Skeptoid (Brian Dunning)

You ever wonder about the truth behind popular urban legends? Or how about the craziest conspiracy theories you hear about online, chemtrails, the Flat Earth, the Hollow Earth, is there anything to them at all? Famous mysteries like what happened to Amelia Earhart, what's up with the Bermuda Triangle, who was Jack the Ripper? What about famous ghost stories, like the Amityville Horror, or the Warrens? What was really going on with that? Or this stuff they show on television: Ancient Aliens, Hunting Hitler, the Curse of Oak Island? You know that junk isn't true but how do you find out what is? If you've always taken stories like these with a grain of salt, Skeptoid is the show for you. Each week, we take one famous urban legend that a lot of people believe, talk about how it got started, how and why people believe it, and what's the real science, the real history behind what's going on. It's like a short, 15-minute podcast version of Mythbusters, but exhaustively researched and referenced. If you're ready to be skeptical and ready to solve the deepest mysteries you always wondered about, listen to Skeptoid, a 501C3 educational nonprofit.

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Religion is not necessary for a good moral center.

An examination of energy, as new agers use the term.

A proposal that it might be ethical for non-believers to sell paranormal services to the grieving in certain cases.

There is neither evidence nor plausible hypotheticals suggesting that invisible flying "rods" might exist.

Focus on the year's undisputed overused buzzword: "Sustainable"

Wheatgrass juice contains virtually nothing of nutritional value to the human body.

There is no science-based reason why you should buy magnets for the pipes in your pond, despite the sales pitches.

Alien abductions and Old Hags: things that go bump in the night.

There seems to be very little point to classifying some wrong actions as sins.

Evolution 101 for Young Earth Creationists who want to know better.

Sometimes the skeptics' perspective on Bigfoot is just as unscientific as that of the believers.

Proving the literal truth of the Bible is counterproductive to Christianity.

Understand the basics of scientific testing.

Cell phones are perfectly safe on airplanes, despite continued claims of danger.

Some believe SUVs should be categorized by their cosmetic appearance, rather than by their size or fuel efficiency.

The US Navy did not make a warship completely disappear in 1943.

A look at the true threat level from Internet attacks in the mid 2000s.

An amended Bill of Rights to better reflect modern American values.

It's marketed as a revolution in health and the environment, but it's better described as a counterproductive fad.

America's most popular true ghost story was a hoax.

An examination of the mysterious stones that move by themselves across the desert floor.

Flight 93, which crashed in a field on September 11, was not shot down by the military.

A look at paganism, its affinity for nudity, and how it differs from mainstream religions.

Reflexology is really no more than a foot massage, but potentially deadly to those hoping for medical benefits.

The word "scientist" can mean just about anything you want it to mean.

Biodynamic agriculture is not a modern innovation, but rather a throwback to the Dark Ages.

Some believe that airplane contrails are really dangerous chemicals being sprayed by the government.

Natural Hygiene is a misguided, prescientific notion that nature provides everything to heal anyone of anything.

Spirit orbs in photographs are not ghosts, but a common artifact of flash photography.

Some claim that cooking your food ruins its nutrients or makes it poisonous, in a misguided effort to promote raw food.

This 100-mile track of footprints in 1855 probably was not laid by the devil.

The claim that the wars in the Middle East were about oil don't stand up to economic scrutiny.

The best of listener feedback from the first 32 Skeptoid episodes.

Contrary to what many supporters think, homeopathy is neither an herbal nor a natural remedy.

Some creationists claim that evolutionary theory is invalid because it improves as our knowledge increases.

Mercury amalgam fillings do not release toxic levels of mercury into the body, and are harmless.

This 15-point checklist will help you tell science from pseudoscience.

No matter how much we want these Texas ghost lights to be mysterious, it turns out they're all too mundane.

Why everyone needs to start taking global warming more seriously.

Some claim that a legendary wildman, the Almas, is a population of relict Neanderthals.

Despite what many UFOlogists want, the famous Phoenix Lights were not alien spacecraft.

Defined in 1895, chiropractic treats imaginary conditions with dangerous manipulations.

The Book of Mormon's history of the Americas is full of irreconcilable errors and false archaeology.

The psychic technique of remote viewing is consistent with simple, well known magic tricks.

Teaching critical thinking to students needs to be much more than simply asking the Socratic questions.

The conspiracy theory that reptilian beings control our governments has a fascinating history.

Free range chickens and farm raised fish probably have almost none of the benefits you think they do.

Despite claims of divine origin, "Bible Codes" are found in every long manuscript, even random text.

Some say that the collective emotions of humans can influence electronic hardware.

Here is how to tell whose "scientific journal" article is actually more reputable.

Ethanol as a fuel may be carbon neutral, but offers few other benefits.

Science magazines continue to undermine themselves by publishing ads for pseudoscientific products.

This "world's most haunted house" was the invention of an imaginative showman and author.

The Oakland freeway collapse was not a government ploy to prove that the Twin Towers collapsed from fire.

An examination of the lethal pop-culture fad of chelating autistic children.

California is home to a wealth of places rich with mystery and intrigue.

A look at some of those persistent hoax emails that you receive almost every day.

A few fringe activists claim that fluoridation of water carries more danger than benefit.

The Raelians are naked and they worship space aliens.

A popular fad holds that plastic water bottles leach toxic chemicals into your water. Don't believe it.

Food that has been sterilized with irradiation is not radioactive and will not hurt you.

Crop circles are commonly known to be man made, yet some still insist they must be of alien origin.

Wilson Key's magnum opus textbook about subliminal advertising was almost pure fiction.

A look at the theories surrounding Spring Heeled Jack, the scourge of England in the early 1800s.

Learn the basic arguments against science made by Young Earthers, and how to rebut them.

Virtually nothing that pop culture tells us about Nostradamus is true.

An examination of phrenology, physiognomy, palmistry, and iridology.

Another round of listener feedback from the past several months.

Conservative pundit Ann Coulter should stick to politics; her science is too screwed up for words.

An examination of the popular trend in women's health, bioidentical hormone therapy.

Proponents of colostrum supplements believe that it has a whole range of benefits.

Some claim to be hypersensitive to electromagnetism. Science has already solved what's really going on.

An examination of many of the most common logical fallacies.

The second part of our exploration of logical fallacies.

Despite promotional claims, neither auras nor aura photography are things.

Neither religion nor atheism been responsible for a greater death toll throughout human history.

A description of Sumatra's own little miniature Bigfoot legend.

A skeptical examination of pop-culture medical beliefs, like dramatically stabbing someone in the heart with a syringe.

Pop culture says it was an alien spaceship -- but history tells us what was really found in the New Mexico desert.