My look at the glib, pop culture idea of karma, and how the religious idea of karma is actually pretty cruel & horrific. You can read it HERE.
Psychology
The Post Hoc Fallacy: Vaccine Fears and Roosevelt-Menacing Indians
I recently read Candice Miller's book The River of Doubt, about Theodore Roosevelt's 1914 exploration of an unknown river in the Brazilian Amazon. It's a fascinating story of adventure, misadventure, murder, and more. In the book I also found an excellent real-life...
Teen Forced Into Chemotherapy Now In Remission
A Connecticut teenager forced by the Supreme Court to accept cancer treatments is in remission.... You can read more HERE.
Mysterious Voice Heard From Accident
In case you missed my piece on this last month: Four police officers who helped rescue a baby from an overturned car in a Utah river last weekend claim that they heard an unexplained voice calling from the car. The accident occurred after a car driven by Lynn...
Playing Witch Doctor: Hidden Ethics in Skeptical Ghost Investigation
One of the most difficult aspects of being a skeptical ghost investigator is trying to help people who sincerely believe they're experiencing a haunting; it's the subject of my new article "Playing Witch Doctor: Hidden Ethics in Skeptical Ghost Investigation." You can...
Did ‘Mother’s Intuition’ Prevent a Kidnapping?
One of my better investigations from last year: On Nov. 7 a Utah woman awoke suddenly with the sense that something was wrong in the house, and she and her husband were able to stop a man who’d just abducted their 5-year-old daughter Lainey. Was it mother's intuition?...
Toronto Star Retracts Flawed Anti-Vaccine Story
Last month I wrote an article for Discovery News about how the Toronto Star had published a prominent article scaremongering about the HPV vaccine Gardasil, promoting scary anecdotes over sound science. Well, last week the newspaper finally and formally removed the...
Special Guest on ‘The Mile High Sanity Project’ Discussing Paranormal Investigation
The Mile High Sanity Project podcast welcomes special guest Ben Radford (me!) for a discussion on paranormal investigation. What qualifies as paranormal? Have any of us ever had a paranormal experience? Ever had ghost sex? Check it out HERE!
Jimmy Kimmel Taps Docs to Mock Anti-Vaccine Deniers
Late-night talk shows are better known for topical comedy and celebrities plugging their new movie or CD than they are for science education. However, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” recently gave the pro-science, pro-vaccination effort a...
Brian Williams and the Psychology of False Memory
Last month NBC News anchor Brian Williams was suspended for six months for fabricating or exaggerating an event that happened during the Iraq war. Was it all a lie, or an honest mistake? HERE's a look at the issue of false memories.