The Skeptic Podcast

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.

On this episode:

• Conspiracy theorists cry betrayal at Trump's selective approach to immigration by Dave Hahn, from February 2025

• Cannibalism: The long history of a modern propaganda tool by James Williams, from April 2025

• Project Blue Beam is finally happening... as long as you cherry pick very carefully by Nick Garratt, from February 2025

• JD Vance is right - for anti-intellectuals like him, the professors are the enemy by Edzard Ernst, from September 2024

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020. On this episode:

• Netflix's Seaspiracy, and how to spot misinformation in glossy documentaries by Sarah Hearne, from June 2021
• John Robison, the Illuminati, and the beginnings of a global superconspiracy theory by Dave Hahn, from October 2022
• Del Bigtree's Better Way conference seeks to turn Covid conspiracists into full-on anti-vaxxers by Aaron Rabinowitz, from June 2022

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.

On this episode:

• The American Culture War: Coming to a politics near you by Aaron Rabinowitz, from June 2021

• Time to 'drop the crop' - why cutting off the tips of dogs' ears is never right by Robyn Lowe, from March 2023

• Spontaneous Human Combustion: The truth behind the myth of Mary Carpenter by Matt Mills, from May 2021

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.

On this episode:

• As a teacher, I wish I'd handled the conspiracy theorist in my class differently by Brian Montgomery, from March 2023

• Closed coffins and open coffers: the costs of Singaporean Chinese funeral practices by Ang Kai Randall, from July 2023

• In an increasingly secular America, religious conservatives exert power via the culture wars by Aaron Rabinowitz, from March 2022

• A Swift conspiracy: why almost all major celebrities get accused of being in the Illuminati by Dave Hahn, from November 2023

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.

On this episode:

• Andrew Tate's misogynistic BRUV political party is a joke we should take seriously by Abi Kennedy from February 2025
• The Truth of Skinwalker Ranch… probably won't shock you by Nick Garratt from April 2025
• Perspectives on Peer Review by Edzard Ernst from November 2020
• The Better Way conspiracy conference went all-in on the moral panic around trans people by Aaron Rabinowitz from August 2023

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.

On this episode:

• The Tartarian Conspiracy: a silly pseudo-archaeology for our serious times by Dave Hahn from April 2025
• In the face of AI-driven encyclopedia, cherish Wikipedia - and original sources by Hayley Stevens from December 2025
• Lytham's 'Beast of Green Drive': The Monster that almost certainly wasn't by Andy Owens from October 2022
• Understanding the origins of the 15-Minute City panic takes just 30 minutes by Tim Jokl from February 2025

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.

On this episode:

• Attempts to "bring back" the woolly mammoth distract us from vital conservationist goals by Sarah Hearne from November 2021
• The anti-fluoridation movement is born of public health mistrust and misinformation by Elissar Gerges from January 2025
• Auriculotherapy: why poking needles into your earlobe is, essentially, pointless by Edzard Ernst from December 2023

• Patients with Alzheimer's deserve care and dignity - not false hope of miracle cures by Lena Bohman from January 2025

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.

On this episode:

Conclave raises fascinating questions about hypothetical scenarios within the Catholic Church, by Gabriel Andrade, from January 2025

Coping with Death: Why the 5 stages of grief don't tell the whole story, by Sarah Hearne, from May 2021

A brief history of radio-phobia: new technology is always met with fear and uncertainty, by Sean Slater, from February 2024

Brazil's Covid-19 inquiry puts pseudoscience on trial, by Natalia Pasternak, from June 2021

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.

On this episode:

Exploring the limits of skepticism. Part 3: The value of adversarial collaborations, by Chris French, from January 2026

Rachel Elnaugh: the Dragon's Den star and Covid conspiracist preparing for the 'food apocalypse', by Mark Horne, from January 2023

Counterweight, and the continued enabling of bad faith 'anti-woke' actors, by Aaron Rabinowitz, from July 2021

The much-hyped UAP report's lack of substance will do little to deter avid UFO believers, by Nigel Watson, from July 2021

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic

From the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine's expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.

On this episode:

Exploring the limits of skepticism. Part 2: The plot thickens, by Chris French, from November 2025

Cheap talk skepticism: why we need to push back against those who are 'just asking questions', by Aaron Rabinowitz, from January 2021

Fact checking a live debate taught me we shouldn't let political falsehoods stand, by Brian Eggo, from March 2021

How genuine is cultural commentators' 'concern' for OnlyFans model Lily Phillips?, by Abi Kennedy, from January 2025

Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic