 | COVID-19 and the Lab Leak (Skeptoid #933) - Was the SARS-CoV-2 virus of natural origin, or was it engineered in a Chinese research lab?
April 23, 2024 |
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 | EMDR: Looking Past the Pain (Skeptoid #928) - This controversial treatment for PTSD involves moving the eyes side to side.
March 19, 2024 |
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 | I Can't Believe They Did That: Human Guinea Pigs #3 (Skeptoid #927) - Part 3 in our roundup of scientists who took the ultimate plunge and experimented on themselves.
March 12, 2024 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Reconsidering the Seveso Dioxin Disaster (Skeptoid #921) - Was this infamous 1976 dioxin disaster as bad as reported, or might it have been much worse than we thought?
January 30, 2024 |
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 | DDT, 13 Years Later (Skeptoid #917) - A failure mode analysis of my most-hated episode ever: #230 on the use of DDT to fight malaria.
January 2, 2024 |
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 | Stopping Hiccups with Science (Skeptoid #914) - Does science have a way to reliably cure the hiccups?
December 12, 2023 |
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 | Kambo: Let It Go (Skeptoid #912) - Some believe that taking a deadly frog poison confers a vast array of New Age wellness benefits.
November 28, 2023 |
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 | The Science of the 27 Club (Skeptoid #907) - Do lots of famous pop musicians really die at the age of 27, or is there something in science that just makes us think so?
October 24, 2023 |
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 | Artificial Turf: Poisonous Pitches? (Skeptoid #905) - Some claim that artificial turf sports fields emit poisonous chemicals, making them dangerous for children.
October 10, 2023 |
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 | Focusing in on Eye Exercises (Skeptoid #902) - Can you really make your eyesight better with a simple series of eye movements and exercises?
September 19, 2023 |
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 | Berberine: Thin Body, or Thin Evidence? (Skeptoid #899) - This supplement is claimed by social media influencers to be Nature's Ozempic.
August 29, 2023 |
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 | Finding the Third Man (Skeptoid #898) - Reports from some extreme adventurers say that a benevolent presence sometimes appears to provide comfort.
August 22, 2023 |
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 | Handling Fentanyl: A Touchy Topic (Skeptoid #889) - Popular wisdom tells us that just touching fentanyl can produce a lethal overdose. What's the fact and what's the fiction?
June 20, 2023 |
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 | The Dirty Secret of Dirty Electricity (Skeptoid #870) - Is there such a thing as a type of electricity running through your home's wiring that delivers horrific health impacts to anyone living there?
February 7, 2023 |
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 | Human Mosquito Magnets (Skeptoid #862) - Is it true that mosquitoes like some people better than others?
December 13, 2022 |
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 | Resignation Syndrome (Skeptoid #858) - In this bizarre psychiatric condition, healthy children lapse into a coma that may last for years.
November 15, 2022 |
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 | On the Health Benefits of Drinking Alcohol (Skeptoid #857) - Some say that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol actually has certain health benefits.
November 8, 2022 |
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 | Sniffing for Human Sex Pheromones (Skeptoid #855) - Do humans use pheromones to turn each other on? The science so far says... uhh, we have no idea.
October 25, 2022 |
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 | 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 |
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 | What ASMR Will Do for You (Skeptoid #829) - What is the state of the science behind this online video genre that combines relaxation with chills and shivers?
April 26, 2022 |
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 | The Dark Side of Polyvagal Theory (Skeptoid #816) - A controversial mental health framework is also being peddled by unqualified coaches.
January 25, 2022 |
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 | 20 Years of Data from Portugal: Drug Decriminalization (Skeptoid #812) - 20 years ago, Portugal decriminalized all drugs in an effort to reduce addiction, incarceration, and negative health impacts. How has it worked?
December 28, 2021 |
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 | Radon Therapy (Skeptoid #811) - Trying to treat pain or cancer by exposing yourself to a radioactive carcinogen provides only risk without the benefit.
December 21, 2021 |
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 | Huna: New Age on an Island (Skeptoid #807) - Huna blends generic New Age spiritualism with a concocted version of Hawaiian tradition.
November 23, 2021 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Head Transplants (Skeptoid #784) - The facts and fiction of what's possible and what's already been tried in switching human heads.
June 15, 2021 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Learning Styles, Re-examined (Skeptoid #764) - Most teachers believe that students have different learning styles and curricula can be tailored to it. Not so much.
January 26, 2021 |
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 | Havana Syndrome, Microwaves, and Hearing RF (Skeptoid #761) - The lone exception to the science fact that radio cannot hurt you.
January 5, 2021 |
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 | Examining Gulf War Illness (Skeptoid #755) - Some researchers believe there is no such thing as Gulf War Illness, and the rest have more questions than answers.
November 24, 2020 |
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 | Phineas Gage, on Second Thought (Skeptoid #744) - A reexamination of the famous case of the man whose personality changed from a grievous brain injury.
September 8, 2020 |
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 | Hinkley: The Erin Brockovich Case (Skeptoid #743) - The facts differ widely from what's generally believed to have been a mass poisoning.
September 1, 2020 |
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 | Bill Gates Conspiracy Theories (Skeptoid #735) - Why is the world's greatest public health philanthropist charged with crimes against humanity?
July 7, 2020 |
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 | Pandemic Conspiracies and Politics (Skeptoid #722) - How the conspiracy theories around today's pandemic compare to those of the past.
April 7, 2020 |
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 | Diagnosing Chronic Lyme Disease (Skeptoid #718) - Often dismissed as purely pseudoscientific and nonexistent, chronic Lyme disease is not necessarily nothing.
March 10, 2020 |
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 | Learning Languages from Brain Injuries (Skeptoid #716) - Popular stories on the Internet tell of people coming out of comas and suddenly speaking a new language.
February 25, 2020 |
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 | Apple Cider Vinegar Woo (Skeptoid #712) - A test of the many sensational health claims made for apple cider vinegar.
January 28, 2020 |
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 | All About Sex Addiction (Skeptoid #708) - The topic of sex addiction and what to do about it turns out to be more complicated than you may think.
December 31, 2019 |
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 | MSG: How a Friendly Flavor Became Your Enemy (Skeptoid #706) - The history of this vilified flavoring is a wild ride through 20th century cultural influences.
December 17, 2019 |
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 | Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (Skeptoid #702) - These risky medical devices are increasingly being sold to treat conditions they don't treat.
November 19, 2019 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Glyphosate and Behavioral Economics (Skeptoid #676) - How misinformation spread over one of the safest herbicides becoming known as one of the most harmful.
May 21, 2019 |
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 | Refeeding Syndrome and Sudden Death (Skeptoid #672) - Can starving people actually die immediately upon being given their first bite of food?
April 23, 2019 |
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 | The Keto Diet (Skeptoid #664) - It's the latest fad diet, and people are trying it for just about any benefit you can think of.
February 26, 2019 |
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 | Vaccine Denial: Failure Mode Analysis (Skeptoid #662) - The surprising history of how medical science's greatest success has become vilified by so many people.
February 12, 2019 |
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 | All About Mindfulness (Skeptoid #647) - An examination of this super-trendy meditation technique to see whether it lives up to the hype.
October 30, 2018 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Epigenetics Woo (Skeptoid #636) - This exciting new(ish) field in genetics has brought with it a slew of snake oil claims.
August 14, 2018 |
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 | The Effects of Mandated GMO Labeling (Skeptoid #635) - We have good evidence for what to expect from mandated labeling of GMO foods, and it's not good.
August 7, 2018 |
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 | Three Big Macs a Day (Skeptoid #629) - When we set aside pop food woo, we find that even multiple Big Macs can be part of a healthy daily diet.
June 26, 2018 |
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 | Environmental Working Group and the Dirty Dozen (Skeptoid #623) - This company's annual press releases are intended to frighten you into buying organic.
May 15, 2018 |
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 | The Inflammatory Diet (Skeptoid #614) - Why no, in fact you should not avoid certain foods to reduce your body's inflammation.
March 13, 2018 |
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 | All About Grounding (Skeptoid #611) - Some New Agers believe that you can heal virtually any ailment simply by taking off your shoes.
February 20, 2018 |
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 | Palm Oil Facts and Fiction (Skeptoid #608) - Is it a medical miracle, an environmental disaster, both, or neither?
January 30, 2018 |
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 | Should Moms Eat Placentas? (Skeptoid #602) - The modern practice of Western mothers eating their placentas is a new and strange attention-seeking behavior.
December 19, 2017 |
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 | The Big Pharma Conspiracy (Skeptoid #589) - Popular claims of a Big Pharma Conspiracy don't stand up to any rational scrutiny.
September 19, 2017 |
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 | True or False Pregnancy (Skeptoid #572) - False pregnancies are not only real, they're probably more complex than you imagined.
May 23, 2017 |
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 | Feral Children (Skeptoid #567) - Those stories about children raised by animals probably aren't what you've been led to believe.
April 18, 2017 |
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 | Photographic Memory (Skeptoid #542) - Pop culture tells us that some people have photographic memories, but the truth is quite different.
October 25, 2016 |
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 | Radiation Hormesis: Is It Good for You? (Skeptoid #539) - Some say that exposure to small amounts of dangerous radiation can protect you from cancer. No, it probably doesn't.
October 4, 2016 |
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 | Antibiotics and Hormones in Beef (Skeptoid #517) - One of pop food woo's favorite claims is that drugs given to beef cattle pose a danger to humans.
May 3, 2016 |
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 | 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 |
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 | The Russian Sleep Experiment (Skeptoid #496) - Russian test subjects are said to have done unspeakably horrible things when sleep deprived.
December 8, 2015 |
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 | Updated: Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Web Sites (Skeptoid #495) - The worst offending sites on the Internet for promoting bad misinformation.
December 1, 2015 |
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 | Black Mold: Peril or Prosaic? (Skeptoid #494) - Black mold is commonly believed to harbor many deadly diseases; but in fact removing it is often worse than leaving it.
November 24, 2015 |
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 | Pouring Cold Water on Cryotherapy (Skeptoid #492) - Questioning whether this new spa treatment provides all the medical benefits it claims.
November 10, 2015 |
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 | Male Circumcision (Skeptoid #471) - Infant male circumcision remains common in the United States. Today we look at the reasons and the implications.
June 16, 2015 |
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 | Marijuana (Skeptoid #470) - In the last 50 years, marijuana has gone from menace to medicine. Which is it?
June 9, 2015 |
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 | Baby Myths (Skeptoid #467) - A look at some common myths about babies and children.
May 19, 2015 |
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 | Transgender: Fact or Fiction? (Skeptoid #463) - The Internet believes a lot of things about transgender people, but much of it isn't true.
April 21, 2015 |
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 | Science Fails (Skeptoid #458) - Science has let you down time after time, and that's one reason why it gets better and better.
March 17, 2015 |
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 | GMO Facts and Fiction (Skeptoid #454) - See if you know how many of these GMO "facts" are right.
February 17, 2015 |
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 | Ideomotor Response (Skeptoid #451) - The Ideomotor Response underlies a number of occult phenomena and alt-med practices.
January 27, 2015 |
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 | That Elusive Fibromyalgia (Skeptoid #440) - Some say fibromyalgia is a real disease, while others question the diagnosis.
November 11, 2014 |
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 | Ionithermie (Skeptoid #436) - Ionithermie is not effective for slimming or cellulite removal -- or, for anything, really.
October 14, 2014 |
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 | Albinism Facts and Fiction (Skeptoid #425) - Even in developed countries, myths persist about people who have albinism.
July 29, 2014 |
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 | 12 Step Programs (Skeptoid #423) - Religious-based twelve step programs are no better at stopping addiction than other programs.
July 15, 2014 |
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 | Oil Pulling (Skeptoid #409) - This New Age alternative health fad is not, in fact, based on ayurveda.
April 8, 2014 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Fukushima vs Chernobyl vs Three Mile Island (Skeptoid #397) - Years after the disaster, some claim that Fukushima radiation is still going to cause widespread death.
January 14, 2014 |
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 | Student Questions: Food Woo, Food Woo, and More Food Woo (Skeptoid #395) - Skeptoid answers questions sent in by students, all of them this week pertaining to popular food pseudoscience.
December 31, 2013 |
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 | The Hair of Samson (Skeptoid #393) - Hold onto your hats: Growing your hair long will not confer super strength or vitality upon you.
December 17, 2013 |
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 | 6 Problems with Wind Turbine Syndrome (Skeptoid #388) - Despite activist claims, wind turbines are not making anybody sick.
November 12, 2013 |
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 | 5 False Arguments for Raw Milk (Skeptoid #383) - Some people who enjoy raw milk also make up false claims that regular milk is more dangerous.
October 8, 2013 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Listener Feedback: Alternative Medicine (Skeptoid #374) - Skeptoid answers a raft of listener emails pertaining to alternative medicine.
August 6, 2013 |
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 | Legislating Pseudoscience (Skeptoid #368) - Lawmakers are often pressured by ideologues to pass laws based on bad science.
June 25, 2013 |
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 | The Sedona Energy Vortex (Skeptoid #366) - Vortexes of spiritual energy are claimed to exist in Sedona, but science suggests we remain skeptical.
June 11, 2013 |
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 | The 16 Personalities of Sybil (Skeptoid #361) - The book and movie "Sybil" told the story of a woman purported to have Multiple Personality Syndrome.
May 7, 2013 |
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 | Cupping for the Cure (Skeptoid #359) - Some believe that bruise-causing suction on the skin provides a variety of health benefits.
April 23, 2013 |
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 | Facts and Fiction of the Schumann Resonance (Skeptoid #352) - The Schumann Resonance, 7.83Hz, is one natural radio band in our atmosphere, but holds no mystical powers.
March 5, 2013 |
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 | Trinity: Interview with Dr. Oz, Alex Jones, and Deepak Chopra (Skeptoid #350) - Skeptoid interviews three of the most popular and controversial figures in modern pseudoscience.
February 19, 2013 |
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 | 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 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Left Handed Myths and Facts (Skeptoid #310) - Many popular anecdotes tell how and why some people are left-handed, but the true facts are even more interesting.
May 15, 2012 |
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 | I Can't Believe They Did That: Human Guinea Pigs (Skeptoid #305) - A look at some of history's most famous scientists who experimented upon themselves.
April 10, 2012 |
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 | The Toxic Lady (Skeptoid #291) - The story goes that in 1994, fumes from a woman's body knocked out most of an emergency room staff.
January 3, 2012 |
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 | Pit Bull Attack! (Skeptoid #288) - Pit bulls have a reputation for being the most dangerous dog breed. Turns out the facts just don't support that.
December 13, 2011 |
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 | Korean Fan Death (Skeptoid #287) - An urban legend in Korea states that running an electric fan at night can kill you.
December 6, 2011 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Brainwashing and Deprogramming (Skeptoid #278) - Both brainwashing and its opposite, deprogramming, are equally mythological.
October 4, 2011 |
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 | Wi-Fi, Smart Meters, and Other Radio Bogeymen (Skeptoid #273) - Demonizing radio transmitters as carcinogenic is popular, but is not supported by any reasonable science.
August 30, 2011 |
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 | Curing Gays (Skeptoid #265) - Therapies intended to help gays become straight don't work.
July 5, 2011 |
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 | Near Death Experiences (Skeptoid #261) - A comparison of the effects of hypoxia to the reports of a brush with the afterlife.
June 7, 2011 |
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 | Mao's Barefoot Doctors: The Secret History of Chinese Medicine (Skeptoid #259) - Westerners' belief that Chinese have long relied on alternative medicine is due in part to clever book publishers.
May 24, 2011 |
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 | Superhuman Strength during a Crisis (Skeptoid #255) - Popular stories tell of mothers lifting cars off their children. The science behind it is less than compelling.
April 26, 2011 |
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 | The Exorcism of Anneliese (Skeptoid #248) - Exorcisms are a brutal torture ritual with no hope of actually helping a person who believes themselves possessed.
March 8, 2011 |
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 | Gluten Free Diets (Skeptoid #239) - Gluten free diets provide no benefits at all for healthy people.
January 4, 2011 |
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 | More Hollywood Myths (Skeptoid #238) - Was John Wayne's cancer death caused by filming downwind of the Nevada Test Site? ...and other Hollywood rumors.
December 28, 2010 |
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 | IQ Testing (Skeptoid #235) - IQ tests are fundamentally flawed, hopelessly inconsistent, and almost completely useless.
December 7, 2010 |
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 | DDT: Secret Life of a Pesticide (Skeptoid #230) - DDT can be both a killer of birds and a savior against malaria. Rarely is a question as black and white as we'd like.
November 2, 2010 |
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 | 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 |
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 | The Things We Eat... (Skeptoid #216) - A look at what's really in food reveals the foolishness of the idea of "good food" and "bad food".
July 27, 2010 |
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 | Is Barefoot Better? (Skeptoid #185) - Some advocate that going barefoot is better for the health and strength of your feet.
December 22, 2009 |
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 | Vaccine Ingredients (Skeptoid #180) - The claims made about the dangerous chemicals in vaccines are all either false or misrepresented.
November 17, 2009 |
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 | Organic vs. Conventional Agriculture (Skeptoid #166) - Organic agriculture provides no benefits whatsoever over science-based farming.
August 11, 2009 |
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 | Ten Most Wanted: Celebrities Who Promote Harmful Pseudoscience (Skeptoid #125) - A critical look at the pseudoscientific antics of some of today's celebrities.
October 28, 2008 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Despicable Vulture Scumbags (Skeptoid #89) - My thoughts on a company that sells useless pseudoscientific hardware to an ALS victim.
February 26, 2008 |
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 | Super Sized Fast Food Phobia (Skeptoid #88) - Unlike what's said in highly dramatized Hollywood shockumentaries, fast food is not especially unhealthy.
February 19, 2008 |
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 | MonaVie and Other "Superfruit" Juices (Skeptoid #86) - Superfruit juices are nothing more than super ripoffs. Don't waste your money.
February 5, 2008 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Are Microwave Ovens Safe? (Skeptoid #80) - An examination of the various claims that microwaved food and water are poisonous.
December 25, 2007 |
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 | Medical Myths in Movies and Culture (Skeptoid #78) - A skeptical examination of pop-culture medical beliefs, like dramatically stabbing someone in the heart with a syringe.
December 11, 2007 |
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 | Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: Real or Imagined? (Skeptoid #72) - Some claim to be hypersensitive to electromagnetism. Science has already solved what's really going on.
October 30, 2007 |
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 | How to Drink Gnarly Breast Milk (Skeptoid #71) - Proponents of colostrum supplements believe that it has a whole range of benefits.
October 23, 2007 |
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 | Raging (Bioidentical) Hormones (Skeptoid #70) - An examination of the popular trend in women's health, bioidentical hormone therapy.
October 16, 2007 |
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 | Will Drinking from Plastic Bottles Kill You? (Skeptoid #60) - A popular fad holds that plastic water bottles leach toxic chemicals into your water. Don't believe it.
August 9, 2007 |
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 | All About Fluoridation (Skeptoid #58) - A few fringe activists claim that fluoridation of water carries more danger than benefit.
July 30, 2007 |
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 | Autism and Chelation: A Recipe for Risk (Skeptoid #55) - An examination of the lethal pop-culture fad of chelating autistic children.
July 15, 2007 |
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 | Mercury Fillings (Skeptoid #36) - Mercury amalgam fillings do not release toxic levels of mercury into the body, and are harmless.
April 1, 2007 |
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 | Natural Hygiene: Health Without Medicine (or Wisdom) (Skeptoid #28) - Natural Hygiene is a misguided, prescientific notion that nature provides everything to heal anyone of anything.
February 19, 2007 |
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 | Chemtrails: Real or Not? (Skeptoid #27) - Some believe that airplane contrails are really dangerous chemicals being sprayed by the government.
February 15, 2007 |
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 | 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 |
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 | Wheatgrass Juice (Skeptoid #6) - Wheatgrass juice contains virtually nothing of nutritional value to the human body.
November 9, 2006 |
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