The owner of a ghost hunting equipment manufacturing company emailed asking me to update an article I wrote debunking his product. First, the article is from 16 years ago; second, I don't write for LiveScience anymore, and third, even if I did: No. It's here,...
Books
Zoom Talk: ‘America the Fearful: Navigating the Media’s Phantom Fears
I recently gave a Zoom talk titled 'America the Fearful: Navigating the Media's Phantom Fears,' based on my new book: "News and social media provide a steady diet of things to fear: COVID. Vaccinations. Immigrants. Kidnapping rings. Satanists. QAnon. Mass shootings....
Squaring the Strange # 178: You Don’t Know Jack (alopes)! Michael Branch and the Art of the Hoax
Squaring the Strange features the JACKALOPE EPISODE! Yes, a favorite kitchy cryptid / hoax / souvenir / tall tale from the American West. Professor Michael Branch discusses his new book and brings us so many jackalope facts you may have to listen twice. Check it out!...
Bob Bartholomew on a Phantom Cat Killer in New Zealand
Interesting article in Psychology Today by my colleague and co-author Bob Bartholomew, about the strange case of a phantom cat killer in New Zealand... One feature of human psychology is that people tend to see what they expect to see. As meaning-oriented...
America the Fearful: Parsing America’s Ubiquitous Referenda
In the wake of the July verdict in the dueling defamation lawsuits between actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, there was of course much punditry, commentary, and crystal gazing. It was seen not merely as an outcome of one trial between two often-toxic celebrities but...
‘North American Monsters’ Wins Award
A book I contributed a chapter (and cover) to won a book award! Congratulation to the other authors and editor David Puglia for winning the Brian McConnell Book Award in folklore for 'North American Monsters'!
Guest on ‘New Mexico Living’ for ‘America the Fearful’
For those who didn't see it: I was a recent guest on 'New Mexico Living', talking about my new book 'America the Fearful: Media and the Marketing of National Panics.' You can watch the short interview HERE!
Parsing America’s Ubiquitous Referenda
In the wake of the recent verdict in the dueling defamation lawsuits between actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, there was of course much punditry, commentary, and crystal gazing. It was seen not merely as an outcome of one trial between two often-toxic celebrities...
Guest on ‘New Mexico Living’ Talking on ‘America the Fearful’
I'm a guest on 'New Mexico Living', talking about my new book America the Fearful: Media and the Marketing of National Panics. You can watch the short interview HERE!
What’s ‘Problematic,’ When, and Why
In my previous blog I discussed the (real and performative) outrage over Will Smith attacking Chris Rock at the Oscars, and the curious lack of outrage over co-host Amy Schumer’s long history of (alleged) racism. From racist jokes to behavior,...