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:

Antivaxxers are dangerously wrong, but we should be wary of writing them off as stupid or selfish, by Michael Marshall, from December 2020

A new study suggests vegan diets are healthier for cats and dogs – but is it really true?, by Robyn Lowe, from September 2023

Toxoplasmosis: how worried should we be about the 'mind-control parasite' spread by cats?, by Lydia Hemus, from February 2021

Counting down our top 10 worst pseudoscience pop songs of all time, by Brian Eggo, from November 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:

Haunting the Bereaved: a skeptical analysis of Colin Fry's "6ixth Sense" TV show, by Mark Williams, from July 2007

GESARA: From 9/11 'truth' to global economic conspiracy, by Thiago Vahia, from November 2020

10 songs that show there's space for skepticism in music industry, by Brian Eggo, from June 2021

Redemption or ruse? Russell Brand's conversion to Christianity examined, by Abi Kennedy, from June 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:

Failure to listen to patients is causing unacceptable delays in endometriosis diagnosis, by Alice Howarth, from October 2020

We all want to feel special and unique - which is what leads some of us to conspiracy theories, by Dave Hahn, from October 2021

Being Reasonable: what we can learn from people who hold fringe beliefs, by Michael Marshall, from June 2022

Ear candling: why putting burning sticks into your ear is actually quite a bad idea, by Michaila Passananti, from December 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:

Nobody undergoes egg donation for the money - it is about altruism, not exploitation, by Emma McClure, from September 2024

From the archive: The Rendlesham Incident - Some Lessons for UFOlogy, by Jenny Randle, from April 2006

Nesta Helen Webster: the far-right author who popularised the antisemitic Illuminati conspiracy, by Mark Horne, from January 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:

Conspiracy theories give the illusion of control, in a system that leaves people feeling powerless, by Aaron Rabinowitz, from August 2022

HADD it's day: there's no evidence for an inherited hyperactive agency detection device, by Kat Ford, from November 2024

What's the better exercise for our health: lifting weights or doing cardio?, by Clio Bellenis, from September 2023

iNaturalist's flaws can leave people with a false impression of the natural world around them, by Sarah Hearne, 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:

The conspiracy theorists scaremongering about UN Agenda 21 have obviously not read Agenda 21, by Mark Horne, from September 2021

Electrician Sheds Light on Viral Birmingham Ghost Mystery, by Hayley Stevens, from September 2020

An awareness of your body is useful, but the Alexander Technique probably isn't, by Alice Howarth, from August 2024

Who runs the world According to conspiracy theorists, it's Beyoncé, by Pai Jing Wen, from March 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:

Don't call me skeptic! Should we embrace the label, or focus on the work of being skeptical?, by Jack Lawrence, from March 2023

Pandemic Prediction Problems, by Brian Eggo, from January 2021

Tall tales: ancient British giants, by Mark Horne, from October 2022

What's in Lake Champlain? Analysing historic sightings of the cryptid known as "Champ", by Floe Foxon, from June 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:

Is the US government in contact with an alien "galactic federation"?, by Chris French, from January 2021

The graveyard of skeptical projects suggests it's funding, not talent, that we're lacking, by Jonathan Jarry, from January 2024

Kardecism: the fringe spiritualist doctrine which became the soul of pseudoscience in Brazil, by Carlos Orsi and Natália Pasternak, from January 2021

The strange and deeply unlikely tale of Gef the talking mongoose, by Sean Slater, from March 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:

Ghosts, curses and werewolf sightings: as archaeologists, we see human belief up close, by Paul Duncan McGarrity, from October 2020

Central Bank Digital Currencies, and why conspiracists are urging each other to use cash, by Mark Horne, from April 2023

Well-designed patient outreach can help tackle misinformation where it does the most harm, by Galina Limorenko, from January 2021

A search for meming: fighting the mind-virus virus, by Blake Smith, 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