Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition

Stephen Hupp recaps CSICon 2026 in Buffalo, New York.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2026/10/we-celebrated-our-50th-anniversary-at-csicon-2026/

About the Author:

Stephen Hupp, PhD, is the executive director of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the editor of Skeptical Inquirer. Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

Daniel Whiteson reviews Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day (2026). Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2026/10/what-does-spielbergs-disclosure-day-reveal-about-truth/

About the Author:

Daniel Whiteson is a particle physicist, a professor at UC Irvine, and cohost of the podcast Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe. He is the coauthor, with Andy Warner, of Do Aliens Speak Physics? Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

During the Into the Future campaign, every dollar you donate from today until July 1, 2027, will be matched up to $150,000. This $300,000 fund will be used to fight back against the disturbing anti-science agenda damaging our progress toward a healthier society. Please stand with us by donating at skepticalinquirer.org/intothefuture/.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2026/10/join-the-fraziers-and-castens-in-supporting-csis-into-the-future-fund/

About the Author:

Stephen Hupp, PhD, is the executive director of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the editor of Skeptical Inquirer. Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

Mick West examines the 2026 U.S. government release of UFO files, arguing that the much-publicized disclosures produced no convincing evidence of extraterrestrial activity and instead fueled a media spectacle built around ambiguous images and sensational claims. Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2026/10/the-ufo-circus/

About the Author:

Mick West is a writer, investigator, and debunker who enjoys looking into the evidence behind conspiracy theories and strange phenomena and then explaining what is actually going on. He runs the Metabunk forum, tweets @mickwest, and is the author of the book "Escaping the Rabbit Hole". Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

Stephen Hupp argues that Americans remain far too willing to entertain alien explanations and that curiosity about the unknown should be accompanied by greater skepticism.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2026/10/americans-still-not-skeptical-enough-about-ufos/

About the Author:

Stephen Hupp, PhD, is the executive director of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the editor of Skeptical Inquirer. Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

Wendy M. Grossman argues that treating artificial intelligence as a single, humanlike entity blurs important distinctions between technologies and distracts from more immediate concerns, including corporate power, privacy violations, security risks, and real-world harms.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-ai/

About the Author:

Wendy M. Grossman is an American freelance writer based in London. She is the founder of Britain's The Skeptic magazine, for which she served as editor from 1987-1989 and 1998-2000. For the last 30 years she has covered computers, freedom, and privacy for publications such as the Guardian, Scientific American, and New Scientist. She is a CSI Fellow. Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

Stuart Vyse examines research into meditation's potential adverse effects, including anxiety, panic, sleep disruption, and difficulties that can interfere with daily life.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/is-meditating-bad-for-you/

About the Author:

Stuart Vyse is a psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, which won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. He is also author of Going Broke: Why Americans Can't Hold on to Their Money. As an expert on irrational behavior, he is frequently quoted in the press and has made appearances on CNN International, the PBS NewsHour, and NPR's Science Friday. He can be found on Twitter at @stuartvyse. Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

Benjamin Radford examines the recurring claims that Noah's Ark has been "rediscovered," arguing that these discoveries repeatedly rely on confirmation bias, pareidolia, poor fact-checking, and interpretations that begin with the assumption that the Ark must exist. Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-re-re-re-re-discovery-of-noahs-ark/

About the Author:

Benjamin Radford, M.Ed., is a scientific paranormal investigator, a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, deputy editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, and author, co-author, contributor, or editor of twenty books and over a thousand articles on skepticism, critical thinking, and science literacy. His newest book is America the Fearful. Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

Nick Tiller examines the Enhanced Games as less a revolutionary new frontier in human performance than a commercial venture designed to funnel customers toward the Enhanced Group's testosterone, peptide, supplement, and telehealth businesses. He argues that the Games' failure to produce significant new records exposed the limits of drug-based optimization, while the event's financial filings reveal a strategy in which elite athletes and extraordinary performances function primarily as marketing for a much larger wellness enterprise.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-enhanced-games-a-commercial-legacy/

About the Author:

Dr. Nick Tiller is an exercise physiologist, researcher, and writer covering health, performance, and wellness misinformation. He's been a Skeptical Inquirer columnist since 2021 and is an elected fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. His new book, The Health and Wellness Lie, is an unflinching exposé of the trillion-dollar wellness machine. Visit www.nbtiller.com for more. Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

Susan Gerbic provides five tips for getting a psychic reading.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/tips-for-your-psychic-reading/

About the Author:

Affectionately called the Wikipediatrician, Susan Gerbic is the cofounder of Monterey County Skeptics and a self-proclaimed skeptical junkie. Susan is also founder of the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) project. She is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and writes for her column, Guerilla Skepticism, often. You can contact her through her website.

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