Skeptoid
Episodes
Skeptoid #167: Should Science Debate Pseudoscience?
18 Aug 2009
Contributed by Lukas
When scientists publicly debate promoters of pseudoscience, they often do more harm than good. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choic...
Skeptoid #166: Organic vs. Conventional Agriculture
11 Aug 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Organic agriculture provides no benefits whatsoever over science-based farming. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #165: Real or Fictional: Food and Fashion
04 Aug 2009
Contributed by Lukas
See if you can tell whether these food and fashion products are named after real people or fictitious people. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.p...
Skeptoid #164: What's Up with the Rosicrucians?
28 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Believed by many to be an ancient mystical order, but really just a mail-order New Age literature business. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx...
Skeptoid #163: How to Make Skepticism Commercial
21 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Critical thinking offers the opposite of what seems to be popular, yet we can still make it commercial. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org...
Skeptoid #162: Locally Grown Produce
14 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of locally grown produce as nowhere near as green as its proponents seem to think it is. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-ch...
Skeptoid #161: Listener Feedback Episode VIII: No New Hope
07 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Some more jabs and punches between Skeptoid and its most vocal listeners. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #160: Sarah Palin Is Not Stupid
30 Jun 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Good arguments often go unused because poor arguments like ad hominems are so much easier. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #159: The Mothman Cometh
23 Jun 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A skeptical look at the Mothman, an alleged prophet of disaster. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #158: Student Questions: Swine Flu and Depleted Uranium
16 Jun 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Skeptoid answers questions sent in by students all around the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #157: High Fructose Corn Syrup: Toxic or Tame?
09 Jun 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A skeptical look at whether high fructose corn syrup is really any worse for you than sugar. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #156: Falling into Mel's Hole
02 Jun 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Mel's Hole is said to be a mysterious bottomless pit in eastern Washington state. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #155: NLP: Neuro-linguistic Programming
26 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Some regard Neuro-linguistic Programming as a psychotherapy breakthrough, some as a New Age self-help trend. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.pr...
Skeptoid #154: Was Chuck Yeager the First to Break the Sound Barrier?
19 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947, but others almost certainly did so before him. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #153: Revenge of the Listener Feedback
12 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Another peek into the mailbag to see who loves us, and who hates us. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #152: Attack of the Globsters!
05 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Mysterious blobs of flesh washed up on the world's beaches have been called everything from sea monsters to Cthulhu. Learn about your ad choices: dov...
Skeptoid #151: The Placebo Effect
28 Apr 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A look at the placebo effect: What it can do, what it can't do, and what you need to know about it. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-...
Skeptoid #150: Screwed!
21 Apr 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A secret recording of an actual meeting of the Illuminati. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #149: Coral Castle
14 Apr 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Although urban legends say the creator of Coral Castle had supernatural help, the photographs tell a different story. Learn about your ad choices: do...
Skeptoid #148: Student Questions: Zero Point Energy and Missing Time
07 Apr 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Skeptoid answers some interesting questions sent in by students. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #147: Binaural Beats: Not Digital Drugs
31 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
The science behind binaural beats: What they are, what they are claimed to do, and what they can actually do. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.p...
Skeptoid #146: How Old Is the Mount St. Helens Lava Dome?
24 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Young Earthers point to an infamous dating error as evidence that the Earth is only as old as the Bible says. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.p...
Skeptoid #145: FEMA Prison Camps
17 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A skeptical look at the claim that FEMA maintains a network of prison camps in readiness. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #144: The Case of the Strange Skulls
10 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A collection of bizarre human skulls from around the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #143: The Lucifer Project
03 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Some believe that NASA is trying to turn Saturn or Jupiter into a small sun. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #142: Student Questions: Sugary Behavior, Secondhand Smoke, and Wal-Mart
24 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Answering more questions sent in by students. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #141: Listener Feedback 6: I Want to Believe
17 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
More fun from the listener feedback files. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #140: The Bosnian Pyramids
10 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Belief that this hill in Bosnia is an ancient pyramid is driven by New Age woo and pathological science. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.or...
Skeptoid #139: Alkaline Water Systems: Change Your Water, Change Your Bank Balance
03 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Sellers of new-age water treatment products charge outrageous prices for a product with zero plausibility. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx....
Skeptoid #138: Is He Real, or Is He Fictional?
27 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Guess whether these popular characters from history were real or fictional. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #137: The Angel of Mons
20 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
The facts behind the story that a heavenly host saved a small group of British from a large German force in WWI. Learn about your ad choices: dovetai...
Skeptoid #136: Student Questions: Light Therapy, the Bermuda Triangle, and Isaac Newton
13 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Skeptoid answers another round of questions submitted by students. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #135: The Rendlesham Forest UFO
06 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Hard to believe, but it wasn't space aliens that caused blinking lights in Rendlesham Forest in 1980. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/a...
Skeptoid #134: Who Is Closed Minded, the Skeptic or the Believer?
30 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Skeptics and believers both tend to accuse each other of closed-mindedness in their thinking. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choice...
Skeptoid #133: Chasing the Min Min Light
23 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The Australian outback's mysterious jack o' lantern has sparked some good stories, but some even better science. Learn about your ad choices: dovetai...
Skeptoid #132: The Sargasso Sea and the Pacific Garbage Patch
16 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
We cast our skeptical eye upon two vast hazards to navigation said to lurk in the centers of the two great oceans. Learn about your ad choices: dovet...
Skeptoid #131: The Bohemian Club Conspiracy
09 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Wealthy and powerful men gather annually at the mysterious Bohemian Grove -- but not to plot global domination. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail...
Skeptoid #130: Space Properties for Sale
02 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
If they're offering extraterrestrial real estate or star-naming rights for sale, chances are it's a ripoff. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx...
Skeptoid #129: The Oak Island Money Pit
25 Nov 2008
Contributed by Lukas
This mysterious treasure pit on a Nova Scotia island has a fascinating natural explanation. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #128: Student Questions: the Mozart Effect, Quantum Theory, and AIDS
18 Nov 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Skeptoid answers some questions sent in by students. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #127: The Truth about Aspartame
11 Nov 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The artificial sweetener aspartame is falsely accused of being the cause of nearly every disease. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-ch...
Skeptoid #126: The Incorruptibles
04 Nov 2008
Contributed by Lukas
We turn our skeptical eye on claims of incorruptibility - bodies that do not decay after death. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choi...
Skeptoid #125: Ten Most Wanted: Celebrities Who Promote Harmful Pseudoscience
28 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A critical look at the pseudoscientific antics of some of today's celebrities. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #124: Betty and Barney Hill: The Original UFO Abduction
21 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A critical look at the original UFO abduction story, that so many people take for granted. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #123: Listener Feedback Reloaded
14 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
More fun from the inbox, responding to listener feedback. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #122: HAARP Myths
07 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A close look at HAARP, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, and the claim that it's a superweapon. Learn about your ad choices: doveta...
Skeptoid #121: Scalar Weapons: Tesla's Doomsday Machine?
30 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
No, Nikola Tesla did not design a superweapon capable of vaporizing whole parts of the earth. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choice...
Skeptoid #120: The World According to Conservapedia
23 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A new Young Earth Fundamentalist online encyclopedia rears its ugly head. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #119: Student Questions: Body Searches and Theta Healing
16 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Skeptoid answers some more questions from students. Send yours in today! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #118: Demystifying the Bell Witch
09 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
An exploration of the best way to evaluate an old, unsubstantiated folk legend like The Bell Witch. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-...
Skeptoid #117: How Dangerous Is Cell Phone Radiation?
02 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
There is neither evidence nor plausible hypothetical foundation for cell phone signals to be at all dangerous. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail....
Skeptoid #116: How to Be a Skeptic and Still Have Friends
26 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Being known as a skeptic is not necessarily good for your social life. Here's how to overcome the difficulties. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail...
Skeptoid #115: Search for the Missing Cosmonauts
19 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A pair of young Italian brothers probably didn't uncover evidence of Soviet cosmonauts dying in space. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/...
Skeptoid #114: Student Questions: Fish Oil, Charities, and Rumors
12 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Skeptoid answers some questions sent in by students. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #113: The Most Effective Homeopathy Podcast Ever
08 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time ever, the active ingredients in homeopathic preparations are revealed. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #112: Genetically Modified Organisms: Jeopardy or Jackpot?
05 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Despite the popular fearmongering, GMO technologies promise a boon to agriculture and humanity. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choi...
Skeptoid #111: Should Tibet Be Free?
29 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Misinformation and fantasy surrounds the popular Tibet notions. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #110: Illuminating the Fatima Miracle of the Sun
22 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The pope canonized them, but these three children didn't actually predict anything in 1917. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #109: Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the Earth?
15 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Some people believe that CERN's Large Hadron Collider will create black holes that will destroy the Earth. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx....
Skeptoid #108: Mystery at Dyatlov Pass
08 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A look at one of Russia's most bizarre mysteries of mass death. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #107: Spy Radio: Numbers Stations
01 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A look at mysterious shortwave "numbers stations" around the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #106: King Tut's Curse!
24 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A look at the tale, the popular explanation, and the real science behind it. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #105: When People Talk Backwards
17 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Some people believe that your brain encodes its actual meaning in reverse within everything you say. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad...
Skeptoid #104: Yet More Winning Listener Feedback
10 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Another visit to the endless well of listeners comments and criticisms. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #103: Should You Take Your Vitamins?
03 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Vitamin C does nothing to prevent or reduce the severity of colds. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #102: What You Didn't Know about the Stanford Prison Experiment
27 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The Stanford Prison Experiment, said to have proven that evil environments produce evil behavior, was completely unscientific and unreliable. Learn a...
Skeptoid #101: Things I'm Wrong About
20 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A look back correcting some of the facts and figures that Skeptoid has gotten wrong. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #100: Is Peak Oil the End of Civilization?
13 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
When we run out of oil, society will likely peacefully and gradually adapt. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #99: Reassembling TWA Flight 800
06 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
TWA Flight 800 was not shot down by US friendly fire. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #98: The Crystal Skull: Mystical, or Modern?
29 Apr 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Despite their reputation for mystical powers, crystal skulls are neither ancient nor mysterious. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-cho...
Skeptoid #97: The Face on Mars Revealed
22 Apr 2008
Contributed by Lukas
New high resolution imagery has proven that this hill on Mars doesn't look quite so much like a carved face after all. Learn about your ad choices: d...
Skeptoid #96: What's Wrong with The Secret
15 Apr 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The Secret teaches that victims are always to blame, and that anyone can have anything simply by wishing. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.o...
Skeptoid #95: Bend Over and Own Your Own Business
08 Apr 2008
Contributed by Lukas
If someone wants you to be their salesperson and is calling it a "business opportunity", be very skeptical. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx...
Skeptoid #94: Fire in the Sky: A Real UFO Abduction?
01 Apr 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The evidence shows that Travis Walton's famous story of having been abducted by aliens probably never happened. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail...
Skeptoid #93: Apocalypse 2012
25 Mar 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The real science behind the events predicted in 2012. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #92: Rethinking Nuclear Power
18 Mar 2008
Contributed by Lukas
There are many good reasons why environmentalists are turning again to nuclear power for the future. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad...
Skeptoid #91: More Outrageous Listener Feedback
11 Mar 2008
Contributed by Lukas
My responses to some of the more "out there" feedback I've received. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #90: Can You Hear the Hum?
04 Mar 2008
Contributed by Lukas
An exploration of the mysterious rumble that some people hear all over the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #89: Despicable Vulture Scumbags
26 Feb 2008
Contributed by Lukas
My thoughts on a company that sells useless pseudoscientific hardware to an ALS victim. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #88: Super Sized Fast Food Phobia
19 Feb 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike what's said in highly dramatized Hollywood shockumentaries, fast food is not especially unhealthy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.o...
Skeptoid #87: Water: Alternative Fuel of the Future?
12 Feb 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Cranks love to make the claim on YouTube, but you cannot run your car on water. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #86: MonaVie and Other "Superfruit" Juices
05 Feb 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Superfruit juices are nothing more than super ripoffs. Don't waste your money. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #85: World Trade Center 7: The Lies Come Crashing Down
29 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The collapse of 7 World Trade Center was not a controlled demolition. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #84: Magic Jewelry
22 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
All sorts of marvelous health claims are made for jewelry such as the Q-Ray bracelet. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #83: The Detoxification Myth
15 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Despite its sciencey-sounding name, there is no such thing as "detoxification" beyond what your body already does. Learn about your ad choices: dovet...
Skeptoid #82: What Do Creationists Really Believe?
08 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Creationism is not one set of beliefs - it is a battleground of dramatically conflicting world views. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/a...
Skeptoid #81: Ghost Hunting Tools of the Trade
01 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Why the use of electronic equipment by TV ghost hunters is so stupid. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #80: Are Microwave Ovens Safe?
25 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
An examination of the various claims that microwaved food and water are poisonous. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #79: Aliens in Roswell
18 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Pop culture says it was an alien spaceship -- but history tells us what was really found in the New Mexico desert. Learn about your ad choices: dovet...
Skeptoid #78: Medical Myths in Movies and Culture
11 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
A skeptical examination of pop-culture medical beliefs, like dramatically stabbing someone in the heart with a syringe. Learn about your ad choices: ...
Skeptoid #77: Orang Pendek: Forest Hobbit of Sumatra
04 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
A description of Sumatra's own little miniature Bigfoot legend. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #76: Who Kills More, Religion or Atheism?
27 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Neither religion nor atheism been responsible for a greater death toll throughout human history. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-cho...
Skeptoid #75: How to See Your Aura
20 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Despite promotional claims, neither auras nor aura photography are things. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #74: A Magical Journey through the Land of Logical Fallacies - Part 2
13 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
The second part of our exploration of logical fallacies. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #73: A Magical Journey through the Land of Logical Fallacies - Part 1
06 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
An examination of many of the most common logical fallacies. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #72: Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: Real or Imagined?
30 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Some claim to be hypersensitive to electromagnetism. Science has already solved what's really going on. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org...
Skeptoid #71: How to Drink Gnarly Breast Milk
23 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Proponents of colostrum supplements believe that it has a whole range of benefits. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #70: Raging (Bioidentical) Hormones
16 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
An examination of the popular trend in women's health, bioidentical hormone therapy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Skeptoid #69: Ann Coulter, Scientist
09 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Conservative pundit Ann Coulter should stick to politics; her science is too screwed up for words. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-c...
Skeptoid #68: More Wet and Wild Listener Feedback
02 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Another round of listener feedback from the past several months. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices