Society

When skepticism collides with human experience. The societal implications of scientific skepticism.

Ghosts

Food for thought: the Hungry Ghost Festival of Singapore

Henry Wu - 10th February 2022

Singapore's Hungry Ghost Festival is said to honour memories of the dead, but has this tradition run its course in today's modern society?

Media

Rather less than more: More or Less misses the mark on placebo effects

Mike Hall - 28th January 2022

In praising the power of the placebo effect, the statistical sleuths at the BBC's More or Less cited small, subjective studies that have failed to replicate

Covid-19

Have Brazilians been effectively immunised against vaccine disinformation?

Natália Pasternak, Carlos Orsi - 26th January 2022

While health misinformation is rife in Brazil, confidence in vaccines remains extremely high, thanks to decades of public health messaging

Health

Havana Syndrome: a primer for skeptics in an age of alternative facts

Robert Bartholomew, Robert W. Baloh - 21st January 2022

Are the symptoms of so-called Havana Syndrome really caused by secret sonic weapons and covert chemical attacks, or does the answer lie in psychology?

Climate Change

Questionable accusations over ‘woke’ climate change solutions empower white genocide conspiracies

Aaron Rabinowitz - 17th January 2022

Claims that climate change belief is part of a 'woke' religion feed into conspiracy theories around Malthusian depopulation schemes and white genocide

Religion

A visit to Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, the UK’s explicitly creationist tourist attraction

Sarah Hearne - 12th January 2022

After decades of criticism for its creationist messages, how has Noah's Ark Zoo Farm changed? Sarah Hearne paid the zoo a visit, to find out.

Media

Psychic predictions for 2021 in review: peace talks from Donald Trump, and an end to Covid

Brian Eggo - 10th January 2022

2021 once again saw a slew of psychic predictions in the media - and a near-perfect record of misses and failures.

History

‘David Copperfield’s History of Magic’: Come for the magic, stay for the history lesson

Junaid Mubeen - 15th December 2021

'David Copperfield's History of Magic' is an impressive tribute to the magician’s craft, letting us in on its wonders, without revealing any of its secrets

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The abuse of the scientific method in so-called alternative medicine

Lemme Purr: the celebrity-backed wellness gummies trading on intimate insecurities

First do no harm? Treatments don’t need to be harmless, as long they do good

Moroccan Argan oil is an interesting traditional product, but it’s certainly no panacea

Animals, acupuncture and alt-med: the Brazilian penguin being subjected to Enya

An overdose on placebo pills can cause adverse reactions… but not because of the nocebo effect

People with Alzheimer’s deserve care and dignity – not false hope of miracle cures

The anti-fluoridation movement is born of public health mistrust and misinformation

How genuine is cultural commentators’ ‘concern’ for OnlyFans model Lily Phillips?

Placebo surgery: why performing fake operations doesn’t actually help anyone

The Telepathy Tapes is wrong – autistic children don’t have supernatural powers

From the archive: Martian waterways – the story of the canals of Mars

The recent New Jersey drone scare tells us a lot about how panics spread

From the archive: Paul Daniels, the Philosophical Prestidigitator

From the archive: Return To Silpho Moor – the Scarborough sky crash of 1957

The Southport attack wasn’t ideologically motivated; the misinformation around it is

Understanding the origins of the 15-Minute City panic takes just 30 minutes

Left-wing conspiracy theories and ‘missing’ votes in the wake of Trump’s election win

Comparing misinformation to a virus is both accurate and useful in preventing its spread

2000 mules: why many Americans are convinced Trump won the 2020 election

The Southport attack wasn’t ideologically motivated; the misinformation around it is

Understanding the origins of the 15-Minute City panic takes just 30 minutes

From the archive: fears over hidden Satanism in Procter & Gamble’s logo

From the archive: Martian waterways – the story of the canals of Mars

How genuine is cultural commentators’ ‘concern’ for OnlyFans model Lily Phillips?

An overdose on placebo pills can cause adverse reactions… but not because of the nocebo effect

The Telepathy Tapes is wrong – autistic children don’t have supernatural powers

People with Alzheimer’s deserve care and dignity – not false hope of miracle cures

From the archive: Analysing handwriting analysis and graphology

Placebo surgery: why performing fake operations doesn’t actually help anyone

Society

Latest news

The Southport attack wasn’t ideologically motivated; the misinformation around it is

From the archive: fears over hidden Satanism in Procter & Gamble’s logo

An overdose on placebo pills can cause adverse reactions… but not because of the nocebo effect

The Telepathy Tapes is wrong – autistic children don’t have supernatural powers

People with Alzheimer’s deserve care and dignity – not false hope of miracle cures

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