Squaring The Strange

Ben has done several deep dives into various aspects of how the public processes mass shootings, and recent events moved us to bring this topic out now. As political talking heads and newsmakers cherry-pick and sound off about their own causative theories and narratives, what will and won't work to curb these horrific events, we thought we'd take a look into what we do know, and don't know, about the profile of an "average" mass shooter. Data on mass shootings, and other gun violence, is lacking for a reason, and that's soon to change, which will hopefully allow a more rigorous, public-health approach to this subject.

Ben announces the release of his new book, "America the Fearful," and then Celestia takes over for a main segment inspired by current events. While we hope these fears turn out to be unfounded, there is much worry presently about parents turning to DIY recipes for baby formula amid the nationwide shortage. Another looming fear is that many lives will be lost to unsafe abortion practices if access is restricted -- herbal abortions share many features with other forms of alternative medicine, but with highly toxic abortifacients the stakes are very high. We look into the history and folklore of these two maternal issues, as well as reasons they appeal to those in desperate situations.

After a few words on current events, Pascual takes us on a tour of tales about Old Scratch influencing music. Whether he's giving free violin lessons, defending himself in court, or even hanging out with Anton LaVey and Sammy Davis Jr., the devil has a longstanding relationship with music of all types.

After some excitement over the release of Science Friction, and Ben's discussion of Huggy Wuggy, we talk about alien implants. No, it's not just about probing jokes. We go into the multiple factors that lead people to think aliens have implanted some kind of technology into them, and what reasons aliens are thought to have for doing so, as well as how useful such implants would really be. Memory, biology, and good old cultural context all come into play.

After a brief diversion about who slapped who at that big pop culture event recently, we look into a much, much different vein of show business. Get it? Vein? Seriously though, what makes people bleed from their hands and other places, allegedly spontaneously, in a replication of Christ's wounds? How many people have become known for this peculiar blessing, and how do they profit from it exactly? We'll discuss miracles versus Munchausen, fakery versus pious frauds, as well as other explanations for the affliction, and Ben recounts his visit with a bona fide stigmatic (as she was advertised, anyway).

After a few thoughts on Daylight Savings Time, we discuss a short list of purported deathbed confessions. The last words of a consequential figure can be hijacked or twisted to fit agenda -- or, sometimes, it's not just the words that are made up, it's the person too. From cautionary tales to urban legends, deathbed confessions are a peculiar branch of the folklore tree. There are also very real deathbed confessions that have solved mysteries, revealed crimes, or reversed a long-held position. Join us as we look into a few.

After a brief discussion on the recent jailbreak (rock break?) of a Japanese nine-tailed demon, and some thoughts on war rumors and viral stories coming out of Ukraine, we talk about people who think they can talk to animals. Or people who think their animal can talk to them -- psychically, of course. From a lost champion purebreed to a thoroughly tested terrier in the UK, we go over a few examples and our thoughts on the matter.

From superheroes to saints to trumpets, the idea of things seeming to float inexplicably in the air certainly captures our imagination. First Ben takes us through a history of levitation--as a sign of possession or piety, then as purported by Spiritualist mediums, and then as a side-effect of meditation. Celestia discusses some technological ways humans have found to levitate themselves or objects, using the magic of magnetism or air friction. And then Prof. Richard Wiseman joins us to delve into the mysterious Indian Rope Trick, which has a lot to teach us about psychology, memory, journalism, and much more!

First, all the way from New York City Skeptics, Russ Dobler drops in to tell us about AIPT Comic's skepticism month -- and we also chat about Joe Rogan and Ivermectin. Then our main topic is sex urban legends, a field so fertile it's a veritable cornucopia of naughty, forbidden, lurid, or merely humiliating tales that someone swears happened to a friend's cousin's boss's uncle. From Lemmiwinks the gerbil to the poor woman impregnated by a Civil War bullet, we dive into stories old and new about a topic people never seem to tire of.

We are joined by two guests who can share their experiences with televangelist and self-proclaimed exorcist Bob Larson. Alisa Yang has produced a short documentary, Sleeping with the Devil, about her Skype exorcism by Larson, and she shares insights into the communities that gave rise to such predatory figures. Then JD Sword discusses a Larson event he attended remotely that was advertised as the exorcism of a possessed doll. Both incidents have disturbing undercurrents that have nothing to do with the supernatural.

As Oscar season approaches, we wanted to take some time to chat about movies we saw that either tripped our skeptical alarms or warmed our skeptical hearts. Some are major motion pictures like Don't Look Up, Nightmare Alley or even Disney's Encanto, but we discuss quite a few lesser known flicks on streaming services: Sasquatch, Seaspiracy, the The Lost Leonardo, and House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths. Tune in for our thoughts on these films and info on where you can see them. And boy do we have thoughts!

In this final installment of our moral panic series, as well as our final episode of 2021, we go into various banned books, fears about literature's effect on "weaker minds," the hearings on comic books and juvenile delinquency, and what makes a moral panic. Whether it's murders attributed to Catcher in the Rye or the big boss battle between Fredric Wertham and William Gaines, there's plenty of historical examples to draw from. Then Ben wraps up with some considerations (and criticisms) of moral panic theory and how it can be misapplied.

This penultimate episode in our moral panic series starts with a discussion of the TikTok worries that interrupted schools last week as authorities braced for possible gun violence. Then we talk cinema and television from old to new, and the themes in moral panicking that jump out repeatedly -- such as worrying about what the fragile minds of children or females might absorb, or copycat fears, or concerns about sex, violence, or low self-esteem.

In part 2 of our 4-part series, we talk about moral panics in music history. Some will seem quaint to our modern ears, while others are a bit more recent. From jaunty tunes interfering with factory work in the 1940s to rock artists in the 1980s defending their lyrics in congressional hearings, we look at a long history of how parent's just don't understand their kids' music. And what does the future hold in terms of musical panics? Can we even begin to predict that, when one of the key features of living through a moral panic is the uncertainty of whether something is, in fact, a moral panic?

So this week we start by looking at the similarities between Q-Anon fans awaiting JFK Jr. in Dallas and doomsday cults moving their predictions. Then we start our series on moral panics with an overview of what exactly constitutes a moral panic, moving into the many games and novelty items that have caused parents and social guardians to wring their hands. From Ouija boards to Twister to pinball all the way to first-person-shooter video games, we look at trajectories of quite a few games and how, in the end, panics are great for moving a whole lot of product.

First Tim Mendham from the Australian Skeptics pops in for a quick visit, then we sit down for a discussion with Vegas magicians Matt Donnelly, R.J. Owens, and Vinny Grosso. Each of them has a perspective on magic and skepticism, and we learn about things like gospel magic; how some of them work "woo" like tarot or ESP into their acts; accidental interviews with James Randi; magic and morality; applying entertainment to skepticism; paranormal retroengineering; the magic community as a repository of knowledge on trickery; and the guilty pleasure of fooling an audience into believing--if just for a moment--that you have magical powers.  

We meet up with investigator and photographic ghost evidence enthusiast Kenny Biddle to discuss The Entity -- a 1982 horror movie in the tradition of the 1970s and 1980s "based on a true story" fare. Content warning, this episode discusses a real, confirmed sexual assault briefly in the opener and then a purported supernatural sexual assault as depicted in the film. The Entity has a number of angles that can be examined for lessons on how NOT to do a ghost investigation, and Ben and Kenny have a bit of a time picking through them.

We all have a few skeptical nuggets to chat about this week, from zebras to the healing power of Satan worship to dangerous rumors. Then we are joined by Robert Bartholomew, mass hysteria expert and author of the book "Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria." He compares the current phenomenon to sociogenic illnesses of the past and then dissects some specifics that the press and the government got wrong.

We begin on somber note, with the passing of friend and contributor Erik Kristopher Myers, who will be greatly missed. Then we take a close look at cards, and how they have been used to foretell, trick, amaze, deceive, and swindle. Learn how racism was "in the cards" for fortune tellers in the early 20th century, and how Tarot seems to be ancient and exotic but really isn't. We discuss the rise and fall of Zener cards to "prove" ESP, and how quickly people adapted playing cards to be instruments of trickery. Plus, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle makes multiple appearances as we weave our way through card history!

First, Ben and Celestia are skeptical of the media representations of vaccination "mandates," as well as chiropractors who believe spinally induced immunity can ward off diseases like covid. Then we are joined by Dave Thomas of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason (NMSR) to talk about Roswell's lesser-known cousin crash, the Aztec "Saucer Swindle." It has everything: greedy con men, gullible pulp authors and investors, rigged "doodlebug" gizmos, an intrepid reporter who knows some sleight-of-hand, and of course a trio of magnetic ships from Venus.