I was recently a guest on the NPR affiliate WAMU in D.C., "The Kojo Nnamdi Show", talking about the role of skepticism and media literacy in recent rumors of child abductions. You can hear the interview HERE. You can find more on me and my work with a search...
Media Appearances
Cancer Survivor/Activist’s Claims Questioned
An inspirational cancer survivor widely honored (and featured in Beyoncé's "Lemonade" video) turns out to have made up or changed important parts of her past. Now many of her supporters are feeling betrayed, accusing her of theft, faking illness, and worse. It's a...
Interviewed by VICE Media on my ‘Pokemon Panic’ Investigation
I was recently interviewed by Vice media about my investigation into the 1997 Pokemon Seizure case. I think the girl who got me a latte at my favorite coffee shop wasn't even born when I solved that mystery... You can find more on me and my work with a search for...
How False Reports Target Minorities
A Memphis mother calls police saying that her baby son was kidnapped by a Black man who stole her car. An Amber Alert was issued; police dogs, helicopters, and searchers scoured the area for hours--and find that her baby was never missing. Skeptics and skeptical...
My NPR Interview on UFOs
My recent interview on NPR about UFOs and aliens, opposite Leslie Kean, George Noory, and others, is now out. It's not a bad show, but if you want to hear some skepticism, start about 40 minutes in... you can listen HERE. From the Colin McEnroe show: UFOs have been...
How Trump Uses Conspiracy Theories
While there are many factors in Trump’s rise, one of the most bizarre is his use of conspiracies. Whether the topic is voter fraud, Obama wiretapping Trump Towers, or anti-vaccination arguments, no modern politician has so successfully and routinely employed...
A Look Back at 40 Years of Organized Skepticism
My article on the scope of skepticism from Skeptical Inquirer magazine is now online: "Pseudoscience, superstition, and nonsense will always be with us in some form, wasting human resource and preying on the vulnerable. As long as there is darkness, skeptics will be...
Interview with Douglas Preston, author of ‘The Lost City of the Monkey God’
For centuries rumors circulated about an ancient lost city—not Atlantis but a “White City” of immense wealth hidden in the Honduran jungles of Central America. Myths of treasure and every imaginable curse run rampant—but the fact that the city existed somewhere out in...
How False Reports Target Muslims and Minorities
My recent blog on how a faked abduction may have contributed to the mosque shooting in Quebec, and why false crime reports often target minorities... Skeptics and skeptical researchers routinely encounter and investigate a wide variety false reports: False...
Fortean Times Correction on My Book ‘Bad Clowns’
A nice correction/acknowledgement from Fortean Times magazine for having quoted from my Bad Clowns book without attribution. Classy, and appreciated!