Shows / Skeptoid
Skeptoid
The true science behind our most popular urban legends. Historical mysteries, paranormal claims, popular science myths, aliens and UFO reports, conspiracy theories, and worthless alternative medicine schemes... Skeptoid has you covered. From the sublime to the startling, no topic is sacred. Weekly since 2006.
Episodes
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1055: Caught in the Feedback Loop
We dive into the Skeptoid mailbag to find your best listener feedback. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1054: Let Yourself Get Scammed
It turns out that having zero fraud in society is not necessarily a goal that would serve the general good. Why not? Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1053: Recovered Memory Therapy
Some say you might have repressed memories that you know nothing about — but that might be discovered and recovered therapeutically. Is this a real thing?…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1052: Is CERN Altering Reality?
What's really behind CERN's Large Hadron Collider's third planned shutdown? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1051: The Humble Pie Report
Once again, we issue your corrections to errors made in previous Skeptoid episodes. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1050: Does Torture Work?
The question of whether torture is ever justified must take a back seat to the more important question: Is it effective at producing useful intelligence? Learn…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1049: The Many Worlds of Reality Shifting
Is this new technique to move your consciousness into another world anything more than just vivid imagination? Maybe. Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1048: Are Seed Oils Poisoning Our Food Supply?
Seed oils seem to be the newest food villain. Are they something you truly need to avoid? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1047: The Pirates of Cozumel
Popular tales claim that pirates used the island of Cozumel as a base of operations. History tells us pretty much the exact opposite. Learn about your ad…
- Skeptoid
Feed Drop! Tales From Aztlantis and "Remembering the Maya Apocalypse"
As a thoughtful primer for our Skeptoid Adventure through the Maya World of the Yucatán coast this December, we're dropping an episode from our good friends at…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1046: The Case of the Impossible Satellites
Are alien spacecraft truly the best explanation for "transient" dots found on old telescope photographs? Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid Adventures Early Bird Special
The early bird special ends this Monday for BOTH Skeptoid Adventures launching this December! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1045: Balanced Literacy and the Reading Wars
What was the real cause of the drop in English-speaking literacy rates between 1980 and 2020? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1044: Red Light Therapy
Usually, wellness therapies that claim to treat everything actually treat nothing. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1043: The Men Who Walk Through Walls
The real story behind the CIA spending $20 million on PROJECT STARGATE to study psychics. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Encore! "Finding the Black Olmec"
Our final Skeptoid Adventure of 2026 takes us to the Yucatán coast to explore the Mysteries of the Maya. So, in anticipation of that, we're playing an episode…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1042: On the Trail of the Rougarou
From 17th century France to Nova Scotia and all the way to the bayous of Louisiana, one particular cryptid has had a far longer run than most. The rougarou is…
- Skeptoid
Encore! "The Voodoo Ax Murders"
In preparation for our Skeptoid Adventure to New Orleans, we’re playing an encore edition of an episode that takes us to the heart of the Big Easy and dives…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1041: Full Moon Myths
A round-up of plausible-sounding myths about the Moon, most of which you've probably heard, and some of which you might believe. Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1040: Food Dyes
Some say artificial food dyes are killing us. The truth is a lot more nuanced. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1039: Chemtrails: Still Haven't Blown Away
The more years go by, the more Americans believe that ordinary airliners are secretly spraying chemicals for some hidden nefarious purpose. Learn about your ad…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1038: Project Anchor: Anatomy of a Hoax
This Internet legend claims the Earth's gravity will shut off for seven seconds in 2026. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1037: A Skeptic's Guide to Sleepmaxxing
This social media fad promises to supercharge your sleep and make you healthier than healthy, when in fact it probably does significantly more harm than good…
- Skeptoid
New Skeptoid Movie: Alien Echoes
Skeptoid is now going into production on our third feature film: Alien Echoes. Get all the details at skeptoid.org/alienechoes Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1036: The Myth of the Alpha Wolf
It turns out there's probably no such thing as an alpha wolf. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1035: How Disastrous Are Declining Birth Rates?
Popular influencers claim birth rates are declining disastrously. How true is that, and is it a disaster? Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1034: The Colorado Martian
The discovery of a Martian sarcophagus in Colorado in 1864: An oddball story, or consistent with the lore of the day? Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1033: Skeptifying BBC's Uncanny
Supplying some much-needed skepticism to an episode of the BBC podcast Uncanny. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1032: Is Germ Theory a Myth?
Even today, some people cling to a pre-scientific belief that germs do not cause disease. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Sailing the Skeptical Seas! New Orleans Escapade! Mysteries of the Maya Cruise!
Time is running out to grab one of the few remaining cabins for Málaga, Spain to Nice, France on the SV Royal Clipper AND announcing our next adventure to New…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1031: Unearthing Ancient Advanced Civilizations
An exploration of the validity of the Silurian hypothesis, which posits the existence of a pre-human intelligent race on Earth. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Gentle Reminder: Daylight Saving Time Starts Tomorrow
As a gentle reminder that you will have an hour of sleep robbed from you tonight, enjoy this episode on Daylight Saving Time Myths from the archives! Learn…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1030: Testing the Rossi E-Cat
This secretive device has been promising to deliver clean, free energy for more than 15 years — but so far nobody's been allowed to examine it. Learn about…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1029: How to Become a Sovereign Citizen
Is there somewhere on Earth where Sovereign Citizens can actually be free of any nation's laws? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1028: Manipulative Advertising
Advertising wants your attention, not your soul; and it’s not nearly as good at getting either as you might think. Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1027: Radioactive Relics: The Missing RTGs
Radioactive nuclear generators sit out in the environment, posing a real hazard. They're mostly — but not all — in Russia. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Mic'd Up: Brian's Blood Donation Interview
Brian gets questioned while giving blood. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1026: Vintage Ceramics: Decorative or Deadly?
How concerned do you truly need to be about vintage ceramicware leaching lead into your food? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1025: Pop Quiz: Space Quandaries
Oh no! Another pop quiz. Take the challenge: 9 questions about space. Think you can get them all? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1024: The Van Meter Visitors
A century-old hoax takes wing again, proof that good stories never stay buried. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1023: What Accounts for Ghost Encounters?
If ghosts don't exist, then how do we account for all the ghost experiences that people have every day? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Dr. Flint Dibble Interview: Our Resident Expert for Málaga to Nice!
Mediterranean archaeologist Dr. Flint Dibble will be our resident expert on the real history (and the fake history) at our ports of call when Skeptoid…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1022: Blood Donation Myths
The myths and misconceptions surrounding blood donation and why you might consider donating.Links to resources from Bloodworks Northwest:Blood Donation Need to…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1021: The First Middle Finger
The history and pseudohistory of this infamous and ubiquitous obscene gesture. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1020: Yule Logs
From fireplace to folklore, how the Yule log got its fake pagan backstory. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1019: Testing the Thunderstorm Generator
This device claims to be able to dramatically improve the efficiency and emissions of any internal combustion engine. Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1018: Might Ghosts Exist?
An exploration of all the scientific possibilities by which ghosts might actually exist in this universe. Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1017: The Bell that Tolls for the K-129
It should have been impossible for the CIA's Glomar Explorer to obtain the ship's bell from the K-129 submarine... but they did. How? Learn about your ad…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1016: The Case for Carbon Dating
A roundup of evidence supporting the use of radiocarbon dating to assess the age of organic matter from 500 to 55,000 years old. Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1015: The Alaska Triangle
Stories claim that this region of Alaska is home to a huge number of unexplained disappearances. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1014: The Giant of Kandahar
Did US Special Forces battle a 15-foot-tall red-haired giant in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2002? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1013: Medbeds: Sleeping in Bunk
A conspiracy theory claims the Hollywood and Deep State elitists have a magical bed that allows them to remain forever young and healthy. Learn about your ad…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1012: The Rake That Comes for You in the Night
Is the Rake mere creepypasta, or do more recent events prove it to be a real creature? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1011: The Not-Deer and Weird Appalachian Lore
When ordinary deer turn grotesque, Appalachia’s forests whisper of the Not-Deer — unnatural predators lurking somewhere between folklore and nightmare. Learn…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1010: Pop Quiz: 19 Years of Skeptoid
A pop quiz of trivia from the previous 19 years of Skeptoid shows! Can you beat the masters? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1009: Facts and Fiction of Polynesian Navigation, Part 2
The actual wayfinding methods used by the ancient Polynesians to navigate between islands and settle the entire Pacific Ocean. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid Adventures Sets Sail! Malaga, Spain to Nice, France 2026
Skeptoid Adventures will set sail on the world's largest sailing vessel, the SV Royal Clipper, from Malaga, Spain, to Nice, France this April. We'll have a…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1008: Facts and Fiction of Polynesian Navigation, Part 1
Nearly as much mythology as science surrounds the wayfinding techniques used by early Polynesians to navigate the South Pacific. Learn about your ad choices…
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1007: The Pilots Who Landed at Area 51
True stories of the pilots who have tried to land at Area 51 — and what happened to them. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
SkeptoidSkeptoid #1006: Deconstructing Structured Water
We all enjoy a nice crisp glass of water when we're feeling dehydrated — which makes sense, because our bodies need it most of all, so enjoying it is an…