Skeptics in the Pub

Skeptics in the Pub
Common logo of SITP events worldwide
Status	Active
Genre	skepticism, rationalism, science, critical thinking, activism, and freethought
Location(s)	Various cities across the world
Country	International
Inaugurated	1999
Founder	Scott Campbell (London)
Most recent	Current
Attendance	Variable, up to hundreds
Organized by	Various people and groups

Skeptics in the Pub (abbreviated SITP) is an informal social event designed to promote fellowship and social networking among skeptics, critical-thinkers, freethinkers, rationalists and other like-minded individuals. It provides an opportunity for skeptics to talk, share ideas and have fun in a casual atmosphere, and discuss whatever topical issues come to mind, while promoting skepticism, science, and rationality.

"Skeptics in the Pub" is not a protected term, anyone can set one up. There also is no formal procedure to organising an event; organisers can fill in activities as they see fit. There are, however, some common approaches across the world in hosting such events that make them more successful.

The usual format of meetings includes an invited speaker who gives a talk on a specific topic, followed by a question-and-answer session. Other meet-ups are informal socials, with no fixed agenda. The groups usually meet once a month at a public venue, most often a local pub. There are now more than 100 different "SitP" groups running around the world.

The earliest and longest-running event is the award-winningLondon meeting, established by Australian philosophy professor Scott Campbell in 1999. Campbell based the idea around Philosophy in the Pub and Science in the Pub, two groups which had been running in Australia for some time. The inaugural speaker was Wendy M. Grossman, the editor and founder of The Skeptic magazine, in February 1999; this first talk attracted 30 attendees. The London group claims to be the "World's largest regular pub meeting," with 200 to 400 people in attendance at each meeting.

Campbell ran the London group for three years while there on a teaching sabbatical, and was succeeded after his return to Australia by two sci-fi fans and skeptics, Robert Newman and Marc LaChappelle. Nick Pullar, who made a television appearance as "Convener of Skeptics in the Pub" on the BBC spoof show Shirley Ghostman, then led the group from 2003 to 2008. As of 2011, the London group was co-convened by Sid Rodrigues, who has co-organised events in several other cities around the world. This group has conducted experiments on the paranormal as part of James Randi's One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge and co-organised An Evening with James Randi & Friends.