Squaring the Strange

First we chat with Susan Gerbic about the recent buzz surrounding her soon-to-be published expose in the New York Times Magazine, describing the undercover stings she and Mark Edwards have pulled on several prominent psychics, cleverly showing their use of social media in hot readings. Then for our main topic we are joined by filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers to discuss those original gangsters of g...

This week we start with a discussion of assumptions, as Ben brings two outrage-provoking news stories that turned out to not be what was originally assumed. Then we slide through many variations of oily miraculous substances, some folkloric and some that are available from your local PTA mom: the original old-timey snake oil, early modern Europe's witch ointment, and then, more recently, essential...

This week Ben and Celestia start by looking at a Newsweek headline that's been circulating again recently, implying that one-third of Americans doubt the death toll of the Holocaust. Then we devote our main segment to an important essay that has become both style guide and etiquette manual to skeptical writers and critics. Ray Hyman, one of the original founders of CSICOP, outlined eight principle...

First, Ben brings us an interesting dustup from the BFRO involving some paranormal researcher snubbing. Then we do a deep, murky, cold-water dive into Ogopogo. This mysterious Canadian lake monster has a few incarnations, including a bloodthirsty one that demands sacrifices! We hear about Ben's hunt for the creature at Lake Okanagan, courtesy of National Geographic. Spoiler alert: he didn't find a...

Ben, Celestia, and Pascual take a romp through a bunch of 2018's more memorable skeptical moments. From a new iteration of the Mechanical Turk to deadly rumors in India to a resurgence of Geocentrism, there's plenty to go around. We go over some of the more notable passings, and Ben lists some of his favorite episodes from the past year.

This episode deals with various aspects of kids and woo . . . First, a look at that jolly old "identified flying object" often seen on Christmas eve, Santa himself. What skeptical benefits might be lurking in the whole Santa charade? Then we examine some harm done by serious, life-threatening woo that well-meaning parents inflict upon their children as part of a family belief system, as well as th...

Pascual is back, and we discuss a free-roaming placenta found in the Canadian woods last week. Then we bring in award-winning filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers to discuss one of his favorite doom-sayers, Harold Camping. What convinced so many followers that End Times were upon us back in 2011? Erik discusses Camping's similarities to a cult leader as well as his business model, both of which contrib...

Pascual is back, and we discuss a free-roaming placenta found in the Canadian woods last week. Then we bring in award-winning filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers to discuss one of his favorite doom-sayers, Harold Camping. What convinced so many followers that End Times were upon us back in 2011? Erik discusses Camping's similarities to a cult leader as well as his business model, both of which contrib...

First, Ben and Celestia discuss an interesting bit of fan base fakery with a surprise guest. Then we are joined by the Skeptic Zone's Richard Saunders for a conversation on Randi's Million Dollar Challenge. A longstanding offer to purported psychics and other claimants to supernatural powers, the JREF prize set the bar as the ultimate dare for purveyors of the paranormal. Now there are dozens of o...

Award-winning filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers joins Ben and Celestia to discuss Bigfoot on film. Starting with a quick analysis of the famous and most influential Bigfoot film, the Patterson-Gimlin footage, we tour the offerings since then, looking both at pop culture and the more serious efforts of a particularly litigious present-day Canadian Squatcher. Various Bigfoot and Yeti have flourished i...

Celestia reports back from her hurried day at CSI con, and Ben recounts a news story about a graveyard dowser. Then we look at Halloween subjects: what are the real roots of this holiday, and what exactly is satanic about it? Ben traces the development of "trick or treating" and we find out it's a bit of religious extortion that used to involve turnip torture. Celestia probes the more recent pheno...

Celestia reports back from her hurried day at CSI con, and Ben recounts a news story about a graveyard dowser. Then we look at Halloween subjects: what are the real roots of this holiday, and what exactly is satanic about it? Ben traces the development of "trick or treating" and we find out it's a bit of religious extortion that used to involve turnip torture. Celestia probes the more recent pheno...

First, Ben examines some disturbing consequences to child abduction rumors on a popular app in India and Mexico. Then we look at modern plastic surgery oddities and, specifically, the media myth of the Human Barbie, also known as Russian model Valeria Lukyanova. What outrageous things were said about her, and how much of the narrative can be taken as fact? We also compare her to her counterparts,...

This week Ben and Celestia recount some woo encounters "in the field" that, for a few reasons, they chose not to battle. Then for our main topic we sit down with Mick West, author of the newly released book Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect. Mick outlines his history in debunking, from chemtrails and Metabunk to the creation of this book, a...

This week Ben and Celestia recount some woo encounters "in the field" that, for a few reasons, they chose not to battle. Then for our main topic we sit down with Mick West, author of the newly released book Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect. Mick outlines his history in debunking, from chemtrails and Metabunk to the creation of this book, a...

This week we start with a quick look at a dog-buys-cookies story that took Celestia down a path of searching out pet videos and, finally, reading about whether or not monkeys can be taught to understand currency. Then Ben revisits an investigation he did on the Pokemon Panic, a wave of illness that struck Tokyo children in the 1990s during an episode of the incredibly popular show--a phenomenon th...

This week we start with an announcement and then a look at a Bridezilla tale and a psychic mountain lion encounter. Then Ben, Celestia, and Pascual discuss skeptical burnout, a phenomenon that hits almost every skeptic at some point. What makes us susceptible to this kind of exhaustion, and how can we best fight against it? We all share some stories and outlooks.

This week we start with a discussion of Spike Lee's Black Klansman movie and the notion of holding narrative movies "based on" real events to some imagined standard of full accuracy. Then all aboard for the ghost train express! Ben and Celestia discuss the lure of the locomotive (and train wrecks) in the American imagination, the flickering lights said to be distant spiritual echoes of trains, and...

We start with a look at some so-called logos unveiled as a fundraiser and compare them to NASA's logo to see how a real Space Force manages branding. Then Pascual, our resident spider-apologist, schools us on the brown recluse, possibly the most feared spider in America. We'll look into the many things regularly mistaken for recluse bites, as well as why people seem more willing to assume (and adv...

This week is a potpourri of space and sci-fi strangeness, starting with a look back (and forward) at Project Blue Book, the Air Force study of UFO sightings 1952-1969 soon to be a new drama series on the so-called History Channel. Joining Ben and Celestia is F. Andrew Taylor, journalist and cartoonist, who spent the San Diego Comic Con drawing attendees' descriptions of UFO encounters to help prom...

This week is a potpourri of space and sci-fi strangeness, starting with a look back (and forward) at Project Blue Book, the Air Force study of UFO sightings 1952-1969 soon to be a new drama series on the so-called History Channel. Joining Ben and Celestia is F. Andrew Taylor, journalist and cartoonist, who spent the San Diego Comic Con drawing attendees' descriptions of UFO encounters to help prom...

This week Celestia is skeptical of Rule 34, as even creatures that don't really exist are making news this week for being in porn. Ben takes us on a quasi-serious tour of Bigfoot "erotica," some of it presented by authors as true tales. Then we discuss a compelling urban legend from Costa Rica: the mystery of the Toucan Man, a figure said to abduct children by luring them into the forest with his...

Celestia opens with a mea culpa and introduction, then is joined by Ben and Pascual to talk about some mysterious abilities animals are said to have. We look into a few things you might not know about that famous horse Clever Hans, as well as a lesser-known "psychic horse" named Lady Wonder. And then we look into evidence and rumors about how some animals might sense earthquakes, as well as a vira...

    Ben and Celestia discuss a few topics in the world of pregnancy that are best viewed through a skeptical lens. Ben touches on some folkloric warnings for expectant mothers. Celestia takes us on a tour of "baby brain," the idea that women lose cognitive ability while pregnant, and looks at self-reported studies versus objective tests and imaging. Then we move on to CAM in popular pregnancy book...

This week Ben and Celestia start by looking at a recent active shooter scare created by a psychic premoniton. Then we dive into a challenge that led Ben into a 9-month investigation into a decades-old murder case and the psychic detective who claimed she knew a list of details about the killer. But did she?