Squaring the Strange

We all have a few skeptical nuggets to chat about this week, from zebras to the healing power of Satan worship to dangerous rumors. Then we are joined by Robert Bartholomew, mass hysteria expert and author of the book "Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria." He compares the current phenomenon to sociogenic illnesses of the past and the...

We begin on somber note, with the passing of friend and contributor Erik Kristopher Myers, who will be greatly missed. Then we take a close look at cards, and how they have been used to foretell, trick, amaze, deceive, and swindle. Learn how racism was "in the cards" for fortune tellers in the early 20th century, and how Tarot seems to be ancient and exotic but really isn't. We discuss the rise an...

First, Ben and Celestia are skeptical of the media representations of vaccination "mandates," as well as chiropractors who believe spinally induced immunity can ward off diseases like covid. Then we are joined by Dave Thomas of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason (NMSR) to talk about Roswell's lesser-known cousin crash, the Aztec "Saucer Swindle." It has everything: greedy con men, gullible pu...

Folklorist and self-described "enthusiasm enthusiast" Daisy Ahlstone shares some facts, folklore, and even furry art celebrating the thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian tiger, which was declared extinct in the 20th century. This creature exists now somewhere between relic and cryptid, as sightings continue and efforts to find "one last specimen" remain popular. It's image went through a complet...

We go on an exploration of the somewhat recent trend of trying to heal, calm, or "raise the vibrations" of human beings by means of sound therapy. While sound does have some real medical applications, there's also a concert of woo awaiting the unwary consumer. From singing bowls to tuning forks, it's a web of conflicting benefits, sketchy profit streams, and turgid pseudoscientific jargon that mad...

We run down a history of food fraud that stretches back to ancient Rome, and continues today in supermarkets and restaurants just about everywhere. From honey product to not-so-virgin olive oil to horse disguised as beef, there's been a consistent push by food purveyors to bump up profits by way of a pinch of adulteration and a tablespoon of substitution. To dig into the most common form of food f...

After some thoughts on the resurgence of dowsing, we sit down with Professor Brian Regal once more, this time to talk about his encyclopedia of pseudoscience. Regal brings his experience teaching critical thinking and history to bear on the topic, and we look at how confirmation bias leads to weaponizing fringe theories.

We tackle one of the grand old traditions in weirdness--spontaneous human combustion (SHC), the phenomenon wherein your loved one goes POOF so quickly and inexplicably that little is left of them but a pile of ash and some extremities. Ben discusses the heyday of these strange deaths, and what they all had in common. We go over some purported cases and some folkloric trails of fabrication, and Cel...

Mick West joins us again, this time to talk about the recent flap of UFO sightings and media interest. Major news outlets are giving airtime to what seem like the same old things: unexplained lights in the sky and evidence that the government takes an interest in such phenomena. Mick gives some examples of the categories that UFO videos and photos can be sorted into on his Metabunk.org forum, and...

Pascual leads us on a romp through the myriad masked musicians of our time (and a few before our time), and we discuss the benefits and reasons why some performers prefer to remain incognito even during their entire careers. We start with a legendary Parisian performer from a hundred years ago who was brought to life by a writer who drew on current rumors and ghost lore to weave his story. Then, f...

First we have a special guest SWAYSO participant join us to discuss a Covid-19 vaccine rumor going around. Then historian Jay Smith brings us the frightening tale of the Beast of Gévaudan, a story that sprung up around dozens of gruesome killings in a remote region of 18th-century France. As with all folklore, the tale was influenced by trends in journalism, science and the power structures of the...

We are joined by a surprise guest, the critical thinker behind the Steak-Umms popular brand voice (aka Nathan Allebach), who talks to us about targeting misinformation as a PR strategy, managing viral posts, and the brand's recent dustup with Neil deGrasse Tyson. Then Ben brings us back in time twenty years to a hot Indian summer in New Delhi, where reports of a mysterious and malevolent Monkey Ma...

First, Pascual notices an uptick in unrelated, inflammatory Facebook threads in the wake of the Chauvin trial, and we get a refresher on troll-spotting. Then Prof. Brian Regal joins us to look at the complicated social history of the Jersey Devil. There's more to this creature than meets the eye, and Brian helps us unravel the seeds of American independence, the religious persecution and the misog...

Ben looks into a TikTok-fueled panic about sex trafficking abductions in Target stores, then we move to our main topics, the Mark of the Beast and the Number of the Beast, aka 666. From ambiguous or even invisible marks on accused witches hundreds of years ago to ambiguous or even invisible ways our technology "marks" our commerce, the Satanic fears of some 666-fearing individuals have been going...

First we chat about Lil Nas X's "satanic shoes" and some litigation against a Las Vegas alkaline water company. Then geologist, author, and all-around critical thinker Sharon Hill joins us to talk bottomless holes and the monsters that dwell in them! She brings all sorts of spooky geology, from boreholes to quicksand to the idea of a hollow earth.

We begin with a supposedly cursed guitar that was purchased by a somewhat infamous Vegas resident. Then folklorist and self-proclaimed "lover of all things weird" Prof. Jeannie Banks Thomas joins us to talk about how knowledge of folklore can help average people just like you and me. Her "SLAP" test for questionable online content might save you a bunch of embarrassment and guilt, not to mention h...

This episode we talk all manner of things mer . . . mermen, mermaids, merb'ys, and many more. People love conjuring up creatures that are half human in some way (especially half sexy human), and merfolk top the list. Whether they are helpful, innocent creatures or deceptive, bloodthirsty temptresses, mermaids have been cast in many tall tales. From ancient mythology to recent docufiction, we look...

Ben, Celestia, and Pascual help define what makes a crank a crank, and we look into the history of this concept. Then we bring a couple of examples we think illustrate textbook cranks and why they aren't just laughable, they can do some real harm. From selling spiritual self-help books and snake oil to trying to legislate a wrong value for Pi, cranks have a long and storied history in America.

We are joined by folklorist and author David Clarke, who traces the legend of the Crying Boy curse, a curious story surrounding prints of several paintings that featured big-eyed crying children. These popular prints were blamed for fires in the UK during the 1980s, and tales sprung up of orphaned street urchins with mysterious powers to start fires. The roots of the tale involve a confluence of j...

After some thoughts on the inauguration and future of our science agencies and news landscape, we talk to Bigfoot investigator Steve Kulls, of SquatchDetective.com. Ben met Steve years ago and recognized that, in a field rife with hoaxes and a low bar for evidence, he was a great example of proper investigation techniques. Steve shares with us his tenets of research and then discusses his role in...

Yay, 2020 is over! This bonus episode is a casual, nonscripted, barely outlined roundtable with Ben, Celestia, and Pascual as we go through how this year affected us both personally and in terms of skeptical outreach. Then we chat about our favorite episodes. We shall return to our normal squaring of strange topics next week!

We recorded a special opener to discuss the late-breaking, Capitol-invading events of the past 36 hours and the role misinformation played in getting thousands of people to this point. Then for our main topic, we go through a brief history of antivax sentiment in the US and the dual nature of Covid vaccine hesitancy. 

First, Celestia recounts a couple of spooky incidents she's experienced during the pandemic. Then we look at a handful of music-related urban legends, folklore, and peculiarities. Ben brings some surprising information about the Pied Piper of Hamelin, which turns out to have threads of history woven into its folklore tapestry. Pascual and Ben discuss the Satanic rumors that surrounded guitarist Ro...

First, we run down the "mysterious monoliths" found so far, and get a special call out to Louie Raffloer, the blacksmith who created a much more true-to-Kubrick monolith back in 2001. For our main segment, we are joined by Dr. Leo Igwe, who tells of the latest witchcraft accusations and attacks he and his organization have fought against in Africa. Dr. Igwe delves into some of the factors that cau...

Ben, Celestia, and Pascual discuss the otherworldly monolith that's popped up in a remote part of Utah, and Ben shares another in his series of "used book mysteries," this one perfectly timed for the election. For our main segment, we have a lengthy discussion with newly minted CFI fellow (and just plain jolly good fellow) Kenny Biddle. Ben and Kenny bring up some of their investigative heroes, la...