Squaring The Strange

This week, Ben and Pascual kick off the first half of the "New Years Resolution" series where they look at woo in the gym. Just in time for your resolution, The Credible Hulk joins our hosts to walk us through some of the myths and misconceptions that run rampant in the bodybuilding/gym world.

This week, Celestia joins the guys to discuss the idea of logical fallacies and how to identify them, as well as discuss their favorite ones. Ben talks about a curious mystery postcard to start the show.

This week, Ben, Celestia, and Pascual discuss the importance of replication in everything from skeptical inquiry to scientific experimentation. Pascual is also skeptical about a certain reason for the season, and Celestia has another fortune cookie for us.

Ben first reminds us all that the History Channel still has not made good on their promise to be transparent about their Amelia Earhart research debacle, and then the guys discuss a listener question regarding “asking questions” in a leading way. Then, for our main topic, we turn to Champ, the legendary monster said to inhabit Lake Champlain, which borders New York and Vermont. The best-known report of this monster is said to be from Samuel de Champlain himself in 1609—except it’s a falsified quote. Ben draws on his personal investigations of the legend, giving us an overview of the nineteenth century’s yellow journalism, the frequency and patterns of Champ sightings, and similarities to the UFO phenomenon. The best photographic evidence for any lake monster (after the famous Nessie photo was revealed as a hoax) was the photo of Champ taken in 1977 by Sandra Mansi. Ben talks about his interview with Mansi, his analysis of her photo, and the subsequent practical investigations he did with Joe Nickell at (and i

This week, Ben and Pascual talk about the phenomenon of outrage, especially on the internet. They break down some classic outrage from the last year and even have an update on a big story from last year! Celestia also stops by with another tasty fortune cookie. Wish Background Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week, our boys break down the idea that the government is out to divide us. Ben is skeptical of psychics and Pascual chats about a flat-earther who is going to prove the earth is flat. Celestia pops in with a great fortune cookie as always!

This week Ben, Pascual, and Celestia have a roundtable discussion on the practical aspects of everyday life as a skeptic. Boots-on-the-ground skepticism efforts include social media presence, etiquette, and tactics; picking your battles; and knowing when you need your own little echo chamber for sanity’s sake. Keeping a salon discussion from devolving into a flame war is always the goal, but can anything be gained by out-and-out fighting? Ben talks about the importance in his own investigation work of listening to believers and walking the tightrope of helping them without alienating them. In real life, picking at the closely held beliefs of loved ones can be a minefield—but as skeptics, it feels wrong to go along with notions simply to get along. Finding common ground and focusing on empathy can help people gradually expand their mental framework. Pascual talks about the homeopathic remedies used by many musicians, and we discuss how sometimes just defining a term (or showing someone the fine print on a labe

This week, Ben and Pascual are joined by Celestia to discuss their skeptic heroes! Also, a heroic fortune cookie!

This week, Ben and Pascual dissect the myths and misunderstandings that surround Halloween. From tainted candy to evil predators, our boys take a bite out of these spooky Halloween treats so you don't have to! Also in this episode, Ben brings us another tale from the road!

For week 3 of our spooky Halloween series, Ben, Celestia and Pascual delve into the spooky and fascinating topic of evil clowns. Ben talks about all the different kinds of evil clowns, Celestia tells a tale of her experience with a bad clown of her own, and Pascual makes obscure pop culture references throughout. Also in this episode, Pascual breaks down a new conspiracy theory with the help of our two co-hosts.

Buckle up for part 2 of our Squaring the Strange Halloween series! This week, our spooky hosts bring us an exciting adventure into the tantalizing world of ghost sex. From celebrity spectral affairs to unwanted advances from the other side, Ben and Pascual look into the cases and the facts. 

This week, the boys explore a topic that Ben literally wrote the book on (and got an award for!): El Chupacabra. From the origins to the events that led to what we now know as the Chupacabra, our fearless fellows leave no stone unturned. But first, the boys unpack some of the misconceptions of the recent Vegas shooter and try to shed some skeptical light on how these events could be viewed from a rational standpoint. Also in this episode, Celesta stops in with another tasty morsel of a fortune cookie.

This week, our boys are live at the New Mexico Podscape Festival. First, Ben dissects cryptozoology and how natural disasters come into play. Then, our strangers delve into the newest end times prediction and talk about the history of these claims. Last, Pascual digs into one of our favorite woo-peddlers, Gwenyth Paltrow, and her newest product. Celestia also stops in with a great Fortune Cookie!

Episode 25: Conspiracy Theories THEY Don’t Want You to Know About (released September 28, 2017) Ben ruminates on the blowup over Trump’s NFL tweets this week, wondering why so many people (especially Trump’s critics) seem to give him more power by fueling the outrage machine, thus distracting themselves from the core issues. Owing to Trump’s clear track record of lies, exaggerations, contradictions, and impulse thoughts, perhaps the best skeptical approach is to not give his tweets any weight at all—as they do not represent legislative action, the views of most of America, or even, perhaps, Trump’s core values (if he has any). Then, for their main topic, the guys delve into conspiratorial thinking: from medieval witch hunts to the Illuminati. What factors make people more prone to fall into believing conspiracies, and what are some hallmarks of a typical conspiracy theory? Why do proponents doubt some things so strongly but swallow every point made in an amateur Youtube video? It’s also valuable to examine wh

This week, Ben is skeptical of the History Channel bland promise to be transparent and do more investigation on their recent Amelia Earhart fiasco (spoiler: they haven’t). For the main topic, the copycat effect, Ben talks about behavior modeling versus ideation, covering everything from fears of anorexia to the artistry of crop circles. Moving onto serious crimes, the guys discuss the church fires during the 1990s: after President Clinton addressed the issue and formed a task force, the fires actually quadrupled—most set by juveniles who had no clear motive. As parents know, the drive to copy and gain attention is clearly present in children, but some people never grow out of it. Certain instances were a perfect storm of copycatting: the Anthrax scare of 2001 resulted in tremendous anxiety and costs, as it was cheap and easy to fake with talcum powder while being expensive and time-consuming for authorities to deal with. The clown panic of 2016 was a less harmful (but to some, even scarier) example of copycat

While Pascual tends to his offspring, Ben and Celestia discuss a recent story about a waitress being allegedly stiffed due to her pride tattoo. They go through numerous similar stories, some hoaxed, and discuss whether this is becoming a modern-day folk tale. Faked stories undercut and blur real issues, and writing a story around a mere Facebook post has become a recurring journalistic failure. Pascual steps back in for our main topic, a lively discussion on “alleged psychic” John Edward, as Ben and Celestia recount what they observed at a live performance. We go through cold reading and pivoting techniques Edward used as well as how the audience eagerly does much of the work for him, making connections and turning obvious misses into hits. There are many layers to the topic: the psychology of why people are motivated to believe, what possible benefits and harms come along with this type of ad-hoc spiritualistic life coaching, and even the sense of power a psychic feels as they sway a person or a room. Celest

This week, the Strange crew talks time travel. Everything from their favorite time travel fiction to a little bit of science! Then they head to Bubonicon to ask people about their favorite time travel heroes! Video content is available to Patrons, as well as Ben's talk on UFOs!

This week, Ben and Pascual explore the oft-horrifying phenomenon of sleep paralysis. After watching the documentary "The Nightmare", our hosts decided it would be apt to talk about sleep paralysis, particularly because Pascual has a long history of first-hand experience. Also in this episode, Ben discusses EVP and Pascual is skeptical of a product that protects people from radio frequencies in the air. Celestia stops by with a very magical fortune cookie as well!

This week, Ben and Pascual explore how urban legends can sometimes turn dangerous and even deadly. From the unintended consequences of rumor to what happens when people believe too strongly, the boys take us on a journey through the dreadful outcomes when people become a bit too credulous regarding urban legends. Also in this episode, Celestia opens another fun fortune cookie packed with some extra firepower.

This week, we had a bad bit of timing for our outrage episode in that the events that occurred in Charlottesvile, VA were two days after we finished recording. So as to not deprive our listeners of a new episode, we put together some bonus content that we would like you all to enjoy!