Archives: Online Exclusives
Did Katharine Hepburn ‘Escape’ from the Old Dark House?
There’s no shortage of ghost stories when it comes to Hollywood. Whether it’s the Knickerbocker or Roosevelt Hotels or the infamous Chateau Marmont, Tinseltown has its fair share of allegedly haunted locales to titillate the curious. So when I read about a couple fleeing their home “on notorious L.A. land where screen goddess Katharine Hepburn …
‘Clinically Tested’—What Does that Mean?
They used to call useless treatments “snake oil.” We don’t hear that term anymore; now they may be called “dietary supplements” or “natural remedies.” A dietary supplement may contain a single herb or a combination of several ingredients. The ads frequently say they have been “clinically tested” or “clinically proven.” Do you believe that? I …
Message for “psychic” James Higgins – “A woman in Spirit is trying to get ahold of you – hurry book now!”
A few months ago, I was asked to join a Facebook group called James Higgins Psychic Scammer EXPOSED! Like most of you, I get a lot of group requests, but this one piqued my interest. I had never heard of James Higgins before this. I’ve been following the team’s efforts for the past six months …
When QAnon Prophecy Fails
Featured Image Credit: Wikimedia One of the best theme parties I’ve ever attended was on May 21, 2011. The evangelical Christian broadcaster Harold Camping had garnered considerable publicity with a prediction that The Rapture would occur on that date and that approximately 3 percent of the world’s population would be swept up to heaven …
The Queensland Creeper or One More Reason to Fear Hospitals?
I imagine for most people, a hospital is one of the most stressful places you can be. Most of the time, you don’t go to the hospital unless something’s wrong. Especially during these times when a global pandemic has killed millions of people worldwide, there are fewer places I can think of I’d rather avoid …
Do We Actually Need to Eat More Calories When Menstruating?
Shark week, moon time, the crimson tide, a visit from Auntie Flo: whatever you call it menstruation is the roughly monthly interval during which the uterus sheds its lining. For the uterus owner, it is not generally a super fun time; cramping, bloating, headaches, and fatigue are just a few of the symptoms associated with …
Click Click Click Thomas John
Click, click, click, click, click, click. “Do we have any men on the call?” The Guerilla Skeptics are still participating in Zoom events featuring psychic mediums who are unable to ply their trade in person because of the pandemic (that they did not foresee coming). We are calling this series of investigations Operation Lemon Meringue. …
Hawaiian ‘UFO’ Sighting
On December 29, 2020, an unidentified flying object was filmed (and reported) in the sky over the Hawaiian island of O’ahu. The anomaly was reported as a glowing blue oblong mass that eventually landed in the ocean. There was no fire, explosion, or even a great splashdown from the impact. In fact, it seems the …
Self Esteem Is Overrated
Most people believe that fostering self-esteem in children will have many benefits, from happiness to better school performance, but that belief is not supported by the evidence. We are encouraged to reward children and not punish them, to praise them not only for real accomplishments but also for trivial successes and even failures (“everybody’s a …
Searching for Rigor: Caroline Watt
In a sense, Caroline Watt’s career as a parapsychologist begins with the publication of an anti-totalitarian novel—Darkness at Noon (1940), author Arthur Koestler’s most famous work. Koestler, who committed double suicide with his wife in 1983, left £1 million to found a chair in parapsychology at a British university. After several refusals, the chair landed …
Oh No, It’s Ross Blocher! Part II
If you liked part one of my interview with Ross Blocher, you will love this conclusion where you will read about Ross’s experiences with firewalking, obstinate Flat-Earthers, dangerous hallucinogens, and drinking his own pee—all done in the service of his podcast’s loyal fans.
What Are Children Taught in Schools in Europe? Dr. Anna Beniermann on Evolution and Didactics of Biology
Cover Image: Dr. Anna Beniermann at SkepKon 2019 in Augsburg. (Credit: Andreas Brauner, bluesbrother.de) Dr. Anna Beniermann is an evolutionary biologist and researcher at the Humboldt University Berlin. She works at the intersection of education and Darwin’s theory of evolution. She is also an active skeptic in the German skeptics organization GWUP. Annika …
A Guide to Teach Critical Thinking about Medicine in Schools – Author Elvira Schmidt Talking about her Research
Elvira Schmidt is a PhD student, skeptic, and author from Giessen, Germany. Together with her colleague and mentor Dittmar Graf, she published the German guide “Medizin und Wissenschaft – Grundlagen für eine sachgerechte Gesundheitsfoerderung“ (“Medicine and Science – Basic Guidelines for an appropriate health education”), including practical materials for biology classes. With this interview, she …
Suzane Northrop – Operation Lemon Meringue
Twenty years ago, The Skeptic Society released a TV series called Exploring the Unknown, with Michael Shermer as producer. In an episode of that series, mentalist Mark Edward was asked to explain how psychic medium Suzane Northrop appeared to be speaking over the radio to the dead family members of sitters (persons receiving a reading). …
A Flight of Pelicans: John Rimmer
At its arrival in 1987, The Skeptic joined an existing ecosystem of UK media and networks interested in the paranormal. First and oldest was the Society for Psychical Research. Second was the Fortean Times, inspired by the writer Charles Fort and founded in 1973 as the purveyor of “the world’s weirdest news,” which seemed to …
Popular Misinformation
I recently received an email forwarded from Kendrick Frazier, editor of Skeptical Inquirer, titled “Cube Shaped UFO Known to Military? Popular Mechanics Says ‘Yes!’” Naturally, this intrigued me; I have an interest in all things strange, and I have been a casual fan of Popular Mechanics magazine for many years. Well, up until now. I …
Oh No, It’s Ross Blocher! Part 1
In this article, Ross Blocher, cohost of the Oh No, Ross and Carrie! podcast, reveals some of the most fun, most informative, and most awkward moments he has experienced in service to the podcast’s loyal fans.
Adele’s Sirtfood Diet
I recently got an email newsletter from TRC Natural Medicines. One of the articles was “Understanding the Hype Behind Adele’s Sirtfood Diet.” It’s brief enough to quote in its entirety: “English singer-songwriter Adele has made headlines in recent months for her dramatic weight loss. You might start getting questions about the diet she followed—it’s called the …
Artificial Trees, Secular Greetings, and Holiday Heart Attacks: Some Answers to Your Christmas Queries
Does the greeting “Happy Holidays” have its roots in secularism? While it’s commonly considered a secular and more inclusive alternative to Merry Christmas, the term Happy Holidays actually has Christian origins! The word holiday was first used in the 1500s as a replacement for haliday, which was itself a replacement for the Old English haligdæg, …
Right Turns Only! Circling Back to Seatbelt Psychic
Jonathan is not what you would think of when you think of a stereotypical believer in psychics. He is male, which is a minority in the sea of people who show up to psychic events. He is also college-educated and works in a science-based industry. Jonathan has always seen himself as skeptical and normally wouldn’t …
Trust, Truth, and Trump in the Time of “COVID, COVID, COVID”
Cover Image by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Donald Trump, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52646513 The What Is Skepticism? statement at skepticalinquirer.org should be widely read. I particularly like this sentence: The modern skeptical movement is a grassroots phenomenon that aims at helping the public navigate the complex borderlands between …
Patrick Vermeren and His Fight against Woo
Patrick Vermeren is a Belgian skeptic, science writer, and expert in human resources. Along with his coauthor Bart Van de Ven, he was sued by a multimillionaire for a skeptical article about the multimillionaire’s claims about human resources (HR) and an analysis of his modus operandi. (“The field of Human Resources (HR) is at the …
Copycat Suicides Are a Real Phenomenon. We Need to Work Hard to Prevent Them, Especially During COVID-19.
The season one finale of 13 reasons why (13RW) aired on March 31st, 2017 and featured the graphic suicide of the main character Hannah Baker. In response to criticisms, Netflix later removed this scene from the episode. Critics argued that the vivid depiction of Hannah slitting her wrists would lead to copycat suicides, particularly due …
The Appeal of Conspiracy Theories: Karen Douglas
In December 1996, when my editor at The Daily Telegraph asked me to write a piece about conspiracy theories on the net, we both thought of it as a light-hearted trawl through online wackiness. With Facebook, YouTube, and even Google years away, the leading social medium was Usenet, a collection of “newsgroups” that computers propagated …
Meet CSI’s Newest Fellow: Kenny Biddle
Fellow Skeptical Inquirer columnist Kenny Biddle has just become a fellow of CFI. In this article, I catch up with the former ghost hunter and discuss this momentous milestone in his life, as well as all the good work he continues to do in the name of rationality and skepticism.
Don’t Ice Sprains
Ankle sprains are common; as a family physician, I treated a lot of them. My most memorable ankle sprain patient was a young woman I saw during my residency training. Doctors had diagnosed a sprain. They gave her crutches and told her not to try to bear weight on the injured ankle until the pain …
Maria Verdeschi and Thomas John—Operation Lemon Meringue
As I’m sure you are already aware, on October 20 we lost one of our own: James Randi. He was my friend and inspiration; he will be missed. It feels like my heart will not heal, and from the outpouring of love and remembrances I saw on social media in the days following his death, …
Woo against All Odds: Stefanie Handl Battling Pseudoscience in Veterinary Medicine
Cover Image: Stefanie Handl giving a speech about alternative medicine within her field and the dangers that come with it. (Source: GkD) Dr. Stefanie Handl is a veterinary doctor from Vienna, Austria. She is an expert when it comes to woo and pseudoscience regarding pets and raises awareness about pseudomedicine with dogs and cats. …
Shaman or Showman: The Illusory Ineffability of Donald Trump
In my line of work, I routinely encounter events said to be inexplicable. They’re not merely amazing or incredible but downright unexplained. At times the topics I research are even said to be “beyond science” (whatever that would mean). These subjects—including psychic powers, crop circles, Bigfoot, ghosts, and miracles—are described as timeless mysteries that cannot …
Sense and Sensibility
One of the things I found most striking in the early days of The Skeptic was the number of British people I met who viewed their country as far less gullible than the United States. Numerous beliefs popping up in the United States—at least, according to the press—were described to me as the sort of …
You Don’t Need to Bleach, X-Ray, or Inspect Your Kids’ Candy This Halloween (but You Do Need to Wear a Mask)
I haven’t gone trick or treating in over a decade, but I still vividly remember my fear and anxiety around Halloween candy. I remember double-checking every piece to make sure it was sealed and throwing away anything that wasn’t. I remember that the neighbors who gave cans of soda were my favorite to visit, not …
The ‘Ghost Hand’ of 1900
Almost every Friday night I host a social media livestream, the Skeptical Help Bar, in which I invite viewers to ask paranormal related questions in return for my own skeptical opinion. Although the show is often in the format of general Q&A, I occasionally have a guest or particular theme. One week the theme called …
Thomas John and Kimberly Meredith—Operation Lemon Meringue
Once again, we return to Operation Lemon Meringue—the Guerrilla Skeptics investigations into the online events from grief vampires such as Thomas John and his associates. For more information about our past investigations, you can find them here on my website. Today’s report is from a September 17, 2020, Zoom event with Thomas John and medical …
Bogus Treatments for Bogus Diagnosis Are Killing Patients
Lyme Disease Is Real Lyme disease is an infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. According to the CDC, “typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.” A …
Halloween Season Brings Silly ‘Ghost’ Videos
It’s that time of year again: Halloween season. Here in my home state of Pennsylvania, the weather is starting to get cooler, the leaves have begun changing colors, and social media will soon be flooded with overhyped fluff pieces of alleged “ghosts,” enticing the general public to click on a story devoid of common sense …
Operation Lemon Meringue – Thomas John
Zoom has been amazing for me during this pandemic—I’m at home, but I’m able to connect with friends and family all over the world. Even train, coach, and plot for all the various projects I’m involved in. I’ve recorded many interviews with members of the skeptic community and posted them on Facebook and YouTube for …
Mike Marshall: Born Skeptic
Some are born to skepticism. Some are called to it. And some have it thrust upon them. Liverpool-based Mike Marshall thinks he was born that way. “I almost envy the moments people describe of a sort of Damascene conversion,” he says. He doesn’t mention names, but it’s easy to think of Chris French, whose beliefs …
The Thomas John Experience – Review
The day before the release of psychic medium Thomas John’s new show on CBS All Access—The Thomas John Experience—I released an article with my predictions for the show. That was June 4, 2020, and now it’s time to review those predictions and see how I did. If this is your first introduction to Thomas John …
New Contraceptive Drug Makes No Sense
I subscribe to The Medical Letter to learn about new drugs. I am frequently appalled by their cost. For example, a year’s treatment with Ozanimod, a drug recently approved for multiple sclerosis, costs $84,800. And some new drugs cost much, much more than that. A gene therapy drug from Novartis currently holds the record: 2.1 …
Abysmal Failure: A Skeptical Psychic Medium Attempts to Read Susan Gerbic
I’m going to tell you about my latest reading with a psychic medium who approached me in July 2020. She felt very strongly that she needed to reach out to me so I could get a reading from a “true and genuine psychic.” I’m not going to disclose who this person is for reasons I …