I'm interviewed in a 'Superstitious Times' piece on the inability (or unwillingness) of investigators to call out fraud and hoaxing in their own fields: "What’s happened, Radford added, was the democratization of paranormal investigators, in particular those who...
Benjamin Radford
Squaring the Strange #145: Bottomless Pits and Spooky Geology with Sharon Hill
In a recent episode of Squaring the Strange we have everything: Lil Nas X's Satanic Shoes, a sketchy alkaline water CEO, and geologist Sharon Hill educating us about spooky geology like bottomless pits, the mysterious "Mel's Hole," quicksand, and hollow earth...
Roots Of—And Responses To—COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy
My new blog examines some myths about, and ways to address, covid vaccine hesitancy. From concerns about efficacy to the "Dirty Dozen" social media anti-vaxxers, the first step is understanding the problem; the second step is knowing your audience. As the...
Audio Pareidolia And The Chauvin Trial
During the recent trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, an interesting—and easily overlooked—aspect related to psychology and critical thinking arose. As MSN reported, “Derek Chauvin defense attorney Eric Nelson on...
Quoted in ‘Rolling Stone’ about Viral TikTok Abduction Rumors
I'm quoted in a recent Rolling Stone article about abduction rumors going viral on TikTok. It's an interesting social media twist on an old urban legend... you can read it HERE. You can also check out the Squaring the Strange shows we did on faked...
Monster Freed After Lawyer Offers Ridiculous Defense!’: Post Hoc Fallacies In Legal Outcomes
With the recent trials of Derek Chauvin and others, I'm seeing a common fallacy: Seemingly outrageous legal defenses are held up as evidence of how horrible American social values are. But the outrage is evidence of nothing more than a misunderstanding of the justice...
Squaring the Strange #126: The Mark of the Beast!
New episode of Squaring the Strange is out! This week I look into a TikTok rumor of abductions at Target, and then we tackle the Beast! That is, the Mark of the Beast and the Number of the Beast. We talk of pimples and witch-prickers, the 1970s rise of 666 as a taboo...
My Forgotten ‘Coast to Coast AM’ Appearance
I've been asked a few times if I've ever appeared on "Coast To Coast AM," and always said no. So I was surprised to discover I had, back in 2018. I'd totally forgotten about it. I never talked to Art Bell but if I had I'd have reminded him about his role in the...
‘Big–If True: Adventures in Oddity’ reviewed!
There's a lovely review of my new book Big-If True: Adventures in Oddity at AIPTComics: "The perfect book for anyone that loves diving into mysteries or enjoys a good investigation. It’s a very quick read, easily broken up into chapters, or even chunks at a time....
Squaring the Strange # 143: Mermaids and Merfolk
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...