Skeptoid is a weekly science podcast dedicated to furthering knowledge by blasting away the widespread pseudosciences that infect popular culture, and replacing them with way cooler reality.
Each weekly episode focuses on a single phenomenon — an urban legend, a paranormal claim, alternative therapy, or something just plain stupid — that you've heard of, and that you probably believe in. Skeptoid attempts to expose the folly of belief in non-evidence based phenomena, and more importantly, explains the factual scientific reality.
From the sublime to the startling, no topic is sacred, politically incorrect though that may be. 129,000 weekly downloads.
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Latest Skeptoid Episodes...
May 3, 2011 - Skeptoid tackles another round of student questions, including a bunch of health related questions like an apple a day, and also looks at what a "supermoon" really is and whether it can actually affect the Earth. Read more
Apr 26, 2011 - Do people really gain temporary superhuman strength when in a crisis situation? We've all heard the stories of moms lifting cars off their babies, but can it truly happen that way? Read more
Apr 19, 2011 - Ever since the Vietnam War, a number of vocal veterans' groups have maintained that some POW/MIAs are still being held captive. The military agencies in charge of finding them think differently. Read more
Apr 12, 2011 - Australia has its own Kennedy assassination style conspiracy theory: the Port Arthur Massacre. One lone gunman murdered 35 people, but some say it was a secret government operation. Read more
Apr 5, 2011 - The Voynich Manuscript is perhaps the most famous of all ancient, undeciphered texts. What was its real purpose? Read more
Mar 29, 2011 - This round of listener feedback was recorded live in front of the audience at the Skeptoid 250th Episode party at the University of California, Irvine. Read more
Mar 22, 2011 - In Skeptoid's grand every-50th-episode tradition, Episode 250, The History of Knowledge, is a musical tour of how human knowledge has evolved through the centuries (and not always with the best results). Read more and watch the video
Mar 15, 2011 - Skeptoid answers more student questions, this week on airport X-ray scanners, shampoo advertising claims, non-stick cookware, washable diapers vs. disposables, and the Moon's effects. Read more
Mar 8, 2011 - The exorcism of Anneliese Michel has become the poster child case for why exorcism is an obscene torture ritual. Does it truly have the potential to help critically ill psychiatric patients? Read more
Mar 1, 2011 - Why doesn't God heal amputees? Well, he actually did, once; at least, that's what the legend says. Find out what really happened in Spain in 1640 in an event officially canonized as the Miracle of Calanda. Read more
Feb 22, 2011 - Another round of corrections, errata, blunders, and boo-boos... Skeptoid goes back and corrects errors made in previous episodes. Always lots of fun. Read more
Feb 15, 2011 - The Lost Colony of Roanoke is one of those classic legends of early American history. A group of over 100 colonists completely disappeared, leaving a single cryptic hint carved into a tree. What happened to them? Read more
Feb 8, 2011 - Some say that a devastating nuclear winter is sure to follow any nuclear war; others believe that it's exaggerated or even made up. And we even get a chance to put Carl Sagan, the man himself, on the hot seat. Read more
Feb 1, 2011 - Skeptoid fields another round of student questions. This week, we've got the Orbo, electronic voice phenomena, semen retention, Shakespeare, and antioxidants. Read more
Jan 25, 2011 - The Church of Scientology is arguably the most hated and feared church in the world. Is their bad rap deserved, and what are they really all about? Read more
Jan 18, 2011 - Alien and UFO buffs may have heard the old yarn that an actual alien pilot may be buried in a small Texas cemetery near his crash site. You'd think we could simply dig it up and have all the proof we need, wouldn't you? Read more
Jan 11, 2011 - All around the world, mystery spots amaze and amuse us. Are these "gravitational anomalies" -- both natural and manmade -- really what they purport to be, or is there more interesting real science behind what's going on? Read more
Jan 4, 2011 - Gluten free diets have become a popular fad, not just for the tiny number of people who actually have celiac disease, but also now for everyone for general wellness. Is there truly any reason this all-natural protein should be avoided, or is it just another pop food fad? Read more
Dec 28, 2010 - Since that was so much fun last week, here are some more Hollywood myths! This time we take an in-depth look at whether John Wayne's cancer death was really caused by a single film shoot downwind of the Nevada Test Range. Read more
Dec 21, 2010 - Hollywood myths help make movies into legends. Here are some that you may have heard of, but you may not have known whether or not they're true... Read more
Dec 14, 2010 - By now everyone's heard that Navy sonar is harmful to whales. But what's the extent of that harm, and does it always happen, or only in rare circumstances for which we might be able to control? Read more
Dec 7, 2010 - Do you know your IQ? IQ testing has played a greater role in shaping our century than you migh suspect. How useful is it? Read more
Nov 30, 2010 - Maybe you're heard of the South Atlantic Anomaly and maybe you haven't, and maybe you've that it's an area of danger to planes traveling within it. But did you know that it's a real and measurable physical presence? Read more
Nov 23, 2010 - Skeptoid answers questions sent in from students today. Does eating prepared food really fill our body with so many preservatives that we're automatically embalmed when we die? That's a good one, and so are the others. Read more
Nov 16, 2010 - Listener feedback rides again today, as Skeptoid takes another of your favorite visits to the email inbox. Today we do it a bit differently, starting with the sane feedback, and descending progressively into the insane. Read more
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