James Williams - Incest: A skeptical investigation

Join Edinburgh Skeptics online for the second of our four 2021 Edinburgh Science Festival events.  James Williams Incest: A skeptical investigation  Incest is one of the most widespread of all cultural taboos in the ancient and modern worlds. But what exactly is it? How is it defined? What is it's history? And why is it so reviled?  

James will be taking a thorough and entertaining look at the strange and unsettling world of incest; disentangling fact from fiction, and discussing its history, zoology, humanity and philosophy. From royal families, to bed bugs, to unusual internet search trends, what can we learn from a skeptical investigation of one of the world's oldest taboos?  

James Williams is a Bristol-based storyteller, science communicator and skeptic, who specialises in critically discussing dark and taboo topics with humour and irreverence.  An enthusiastic humanist and scientific skeptic, he cares deeply about science, education, critical thinking and social justice. His series of talks on cannibalism, necrophilia and bestiality have been delivered across the country, including the annual Skeptics conference QED.