Podcasts about skeptoid

She may have gotten her start as Houdini's sidekick, but Rose Mackenberg became a giant of unmasking fraudulent mediums. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

You're going to get to enjoy some new guest hosts for a month or two on Skeptoid. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Super mushrooms are claimed by some to provide vague health benefits beyond their known nutritional values. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A roundup of the world's riskiest volcanoes and fault zones — and they're not necessarily the most hazardous. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Some people try to feed their dogs the same alternative diet they eat themselves... not necessarily so good for the dog. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Many of our preconceived notions about immigrants likely bear very little resemblance to the facts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

All of the ways you've heard that deep space wants to kill us — and how plausible or likely each scenario is. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Vaccines are history's great medical success story, having saved more lives than anything else. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ten of the places where Atlantis true believers think the mythical city might actually be. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Many of the Christian symbols created in the aftermath of the First Crusade have been adopted by White Nationalists. Why? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A look at recent studies finding leaded gasoline caused 151 million mental health illnesses in the United States. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This catchphrase has become popular with comedians. Is that in line with its true origin? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Some believe a fabulous Spanish treasure is buried on the slopes of Oregon's Neahkahnie Mountain. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A few of your favorite experts weigh in on how you can make sure your information comes from the very best sources. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

What really happened — and what didn't — in the 2024 telecom cyberattack. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Join us for our 2nd Annual Skeptoid Adventure, this time to the Bermuda Triangle! Early bird pricing ends this Friday, don't miss the boat! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Just as important as the question of how much the livestock industry contributes to global warming is whether your giving up meat will have any real impact. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The newer the data, and the longer we've had to study the epidemiology, the less harm we find that Agent Orange caused.

Cloud seeding would seem like an easy and obvious way to create rain where none existed before. Is it really that simple?

Brian Dunning, creator of the podcast Skeptoid, made a documentary that brings a skeptical, analytical eye to the recent UFO craze – including those three famous UFO videos released by the Pentagon that got a whole lot of attention in a 2017 New York Times article. His documentary has the tongue-in-cheek title “The UFO Movie They Don't Want You To See” and you can find it at www.briandunning.com/ufo. I think more people need to see Brian's movie; it explained a lot and now I feel like I finally understand those videos. It's been surprising how little attention the more rational, analytical explanations for those videos have gotten. If you're someone who's seen those videos and thought “What the hell is going on?” I think you'll want to watch Brian's movie. In this short episode I focus on one specific explanation for one of the videos in question. (I recommend watching my YouTube video version of this episode.) Learn more and sign up for a premium subscription at PeopleWhoReadPeople.com.

Economic nationalism, while attractive to many populists, is not the path to economic success some believe it to be.

Skeptoid answers another round of feedback emails sent in by listeners.

These schools combine an atypical education with a New Age spirituality called anthroposophy.

Cryonics promises an opportunity for you to be frozen and revived at some distant point in the future — though with plenty of controversy.

Skeptoid answers another round of questions from students all around the world.

What could explain a strange creature living in the suburbs, but only ever witnessed once?

Brian Dunning, who was convicted of wire fraud in 2013 and hosts the Skeptoid podcast, accused documentary filmmaker James Fox in an X post of exploiting 1994 Ariel School UFO incident witness Emily Trim, who recently passed away from cancer, by having her appear in his 2019 film, “The Phenomenon.” Dunning intimated that, because Trim suffered with mental illness in the years before her death, Fox knowingly exploited her by having her comment in his film. Dunning's accusation is false, however, because Trim wasn't the only elementary school child who witnessed a landed flying saucer and alien creatures during the 1994 incident, which occurred in Ruwa, Zimbabwe. There were more than 60 children that witnessed the event. Trim and several of the other witnesses appeared in Fox's film, as well as the 2022 documentary, “Ariel Phenomenon,” which was produced and directed by Randall Nickerson. Thumbnail photo credit: Daryl Nickerson Thumbnail photo credit: Daryl Nickerson File:Brian dunning.jpg - Wikimedia Commons Image modified to fit 16:9 thumbnail frame. Links/Sources: Obituary of Emily Margaret Trim | Welcome to the George Darte Funer... Brian Dunning on X: "I wouldn't mind @jamescfox being an honest filmmaker and making $$ off BS storytelling films that he *knows* are BS, if he was honest about what he does, like most. But when he legit exploits people for his own gain, some with mental illness, that's over the line. Zero respect" / X FBI — Laguna Niguel Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding eBay A Message from Brian Dunning Brian Dunning (author) - Wikipedia Check out my YouTube channel: Quirk Zone - YouTube Extraterrestrial Reality Book Recommendations: Link to ROSWELL: THE ULTIMATE COLD CASE: CLOSED: https://amzn.to/3O2loSI Link to COMMUNION by Whitley Strieber: https://amzn.to/3xuPGqi Link to THE THREAT by David M. Jacobs: https://amzn.to/3Lk52nj Link to TOP SECRET/MAJIC by Stanton Friedman: https://amzn.to/3xvidfv Link to NEED TO KNOW by Timothy Good:  https://amzn.to/3BNftfT Link to UFOS AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE, VOLUME 1:  https://amzn.to/3xxJvlv Link to UFOS AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE, VOLUME 2: https://amzn.to/3UhdQ1l Link to THE ALLAGASH ABDUCTIONS: https://amzn.to/3qNkLSg Link to UFO CRASH RETRIEVALS by Leonard Stringfield: https://amzn.to/3RGEZKs FLYING SAUCERS FROM OUTER SPACE by Major Donald Keyhoe: https://amzn.to/3S7Wkxv CAPTURED: THE BETTY AND BARNEY HILL UFO EXPERIENCE by Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden: https://amzn.to/3tKNVXn --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/james-quirk/support

Brian Dunning, who was convicted of wire fraud in 2013 and hosts the Skeptoid podcast, accused documentary filmmaker James Fox in an X post of exploiting 1994 Ariel School UFO incident witness Emily Trim, who recently passed away from cancer, by having her appear in his 2019 film, “The Phenomenon.” Dunning intimated that, because Trim suffered with mental illness in the years before her death, Fox knowingly exploited her by having her comment in his film. Dunning's accusation is false, however, because Trim wasn't the only elementary school child who witnessed a landed flying saucer and alien creatures during the 1994 incident, which occurred in Ruwa, Zimbabwe. There were more than 60 children that witnessed the event. Trim and several of the other witnesses appeared in Fox's film, as well as the 2022 documentary, “Ariel Phenomenon,” which was produced and directed by Randall Nickerson. Thumbnail photo credit: Daryl Nickerson Thumbnail photo credit: Daryl Nickerson File:Brian dunning.jpg - Wikimedia Commons Image modified to fit 16:9 thumbnail frame. Links/Sources: Obituary of Emily Margaret Trim | Welcome to the George Darte Funer... Brian Dunning on X: "I wouldn't mind @jamescfox being an honest filmmaker and making $$ off BS storytelling films that he *knows* are BS, if he was honest about what he does, like most. But when he legit exploits people for his own gain, some with mental illness, that's over the line. Zero respect" / X FBI — Laguna Niguel Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding eBay A Message from Brian Dunning Brian Dunning (author) - Wikipedia Check out my YouTube channel: Quirk Zone - YouTube Extraterrestrial Reality Book Recommendations: Link to ROSWELL: THE ULTIMATE COLD CASE: CLOSED: https://amzn.to/3O2loSI Link to COMMUNION by Whitley Strieber: https://amzn.to/3xuPGqi Link to THE THREAT by David M. Jacobs: https://amzn.to/3Lk52nj Link to TOP SECRET/MAJIC by Stanton Friedman: https://amzn.to/3xvidfv Link to NEED TO KNOW by Timothy Good:  https://amzn.to/3BNftfT Link to UFOS AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE, VOLUME 1:  https://amzn.to/3xxJvlv Link to UFOS AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE, VOLUME 2: https://amzn.to/3UhdQ1l Link to THE ALLAGASH ABDUCTIONS: https://amzn.to/3qNkLSg Link to UFO CRASH RETRIEVALS by Leonard Stringfield: https://amzn.to/3RGEZKs FLYING SAUCERS FROM OUTER SPACE by Major Donald Keyhoe: https://amzn.to/3S7Wkxv CAPTURED: THE BETTY AND BARNEY HILL UFO EXPERIENCE by Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden: https://amzn.to/3tKNVXn --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/james-quirk/support

Skeptoid corrects another round of errors in previous episodes.

This alleged sea serpent terrorized a New England fishing village for two years in the 19th century.

Bats are scary and rabies is deadly, but do you need to worry about you or your pets catching the disease from them?

A mysterious man is said to have arrived in Japan in 1959 from a country that never existed.

Happy Halloween! If we sound like we're on a submarine, apologies--we recorded part of this on a submarine. I mean a small hotel room. After a recap of Skeptoid's Death Valley adventure and CSI Con 2024, Ben and Celestia discuss "pink slime journalism" and phony Catholic newspapers. Then sociologist Joel Best discusses the Halloween sadism urban legend and how the idea that children are being poisoned with candy has stuck around through the ages. Folklorist and film buff Mikel Koven takes us on a tour of zombie films, from "White Zombie" to "Get Out," and all points in between. Zombies have roots in fears about slavery and colonialism, but they evolved to be representative of a mindless enemy army, a personal security force, and even protectors of a night club in blaxsploitation film "Sugar Hill." Koven goes through the taxonomy of zombies and monsters, and we discuss where mummies, djinn, and golems fit in with zombies--as creatures that protect, guard, or serve in some way.

Seven creepy stories from seven listeners, and seven guesses by me.

A thoroughly discredited idea, that the Mesoamerican Olmec people were Black Africans, continues to gain traction.

Fair warning: this episode contains too much Elon Musk, as Ben and Celestia discuss the Optimus mechanical Turk -- er, autonomous robot -- as well as the awesome chop-stick catch performed by SpaceX this past week. Ben also ruminates on eye-witness testimony and a wacky, weedy case being decided by the Supreme Court right now. Then Brian Dunning of Skeptoid fame joins us to talk electric vehicle myths and reality. Have you heard that EVs are bad for the environment, or that they will crash the grid? There are facts to discuss as well as rumors, disinformation, anecdotes and opinions, and we take care to clearly label which is which.

This buried rock wall found throughout Rockwall County has people wondering about its origin.

It's Skeptoid's 18th birthday! Won't you help us celebrate by giving us a little birthday present?

Can dogs be taught to speak intelligently using floor buttons that represent words?

Highlights from 18 years of the Skeptoid podcast.

Fifteen trivia questions from previous aviation themed episodes of Skeptoid.

15 popular myths about sleeping, debunked.

Join the Skeptoid Flash Mob at CSICon 2024 in Las Vegas. Visit skeptoid.com/store to get your shirts.

Lots of companies sell pheromone products claiming to calm down your dog or cat, but there's a very big problem with that basic claim.

Is this just another in a long line of legendary lost mines that never produced a speck of gold, or is there more to it this time?

Turns out that the cause of death known as excited delirium is not an actual cause of death at all.

If I were to summarize how and why I do what I do, I might put it this way.

Does a mythical place where the elephants go to die actually exist?

The claim that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US has never been close to true.

Is your phone really tracking your driving habits and selling the data? Maybe more so than you know.