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The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason

Non-Psychic Predictions for 2017

Rebecca Jones - (Published 26 March 2017)
Subject	Prediction
Celebrities	Kim & Kanye separate A scandal involving a teen celebrity reveals they aren't as clean cut as previously thought Elton John dies Shirley MacLaine dies.
Politics	Leadership spill with Peter Dutton becoming new PM Same sex marriage legalised in Australia The Euro tanks as more countries leave the EU
Sport	High profile footballer involved in drug scandal Sydney FC wins grand final A grey horse wins the Melbourne Cup
Other	A shark kills a person on the East Coast of Australia Russia invades Ukraine
Terrorism	Terror attack at a sporting event in Europe A terrorist attack is thwarted in Sydney
Royals	Prince Phillip dies Prince Harry gets engaged Buckingham Palace targeted in terror attack
Natural Disasters	A major earthquake in California A landslide kills 100s in China Tsunami in Indonesia

Michelle Franklin - (Published 26 March 2017)
Subject	Prediction
Royals	A serious health scare for Queen Elizabeth, but she will survive the year. A member of the royal family, under the age of 40, will die unexpectedly, from an accident or sudden illness. Recent controversy surrounding prince William will be overshadowed by the announcement of a third pregnancy for Kate.
Politics	Sudden controversy within the Liberal party around August, with a prominent figure forced to resign. One Nation will lose popularity overall, but a strong foothold in QLD will develop. Another change in leadership for Labor, around November.
Celebrities	Harrison Ford will die from illness relating to his heart or lungs. A prominent celebrity will leave the church of Scientology. Another celebrity death from drug overdose around the age of 27.
Sport	Controversy around at the Melbourne cup with at least one trainer accused of doping. NSW will win the first state of origin, but QLD will win the series. Supercars championships organisers to announce the Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley to be dropped from the annual circuit after 2017.
General	North Korea will come under a military coup. At least two deaths will occur from crocodiles in northern Australia. At least one fatal shark attack on the west coast of Australia.
Science	Frozen water discovered on Phobos, reigniting debate surrounding the exploration of the outer solar system.
Natural Disasters	Tragedy in the early 2017/2018 fire season, with an accident involving one of the water bombers. An early wet season for northern Australia, with a cyclone for North QLD before Christmas. Flooding in South QLD with at least four deaths "Earthquakes in the north will trigger tsunami fears, but no significant surge events will follow.

Percy Crisp - (Published 26 March 2017)
Subject	Prediction
Royals	A royal bastard, one of Harry's, will be revealed to the public Kate Middleton will drop one of her children in public Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are both going to die
Politics	Marine Le Pen will be the French prime minister The UK will go back on brexit and remain after all Trump will be impeached, and Pence will become president Turnbull and Shorten will both be replaced as leaders of their parties
Sport	Australia will win at some of the sportsball games but also lose others In a stunning social upheaval, professional sports players will be paid the same as teachers have been, while teachers will begin to be paid the same as professional athletes
Celebrities	Beyonce will have one child of each gender David Attenborough will survive the year. Jennifer Lawrence will become engaged Patrick Stewart will not survive the year.
Terrorism	Isis will grow in strength and numbers as Assad loses control of Syria
Science	Liquid water on exoplanet confirmed Quantum computing breaks classical encryption Self driving cars go on sale to the public as uber folds
Natural Disasters	Multiresistant bacteria outbreak kills millions A single tornado will kill more than 100 US citizens Australia will experience the most devastating bushfire season in the nation's history More than 50% of the great barrier reef will be dead by the end of the year

Richard Saunders - (Published 26 March 2017)
Subject	Prediction
Royals	Prince William & Kate: Another baby on the way. News of an engagement for a young English Princess.
Politics	The United States mourns as a President is buried. Bill Shorten stays, Malcolm Turnbull goes. Embarrassment for the Australian Government as a Minister is forced to resign.
Sport	4 and 7 are horses I'd back in the Melbourne Cup .NRL: North Queensland Cowboy playing in the Grand Final. The death of someone taking part in 'Running of the Bulls' will renew calls for its abolishment.
Science	A major archeological find in Northern Europe will cause a rethink of history. An advancement in spinal-cord treatment will make headlines. Cloning of an extinct animal will stunt the world.
Other	An indecent with a photos from a spying drone will end up in court. Apple (Computers) will face major losses from a breach of security. The AUD goes above $0.85 to the USD.
Celebrities	Sarah Harris: Another baby on the way. A band/group from South America will have a hit song around the world. Justin Bieber: Major health concerns as he admitted to hospital.
Natural Disasters	Major flooding in Tasmania. The largest earthquake for decades will rock California. Valcanic reruptions will force the cancelation of flights and leave passengers stranded.

Lara Benham - (Published 26 March 2017)
Subject	Prediction
Royals	Prince Charles will become the King. Prince Harry will announce his engagement. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will announce that they will be having another child.
Celebrities	We will lose a star trek actor. A well-known American celebrity will convert to Scientology. Gwyneth Paltrow will get in legal trouble after someone is harmed through taking her health/lifestyle advice.
Politics	Hong Kong chief executive election – The first vote will end up without an overall winner but eventually will be won by John Tsang. An attempt will be made on the US president’s life. By the end of March, Theresa May will try to invoke Article 50 of the treaty on EU, but the process will be set back due to legal challenges. Hilary Clinton will retire from politics.
Sport	The Nottingham Panthers will win the EIHL playoff finals. The Victorian Roller Derby League will win the 2017 WFTDA playoffs.
General	Evidence of a live population of Tasmanian tigers will be found. There will be a terror related attack in London in November. A household raid in a Sydney suburb will result in multiple arrests related to planning a terrorist attack. A new mission to the Moon will be announced. Marriage equality is a reality across Australia.
Natural Disasters	A volcano will erupt in Europe within the next 6 months, necessitating the evacuation of many towns and villages. An earthquake of at least magnitude 4 will hit New Zealand. Intensely bad weather over Europe will bring down a passenger plane.

Tom Kelly - (Published 26 March 2017)
Subject	Prediction
Royals	Queen Elizabeth takes very ill but does not pass away. Prince Harry gets in a scandal due to his partying ways. Prince Phillip offends someone of an ethnic persuasion.
Sport	An ancient Mesoamerican Ball Game court will be discovered and unearthed. The old sport 'Ferret legging', where players put a live ferret into their baggy trousers and try to outlast other players, will see a brief surge of popularity thanks to the internet.
Celebrities	Betty White will fall seriously ill. William Shatner dies. Jim Carey dies.
Politics	Trump sinks to the lowest approval ratings of any American President. Impeachment proceedings are taken against President Trump due to dodgy foreign dealings. Turnbull will be replaced. A prominent US footballer will be charged with murdering his significant other.
Terrorism	Neo-Nazi and/or other white supremacist groups cause a major catastrophe in the United States. North Korea launches a nuclear equipped missile to antagonise. A prominent leader of Isis is captured.
Science	A colossal squid washes up in New Zealand. Strange radio waves emanating from a star gets the whole internet into a tizzy about aliens.
Natural Disasters	United States will be hit with a devastating hurricane causing the most expensive damage in history. A tsunami will hit Indonesia after a large earthquake. Canada will have an early winter ice storm before the fall is over. The snow and ice compounded with the leaves on the trees will cause widespread damage to the trees and surrounding power lines causing major blackouts in Toronto.

Trish Hann - (Published 27 March 2017)
Subject	Prediction
Royals	Prince Harry announces his engagement. Prince Charles sticks his nose into business he is unqualified for and ruffles some feathers in both the architecture and medical communities. Princess Anne will suffer moderate riding injury but it will not put a stop to her equestrian activities.
Sport	The Rabbitohs win the league A high ranking tennis player gets caught up in a drugs scandal.
Celebrities	A musician will be interrogated by police about threats made to US President Trump. A hoax about the death of David Attenborough will be reported on a major news outlet. Australian comedian Tim Minchin will attach himself to another major musical production. Bruce Forsythe (UK "entertainer") will die.
Politics	After Brexit, other European countries hold referenda on EU membership. They all choose to stay in the European Union. The USA makes some notable changes to the way presidential elections are conducted. Same sex marriage does not become legalised in Australia, however an almost-option does pass through parliament. Marine Le Pen will lose the French general election.
War	North Korea produce long range nuclear weapons.
Tech.	The Amazon Alexa will suffer a significant security breach. Stricter regulations governing drones will be implemented in Australia. Self driving vehicles will suffer a setback in the UK due to a tragic accident.
Natural Disasters	An earthquake of more than 6.5 hits New Zealand but with no fatalities. Large amounts of the Great Barrier Reef become irreparably damaged due to a combination of climate change and a geological incident. Solar activity will cause massive disruptions to satellites and earth-based technology.

Peter Bowditch - (Published 1 April 2017)
Subject	Prediction
Sport	The Australian cricket team will score more than 300 runs in a test match. There will be a sex scandal involving a football team and a girl with a Twitter account. A high-profile football player will attract the attention of the police following an incident involving the consumption of alcohol. Media reports will mention the player's youth and income and will refer to him as a role model.
Celebrities	A celebrity Hollywood couple will announce that they are separating. The official reason will be that their work schedules mean that they are rarely together. At least one of them will be photographed with another companion at a gala event within two weeks of the announcement of the separation. The new companion will just be a good friend and will have nothing to do with the marriage breakdown. A highly-paid Sydney radio announcer will say something terribly stupid on air and will be suspended until the outrage dies away. Then he will be reinstated. A major musical act will announce retirement. This will be reconsidered following the success of the "Farewell Forever, I'm Not Coming Back" tour. A prominent sporting identity will be caught out having extramarital affairs. Evidence will be something stupid done by the identity, such as leaving lewd text messages on his phone for his wife or girlfriend to see.
Society	An attempt will be made on the life of a prominent member of an outlaw motorcycle gang. Leaders of other gangs will deny responsibility and blame the attack on rogue elements that are difficult to control. A chiropractor will be found to have acted improperly towards a patient by providing services outside chiropractic’s scope of practice. The relevant regulatory body will issue a strong statement that can be summarised as “Tut. Tut”. Greenland will be covered by ice for most of 2017. This will be used as evidence against global warming. Snowfall in Greenland will maintain the glaciers and will be used as evidence for global warming. Newspapers and tabloid television current affairs shows will carry stories warning of the danger of radiation from mobile phones. Physicists referring to Einstein's 1905 paper on the photoelectric effect will be ignored. Someone will have a serious accident in an electric car while operating in self-drive, autonomous mode. This will be argued as evidence that all road accidents will be eliminated by electric, self-driving autonomous cars
Politics	The NSW government will announce that something unforeseen has come up in a major infrastructure project, adding many dollars to the final cost and many months to the predicted finish date.
Terrorism	Airline security measures will be adjusted in response to perceived terrorist threats.
Economy	Petrol prices will reach peaks just before holiday weekends. This will be blamed on the price of Tapis crude, the cost of refining in Singapore, the high value of the Australian dollar, the low value of the Australian dollar, and possibly the phase of the moon (at Easter). The Reserve Bank will alter official interest rates. Media reports will convert the rate change into the number of dollars it adds to or subtracts from monthly repayments on the average Sydney mortgage. On four Tuesdays during the year the Australian stock market will rise by more than 10 points. In each case a correction will follow and the index will drop. The price of petrol will be higher on Fridays than it is Wednesdays for most of the year, and will also show a fortnightly cycle related to Commonwealth pension pay days. Oil companies will claim that this is all coincidence
Natural Disasters	There will be floods, droughts, blizzards, landslides, tsunamis or earthquakes affecting nine countries with an "A" in their names. Scientists and environmental groups will claim that the floods, droughts, blizzards, landslides, tsunamis or earthquakes are evidence of climate change. Climate change will be denied in response.

The Skeptic Zone Podcast is an independent production by Richard Saunders and the team of reporters. The views and opinions expressed on the Skeptics Zone Podcast are not necessarily those Australian Skeptics Inc. or any other skeptical organisation.