I and three other experts including Susan Gerbic are extensively quoted in a new story about internet hoaxes: "In today’s fast-paced news culture, misinformation and disinformation are spread with a click, often before authenticity and credibility are verified....
Media Appearances
Losing Weight With the Placebo Effect?
From the Radford Files archives: There’s an interesting new twist in the quest to lose weight: fake gastric banding surgery. These patients want the benefit of the surgery—in which a band is placed around the stomach to prevent overeating—but don’t want...
Vatican Investigates Virgin Mary Miracle
From the Radford Files archives: In March, the Vatican began an investigation into miracles and appearances of the Virgin Mary at the famous Medjugorje shrine in Bosnia. According to an Associated Press report, “An international commission of inquiry headed by...
7 Questions with Writer/Director of ‘The Gospel According to Stephenson’
In my new CFI blog I interview the writer/director of a proposed skeptical vampire film. Plus, what prions taste like, and a bad clown... you can read it HERE.
Talk on Chupacabra Investigation for ABQ SciFi Society
I'll be giving a presentation on my chupacabra investigation to the Albuquerque SciFi Society on October 9 at 7:30 PM; the origin of the chupacabra has interesting origins with H.R. Giger and the film "Species." You can find out more HERE. You can find more on...
Paranormal Kool-Aid Interview: What’s the Harm in Magical Thinking?
I was interviewed on the harm in magical thinking, including discussing my research into muti murders in Africa, in which albinos have been persecuted, attacked, and murdered because of the belief that their body parts are magical. It’s a topic I’ve written about and...
Critical and Thinking: The Ian Harris Interview
Ian Harris is a Los Angeles based comic who has performed at the Center For Inquiry-Los Angeles and at CSI conferences. Blending comedy and skepticism is nothing new--it's been done on The Simpsons, South Park, and in Penn & Teller acts and TV shows for years--but...
Film Review: “The Gift”
The Gift starts, as many films do, with the story of young married couple Simon and Robyn (Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall) who move into a new neighborhood. They recently came from Chicago to Los Angeles, lured by the promise of a job promotion for him and some down...
Eyewitness Unreliability and the Filedrawer Effect
My new blog on eyewitness testimony and how we can all be fooled... Dennis Plucknett and his two sons, along with a friend, went hunting at a camp in northeast Florida in 2004. It was early morning, and the group had gotten separated. His fourteen-year-old son...
Quoted in New Report on Debunking Online Rumors
A journalism researcher named Craig Silverman published a report on best practices for debunking online misinformation in journalism and the skeptical community: “I recently completed a fellowship with the Tow Center for Digital Journalism that saw me study how news...