Dave is Subject Group Leader for Religion & Ethics, and teaches on the Religion, Philosophy & Ethics course.

Dr Webster has worked for various Universities, and has studied Philosophy, Hinduism and Buddhist thought at Sunderland Polytechnic (and later when it was a University) and at Newcastle University. In addition to scholarly works on Buddhism and desire, the nature of belief, and other topics in Buddhist studies and the Philosophy of Religion, David has also written about the blues, and death in religions.

He has recently published Dispirited with Zero Books (2012), and mantains the RPE blog and the Facebook group (which is open to all).

Dave is also involved in the TAROSA (teachings across religions of south asia) project, and has a strong interest in e-learning. Dr Webster uses podcasts, e-resources of various types, and arranges guest speakers (most recently an expert was 'skyped' in from Australia to discuss 'new religions').

In 1981 when Martin S Taylor gave his first lecture-demonstration of hypnosis he assumed, like most people, that hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness. In the thirty years since then he has revised this opinion and he now believes that – on stage, at least – hypnosis is just a combination of suggestion, peer pressure and obedience.

Tonight he will be combining a thoroughly scientific debunking of the trance myth with anecdotes from his career, while illustrating them with video clips of his performances, and – who knows – maybe some live demonstrations on the audience.

All without using hypnosis, of course.

Martin S Taylor has worked as a professional stage hypnotist for over twenty years, giving lecture demonstrations at universities and colleges and, most recently, in schools. He is also a skilled close-up magician. Find out more at http://www.hypnotism.co.uk/

Tom Cruise and John Travolta say the Church of Scientology is a force for good. Others disagree. Award-winning journalist John Sweeney investigated the Church for more than half a decade. During that time he was intimidated, spied on and followed and the results were spectacular: Sweeney lost his temper with the Church's spokesman on camera and his infamous 'exploding tomato' clip was seen by millions around the world.

John Sweeney tells the story of his experiences for the first time and paints a devastating picture of this strange organisation, from former Scientologists who tell heartbreaking stories of families torn apart and lives ruined to its current followers who say it is the solution to many of mankind's problems.

John Sweeney is an award-winning journalist and author, currently working as an investigative journalist for the BBC's Panorama series.

Can we trust our eyes? Why does a footballer’s performance usually drop right after they’ve been sold to a high-paying football club? What exactly is “anchoring”, and why are we doing it on dry land? Daniela Rudloff will answer these and other questions by giving an introduction to some of the mental shortcuts and biases in our everyday thinking. In her talk she shows how these shortcuts are often useful and sometimes counterproductive, always pervasive and surprisingly difficult to avoid.

Daniela has always had a keen interest in critical thinking, cognitive psychology and the scientific method. After completing her PhD in Cognitive Psychology she now teaches at Leicester University, with a particular focus on research methods and statistics. Daniela has previously presented at Skeptics in the Pubs events and at the Skeptics on the Fringe.