Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition

Bertha Vazquez reflects on Jane Goodall's revolutionary impact on science, highlighting how her patient, humane observation of chimpanzees shattered rigid behaviorist dogma and forced a rethinking of what separates humans from other animals. Framing Goodall alongside other once-dismissed scientific pioneers, the article argues that intellectual humility, openness to evidence, and outsider perspect...

This installment of The Time Warp revisits a late-1970s Skeptical Inquirer debate over the "Mars effect," exploring how skeptics critically tested—and ultimately undermined—astrological claims while briefly giving claimants a voice. Craig A. Foster uses this historical case to reflect on an enduring tension within skepticism: when, if ever, skeptics should invite credulous viewpoints, and how rema...

Stephen Hupp details the schedule for CSICon 2026, the 50th annviersary conference of the Committee of Skeptical Inquiry held June 11-14, 2026. Register now at csiconference.org . Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/12/get-the-most-out-of-csicon-celebrate-our-history-chart-our-future/ About the Author: Stephen Hupp, PhD, is Executive Director o...

Benjamin Radford examines the ethical risks of ghost hunting. Drawing on established ethical frameworks, he contends that ghost hunting lacks accountability, incentives for skepticism, and safeguards for vulnerable people—making ethical reflection not optional but essential. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/12/ethical-issues-in-ghost-investi...

James E. Alcock recounts the cultural explosion of paranormal belief in the 1960s and 1970s and explains why that climate made the founding of CSICOP an urgent and necessary response. Reflecting on fifty years of achievements, he argues that today's challenges—direct attacks on science, reason, and democratic institutions—make the skeptical movement more vital than ever. Read this article and find...

Massimo Polidoro traces the cultural climate of the 1970s and the early encounters with figures like Uri Geller that convinced skeptics such as James Randi and Ray Hyman that organized scientific scrutiny was urgently needed. The article reveals how informal conversations and failed "psychic" research helped ignite what would become CSICOP and, ultimately, the modern skeptical movement. Read this...

Adrienne Hill reviews the best-selling novel Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty. Crown, 2024. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/12/a-flight-of-fancy-about-psychic-predictions-and-probabilities/ About the Author: Adrienne Hill, a former high school mathematics teacher, currently dedicates her time to various roles and interests. She serves as a...

Stephen Hupp reflects on the founding of CSICOP in 1976 and the emergence of The Skeptical Inquirer , tracing fifty years of organized skepticism rooted in open-minded inquiry rather than reflexive debunking. The article previews a commemorative issue highlighting key figures, landmark investigations, and the movement's lasting impact, culminating in plans to celebrate the anniversary at CSICon 20...

William Matthew London explains how recent CDC changes falsely cast doubt on the overwhelming scientific consensus that vaccines do not cause autism, misrepresenting evidence and reviving long-debunked claims under political pressure. London argues that applying the "negative evidence principle" shows that decades of rigorous research failing to find any association is precisely why we are justifi...

MAHA's summit highlighted how the movement selectively embraces real science—such as evidence-based benefits of creatine—only when it aligns with its ideology and commercial interests. Tiller argues that this strategic, opportunistic use of science is more dangerous than denialism because it cloaks misinformation in a veneer of credibility. Read this article and find accompanying references at: ht...

Susan Gerbic recounts here experience at the Santa Cruz County SkeptiCamp 2025. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/santa-cruz-county-skepticamp-2025/ About the Author: Affectionately called the Wikipediatrician, Susan Gerbic is the cofounder of Monterey County Skeptics and a self-proclaimed skeptical junkie. Susan is also founder of the G...

Amardeo Sarma warns that efforts to "decolonize" science have drifted from addressing historical inequities into promoting epistemic relativism that blurs the line between empirical inquiry and spiritual or traditional belief systems. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-global-retreat-from-scientific-temper/ About the Author:   Amardeo...

Nick Tiller examines the popular belief that pickle juice quickly relieves muscle cramps... Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/pickle-juice-cramping-cure-or-congruence-bias/ About the Author:   Dr Nick Tiller is an exercise scientist and author of The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science, named one of Book Authority's "Best Sports Science Bo...

Benjamin Radford explains that the similarity of alien abduction accounts stems not from shared experiences but from shared human psychology, pop culture influences, and media depictions. From sleep paralysis to hypnosis-induced memories, Radford shows how cultural templates and cognitive patterns shape what people believe—and misremember—as encounters with extraterrestrials. Read this article and...

Peter Huston examines the bizarre life of "Count Dante," a self-styled martial arts master whose outlandish claims helped popularize Dim Mak, the mythical "kung fu death touch." Tracing Dim Mak's roots in traditional Chinese medicine and its pseudoscientific evolution, Huston separates legend from fact to reveal how prescientific ideas were sensationalized into modern martial arts folklore. Read t...

Charles G.M. Paxton challenges several misconceptions skeptics hold about how science actually works, arguing that many popular notions—like strict falsifiability, universal replicability, or the ease of distinguishing science from pseudoscience—oversimplify a far more complex process. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/10/weird-things-some-sc...

Malorie Mackey and Michael Maldonado explore Wicked as a story illustrating the interplay between belief and skepticism. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/10/how-wicked-reflects-real-world-intersections-between-belief-and-skepticism/ About the Authors: Malorie Mackey is an investigative journalist who studies anthropology with a specializatio...

Daniel A. Reed's The Supernatural Stories That Mirror Our Realities explores how Stranger Things draws inspiration from real Cold War–era psychic research. By blending nostalgia, government paranoia, and genuine history, the show reflects society's long-standing fascination with the paranormal and the line between science and superstition. Read this article and find accompanying references at: htt...

Andrea Love's From Food Dyes to Vaccines exposes how chemophobia—the irrational fear of chemicals—has become the root of most modern health misinformation, from anti-vaccine rhetoric to bans on safe synthetic ingredients. She argues that this fear, fueled by poor science literacy, political opportunism, and profit-driven wellness marketing, endangers public health, drives bad policy, and must be r...

Robyn E. Blumner recounts Anthropic's "Project Vend," in which the AI Claude disastrously attempted to run a vending machine business, suffering from hallucinations, poor pricing, and even an "identity crisis." Blumner warns that AI's capacity for deception, self-preservation, and misalignment with human values could foreshadow genuinely dangerous consequences. Read this article and find accompany...

William Matthew London reviews The Nocebo Effect: When Words Make You Sick , a collection edited by Michael H. Bernstein and colleagues that explores how negative expectations can produce real harm. The book examines biological, psychological, and ethical dimensions of the nocebo effect, offering insights for clinicians, patients, and media professionals on minimizing harm caused by suggestion and...

Stephen Hupp introduces two cover stories exploring how supernatural tales reflect real-world skepticism and belief. From Wicked 's moral complexity to Stranger Things ' ties to Project Alpha, the issue connects pop culture to the history of scientific investigation—culminating in a live CSICon 2026 interview with the original Project Alpha hoaxers. Read this article and find accompanying referenc...

Biologist Andrew A. Davinack challenges Robin Wall Kimmerer's portrayal of nature as a "gift economy," arguing that such metaphors blur the line between moral philosophy and biological reality. Drawing on examples from parasitology, he contends that nature's balance arises not from generosity but from feedback, constraint, and adaptation—an amoral equilibrium that teaches humility rather than reci...

Susan Gerbic exposes Tyler Henry's "Hollywood Medium" as a combination of hot and cold reading, motivated sitters, and clever editing rather than genuine communication with the dead. By using readily available information—often from Wikipedia—and interpreting vague statements to elicit reactions, Henry creates the illusion of accuracy, while the show's editing and production amplify the emotional...

Wendy M. Grossman examines the U.K.'s new Online Safety Act, which forces websites to implement strict age verification measures that threaten privacy, free expression, and small online communities. She warns that such laws, though aimed at protecting children, risk overreach, surveillance, and the fragmentation of the open internet. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://s...