Skeptic: Extraordinary Claims, Revolutionary Ideas, and the Promotion of Science

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2004 January–June

January 8th
Sandy Szwarc looks into pseudoscience on the farm in her article “Mad Cows and Irrational Hysterics.”
January 12th
Logan Hill interviews Michael Shermer in the New York Post. Craig Waterman reviews Stephen D. Unwin’s The Probability of God: A Simple Calculation That Proves The Ultimate Truth.
January 23rd
Tim Callahan reviews Doubt: A History by Jennifer Michael Hecht.
January 30th
William Harwood reviews A Devil’s Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love by Richard Dawkins. Also, an Evolution/Creationism controversy erupts in Georgia — article by Andrew Jacobs.
February 12th
Michael Shermer explores his theory of the evolution of morality in relation to George W. Bush in his opinion editorial “The Divinity of Politics: Throughout History, Leaders Have Claimed a Supernatural Link.”
February 23rd
Tim Callahan explores the question, “Who really killed Jesus,” an inquiry inspired by Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ.
March 11th
Michael Shermer recommends some good reading to counter Intelligent Design creationism. Tim Callahan reviews Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.
March 18th
Don Lattin reviews Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Two short articles look at homophobia in Tennessee and superstitions in Glasgow. Michael Shermer discusses the origins of evil and The Science of Good and Evil recieves a positive review.
March 25th
A reader repsonds to Michael Shermer’s The Science of Good and Evil. Wayne Lutz reviews The Holy Land, by Dr. Robert Zubrin. Sallie Hofmeister finds feng shui is infiltrating corporate America.
April 5th
Dennis Cass reviews Penn & Teller’s Bullshit!. Michael Shermer reviews Knocking on Heaven’s Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture, by Mark Oppenheimer. David Voron explores the idea of a secular Passover Haggadah.
April 12th
Daniel Loxton reviews The Making of Bigfoot: The Inside Story by Greg Long. Georgia judge sends evolution lawsuit to trial.
April 19th
Tim Callahan reviews God Against the Gods: The History of War Between Monotheism and Ploytheism by Jonathan Kirsch. Brent Norman investigates the IRS’s investigation of Young Earth Creationist Kent Hovind.
April 26th
Jason Colavito examines alternative archaeology in his article, Charioteer of the Gods: H.P. Lovecraft and the Invention of the Ancient Astronauts. Richard Dawkins offers advice to young science writers.
May 4th
Michael Shermer responds to Freeman Dyson’s assertion that there are valid reasons to believe in the paranormal. Curtis Cameron exposes the errors in ABC’s Primetime Thursday.
May 10th
Michael Shermer recounts his evening debating Kent Hovind, a Young Earth Creationist and Defender of the Faith.
May 17th
The Sunday Times science editor Jonathan Leake writes about Percy Seymour’s new theory of astrology. David Hackett Fischer explores the origins of “Debunking.” Also, letters on Roman Catholic atheism and Freeman Dyson’s endorsement of the paranormal.
May 25th
Michael Shermer reviews the environmental disaster film The Day After Tomorrow. Ivan W. Kelly takes on Percy Seymour’s new theory of astrology.
June 1st
Bruce Grant reviews Creationism’s Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design by Barbara Forrest and Paul R. Gross. Paul Harris exposes the scandal behind a Columbia University Study purporting to scientifically prove the power of prayer.
June 4th
Steven Korenstein reviews environmental disaster film The Day After Tomorrow.
June 11th
The New York Sun reports fraud and deceit in Columbia University’s study into the power of prayer. Jason Rosenhouse reviews three books addressing Intelligent Design: The Design Revolution by William Dembski, God, the Devil and Darwin by Niall Shanks, and Darwinism, Design, and Public Education by John A. Campbell and Stephen Meyer.