The Reality Check

TRC #739: Is Space Fake? + Book Reviews: The Unthinkable and Moral Economics

Is space fake? Are the stars real? How about other planets? Despite what they tried to teach you in school, doesn't it just feel like the Earth is actually the center of

TRC #738: Hugging Face Attack and AI Risk + Are Your Moon Photos Fake?

The recent hack of Hugging Face servers by Open AI agents has raised some serious concerns about the current state of AI as well as implications on AI safety. Darren exam

TRC #737: The Odyssey Movie Review

Darren and Adam bring you a different type of show today as they have a discussion about the Christopher Nolan film The Odyssey. They discuss the film's merits and faults

TRC #736: Book Review: Death in a Shallow Pond by David Edmonds + The Decoy Effect

Darren explores issues of moral philosophy in his review of Death in a Shallow Pond: A Philosopher, a Drowning Child, and Strangers in Need by David Edmonds. In this anal

TRC #735: Why Is Superman Dressed Like That? + Europe Heat Deaths vs. US Gun Deaths

Superman's costume is iconic, but why does he dress like that? We just assume that superheroes should be wearing tight fitting outfits, tights and a cape, but it wasn't a

TRC #734: AI Privacy Threats + Goodhart's Law and Fast Food Order Status Screens

Are you concerned about AI threats to your privacy? If you aren't, Darren's got a few reasons why you should be! Images of fingerprints and keys, wifi signals and more co

TRC #733: What Did Dinosaurs Sound Like? + Book Review: Chokepoints by Edward Fishman

Did tyrannosaurus rex roar? Adam looks at what sound they, and other dinosaurs, may have made and just why animals roar at all. Darren gives us a book review of Chokepoin

TRC #732: Our Windy Solar System + Classroom Windows on the Left Side

Is it windy on other planets and celestial bodies in our solar system? Darren looks at just what wind is and how much of it occurs on the surface of our various neighbour

TRC #731: Movie Franchise "Use It Or Lose It" Clauses + Anthropic's Mythos

Sometimes movie studios release low quality franchise films and one excuse for this might be that if they don't release a movie every X or Y years, they will lose the rig

TRC #730: How Old Are Sharks? + Jim Carrey: Clone, Doppleganger or Mask?

Sharks are so old. How old are they? They're so old that you'll be shocked to hear of all of the things that haven't been on earth as long as sharks. Darren gives us a un

TRC #729: Digital Devices in Schools + Books Reviews: Enshittification & Breakneck

What impact do digital devices like laptops, tablets and smart phones, both inside and outside of the classroom, have on childrens' ability to learn? Adam questions the a

TRC #728: Does Moltbook AI Matter? + Family Feud Surveys

There has been a lot of news lately about Moltbook AI, a network of Artificial Intelligence agents who are interacting with each other in great numbers in a virtual space

TRC #727: Things Your Parents Said Were Illegal + Canada's Apology Laws

This week's show is all about the law. Growing up our parents told us all kinds of things were illegal, such as driving with the dome light on in the car, riding in the b

TRC #726: Are Orange Cats Weird? + What Kind of Cat is Garfield?

After decades of doing the podcast we have finally gotten around to recording an episode entirely dedicated to orange cats. Darren examines just what's going on with oran

TRC #725: Infant Simulator Programs + Book Reviews: The Thinking Machine, The Philosopher in the Valley & Peak Human

For our first show of 2026 Adam looks at the efficacy of Infant Simulator Programs, which involves giving a fake baby to high school kids to discourage teen pregnancy. Da

TRC #724: Mistletoe + Christmas Tree Lights

As Christmas approaches we bring you the history of two popular decorations you might see this holiday season. Darren looks at the history of the mistletoe as a decoratio

TRC #723: The Introduction to Darren McKee's Uncontrollable: The Threat of Artificial Superintelligence and the Race to Save the World

With AI safety still underrated yet imperative, in this bonus episode of the show we share the Introduction to "Uncontrollable: The Threat of Artificial Superintelligence

TRC #722: Effective Giving + The Mona Lisa

Today, December 2nd, is Giving Tuesday. Darren gives an overview of the concept of Effective Giving, with some tips on how your charitable donations could will lead to th

TRC #721: Our 2023 Interview with Yoshua Bengio

Two years ago we interviewed Yoshua Bengio, the prominent AI researcher, about his long career in AI where he helped build the foundations for the tools millions use arou

TRC #720: Diabetes and DKA + Name That: Spot The Fake

We've got two special guests on the latest show! TRC alumni Pat and Cristina join us with a couple of great segments. First Critina tackles a number of myth about diabete