Draft:Derek Colanduno

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Derek Colanduno
Derek Colanduno in Iceland, 2023.
Born
Derek Stephen

Roseler

Adopted 1979 Derek Colanduno

(1974-01-19) January 19, 1974 (age 51)
Albemarle, North Carolina, USA
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Computer programmer, graphic designer, podcaster
Known forSkepticality, Dragon Con Skeptrack, podcasting
Spouse(s)partner, Thomasina Christenson
WebsiteOfficial website
Skeptic Intro - Derek Colanduno

Derek Colanduno was adopted in 1979 by Richard Colanduno. He was born January 19, 1974 in Albemarle, North Carolina to Bobbi Bell[1] and has become, among so many other things, an American skeptic and podcaster. Derek is currently employed as a lead software architect for the VA in Roswell, GA, where he currently resides with his family, 2 Frenchies, & 3 ever fattening cats.[2]

Early life

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In the early 1980s when Colanduno was in elementary school, he developed an interest in computer science with encouragement from his father, a computer programmer at Burroughs Corporation. After high school, his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where Colanduno attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas, majoring in Computer Science. He worked as an engineer and an on-air broadcaster for a national Sports Radio network and a privately owned Alternative Rock Station (KEDG) during late night, where he would occasionally fill in as an on-air broadcaster. He was also a frequent co-host on the (KOMP) morning show.

Podcasting

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Colanduno first began streaming RealAudio content in the 1990s, prior to the podcasting boom of the 2000s.[3][4] He has contributed to several other podcasts including The Pickle Round-Up for Podcast Pickle and AMP'd, the weekly music review show for the Association of Independent Music Podcasters, a group of music podcasters from around the world who promote and support independent musicians through the web. He is the also the Director for Skeptrack at Dragon Con.[5]

Skepticism

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Colanduno became interested in skepticism after picking up a copy of Skeptic Magazine with a photo of Carl Sagan on the cover in the 1990s. Mainly due to his notoriety from Skepticality, he has been interviewed numerous times on the subject of Skepticism. He has appeared on the XM-Sirius show & podcast Slice of SciFi,[6] the podcast Disability 411[7][8] The Skeptic Zone podcast[9] and for the website Cuddly Atheism, among others.[10]

Skepticality

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Colanduno (standing) in 2015, on the podcast panel at TAM13

Colanduno is the co-creator and co-host, of the talk show Skepticality, the official biweekly podcast of The Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine. Skepticality is dedicated to the promotion of critical thinking and science. Each episode is an audio magazine featuring regular segments by contributors who have specialized in specific areas of critical thought followed by featured content. This is, usually, in the form of an interview with a researcher, author, or individual who is helping promote skeptical thought and/or science in an effective way.

Skeptrack

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In 2008, Derek and Robynn McCarthy launched a new sub-conference at Dragon Con called the Skeptrack. Daniel Loxton, a panelist at the 2009 Skeptrack Conference describes it as follows: "Skeptrack is a remarkable achievement whose potential cannot be overstated. In its second year, Skeptrack is already a full-blown skeptics conference, offering more programming to a larger audience than did TAM2 (referring to the James Randi Educational Foundation’s “Amazing Meeting” (TAM) conference). And, because Skeptrack is embedded within Dragon Con, it offers unique assets — and unique promise for growth and outreach."[11]

Recording an episode of Skepticality at TAM 2013

AVM

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On September 8, 2005, during a dinner celebrating Steve Jobs mentioning Skepticality in his keynote address introducing to the world that podcasting was coming to iTunes, Colanduno suffered a massive aneurysm after which he spent six weeks in a coma. His doctors determined he suffered an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The damage to his frontal lobe was extensive and resulted in severe executive function disorder, which is now under control following nearly 10 years of rehabilitation and a regimen of drugs.[12]

Music Therapy

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In an interview in 2012, Colanduno stated that his stroke greatly affected the part of his brain that is responsible for a psychological phenomenon called Pareidolia. This is a normal brain's way of interpreting vague or random stimulus as being significant, such as seeing an animal or a face in a cloud or seeing the "Man in the Moon."

He also suffered significant Aphasia which affected his ability to speak. Colanduno chose to use Music Therapy to re-learn to speak. He had the reconstruct the neural pathways for his word formation and word-finding abilities. Speaking a nursery rhyme, for example, to the beat of the music using a metronome helped his condition significantly.

Colanduno was also told he would never walk again, however he very adamantly persevered until he was able to trick his mind into remaining upright with a gait. The drug L-DOPA or Levodopa also expedited his recovery.[13] He retains a blind spot on his left side where the typical “edge of vision” is. The final resolution to the stroke recovery came in 2022 when Colanduno finally became able to drive his beloved ‘02 Ford F150 again.

Planetoid

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Colanduno is the namesake for the planetoid 106545 Colanduno.[14] It was named for him by Jeff Medkeff because he felt Derek had "pioneered the new media of podcasting and put it to service for skeptical thinking."[15]

References

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  1. ^ Dcolanduno: Yep, it is my Birthday today. :), Twitter, January 19, 2009, retrieved 2009-01-19
  2. ^ Roach, Pat (April 22, 2009), Better Know a Notable Skeptic: 10 Questions for Derek Colanduno, Ottawa Skeptics, archived from the original on January 9, 2010, retrieved July 27, 2009
  3. ^ Roy, Travis. "Interview with Derek Colanduno". NECSS - Northeast Conference for Science and Skepticism. Retrieved 25 October 2014.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Hammersley, Ben (February 11, 2004). "Audible Revolution". The Guardian. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  5. ^ Skeptrack web page on Dragon Con, Dragon Con, retrieved October 25, 2014
  6. ^ "#159: Interview with Derek Colanduno & Swoopy". Slice of SciFi. Farpoint Media Network. May 3, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  7. ^ Case, Beth (July 7, 2007). "Show 44 - Derek Colanduno Part I". Disability411. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  8. ^ Case, Beth (July 26, 2007). "Show 45 - Derek Colanduno Part II". Disability411. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  9. ^ Saunders, Richard (December 26, 2008), "#10 Derek and Swoopy - Murder for Entertainment and Profit", The Skeptic Zone, Australian Skeptics, retrieved August 8, 2009 (Interview from 02:42 to 28:15)
  10. ^ Holden, Kate (March 6, 2009). "A Skeptical Interview with Derek Colanduno". Cuddly Atheism. Archived from the original on August 7, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  11. ^ Loxton, Daniel (16 September 2009). "A Tale of Two Sci-Fi Conventions". Skeptic.com. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  12. ^ "Skepticality #287 - Counting Backwards" (MP3). 47m15s - 50m30s. Retrieved 3 January 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  13. ^ Schickele, Matt. "SMC 81: Derek's Music Therapy Experience". Scopes Monkey Choir. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  14. ^ "106545 Colanduno (2000 WL68)". JPL Small-Body Database Browser. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  15. ^ Medkeff, Jeff (March 25, 2008). "Asteroids Named For PZ Myers, Phil Plait, Rebecca Watson, Michael Stackpole". Blue Collar Scientist. Archived from the original on May 26, 2009. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
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