Squaring the Strange

This week, our boys are live at the New Mexico Podscape Festival. First, Ben dissects cryptozoology and how natural disasters come into play. Then, our strangers delve into the newest end times prediction and talk about the history of these claims. Last, Pascual digs into one of our favorite woo-peddlers, Gwenyth Paltrow, and her newest product. Celestia also stops in with a great Fortune Cookie!

Episode 25: Conspiracy Theories THEY Don't Want You to Know About (released September 28, 2017) Ben ruminates on the blowup over Trump's NFL tweets this week, wondering why so many people (especially Trump's critics) seem to give him more power by fueling the outrage machine, thus distracting themselves from the core issues. Owing to Trump's clear track record of lies, exaggerations, contradictions, and impulse thoughts, perhaps the best skeptical approach is to not give his tweets any weight at all—as they do not represent legislative action, the views of most of America, or even, perhaps, Trump's core values (if he has any). Then, for their main topic, the guys delve into conspiratorial thinking: from medieval witch hunts to the Illuminati. What factors make people more prone to fall into believing conspiracies, and what are some hallmarks of a typical conspiracy theory? Why do proponents doubt some things so strongly but swallow every point made in an amateur Youtube video? It's also valuable to examine what exactly is taken as evidence—and if, for argument's sake, that "evidence" is true: does it really prove the theory put forth or is it simply one small strange thing likely meaning nothing? Finally, we run through a quick history of disseminating information, from the rise of the printing press to modern day. Cranks with conspiracy notions have gone from buying back-of-magazine ads and Xeroxing pamphlets (and in one case cementing tiles down on East Coast streets) to putting up websites and starting podcasts—and, alarmingly, being interviewed by mainstream journalists and quoted by the President of the United States.

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.

While Pascual tends to his offspring, Ben and Celestia discuss a recent story about a waitress being allegedly stiffed due to her pride tattoo. They go through numerous similar stories, some hoaxed, and discuss whether this is becoming a modern-day folk tale. Faked stories undercut and blur real issues, and writing a story around a mere Facebook post has become a recurring journalistic failure. Pascual steps back in for our main topic, a lively discussion on "alleged psychic" John Edward, as Ben and Celestia recount what they observed at a live performance. We go through cold reading and pivoting techniques Edward used as well as how the audience eagerly does much of the work for him, making connections and turning obvious misses into hits. There are many layers to the topic: the psychology of why people are motivated to believe, what possible benefits and harms come along with this type of ad-hoc spiritualistic life coaching, and even the sense of power a psychic feels as they sway a person or a room. Celestia confesses to a moment in college where she pretended to have psychic powers, and what she learned from that.

This week, the Strange crew talks time travel. Everything from their favorite time travel fiction to a little bit of science! Then they head to Bubonicon to ask people about their favorite time travel heroes! Video content is available to Patrons, as well as Ben's talk on UFOs!

This week, Ben and Pascual explore the oft-horrifying phenomenon of sleep paralysis. After watching the documentary "The Nightmare", our hosts decided it would be apt to talk about sleep paralysis, particularly because Pascual has a long history of first-hand experience. Also in this episode, Ben discusses EVP and Pascual is skeptical of a product that protects people from radio frequencies in the air. Celestia stops by with a very magical fortune cookie as well!

This week, Ben and Pascual explore how urban legends can sometimes turn dangerous and even deadly. From the unintended consequences of rumor to what happens when people believe too strongly, the boys take us on a journey through the dreadful outcomes when people become a bit too credulous regarding urban legends. Also in this episode, Celestia opens another fun fortune cookie packed with some extra firepower.

This week, we had a bad bit of timing for our outrage episode in that the events that occurred in Charlottesvile, VA were two days after we finished recording. So as to not deprive our listeners of a new episode, we put together some bonus content that we would like you all to enjoy!

Episode 18: Food Evolution Documentary and Chewing the Fat on GMOs This week Ben, Celestia, and Pascual open with a discussion on what people consider uncanny, bizarre, or strange. What takes something from implausible to downright mysterious? An understanding of statistics is one angle to consider, but ignorance of particular fields is also at work: from the World Trade Center to the pyramids to cancer remissions, people who lack the relevant technical knowledge are the ones gobsmacked by particular events or facts. Headline writers emphasize this "bizarre" aspect without providing context, leading many to jump right to conspiracy theories or supernatural explanations. Then Celestia, back from the 2017 meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists, discusses the new GMO documentary, Food Evolution. The film was funded by IFT but director Scott Hamilton Kennedy was given complete control over topic, content, and approach, and he chose to tackle the human side of the GMO/organic controversy. Kennedy did a beautiful job bringing the human element to the forefront and takes viewers along a persuasive narrative of finding common ground and changing minds. Celestia, Pascual, and Ben touch on hot button topics like GMO labeling, evil corporations like Monsanto, and patenting living organisms. We also discuss the negative feedback the movie has so far received, and the strength (or rather lack of strength) in the arguments that the anti-GMO crowd has put forth. Namely, a Huffington Post columnist supported by organic industries decries the appearance of a logo in the film's background, and Mike Adams calls Neil deGrasse Tyson a race traitor. Lastly, we let you know how to check for a screening of Food Evolution in your area, and give shoutouts to some online resources for anyone wanting to learn more about GMO tech.

This week, Ben and Pascual are joined by Andrew Torrez of the Opening Arguments podcast! They chat a bit about misconceptions and controversial ideas in the law. Also, Celstia joins in for a talk about the new Doctor Who and what the public thinks about the change.