This scene from 1600s New England depicts the use of a “courting stick,” by which young lovers could exchange whispers and sweet nothings in some privacy despite the entire family living in one room. What do you think this lad is saying to his sweetheart? You can find...
Reviews
Film Review: ‘Happy Death Day’
Now and then I review films (I have since 1994), and I thought I'd share a recent one: The new slasher film Happy Death Day follows a young woman named Tree at a Louisiana university who wakes up in a dorm room with her phone blaring “Happy Birthday” (yes, it’s her...
New article: What Are Genies?
Genies (or jinn, as they are better known in the Arabic world) are supernatural beings with roots in ancient Mesopotamian legends. Jinn, however, are not the lamp-dwelling, wish-granting benevolent servants that Westerners know from popular culture. The image...
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!
Interviewed by Anton Hill of #VerticalSlice!
I was recently interviewed by Anton Hill of the YouTube gaming chat show #VerticalSlice... We talk about lots of things, including my board game Playing Gods... You can listen HERE. You can find more on me and my work with a search for "Benjamin Radford" (not...
The Myth of ‘The Media’
With all the recent discussion of shootings and how the news media have covered it, I thought I'd revisit a blog I wrote in 2014 about how people often misuse (and misunderstand) the phrase "the media." As a longtime media and science literacy educator (as well as...
“Bad Clowns” on Wikipedia!
Looks like my new book "Bad Clowns" even made it to the Wikipedia page on clowns. Very cool! If you haven't read it yet, there's still a few copies left at your local independent bookstore, or at Amazon.com! You can find more on me and my...
Levitation Claims: An Interview with Michael Grosso
The idea that people can levitate under certain circumstances has been discussed for centuries despite a noticeable lack of people flying around. I interviewed Michael Grosso, the author of a new book on the topic, for my new blog... Check it out HERE! I was...
‘Mysterious New Mexico’ Highlighted on Wikipedia!
My book Mysterious New Mexico that was featured on the front page of Wikipedia for 12 hours last week received 1,950 page views. Most of those views were not from the skeptic community, so great outreach! You can find more on me and my work with a search for...
Doubt and Skepticism at ’10 Cloverfield Lane’
The new film 10 Cloverfield Lane contains some interesting lessons about skepticism, doubt, and the nature of knowledge... You can read it HERE. You can find more on me and my work with a search for "Benjamin Radford" (not "Ben Radford") on Vimeo.