Amid the encroaching commercialization of Christmas, Black Friday sales, and annual social media grumblings about the manufactured controversy over whether “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” is appropriate, an ugly episode of racial hatred tainted the beginning of...
Benjamin Radford
Squaring the Strange #108: The Dangers and Consequences of Ghost Hunting
For those who missed it, on the new episode of Squaring the Strange, we discuss the darker side of ghost hunting. Not a demonic dark side, but instead real-world harms and consequences. Things like trespassing dangers, costs to historical sites and organizations, loss...
On ‘Let’s Talk New Mexico’ Discussing My Ghost Investigations
Better late than never: I was interviewed recently by Ty Bannerman on KUNM's program "Let's Talk New Mexico" about NM ghost stories and folklore. I discussed my KiMo theater ghost investigation, and a bit about the St. James hotel... check it out HERE! ...
Squaring the Strange #106: Leo Igwe on Modern Witchcraft Accusations
Celestia and I are especially pleased with a recent episode of Squaring the Strange, in which we spoke to Leo Igwe, the tireless skeptic, humanist, and human rights advocate in Nigeria. His work on behalf of people persecuted as witches in sub-Saharan Africa...
Trudeau, Cherry, and Canadian Racism Polls
The issue of racism in Canada was recently brought into sharp focus when, shortly before the Canadian election, photos and videos of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in blackface and brownface emerged. They had been taken on at least three occasions in the 1990s and...
2019 Halloween Candy Tampering Case Revealed As Hoax
Last month a Maine man made national news for finding tampered Halloween candy. He posted on social media that he found a needle in candy his son had bitten into. Police investigated and found he lied, hoaxing the whole thing (probably for attention). He's now been...
Psychics ‘Help’ in Search for Missing Man… But Fail So Far
When families of missing people are desperate they often listen to psychics. Here's a new article on the topic: "The psychic, Juanita Szafranski, led a search effort focused on a five-mile area surrounding the East Rock neighborhood. Peter Recchia, 59, went...
Squaring the Strange Ep. 107: Crystal Skullduggery
The new episode of Squaring the Strange is out! In this episode we talk about caricature and mysterious 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...
Galaxy Photo Shows Haunting Face… Here’s Why
I'm quoted in a new article by Rob Lea on Medium about why people see faces in everything from ghost photos to clouds to photos of the galaxy... A collision of two galaxies of equal size 704-million-light-years from Earth has created what appears to be a ghostly...
Squaring the Strange #104: Pop Culture and the Satanic Panic
In a recent episode of Squaring the Strange we look back at pop culture aspects of the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 1990s, including Dungeons & Dragons, Geraldo Rivera, heavy metal, "Satanic Yoda," and how technology influenced the panic...You can find it...