Squaring the Strange Archives: Mixed Bag of Tricks

by | Apr 12, 2018 | Benjamin Radford, Mass Hysteria, Media Appearances, Psychology, Squaring the Strange | 0 comments

In the latest in a series highlighting past episodes and archives of Squaring the Strange, here’s a look back at a show you might have missed:

In this “special episode,” what began as an episode on outrage turned into a compilation of several topics. First Ben discusses the History Channel’s failure to “further research” their botched examination of Amelia Earhart. On the topic of follow-up, he then recalls when the 2009 horror flick Orphan caused outrage from adoption experts, who claimed the movie would have a chilling effect on adoption rates. Yet when this effect never materialized, no one said a thing. Then Pascual reads a listener email and discusses Facebook algorithms, echo chambers, and his own personal social media practices. In a fun bit called “Tales from the Road,” Ben and Pascual share real-life experiences they’ve had involving Pinhead from Hellraiser and having one’s guitarist mistaken for a murderer, respectively. In “Ben’s Fan Mail,” we explore a reader’s question on the 1917 Miracle of the Sun in Fátima and what sort of time goes into a case investigation. Then Ben discusses a false rumor about monkeys spreading yellow fever in Brazil, leading to people killing monkeys—a dangerous rumor for the monkeys, certainly, and representative of the danger that false rumors and urban legends can pose. And speaking of danger, Ben talks about that one time he almost ran over George R.R. Martin at Bubonicon.  You can here it HERE.

 

 

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