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Skeptoid Episode Guide - Consumer Ripoffs

 

The Conspirituality of Enneagrams (Skeptoid #925) - Can everything important about you and those you interact with be boiled down to a single digit?
February 27, 2024
 
Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Woo (Skeptoid #863) - The latest form of magnet therapy promises to cure everything from headaches to cancer.
December 20, 2022
 
Facilitated Communication Isn't (Skeptoid #831) - This discredited technique deceives loved ones into believing non-communicative people are able to communicate just fine by hiring one of these facilitators.
May 10, 2022
 
How Psychic Readings Work (Skeptoid #825) - Whether cold reading, warm reading, or hot, there are simple explanations for even the most impressive psychic performances.
March 29, 2022
 
The Dark Side of Polyvagal Theory (Skeptoid #816) - A controversial mental health framework is also being peddled by unqualified coaches.
January 25, 2022
 
Probiotics Fact and Fiction (Skeptoid #801) - Some people promote probiotics as a miracle cure for just about anything. What can they really do?
October 12, 2021
 
Dowsing: Water Witchcraft (Skeptoid #791) - If you need to find ground water, ask a hydrologist, not an occult magician.
August 3, 2021
 
CBD for Everything (Skeptoid #780) - Cannabidiol is sold as an additive to just about every kind of product you can imagine. Why?
May 18, 2021
 
The Human Design System (Skeptoid #770) - A mishmash of eastern mysticism masquerades as psychometry.
March 9, 2021
 
Apple Cider Vinegar Woo (Skeptoid #712) - A test of the many sensational health claims made for apple cider vinegar.
January 28, 2020
 
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (Skeptoid #702) - These risky medical devices are increasingly being sold to treat conditions they don't treat.
November 19, 2019
 
Radon in Your Basement (Skeptoid #698) - Is this gas a risk you should worry about, or is it just another homeowner scam?
October 22, 2019
 
History's Smallest Underground War (Skeptoid #696) - The public's zeal for sensationalism over facts can sometimes have deadly consequences.
October 8, 2019
 
Pop Quiz: Consumer Ripoffs (Skeptoid #654) - How well do you know your Skeptoid? Today's pop quiz focuses on consumer ripoffs.
December 18, 2018
 
Alternative Veterinary Medicine (Skeptoid #641) - Even in the 21st century, vets and pet owners are turning to prescientific, magic-based medical care.
September 18, 2018
 
Epigenetics Woo (Skeptoid #636) - This exciting new(ish) field in genetics has brought with it a slew of snake oil claims.
August 14, 2018
 
Volkswagen Dieselgate Reexamined (Skeptoid #586) - In the wake of VW Dieselgate, the government took the wrong steps to solve the wrong problem.
August 29, 2017
 
How Your Credit Card Got Stolen (Skeptoid #554) - Here are the most likely ways that your credit card got stolen, and how you can prevent it in the future.
January 17, 2017
 
How Your Password Got Stolen (Skeptoid #553) - The facts, fiction, and real risk to you of all these high-profile data breaches online.
January 10, 2017
 
Growing Skeptical of Hair Restoration (Skeptoid #504) - As long as people lose their hair, the market will remain flooded with sham remedies.
February 2, 2016
 
Updated: Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Web Sites (Skeptoid #495) - The worst offending sites on the Internet for promoting bad misinformation.
December 1, 2015
 
Pouring Cold Water on Cryotherapy (Skeptoid #492) - Questioning whether this new spa treatment provides all the medical benefits it claims.
November 10, 2015
 
Lysenko and Lesser Science Grifters (Skeptoid #472) - Trofim Lysenko mixed pseudoscience and ideology to set back Soviet biology.
June 23, 2015
 
Ideomotor Response (Skeptoid #451) - The Ideomotor Response underlies a number of occult phenomena and alt-med practices.
January 27, 2015
 
Ionithermie (Skeptoid #436) - Ionithermie is not effective for slimming or cellulite removal -- or, for anything, really.
October 14, 2014
 
The Water Woo of Masaru Emoto (Skeptoid #433) - Masaru Emoto invented a New Age mythology in which water crystals reflect human consciousness.
September 23, 2014
 
Slacktivism: Raising Awareness (Skeptoid #419) - Clicking a "Like" button on a web site is not only useless, it may actually be counterproductive.
June 17, 2014
 
Oil Pulling (Skeptoid #409) - This New Age alternative health fad is not, in fact, based on ayurveda.
April 8, 2014
 
Aromatherapy: Sniffing Essential Oils (Skeptoid #405) - If you're expecting the pleasant aroma of certain flowers and herbs to be a medical treatment, you may be disappointed.
March 11, 2014
 
Salt Therapies (Skeptoid #376) - A new trend in spas is to let people relax in salt caves, and it's based on solid pseudoscience.
August 20, 2013
 
Listener Feedback: Alternative Medicine (Skeptoid #374) - Skeptoid answers a raft of listener emails pertaining to alternative medicine.
August 6, 2013
 
Cupping for the Cure (Skeptoid #359) - Some believe that bruise-causing suction on the skin provides a variety of health benefits.
April 23, 2013
 
Free Energy Machines (Skeptoid #341) - Someone somewhere is always claiming to have cracked the secret of free energy forever, no fuel needed.
December 18, 2012
 
Cleansing Diets: Why or Why Not? (Skeptoid #335) - Cleansing diets are trendier than ever. They are also a complete waste of your money.
November 6, 2012
 
Negative Calorie Food Myths (Skeptoid #322) - Negative calorie foods, said to require more energy to digest than they provide, are a popular food fad.
August 7, 2012
 
The Secret of the Gypsy Queen (Skeptoid #300) - A little girl saves her kingdom when she is the only one who does not fall for the pop pseudoscience of the day.
March 6, 2012
 
Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Websites (Skeptoid #283) - My list of the worst offenders on the web in the promotion of scientific and factual misinformation.
November 8, 2011
 
Speed Reading (Skeptoid #229) - Speed reading classes claim to be able to turbocharge your words per minute. Save your money; it doesn't work.
October 26, 2010
 
Boost Your Immune System (or Not) (Skeptoid #227) - Although a lot of products promise to boost your immune system, there is actually no such thing.
October 12, 2010
 
Buy It! (Skeptoid #200) - Don't blindly turn to science when you need answers - instead, seek out those who want to sell you something.
April 6, 2010
 
Bullshido: Martial Arts Magic (Skeptoid #189) - Some call it Bullshido: Martial arts tricks like touchless attacks and the Touch of Death.
January 19, 2010
 
Network Marketing (Skeptoid #176) - Call them Network Marketing, Multilevel Marketing, or MLM, these pyramid schemes are proven not to work.
October 20, 2009
 
More Medical Myths (Skeptoid #174) - More myths about the human body that you've always heard, and probably believe.
October 6, 2009
 
Organic vs. Conventional Agriculture (Skeptoid #166) - Organic agriculture provides no benefits whatsoever over science-based farming.
August 11, 2009
 
Locally Grown Produce (Skeptoid #162) - The idea of locally grown produce as nowhere near as green as its proponents seem to think it is.
July 14, 2009
 
Screwed! (Skeptoid #150) - A secret recording of an actual meeting of the Illuminati.
April 21, 2009
 
Binaural Beats: Not Digital Drugs (Skeptoid #147) - The science behind binaural beats: What they are, what they are claimed to do, and what they can actually do.
March 31, 2009
 
Alkaline Water Systems: Change Your Water, Change Your Bank Balance (Skeptoid #139) - Sellers of new-age water treatment products charge outrageous prices for a product with zero plausibility.
February 3, 2009
 
Space Properties for Sale (Skeptoid #130) - If they're offering extraterrestrial real estate or star-naming rights for sale, chances are it's a ripoff.
December 2, 2008
 
How Dangerous Is Cell Phone Radiation? (Skeptoid #117) - There is neither evidence nor plausible hypothetical foundation for cell phone signals to be at all dangerous.
September 2, 2008
 
The Most Effective Homeopathy Podcast Ever (Skeptoid #113) - For the first time ever, the active ingredients in homeopathic preparations are revealed.
August 8, 2008
 
Should You Take Your Vitamins? (Skeptoid #103) - Vitamin C does nothing to prevent or reduce the severity of colds.
June 3, 2008
 
Bend Over and Own Your Own Business (Skeptoid #95) - If someone wants you to be their salesperson and is calling it a "business opportunity", be very skeptical.
April 8, 2008
 
Despicable Vulture Scumbags (Skeptoid #89) - My thoughts on a company that sells useless pseudoscientific hardware to an ALS victim.
February 26, 2008
 
Water: Alternative Fuel of the Future? (Skeptoid #87) - Cranks love to make the claim on YouTube, but you cannot run your car on water.
February 12, 2008
 
MonaVie and Other "Superfruit" Juices (Skeptoid #86) - Superfruit juices are nothing more than super ripoffs. Don't waste your money.
February 5, 2008
 
Magic Jewelry (Skeptoid #84) - All sorts of marvelous health claims are made for jewelry such as the Q-Ray bracelet.
January 22, 2008
 
The Detoxification Myth (Skeptoid #83) - Despite its sciencey-sounding name, there is no such thing as "detoxification" beyond what your body already does.
January 15, 2008
 
Free Range Chicken and Farm Raised Fish (Skeptoid #47) - Free range chickens and farm raised fish probably have almost none of the benefits you think they do.
May 26, 2007
 
Homeopathy: Pure Water or Pure Nonsense? (Skeptoid #34) - Contrary to what many supporters think, homeopathy is neither an herbal nor a natural remedy.
March 22, 2007
 
Biodynamic Agriculture (Skeptoid #26) - Biodynamic agriculture is not a modern innovation, but rather a throwback to the Dark Ages.
February 10, 2007
 
Reflexology: Only Dangerous If You Use It (Skeptoid #24) - Reflexology is really no more than a foot massage, but potentially deadly to those hoping for medical benefits.
January 28, 2007
 
Organic Food Myths (Skeptoid #19) - It's marketed as a revolution in health and the environment, but it's better described as a counterproductive fad.
January 5, 2007
 
Internet Paranoia (Skeptoid #17) - A look at the true threat level from Internet attacks in the mid 2000s.
December 28, 2006
 
Pond Magnet Foolishness (Skeptoid #7) - There is no science-based reason why you should buy magnets for the pipes in your pond, despite the sales pitches.
November 14, 2006
 
Wheatgrass Juice (Skeptoid #6) - Wheatgrass juice contains virtually nothing of nutritional value to the human body.
November 9, 2006
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

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