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
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #367: Who Is the Grinning Man?
A mysterious "grinning man" is said to appear and terrorize UFO witnesses. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #366: The Sedona Energy Vortex
Vortexes of spiritual energy are claimed to exist in Sedona, but science suggests we remain skeptical. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #365: The Black Knight Satellite
An object claimed to be 13,000-year-old alien satellite orbiting the Earth is just a piece of an old space shuttle. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #364: Listener Feedback: Conspiracies
Skeptoid answers questions sent in by listeners pertaining to conspiracy theories. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #363: All About Graphology
In fact, handwriting analysis tells us nothing useful about the personality and aptitudes of the writer. Learn about your ad choices…
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Skeptoid #362: Polybius: Video Game of Death
The infamous arcade game Polybius, said to drive players to suicide or madness, was never more than an urban legend. Learn about your ad choices…
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Skeptoid #361: The 16 Personalities of Sybil
The book and movie "Sybil" told the story of a woman purported to have Multiple Personality Syndrome. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Skeptoid #360: Lincoln Kennedy Myths
An old story claims a long list of astonishing similarities between the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy. Learn about your ad choices…
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Skeptoid #359: Cupping for the Cure
Some believe that bruise-causing suction on the skin provides a variety of health benefits. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #358: Listener Feedback: Aliens and UFOs
Skeptoid digs into the feedback mailbag and answers questions about aliens and UFOs. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #357: The Aquatic Ape Theory
There is a popular fringe theory about human evolution that claims we went through an aquatic phase. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #356: John Titor, Time Traveler
An Internet legend claims that a man named John Titor is a visitor from the year 2036. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #355: The Airplane That Wasn't There
A B-25 bomber ditched in a Pennsylvania river in broad daylight 1956 and, seemingly impossibly, was never found. Learn about your ad choices…
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Skeptoid #354: The Pentagon and the Missile
Some say that it wasn't an airliner that struck the Pentagon on 9/11, but a missile. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #353: Pope Joan
This apocryphal Middle Ages pope said to be a woman in disguise probably never existed. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #352: Facts and Fiction of the Schumann Resonance
The Schumann Resonance, 7.83Hz, is one natural radio band in our atmosphere, but holds no mystical powers. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #351: Men in Black
A look at the mysterious government agents said to intimidate those who witness flying saucers. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #350: Trinity: Interview with Dr. Oz, Alex Jones, and Deepak Chopra
Skeptoid interviews three of the most popular and controversial figures in modern pseudoscience. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #349: Top 10 Best Pro-Science Celebrities
A list of ten Hollywood celebrities who have leveraged their fame into the promotion of science. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #348: Ganzfeld Experiments
The true history of the experiment that is said to present the strongest evidence yet for telepathic abilities. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #347: The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine
This most famous of all fabled "lost mines" has a history that fails to stand up to skeptical scrutiny. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #346: Listener Feedback: Me and My Terrible Arguments
Skeptoid responds to another round of listener feedback. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #345: The Cult of Nikola Tesla
The name of Nikola Tesla is associated with crazy conspiracy claims that have nothing to do with his real work. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #344: Olgoi-Khorkhoi: The Mongolian Death Worm
Mongolian tradition holds that a strange and deadly worm lives beneath the sands of the Gobi desert. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #343: The Hollow Earth Theory
Throughout history there have been a number of different beliefs that the Earth might be hollow. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Skeptoid #342: Was the Wow! Signal Alien?
A signal received by a radio telescope in 1977 may be the best evidence yet for extraterrestrial intelligence. Learn about your ad choices…
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Skeptoid #341: Free Energy Machines
Someone somewhere is always claiming to have cracked the secret of free energy forever, no fuel needed. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #340: Listener Feedback: A Cacophony of Conspiracies
How you can convince your friends that their conspiracy theories are nonsensical. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Skeptoid #339: Setting the Bloop Straight
The solution to the Bloop mystery sound is finally revealed, and Skeptoid corrects some errors from other episodes. Learn about your ad choices…
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Skeptoid #338: The Flat Earth Theory
The Flat Earth Theory has its origins not in alt-science but in Christian Fundamentalism. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #337: The Bermuda Triangle and the Devil's Sea
Contrary to popular belief, no unusual number of disappearances has ever happened inside these two ocean regions. Learn about your ad choices…
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Skeptoid #336: How to Tell a Good Website from a Crap Website
How to tell whether a science article on the web is reliable or not. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Skeptoid #335: Cleansing Diets: Why or Why Not?
Cleansing diets are trendier than ever. They are also a complete waste of your money. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Skeptoid #334: The Betz Mystery Sphere
This mysterious silver ball seemed to have all kinds of strange properties. We finally found out what it was. Learn about your ad choices…
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Skeptoid #333: Student Questions: Dancing Plague and the Cinnamon Challenge
Skeptoid answers another round of student questions sent in from all around the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Skeptoid #332: The Phantom Time Hypothesis
A number of theories claim that several centuries never actually happened, and were faked by the Church. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #331: The Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter
A rural family spent half a night battling what they thought were space aliens. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #330: Hypnotism: Hijacking Your Brain?
The facts and the fiction of one of the most intriguing psychological phenomena. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Skeptoid #329: Is She Real, or Is She Fictional?
See if you can tell which of these famous women from history are real, and which are fictional. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #328: Secrets of the Stradivarius
The secret of history's greatest stringed instrument, the Stradivarius violin, is that there is no secret. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #327: Raiding the Ark of the Covenant
The true history of the most famous holy relic from Biblical times. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #326: The Mystery of the Vitrified Forts
Some 60 ancient stone forts in Scotland have vitrified walls, with the stone melted into glass. Here's what we know. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #325: The Golden Ratio
For centuries, claims both scientific and pseudoscientific have been made for the golden ratio. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #324: Listener Feedback: That Darned Science
Skeptoid responds to some listener emails that question the validity of the scientific method. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #323: 8 Spooky Places, and Why They're Like That
These strange places around the world rank among the most macabre, but have interesting explanations. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Skeptoid #322: Negative Calorie Food Myths
Negative calorie foods, said to require more energy to digest than they provide, are a popular food fad. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #321: Skinwalkers
Navajo Skinwalkers were said to be able to shapeshift into animals, but don't worry, it's just a tall tale. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #320: The Suicide Dogs of Overtoun Bridge
There's a bridge in Scotland where dogs are said to deliberately commit suicide. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #319: Student Questions: Food Woo and Iron Man at the Airport
Skeptoid answers another round of questions sent in by students all around the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #318: The Loch Ness Monster
The world's most famous cryptid is said to swim in Scotland's most famous loch. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #317: Attack of the Nanobots!
A look at the belief that nanotechnology may result in an army of self-replicating machines that consume society. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
New Skeptoid Books
Skeptoid announces two new paperbacks: "Astronauts, Aliens, and Ape-Men" plus "The Secret of the Gypsy Queen". Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #316: Al-Ghazali and Arab-Islamic Science
Some say that Persian theologian al-Ghazali was solely responsible for the end of the Golden Age of science. Learn about your ad choices…
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Skeptoid #315: The Tehran 1976 UFO
Declassified military documents show that Iranian fighter planes engaged a UFO in 1976. Here's what's actually known. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #314: Botches and Bungles
Skeptoid goes back and corrects some errors from previous episodes. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #313: Area 51 Facts and Fiction
Now that Area 51 has been declassified, we finally have proof that what they did had nothing to do with aliens. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #312: Student Questions: Marauding Mammoths and Queen Elizabeth the Man
Skeptoid answers another round of questions sent in by students all around the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #311: Deconstructing the Rothschild Conspiracy
Some believe that world governments and economies are secretly controlled by the Rothschild banking family. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #310: Left Handed Myths and Facts
Many popular anecdotes tell how and why some people are left-handed, but the true facts are even more interesting. Learn about your ad choices…
- Skeptoid
Skeptoid #309: The Science and Politics of Global Warming
How global warming became the poster boy for failed science communication. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices