Over the new week or two I'll be posting some blurbs and reviews of my new book Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits. It is currently available as an e-book at Amazon.com and will be available in print in a few weeks (preferably at your local...
Benjamin Radford
‘Secret’ UFO Program Revealed– But Where’s the Beef?
Maybe you've heard the news about the "secret" DoD program to find UFOs? Here's a quick take on it: Given that UFOs are literally "unidentified flying objects," the Pentagon's interest in the topic is both understandable and appropriate. After all, unknown objects...
New Episode of ‘Squaring the Strange’: Bro-Science with the Credible Hulk!
New episode! This week, we kick off the first half of the "New Years Resolution" series where they look at woo in the gym. Just in time for your resolution, The Credible Hulk joins our hosts to walk us through some of the myths and misconceptions that run rampant in...
Review of ‘Bad Clowns’ in the Journal of Folklore Research
Santa brought me a great gift: A nice review of my book in a prominent folklore journal: "Bad Clowns is a thorough, useful survey of the history of bad, creepy, and evil clown narratives and imagery, and one that could prove a timely and accessible teaching text for...
The True, Heartwarming Story of the Mall of America’s Black Santa
My investigation into a viral news story circulating one year ago this week, about a black mall Santa reportedly deluged with racist hate. It was tragic and sad--and fictional: "The real tragedy is what was done to Larry Jefferson, whose role as the Mall of America's...
Latin American Pseudohistories: Chupacabra, Nazca Lines, Ica Stones, and More!
I was recently a guest with Kurly Tlapoyawa, an archaeologist, author, and ethnohistorian, on his podcast. His research focuses primarily on the interaction between Mesoamerica, Western Mexico, and the American Southwest. We talked about pseudohistories, including of...
The Puritan ‘Courting Stick’
This scene from 1600s New England depicts the use of a “courting stick,” by which young lovers could exchange whispers and sweet nothings in some privacy despite the entire family living in one room. What do you think this lad is saying to his sweetheart? You can find...
Warren Zevon, Rockin’ Bibliophile!
I've been a huge fan of Warren Zevon for decades, and was fortunate enough to see him live a few times (and even got his autograph on a photo I took of him). Known as a highly literate songwriter, he had many books and writer friends. I learned he was dying shortly...
Champ’s no Chump: The Best Evidence for Lake Monsters
The new episode of Squaring the Strange is out! In it we discuss how to tell when "Just asking questions" is either a cynical conspiracy ploy or a sincere effort to understand something, and then move on to my research into the best evidence for lake monsters and...
Gunman or Maintenance Worker? How Expectations Influence Interpretation
My new CFI blog on how our expectations can and do influence our perceptions and interpretations... Earlier this month police in Schaumberg, Illinois, responded to a call of one or more gunmen walking around a business district. According to the Chicago...