Squaring The Strange

We take a long walk through a dozen or so arguments put forth by cryptid advocates, and see which ones (if any) make reasonable points. If you want a primer on how squatchers and lake-monster-hunters think, this is the episode. But beyond that, these ideas can be a jumping point into many other realms where skepticism should be applied, as we look at how eye-witness reliability, false dichotomies, cherry-picking, and other logic traps come into play. Special guests Sharon Hill and Erik Kristopher Myers.

This week we take a quick look at the Momo challenge's resurgence and surprisingly mainstream fall; then for our main segment we dive back into the strange, sketchy world of Ed & Lorraine Warren. These opportunistic and not-exactly-truthful storytellers are a big reason the modern horror genre looks the way it does. Erik Kristopher Myers joins us once more to go through some of their biggest "cases": The Demon Murder Case, Amityville, and the hauntings behind the more recent Conjuring movies. We look at what writers and other investigators who have worked with the Warrens had to say, and we examine the fallout that real-life people end up having to deal with as a result of the sensationalized tales of hauntings.

First we chat with Susan Gerbic about the recent buzz surrounding her soon-to-be published expose in the New York Times Magazine, describing the undercover stings she and Mark Edwards have pulled on several prominent psychics, cleverly showing their use of social media in hot readings. Then for our main topic we are joined by filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers to discuss those original gangsters of ghosthunting, Ed and Lorraine Warren. In this first part (1 of 2), we talk about several of their prominent cases and discuss some background info and their modus operandi. 

This week we start with a discussion of assumptions, as Ben brings two outrage-provoking news stories that turned out to not be what was originally assumed. Then we slide through many variations of oily miraculous substances, some folkloric and some that are available from your local PTA mom: the original old-timey snake oil, early modern Europe's witch ointment, and then, more recently, essential oils, Lorenzo's oil, and CBD oil. What's the lure behind easy, supposed panaceas in the form of some kind of concentrated oil that are rumored to cure everything? Has the medical community found any of them measurably useful for any conditions? 

This week Ben and Celestia start by looking at a Newsweek headline that's been circulating again recently, implying that one-third of Americans doubt the death toll of the Holocaust. Then we devote our main segment to an important essay that has become both style guide and etiquette manual to skeptical writers and critics. Ray Hyman, one of the original founders of CSICOP, outlined eight principles to follow when engaging in "proper criticism" of paranormal claims. "Hyman's Proper Criticism," as it is known, applies more broadly to any topic, really, and becoming familiar with these eight lessons will make you a better human being.  

First, Ben brings us an interesting dustup from the BFRO involving some paranormal researcher snubbing. Then we do a deep, murky, cold-water dive into Ogopogo. This mysterious Canadian lake monster has a few incarnations, including a bloodthirsty one that demands sacrifices! We hear about Ben's hunt for the creature at Lake Okanagan, courtesy of National Geographic. Spoiler alert: he didn't find any monsters, but we learn about all the evidence and how to decipher it.

Ben, Celestia, and Pascual take a romp through a bunch of 2018's more memorable skeptical moments. From a new iteration of the Mechanical Turk to deadly rumors in India to a resurgence of Geocentrism, there's plenty to go around. We go over some of the more notable passings, and Ben lists some of his favorite episodes from the past year.

This episode deals with various aspects of kids and woo . . . First, a look at that jolly old "identified flying object" often seen on Christmas eve, Santa himself. What skeptical benefits might be lurking in the whole Santa charade? Then we examine some harm done by serious, life-threatening woo that well-meaning parents inflict upon their children as part of a family belief system, as well as the lesser forms of uncritical thinking that can seep into a child's mental environment. 

Pascual is back, and we discuss a free-roaming placenta found in the Canadian woods last week. Then we bring in award-winning filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers to discuss one of his favorite doom-sayers, Harold Camping. What convinced so many followers that End Times were upon us back in 2011? Erik discusses Camping's similarities to a cult leader as well as his business model, both of which contributed to his surprising reach. Ben entertains us with a few other apocalyptic prophesies from earlier days, and we examine the psychology of what happens to believers and prophets alike after these predictions fail.   

First, Ben and Celestia discuss an interesting bit of fan base fakery with a surprise guest. Then we are joined by the Skeptic Zone's Richard Saunders for a conversation on Randi's Million Dollar Challenge. A longstanding offer to purported psychics and other claimants to supernatural powers, the JREF prize set the bar as the ultimate dare for purveyors of the paranormal. Now there are dozens of other offers around the world that, like the JREF money, still remain unclaimed. Richard has been on the front lines of the MDC, as well as other challenges, and he chats with us about the history of the prize as well as the goals and dangers of offering such tests to the many dowsers, aura-readers, psychic healers, and others who apply.

Award-winning filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers joins Ben and Celestia to discuss Bigfoot on film. Starting with a quick analysis of the famous and most influential Bigfoot film, the Patterson-Gimlin footage, we tour the offerings since then, looking both at pop culture and the more serious efforts of a particularly litigious present-day Canadian Squatcher. Various Bigfoot and Yeti have flourished in all genres, popping up in horror films as well as children's entertainment. From the pendulous, hairy Bigfoot breasts seen in the grainy 1967 footage to the pendulous, hairy Bigfoot breasts drawn by R. Crumb a decade later, the creature has captured imaginations and resulted in some twisted depictions over the years.

Celestia reports back from her hurried day at CSI con, and Ben recounts a news story about a graveyard dowser. Then we look at Halloween subjects: what are the real roots of this holiday, and what exactly is satanic about it? Ben traces the development of "trick or treating" and we find out it's a bit of religious extortion that used to involve turnip torture. Celestia probes the more recent phenomenon of "Hell Houses" put on by conservative evangelicals as a much, much worse alternative to a haunted house. And then Ben debunks a few typical Halloween societal panics. 

First, Ben examines some disturbing consequences to child abduction rumors on a popular app in India and Mexico. Then we look at modern plastic surgery oddities and, specifically, the media myth of the Human Barbie, also known as Russian model Valeria Lukyanova. What outrageous things were said about her, and how much of the narrative can be taken as fact? We also compare her to her counterparts, namely the three men who promote themselves as "human Ken dolls." 

This week Ben and Celestia recount some woo encounters "in the field" that, for a few reasons, they chose not to battle. Then for our main topic we sit down with Mick West, author of the newly released book Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect. Mick outlines his history in debunking, from chemtrails and Metabunk to the creation of this book, and we go over the different approaches he outlines to help loved ones not fall prey to the lure of conspiracy thinking. We discuss the harm that conspiracy thinking can inflict, and also the creeping culture of conspiracies and its effect on politics and the general population. 

This week we start with a quick look at a dog-buys-cookies story that took Celestia down a path of searching out pet videos and, finally, reading about whether or not monkeys can be taught to understand currency. Then Ben revisits an investigation he did on the Pokemon Panic, a wave of illness that struck Tokyo children in the 1990s during an episode of the incredibly popular show--a phenomenon that was referenced again this summer as journalists warned of the strobe effects in Incredibles 2. But what are the numbers, and how exactly does photosensitive epilepsy work? And what was to blame for the thousands of children falling ill that week in Tokyo?

This week we start with an announcement and then a look at a Bridezilla tale and a psychic mountain lion encounter. Then Ben, Celestia, and Pascual discuss skeptical burnout, a phenomenon that hits almost every skeptic at some point. What makes us susceptible to this kind of exhaustion, and how can we best fight against it? We all share some stories and outlooks.

This week we start with a discussion of Spike Lee's Black Klansman movie and the notion of holding narrative movies "based on" real events to some imagined standard of full accuracy. Then all aboard for the ghost train express! Ben and Celestia discuss the lure of the locomotive (and train wrecks) in the American imagination, the flickering lights said to be distant spiritual echoes of trains, and the dangers of ghost-trainspotting on elevated trestles. Ben looks into fabled "virtual underground" trains in Russia that have sprung up as folkloric pranks. We go over the legend of Abraham Lincoln's phantom funeral train, and Ben recounts a faked ghost train video he was tasked with examining.

We start with a look at some so-called logos unveiled as a fundraiser and compare them to NASA's logo to see how a real Space Force manages branding. Then Pascual, our resident spider-apologist, schools us on the brown recluse, possibly the most feared spider in America. We'll look into the many things regularly mistaken for recluse bites, as well as why people seem more willing to assume (and advertise) they've been bitten. And we'll also dip into some spidery folklore and urban legends! 

This week is a potpourri of space and sci-fi strangeness, starting with a look back (and forward) at Project Blue Book, the Air Force study of UFO sightings 1952-1969 soon to be a new drama series on the so-called History Channel. Joining Ben and Celestia is F. Andrew Taylor, journalist and cartoonist, who spent the San Diego Comic Con drawing attendees' descriptions of UFO encounters to help promote the series for the History Channel. Then we head to the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, where Celestia was able to chat with physicist Dr. Erin Macdonald (formerly of LIGO, who specializes in general relativity) and emergency physician and skeptic Dr. Angela Mattke, both avid Trekkies and science communicators. 

This week Celestia is skeptical of Rule 34, as even creatures that don't really exist are making news this week for being in porn. Ben takes us on a quasi-serious tour of Bigfoot "erotica," some of it presented by authors as true tales. Then we discuss a compelling urban legend from Costa Rica: the mystery of the Toucan Man, a figure said to abduct children by luring them into the forest with his flute music. Ben puts the pieces together after talking with an eye-witness (or at least an ear-witness).