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Poking Holes in Needle-Spiking: Nightclub “Attacks” Scare Sweeps Europe

Robert Bartholomew & Paul Weatherhead | January 17, 2023

Mass hysterias, moral panics, and social contagions are known social psychological phenomena that can cause large numbers of people to believe things are happening to them that upon closer inspection become literally unbelievable. In this insightful analysis the authors—experts on the subject—show how the sudden spike in needle attacks is very likely one of these ephemeral phenomena.

News Media & Declining Race Relations:Social Narratives More Than Real-Life Events May Be Driving Decline in Race Relations

Chris Ferguson | January 7, 2023

Everyone knows that race relations in America have a long and troubled history. By some measures race relations are very good, with polls showing that people are more tolerant of racial diversity today than they were decades ago. But by other measures it would seem race matters are more disconcerting than ever. In this analysis Chris Ferguson attributes the troubling events of recent years to the news media and how they create a social narrative driving the decline of race…

What Darwin Got Wrong About the Female of (All) Species

Carol Tavris | December 28, 2022

According to the standard model of evolutionary psychology females tend to be sexually coy, discriminating, and risk averse while males are sexually assertive, indiscriminate, and risk taking. Not so fast, says Carol Tavris in this skeptical look at the standard model, as context and species also matters in how we analyze behavior, especially sexuality.

Abducted! Scientific Explanations of the Alien Abduction Experience

J. Randal Montgomery | December 27, 2022

Alien abductions are among the most curious and interesting of all human psychological phenomena, and this article explores the different theories that explain from a scientific perspective what, exactly, is going on in someone’s brain when they feel like they’ve been abducted by aliens (assuming, of course, that they’re not actually being abducted by aliens).

Broadcasting Flapdoodle:Review of Radio Psychics: Mind Reading and Fortune Telling in American Broadcasting, 1920–1940 by John Benedict Buescher

Michelle Ainsworth | December 24, 2022

Most skeptics are familiar with modern psychics who pretend to read people’s minds and talk to dead people. In this review essay, Michelle Ainsworth discusses the many mind readers and fortune tellers between 1920 and 1940 who practiced their art of cold reading on the radio, fooling people then as they do today into believing that somehow the spirits were able to come through from the great beyond into radio stations.

Why Reparations and Equity Are Bad Ideas

Jason D. Hill | December 20, 2022

In this provocative article on the controversial topics reparations, and what is owed to the descendants of African Americans who were enslaved, Jason Hill argues that the Civil Rights movement and ensuing acts and laws in the 1960s and 1970s have already provided a type of reparations, and that more such reparations, particularly in the form of cash payments, are unnecessary, not to mention nearly impossible to determine who is owed what.

Systemic Racism — Explained

Mahzarin R. Banaji, Susan T. Fiske & Douglas S. Massey | December 13, 2022

As Skeptic Publisher Michael Shermer wrote in his Introduction to Skeptic magazine’s special issue on Race Matters (27.3), the issues outlined in this article documenting the continuation of systemically racist social structures—even as racist attitudes have improved dramatically over the past half century—mean that race still matters very much in the USA. It is thus incumbent on all of us to properly understand the causes of these issues so that we may implement a rational and science-based response to them.

Psicoterapia Salvaje: Métodos no probados y cuestionables de asesoramiento y tratamiento psicológico

Skeptic | December 8, 2022

Lea este artículo en inglés. Read this article in English. Los psicólogos y científicos sociales con formación científica se han mostrado escépticos durante mucho tiempo con respecto a las técnicas de psicoterapia clínica porque dependen mucho de las anécdotas en lugar de los datos. En respuesta, los médicos con formación científica han desarrollado técnicas basadas en datos, como la Terapia Cognitiva Conductual. Pero estas nuevas técnicas no han llegado a psicólogos populares como Laura Schlessinger (Dr. Laura) y Phil McGraw…

Critical Race Theory: Noble Ends, Terrible Means

Helen Pluckrose & James Lindsay | December 6, 2022

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is, at root, an American phenomenon. So thoroughly is this the case that although its ideas have been used outside the United States for some time, they are often highly flavored by U.S. racial history. CRT holds that race is a social construct that was created to maintain White privilege and […]

Race & Policing: A Data-Driven Look at Policing and Its Discontents

Kevin McCaffree | November 29, 2022

In his usual data-driven style of analysis, statistician and sociologist Kevin McCaffree, who also runs the Skeptic Research Center, presents the SRC finding about policing and race in America, and how political beliefs and orientation skews our perceptions of what is actually happening on the streets of the United States.

Testicle Tanning and Perineal Sunning

Harriet Hall, M.D. | November 24, 2022

Harriet Hall, M.D. examines the evidence that “testicle tanning” or red light therapy increases testosterone levels. She also discusses a related fad: butthole tanning, also known as butt-chugging, but better described as perineal sunning. Why do people fall for these fads? The answer is complex.

Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes: On Race and Jane Elliott’s Famous Experiment on Prejudice

Stephen G. Bloom | November 22, 2022

One of the most famous experiments in education — Jane Elliott’s “blue eyes, brown eyes” separation of her third grade students to teach them about prejudice — was very different from what the public was told, as revealed in this excerpt from the in-depth story about what really happened in that classroom.

Race & Medicine

Harriet Hall, M.D. | November 15, 2022

If race is a social construct with no meaningful biological foundation, then why do medical doctors and researchers collect information about a patient’s race, along with gender and other characteristics? Harriet Hall considers the concept of race from a medical perspective: what we know, what we don’t know, and what difference it makes.

Why Race Matters

Michael Shermer | November 10, 2022

Michael Shermer introduces the theme of Skeptic magazine volume 27, number 3: Race Matters.

What Chiropractic Research Teaches Us About the Replication Crisis in Science

J. Michael Menke | November 7, 2022

For nearly 20 years, Michael Menke was an influential chiropractor. In this column, he describes a meta-analysis he conducted to evaluate the efficacy of chiropractic, which ultimately led him to abandon the practice and pursue a career in quantitative research.

Not Rigged! How We Know Recent Elections Are Not Fraudulent

Isaac Saul | November 1, 2022

Over the last six years, allegations of stolen elections and massive election fraud have proliferated in the United States. The significance of claims that the results of one election—let alone several—were fraudulent, cannot be overstated. When citizens believe an election has been stolen, chaos, riots, and the potential collapse of political systems ensue. That means the question of whether an election was stolen or rigged should demand the highest level of scrutiny and the highest degree of skepticism. In this…

Meta Ethics: Toward a Universal Ethics — How Science & Reason Can Give Us Objective Moral Truths Without God

Gary J. Whittenberger | October 4, 2022

Ever since the Enlightenment philosopher David Hume outlined the “Is-Ought” problem—that we cannot derive an ought from an is, or we cannot determine the way something ought to be morally based on the way things are in nature (the classic example being slavery—because ants practice slavery that doesn’t make it natural and therefore acceptable for humans to practice slavery)—people have struggled to figure out on what basis should moral values be grounded. Of course, theists argue that God is that…

Anti-Abortion: The Case for Life

Danielle d’Souza Gill | September 27, 2022

Abortion is one of the most relevant issues of our time. As with many other subjects capable of arousing strong emotion, people tend to assume that the U.S. public is evenly divided, in this case between the “pro-choice” and “pro-life” positions. And some frequently cited polling would lead you to believe that it is indeed […]

The Discoverie of Magic

Skeptic | September 20, 2022

In this review of the new David Copperfield book on the history of magic our Skeptic magic historian and reviewer Michelle Ainsworth offers a concise history of the profession through the lens of the photographer who provided the illustrious photographs for the volume, based on Copperfield’s own museum and collection, including and most noteworthy artifacts from the most famous magician in history, Harry Houdini. Enjoy this gorgeous production through our review.

Holy Relics, Holy Places, Wholly Fiction

Tim Callahan | September 13, 2022

Holy relics like the Ark of the Covenant, Moses’s Ten Commandment stone tablets, the Holy Grail, the chalice from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper, The Spear of Destiny, and the like, are the stuff of myth, legend, Hollywood movies, and even Nazi villains, but what is the real story behind the myths? In this insightful analysis Skeptic magazine religion editor Tim Callahan reveals what we know and don’t know about these legendary icons.

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