Skeptoid

The 1928 murder of a folk healer ignited a media frenzy and moral panic, revealing how superstition and magical thinking can fuel real-world tragedy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We’re sharing a preview of a new audiobook, Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth, which celebrates the wit and wisdom of the legendary science fiction author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Douglas Adams was someone who thought deeply about the biggest problems in the world, from the internet, to artificial intelligence, to space exploration, politics, and conservation—he was a sharp critic and a profoundly disruptive thinker of the way we do things. Written and narrated by Arvind Ethan David, Adams’ former protégé, this one-of-a-kind audiobook includes rare archival material from the Adams Estate, interviews with Adams’ personal friends like Griff Rhys Jones and David Baddiel, and reenactments of his work to form an immersive journey through the mind of one of the most visionary writers of our time. Get Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth now at Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm/audiobooks, or wherever audiobooks are sold. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Is there good science backing up the idea that you should eat based upon which of three body types you have? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Will our improvements to AI's voracious appetite for electricity keep pace with the exploding demand? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Do you really need to pay quite so much attention to which foods you eat, and which you avoid? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Since psychic abilities do not exist outside the delusions of true believers, involving psychics in searches for missing persons is worse than useless. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A roundup of all the biggest and scariest real sea monsters — from today and from prehistoric times. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

How one special moment redefined how a science teacher does her job. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Their exciting nature, combined with the fact nobody's ever won one, make paranormal challenge prizes important educational tools. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Here are many popular myths about chocolate. How many can you tell are true or not? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

She may have gotten her start as Houdini's sidekick, but Rose Mackenberg became a giant of unmasking fraudulent mediums. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

You're going to get to enjoy some new guest hosts for a month or two on Skeptoid. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Super mushrooms are claimed by some to provide vague health benefits beyond their known nutritional values. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A roundup of the world's riskiest volcanoes and fault zones — and they're not necessarily the most hazardous. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Some people try to feed their dogs the same alternative diet they eat themselves... not necessarily so good for the dog. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Many of our preconceived notions about immigrants likely bear very little resemblance to the facts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

All of the ways you've heard that deep space wants to kill us — and how plausible or likely each scenario is. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Vaccines are history's great medical success story, having saved more lives than anything else. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ten of the places where Atlantis true believers think the mythical city might actually be. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Many of the Christian symbols created in the aftermath of the First Crusade have been adopted by White Nationalists. Why? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A look at recent studies finding leaded gasoline caused 151 million mental health illnesses in the United States. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This catchphrase has become popular with comedians. Is that in line with its true origin? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Some believe a fabulous Spanish treasure is buried on the slopes of Oregon's Neahkahnie Mountain. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A few of your favorite experts weigh in on how you can make sure your information comes from the very best sources. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

What really happened — and what didn't — in the 2024 telecom cyberattack. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Join us for our 2nd Annual Skeptoid Adventure, this time to the Bermuda Triangle! Early bird pricing ends this Friday, don't miss the boat! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Just as important as the question of how much the livestock industry contributes to global warming is whether your giving up meat will have any real impact. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The newer the data, and the longer we've had to study the epidemiology, the less harm we find that Agent Orange caused. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Cloud seeding would seem like an easy and obvious way to create rain where none existed before. Is it really that simple? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Economic nationalism, while attractive to many populists, is not the path to economic success some believe it to be. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Skeptoid answers another round of feedback emails sent in by listeners. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

These schools combine an atypical education with a New Age spirituality called anthroposophy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Cryonics promises an opportunity for you to be frozen and revived at some distant point in the future — though with plenty of controversy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Skeptoid answers another round of questions from students all around the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

What could explain a strange creature living in the suburbs, but only ever witnessed once? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this Giving Tuesday, please consider supporting Skeptoid Media (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization) and our mission of cultivating critical thinking and science literacy skills. Donations will be matched by our Board of Directors! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Skeptoid corrects another round of errors in previous episodes. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This alleged sea serpent terrorized a New England fishing village for two years in the 19th century. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Bats are scary and rabies is deadly, but do you need to worry about you or your pets catching the disease from them? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A report from the recent Skeptoid Adventures trip to Death Valley, including how many brave souls we lost in the desert and how they met their fate; and announcing the next Skeptoid Adventures trip to the Bermuda Triangle! Reserve your spot now at https://skeptoid.com/events/30285 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A mysterious man is said to have arrived in Japan in 1959 from a country that never existed. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Seven creepy stories from seven listeners, and seven guesses by me. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A thoroughly discredited idea, that the Mesoamerican Olmec people were Black Africans, continues to gain traction. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This buried rock wall found throughout Rockwall County has people wondering about its origin. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It's Skeptoid's 18th birthday! Won't you help us celebrate by giving us a little birthday present? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Can dogs be taught to speak intelligently using floor buttons that represent words? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Highlights from 18 years of the Skeptoid podcast. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Fifteen trivia questions from previous aviation themed episodes of Skeptoid. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

15 popular myths about sleeping, debunked. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Join the Skeptoid Flash Mob at CSICon 2024 in Las Vegas. Visit skeptoid.com/store to get your shirts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices