After some news on Mike Lindell and a few points about popular TV shows, we are joined by the inimitable Richard Saunders, who gives us the details on his Herculean undertaking, a 12-year roundup of psychic predictions made in Australia's popular media since the year 2000. While there were no surprises, the sheer amount of data he and his teammates collected and categorized provided some interesting insights. How did the media respond? Will there be similar projects? What is the value of having such a macro-view of purported prognostication?

Happy Easter everyone! Rabbits are a fluffy bag of contradictions . . . represented as tricksters but also as victims, lucky or unlucky, clever or depressed, harmless or scary, rabbits and hares have a solid place in the folklore pantheon. We go over tales of hares as witches' familiars, stories about how the rabbit lost its tail, pareidolia-inspired legends about a rabbit on the moon, how rabbits figured into pregnancy tests and common vernacular, and also give shout-outs to our favorite rabbit appearances in horror films and cartoons. Let's hop to it!

We are joined by Peter Ash, founder and director of Under the Same Sun, a nonprofit dedicated to the education and empowerment of persons with albinism in Africa. Due to superstition-based persecution, the hardships endured by those born with this condition in rural African communities are staggering to list: from abandonment, discrimination and untreated skin cancers to outright murder by one's own family. Peter felt called to help others with albinism and has dedicated years to growing his efforts in Tanzania. With a systematic, consistent, multi-pronged approach his organization has helped hundreds of youngsters, many survivors of muti violence. Under the Same Sun houses these children and offers them an education, putting them on a path to independence and prosperity.

We were inundated with news this week, so first we cover prehistoric bugs in Arkansas, the Desert Monkey King glyph in Southwest Las Vegas, the folkloric accuracies in Netflix's "Troll" movie, a new report on Havana Syndrome, and alleged gas poisonings of schoolgirls in Iran. Then Ben recounts his time late last year in Malawi, where he was able to spend time with an activist and reporter covering the latest case of witchcraft persecution and lend some moral support to those on the front lines defending people accused of witchcraft.

Ben and Celestia discuss the nostalgic sense of deja vu when hearing about UFOs and cults these past weeks. Then we are joined by David Thomas, who investigated author Michael Drosnin's notions of a code hidden in the text of the Hebrew Bible and how cracking that code could foretell the future. These ideas were popularized in a series of books published over 20 years ago, but the same number games are resurfacing today in the form of gematria, a type of numerology advocated by QAnon conspiracy theorists. Dr. Thomas discusses the data-mining programs he wrote in order to demonstrate how subjective, predictable, and ultimately misguided these ideas of a hidden Bible code were.

First we nosh on some interesting tidbits about a long-dead casino magnate, a mysterious fortune teller with a prophecy about rom-coms, and a prematurely dead Simon Cowell. Then Kyle Polich of the Data Skeptic podcast joins us to talk about the Missing 411, a concept pushed by several books and movies produced by David Paulides. What or who are the Missing 411, and how are Bigfoot and UFOs involved? Is there a coherent theory about what's going on, and is it based on actual happenings or fabrications? And how does misunderstanding (or completely ignoring) data analysis come into play?

It turns out the all-American fizzy sweet cola is also a veritable cornucopia of myths, rumors, urban legends and misinformation. We're not just talking about the explosive properties of Pop Rocks or Mentos. Can a Coca-Cola douche prevent pregnancy? (It can't, please don't even think about it). How many mice ended up sealed into bottles of Coke? Does Santa owe his whole look to Coke's ad agency? We go over these and many, many more tales involving the most popular carbonated beverage in the world.

We discuss a surprise paleoanthropological development from the past week and weigh some falsehoods coming from a new member of Congress. Then for our main topic we do an overview of romance scams, from the Spanish Prisoner Swindle a few centuries ago to the online catfishing scams that are presently fleecing Americans to the tune of $500 million a year. Longtime grassroots skeptic volunteer Wendy Hughes kindly joins us to discuss her courageous and candid article "A Skeptic Trips Over a Romance Scam" and talks about what she learned in hindsight and how her skeptical toolkit helped her turn a humbling experience into something that could benefit others.

As we wrap up another year, we make a few predictions for 2023 and then answer some listener questions on what has fooled us in the past. Then for our main segment we dish on films that were right up our strange and skeptical alley. There was some brilliant folklore-inspired work involving Djinn and a puppet come to life, as well as some fantastic documentaries -- and also some absurd stuff disguised as documentaries, like Netflix's recent "Ancient Apocalypse."

Ben titled this episode. In which we speak of all the reasons why you should think twice about renting a monochrome, windowless van in unfamiliar territory. From cursed vehicles to the average person's psychological priming that led police off the trail of the Beltway Sniper case, we look at the role vehicles have played in urban legends, dangerous rumors and real-life crime. How have the most common vehicles in our environment also become the most feared? Buckle up!

First Pascual and Celestia examine a mysterious woman "haunting" AI art, dubbed "Loab." Then we dip into a selection of the less famous lake monsters. There are literally hundreds. We talk about how they've spawned from either high-profile sightings/photos or questionable “news” stories from the period of yellow journalism. And even how some people have claimed copyright over a few of them for merchandising purposes! From Champ’s cousin George (who lives, predictably, in Lake George) and Tahoe Tessie to Lake Erie Larry and the Canadian monsters Cressie and Memphre, we'll go over eye-witness reports and what themes emerge--and then submerge!

Ben has returned from adventures, so we hear about some of his travels and then discuss the Twitter blue checkmark brouhaha. In our main segment we look at Ley Lines, a literal game of connect-the-dots played on the surface of the earth. Somehow these evolved from simple common routes noticed by an early 20th-century landscape photographer to a catch-all mysterious network that affects dowsing, psychic energy, nodes, vortices and crop circles. Called holy lines by Nazis and dragon lines by writers inserting them into ancient Chinese culture, these supposed energy lines are slippery to pin down--but boy do they make for a great plot device in pop culture, from Batman to Star Wars.

This week, after we take a moment to tally exactly how many kids were killed by rainbow fentanyl passed off as Halloween candy, we bring Sharon Hill on to speak about the excitement around a decade ago when Dr. Melba Ketchum announced she had tested and confirmed Bigfoot DNA. Ben sets the stage in terms of Bigfoot evidence timeline and the rise of genetic technology. Once a vacuum became apparent, it seemed inevitable that someone would eventually become a self-taught geneticist, open an unaccredited lab, and find some genetic evidence for our big hairy friend.

First, Pascual and Celestia puzzle over Ben's location and discuss a few places in Vegas that skeptics might like to see while they attend CSI Con. Then we celebrate the nearly $1 billion judgment against Alex Jones and look into a minor (non)mystery about a ghost boat from WWII appearing in a California lake. Our main topic this week is a look back at our favorite scary episodes, and why they creep us out.

First we get sucked down a bit of a rabbit hole on all the things we never knew about crystal flutes. Then vampire expert Dr. Stanley Stepanic joins us to talk Slavic folklore, rabies and other diseases, shape-shifting, religious clashes in Eastern Europe during the early centuries of Christianity, and how all monster roads seem to lead back to vampires. Stepanic covers a lot of ground, all the way through movies and present-day vampire ostension (oh yes, Vampire: The Masquerade comes up). Grab yourself a tall bloody Mary and strap in, it's quite a crash course!

First Celestia gushes about "3,000 Years of Longing," starring Idris Elba as a sultry Djinn. Then Ben talks to us about the pirate life, which had a lot more worms than one might expect. What's the difference between a privateer and a buccaneer? Or a sloop and a four-masted mariner? We go into daily activities, reasons people ended up on pirate ships, and of course how pirates typically met their end. Then we spotlight a few female pirates and talk about Blackbeard, who had the greatest PR team on the high seas.

Part roadside attraction -- and apparently also part magnetic marvel, part harmonics and Ley Line energy well, part mystical creation of a stone-singer, part love letter, and part obsession, the Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida, has baffled engineers and scientists for decades. Or so it's been said. What was the real force behind this peculiar non-coral non-castle, exactly? Ben has written about and visited the Coral Castle and pored through the pamphlets of its builder, Latvian-American eccentric Edward Leedskalnin, to peel away the layers of mysterious woo that have been draped over this pretty nifty feat of one-man engineering. Was Leedskalnin a hopeless romantic, a hard-working fellow with just a touch of tuberculosis, a sorcerer, a crank, or an incel? Or a bit of each?

Yes, so our guest this episode is . . . Ben! We take a look at a few strange things in the news first, like "Hunger Stones" and a "Surprise Spanish Stonehenge"! (No one expects the Spanish Stonehenge!). Then we dive into some media literacy themes and lessons in Ben's latest book, "America the Fearful: Media and the Marketing of National Panics." Part primer on what ties folklore of old to the anxiety-riddled news of today, part catalog of biases that influence the news, and part exploration of solutions, our talk goes into some familar territory for longtime listeners.  

To our credit, we manage to not giggle like third-graders for most of the episode, as we discuss the strange belief that one's penis has gone missing, become smaller, or been switched out. A peculiar mix of superstition, body dysmorphia, and curse belief, Koro has many traits of a mass sociogenic illness (MSI) and is "contagious" to a degree. When we peel back the layers, it's not such a funny topic after all, and falls into the category of suspicious folklore that results in harm: to victims, to endangered species, and to those suspected of witchcraft.

This episode is special because all three of us have personal experience -- in Santa Fe, the Black Rock Desert, or Lewes, England -- watching giant effigies burn down in a symbolic cleansing ritual reputed to have dark, murderous roots. Yet this ubiquitous form of expression is also clever, satirical, and a way to showcase public art and bring a community together. From Wicker Man to Zozobra, what kind of strangeness have humans conjured up, only to burn down?

This week, as we await Pascual's time-out due to COVID, Ben and Celestia look into strange burial practices over the ages. With a peppering of pop culture here and there, we hear from Ben on medieval ways to keep your relatives from leaving their graves, from wooden stakes to mouth bricks to even the origins of headstones! Then we look into the Enlightenment and Victorian era and fears of being buried alive, as well as two very recent cases where families feared that had happened. Finally, Celestia takes a look at the surprising practicality of sky burials in the Himalayas.

We are joined by Professor Michael Branch, who has just released his new book "On the Trail of the Jackalope." What began as an idea for a taxidermy correspondence course 90 years ago has blossomed into a cultural phenomenon. Michael Branch shares his appreciation for the Western tall tale, the whimsy and skill that went into original Wyoming jackalopes, and what sets a hoax apart from a scam or a con. We discuss tall tale postcards and other "jackalopiana" and uncover the surprising role jackalopes have played in the history of medicine and public health.

We begin with a look at the continuing danger of online rumors igniting mob violence and the Google engineer who is in the news for his belief that the AI in development there has reached sentience. Then we are joined by Susan Gerbic and Kenny Biddle, who ventured out to Vegas recently and joined Ben for a tour of Zak Bagans' Haunted Museum (but is it, really?). We discuss the "real paranormal" angle versus theatrical haunted house that this museum tries to straddle, and Kenny shares some details on artifacts like the Dybbuk box, which he likely devalued by solving the "mysteries" behind them. Later we are joined by a super secret special guest with a bit of insider info. We enjoyed the chat so much that this ended up our longest episode ever!

Ben announces the release of his new book, "America the Fearful," and then Celestia takes over for a main segment inspired by current events. While we hope these fears turn out to be unfounded, there is much worry presently about parents turning to DIY recipes for baby formula amid the nationwide shortage. Another looming fear is that many lives will be lost to unsafe abortion practices if access is restricted -- herbal abortions share many features with other forms of alternative medicine, but with highly toxic abortifacients the stakes are very high. We look into the history and folklore of these two maternal issues, as well as reasons they appeal to those in desperate situations.

After a few words on current events, Pascual takes us on a tour of tales about Old Scratch influencing music. Whether he's giving free violin lessons, defending himself in court, or even hanging out with Anton LaVey and Sammy Davis Jr., the devil has a longstanding relationship with music of all types.

After a brief diversion about who slapped who at that big pop culture event recently, we look into a much, much different vein of show business. Get it? Vein? Seriously though, what makes people bleed from their hands and other places, allegedly spontaneously, in a replication of Christ's wounds? How many people have become known for this peculiar blessing, and how do they profit from it exactly? We'll discuss miracles versus Munchausen, fakery versus pious frauds, as well as other explanations for the affliction, and Ben recounts his visit with a bona fide stigmatic (as she was advertised, anyway).

After a few thoughts on Daylight Savings Time, we discuss a short list of purported deathbed confessions. The last words of a consequential figure can be hijacked or twisted to fit agenda -- or, sometimes, it's not just the words that are made up, it's the person too. From cautionary tales to urban legends, deathbed confessions are a peculiar branch of the folklore tree. There are also very real deathbed confessions that have solved mysteries, revealed crimes, or reversed a long-held position. Join us as we look into a few.

After a brief discussion on the recent jailbreak (rock break?) of a Japanese nine-tailed demon, and some thoughts on war rumors and viral stories coming out of Ukraine, we talk about people who think they can talk to animals. Or people who think their animal can talk to them -- psychically, of course. From a lost champion purebreed to a thoroughly tested terrier in the UK, we go over a few examples and our thoughts on the matter.

From superheroes to saints to trumpets, the idea of things seeming to float inexplicably in the air certainly captures our imagination. First Ben takes us through a history of levitation--as a sign of possession or piety, then as purported by Spiritualist mediums, and then as a side-effect of meditation. Celestia discusses some technological ways humans have found to levitate themselves or objects, using the magic of magnetism or air friction. And then Prof. Richard Wiseman joins us to delve into the mysterious Indian Rope Trick, which has a lot to teach us about psychology, memory, journalism, and much more!

First, all the way from New York City Skeptics, Russ Dobler drops in to tell us about AIPT Comic's skepticism month -- and we also chat about Joe Rogan and Ivermectin. Then our main topic is sex urban legends, a field so fertile it's a veritable cornucopia of naughty, forbidden, lurid, or merely humiliating tales that someone swears happened to a friend's cousin's boss's uncle. From Lemmiwinks the gerbil to the poor woman impregnated by a Civil War bullet, we dive into stories old and new about a topic people never seem to tire of.

As Oscar season approaches, we wanted to take some time to chat about movies we saw that either tripped our skeptical alarms or warmed our skeptical hearts. Some are major motion pictures like Don't Look Up, Nightmare Alley or even Disney's Encanto, but we discuss quite a few lesser known flicks on streaming services: Sasquatch, Seaspiracy, the The Lost Leonardo, and House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths. Tune in for our thoughts on these films and info on where you can see them. And boy do we have thoughts!

In this final installment of our moral panic series, as well as our final episode of 2021, we go into various banned books, fears about literature's effect on "weaker minds," the hearings on comic books and juvenile delinquency, and what makes a moral panic. Whether it's murders attributed to Catcher in the Rye or the big boss battle between Fredric Wertham and William Gaines, there's plenty of historical examples to draw from. Then Ben wraps up with some considerations (and criticisms) of moral panic theory and how it can be misapplied.

This penultimate episode in our moral panic series starts with a discussion of the TikTok worries that interrupted schools last week as authorities braced for possible gun violence. Then we talk cinema and television from old to new, and the themes in moral panicking that jump out repeatedly -- such as worrying about what the fragile minds of children or females might absorb, or copycat fears, or concerns about sex, violence, or low self-esteem.

In part 2 of our 4-part series, we talk about moral panics in music history. Some will seem quaint to our modern ears, while others are a bit more recent. From jaunty tunes interfering with factory work in the 1940s to rock artists in the 1980s defending their lyrics in congressional hearings, we look at a long history of how parent's just don't understand their kids' music. And what does the future hold in terms of musical panics? Can we even begin to predict that, when one of the key features of living through a moral panic is the uncertainty of whether something is, in fact, a moral panic?

So this week we start by looking at the similarities between Q-Anon fans awaiting JFK Jr. in Dallas and doomsday cults moving their predictions. Then we start our series on moral panics with an overview of what exactly constitutes a moral panic, moving into the many games and novelty items that have caused parents and social guardians to wring their hands. From Ouija boards to Twister to pinball all the way to first-person-shooter video games, we look at trajectories of quite a few games and how, in the end, panics are great for moving a whole lot of product.

First Tim Mendham from the Australian Skeptics pops in for a quick visit, then we sit down for a discussion with Vegas magicians Matt Donnelly, R.J. Owens, and Vinny Grosso. Each of them has a perspective on magic and skepticism, and we learn about things like gospel magic; how some of them work "woo" like tarot or ESP into their acts; accidental interviews with James Randi; magic and morality; applying entertainment to skepticism; paranormal retroengineering; the magic community as a repository of knowledge on trickery; and the guilty pleasure of fooling an audience into believing--if just for a moment--that you have magical powers.  

We meet up with investigator and photographic ghost evidence enthusiast Kenny Biddle to discuss The Entity -- a 1982 horror movie in the tradition of the 1970s and 1980s "based on a true story" fare. Content warning, this episode discusses a real, confirmed sexual assault briefly in the opener and then a purported supernatural sexual assault as depicted in the film. The Entity has a number of angles that can be examined for lessons on how NOT to do a ghost investigation, and Ben and Kenny have a bit of a time picking through them.

We all have a few skeptical nuggets to chat about this week, from zebras to the healing power of Satan worship to dangerous rumors. Then we are joined by Robert Bartholomew, mass hysteria expert and author of the book "Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria." He compares the current phenomenon to sociogenic illnesses of the past and then dissects some specifics that the press and the government got wrong.

We begin on somber note, with the passing of friend and contributor Erik Kristopher Myers, who will be greatly missed. Then we take a close look at cards, and how they have been used to foretell, trick, amaze, deceive, and swindle. Learn how racism was "in the cards" for fortune tellers in the early 20th century, and how Tarot seems to be ancient and exotic but really isn't. We discuss the rise and fall of Zener cards to "prove" ESP, and how quickly people adapted playing cards to be instruments of trickery. Plus, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle makes multiple appearances as we weave our way through card history!

First, Ben and Celestia are skeptical of the media representations of vaccination "mandates," as well as chiropractors who believe spinally induced immunity can ward off diseases like covid. Then we are joined by Dave Thomas of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason (NMSR) to talk about Roswell's lesser-known cousin crash, the Aztec "Saucer Swindle." It has everything: greedy con men, gullible pulp authors and investors, rigged "doodlebug" gizmos, an intrepid reporter who knows some sleight-of-hand, and of course a trio of magnetic ships from Venus.

Folklorist and self-described "enthusiasm enthusiast" Daisy Ahlstone shares some facts, folklore, and even furry art celebrating the thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian tiger, which was declared extinct in the 20th century. This creature exists now somewhere between relic and cryptid, as sightings continue and efforts to find "one last specimen" remain popular. It's image went through a complete overhaul, at one time feared and hunted by colonists who wanted to protect their sheep, yet now revered and domesticated through artwork and role-playing. Ahlstone talks about the extreme commodification of the species, from hunting bounties to gaffed specimens to logos and travel packages luring tourists to Tasmania. Along the way we learn about endlings, necrofauna, and what genetic projects might produce someday.

We go on an exploration of the somewhat recent trend of trying to heal, calm, or "raise the vibrations" of human beings by means of sound therapy. While sound does have some real medical applications, there's also a concert of woo awaiting the unwary consumer. From singing bowls to tuning forks, it's a web of conflicting benefits, sketchy profit streams, and turgid pseudoscientific jargon that made even Ben's head hurt a little. (But we played some harmonic vibrations to raise his energy and he feels better now.)

We run down a history of food fraud that stretches back to ancient Rome, and continues today in supermarkets and restaurants just about everywhere. From honey product to not-so-virgin olive oil to horse disguised as beef, there's been a consistent push by food purveyors to bump up profits by way of a pinch of adulteration and a tablespoon of substitution. To dig into the most common form of food fraud, namely seafood, we are joined by expert D. G. Webster, author of two books on global fisheries and the economics of the seafood chain. Dr. Webster has a keen interest in seafood fraud and can untangle the nuances of what drives such fraud as well as who is harmed by it.

After some thoughts on the resurgence of dowsing, we sit down with Professor Brian Regal once more, this time to talk about his encyclopedia of pseudoscience. Regal brings his experience teaching critical thinking and history to bear on the topic, and we look at how confirmation bias leads to weaponizing fringe theories.

We tackle one of the grand old traditions in weirdness--spontaneous human combustion (SHC), the phenomenon wherein your loved one goes POOF so quickly and inexplicably that little is left of them but a pile of ash and some extremities. Ben discusses the heyday of these strange deaths, and what they all had in common. We go over some purported cases and some folkloric trails of fabrication, and Celestia looks up some nineteenth-century skirts to see why fashion may have played a part in the cultural memories that solidified into SHC.

Mick West joins us again, this time to talk about the recent flap of UFO sightings and media interest. Major news outlets are giving airtime to what seem like the same old things: unexplained lights in the sky and evidence that the government takes an interest in such phenomena. Mick gives some examples of the categories that UFO videos and photos can be sorted into on his Metabunk.org forum, and we talk about why UFOs are taken more seriously by journalists than some other conspiracy ideas that have no basis in observable fact. He also goes into the government money allocated by Harry Reid in the service of looking into these mysterious lights and how that funding decision came about.

Pascual leads us on a romp through the myriad masked musicians of our time (and a few before our time), and we discuss the benefits and reasons why some performers prefer to remain incognito even during their entire careers. We start with a legendary Parisian performer from a hundred years ago who was brought to life by a writer who drew on current rumors and ghost lore to weave his story. Then, from the Residents to Buckethead and even urban legends about Dolly Parton, we answer the burning question of who among these internationally famous performers can go to Target and not be recognized?

First we have a special guest SWAYSO participant join us to discuss a Covid-19 vaccine rumor going around. Then historian Jay Smith brings us the frightening tale of the Beast of Gévaudan, a story that sprung up around dozens of gruesome killings in a remote region of 18th-century France. As with all folklore, the tale was influenced by trends in journalism, science and the power structures of the day. What do church records, letters, and records from the enormous organized hunts to find this beast tell us?

We are joined by a surprise guest, the critical thinker behind the Steak-Umms popular brand voice (aka Nathan Allebach), who talks to us about targeting misinformation as a PR strategy, managing viral posts, and the brand's recent dustup with Neil deGrasse Tyson. Then Ben brings us back in time twenty years to a hot Indian summer in New Delhi, where reports of a mysterious and malevolent Monkey Man sent residents into a panic. Police and local skeptics were mobilized to combat this phantom in very different ways, as rewards, injuries, vigilante groups and media reports fueled public fear.  

First, Pascual notices an uptick in unrelated, inflammatory Facebook threads in the wake of the Chauvin trial, and we get a refresher on troll-spotting. Then Prof. Brian Regal joins us to look at the complicated social history of the Jersey Devil. There's more to this creature than meets the eye, and Brian helps us unravel the seeds of American independence, the religious persecution and the misogyny behind the legend. We also hear about a very unfortunate kangaroo and a band of armed sideshow performers.

Ben looks into a TikTok-fueled panic about sex trafficking abductions in Target stores, then we move to our main topics, the Mark of the Beast and the Number of the Beast, aka 666. From ambiguous or even invisible marks on accused witches hundreds of years ago to ambiguous or even invisible ways our technology "marks" our commerce, the Satanic fears of some 666-fearing individuals have been going on a long time. Masks and the Covid-19 vaccine are merely the latest in a string of things labelled as the Antichrist's calling card. Pascual rounds us out with some notes on Iron Maiden's 1982 hit Number of the Beast and how various bands used the number to flirt with Satanic showmanship.

First we chat about Lil Nas X's "satanic shoes" and some litigation against a Las Vegas alkaline water company. Then geologist, author, and all-around critical thinker Sharon Hill joins us to talk bottomless holes and the monsters that dwell in them! She brings all sorts of spooky geology, from boreholes to quicksand to the idea of a hollow earth.

We begin with a supposedly cursed guitar that was purchased by a somewhat infamous Vegas resident. Then folklorist and self-proclaimed "lover of all things weird" Prof. Jeannie Banks Thomas joins us to talk about how knowledge of folklore can help average people just like you and me. Her "SLAP" test for questionable online content might save you a bunch of embarrassment and guilt, not to mention help make social media a bit more factual. SLAP stands for scare, logistics, A-listers, and prejudice, and these represent four elements are big red flags for folklorists that a piece of information might just be a rumor or legend. We end with a discussion of another of Professor Thomas's favorite topics, the strangeness of Denver International Airport.

This episode we talk all manner of things mer . . . mermen, mermaids, merb'ys, and many more. People love conjuring up creatures that are half human in some way (especially half sexy human), and merfolk top the list. Whether they are helpful, innocent creatures or deceptive, bloodthirsty temptresses, mermaids have been cast in many tall tales. From ancient mythology to recent docufiction, we look at various representations in history and pop culture. What do you do if you find yourself facing the notorious blue men of the of the Minch in Scotland? Or a child-eating kappa in Japan? We learn the surprising connection between Ariel and an unrequited bisexual love from the 19th century, and we look at "real" mermaids from "The Body Found" (Discovery Channel, 2011) to "the body gaffed" (P. T. Barnum, 1842).

Ben, Celestia, and Pascual help define what makes a crank a crank, and we look into the history of this concept. Then we bring a couple of examples we think illustrate textbook cranks and why they aren't just laughable, they can do some real harm. From selling spiritual self-help books and snake oil to trying to legislate a wrong value for Pi, cranks have a long and storied history in America.

We are joined by folklorist and author David Clarke, who traces the legend of the Crying Boy curse, a curious story surrounding prints of several paintings that featured big-eyed crying children. These popular prints were blamed for fires in the UK during the 1980s, and tales sprung up of orphaned street urchins with mysterious powers to start fires. The roots of the tale involve a confluence of journalistic eagerness, firefighter observations, material science, and good old-fashioned odds.

After some thoughts on the inauguration and future of our science agencies and news landscape, we talk to Bigfoot investigator Steve Kulls, of SquatchDetective.com. Ben met Steve years ago and recognized that, in a field rife with hoaxes and a low bar for evidence, he was a great example of proper investigation techniques. Steve shares with us his tenets of research and then discusses his role in uncovering the Georgia Bigfoot body hoax of 2008--a tale involving a whole cast of characters involved in secrecy, corruption, and avoiding the FBI.

Yay, 2020 is over! This bonus episode is a casual, nonscripted, barely outlined roundtable with Ben, Celestia, and Pascual as we go through how this year affected us both personally and in terms of skeptical outreach. Then we chat about our favorite episodes. We shall return to our normal squaring of strange topics next week!

We recorded a special opener to discuss the late-breaking, Capitol-invading events of the past 36 hours and the role misinformation played in getting thousands of people to this point. Then for our main topic, we go through a brief history of antivax sentiment in the US and the dual nature of Covid vaccine hesitancy. 

First, Celestia recounts a couple of spooky incidents she's experienced during the pandemic. Then we look at a handful of music-related urban legends, folklore, and peculiarities. Ben brings some surprising information about the Pied Piper of Hamelin, which turns out to have threads of history woven into its folklore tapestry. Pascual and Ben discuss the Satanic rumors that surrounded guitarist Robert Johnson, and we look into a studio scream that launched many lurid urban legends. As a finale, we take a quick tour of pop culture references and origins for the scatological-sounding "brown note."

First, we run down the "mysterious monoliths" found so far, and get a special call out to Louie Raffloer, the blacksmith who created a much more true-to-Kubrick monolith back in 2001. For our main segment, we are joined by Dr. Leo Igwe, who tells of the latest witchcraft accusations and attacks he and his organization have fought against in Africa. Dr. Igwe delves into some of the factors that cause this dangerous type of superstition to run rampant in the region, and lays out steps that Africans, as well as the rest of the world, can take to help end it. Dr. Igwe's goal is to end witchcraft persecution by 2030, and if you wish to support this cause, you can donate at BetterPlace.org (click "English" at bottom right, then search for "Advocacy for Alleged Witches Nigeria.")

Ben, Celestia, and Pascual discuss the otherworldly monolith that's popped up in a remote part of Utah, and Ben shares another in his series of "used book mysteries," this one perfectly timed for the election. For our main segment, we have a lengthy discussion with newly minted CFI fellow (and just plain jolly good fellow) Kenny Biddle. Ben and Kenny bring up some of their investigative heroes, lay out some principles of skeptical investigation, and tell us why they have a passion for digging into cold-case mysteries. Good advice to be had for anyone who wants to sharpen their investigation tool set.  

After some chatting about the recent election and alleged voter fraud, we dive into the Ghost Army, a tactical unit of hoaxers in WW2 that saved thousands of lives by pulling off elaborate frauds complete with sound, improvisational theater, props, and set design. Joining us is Col. Francis Park, Ph.D., a military historian who has a few stories about tactical deception from other eras.

Ben and Celestia go through a timeline of the different ways people have tried (or pretended) to chat with dead people and get meaningful information back. Join us as we go from rap-tap-tapping to mysterious music to written words, then books, then actual recordings of a ghost's voice! Or so the theory goes. Spiritualism was of course a major development in the "technology" of dead communications, and we pay special attention to the intersection of social forces at play in that movement and what benefits it bestowed upon its female practitioners.

In this episode Pascual takes the helm and brings us some audio goodies to puzzle over. Several lawsuits have resulted over pop songs that are too similar to each other, and while some are cut and dry, others tread into that weird, philosophical territory of "what is originality, anyway?" Are we all a necessary, determinate product of our creative influences? Are notes but simple ingredients that can only be combined a certain number of ways, so we should expect recurrent themes in music on a cyclical basis? We go from pop music to the much, much older operas and even Gregorian chants, to look at the "universality" of particular note combinations that are recycled endlessly without most listeners ever knowing it. Plus, alien music!  

Ben brings in two guests, Scott Mardis and Darren Naish, to discuss two different instances of alleged "baby" versions of lake monsters and sea serpents. These cryptozoological cuties have made waves a few times in the history of monster lore. Whether it's pipefish in pails, pickled puppies, or plesiosaur progeny, there's some strange things afoot with these tall tales of terrifying tadpoles.

After some chatting about current and upcoming events, we dive into a mysterious entity in a women's toilet in Bangladesh. Ben brings his love of ghosts and mass hysterias to the party, as we examine all the cultural and folkloric factors that play into why female factory workers are experiencing ghostly (or djinny?) encounters in the loo.

Who would fake their own abduction? It turns out, plenty of people. Whether it's the "runaway bride," who says the stress of wedding planning made her snap, or the McDonald's worker who claimed a maniacal clown kept her from getting to work, hoaxed kidnapping cases end up taking time away from legitimate crimes as well as creating fodder for news and social media. Why do people do it? Some crave attention or simply paint themselves into a corner with one lie leading to another. Others narrate a harrowing tale on Facebook about how they narrowly avoided a kidnapper's grasp. People also lie about kidnapping attempts upon their children--or they invent fictional kidnapped children in order to make their stolen car into a high priority carjacking. Ben has researched kidnapping hoaxes for decades and brings us his thoughts on the patterns and repercussions from these bizarre crimes.    

First, Ben, Pascual, and Celestia discuss the recurring social media uproar about why something isn't being covered by the media, as well as the recent public concern over disappearing mailboxes. Then for our main segment, Ben celebrates the 25th anniversary of his favorite cryptid beastie, the chupacabra, and we examine it's past, present, and future as a legend. Ben digs into his original notes about the very first sighting, and shows us some interesting discrepancies that are always overlooked in the chupacabra lore.

Susan Gerbic, of Guerilla Skepticism on Wikipedia, joins Celestia and Ben to bring us up to date on her recent psychic research and writings, as well as her team's ongoing efforts in shoring up the information on various Wikipedia pages in response to pandemic misinformation. Ben shares his thoughts on one of the last public theatrical events he attended before Covid-19: the Theresa Caputo Experience! We compare and contrast some of the psychological tricks and showmanship involved in a psychic's stage performance and how people get sucked into a celebrity psychic's crafted image.

This is a bonus episode (free to all, as I'm not clicking the box that says "charge patrons for this creation"), wedged between episodes 126 and 127, in which we chat about recent rumors floating around the interwebs--often intersecting with Covid-19 fears and the ever-present existential threat of "stranger danger," where people see nefarious rings of child-trafficking in otherwise mundane happenings. In addition to all the other issues the current pandemic is shining a spotlight on, our societal tendency to form and spread rumors is certainly in high gear during this time of uncertainty and unease.

With statues being front and center in the news earlier this month, we decided to take a few tours of the stranger side of statues. From graveyard statues that take strolls when you're not looking to spooky statues that allegedly can't be photographed. Myths involving statues coming to life, or live people being turned to stone, is a rich vein of folklore that reaches forward even to our most recent pop culture. Ben recounts some cases he personally investigated of miraculous "weeping" statues, and then we cover statues as guerilla art pieces that appear mysteriously overnight as publicity stunts and political statements.

Heard about the college parties where kids are intentionally trying to infect themselves with Covid--even betting money on who can catch it first? We sure have, and there will likely be many more tales popping up as the pandemic continues. And it provides an intersection of folklore, moral panic, media literacy, and helpful versus harmful "public awareness" that we (meaning Ben) love to dissect and learn from. Why has this rumor taken off, and is there anything to it? We also take a look at other types of disease urban legends and the alleged HIV "bug chasers" that Rolling Stone (mis)reported on in the early 2000s.

After some discussion on a few current events that resulted in quick debunkings, Ben, Pascual, and Celestia take a close look at what could be real-time formation of a social panic. Antifa has all the hallmarks of a propped-up paper tiger used by some as a political tool, and by others as a social boogeyman. We look at the coverage, the rumors, the Trump tweets, the implications, and the real statistics. How has the reputation of this nebulous non-organization caused harm? Plus we look into the price of bricks versus hippie crystals and the best state to register a converted schoolbus.

We are joined today by filmmaker and encyclopedia of weird film knowledge Erik Kristopher Myers. The notion of a "snuff film" is a strange convergence of conspiracy thinking, urban legend, moral panic, and actual film trivia, and we tour the genre--or, rather, things that have been assumed part of this elusive genre--from the Manson family to Faces of Death to an early found-footage gore fest called Cannibal Holocaust. Have any real snuff films ever been uncovered, or any black market snuff rings investigated? What are the factors that play into our belief in, and fear of, these monstrous commodifications of our mortality? And how have moviemakers and underground video producers capitalized on the idea?

We chat a bit about various news, including the passing of physicist Peter Brancazio, who explored popular sports illusions, and Ben's recent outreach project attempting to get answers from the "Plandemic" filmmaker. Then our main segment covers a veritable salad of plant-based folklore. From very old tales to modern misconceptions, we touch on the ancient Greek dryads and related myths, how to safely dig up a mandrake root, and whether or not houseplants purify the air.

First, Ben and Celestia briefly discuss the roller coaster that was the rise and fall of "Plandemic," then we talk murder hornets with Heidi McMaster, an invasive species coordinator out of Washington. Our main guest is Noah Nez, a Native American critical thinker who blogs as the Native Skeptic. Noah helps us peel back misconceptions about the noble savage trope, native homogeneity, crown dancers and the clown/trickster figure, and the co-opting of native traditions in cryptid pseudohistories. Native lore is an ever-present theme in skeptical topics; the varied nature of these legends, coupled with their existence mainly as oral tradition and reluctance to discuss taboo subjects, makes native culture an easily misinterpreted, commodified, and exploited landscape. From herbal remedies to horror films to Skinwalker Ranch (tm), we look at examples and see what we can learn.

First, Ben, Celestia, and Pascual discuss a few pandemic-related things that set off some skeptical alarms over social media this past week. Then we are joined by Southern California-based comedian and film editor Emery Emery to talk about his soon-to-be-released project with Brian Dunning. With the help of many science communicators and experts (Ben himself among them), Emery and Dunning have crafted a documentary called Science Friction, revealing the myriad ways experts have been manipulated, maligned, and misrepresented by producers of questionable documentaries. 

You know, Ben came up with the pun for this title and we are just so darned proud of him for coming over to the pun side of life. We chat about various Covid-related topics and then dive into a few examples of bad or misleading polls. First we go over a couple that don't really set off alarm bells, like whether beards are sexy or what determines people's beer-buying habits. Then Ben dissects some bad reporting on polls and surveys that relate to much more important topics like Native American discrimination or the Holocaust, and we see how a bit of media literacy on how polls can be twisted around is a vital part of anyone's skeptical toolbox.

For anyone who has been craving an episode with far less research, facts, or formality, this is the episode for you! Ben, Pascual, and Celestia, reflect on their various circumstances during the coronavirus national emergency, and then we talk about this, our third year in podcasting. We dish on past guests and future guests we have in the works, answer a couple of listener questions, and Ben quizzes Pascual about the finer points of air guitar. Enjoy the podcast--it's almost as fun as other people!

This installment finishes our discussion on three missing persons cases that Ben, Celestia, and Kenny followed in real time and tracked with psychic detective predictions on how the cases would play out. Part 2 features Ben's examination of the Harley Dilly case, a teenager who went missing in December of 2019. The same content warning applies: we must discuss some details of the case that may be disturbing to some listeners. With these three case studies, it becomes clear how well-meaning (and sometimes not-so-well-meaning) psychics gum up the works at police departments and cause distress to the families as tragedies occur. With social media, this effect is increased with the second-wave effect as followers on social media send and resend a psychic's prediction to authorities. 

After some discussion on the recent pandemic declaration and unprecedented social distancing most of us now face, special guest Kenny Biddle joins Ben and Celestia (remotely!) to look at some current missing person cases as they unfold in real time, and how psychics have "helped" (or interfered) in the progress of each case. This turned into a rather long study, so this part has cases brought by Celestia and Kenny, with some discussion of why checking and debunking this type of psychic activity necessarily falls to grassroots skeptical activists. Content warning: missing child cases, as well as psychic pronouncements on what happened to these victims, are discussed in detail.

The Bermuda Triangle is a perennial favorite for seekers of the strange; Ben still gets calls regularly from students eager to ask him questions about this purported watery grave in the Caribbean. We look into the history of this mysterious place and a few factors that influenced its popularity. What does the Bermuda Triangle have to do with a college French class? And what does a new bit of 2020 shipwreck sleuthing have to do with the legend? The one thing the Bermuda Triangle does seem to suck in like a vortex is a kitchen sink of very weird theories, from Atlantis and UFOs to rogue tidal waves and magnetic time-space anomalies.

Ben and Celestia discuss one of the most memorable fakes in Bigfoot history. What began as a carnival side-show exhibit ended up the center of multiple origin stories, a tale about a reclusive California millionaire, and a possible homicide that attracted the attention of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. We learn about the showman with a block of ice who strung along two cryptid researchers for what seems like an impressively long con. We are joined by Dr. Ron Pine, who was a curator at the Smithsonian back when the Bigfoot phenomenon was starting to take off. Dr. Pine tells us about what it was like to see the Patterson-Gimlin footage as well as the Minnesota Iceman for the first time, from the point of view of a scientist reviewing "evidence" from hopeful Bigfoot enthusiasts.

We made time to record a special bonus episode this month! Due to the late-breaking nature of the Wuhan/novel coronavirus (now officially named COVID-19), Ben has gathered the latest misinfo and disinfo in order to break it down in terms of recurring folklore, distrust of foreigners, and the psychology of why people grasp for simple memes over complex medical science. Then Doctor Dan Ketterer goes over some of the nuances of viruses and how we treat them. Influenza and HIV provide useful models to how infectious disease doctors can disarm and contain viral outbreaks. There's a lot we don't yet know about COVID-19, but the quarantines and other public health measures should be making us feel safer, not create more panic.

There is a rich field of literary hoaxes to pull from, and for this episode we pulled a few favorites. Ben brings a selection of "misery memoirs," stories of a victim triumphing over incredible hardships (which, in these examples, are fictional hardships or fictional victims). She Said Yes and Go Ask Alice are two prominent examples of teenage martyrdom that aren't what they seem. Celestia tells tales of promiscuous bat-people on the moon, a nineteenth-century newspaper hoax, and we break down the cultural factors that contribute to the popularity and believability of any hoax. Ben ends with the heart-wrenching story of a literary version of Munchausen by proxy and the puzzling search for a very popular boy with a harrowing tale of abuse and terminal illnesses, one that moved both Oprah and Mr. Rogers.

This week, Ben recounts his recent investigation into the Mothman, a creature first spotted in the 1960s in rural West Virginia. Ben takes us on a tour of the area and discusses his trip there to help research the creature for a German television show. Like many cryptids, Mothman has gone through several incarnations and taken a few turns on its modern folkloric journey, from men-in-black conspiracies to Native American curses. And what do Point Pleasant residents think of their peculiar neighborhood monster, who brings with it a fully stocked museum and annual festival? From its glowing red eyes to its comic book abs and (by some accounts) grey feathery wings, we examine what makes Mothman tick.

This is a long one, and be advised that this episode contains some grisly details. Ben and Celestia go on a sometimes quirky, sometimes bone-shivering tour of heads (or lack thereof). We have headless or multi-headed creatures in folklore, conjoined twinning, Miracle Mike the headless chicken, experiments on heads fresh from the guillotine, the Frozen head of Walt Disney, and shrunken heads. No matter how you slice it, that's a lot of heads.

This week Ben and Celestia are joined by Erik Kristopher Myers to discuss a short history of a particular sort of easter egg: the dreaded "hidden subversive element" stuck into a kids' show or game, either by a perverse animator or a much more sinister coalition bent on corrupting the youth of America. Disney has made a cottage industry of hiding adult content in cartoons--whether real or simply rumored. And the rumors of subversive dangers in D&D both plagued and popularized the once-obscure RPG. From pareidolia to pranks to the people who wring hands over such dangers, we break down a long list of memorable legends.

We are joined by Kenny Biddle, our east coast paranormal investigator and skeptic, to discuss the darker side of ghost hunting. Not a demonic dark side, but rather real-world consequences. Things like trespassing dangers, costs to historical sites and organizations, loss of life and limb, and even the mangling of personal histories and reputations. Ben and Kenny both bring some examples from their previous investigations, and Kenny shares some background info he dug up on the reputed witch behind the Conjuring house hauntings, that staple of the Ed and Lorraine Warrenverse.

Fresh from a convention of caricature artists and with heads full of pareidolia, Ben and Celestia discuss a few topics of the day and then dig into crystal skulls. Can we trust what Dan Ayrkroyd tells us on his fancy vodka bottle? Are there really thirteen of these ancient and powerful relics? What is the Skull of Doom, and does it have strange properties that baffle scientists? These skulls provide a fascinating look into rewritten histories and the power of priming. We even look at an ill-conceived lawsuit against Steven Spielberg involving the crystal skulls featured in the latest Indiana Jones installment.

Human rights advocate Dr. Leo Igwe joins us to discuss the dangers posed by so-called "witch hunters" in his home nation of Nigeria and other parts of Africa today. He discusses the entrenched nature of magical beliefs in the region, as well as the complicated power structure that props up those who call out fellow citizens as witches. Religions brought from Europe now play into the mix, with Islam and Christianity working alongside traditional beliefs; witch hunters are often pastors or church leaders, solidifying their power further. Victims are often powerless--the elderly, disabled, or children--and once accused they must run for their lives, abandoned by family and often the state authorities as well. Dr. Igwe talks about the challenges of getting the message across to international agencies and the UN, whose members are sometimes hesitant to speak out against these atrocities for fear of seeming racist or Islamophobic, a trend Igwe decries as stifling critical debate and much-needed open dialogue.  

The Satanic Panic is a veritable cornucopia of skeptical angles, and for this episode we limit ourselves to a look back at the cultural feel of the 80s and early 90s and some seminal court cases that brought metal musicians to court to defend their craft and educate jurors on audio pareidolia. Along the way we reminisce about Dungeons & Dragons, Geraldo Rivera, and how technology affected the development of the panic. The parental hand-wringing and ensuing litigation also paved the way for an invigorated Satanic thrust in metal as theatrical bands embraced demonic imagery even further, sometimes quite seriously. And the journey ends with today, when Satanic metal is almost a quaint cliché and real-life Satanists resemble Shriners more than they do boogeymen. 

Just in time for Halloween, when scary clowns abound, Ben takes us on a tour of the modern clown panic phenomenon . . . from bands of phantom clowns in white vans showing up in the 1980s to the "Great Clown Panic of 2016" that went worldwide, to more recent fears about effects of homicidal clowns in our media. Clown panics touch on quite a few currents of fear, from unknown assailants to viral copycats to public outrage and urban legends about tainted Halloween candy. So get out your rubber nose and floppy shoes and enjoy the show! 

First, we look into an outrage-inspiring headline about a woman arrested for being topless at her own home. Then we dive into animal carcasses and reasons why suspicious dead animals have unnerved us throughout history. Hailed by Biblical prophecies and superstitions as a portent of doom, or seen as proof of malevolent mischief by--take your pick--aliens, hungry cryptids, Satanists, or (more realistically) corporate polluters, mysterious animal deaths have a long and storied history in the library of the strange. Let's unravel a few cases, including the Great Elk Murder Conspiracy, near Las Vegas, New Mexico, which Ben got to cover as it unfolded.

We begin with a longer-than-usual opening segment (because gosh darn it, a lot happened). Ben recounts his latest TV appearance and chupacabra follow-up. The AlienStock / Storm Area 51 thing happened, or tried to happen. And two movies open this week that are unsettling audiences due to clown content--one of the films contains Ben! Lastly, we take a cursory look at a tabloid story that mirrors the film Orphan. Then, for the last half of the episode, Ben takes us on a deep dive into the Ica Stones, a hoax wrapped in a riddle tucked into a quaint little museum-shrine in Peru. What impressed a doctor so much that he gave up medicine to collect these peculiar little tchotchkes, believing them to be proof of aliens, or a Biblical young earth, or both?

We open with Dr. Hans House, who schools us on infectious diseases, especially some little-known facets of ebola, measles and the flu. He shares some knowledge on public health efforts and how we can all do our part to reduce disease vectors and save lives. Then we chat with Kenny Biddle about his recent investigations into diploma mills and paranormal credential fakery. Ben shares a personal experience, which goes down some unexpected paths as he tells us the surprising discoveries he made while researching a college professor's background some years ago.