This week Ben and Celestia start by looking at a Newsweek headline that's been circulating again recently, implying that one-third of Americans doubt the death toll of the Holocaust. Then we devote our main segment to an important essay that has become both style guide and etiquette manual to skeptical writers and critics. Ray Hyman, one of the original founders of CSICOP, outlined eight principles to follow when engaging in "proper criticism" of paranormal claims. "Hyman's Proper Criticism," as it is known, applies more broadly to any topic, really, and becoming familiar with these eight lessons will make you a better human being.

First, Ben brings us an interesting dustup from the BFRO involving some paranormal researcher snubbing. Then we do a deep, murky, cold-water dive into Ogopogo. This mysterious Canadian lake monster has a few incarnations, including a bloodthirsty one that demands sacrifices! We hear about Ben's hunt for the creature at Lake Okanagan, courtesy of National Geographic. Spoiler alert: he didn't find any monsters, but we learn about all the evidence and how to decipher it.

Ben, Celestia, and Pascual take a romp through a bunch of 2018's more memorable skeptical moments. From a new iteration of the Mechanical Turk to deadly rumors in India to a resurgence of Geocentrism, there's plenty to go around. We go over some of the more notable passings, and Ben lists some of his favorite episodes from the past year.

This episode deals with various aspects of kids and woo . . . First, a look at that jolly old "identified flying object" often seen on Christmas eve, Santa himself. What skeptical benefits might be lurking in the whole Santa charade? Then we examine some harm done by serious, life-threatening woo that well-meaning parents inflict upon their children as part of a family belief system, as well as the lesser forms of uncritical thinking that can seep into a child's mental environment.

Pascual is back, and we discuss a free-roaming placenta found in the Canadian woods last week. Then we bring in award-winning filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers to discuss one of his favorite doom-sayers, Harold Camping. What convinced so many followers that End Times were upon us back in 2011? Erik discusses Camping's similarities to a cult leader as well as his business model, both of which contributed to his surprising reach. Ben entertains us with a few other apocalyptic prophesies from earlier days, and we examine the psychology of what happens to believers and prophets alike after these predictions fail.

Pascual is back, and we discuss a free-roaming placenta found in the Canadian woods last week. Then we bring in award-winning filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers to discuss one of his favorite doom-sayers, Harold Camping. What convinced so many followers that End Times were upon us back in 2011? Erik discusses Camping's similarities to a cult leader as well as his business model, both of which contributed to his surprising reach. Ben entertains us with a few other apocalyptic prophesies from earlier days, and we examine the psychology of what happens to believers and prophets alike after these predictions fail.

First, Ben and Celestia discuss an interesting bit of fan base fakery with a surprise guest. Then we are joined by the Skeptic Zone's Richard Saunders for a conversation on Randi's Million Dollar Challenge. A longstanding offer to purported psychics and other claimants to supernatural powers, the JREF prize set the bar as the ultimate dare for purveyors of the paranormal. Now there are dozens of other offers around the world that, like the JREF money, still remain unclaimed. Richard has been on the front lines of the MDC, as well as other challenges, and he chats with us about the history of the prize as well as the goals and dangers of offering such tests to the many dowsers, aura-readers, psychic healers, and others who apply.

Award-winning filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers joins Ben and Celestia to discuss Bigfoot on film. Starting with a quick analysis of the famous and most influential Bigfoot film, the Patterson-Gimlin footage, we tour the offerings since then, looking both at pop culture and the more serious efforts of a particularly litigious present-day Canadian Squatcher. Various Bigfoot and Yeti have flourished in all genres, popping up in horror films as well as children's entertainment. From the pendulous, hairy Bigfoot breasts seen in the grainy 1967 footage to the pendulous, hairy Bigfoot breasts drawn by R. Crumb a decade later, the creature has captured imaginations and resulted in some twisted depictions over the years.

Celestia reports back from her hurried day at CSI con, and Ben recounts a news story about a graveyard dowser. Then we look at Halloween subjects: what are the real roots of this holiday, and what exactly is satanic about it? Ben traces the development of "trick or treating" and we find out it's a bit of religious extortion that used to involve turnip torture. Celestia probes the more recent phenomenon of "Hell Houses" put on by conservative evangelicals as a much, much worse alternative to a haunted house. And then Ben debunks a few typical Halloween societal panics.

Celestia reports back from her hurried day at CSI con, and Ben recounts a news story about a graveyard dowser. Then we look at Halloween subjects: what are the real roots of this holiday, and what exactly is satanic about it? Ben traces the development of "trick or treating" and we find out it's a bit of religious extortion that used to involve turnip torture. Celestia probes the more recent phenomenon of "Hell Houses" put on by conservative evangelicals as a much, much worse alternative to a haunted house. And then Ben debunks a few typical Halloween societal panics.