As my awesome podcast Squaring the Strange (co-hosted by Pascual Romero and Celestia Ward) has passed its anniversary, I will be posting episode summaries from the past year to remind people some of the diverse topics we’ve covered on the show, ranging from ghosts to...
Folklore
‘Investigating Ghosts’ Wins at New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards
I'm pleased to note that my newest book Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits was a winner at this year's New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards! You can order the book from your local indie bookstore, or find it on Amazon! ...
Squaring the Strange: Human Barbie and Other Plastic Tales
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: Human Barbie and Other Plastic Tales. First, Ben examines some disturbing consequences to child abduction rumors on a...
I’m Quoted in Oxygen’s New Article on Evil Clowns!
Writer Jon Silman at Oxygen has a new article out on John Wayne Gacy's role in the scary clown phenomenon, and I'm briefly quoted: Before we explore that it’s worth looking into the psychology of why clowns are scary. We spoke to Benjamin Radford, author of the...
Squaring the Strange: Episode 77 – Halloween History, Hell Houses, and Scares!
The new episode of Squaring the Strange is out! The show is all about Halloween strangeness . . . We unravel the origins of a few traditions and look at "Hell Houses," the much, much, much lamer alternative to haunted houses. And a quick report from CSIcon as well as...
Haunting Tales, by Jon Larson of El Defensor Chieftan
Here's nice news article about New Mexican ghost lore, with a few quotes from me about solving the mystery of the KiMo theater haunting... The Chieftain spoke with Benjamin Radford of Corrales, who has been investigating reports of hauntings around the state...
Fear And Loathing Of ‘Trump’
If you’ve spent any time on social media over the past few years you’ve likely seen several versions of Donald Trump’s last name. Various versions include “tr^^p,” “Strump,” and “Tr**p,” though writer Joyce Carol Oates understandably prefers the...
Squaring the Strange Archives: Kuchisake-Onna
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: This week, Ben and Pascual dig into the legend of Kuchisake-Onna, aka the Slit-mouthed Woman. From the origins of her...
Squaring the Strange Archives: The Miracle Staircase
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: While Pascual recovers, Ben and Celestia discuss outrage over the hypothetical new product “Lady Doritos.” Then we go over...
Squaring the Strange: Ghost Trains
This week we start with a discussion of Spike Lee's BlackKKlansman movie and the notion of holding narrative movies "based on" real events to some imagined standard of full accuracy. Then all aboard for the ghost train express! Ben and Celestia discuss the lure of the...