Halloween is just around the corner, and amid the make-believe witches, ghouls, and goblins, there are supposedly real-life villains who hope to harm on children October 31. News reports and scary stories on social media leave many parents concerned about protecting...
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Q&A About America’s Clown Panic
I was recently interviewed by a Spanish journalist about the clown scares sweeping the country; here’s an excerpt: Q: What is your opinion on the recent sightings of terrifying clowns in the United States and other countries? A: The scary clown panic has spread...
‘Utne Reader’ Publishes My History of Evil Clowns
Bad Clowns, by Benjamin Radford, blends humor, investigation, and scholarship to reveal what is behind the clown’s dark smile. This book describes the history of bad clowns, why clowns go bad, and why many people fear them. Going beyond familiar clowns such as the...
Pastor’s Anthem Enforcement Threat Goes Viral-But Is It Real?
Earlier this week a story spread widely on social media about an Alabama pastor, Allen Joyner, who allegedly told a high school football game crowd he was announcing for that people who don't stand for the national anthem should be killed. In a Facebook post, a woman...
My Work Cited in Research Paper on Human Error in Nuclear Accidents
I got a Google Scholar alert telling me that my work has been cited in a research paper titled "Human Error: Crucial Failure in Nuclear Accidents." As an undergraduate in UNM's General Honors program, I wrote an award-winning essay analyzing the role of human error in...
Meeting Sci-Fi Legend Ben Bova at Bubonicon
I was a guest last month at New Mexico's premiere science fiction and fantasy convention, Bubonicon. I gave a talk titled Contacting the Dead: Séances From the Victorian Era To Modern Times, described below Though TV shows like Ghost Hunters have raised the profile of...
Colin Kaepernick and the National Anthem
A few thoughts on the recent furor over a pro football player refusing to stand for the National Anthem. I couldn’t care less what Colin Kaepernick does and don’t question his right to protest as he sees fit. But I do find it bizarre that he believes that standing for...
Phantom Clown Reports: Real or Rumor?
Creepy clowns have recently been reported in Greenville, S.C., allegedly luring children into the woods behind a block of apartments. It's scary and alarming -- but whether they're real is another matter. Most of the handful of reports are from children, though a few...
Nice Review of “Bad Clowns” in the Times Literary Supplement
My book "Bad Clowns" got a nice review in the "Times Literary Supplement"! You can find more on me and my work with a search for "Benjamin Radford" (not "Ben Radford") on Vimeo.
My article on Seeker (formerly Discovery News) is about the tragic legacy of fake bomb detectors in Iraq... check it out! After years of equipping important security checkpoints throughout Iraq with non-functioning bomb detectors, the Iraqi government has finally...