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Skeptoid

977 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 2.6K ratings

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.

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Episodes

Skeptoid #929: The Trinity UFO Crash of 1945

March 26, 2024 09:00 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MB

The not-so-famous UFO case that caused the US Congress to spend millions of taxpayer dollars.

Skeptoid #928: EMDR: Looking Past the Pain

March 19, 2024 09:00 - 16 minutes - 15 MB

This controversial treatment for PTSD involves moving the eyes side to side.

Skeptoid #927: I Can't Believe They Did That: Human Guinea Pigs #3

March 12, 2024 09:00 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MB

Part 3 in our roundup of scientists who took the ultimate plunge and experimented on themselves.

Skeptoid #926: The Chicago O'Hare Airport UFO

March 05, 2024 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14.9 MB

In 2006, a flying saucer spent minutes literally hovering right above Chicago's O'Hare International Airport... so the story goes.

Skeptoid #925: The Conspirituality of Enneagrams

February 27, 2024 10:00 - 17 minutes - 16.1 MB

Can everything important about you and those you interact with be boiled down to a single digit?

Skeptoid #924: Foo Fighters

February 20, 2024 10:00 - 16 minutes - 15.8 MB

What were these early UFOs that chased and harried World War II fighter pilots?

Skeptoid #923: The Voodoo Ax Murders

February 13, 2024 10:00 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MB

Were two waves of ax murders in the American south in the early 20th century truly associated with Louisiana Voodoo?

Skeptoid #922: Testing Alcubierre's Warp Drive

February 06, 2024 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MB

Proponents of alien visitation often claim the Alcubierre drive makes faster than light possible. Here's why it can't exist.

Institutional Partners for Our New Show

February 02, 2024 10:00 - 1 minute - 1.12 MB

Skeptoid is looking for institutional partners and/or title sponsors for a proposed video series.

Skeptoid #921: Reconsidering the Seveso Dioxin Disaster

January 30, 2024 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MB

Was this infamous 1976 dioxin disaster as bad as reported, or might it have been much worse than we thought?

Skeptoid #920: The Headless Goats of the Chattahoochee

January 23, 2024 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14.9 MB

The carcasses of headless goats are floating in the Chattahoochee River; too many for a prosaic explanation.

Skeptoid #919: Looking Back on the Chronovisor

January 16, 2024 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MB

A Benedictine monk is said to have built a device allowing him to see and hear historical events.

Skeptoid #918: Martin Luther King Jr. Myths

January 09, 2024 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14 MB

We break down four popular myths about Martin Luther King Jr. that just won't go away.

Skeptoid #917: DDT, 13 Years Later

January 02, 2024 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14.6 MB

A failure mode analysis of my most-hated episode ever: #230 on the use of DDT to fight malaria.

Skeptoid #916: Ask Me Anything, 2023 Edition, Part 2

December 26, 2023 10:00 - 16 minutes - 15.7 MB

Skeptoid rapid fires a bunch of mini-episodes in answer to your questions.

Skeptoid #915: Ask Me Anything, 2023 Edition, Part 1

December 19, 2023 10:00 - 13 minutes - 13 MB

A year-end Ask Me Anything session to tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Skeptoid and more.

Say Goodbye to 2023

December 14, 2023 10:00 - 3 minutes - 3.45 MB

Help us say goodbye to 2023, Skeptoid style.

Skeptoid #914: Stopping Hiccups with Science

December 12, 2023 10:00 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MB

Does science have a way to reliably cure the hiccups?

Skeptoid #913: Surviving Brazil's Snake Island

December 05, 2023 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14.7 MB

This Brazilian island is said to be too dangerous to visit due to countless venomous snakes.

Skeptoid #912: Kambo: Let It Go

November 28, 2023 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MB

Some believe that taking a deadly frog poison confers a vast array of New Age wellness benefits.

Skeptoid #911: How to Escape Nibiru

November 21, 2023 10:00 - 16 minutes - 15 MB

Some believe this speculative rogue planet is on a collision course with the Earth.

Skeptoid #910: How to Spot Misinformation

November 14, 2023 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14 MB

Much content online is designed for high engagement, not for accuracy.

Skeptoid #909: Fixing Former Fumbles

November 07, 2023 10:00 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MB

Skeptoid corrects another round of errors in past episodes pointed out by listeners.

Skeptoid #908: Your Creepiest Halloween Stories

October 31, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MB

Celebrating Halloween with the creepiest ghost stories sent in by you, our listeners.

Skeptoid #907: The Science of the 27 Club

October 24, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MB

Do lots of famous pop musicians really die at the age of 27, or is there something in science that just makes us think so?

Skeptoid #906: Unraveling the Myth of Nazareth

October 17, 2023 09:00 - 13 minutes - 13 MB

Did the village of Nazareth exist at the time of Jesus, making it possible for there to have been a Jesus of Nazareth?

Skeptoid #905: Artificial Turf: Poisonous Pitches?

October 10, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MB

Some claim that artificial turf sports fields emit poisonous chemicals, making them dangerous for children.

Skeptoid #904: Pop quiz: 17 for 17

October 03, 2023 09:00 - 18 minutes - 17.5 MB

What better way to celebrate 17 years of the Skeptoid podcast than a 17-question pop quiz!

Skeptoid #903: Tracking California's Monster Salamander

September 26, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MB

Does a monster salamander the size of Asia's largest live undiscovered in the Pacific Northwest?

Skeptoid Flashmob!

September 25, 2023 21:13 - 1 minute - 1.55 MB

If you're going to be at CSICon 2023, join the Skeptoid Flashmob! skeptoid.com/store

Skeptoid #902: Focusing in on Eye Exercises

September 19, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MB

Can you really make your eyesight better with a simple series of eye movements and exercises?

Skeptoid #901: The Mystery of the Severed Feet

September 12, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.8 MB

Severed feet have been washing up on the shores of the Salish Sea since 2007. What could be the cause?

Skeptoid #900: Mussolini's Aliens

September 05, 2023 09:00 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MB

How an old Italian UFO hoax became proof of alien visitation to the US Congress

Skeptoid #899: Berberine: Thin Body, or Thin Evidence?

August 29, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.8 MB

This supplement is claimed by social media influencers to be Nature's Ozempic.

Skeptoid #898: Finding the Third Man

August 22, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 14.8 MB

Reports from some extreme adventurers say that a benevolent presence sometimes appears to provide comfort.

Skeptoid #897: The Secret of the Norden Bombsight

August 15, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MB

Pop culture tells us the famous Norden bombsight from World War II was actually terribly inaccurate. Was it?

Skeptoid #896: The Treasures of the Copper Scroll

August 08, 2023 09:00 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MB

This greatest of all imaginable treasures from the Dead Sea Scrolls probably never existed.

Skeptoid #895: The Hottest Temperature on Earth

August 01, 2023 09:00 - 16 minutes - 15.8 MB

Is the world record highest air temperature a solid measurement, or might it be invalid?

Skeptoid #894: The Klerksdorp Spheres

July 25, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.9 MB

Are these remarkable stones natural, or proof of an ancient advanced civilization?

Skeptoid #893: Finding the Lost Tribesmen: Aure and Aura

July 18, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MB

Were these two men from an Amazon tribe that had been massacred, or could their story be explained more simply?

Skeptoid #892: The UFO That Wasn't Swamp Gas

July 11, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MB

A look into the origin story of swamp gas as the explanation for UFOs.

Skeptoid #891: How to Change a Conspiracy Theorist's Mind

July 04, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MB

A roundup of the ways that work — and that don't work — to help a conspiracy theorist free himself from the rabbit hole.

Skeptoid #890: Skeptoid Scared Straight

June 27, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MB

In which I issue yet another round of corrections to past episodes.

Skeptoid #889: Handling Fentanyl: A Touchy Topic

June 20, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MB

Popular wisdom tells us that just touching fentanyl can produce a lethal overdose. What's the fact and what's the fiction?

Skeptoid #888: On the Trail of the Mapinguari

June 13, 2023 09:00 - 13 minutes - 12.9 MB

Are ground sloths that somehow survived their extinction responsible for cryptid sightings in the Amazon?

Skeptoid #887: The Hard Fall of the Nephilim

June 06, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MB

Did giants really walk the Earth in our recent past?

Skeptoid #886: Student Questions: College of Central Florida, Part 2

May 30, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MB

Skeptoid answers a round of student questions recorded during a visit to the College of Central Florida.

Skeptoid #885: Student Questions: College of Central Florida, Part 1

May 23, 2023 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MB

Skeptoid answers a round of student questions recorded during a visit to the College of Central Florida.

Skeptoid #884: Hunting the Florida Skunk Ape

May 16, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MB

This Bigfoot-like cryptid is said to haunt the swamps of Florida. But has the story been around as long as people think?

Skeptoid #883: Lies, Damned Lies, and Polls

May 09, 2023 09:00 - 13 minutes - 13 MB

Watch out next time you take a poll... is someone trying to learn about you, or manipulate you?