Skeptoid #516: Demythologizing the Shaolin Monks
Just about everything you think you know about the Shaolin Monks was made up for tourists. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 26, 2016•14 min•Ep. 516
Skeptoid
The true science behind our most popular urban legends. Historical mysteries, paranormal claims, popular science myths, aliens and UFO reports, conspiracy theories, and worthless alternative medicine schemes... Skeptoid has you covered. From the sublime to the startling, no topic is sacred. Weekly since 2006.
Episodes
Skeptoid #515: All About Absinthe
This mysterious alcoholic drink is the subject of more urban legends than any other liquor. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 19, 2016•13 min•Ep. 515
Skeptoid #514: Your Thoughts on Making Skepticism Commercial
A proposal for how we can make skeptical programming more attractive to a larger audience. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 12, 2016•13 min•Ep. 514
Skeptoid #513: Why Musical Aliens Probably Use the Same Scale We Do
Reliance on universal mathematical principles may mean alien music is similar to our own. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 05, 2016•13 min•Ep. 513
Skeptoid #512: Decrypting Mother Teresa
It's popular to criticize Mother Teresa, but that criticism might be better directed at the real culprit. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mar 29, 2016•13 min•Ep. 512
Skeptoid #511: Firestorm in Waco
The FBI did not deliberately murder the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mar 22, 2016•15 min•Ep. 511
Skeptoid #510: Student Questions: Multiple Intelligences and the Gender Pay Gap
Skeptoid answers another round of questions sent in by students all around the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mar 15, 2016•13 min•Ep. 510
Skeptoid #509: Ninjas Unmasked
These superheroes of martial arts lore may not be exactly what you thought they were. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mar 08, 2016•15 min•Ep. 509
Skeptoid #508: Demythologizing the Knights Templar
More pseudohistory than fact surrounds this ancient order's depictions in pop culture. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mar 01, 2016•14 min•Ep. 508
Skeptoid #507: No, Hitler Did Not Escape
There is no truth to the popular myth that Hitler escaped Berlin and went to Argentina. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Feb 23, 2016•13 min•Ep. 507
Skeptoid #506: Bad Skepticism: Why You Should Challenge Popular Assumptions
From swamp gas and waterspouts to alternative medicine, the harm of not challenging popular assumptions. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Feb 16, 2016•13 min•Ep. 506
Skeptoid #505: You've Got to Be Wrong to Be Right
Skeptoid corrects another round of errors from past episodes. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Feb 09, 2016•13 min•Ep. 505
Skeptoid #504: Growing Skeptical of Hair Restoration
As long as people lose their hair, the market will remain flooded with sham remedies. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Feb 02, 2016•14 min•Ep. 504
Skeptoid #503: Bad Science on PBS
The reasons why PBS is so quick to promote pseudoscience informercials during pledge drives. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jan 26, 2016•14 min•Ep. 503
Skeptoid #502: Listener Feedback: Killing the Comments
Your comments on our decision to remove the comments from Skeptoid episode transcript pages. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jan 19, 2016•13 min•Ep. 502
Skeptoid #501: Schrodinger's Cat and the Bomb Detector
Whatever you think you know about Schrödinger's famous cat is probably wrong. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jan 12, 2016•13 min•Ep. 501
Skeptoid #500: A Little Curiosity
If you haven't yet found your curiosity in the first 500 episodes of Skeptoid, find it here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jan 05, 2016•7 min•Ep. 500
Skeptoid #499: The Hope Diamond: A Curse Deconstructed
Find out how the obviously false story of a curse came to be associated with this famous diamond. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Dec 29, 2015•13 min•Ep. 499
Skeptoid #498: Did the 1914 Christmas Truce Really Happen?
Popular stories tell of WWI soldiers laying aside their rifles on Christmas 1914. The facts are not quite so simple. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Dec 22, 2015•13 min•Ep. 498
Skeptoid #497: A Skeptical Look at the Rorschach Test
The famous Rorschach inkblot test is not a window into the subconscious, and doesn't tell us anything useful. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Dec 15, 2015•13 min•Ep. 497
Skeptoid #496: The Russian Sleep Experiment
Russian test subjects are said to have done unspeakably horrible things when sleep deprived. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Dec 08, 2015•14 min•Ep. 496
Skeptoid: Bad Skepticism
A new live show from Skeptoid Media: Bad Skepticism! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Dec 04, 2015•1 min
Skeptoid #495: Updated: Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Web Sites
The worst offending sites on the Internet for promoting bad misinformation. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Dec 01, 2015•15 min•Ep. 495
Skeptoid #494: Black Mold: Peril or Prosaic?
Black mold is commonly believed to harbor many deadly diseases; but in fact removing it is often worse than leaving it. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Nov 24, 2015•12 min•Ep. 494
Skeptoid #493: How Real Is the Stockholm Syndrome?
While the Stockholm syndrome sounds like a mere media buzzword, it does actually sometimes happen. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Nov 17, 2015•14 min•Ep. 493
Skeptoid #492: Pouring Cold Water on Cryotherapy
Questioning whether this new spa treatment provides all the medical benefits it claims. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Nov 10, 2015•13 min•Ep. 492
Skeptoid #491: 420: The Cannabis Code
Myths and competing claims fog the origin of the term 420, a slang code for marijuana. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Nov 03, 2015•13 min•Ep. 491
Skeptoid #490: Deconstructing the Tasaday Tribe
Some say this tribe of "gentle savages", discovered in 1971, was just a hoax. The truth isn't quite so simple. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Oct 27, 2015•14 min•Ep. 490
Skeptoid #489: The Science of X-Ray Specs and Sea Monkeys
These products advertised in the back of comic books promised improbable feats of science. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Oct 20, 2015•13 min•Ep. 489
Skeptoid #488: Who Was Charles Fort?
This enigmatic author of the strange continues to confound. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Oct 13, 2015•13 min•Ep. 488