September 26, 2010

Skeptic Check: Sheer Lunacy

52 minutes

Watch out, the moon is full… of intrigue. Our lovely satellite is blamed for all sorts of Earth-bound mischief – from robberies to shape-shifting to general nutty behavior. It’s also the setting for more than one loony tale. In this hour, as NASA spacecraft return to the moon, a look at the mythology it inspires.

Discover the true correlation between crime and a full moon… the 1835 reports of unicorns and man-bats living on moon… and, our favorite hair-raising howler: the werewolf! Also, why some still insist the Apollo moon landing is a hoax.

Plus, space travel – boxed and bundled.

Guests:

Phil Plait - Keeper of the skeptical website badastronomy.com and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . .

Matthew Goodman - Author of The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York

Jim Underdown - Executive Director for the Center for Inquiry West, Los Angeles and keeper of the blog Hollywood Reality Check

June Pulliam - English professor, Louisiana State University

Cynthia Phillips - Scientist at the SETI Institute and author, most recently, of Space Exploration For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science))

Paul Spudis - Senior scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute

Descripción en español

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By Big Picture Science

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