That time I explained why Obama could not be both Muslim AND the Antichrist: "According to Scripture, the Antichrist will try to deceive the public by claiming to work on God's behalf. He will be pretending to do God's work while instead furthering his own diabolical...
Media Literacy
Squaring the Strange Ep. 20: Deadly Urban Legends
In Ep. 20 of Squaring the Strange we explore how urban legends can sometimes turn dangerous, and even deadly, from Slenderman to ebola rumors. And Celestia opens another fun fortune cookie! Get it while it's fresh HERE! You can find more on me and my work with...
My book “Scientific Paranormal Investigation” Required Classroom Text!
The publisher of my book "Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries" tells me that orders for that book have shot up 60% in the past few weeks, and wondered why. Then I remembered that several college and university professors use my book...
Karmas and Dogmas: A Closer Look at Karma
A few years ago I wrote a piece taking a closer look at the concept of karma: "The premise of karma is that people need to be threatened with cosmic retribution into good conduct: Don’t do evil, or else it will come back to you. How about just being good to others...
A Closer Look at the ‘Evil Eye’
Many believe that a mere glance or stare can cause harm (or even death) to others. My article on folklore the Evil Eye is now out! Everyone gets a dirty look now and then, and we usually think little of it (especially if we deserved it). For most of us it is soon...
‘UFOs, Chemtrails, and Aliens’ by Prothero and Callahan
Several of my Skeptical Inquirer articles are referenced in the new Indiana University Press book UFOs, Chemtrails, and Aliens: What Science Says, by Don Prothero and Tim Callahan, with a foreword by Michael Shermer (you can see the book HERE). I can't want to read...
New Episode of ‘Squaring the Strange’: GMO Documentary
Episode 18: Food Evolution Documentary and Chewing the Fat on GMOs This week on Squaring the Strange, Celestia, Pascual, and I open with a discussion on what people consider uncanny, bizarre, or strange. What takes something from implausible to downright mysterious?...
My research quoted in the new MIT Press book ‘Worried About the Wrong Things’
My Skeptical Inquirer article on online predators was recently referenced in the new MIT Press book Worried About the Wrong Things: Youth, Risk, and Opportunity in the Digital World, by Prof. Jacqueline Vickery of the University of North Texas! You can find more on me...
What’s the Harm in False Beliefs? How Much Time Do You Have?
I'm quoted, along with eminent scholar Daniel C. Dennett, Ted Schick, and others, on the question of "What's the harm in false beliefs?" Here's an excerpt: False beliefs, by themselves, are not harmful. Belief is inherently harmless; believing that you can safely jump...
In Case You Missed It: My Analysis of the Amelia Earhart TV Fiasco
The 1937 disappearance of pioneer pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan in the Pacific Ocean has been the subject of continuing research, debate, and speculation—most recently in a show titled Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence. I wrote an in-depth...