What we’re about
Bay Area Skeptics encourage rational thought and critical thinking through the use of scientific methods. We also promote critical thinking and accuracy in the media and in our schools. We are particularly interested in such topics as claims of the paranormal, pseudoscience and untested or poorly tested medical and psychotherapeutic practices.
People in Bay Area Skeptics come from diverse backgrounds and professions and represent all age groups.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- BAS SkepTalk: From Creationism to QAnon: Answers in Genesis and the Culture WarLink visible for attendees
From Creationism to QAnon: Answers in Genesis and the Culture War
The book "Righting America at the Creation Museum" came out in 2016. In the intervening years, the creationist organization Answers in Genesis has opened Ark Encounter, remodeled the Creation Museum (in some places as a response to our book), opened a K-12 school, and dramatically expanded its online presence. At the same time, AiG has doubled down on the culture war rhetoric, dismissing climate change (or, as AiG CEO Ken Ham refers to it, “the climate cult”) as a hoax, rejecting the reality of a COVID-19 pandemic (in the process attacking vaccination mandates as oppressive), and working hard to appeal to QAnon devotees (to the point of opening the Ark to the filming of a QAnon video).All of us have a stake in understanding what is happening in the world of AiG – including the museum and the Ark – and its role in preparing and arming crusaders for the ongoing culture war that polarizes and poisons U.S. religion and politics. As bizarre as the world of AiG may seem to many Americans, what happens there matters to all of us.
About the speakers:
Susan Trollinger is Professor of English at the University of Dayton. She earned her Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of Pittsburgh, and is the author of Selling the Amish: The Tourism of Nostalgia (Johns Hopkins, 2012).
William Trollinger is Professor of History and Religious Studies at the University of Dayton. He earned his Ph.D. in History from the University ofWisconsin-Madison, and is the author of God’s Empire: William Bell Riley and the Making of American Fundamentalism (2nd ed., Tennessee, 2025).
The Trollingers have co-written, among other publications:- Righting America at the Creation Museum (Johns Hopkins, 2016)
- “Creationism,” Oxford Handbook of Christian Fundamentalism (Oxford, 2023)
- “The Bible and Creationism,” Oxford Handbook of the Bible (Oxford, 2017)
- “From Creationism to QAnon: The Culture War Conspiracism of Answers in Genesis,” which will appear in Isis in the summer of 2025, and from which this talk is taken.WHEN: Thursday 9 May @ 7:00 PM Pacific (GMT-7)
WHERE: Online. Click HERE - BAS - Virtual Skeptics in the PubLink visible for attendees
This is a casual night of socializing with fellow skeptics. We'll have a number of breakout rooms for quieter conversations.
Please join us! This is a free event brought to you by Bay Area Skeptics. All are welcome, but please be respectful of others.Attend on Zoom: Check zoom link here.
Passcode: 1023Please note the passcode on description above to join.
- BAS - Virtual Skeptics in the PubLink visible for attendees
This is a casual night of socializing with fellow skeptics. We'll have a number of breakout rooms for quieter conversations.
Please join us! This is a free event brought to you by Bay Area Skeptics. All are welcome, but please be respectful of others.Attend on Zoom: Check zoom link here.
Passcode: 1023Please note the passcode on description above to join.
- BAS - Virtual Skeptics in the PubLink visible for attendees
This is a casual night of socializing with fellow skeptics. We'll have a number of breakout rooms for quieter conversations.
Please join us! This is a free event brought to you by Bay Area Skeptics. All are welcome, but please be respectful of others.Attend on Zoom: Check zoom link here.
Passcode: 1023Please note the passcode on description above to join.