Skeptoid is a weekly science podcast dedicated to furthering knowledge by blasting away the widespread pseudosciences that infect popular culture.
Each weekly episode focuses on a single phenomenon — an urban legend, a paranormal claim, alternative therapy, or something just plain stupid — that you've heard of, and that you probably believe in. Skeptoid attempts to expose the folly of belief in non-evidence based phenomena, and more importantly, explains the factual scientific reality.
From the sublime to the startling, no topic is sacred, politically incorrect though that may be. 85,600 weekly downloads. Read what people are saying.
Latest Skeptoid Episodes...
2/2/2010 - Popular mythology has always told us that Jewish slaves built the pyramids under the whips of the Pharoahs. But what does the documentary and archaeological evidence tell us? A very different story, it turns out. And it also reveals that both Jews and Egyptians had much better stories at the time than that. Read more
1/26/2010 - In 1978, the Bell Island Boom rattled this small island in Newfoundland, wrecking buildings, killing animals, and destroying electrical wiring. But nobody could find the cause. Some say it was a test of a US government superweapon. Must this be the conclusion, or are there other possibilities? Read more
1/19/2010 - Some call it bullshido. For decades, martial arts "masters" at "McDojos" everywhere have been conning students to take their classes or buy their books and tapes by pretending to have the ability to knock people out with a single touch, or even with no touch at all. Does it hold up to the test? Read more
1/12/2010 - Skeptoid answers some more student questions. This week: the validity of string theory; the Asian Flush, or alcohol flush reaction; the Peltzman Effect; the health benefits of daylight lamps, if any; and whether changes in the weather can actually affect joint pain. Read more
1/5/2010 - Got a friend or loved one stuck on some pseudoscientic or supernatural belief, and is in danger of harming themselves or their wallet? Want to know what to do about it? Here is my Emergency Handbook for handling just such a situation. Read more
12/29/2009 - In order to lend a thin veil of credibility, I sometimes do an episode correcting things I've been wrong about. There is a staff about of 400 people constantly compiling this list. Read more
12/22/2009 - Is barefoot better? Advocates of the barefoot lifestyle claim that it will relieve and prevent orthopedic injuries, and that shoes are the main cause of such problems. Plus it's just a damn fine thing to roll around barefoot. Read more
12/15/2009 - When the bronze Antikythera Mechanism was found on an ancient Greek shipwreck, it proved to be an astronomical instrument so sophisticated that it was at least 1,000 years out of place. Some believe it constitutes proof of alien visitation, time travel, or that ancient advanced civilation of Atlantis. Read more
12/8/2009 - The Naga Fireballs are a phenomenon that happens every October along the Mekong River in Thailand. A giant river serpent called the Naga swims up the river and spits flaming balls of light into the air, to welcome Buddha home at the end of the Buddhist Lent. Is there a scientific explanation for these fireballs, or is the river serpent real? Read more
12/1/2009 - This week is time for some more listener feedback. Perhaps my favorite email of all time is at the end of this episode. Read more
11/24/2009 - In a cave in China, the Baigong Pipes are a series of modern metal pipes buried in ancient stone. How could they have gotten there? The accepted story is that they are ruins of an alien construction project. Read more
11/17/2009 - Do vaccines really contain the horrifying poisons claimed by antivaccine advocates? We point our skeptical eye at some of their specific charges and compare them with the actual ingredients. The answers may surprise you. Read more
11/10/2009 - The Scole Experiment was a series of seances that sought to establish that the afterlife and seance phenomena are real. It's said to be the best scientific evidence yet for such things. But how good is their evidence? Read more
11/3/2009 - Skeptoid answers some more student questions: the Montauk Monster, the efficacy of skin moisturizers, bee sting therapy (ouch!), aluminum-containing antiperspirants as a cause of breast cancer, inexpensive gasoline, and the claim that homosexuals have shorter life expectancy. Read more
10/27/2009 - It came from the deep. During the summer of 1997, NOAA hydrophones recorded a mysterious sound call the Bloop, never heard before or since. Some think it's a gigantic sea monster. What do you think? Read more
10/20/2009 - Surveys of data published by network marketing companies show that 99.95% of their multilevel marketing distributors lose money. 99.95%!!! Are you really going to be that rare 1 in 2,000 who actually recovers their costs? Read more
10/13/2009 - They come from your closet, from the attic, or from your own mind: Shadow people have been harassing the unfortunate for hundreds of years. Are there any rational (but still likely) explanations for these strange creatures? Read more
10/6/2009 - Think you know all about the human body because you've watched a few movies? No, I didn't think so. This week Skeptoid points its skeptical eye at some more medical myths that you probably believe if you've ever turned on the TV or listened to your mother. Read more
9/29/2009 - Astrology is the belief that the positions of the planets affect our lives. It's easy to dismiss it as prescientific and childish, but showing that it has no plausible foundation is only half the battle. We also have to see whether there may actually be an affect, even one due to some still-unknown cause. Read more
9/22/2009 - Think you know all about daylight saving time? It's all about farms, right? Or saving electricity, or road safety, or something like that... isn't it? Learn the myths, and learn what daylight saving is really all about (you should have guessed). Read more
9/15/2009 - In the opening days of World War II, American defense forces fought the Battle of Los Angeles against — wait for it — a UFO. Who or what they were shooting at has remained a topic of debate for half a century... or has it? Read more
9/12/2009 - The fine folks at Podwatch have posted a very nice review of Skeptoid. Enjoy!
9/8/2009 - Throughout history, people have reported rains of frogs and fish, coming down from the sky during storms. The usual explanation offered is that waterspouts pick them up, transport them laterally through the sky, and gently deposit them far inland. Is this really what happens? More to the point, did the animals really come from the sky at all? Read more
9/1/2009 - Yet another visit to our listener feedback inbox, including Skeptoid's first official death threat... well, it's a death recommendation, anyway. I'll take what I can get. Entertaining as always! Read more
8/25/2009 - Check out my proposal for a new web video series, inFact. I've taken three popular Skeptoid topics with great mass appeal and put them into a 3-minute video format. I'm seeking sponsorship or a distribution deal, so if you know anyone in the biz... This can be a great show, I hope you enjoy the three pilot episodes! Read more
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