Speakers

SGU Team

Dr Steven Novella

Dr. Steve Novella is the primary host and the producer of The Skeptics’s Guide podcast. By day he is an academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine. He has been an activist skeptic for over 20 years, starting with the co-founding of the New England Skeptical Society. He has spent years investigating paranormal claims, conspiracy theories, and exposing pseudoscience and bad logic, and is an internationally recognised science communicator.
He authors the NeuroLogicaBlog, which covers news and issues in neuroscience, general science, scientific skepticism, philosophy of science, critical thinking, and the intersection of science with the media and society. He is also the senior editor of the group health blog, Science Based Medicine.
Dr. Novella has made multiple appearances on NPR: All Things Considered and is a frequent guest on radio talk shows and science podcasts. His television credits include The Dr. Oz Show, Penn & Teller Bullshit, 20/20, Inside Edition, The History Channel, The Unexplained on A&E, Ricki Lake, and Exploring the Unknown.
He has produced two video courses for The Teaching Company, including Medical Myths and Your Deceptive Mind, combining his medical training with his knowledge and experience as a science communicator and skeptic. He is also the author of a book (with his fellow SGU hosts) titled after their podcast, The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.

Jay Novella

Jay Novella is a skeptical activist, a science populariser, author and co-host of The Skeptics’ Guide To The Universe, a top 10 science podcast with over 700 episodes. He also produces and hosts Alpha Quadrant 6, a science fiction review show. Jay is co-author of The Skeptics’ Guide To the Universe, a book which covers critical thinking, the scientific method and how to understand logic. For the past 10 years Jay has served on the board of directors for the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism(NECSS) held yearly in New York City.

Cara Santa Maria

Cara Santa Maria is a Los Angeles Area Emmy and Knight Foundation Award winning journalist, science communicator, television personality, producer, and podcaster.

Cara is a correspondent on National Geographic’s Explorer and Netflix’s Bill Nye Saves the World. She is the creator and host of a weekly science podcast called Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria and cohosts the popular Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast. She is a founding member of the Nerd Brigade and cofounded the annual science communication retreat #SciCommCamp.

Previously, Cara was a regular contributor to TechKnow on Al Jazeera America and Real Future on Fusion. She also hosted the digital companion series for the popular competition reality show America’s Greatest Makers on TBS. Cara cohosted Brain Surgery Live on National Geographic Channel, and she was a cohost and producer of TakePart Live on Pivot TV and FabLab on Fox. Before that, she was the Senior Science Correspondent for The Huffington Post and costarred in Hacking the Planet and The Truth About Twisters on The Weather Channel.

Cara has made appearances on BBC America, CBS, CNN, Current TV, Fox, Fox News, G4tv, Nat Geo WILD, Science Channel, SundanceTV, and the Travel Channel. She is also a contributor to The Young Turks.

Prior to her career in media, Cara taught biology and psychology courses to university undergraduates and high school students in Texas and New York. Her published research has spanned various topics, including clinical psychological assessment, the neuropsychology of blindness, neuronal cell culture techniques, and computational neurophysiology.

Bob Novella

Bob Novella is a co-founder and Vice-President of the New England Skeptical Society. He co-hosts the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast and blogs for SGU’s Rogues Gallery. He has also written numerous articles that are widely published in skeptical literature. Bob’s scientific interests lie in the extremes, from the gargantuan to the infinitesimal: astronomy and cosmology to particle physics and quantum mechanics. He is especially fascinated by the human capacity for self-deception and anticipated future technologies such as nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and human augmentation.

Evan Bernstein

Evan Bernstein is a co-host of the award-winning science podcast The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe (SGU) and is the co-author of the book by the same title. He also serves as the Connecticut Chapter Chairperson of the New England Skeptical Society (NESS). Evan is a technical adviser for official NESS investigations. He has been published as part of The Skeptical Blog Anthology book (The Young Australian Skeptics). Traveling the world with his co-hosts, Evan has given live presentations to private corporations and at educational seminars on topics including; the direct harms of pseudoscience, woo in the martial arts, and the truth behind paranormal investigations. Evan earned his BA in Communications from Central Connecticut State University, and by day, owns and manages his financial services corporation. He has been an active participant in the modern skeptical movement since 1996.