Skeptoid

A round-up of plausible-sounding myths about the Moon, most of which you've probably heard, and some of which you might believe.

Some say artificial food dyes are killing us. The truth is a lot more nuanced.

The more years go by, the more Americans believe that ordinary airliners are secretly spraying chemicals for some hidden nefarious purpose.

This Internet legend claims the Earth's gravity will shut off for seven seconds in 2026.

This social media fad promises to supercharge your sleep and make you healthier than healthy, when in fact it probably does significantly more harm than good.

Skeptoid is now going into production on our third feature film: Alien Echoes. Get all the details at skeptoid.org/alienechoes

It turns out there's probably no such thing as an alpha wolf.

Popular influencers claim birth rates are declining disastrously. How true is that, and is it a disaster?

The discovery of a Martian sarcophagus in Colorado in 1864: An oddball story, or consistent with the lore of the day?

Supplying some much-needed skepticism to an episode of the BBC podcast Uncanny.

Even today, some people cling to a pre-scientific belief that germs do not cause disease.

Time is running out to grab one of the few remaining cabins for Málaga, Spain to Nice, France on the SV Royal Clipper AND announcing our next adventure to New Orleans followed by the Mysteries of the Maya cruise to the Yucatán Peninsula!

An exploration of the validity of the Silurian hypothesis, which posits the existence of a pre-human intelligent race on Earth.

As a gentle reminder that you will have an hour of sleep robbed from you tonight, enjoy this episode on Daylight Saving Time Myths from the archives!

This secretive device has been promising to deliver clean, free energy for more than 15 years — but so far nobody's been allowed to examine it.

Is there somewhere on Earth where Sovereign Citizens can actually be free of any nation's laws?

Advertising wants your attention, not your soul; and it’s not nearly as good at getting either as you might think.

Radioactive nuclear generators sit out in the environment, posing a real hazard. They're mostly — but not all — in Russia.

Brian gets questioned while giving blood.

How concerned do you truly need to be about vintage ceramicware leaching lead into your food?

Oh no! Another pop quiz. Take the challenge: 9 questions about space. Think you can get them all?

A century-old hoax takes wing again, proof that good stories never stay buried.

If ghosts don't exist, then how do we account for all the ghost experiences that people have every day?

Mediterranean archaeologist Dr. Flint Dibble will be our resident expert on the real history (and the fake history) at our ports of call when Skeptoid Adventures sails from Málaga, Spain to Nice, France this April. He is perhaps best known for his 2024 destruction of pseudo-archaeologist Graham Hancock on the Joe Rogan Experience.

The myths and misconceptions surrounding blood donation and why you might consider donating.

Links to resources from Bloodworks Northwest:

Blood Donation Need to Know

Eligibility Guidelines

Eligibility Checker

The history and pseudohistory of this infamous and ubiquitous obscene gesture.

From fireplace to folklore, how the Yule log got its fake pagan backstory.

This device claims to be able to dramatically improve the efficiency and emissions of any internal combustion engine.

An exploration of all the scientific possibilities by which ghosts might actually exist in this universe.

It should have been impossible for the CIA's Glomar Explorer to obtain the ship's bell from the K-129 submarine... but they did. How?

A roundup of evidence supporting the use of radiocarbon dating to assess the age of organic matter from 500 to 55,000 years old.

Stories claim that this region of Alaska is home to a huge number of unexplained disappearances.

Did US Special Forces battle a 15-foot-tall red-haired giant in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2002?

A conspiracy theory claims the Hollywood and Deep State elitists have a magical bed that allows them to remain forever young and healthy.

Is the Rake mere creepypasta, or do more recent events prove it to be a real creature?

When ordinary deer turn grotesque, Appalachia’s forests whisper of the Not-Deer — unnatural predators lurking somewhere between folklore and nightmare.

A pop quiz of trivia from the previous 19 years of Skeptoid shows! Can you beat the masters?

The actual wayfinding methods used by the ancient Polynesians to navigate between islands and settle the entire Pacific Ocean.

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.

Nearly as much mythology as science surrounds the wayfinding techniques used by early Polynesians to navigate the South Pacific.

True stories of the pilots who have tried to land at Area 51 — and what happened to them.

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.

Another round of corrections of errors from past episodes, keeping your Skeptoid archive tidy and accurate.

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.

Fourteen of the most unexpected and counterintuitive science findings.

Once again we go through some of your feedback to past episodes — all the good stuff that enhances and improves the presentation.

Clowns have a habit of terrifying many of us. So why shouldn't we be surprised to see mass clown panics?

Today marks the 1000th Skeptoid episode. And it's time to raise the question: What are you going to do for it?

Medieval tales of walking corpses reflect common misunderstandings of death and the era's blurred line between myth and reality.

What began as 19th-century mind-cure mysticism has morphed into a billion-dollar culture that may be hurting more minds than it helps.