks

On the surface it's a black comedy about a young P.A., Guy, who suddenly snaps and starts torturing his sadistic boss, Buddy Ackerman (played by Kevin Spacey). Below the surface many have seen the film as a sharp critique of Capitalism at work in Hollywood. Given Kevin Spacey's political leanings this is a fair observation. However - and perhaps I am being perverse - I see it more as a hard lesson in life, particularly the showbusiness life. As the film progresses Buddy reveals the truth about success as opposed to the naïve idea presented in the movies that Guy has been inspired by. Buddy may be a tough, self-centred and cruel boss, but given the environment and the dream that Guy really wants he is the best teacher he could have.




6. Casualties of War

Set during the Vietnam War and based on true events, this is a hard-hitting story about peer pressure and courage. When an over-worked and vengeful squad of soldiers led by an out-of-control sergeant decide to kidnap and gang rape a Vietnamese girl, only one man is brave enough to oppose the decision. It is clear that the film is about a lone individual who defends what he believes is right no matter how much he fears for his own life. However, what grips me is the character of Diaz. Diaz is essentially a good person who does cave into the peer pressure and goes along with the whole terrible crime. He asks very uncomfortable questions of the everyman.




7. Made in Britain

Alan Clarke's other classic film. It frustrates many by being another example of a picture that doesn't present "a proper ending". There is no resolution, no conclusion and no twist. A brilliant early role for the great Tim Roth, it tells the story of a nihilistic skinhead and his life of antagonism and violence against authority figures. This is a classic case of "telling it how it is" without trying to push across a straight message or preach a moral. It is uncompromising, brutal and relentless.




8. Robocop

Merchandising didn't help matters, but the original Robocop was never intended to be a superhero movie. Director Paul Verhoevan did his very best to make sure it did not end up in this territory. Robocop is a product of fascist consumerism, where a person's life becomes a corporation's property. It is a dark tale of corruption and surviving within that corruption. Throughout it we get the reoccurring line "I'd buy that for a dollar", putting across the idea of a time where everything and everyone can be bought or traded. Sadly from Robocop 3 onwards the idea became pretty much all that the original opposed, finally ending up as a child-targeted cartoon.



9. American Psycho

Based on the cult novel, American Psycho is not a horror film. It just superficially resembles one. Patrick Bateman represents all that wrong about the 1980s. Everything is about image and "fitting in", with Bateman explaining all this along the way as if it were a precise science. He has everything down pat, saying what he feels is the right thing to say about charity, clothes, music and food. Sadly its sequel clearly ignored the main crux of the film and decided it was all about a snobby serial killer.




10. Starship Troopers

Paul Verhoeven again and yet again many people infuriatingly missed the point of this film. This time the director seems to have been even more subtle than he was with Robocop. By not making this a dark film but equally as violent and gory as Robocop, many movie viewers just assumed it was an over the top science fiction movie and even felt it was patriotic. It seems odd to say this, given the genre Verhoeven chose, but this is perhaps too subtle. The whole film is a blatant satire on American militarism. The humans in the film end up just as thoughtless and animalistic as the giant bug aliens they fight.




A Final Thought

I grew up watching videos as the exciting new medium. The appeal to my generation and subsequent young generations with DVD and Blu-Ray is that we can watch films again and again. As we grow up many of us find films we still enjoy re-watching. Often these are favourites from our youth or films that we associate with a certain time of year and have become part our traditions. However, we often like to re-watch a film with a new audience to show them something that moved us in some way or other. I can't think of a better reason to re-watch a film than when it really made me think. Great films, like the Usual Suspects, Pulp Fiction or The Omen, are worth re-watching because of their twists or different interpretations we may have missed on a first viewing. The films I have listed here are pictures that really prompted me, challenged me or dared not to follow a comfortable formula.

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Don't forget to check out Jamie Clubb's main blog www.jamieclubb.blogspot.com

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