Category: Speaker

David Hood has been involved with the use of open data in the public sphere, and in the last few years has been particularly involved in interpreting open data around covid.

Zafir has spent most of his life trying to understand belief formation and revision. Recently, he has focused on exploring why many people seem resistant to even the most compelling counterevidence. This pursuit has led Zafir to become familiar with research literature, experiment with difficult conversations, and conduct amateur ethnography. Through his work, Zafir seeks…

Lynley Hood has an MSc in Physiology and a LittD from the University of Otago. Her fourth book “A City Possessed” won the History Award, the Readers Choice Award and the Montana Medal for Non-Fiction at the 2002 NZ Book Awards

Frank Kueppers is a urology cancer surgeon and director of CURT (Canterbury Urology Research Trust) in Otautahi/Christchurch who immigrated to Aotearoa 20 years ago after a locum on Tokelau in the South Pacific. Before the End-of-Life referendum passed in 2019, he was advocating for the right to a dignified death in the media and on…

Elise is a New Zealand-born writer with a passion for science and storytelling. Born in the small town of Tuatapere, Elise then spent her formative years in Muscat, Oman, before returning to her homeland and settling in Invercargill in her teens. After completing a BA in English, and driven by a curiosity and a deep…

Affectionately called the Wikipediatrician, Susan Gerbic is the founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW), Monterey County Skeptics and is a self-proclaimed skeptical junkie. A Skeptical Inquirer contributor Gerbic is a fellow of CSI and winner of the James Randi Foundation award for 2017. In 2018, Susan founded and manages About Time a non-profit organization…

Greg Dawes gained his first graduate degree at the Pontifical Biblical Institute Rome (1988) before completing PhDs in Biblical Studies (1995) and Philosophy (2007). His earlier work examined the challenges to belief that arose from the historical study of Christian origins. This led him to the study of the relations between science and religion and,…

Melanie Trecek-King is the creator of Thinking Is Power, an online resource that provides engaging and accessible critical thinking content. Trecek-King is an Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College, where she teaches a general-education science course designed to equip students with empowering critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy skills. An active speaker…

Anke Richter was born and raised in Germany and immigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2003. She works as a foreign correspondent, columnist and freelance reporter for international and NZ publications like North & South, The Spinoff, NZ Geographic, Canvas and NZ Listener. Her investigation about the disastrous aftermath of Centrepoint was nominated for the…