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:

The 'Cryptoterrestrial Hypothesis' that wants us to believe aliens have always been among us, by Dave Hahn, from August 2024

The story of the Satanic Panic is a tale of religious and cultural paranoia in America, by Deborah Hyde, from June 2021

Moms for Liberty: serving moral panic with a side of BASIC cannibalism, by Aaron Rabinowitz, from April 2022

From the archives: Homeopathy and the 10:23 campaign, by Mark Williams, from July 2012

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:

Are you skeptical About Free Will? Prove it!, by Aaron Rabinowitz, from December 2020

We all need good hand hygiene, but antibacterial soaps are a waste of time, by Alice Howarth, from December 2020

From the archives: Korean fan death, the curiously-local mass killer, by Deborah Hyde, from January 2011

How to engage with arguments rationally, respectfully, and with humility, by Michael Marshall, from May 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:

Patience isn't just a virtue, it's a crucial part of showing compassion for conspiracy theorists, by Michael Marshall from May 2023

The mosaic of memory: how we constantly rewrite our memories of our past, by Chris French from January 2004

A visit to Noah's Ark Zoo Farm, the UK's only explicitly creationist tourist attraction, by Sarah Hearne, from January 2022

An Unhealthy Dose of Viral Conspiracy, by Hayley Stevens from October 2020

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:

Whisper it quietly and go heavy on the caveats, but David Icke is right, by Dave Hahn from March 2024

From the archive: Forgive us our trespasses - Rendlesham and diplomacy, by Peter Brookesmith from April 2006

Mas Sajady: the Get Well quantum guru who just wants to know if he makes sense, by Michael Marshall from October 2022

Christmas as we know it is appropriated, co-opted, bastardised… and thoroughly magical, by Paul Duncan McGarrity from December 2020

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:

Gerson Support Group cancer 'cure' charity removed from register by Charity Commission, by Michael Marshall from March 2022

Rhyme and Reason: a Rael expert takes a look at the Raelian movement, by Steve Donnelly from April 2002

Echo chambers create an illusion of consensus around medical misinformation, by Michael Marshall from March 2022

The many traditions of Christmas that are now lost to history, by Toby Howard from December 1989

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:

Why I called for the Brazilian Senate to impeach President Bolsanaro over our Covid crisis, by Natalia Pasternack from July 2021

From the archives: Why Do People Believe in the Paranormal? Skeptical happenings in Lowestoft, by Jean Dorricott from May 1990

When we talk about the scientific consensus, we need to be clear what we mean, by Michael Marshall from February 2022

When it comes to conservation, cat-fights only hurt our communication efforts, by Ada McVean from September 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: 

• From scam product ads to conspiracy theories, misinformation always adapts to survive, by Michael Marshall from November 2020

• From the archive: Explaining the Turin Shroud - the creation of a religious hoax, by Steve Donnelly from November 1988

• How alternative medicine radicalises believers into Qanon conspiracy theories, by Dave Hahn from April 2021

• The Lacerta Files and its reptilian hybrids show the persistence of appealing myths, by Mark Horne from November 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:

Closing the information gap on GM technology means addressing fear, as well as ignorance, by Natalia Pasternak from September 2021

Is the pandemic turning young people to god? Don't believe the prayer PR, by Michael Marshall from October 2021

Distinguishable from intelligence? Don't mistake technology with superiority, by Wendy Grossman from January 2003

Sine Missione, and the conspiracy theorists who use graffiti to spread pseudoscience, by Mark Horne 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:

Misleading propaganda from 'Care Not Killing' is designed to poison the well on assisted dying, by Brian Eggo from September 2021

Everything you ever wanted to know about astrology – for free, by Chris French from November 2024

A historical Dutch UFO hunt - How one phone call roused all Amsterdam, by Marcel Hulspas from September 1988

Nikola Tesla and the Cult of the Mysterious Genius, by Mark Horne 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:

Natural" health influencers will tell you sunscreen is bad for you - are they right? (No), by Alice Howarth from June 2023

When shows like Pod Save America run psuedoscience ads, they undermine their credibility, by Michael Marshall from February 2021

Are there hidden messages in the Bible? Revisiting the claims of the Bible Code, by Klash Schmeh from October 2011

Blackpool's 'Chariots of the Gods' park is built on racist assumptions about the past, by Mark Horne from February 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