By Andrea Nicolotti. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2020. 523 pp. Hardcover, $59.95. The remarkable thing about the Shroud of Turin is that it started out as merely a painting but ended up being treated as a relic—namely a piece of cloth bearing an imprint of Jesus’s dead body. Church historian Andrea Nicolotti’s tome on the ...Founded in 1976, Skeptical Inquirer is a bimonthly American magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle: The Magazine … In an article in the Skeptical Inquirer (Nickell 2014) and in the book American Hauntings (Bartholomew and Nickell 2015, 57–77), I analyzed the Perrons’ claims of demonic activity and showed that they were consistent with the effects of strong winds, misperceptions, schoolgirl pranks, vivid dreams, simple suggestion, role-playing, and other factors—including one child’s having had an ... Polls and surveys have found that about a quarter of Americans are superstitious (e.g., Moore 2000; Orth 2022). At the high end of the scale, there have occasionally been … In an article in the Skeptical Inquirer (Nickell 2014) and in the book American Hauntings (Bartholomew and Nickell 2015, 57–77), I analyzed the Perrons’ claims of demonic activity and showed that they were consistent with the effects of strong winds, misperceptions, schoolgirl pranks, vivid dreams, simple suggestion, role-playing, and other factors—including one child’s having had an ... John C. Sherwood of Pennsylvania, a reporter and editor for Gannett Co. newspapers for twenty-eight years, has written interactive mysteries and books on magic. Contact him at [email protected] or MysteryVisits.com.Harriet ‘SkepDoc’ Hall (1945–2023) Stuart Vyse. On January 12, as this issue of the magazine was being finalized, we received word that Harriet Hall, MD—the “SkepDoc” and longtime author of the “Reality Is the Best Medicine” column for Skeptical Inquirer—had died. Hall was an astonishingly prolific writer, a sought-after ...With the war in Ukraine taking up everyone’s attention in that country, it can seem surprising that Ukrainians have the time and energy for other things. So it was rather unexpected when on August 23, 2022, a preprint of a paper on UFOs written by three scientists titled “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena I. Observations of Events” (Zhilyaev ...Skeptical Inquirer Volume 38, No. 5. September / October 2014. Josh Zepps. Carl Sagan Collection. We present a condensed version of an earlier interview about Ann Druyan’s experience with the first and the new Cosmos series by Josh Zepps for our Center for Inquiry’s Point of Inquiry podcast. This article is available for free to all.That joke came to my mind when I read three short tributes to biologist E.O. Wilson in Skeptical Inquirer (May/June 2022). Wilson passed away on December 26, 2021, at age ninety-two. The tributes are by evolutionary biologist and science popularizer Richard Dawkins, evolutionary developmental biologist Sean B. Carroll, and cognitive linguist ...June 24, 2015. Paul McCartney was twenty years old when the Beatles came to fame, and only twenty-four when, as legend has it, he was killed in a car accident in 1966 and replaced with a lookalike. Now, nearly fifty years later, if today’s McCartney is not the same man as the Beatle who recorded Help! and A Hard Day’s Night, he would still ...Skeptical Inquirer Presents. Skeptical Inquirer Presents is a series of live online presentations from leading experts in science, skepticism, medicine, media, activism, and advocacy, all devoted to the cause of advancing science over pseudoscience, media literacy over conspiracy theories, and critical thinking over magical thinking. ...With the war in Ukraine taking up everyone’s attention in that country, it can seem surprising that Ukrainians have the time and energy for other things. So it was rather unexpected when on August 23, 2022, a preprint of a paper on UFOs written by three scientists titled “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena I. Observations of Events” (Zhilyaev ...The documentary, financed with the help of the Y-12 uranium enrichment facility, begins with yet another telling of Robinson’s version of the story, with actor Bruce Born reading the part of John Hendrix. Whatever credibility the Hendrix story has rests on details of the location of the city and the railroad.Skeptical Inquirer Presents. Skeptical Inquirer Presents is a series of live online presentations from leading experts in science, skepticism, medicine, media, activism, and advocacy, all devoted to the cause of advancing science over pseudoscience, media literacy over conspiracy theories, and critical thinking over magical thinking.The President is one of countless people who have come to believe that there is a “97% consensus” on anthropogenic global warming (AGW). Since it is inconceivable that any climate scientist today could have no opinion on the subject, if 97 percent accept AGW it follows that 3 percent reject it. To those outside of science, 3 percent may ... Skeptical Inquirer, Amherst, New York. 148,282 likes · 344 talking about this. I know of no greater antidote to pseudoscience than the contents of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. Neil deGrasse Tyson The direction of all eight of these errors is consistent in tending to indicate a temporal association. It is unlikely that these were simply accidental copying errors. It indicates that the authors falsified the temporal associations between MMR vaccine administration and development of behavioral symptoms. Fraud 3.2. Your Uncle Wants to Avoid Cognitive Dissonance. If you put yourself in the shoes of one of these vaccine rejectors, you can understand why—even in the face of the more virulent Delta variant—they are not going to change their minds now. At the beginning, there was a moment when things might have gone the other way. From: Volume 41, No. 6. November / December 2017. The seventieth anniversary of the so-called Roswell Incident came and went this past summer with a refreshing lack of fuss. One might even hope to think the passions it evokes among believers that a flying saucer crashed on a ranch in south-central New Mexico back in July 1947 have, over time ... February 15, 2024. Well not really, but I suppose to explain the past three weeks I should start with the Bent Spoon award the Australian Skeptics gave to award-winning journalist Ross Coulthart. The Bent Spoon is a tongue-in-cheek award “presented to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudoscientific piffle.”.Figure 1. Trends in belief in angels and the devil among U.S. adults (Source: Gallup Polls Newport 2016). According to the most recent Gallup poll, 61 percent of Americans believe in the devil (Newport 2016), which …We should be good skeptics, and we should demand evidence before assuming that something is language. ... Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. PO Box 703 Amherst, NY 14226 800-634-1610 or (716) 636-1425. Center for Inquiry – Headquarters. PO Box 741 Amherst, NY 14226 (716) 636-4869.Skeptical Inquirer, Amherst, New York. 148,282 likes · 344 talking about this. I know of no greater antidote to pseudoscience than the contents of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. Neil deGrasse TysonTo improve skeptical thinking, become familiar with the works of top-notch skeptics such as James Randi, Michael Shermer, Benjamin Radford, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and so on. Recognize the term ideological immune system. In everyday life, as well as in science, we all resist fundamental paradigm change.—A post on Wikipedia complaining about material from a Kyle Polich Skeptical Inquirer article used to critique the Missing 411 claims. I have a love-hate relationship with conspiracy theories. I find it endlessly fascinating to explore the non-reality-based evidence used to support the nuanced, well-thought-out, ...In September 2021, the head of the Biden panel overseeing Havana Syndrome, Pamela Spratlen, was forced to resign after she refused to rule out mass psychogenic illness as a possible cause (Lederman and Breslauer 2021). This was a clear signal that the government’s investigation was being driven by politics instead of science.June 2, 2023. In 2019, Janalee Morris, then-president of the Atheist Society of Calgary, recently rebranded as The Rocky Mountain Atheists, approached me about organizing a “kick-ass conference.”. It would be held in 2020 and be branded The Western Canadian Reason Conference, or WeCanReason. Our goals were to provide learning opportunities ...Conservative justices appear skeptical federal law requires emergency abortion care. 3 hours ago. States where abortion is on the ballot in the 2024 election. …WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Wednesday that state abortion bans after their sweeping ruling overturning …Polls and surveys have found that about a quarter of Americans are superstitious (e.g., Moore 2000; Orth 2022). At the high end of the scale, there have occasionally been …Any one of the above twenty-one facts destroys the idea that Noah’s flood was a worldwide occurrence. Nevertheless, a local large flood in Mesopotamia in biblical times could have been possible (Collins 2009). Young-Earth creationists commonly point out that Jesus supported the existence of Noah’s flood (Luke 17:27; Matthew 24:38–39), but ...CSI is a program of the Center for Inquiry that promotes scientific inquiry and reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims. It publishes Skeptical Inquirer, a …WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Wednesday that state abortion bans after their sweeping ruling overturning … Skeptical Inquirer Volume 47, No. 2. March/April 2023. Susan Blackmore. Deepak Chopra, Ayurvedic practitioner and famous promoter of mind-body medicine, is among the richest spiritual leaders in the world with ninety-five books to his name and a thriving, and very lucrative, alternative therapy business. Skeptical Inquirer is a quarterly publication that explores the boundaries of science, pseudoscience, and critical thinking. Read articles on topics such as bullshit, science …The direction of all eight of these errors is consistent in tending to indicate a temporal association. It is unlikely that these were simply accidental copying errors. It indicates that the authors falsified the temporal associations between MMR vaccine administration and development of behavioral symptoms. Fraud 3.In the two entity photos, we can clearly see hard shadows cast by Candy’s silhouette. Hard shadows are very distinct, appearing in sharp contrast to the subject and the background. In the first image (above left), a hard shadow appears along the right side of Candy. In the second image (above right), the hard shadow appears to the left of Candy.Apr 29, 2004 · Joe Nickell. Joe Nickell, PhD, is senior research fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and “Investigative Files” columnist for Skeptical Inquirer.A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1983), Pen, Ink and Evidence (1990), Unsolved History (1992) and Adventures in Paranormal ... Benjamin Radford, M.Ed., is a scientific paranormal investigator, a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, deputy editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, and author, co-author, contributor, or editor of twenty books and over a thousand articles on skepticism, critical thinking, and science literacy. His newest book is America the ...Leo Kanner (1894–1981), the first person to identify autism as a childhood disorder. (Source: Wikimedia) In 1930, Austrian psychiatrist Leo Kanner opened the first psychiatric clinic devoted solely to children at Johns Hopkins University, and in 1943 he first identified the disorder of autism, borrowing one of Beuler’s “A’s” (Adler et ...Most everyone in the skeptic community has a hot-button subject that really gets their heart racing. Mine is psychics. ... Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. PO Box 703 Amherst, NY 14226 800-634-1610 or (716) 636-1425. Center for Inquiry – Headquarters. PO Box 741 Amherst, NY 14226Jan 23, 2023 · in Skeptical Inquirer magazine, including her “Reality Is the Best Medicine” columns published since the September/October 2018 issue skepticalinquirer.org , where her monthly SkepDoc’s Corner columns have been published since September 2016, including some that were translated into Spanish by Alejandro Borgo of the Center for Inquiry ... The Skeptical Inquirer published Rawlins’ account of these matters in his ascerbic commentary “Remus Extremus,” together with an editor’s introduction and responding statements by the Executive Council and Kurtz and Abell (SI, 6[2]:58-67, Winter 1981-82). In a recent issue of the Skeptical Inquirer, Editor Kendrick Frazier (July/August 2021) noted that UFOs, and the space aliens who putatively drive them, are actually being taken seriously by current mainstream media. This is happening in outlets we would normally expect to showcase scientific thinking rather than UFO promotion and publicity. Randi convinced the world that the skeptical approach is a blast. He wrote and performed with joyful, stinging, defiant wit. He gave skepticism all the fun and romance of a daredevil magic show. He showed how advocating science can be wicked fun, rebellious, full of high adventure, spy-movie derring-do, and laughs. This was the milieu when the makers created Skeptical Inquirer. It wasn’t even Skeptical Inquirer back then. It was The Zetetic. Marcello Truzzi served as editor. Truzzi and others must have sensed that the term zetetic was esoteric, even for the intelligent people who appreciate skepticism. The page following the Table of Contents provided a ... SKEPTIC App Whether at home or on the go, the SKEPTIC App is the easiest way to read your favorite articles. Within the app, users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Download the app today and get a 30-day free trial subscription. Joe Nickell. Joe Nickell, PhD, is senior research fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and “Investigative Files” columnist for Skeptical Inquirer.A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1983), Pen, Ink and Evidence (1990), Unsolved History (1992) and Adventures in Paranormal ... 2. Your Uncle Wants to Avoid Cognitive Dissonance. If you put yourself in the shoes of one of these vaccine rejectors, you can understand why—even in the face of the more virulent Delta variant—they are not going to change their minds now. At the beginning, there was a moment when things might have gone the other way.To improve skeptical thinking, become familiar with the works of top-notch skeptics such as James Randi, Michael Shermer, Benjamin Radford, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and so on. Recognize the term ideological immune system. In everyday life, as well as in science, we all resist fundamental paradigm change.Skeptical Inquirer is a quarterly magazine that covers topics such as pseudoscience, paranormal, conspiracy, and critical thinking. It features articles, videos, interviews, and …There’s another reason athletes are ice bathing; it does reduce muscle pain. As alluded to in the prologue, cold water numbs the skin and partially blocks pain signals that would otherwise race back to the brain. If you have sore and dilapidated muscles, an ice bath might help. But pain is a subjective phenomenon.The President is one of countless people who have come to believe that there is a “97% consensus” on anthropogenic global warming (AGW). Since it is inconceivable that any climate scientist today could have no opinion on the subject, if 97 percent accept AGW it follows that 3 percent reject it. To those outside of science, 3 percent may ...Mar 19, 2018 · Promotional image for The Blackwell Ghost. The Blackwell Ghost is a film promoted as a real-life documentary which follows a filmmaker-turned-ghost hunter as he investigates an alleged haunted house. The description on Amazon Prime, which seems to be the only place this film is available, states “A filmmaker tries to prove that ghosts are ... Kendrick Frazier. Kendrick Frazier is editor of the Skeptical Inquirer and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is editor of several anthologies, including Science Under Siege: Defending Science, Exposing Pseudoscience.Harriet A. Hall was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 2, 1945, and died on January 11, 2023, in Puyallup, Washington. Richard Saunders just replayed on his podcast The Skeptic Zone a 2007 interview he had done with Harriet Hall when they were both on a JREF cruise to Alaska. It was Harriet’s first ever podcast interview and relistening to it …On June 21, 2019, a new couple purchased a fourteen-room farmhouse on eight and a half acres in Harrisville, Rhode Island, for approximately $439,000 (Mroch 2019). Normally such an event wouldn’t be a big deal—much less make news—but this was not an ordinary house. This was the infamous residence known to the world as “The Conjuring ...August 22, 2022. Nick Tiller. Kinesiology tape, also known as Kinesio Tape, KT Tape, or just K-Tape, is made from 100 percent cotton fiber and “specialized elastic cores” that stretch in length but not width, allowing it to move and flex with muscles and joints. The Skeptic’s Guide to Sports Science.March 4, 2022. Jim Underdown, Kenny Biddle. In this special St. Patrick’s Day edition of Skeptical Inquirer Presents, veteran investigators Jim Underdown and Kenny Biddle will interview each other over drinks and tell stories of wild claims, ghost infestations, UFOs, and paranormal abilities.Benjamin Radford, M.Ed., is a scientific paranormal investigator, a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, deputy editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, and author, co-author, contributor, or editor of twenty books and over a thousand articles on skepticism, critical thinking, and science literacy. His newest book is America the ...Sagan went back to the librarian and explained that he meant real stars. “She thought this was funny,” Sagan remembered. But this time she got him what he was seeking, an act that helped launch a future astronomer. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the delight Sagan held for Skeptical Inquirer magazine.in Skeptical Inquirer magazine, including her “Reality Is the Best Medicine” columns published since the September/October 2018 issue; skepticalinquirer.org, where her monthly “SkepDoc’s Corner” columns have been published since September 2016, including some that were translated into Spanish by Alejandro Borgo of the Center for ...The Hills, as many skeptics know, spawned the “alien abduction” craze, and their experiences set the template for many later reports. ... Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. PO Box 703 Amherst, NY 14226 800-634-1610 or (716) 636-1425. Center for Inquiry – Headquarters. PO Box 741 Amherst, NY 14226A Netflix Original Film. 2021. Directed by Adam McKay. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio. Hollywood has always had trouble with science. To its credit, the American Film Institute (AFI) recognized the problem and ran a series of Catalyst Workshops to help scientists learn the art of storytelling and translate their work into film.Sep 10, 2018 · Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. PO Box 703 Amherst, NY 14226 800-634-1610 or (716) 636-1425. Center for Inquiry – Headquarters. PO Box 741 Amherst, NY 14226 Figure 1. Trends in belief in angels and the devil among U.S. adults (Source: Gallup Polls Newport 2016). According to the most recent Gallup poll, 61 percent of Americans believe in the devil (Newport 2016), which …Subscribe now or log in to read this article. The best way to defend science from science deniers is by giving scientists and science communicators some better tools to push back. Of course, what could be a better tool than scientific evidence? But here’s the problem: You don’t convince someone who doesn’t hold their beliefs based on ...SKEPTIC App Whether at home or on the go, the SKEPTIC App is the easiest way to read your favorite articles. Within the app, users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Download the app today and get a 30-day free trial subscription.Skeptical Inquirer, Amherst, New York. 148,282 likes · 344 talking about this. I know of no greater antidote to pseudoscience than the contents of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. Neil deGrasse TysonFounded in 1976, Skeptical Inquirer is a bimonthly American magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle: The Magazine …Figure 1. Trends in belief in angels and the devil among U.S. adults (Source: Gallup Polls Newport 2016). According to the most recent Gallup poll, 61 percent of Americans believe in the devil (Newport 2016), which …Scullion also presents artifacts apparently produced by lens flare as evidence of ghosts, referring to them as orbs. Scullion ignores the fact that in many of the images a line can be drawn (with a ruler) from the “orbs” straight back to an overexposed light source (such as a porch light or street lamp). Another clue attributing the ...Benjamin Radford. Benjamin Radford, M.Ed., is a scientific paranormal investigator, a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, deputy editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, and author, co-author, contributor, or editor of twenty books and over a thousand articles on skepticism, critical thinking, and science literacy. His newest book ...Joe Nickell, PhD, is senior research fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and “Investigative Files” columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1983), Pen, Ink and Evidence (1990), Unsolved History (1992 ...WASHINGTON — Conservative Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Wednesday that state abortion bans that took effect after the sweeping...There’s another reason athletes are ice bathing; it does reduce muscle pain. As alluded to in the prologue, cold water numbs the skin and partially blocks pain signals that would otherwise race back to the brain. If you have sore and dilapidated muscles, an ice bath might help. But pain is a subjective phenomenon.It was a “road to Damascus” experience for the Mad Men era. In 1966, the respected astronomer J. Allen Hynek had gone—seemingly overnight—from a. determined debunker to an ardent apostle of the UFO gospel. A longtime consultant to Project Blue Book noted for his skeptical stance toward UFOs, Hynek.On the Origin of Skeptical Inquirer. Craig A. Foster. “The Time Warp: Skepticism Revisited—from the Future” is the first of an occasional series examining skepticism by looking back on early issues of the Skeptical Inquirer. Welcome aboard, amigos! In “The Time Warp,” we aren’t limited to present-day examination.Rob became a skeptical activist when he joined the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia team in 2016, and began writing for skepticalinquirer.org in 2018. Rob can be contacted at [email protected] Like Rob's Facebook page to get notified when his articles are published. See more articles.A scientific concept is one derived from converging evidence; critical thinking demonstrates that type of convergence (evidence from various theoretical underpinnings and research). Critical thinking is a concept-complex (it involves various concepts, connections, and interactions). To reiterate, critical thinking is synonymous with …That joke came to my mind when I read three short tributes to biologist E.O. Wilson in Skeptical Inquirer (May/June 2022). Wilson passed away on December 26, 2021, at age ninety-two. The tributes are by evolutionary biologist and science popularizer Richard Dawkins, evolutionary developmental biologist Sean B. Carroll, and cognitive linguist ...John C. Sherwood of Pennsylvania, a reporter and editor for Gannett Co. newspapers for twenty-eight years, has written interactive mysteries and books on magic. Contact him at [email protected] or MysteryVisits.com.Skeptical Inquirer is a quarterly magazine that covers topics such as pseudoscience, paranormal, conspiracy, and critical thinking. It features articles, videos, interviews, and …THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER (ISSN 0194-6730) is the official journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, an international organization. Editor Kendrick Frazier. Editorial Board James E. Alcock, Martin Gardner, Ray Hyman, Philip J. Klass, Paul Kurtz.Joe Nickell. Joe Nickell, PhD, is senior research fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and “Investigative Files” columnist for Skeptical Inquirer.A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1983), Pen, Ink and Evidence (1990), Unsolved History …Polls and surveys have found that about a quarter of Americans are superstitious (e.g., Moore 2000; Orth 2022). At the high end of the scale, there have occasionally been …Rob became a skeptical activist when he joined the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia team in 2016, and began writing for skepticalinquirer.org in 2018. Rob can be contacted at [email protected] Like Rob's Facebook page to get notified when his articles are published. See more articles. People who have very high levels of conspiracy thinking tend to think that everything is the product of a shadowy conspiracy. The people on the low end tend to be resistant to conspiracy theories. Denialism works in a similar way. Some people have an antagonistic relationship with authoritative sources of information.
Benjamin Radford, M.Ed., is a scientific paranormal investigator, a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, deputy editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, and author, co-author, contributor, or editor of twenty books and over a thousand articles on skepticism, critical thinking, and science literacy. His newest book is America the ... . Goefs
The Skeptical Inquirer has published several devastating critiques of Schwartz’s work over the years by Ray Hyman (2003a; 2003b) and Richard Wiseman (O’Keefe and Wiseman 2001), among others. Page 200 in chapter eight refers to brain scans taken while a participant was reviewing their “Mind Movie.”On June 21, 2019, a new couple purchased a fourteen-room farmhouse on eight and a half acres in Harrisville, Rhode Island, for approximately $439,000 (Mroch 2019). Normally such an event wouldn’t be a big deal—much less make news—but this was not an ordinary house. This was the infamous residence known to the world as “The Conjuring ...Scène de la peste de 1720 à la Tourette (Marseille) by Michel Serre (1658–1733) (Wikimedia) Even in the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, the medical science and healthcare facilities in the United States were far behind what they are today.The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal was the forerunner of the current CSI, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, that publishes the very magazine you are reading. CSICOP was launched by Paul Kurtz, Marcello Truzzi, and others on April 30, 19 ...WASHINGTON — Conservative Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Wednesday that state abortion bans that took effect after the sweeping...Letters – Vol. 46, no. 4. Afloat in Misinformation As a former teacher of undergraduate and graduate students, I appreciate Melanie Trecek-King’s excellent articles in Skeptical inquirer (“Teach Skills, Not Facts,” January/February 2022, and “A Life Preserver for Staying Afloat in a Sea of Misinformation,” March/April 2022).CSI is a program of the Center for Inquiry that promotes scientific inquiry and reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims. It publishes Skeptical Inquirer, a …Jan 27, 2023 · January 27, 2023. Susan Gerbic and Harriet Hall at CSICon 2016. Harriet A. Hall was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 2, 1945, and died on January 11, 2023, in Puyallup, Washington. Richard Saunders just replayed on his podcast The Skeptic Zone a 2007 interview he had done with Harriet Hall when they were both on a JREF cruise to Alaska. In an article in the Skeptical Inquirer (Nickell 2014) and in the book American Hauntings (Bartholomew and Nickell 2015, 57–77), I analyzed the Perrons’ claims of demonic activity and showed that they were consistent with the effects of strong winds, misperceptions, schoolgirl pranks, vivid dreams, simple suggestion, role-playing, and other factors—including one child’s having had an ... CSICOP and our flagship publication the Skeptical Inquirer celebrated thirtieth anniversaries in 2006 (see SI March/April 2006, p. 13; July/August 2006, pp. 13—14; September/October 2006, pp. 13—19). During those three decades, the name has been both a help and a hindrance. The “CSICOP” acronym is widely known and has … In a recent issue of the Skeptical Inquirer, Editor Kendrick Frazier (July/August 2021) noted that UFOs, and the space aliens who putatively drive them, are actually being taken seriously by current mainstream media. This is happening in outlets we would normally expect to showcase scientific thinking rather than UFO promotion and publicity. Joe Nickell. Joe Nickell, PhD, is senior research fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and “Investigative Files” columnist for Skeptical Inquirer.A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1983), Pen, Ink and Evidence (1990), Unsolved History …Skeptical Inquirer is a magazine that covers topics such as conspiracy theories, superstition, UFOs, and more. The blog features articles, guides, and discussion … Joe Nickell. Joe Nickell, PhD, is senior research fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and “Investigative Files” columnist for Skeptical Inquirer.A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1983), Pen, Ink and Evidence (1990), Unsolved History (1992) and Adventures in Paranormal ... A Netflix Original Film. 2021. Directed by Adam McKay. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio. Hollywood has always had trouble with science. To its credit, the American Film Institute (AFI) recognized the problem and ran a series of Catalyst Workshops to help scientists learn the art of storytelling and translate their work into film..