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Skeptoid Episode Guide - Ancient Mysteries

 

Unraveling the Myth of Nazareth (Skeptoid #906) - Did the village of Nazareth exist at the time of Jesus, making it possible for there to have been a Jesus of Nazareth?
October 17, 2023
 
The Treasures of the Copper Scroll (Skeptoid #896) - This greatest of all imaginable treasures from the Dead Sea Scrolls probably never existed.
August 8, 2023
 
The Klerksdorp Spheres (Skeptoid #894) - Are these remarkable stones natural, or proof of an ancient advanced civilization?
July 25, 2023
 
The Hard Fall of the Nephilim (Skeptoid #887) - Did giants really walk the Earth in our recent past?
June 6, 2023
 
The Non-Mystery of Nan Madol (Skeptoid #865) - Was this megalithic site in Micronesia built by the people who lived there at the time, or by aliens?
January 3, 2023
 
What Greek Fire Really Was (Skeptoid #832) - This ancient weapon of terror struck fear throughout the ancient world, and stokes a number of mysteries today.
May 17, 2022
 
How the Pyramids Were (and Were Not) Built, Part 2 (Skeptoid #779) - Some of what we know about the Great Pyramid that exclude it having been built by aliens or Atlanteans.
May 11, 2021
 
How the Pyramids Were (and Were Not) Built, Part 1 (Skeptoid #778) - Some of what we know about the Great Pyramid that exclude it having been built by aliens or Atlanteans.
May 4, 2021
 
The Engineered Moon Conspiracy (Skeptoid #776) - Science refutes the claim made by some that the Moon is a hollow spaceship engineered by aliens.
April 20, 2021
 
More Out of Place Artifacts (Skeptoid #731) - A survey of seven of the most popular out-of-place artifacts said to overturn human history.
June 9, 2020
 
Decoding Gobekli Tepe (Skeptoid #724) - This archaeological site in Turkey is said to change everything... but what does that really mean?
April 21, 2020
 
Debunking Ancient Aliens, Part 3 (Skeptoid #721) - A look at some of the ancient artworks and artifacts that the show Ancient Aliens gets totally wrong.
March 31, 2020
 
Debunking Ancient Aliens, Part 2 (Skeptoid #720) - A look at some of the ancient sites and cities that the show Ancient Aliens gets totally wrong.
March 24, 2020
 
Debunking Ancient Aliens, Part 1 (Skeptoid #719) - A look at some of the ancient sites and cities that the show Ancient Aliens gets totally wrong.
March 17, 2020
 
The Green Children of Woolpit (Skeptoid #704) - In the 12th century, a pair of mysterious children with green skin surprised English villagers.
December 3, 2019
 
The Age of the Sphinx (Skeptoid #693) - Popular TV shows try to persuade us that Egypt's Great Sphinx is far older than archaeology tells us.
September 17, 2019
 
All About Atlantis (Skeptoid #667) - For centuries, alternative history fans have been denying Plato's intent and trying to frame Atlantis as a real island.
March 19, 2019
 
Stonehenge and the Scope of Uncertainty (Skeptoid #655) - There are things we don't know about Stonehenge, but does that mean we know nothing at all?
December 25, 2018
 
The Great Kentucky Meat Shower (Skeptoid #653) - A rain of meat is said to have fallen in rural Kentucky one day in 1876.
December 11, 2018
 
Pop Quiz: Ancient Mysteries (Skeptoid #645) - How well do you know your Skeptoid? Today's pop quiz focuses on ancient mysteries.
October 16, 2018
 
The Mysterious Stone Chambers of New England (Skeptoid #643) - Some believe these stone structures in New England to be evidence of ancient cultures.
October 2, 2018
 
Draining the Baghdad Battery (Skeptoid #640) - Many people believe this ancient scroll container was actually an early type of battery.
September 11, 2018
 
Cueva de los Tayos and the Lost Metal Library, Part 2 (Skeptoid #638) - A closer look at how bad the evidence is that a cave exists filled with golden alien wonders.
August 28, 2018
 
Cueva de los Tayos and the Lost Metal Library, Part 1 (Skeptoid #637) - Some people believe that this cave in Ecuador harbors an alien library etched on metallic plates.
August 21, 2018
 
Numerology (Skeptoid #626) - We put this ancient system of divination based on numbers to the test.
June 5, 2018
 
The Keepers of Flannan Light (Skeptoid #610) - Mystery clouds the story of what happened to these three vanished lighthouse keepers.
February 13, 2018
 
Eclipse Myths and Science (Skeptoid #584) - A look at the science-based myths and misconceptions about eclipses, plus some things you might not know.
August 15, 2017
 
The Mercury Rivers of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (Skeptoid #566) - A miniature of all China's waterways in liquid mercury is said to be at the heart of the First Emperor's tomb.
April 11, 2017
 
Exploring Kincaid's Cave (Skeptoid #556) - Some say a marvelous cave of Egyptian wonders is hidden in the Grand Canyon.
January 31, 2017
 
The D. B. Cooper Mystery (Skeptoid #552) - The world's only unsolved hijacking case is filled with misinformation.
January 3, 2017
 
Defusing India's Ancient Atomic Blasts (Skeptoid #541) - The facts behind an urban legend claiming a nuclear war in India some 12,000 years ago.
October 18, 2016
 
The Hope Diamond: A Curse Deconstructed (Skeptoid #499) - Find out how the obviously false story of a curse came to be associated with this famous diamond.
December 29, 2015
 
Deconstructing the Tasaday Tribe (Skeptoid #490) - Some say this tribe of "gentle savages", discovered in 1971, was just a hoax. The truth isn't quite so simple.
October 27, 2015
 
Who Was Charles Fort? (Skeptoid #488) - This enigmatic author of the strange continues to confound.
October 13, 2015
 
Franklin's Cannibals (Skeptoid #482) - The fate of Sir John Franklin's Lost Expedition gives a valuable lesson in types of evidence.
September 1, 2015
 
Captain Kidd's Treasure (Skeptoid #481) - Think you're going to find Captain Kidd's buried treasure on the US east coast? Think again.
August 25, 2015
 
The Chess-Playing Mechanical Turk (Skeptoid #476) - An overview of the amazing chess playing robot of the 1700s.
July 21, 2015
 
Solfeggio Frequencies (Skeptoid #474) - Certain specific sonic frequencies are not the key to love, intuition, or spiritual order.
July 7, 2015
 
The Stone Spheres of Costa Rica (Skeptoid #452) - In Costa Rica, mysterious stone spheres left behind by the country's previous inhabitants seem to defy explanation.
February 3, 2015
 
Ancient Astronauts (Skeptoid #449) - Did aliens visit the ancient Earth and inspire human cultures? Some people claim so.
January 13, 2015
 
Megalodon Myths (Skeptoid #445) - The Discovery Channel wants you to think that a giant prehistoric shark may still swim our oceans.
December 16, 2014
 
SS Iron Mountain (Skeptoid #443) - This large riverboat is said to have vanished without a trace on the Mississippi River in 1872.
December 2, 2014
 
Griffins (Skeptoid #442) - Griffins, considered absurd mythological beasts today, were actually our first attempt to explain fossils.
November 25, 2014
 
The Legend of the Flying Dutchman (Skeptoid #427) - The real source of the ancient nautical legends of the Flying Dutchman ghost ship.
August 12, 2014
 
Out of Place Artifacts (Skeptoid #403) - Some objects found around the world seem to defy rational explanation.
February 25, 2014
 
Listener Feedback: Ancient Mysteries (Skeptoid #402) - I respond to questions and feedback sent in by listeners around the world.
February 18, 2014
 
The Red Haired Giants of Lovelock Cave (Skeptoid #390) - Some say that an early Native American tribe were giant cannibals.
November 26, 2013
 
Pope Joan (Skeptoid #353) - This apocryphal Middle Ages pope said to be a woman in disguise probably never existed.
March 12, 2013
 
The Flat Earth Theory (Skeptoid #338) - The Flat Earth Theory has its origins not in alt-science but in Christian Fundamentalism.
November 27, 2012
 
The Phantom Time Hypothesis (Skeptoid #332) - A number of theories claim that several centuries never actually happened, and were faked by the Church.
October 16, 2012
 
Raiding the Ark of the Covenant (Skeptoid #327) - The true history of the most famous holy relic from Biblical times.
September 11, 2012
 
The Mystery of the Vitrified Forts (Skeptoid #326) - Some 60 ancient stone forts in Scotland have vitrified walls, with the stone melted into glass. Here's what we know.
September 4, 2012
 
The Golden Ratio (Skeptoid #325) - For centuries, claims both scientific and pseudoscientific have been made for the golden ratio.
August 28, 2012
 
8 Spooky Places, and Why They're Like That (Skeptoid #323) - These strange places around the world rank among the most macabre, but have interesting explanations.
August 14, 2012
 
Catching Jack the Ripper (Skeptoid #304) - A look at what is and isn't known about history's most infamous serial killer.
April 3, 2012
 
The Beale Ciphers (Skeptoid #301) - Treasure hunters comb Virginia searching for a legendary hoard of gold and silver.
March 13, 2012
 
Finding Amelia Earhart (Skeptoid #295) - The disappearance of Amelia Earhart is one of the worst examples of television promoting pseudohistory.
January 31, 2012
 
The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (Skeptoid #289) - The facts, as we know them, about what really happened to maritime lore's most famous missing crew.
December 20, 2011
 
Noah's Ark: Sea Trials (Skeptoid #279) - Why it's impossible for a wooden vessel the size of Noah's Ark to be seaworthy.
October 11, 2011
 
The Monster of Glamis (Skeptoid #276) - The story of a living beast in Scotland's Glamis Castle may have a nugget of truth.
September 20, 2011
 
The Abominable Snowman (Skeptoid #269) - Science shows that the Yeti of the Himalayas is almost certainly not a real creature.
August 2, 2011
 
Anastasia (Skeptoid #263) - The Grand Duchess Anastasia did not survive her family's 1918 execution, and did not go on to live in the US.
June 21, 2011
 
The Voynich Manuscript (Skeptoid #252) - The true history and meaning of history's most famous undeciphered book.
April 5, 2011
 
Finding the Lost Colony of Roanoke (Skeptoid #245) - Historians actually have a pretty complete picture of what happened to the "missing" Roanoke colonists.
February 15, 2011
 
Mystery Spots (Skeptoid #240) - Various "gravitational anomalies" around the world have fascinating real science behind them.
January 11, 2011
 
The Frog in the Stone (Skeptoid #223) - Stories of living frogs being found encased in solid rock have a more interesting (and reality-based) explanation.
September 14, 2010
 
Toil and Trouble: The Curse of Macbeth (Skeptoid #222) - The Curse of Macbeth should make Shakespeare's play too dangerous to perform, but science tells us for sure.
September 7, 2010
 
Yonaguni Monument: The Japanese Atlantis (Skeptoid #220) - A look at a massive stone structure off the coast of Japan, said to be a manmade pyramid.
August 24, 2010
 
The Lost Ship of the Desert (Skeptoid #209) - The facts behind tall tales from the American southwest of ships found in the middle of the desert.
June 8, 2010
 
The Non-Mystery of Puma Punku (Skeptoid #202) - Though some claim the stone structures at Puma Punku were alien, archaeologists find no real mysteries there.
April 20, 2010
 
The Virgin of Guadalupe (Skeptoid #201) - Mexico's Virgin of Guadalupe played an important role in the Catholic colonization of the Americas.
April 13, 2010
 
Cargo Cults (Skeptoid #199) - Some native religious groups in the South Pacific hope to recreate WWII's influx of material goods.
March 30, 2010
 
Did Jewish Slaves Build the Pyramids? (Skeptoid #191) - It's a popular story, but all the evidence tells us that no Jews were in Egypt at the time of the Pyramids.
February 2, 2010
 
The Antikythera Mechanism (Skeptoid #184) - This ancient device, 1000 years ahead of its time, neither proves alien visitation nor disproves history.
December 15, 2009
 
The Naga Fireballs (Skeptoid #183) - These fireballs actually do rise from the Mekong river each year -- and we know exactly what causes them.
December 8, 2009
 
The Baigong Pipes (Skeptoid #181) - Modern metal pipes found buried in ancient China are neither pipes nor evidence of ancient alien visitation.
November 24, 2009
 
All About Astrology (Skeptoid #173) - Astrology neither has plausibility nor any test data showing that its predictions are better than random chance.
September 29, 2009
 
Decrypting the Mormon Book of Abraham (Skeptoid #168) - Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith allegedly translated the adventures of Abraham in Egypt.
August 25, 2009
 
Coral Castle (Skeptoid #149) - Although urban legends say the creator of Coral Castle had supernatural help, the photographs tell a different story.
April 14, 2009
 
The Case of the Strange Skulls (Skeptoid #144) - A collection of bizarre human skulls from around the world.
March 10, 2009
 
The Bosnian Pyramids (Skeptoid #140) - Belief that this hill in Bosnia is an ancient pyramid is driven by New Age woo and pathological science.
February 10, 2009
 
Chasing the Min Min Light (Skeptoid #133) - The Australian outback's mysterious jack o' lantern has sparked some good stories, but some even better science.
December 23, 2008
 
The Oak Island Money Pit (Skeptoid #129) - This mysterious treasure pit on a Nova Scotia island has a fascinating natural explanation.
November 25, 2008
 
Illuminating the Fatima Miracle of the Sun (Skeptoid #110) - The pope canonized them, but these three children didn't actually predict anything in 1917.
July 22, 2008
 
Mystery at Dyatlov Pass (Skeptoid #108) - A look at one of Russia's most bizarre mysteries of mass death.
July 8, 2008
 
King Tut's Curse! (Skeptoid #106) - A look at the tale, the popular explanation, and the real science behind it.
June 24, 2008
 
The Crystal Skull: Mystical, or Modern? (Skeptoid #98) - Despite their reputation for mystical powers, crystal skulls are neither ancient nor mysterious.
April 29, 2008
 
Apocalypse 2012 (Skeptoid #93) - The real science behind the events predicted in 2012.
March 25, 2008
 
The Greatest Secret of Nostradamus (Skeptoid #66) - Virtually nothing that pop culture tells us about Nostradamus is true.
September 18, 2007
 
A Mormon History of the Americas (Skeptoid #43) - The Book of Mormon's history of the Americas is full of irreconcilable errors and false archaeology.
May 6, 2007
 
Living Stones of Death Valley (Skeptoid #21) - An examination of the mysterious stones that move by themselves across the desert floor.
January 15, 2007
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

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