In the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft decision suggesting that Roe v. Wade is imperiled, many took to social media encouraging women to delete apps that help them track their menstrual cycles. Countless messages and memes circulated on social media telling...
Health and Medicine
Squaring the Strange # 179: Deviant Death Rites and Bizarre Burials
Word around the campfire is that there's a new episode of Squaring the Strange! This week we dug up some strange ways people have sent off their deceased loved ones. As a medieval person, how would you keep Aunt Edna from coming back as a vampire or a bitey undead...
Squaring the Strange # 179: Deviant Death Rites and Bizarre Burials
New episode of Squaring the Strange is out! This week we dug up some strange ways people have sent off their deceased loved ones. As a medieval person, how would you keep Aunt Edna from coming back as a vampire or a bitey undead plague-spreader? Or in the Victorian...
Squaring the Strange #173: Alien Implants!
For those who missed it, on the episode of Squaring the Strange we discuss implants--of the alien kind! Advanced tracking technology? Splinters? Or something more sinister? Check it out!
‘Clerical Error Fries Phoenix Faithful’ by Jim Underdown
My buddy Jim Underdown asks some pointed questions about recent news that a priest's wrong spoken word during baptisms jeopardized souls: "Fr. Andres Arango has jeopardized the everlasting souls of (presumably) hundreds of parishioners who were baptized by him — and...
Debunked ‘Primal Scream’ Therapy Returns With Covid
In the news: Moms gathering to scream out their pandemic frustrations. Psychotherapist Arthur Janov believed that neuroses are caused by childhood pain and could be relieved by re-experiencing it through crying and screaming. A huge fad in the 1970s, the idea of...
Quoted in Rolling Stone: ‘Stop Falling for Made-Up TikTok Moral Panics!’
So this is cool: I'm quoted in Rolling Stone encouraging people to, quote, "Stop Falling for Made-Up TikTok Moral Panics!" Check it out HERE! Also, don't forget to check out my podcast, Squaring the Strange!
“Más allá del mito: Las Brujas de Salem”
I'm quoted in a news article in the Spanish-language newspaper Clarin on the social and cultural drivers of witchcraft, including at Salem: "Más allá del mito: Las Brujas de Salem, la verdad de la ciencia a 330 años." ¡Léelo ahora!
Presentation for ‘Contemporary Legends and Pandemic Lore’ Conference
I recently presented a talk, "Folklore and Public Health: Partners in Mitigating Medical Misinformation," for a webinar on Contemporary Legends and Pandemic Lore, put on by the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research in association with Mahatma Gandhi...
Grand Opening of the Online Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center!
For those who missed our Grand Opening of the Online Friggatriskaidekaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th) Treatment Center, it's not too late to join the fun! We had song, dance, puns, and a short talk by me about the psychology of superstitions, and you can watch it...