Skeptoid

Stories claim that this region of Alaska is home to a huge number of unexplained disappearances. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Published: 18 November 2025

Did US Special Forces battle a 15-foot-tall red-haired giant in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2002? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 11 November 2025

A conspiracy theory claims the Hollywood and Deep State elitists have a magical bed that allows them to remain forever young and healthy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 4 November 2025

Is the Rake mere creepypasta, or do more recent events prove it to be a real creature? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 28 October 2025

When ordinary deer turn grotesque, Appalachia’s forests whisper of the Not-Deer — unnatural predators lurking somewhere between folklore and nightmare. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 21 October 2025

A pop quiz of trivia from the previous 19 years of Skeptoid shows! Can you beat the masters? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 14 October 2025

The actual wayfinding methods used by the ancient Polynesians to navigate between islands and settle the entire Pacific Ocean. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 7 October 2025

Skeptoid Adventures will set sail on the world's largest sailing vessel, the SV Royal Clipper, from Malaga, Spain, to Nice, France this April. We'll have a mini-conference aboard and we'll stop at amazing ports of call -- all while on the coolest full-rigged sailing ship you've ever seen. Take a look at skeptoid.com/adventures. Please note: This ship often sells out by the end of October, so reserve your cabin soon. All deposits are fully refundable. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 1 October 2025

Nearly as much mythology as science surrounds the wayfinder techniques used by early Polynesians to navigate the South Pacific. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 30 September 2025

True stories of the pilots who have tried to land at Area 51 — and what happened to them. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 23 September 2025

We all enjoy a nice crisp glass of water when we're feeling dehydrated — which makes sense, because our bodies need it most of all, so enjoying it is an evolved behavior. However, some people — notably wellness influencers — have determined that good old H2O is actually not a good thing at all (who knew?); and that what you really need is their own concoction that's actually an entirely different molecule: structured water. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 16 September 2025

Another round of corrections of errors from past episodes, keeping your Skeptoid archive tidy and accurate. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2025

Ancient footprints in New Mexico are forcing scientists to rewrite the story of when humans first set foot in the Americas, and the debate is shaking paleoanthropology to its core. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 2 September 2025

Fourteen of the most unexpected and counterintuitive science findings. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 26 August 2025

Once again we go through some of your feedback to past episodes — all the good stuff that enhances and improves the presentation. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2025

Clowns have a habit of terrifying many of us. So why shouldn't we be surprised to see mass clown panics? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 12 August 2025

Today marks the 1000th Skeptoid episode. And it's time to raise the question: What are you going to do for it? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 5 August 2025

Medieval tales of walking corpses reflect common misunderstandings of death and the era's blurred line between myth and reality. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 29 July 2025

What began as 19th-century mind-cure mysticism has morphed into a billion-dollar culture that may be hurting more minds than it helps. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2025

Using real science to investigate the question of whether some people can "hear" the aurora. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 15 July 2025

The 1928 murder of a folk healer ignited a media frenzy and moral panic, revealing how superstition and magical thinking can fuel real-world tragedy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 8 July 2025

We’re sharing a preview of a new audiobook, Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth, which celebrates the wit and wisdom of the legendary science fiction author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Douglas Adams was someone who thought deeply about the biggest problems in the world, from the internet, to artificial intelligence, to space exploration, politics, and conservation—he was a sharp critic and a profoundly disruptive thinker of the way we do things. Written and narrated by Arvind Ethan David, Adams’ former protégé, this one-of-a-kind audiobook includes rare archival material from the Adams Estate, interviews with Adams’ personal friends like Griff Rhys Jones and David Baddiel, and reenactments of his work to form an immersive journey through the mind of one of the most visionary writers of our time. Get Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth now at Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm/audiobooks, or wherever audiobooks are sold. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

Is there good science backing up the idea that you should eat based upon which of three body types you have? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 1 July 2025

Will our improvements to AI's voracious appetite for electricity keep pace with the exploding demand? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 24 June 2025

Do you really need to pay quite so much attention to which foods you eat, and which you avoid? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 17 June 2025

Since psychic abilities do not exist outside the delusions of true believers, involving psychics in searches for missing persons is worse than useless. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2025

A roundup of all the biggest and scariest real sea monsters — from today and from prehistoric times. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2025

How one special moment redefined how a science teacher does her job. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 27 May 2025

Their exciting nature, combined with the fact nobody's ever won one, make paranormal challenge prizes important educational tools. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 20 May 2025

Here are many popular myths about chocolate. How many can you tell are true or not? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2025

She may have gotten her start as Houdini's sidekick, but Rose Mackenberg became a giant of unmasking fraudulent mediums. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2025

You're going to get to enjoy some new guest hosts for a month or two on Skeptoid. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

Super mushrooms are claimed by some to provide vague health benefits beyond their known nutritional values. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2025

A roundup of the world's riskiest volcanoes and fault zones — and they're not necessarily the most hazardous. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2025

Some people try to feed their dogs the same alternative diet they eat themselves... not necessarily so good for the dog. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2025

Many of our preconceived notions about immigrants likely bear very little resemblance to the facts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2025

All of the ways you've heard that deep space wants to kill us — and how plausible or likely each scenario is. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 1 April 2025

Vaccines are history's great medical success story, having saved more lives than anything else. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2025

Ten of the places where Atlantis true believers think the mythical city might actually be. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 18 March 2025

Many of the Christian symbols created in the aftermath of the First Crusade have been adopted by White Nationalists. Why? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2025

A look at recent studies finding leaded gasoline caused 151 million mental health illnesses in the United States. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2025

This catchphrase has become popular with comedians. Is that in line with its true origin? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 25 February 2025

Some believe a fabulous Spanish treasure is buried on the slopes of Oregon's Neahkahnie Mountain. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 18 February 2025

A few of your favorite experts weigh in on how you can make sure your information comes from the very best sources. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 11 February 2025

What really happened — and what didn't — in the 2024 telecom cyberattack. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 4 February 2025

Join us for our 2nd Annual Skeptoid Adventure, this time to the Bermuda Triangle! Early bird pricing ends this Friday, don't miss the boat! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 29 January 2025

Just as important as the question of how much the livestock industry contributes to global warming is whether your giving up meat will have any real impact. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 28 January 2025

The newer the data, and the longer we've had to study the epidemiology, the less harm we find that Agent Orange caused. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 21 January 2025

Cloud seeding would seem like an easy and obvious way to create rain where none existed before. Is it really that simple?

Transcribed - Published: 14 January 2025

Economic nationalism, while attractive to many populists, is not the path to economic success some believe it to be.

Transcribed - Published: 7 January 2025