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Neil deGrasse Tyson

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"...but despite how perfectly this tale seems to match his reputation, there is no solid historical evidence that Houdin...
06/03/2026

"...but despite how perfectly this tale seems to match his reputation, there is no solid historical evidence that Houdini ever performed any major stunt at Niagara Falls."

Few figures seem more naturally connected to Niagara Falls than Harry Houdini. One popular story claims that, in 1901, a young Houdini was shackled inside a ...

CSI Fellow Terence Hines looks at Neil deGrasse Tyson's new book, "Take Me to Your Leader."Hines writes: "Reading the bo...
06/03/2026

CSI Fellow Terence Hines looks at Neil deGrasse Tyson's new book, "Take Me to Your Leader."

Hines writes: "Reading the book makes it clear that Tyson has not stepped away from his skeptical position in any way, shape, or form."

Take Me to Your Leader. By Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Simon and Schuster, 2026. Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s new book, Take Me to Your Leader, has attracted controversy ...

“​​In some ways, I don’t feel anything about it because my grief at losing Nick is so overwhelming,” Dr. Weiss said in l...
06/02/2026

“​​In some ways, I don’t feel anything about it because my grief at losing Nick is so overwhelming,” Dr. Weiss said in late May, several weeks after her husband passed away. At the same time, she felt that the conspiracy theories about his death sullied his legacy, the seriousness with which he approached his own investigations.

The claim that their loved ones’ deaths and disappearances are linked is almost certainly false — but the loss remains real.

Deputy editor Benjamin Radford offers a lighthearted (but still skeptical) look at a popular premium dog food using astr...
05/28/2026

Deputy editor Benjamin Radford offers a lighthearted (but still skeptical) look at a popular premium dog food using astrology tropes in a commercial campaign—and finds it’s not an uncommon practice in marketing pet supplies.

A new commercial from gourmet pet food company Freshpet features astrology in its theme. Titled “Kitchen Conversations,” the thirty-second piece begins with ...

"The Well-Known Skeptic" Rob Palmer has a new video on "The Failure of Facilitated Communication: A Conversation with Ja...
05/28/2026

"The Well-Known Skeptic" Rob Palmer has a new video on "The Failure of Facilitated Communication: A Conversation with Janyce Boynton."

In this video interview, I talked with Janyce Boynton, a former facilitator in the pseudoscientific practice of facilitated communication (FC), who saw the light and now educates the public about the proven harm inherent in FC and all its contemporary rebrandings.

Nick Tiller writes: "Powdered greens don’t always contain actual greens, such as spinach, kale, wheatgrass, barley grass...
05/28/2026

Nick Tiller writes: "Powdered greens don’t always contain actual greens, such as spinach, kale, wheatgrass, barley grass, spirulina, or chlorella; the supplements could be any color and retain their nutritional value. The green color is more commercial than botanical, signifying nature, freshness, and plant-based virtue—all crutches on which the wellness world depends."

“Eat your greens, or you’ll get no dessert.” That was my nutrition education until I was fourteen. I rarely got dessert. Now I can have dessert whenever I l ...

Susan Gerbic has a write-up on the Monterey SkeptiCamp 2026. "SkeptiCamps are about building community and introducing n...
05/21/2026

Susan Gerbic has a write-up on the Monterey SkeptiCamp 2026. "SkeptiCamps are about building community and introducing new topics and speakers."

Monterey County Skeptics (MCS) held their annual event, the first SkeptiCamp of 2026, over two days, January 11–12, 2026, at the El Gabilian Library in Sali ...

Ben Radford writes "The fact that something about the world that I alone discovered (and published in a book 15 years ag...
05/15/2026

Ben Radford writes "The fact that something about the world that I alone discovered (and published in a book 15 years ago) is now legitimized and enshrined in a storied venue such as The Australian Museum brings me a measure of pride and accomplishment."

Recently two Australian friends and colleagues, Richard Saunders and Lara Benham—who can both be heard on the excellent The Skeptic Zone podcast—visited the ...

In his latest column for Skeptical Inquirer, Stuart Vyse warns, "The supporters of autism pseudoscience have kicked it u...
05/11/2026

In his latest column for Skeptical Inquirer, Stuart Vyse warns, "The supporters of autism pseudoscience have kicked it up a notch."

Part I—The Social Media Mob On May 1, 2026, Amy S. F. Lutz, a historian of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the mother of a young man with pro ...

Wendy’s Grossman’s latest “Letters to America” column looks at a trio of British books that deal in various ways with me...
05/05/2026

Wendy’s Grossman’s latest “Letters to America” column looks at a trio of British books that deal in various ways with medicine, misinformation, and the internet.

I'm not sure when I first learned about the importance of double-blind, random-controlled trials in establishing the safety and efficacy of new medicin ...

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