Squaring the Strange

Episode 24 - The Copycat Effect


Listen Later

This week, Ben is skeptical of the History Channel bland promise to be transparent and do more investigation on their recent Amelia Earhart fiasco (spoiler: they haven't). For the main topic, the copycat effect, Ben talks about behavior modeling versus ideation, covering everything from fears of anorexia to the artistry of crop circles. Moving onto serious crimes, the guys discuss the church fires during the 1990s: after President Clinton addressed the issue and formed a task force, the fires actually quadrupled—most set by juveniles who had no clear motive. As parents know, the drive to copy and gain attention is clearly present in children, but some people never grow out of it. Certain instances were a perfect storm of copycatting: the Anthrax scare of 2001 resulted in tremendous anxiety and costs, as it was cheap and easy to fake with talcum powder while being expensive and time-consuming for authorities to deal with. The clown panic of 2016 was a less harmful (but to some, even scarier) example of copycat behavior and attention-seeking. Copycat suicide has many aspects to explore, from the self-immolation of political martyrs to recent concerns about the show 13 Reasons Why. Just like real-life events, there is always a risk that art can inspire some individuals to act in dangerous or criminal ways—but blaming the media for social ills is often too simple an explanation.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Squaring the StrangeBy Ben Radford, Celestia Ward and Pascual Romero

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

91 ratings


More shows like Squaring the Strange

View all
Cognitive Dissonance by Atheist and Skeptical News

Cognitive Dissonance

4,036 Listeners

Skeptoid by Brian Dunning

Skeptoid

2,669 Listeners

The Skeptic Zone by Richard Saunders

The Skeptic Zone

112 Listeners

The Scathing Atheist by Puzzle in a Thunderstorm, LLC

The Scathing Atheist

3,208 Listeners

Skeptics with a K by Skeptic Media Limited

Skeptics with a K

431 Listeners

Friendly Atheist Podcast by Friendly Atheist Podcast

Friendly Atheist Podcast

1,432 Listeners

TheThinkingAtheist by The Thinking Atheist

TheThinkingAtheist

2,865 Listeners

God Awful Movies by Puzzle in a Thunderstorm, LLC

God Awful Movies

2,602 Listeners

The Skepticrat by Puzzle in a Thunderstorm, LLC

The Skepticrat

1,987 Listeners

Citation Needed by Citation Needed Media

Citation Needed

2,662 Listeners

The European Skeptics Podcast - The ESP by TheESP.eu

The European Skeptics Podcast - The ESP

13 Listeners

In Research Of by William Blake Smith

In Research Of

236 Listeners

World's Greatest Con by Dog And Pony Show Audio

World's Greatest Con

1,185 Listeners

Where There's Woke by Thomas Smith

Where There's Woke

268 Listeners

The Know Rogan Experience by Cross Pond Productions

The Know Rogan Experience

776 Listeners