Skeptic: Examining Extraordinary Claims and Promoting Science
Current Issue:
Volume 18 Number 2
Current subscribers should receive
this issue by mid-June.
Cover Articles: Gender
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What Science Says and
Why It’s Mostly Wrong - Gender and the Paranormal
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Columns
- The SkepDoc
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“New Study Shows…” Why We Can’t Trust Science Reporting
- Bad Language
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The Scientology Handbook
- ’Twas Brillig…
- A Skeptic in Court, Part II
Junior Skeptic
- Alien Invaders!
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In this issue, we look at the topic of alien invasions. Where did we get our ideas about being attacked from “outside”—from other lands, or from outer space? How has this idea been expressed in stories? How do exotic species here on Earth “invade” new regions? Can life forms from one planet really invade another? And, as we look at those questions, remember: the space slugs are our friends! Obey all space slugs!
Interview
- Savage Science
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An Interview with Napoleon Chagnon, the World’s Most Controversial Anthropologist
Articles
- Magnetic Myths
- Why Magnetic Fields Attract New Age Flimflam and Flapdoodle
- An Analysis of Skeptical Protagonists
- Four Recent Films Reveal that Society’s Attitudes Toward Skeptics Are Changing, But Still Negative
- What Science Really Says About the Soul
- Witch Doctors and Con Artists
- A First-Hand Account of Witchcraft in Africa
- Levels of Nothing
- There Are Multiple Answers to the Question of Why the Universe Exists
Reviews
- Scientology Exposed
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Three Reviews: Going Clear, by Lawrence Wright; The Church of Fear, by John Sweeney; Beyond Belief, by Jenna Miscavige Hill with Lisa Pulitzer.
- Grown Not Made
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Two Reviews: Pandora’s Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over…, by Melanie Warner, and Salt, Sugar, Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss.
- The Carl Sagan of Chemistry
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A Review of The Right Chemistry: 108… Inquiries into the Science of Everyday Life, by Joe Schwarcz.
- Anthropology No More
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A Review of Human No More…the End of Anthropology, edited by Neil Whitehead and Michael Wesch.
- Contemplating Extraterrestrial Civilizations
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A Review of Civilizations Beyond Earth, edited by Douglas A. Vakoch and Albert A. Harrison.
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The Progressive War
on Science -
A Review of Science Left Behind…the Rise of the Anti-Scientific Left, by Alex B. Berezow and Hank Campbell.
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The Believing Brain
(now in paperback)
Get the autographed paperback
In this, his magnum opus, Dr. Michael Shermer presents his comprehensive theory on how beliefs are born, formed, nourished, reinforced, challenged, changed, and extinguished. Sam Harris calls The Believing Brain “a wonderfully lucid, accessible, and wide-ranging account of the boundary between justified and unjustified belief.” Leonard Mlodinow calls it “a tour de force integrating neuroscience and the social sciences.”
FREE PDF Download
Top 10 Myths About Evolution (and how we know it really happened)
This concise pamphlet provides answers to common objections to evolution, such as: If humans came from apes, why aren’t apes evolving into humans?; Only an intelligent designer could have made something as complex as an eye; The second law of thermo-dynamics proves that evolution is impossible; Evolution can’t account for morality; and more…
FREE PDF Download
Top 10 Things You Should Know About Alternative Medicine
Harriet Hall, MD (aka the SkepDoc), shares her wit and wisdom about alternative medicine including: chiropractic, the placebo effect, homeopathy, acupuncture, and the questionable benefits of organic food, detoxification, and ‘natural’ remedies.
FREE PDF Download
Learn to be a Psychic in 10
Easy Lessons
Psychic readings and fortunetelling are an ancient art — a combination of acting and psychological manipulation. While some psychics are known to cheat and acquire information ahead of time, these ten tips focus on what is known as “cold reading” — reading someone “cold” without any prior knowledge about them.