1320: The Moon | Skeptical Sunday

Summary

The Jordan Harbinger Show — Skeptical Sunday: "The Moon"

Episode 1320 | May 3, 2026
Host: Jordan Harbinger
Guest/Co-Host: Jessica Wynne, writer/researcher

---

Episode Overview

This Skeptical Sunday dives deep into common myths and misconceptions about the Moon’s influence on human behavior, health, and culture. Host Jordan Harbinger and guest co-host Jessica Wynne explore everything from the Moon’s real effects (like tides and axial tilt stabilization) to the persistent but unsupported beliefs in lunar-linked madness, crime waves, ER spikes, hair growth, and mystical energies. With humor and sharp skepticism, they examine where these ideas come from, why they persist, and what the real science shows.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Do We Blame the Moon?

• The Moon is the “most successful scapegoat in human history,” blamed for madness, violence, romance, bad luck, and more. (03:56)
• The priming effect and confirmation bias: Once an idea (like “the full moon causes chaos”) is suggested, we unconsciously start looking for evidence to support it, reinforcing the belief even if the data doesn’t.
  • Memorable Quote:
    • Jessica: “The priming effect creates the mindset and confirmation bias just reinforces it. Together they make patterns feel real, even when they aren’t.” (05:15)
• Myths predate science — ancient cultures assigned great importance to the Moon for calendars, agriculture, and spirituality. (05:47)

2. The Moon’s Origin and Real Planetary Impacts

• Formation: The Moon was born from a massive collision between early Earth and the “Theia” object. Moon rocks’ isotopes nearly match Earth’s mantle—multiple lines of evidence support this. (06:29–07:42)
• The Moon stabilized Earth’s axial tilt, making our planet habitable, and kept seasons predictable. (07:53, 08:13)
  • Quote:
    • Jordan: “So we owe the Moon, at minimum, a thank you card.” (08:30)

3. What the Moon Actually Does: Tides and Tilt

• Gravitational pull creates tides; moon’s effect is about scale — massive, fluid oceans respond to its pull, not small, compartmentalized human bodies. (08:34–14:40)
  • Jessica: “Your circulatory system is a closed loop with pumps that completely overwhelm any external gravitational effect.” (13:15)
• Everyday objects (even the building you’re in) exert more gravitational force on you than the moon’s tidal pull. (15:10–16:12)
  • “If gravity worked that way, architecture would be controlling our moods.” (16:12)
• The Moon’s “gyroscopic” effect stabilizes Earth’s tilt (prevents wild climate swings like Mars); its tidal friction is slowly lengthening Earth’s day and pushing the Moon farther away (by about 1.5 inches per year). (18:00–19:43)

4. Myths Versus Measurable Effects on Biology

• The Moon’s differential gravity doesn't affect your blood, mood, or bodily fluids—scale renders human effects physically impossible. (11:21+)
• Light, not mysticism: Moonlight is real and can influence animal (and, to a tiny extent, human) behavior by providing nocturnal illumination, affecting melatonin and sleep. (21:07–22:39, 48:26)
• Many animals have evolved biological cycles tied to tides or moonlight (coral spawning, tidal fish, worm swarms)—but the mechanism is based on light or tidal cues, not “lunar energy.” (21:09–22:34)
• Human sleep can be affected by bright moonlight through windows (suppresses melatonin), but blackout curtains fix the issue—no mystical effect involved. (48:26–49:30)
• Jessica: “You don’t need to cleanse your crystals. You need better window treatments.” (49:30)

5. The Persistent Lunacy Myths (ER Nightmares, Crime, etc.)

• Comprehensive studies show no statistical increase in ER visits, psychiatric emergencies, births, trauma admissions, or surgeries during full moons. (25:59–27:53)
  • This includes “water breaking” claims, blood pressure, bleeding, and recovery rates (27:13–28:16)
• “Humoral medicine,” the old belief that lunar phases affect bodily “humors,” dominated ancient and early modern medicine—has been thoroughly disproved by modern data. (28:16–29:30)
• The language itself encodes the myth (“lunatic” = “moon touched”).
  • Jessica: "...the word lunatic comes from Latin. Luna means moon. Tick is Latin for 'touched.'” (30:04)
• Crime, violence, and policing: Decades of data show no correlation between lunar phases and crime rates. Night shifts, stressful work, and random chance are the real sources—with anecdotes reinforcing the myth when chaos coincides with a visible full moon. (31:09–34:46)
  • Memorable moment:
    • Jordan: “Open floor plans suddenly make a lot more sense…” (16:15)

6. Why Do Myths Persist?

• Pattern-seeking brains evolved to find connections, even where there are none; full moons are visually memorable and attract attention, while new moons pass unnoticed. (38:38–39:16)
• Illusory correlation: Psychologists call this the tendency to see patterns where none exist (“he’s acting weird, must be a full moon”). (40:47–41:19)
  • Jessica: "The moon is basically the perfect trigger for our pattern seeking brain. It's regular, it's visible, and it's culturally loaded." (38:21)
• Confirmation bias: Personal anecdotes ("that streetlight always blinks when I drive under it") are memorable, while counterexamples are ignored. (35:38–38:21)

7. Eclipses, Blood Moons, Rituals & Pseudoscience

• Lunar eclipses are visually dramatic but have no effect on human biology; ancient peoples feared them, but we now understand the orbital mechanics. (41:29–42:58)
• “Blood moon” is a poetic term for a lunar eclipse that appears red—no mystical property. (43:37–44:01)
• Rituals like “charging crystals” or “moon water” have no scientific basis. Any felt benefit is psychological or ritualistic, not physical. (58:48–59:56)
  • “Moon water, that’s literally just water that sat outside.” (59:24)
• Social media amplifies lunar pseudoscience (e.g. lunar haircutting, moon water, etc.). (57:18–58:48)

8. The Small, Real Effects

• The Moon causes small, easily overlooked effects, like minute atmospheric pressure changes; barometric pressure has some documented influence on human physiology (migraines, pain, mood), but these effects are thousands of times stronger than anything lunar. (47:22–48:06)
• Moonlight can slightly affect sleep for those in bright bedrooms. (48:23–49:30)

9. The Truth About Humans, Animals, and Plants

• Pets: No documented lunar effect on dogs, cats, or livestock; animal activity sometimes changes in moonlight, but it’s purely about light, not lunar phase. (52:26–54:23)
• Livestock and gardening: No valid evidence paranormal lunar cycles influence crop yields or animal behavior. Ancient traditions persist out of habit, not evidence. (54:17–57:10)
  • “Controlled studies comparing plants grown by lunar calendar versus random planting show no difference.” (55:39)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jordan (on old beliefs):
  "I know doctors that'll tell me a folktale. And I'm like, is that true? … And it's just total bullshit. You’re like, wait a minute, that’s not true.” (29:38–30:04)

• Jessica (on rituals):
  “You can have meaningful rituals without making false scientific claims. Prepackaged spiritual practices...appeal to people seeking meaning, and that’s a lot of people.” (61:14)

• Jordan (on the actual magic of the Moon):
  “You can still love the moon, just love it for what it is.” (62:30)

  • “It’s been lighting up nights for our entire history. … All of that is real, and all of that is enough.” (63:01)

• Jessica (on skepticism):
  “The moon isn’t causing chaos. Our brains are. Which is arguably more impressive and a little more unsettling.” (43:30)

• Jordan (on blaming the Moon):
  “The moon will still be up there tonight. Silent, predictable, and completely innocent. Unlike many of us.” (63:42)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Cultural Myths & Confirmation Bias: 03:54–05:47
• Origin of the Moon & Axial Tilt: 06:29–08:34
• Science of Tides vs. Bodily Effects: 08:34–16:12
• Gyroscopic Stability & Tidal Friction: 17:01–19:43
• Animals & Moonlight, Real Biological Effects: 21:07–22:39, 48:23–49:30
• Debunking ER, Crime, & Birth Myths: 25:59–27:53, 31:09–34:46
• Pattern Seeking & Illusory Correlation: 38:21–41:19
• Lunar Rituals, Pseudoscience, Social Media: 57:18–59:56
• Barometric Pressure vs. Lunar Effects: 47:22–48:23

---

Takeaways

• The Moon is essential for Earth’s stability and habitability, but its direct effects on humans and animals (beyond tides and light) are vanishingly small or nonexistent.
• Common beliefs in lunar-induced madness, spikes in crime, medical incidents, and mystical energy are unsupported by large-scale data and grounded in ancient misunderstanding and modern cognitive bias.
• Apparent lunar patterns are the result of human pattern-seeking, confirmation bias, and memorable visual cues (like a full moon or an eclipse), not real physical effects.
• Rituals around the moon can be personally meaningful, but their power comes from psychology—not physics or astronomy.
• The actual science behind the Moon is both less magical and more awe-inspiring than myth.

---

In sum:
The Moon is a wondrous, stabilizing, illuminating rock in our sky. It shapes our tides, moderates our climate, and inspires our imaginations—but when it comes to bad moods, crazy nights, or spiking ER visits, the Moon’s innocent. The real drama, as Jordan says, “is on us.”

Transcript

[A]

This episode is sponsored in part by Dell. Dell PCs with Intel inside are built for the moments that matter. For the moments you plan and the ones you don't. Built for the busy days that turn into all night study sessions. The moment you're working from a cafe and realize that every outlet is taken, the times you're deep in your flow and the absolute last thing you need is an auto update throwing off your momentum. That's why Dell builds tech that adapts to the way you actually work, built with long lasting batteries so you're not scrambling for the closest outlet. And built in intelligence that makes updates around your schedule, not in the middle of it. They don't build tech for tech's sake, they build it for you. Find technology built for the way you [e-mail] DellPCS built for you.

[B]

You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you might not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with Progressives save over $900 on average. Pop over to progressive.com, answer some questions and you'll get a quick quote with discounts that are easy to come by. In fact, 99% of their auto customers earn at least one discount. Visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cash back. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates national average 12 month savings of $946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025. Potential savings will vary.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Lufthansa. Lufthansa Allegres is an innovative elevated travel experience across all classes, focusing on each person with their own individual and situational needs. Look forward to your own feel good moment above the clouds. Visit lufthansa.com and search for Allegris to learn more. Lufthansa Allegris all it takes is a yes. Welcome to Skeptical Sunday. I'm your host Jordan Harbinger, and today I'm here with Skeptical Sunday co host, writer and researcher Jessica Wynne. You know, every time I do this intro I always feel like that sounds weird. And then that's when I realized you'll never be able to tell AI because you know AI does unnatural stuff, Jessica, where it's like, I'm your host Jordan Harbinger, and it's like, oh, that sounded a little weird. And that's like, no, that's actually how I really sound when I do this with my real voice. For some reason I don't know, you sound great thank you. I needed that. On the Jordan Harbinger show, we decode the stories, secrets and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you. Our mission is to help you become a better informed, more critical thinker. During the week, we have long form conversations with a variety of amazing folks, spies to CEOs, athletes, authors, thinkers and performers. On Sundays, though, it's Skeptical Sunday, where a rotating guest co host and I break down a topic you may have never thought about and debunk common misconceptions about that topic, such as circumcision, sovereign citizens, diet supplements, the lottery, ear candling, self help, cults, bottled water, and more. And if you're new to the show or you want to tell your friends about the show, I suggest our episode starter packs. These are collections of our favorite episodes on persuasion, negotiation, psychology, disinformation, junk science, crime and cults, and more that'll help new listeners get a taste of everything we do here on the show. Just visit jordanharbinger.com start or search for us in your Spotify app to get started. Today, we're talking about the moon, which has been blamed for everything from crime sprees to bad haircuts to why your barista was acting sus this morning. So the question is, is the moon actually influencing human behavior at all? Moods, actions, chaos, or are we just telling ourselves old lunar legends? The moon has always had a grip on us. It's right there. It's up there. You can see it. It shows up on a schedule. It changes shape, it feels important somehow. It has gravity, if you will. So what's actually going on up there? Joining me to help separate real lunar effects from folklore is writer and researcher Jessica Wynn. So, Jessica, it seems like whenever something goes sideways, like you got a bad mood, you got bad luck, you got a weird night, eventually someone shrugs and goes, well, it is a full moon. Like that explains it.

[C]

I know. Whatever phase it's in is the cause, right?

[A]

It's a waxing gibbous. So you know, right?

[C]

Look out, look out for those scorpions. I don't know. The moon is the most successful scapegoat in human history. It's been blamed for madness, violence, romance, bad decisions, you name it. If something feels chaotic, the moon is a very convenient reason. It can sometimes be like astrology for people who don't believe in astrology.

[A]

And everyone suddenly becomes extremely confident about moon's effects. They don't study it, but you know, they somehow they know.

[C]

That's called the priming effect. And once an idea is out there, your brain starts looking for proof. Not consciously, but automatically. So if your coworker says, heads up, it's a full moon tonight, then your mind shifts into pattern hunting mode and you start watching for weirdness. You notice the unusual patient, the strange customer, or like an unhinged email.

[A]

So it's kind of confirmation bias too, right? Like every time you see one of those, you go, aha. See the moon or whatever.

[C]

Yeah, sort of. I mean, they're related, they're not exactly the same thing. Priming is the setup. It's the unconscious nudge that puts an idea in your head. Confirmation bias is what happens next when you ignore everything that doesn't support the idea.

[A]

So priming loads the gun and confirmation bias pulls the trigger. Kind of hammers it in afterwards. Anyway, the analogy falls apart. Who cares?

[C]

The priming effect creates the mindset and confirmation bias just reinforces it. So together they make patterns feel real, even when they aren't. And with the Moon especially, calm nights don't become stories. But a strange night with a bright full moon gets remembered, repeated, and slowly upgraded to, well, this always happens.

[A]

So is there anything to it? Because I roll my eyes at all this, but people don't hesitate. They're like, no, no, no, stuff definitely happens. Check the statistics, bro. Look it up. Right? It's one of those.

[C]

Well, let's start with why the belief makes sense. The Moon feels powerful. It's visible, it changes its appearance, it shows up reliably and predictably. None of that is an illusion. Every culture has built myths around it. It guided calendars, farming, and religious observances and rituals. So this cultural importance trained humans over thousands of years pre science to associate the Moon with power and influence.

[A]

Okay, so we're not crazy for feeling like the Moon has vibes, right? I'll ask the most basic here. Why do we even have a Moon? Because not every planet gets one. Poor little castrated Mercury and Venus. There's no floating balls for them.

[C]

Nope. And about 4.5 billion years ago, a Mars sized object called Theia slammed into proto Earth. It wasn't a tap. This was an extinction level collision. And material from Earth's mantle and chunks from Theia blasted into orbit. That debris clumped together and became the Moon. And what's wild is we used to think this took millions of years, but newer simulations suggest it may have happened in just hours. But that's up for debate.

[A]

That's pretty Interesting. I actually did not know that. So the Moon is made of Earth's guts and green cheese or whatever. So we're for sure this happened. This is, like, the exact sciences. Wow.

[C]

Yes. Yeah. Multiple lines of evidence. Moon rocks brought back by Apollo missions are chemically identical to Earth's mantle. It's the same oxygen ratios, titanium, tungsten isotopes. And the Moon has almost no iron core, so it's less than 2% compared to Earth's 30%, which makes sense if it formed from surface material. Plus, it lacks volatile elements like water, because the impact literally vaporized them into space.

[A]

I wonder if there was anything living on Earth at that time or if it was just too early. But anyway, that's a different show, probably. That's a heck of an origin story. So the Moon is literally born from interplanetary violence.

[C]

Yeah, and that violence changed everything. It's why Earth became habitable. So the Moon sped up Earth's rotation. It stabilized Earth's axial tilt. You know, without the Moon, the Earth would wobble wildly, which is what Mars does. Just swings between these extreme tilts.

[A]

Ah, I didn't know that. Okay, so that would be devastating for life because we kind of need some stability. People think, like, oh, winter and summer. The difference is crazy. But we don't have negative 200 degrees and positive 200 degrees or whatever. So we owe the Moon the minimum. We owe it a thank you card.

[C]

Yeah, at minimum. Because it does some genuinely incredible things.

[A]

Okay, so what does the moon actually do besides give yoga instructors in LA something to discuss over matcha lattes?

[C]

Well, tides are the big one. You know, the moon's gravity pulls on Earth's oceans, creating two bulges.

[A]

Oh, giggety, giggety, giggity goo. All right, I'm done.

[C]

One on the side facing the moon and one on the opposite side due to inertia.

[A]

So the ocean is sloshing in two directions at once.

[C]

Correct. This gives us predictable rises and falls. And the sun gets involved, too. When the sun and moon line up during full moons and new moons, you get spring tides, higher highs, lower lows when they're at right angles. During quarter moons, you get neap tides, which are much calmer. So the predictability is why, like, surfers know what week, day, and even hour will be best for waves.

[A]

So spring tide, that has nothing to do with the season.

[C]

Nothing. Spring, as in the tide springs forth.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Some places experience tidal changes of 50ft or more. It can be really wild. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. That explains why the oceans move. So this is the Part where, where somebody takes a real thing, tides, and applies it to a completely different thing, your body, and is like, well, humans are mostly water. I remember going over something like this when we talked about astrology. And one of the arguments that pro astrology people make is like, these are super powerful galactic sized magnets and you don't think a magnet affects your brain. And the answer is no, because the magnetic force is like minuscule, especially at distance. And so no, that argument doesn't hold up at all. And also, magnets on your brain when you're born definitely don't dictate whether or not you stay single or get married or get a promotion next week or something. Right? That's just totally ridiculous. But, but this sounds similar, right? Because they're like, well, humans are 98% water. So if the moon affects the tides, of course it's sloshing around water in your body and your cells in a different way and yada yada, yada, right?

[C]

I mean, you can sort of understand how people can make that assumption.

[A]

I can follow the logic. It's just that it's probably not true

[C]

then if you think about, right, it's when physics comes in yelling like, no, stop what you're saying. Because tides aren't about water, they're about scale and differential pull across something huge. But sure, let's do the math on this really common claim, because it does use facts. Humans are around 60% water. The moon causes tides. Those are both true statements. When people then say, therefore the moon must pull on the water in our bodies and affect us, it's a false equivalency.

[A]

But see this on social media, hear it in casual conversation, even from educated people. It just, I don't know, it feels like it should be true.

[C]

Right. But the problem is it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how gravity and tidal forces work. The critical part is the scale. So tidal forces aren't just about gravity, they're about differential gravity. And that's different. They depend on the difference in gravitational pull across an object. So this difference in gravitational force across a large body like the ocean creates tidal bulges. There is a tidal force formula. It's proportional to mass times size divided by distance cubed.

[A]

Okay, so complex not doing that.

[C]

Now, the size of the object being affected is crucial. So tidal forces get stronger as objects get bigger. They get weaker very rapidly with distance. That's the distance cubed part.

[A]

Okay, so if the moon is pulling strongly on the northern part of an ocean and less so on the southern part of the ocean, the Water sloshes in that direction. That totally makes sense. But your body being relatively small, we're not sloshing. We're not sloshing anywhere.

[C]

Right. It's just that oceans are massive enough for these tidal forces to matter.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

Ocean water can move freely across enormous bases. These huge connected regions of the ocean that span thousands of miles. Your body isn't like that. Water in your body is contained in cells, blood vessels, organs. It all holds water in place. So even if there were a tidal force. There's not. But even if there were, your body's structure would prevent any movement. Your body's not a water balloon. It's a highly organized, compartmentalized system. You're just too small for tidal forces to matter.

[A]

Right. So my blood is not responding to the moon phases and making waves because it's being pumped around by my heart and other things in my body.

[C]

Definitely not. Right. Your circulatory system is a closed loop with pumps that completely overwhelm any external gravitational effect.

[A]

So across the ocean is thousands of miles. Across the human body, it's five or six feet. And across a cell it's like. I don't know. What do you measure that in? Micrometers? Something like that. So there's no effect on us at all? Really?

[C]

None. You're not a tiny ocean compared to Earth's 8,000 mile diameter. Six feet is infinitesimally small.

[A]

So size matters. I knew it.

[C]

Once again, I tell you this every episode.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Scale is everything.

[A]

Okay, so. So Earth's oceans are just perfect. They're just the perfect size.

[C]

Perfect. Yeah. The water on the moon facing side is about 8,000 miles closer to the moon than than water on the far side. Okay, that difference matters at ocean scale. So the gravitational pull varies measurably across that distance. The result is those water bulges going toward and away from the moon. So every day forces you experience are millions of times stronger than that.

[A]

What do you mean? Everyday forces? That feels like a bold claim. I don't know. Tell me more about that.

[C]

Well, think about it. A swimming pool doesn't show tides. A small lake doesn't show tides. No. The Great Lake shows minimal tides.

[A]

Yeah, 2 to 4 inch.

[C]

Yeah, 2 to 4 inches max. Okay, and that's because it's across hundreds of miles.

[A]

Right.

[C]

Or put a cup of water on the table. That water is the same percentage H2O as your body. Does the cup show tides? No. Does the water slosh toward the moon? No. I mean, why not?

[A]

I mean, I guess if you could measure Something on like, a tiniest of scales, you might find something, but then also, then go down to the cell level, and it's like, not there. And even if it were, it would be overwhelmed by, like, osmotic pressure or something. Right. So these things are all too small for tidal forces to have any measurable effect at all.

[C]

Right. And look, if you're sitting next to someone, their gravitational pull on you is stronger than the moon's tidal effect on you.

[A]

Okay, that's a good way of putting it. So the gravitational pull from my MacBook or whatever is probably as strong as tidal force that the Moon has stronger desk or something. So by this logic, I should be tracking human phase effects. Right? If sit next to my. My wife or something and she's pulling on me.

[C]

Yeah, right. Like, oh, sorry, I did that wrong. My co worker was sitting too close during the meeting. Exactly would be the excuse.

[A]

The belief is basically that the moon is out there pulling on us, pulling on our bodies, pulling on our blood. Somehow that affects our moods enough to make people act differently.

[C]

That's the claim that lunar gravity is subtly influencing your behavior.

[A]

Okay. Other than the fact that you just explained why that's not really possible. It does feel plausible, actually.

[C]

I gu. But here's where else it falls apart. Even the building you're sitting in right now exerts more gravitational force on you than the moon's tidal effect does.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

So if gravity worked that way, architecture would be controlling our moods.

[A]

Okay. Open floor plans suddenly make a lot more sense. That really puts it into perspective. That's interesting. Right. You're working in a skyscraper, so it blocks the moon's effects. You know, if you want to.

[C]

Sure. Or if you work in a basement.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. That's so interesting.

[C]

It's all kinds of things have more of an effect on you. Your phone versus the moon. I mean, forget it. When you're holding your phone, its gravitational pull on you is stronger than the moon's differential tidal force because your phone is much, much closer to you.

[A]

So my phone is influencing me more than the moon. Even when it's off?

[C]

Even when it's off by orders of magnitude. Gravity falls off with the square of distance, so tidal forces fall off with the cube of distance.

[A]

So distance really kills the vibe. Got it. Okay.

[C]

Very, very fast. Yeah. Earth's gravity is 9.8 meters per second S squared, so that's constant and overwhelming. The moon's additional pull on you is about three millionths of that.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

So for comparison, like riding an elevator creates acceleration forces thousands of times stronger walking up stairs, too. Turning your head quickly creates stronger forces on the fluid in your inner ear than anything lunar ever could.

[A]

So the moon is not tugging on me emotionally, gravity wise. It barely knows I'm here.

[C]

But the moon does play a huge role on a planetary scale. So it acts like a gyroscopic stabilizer for Earth's axial tilt, which is about 23.5 degrees. The tilt is the reason we have seasons. You know, if you've ever looked at a globe, that little lean, that's it. So without the moon, that tilt would wobble wildly.

[A]

That kind of instability would not be good for life as we know it.

[C]

Yeah, right. And just like with humans, extreme wobbling leads to instability.

[A]

Much bounce, not enough support. I know some people with the same problem, actually.

[C]

Yeah, I know some guys with that problem, too.

[A]

It's an inclusive wobble.

[C]

But if the Earth's tilt were unstable and wobbled, it would cause extreme climate shifts, Ice ages, and heat spikes. So the stability gives us consistent, predictable seasons over millions of years and allows for stable climate patterns. These make Earth more habitable, and it's why we get seasons instead of chaotic weather.

[A]

Yeah, that sounds deeply unpleasant.

[C]

Yeah. And another effect is the moon is slowly slowing Earth down.

[A]

Yeah, that feels personal somehow. What's going on there?

[C]

It's called tidal friction. And the moon pulls on Earth's oceans and even the solid crust, creating those tidal bulges.

[A]

Earth's little love handles, they are like arsala vandals.

[C]

And because Earth spins faster than the moon orbits, it drags those bulges slightly ahead of the moon. And the friction between the water, seabed, and Earth's crust turns that drag into heat. So that friction, the tidal friction, it acts like a brake on Earth's rotation.

[A]

So does that mean that our days are getting longer?

[C]

By some measure, yeah, about 2 milliseconds per century. Okay, but 600 million years ago, that means a day was only 22 hours long.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[C]

Okay, so meanwhile, that same energy gets transferred to the moon, pushing it farther away about an inch and a half per year. And this is all measurable physics.

[A]

Yeah, that seems like a more significant difference than 2 milliseconds per century. So the moon is slowly backing out of this relationship. I guess I can't really blame it.

[C]

Kind of very politely, you know, think Homer Simpson sinking into the bushes. But over billions of years.

[A]

So does that change how much light we get or how much moonlight we get or anything like that?

[C]

Yeah, it's more like stretching the day. So as Earth spins More slowly. Days get longer by milliseconds. Moonlight gets dimmer, tides weaken, and eventually, no more total solar eclipses will happen.

[A]

Will it get to the point where the sun and the moon Just won't align at all?

[C]

Right. Over very long timescales, that affects how much moonlight reaches us. So a full moon today gives about 0.1 to 0.3 lux of light. Sunlight, by comparison, is over a hundred thousand lux. But moonlight is still bright enough to cast shadows. And over time, that light is slowly fading.

[A]

And seeing the moon shift in shape and brightness makes it easy to notice something real changing and just assume that it might be doing something to us.

[C]

Yeah, sure. I mean, moonlight is a real physical stimulus. It's actual light. It's not a mystical force. What's different across lunar phases is simply how much reflected sunlight reaches Earth, not the Moon suddenly exerting new powers.

[A]

So it's not the phase, it's the brightness.

[C]

Right. It's just reflected sunlight. And we do see biological effects in species which are particularly light sensitive, especially in animals that live in tidal zones. So coastal ecosystems and many marine species have evolved around tidal rhythms, not the moon directly.

[A]

So animals do respond to the moon.

[C]

Yeah, through light and tides, not mystical energy. So corals, for one. They spawn in massive synchronized events. Time to lunar cycles. On the Great Barrier Reef, Corals release eggs and sperm a few nights after the full moon in spring. It's just the schedule. Grunion fish, like, squiggle onto California beaches during spring tides to reproduce. Pololo worms swarm once a year during the last quarter moon in October. It's just nature's calendar.

[A]

Do we know the mechanisms behind this? How do animals actually know what's happening?

[C]

It's a combination of very ordinary light cues, tides, and internal biological clocks. So nocturnal animals are especially sensitive to moonlight. Brighter nights make predators more effective. So prey species often reduce activity during full moons. Owls hunt more when visibility improves. Sea turtle hatchlings even navigate by moonlight reflecting off the ocean. All very straightforward mechanisms.

[A]

Okay, so no fancy metaphysical astrology stuff, Just light, basically.

[C]

Right. Light changes behavior. But here's the key distinction. Moonlight affects behavior. The lunar phase is just how much of the moon's surface is lit. From our point of view, it doesn't exert any influence on its own, which

[A]

is disappointing to some people, because it's comforting to blame celestial objects instead of ourselves for all of our woes. I mean, I can define that.

[C]

Wouldn't that be nice? But the moon's innocent. Turns out we're the drama.

[A]

So if you've ever blamed a bad decision on the moon. Good news, it wasn't the moon. Bad news, that was all you. We'll be right back. This episode is sponsored in part by Good Chop. I honestly can't remember the last time I came set foot in a grocery store. It's 2026. I got better things to do than wander around comparing steaks under fluorescent lighting. That's why I like Good Chop. They deliver high quality American meat, America and seafood straight to your door, vacuum sealed and frozen at peak freshness so your freezer stays stocked. And you've always got something legit on hand when you want to cook. Jen made one of their filet mignons recently and it was unbelievable. Super tender. Great flavor, better than some of the steaks we've had at restaurants. I also certainly better than the one that got me food poisoning on a Disney cruise. I also like that everything is sourced here in the US from American farms and fisheries. It's not some mystery supply chain. You're supporting local producers, which is a nice bonus. And the variety is great. You can customize your box for more than 100 items. Steaks, grass fed beef, chicken, pork, wild caught seafood. You're not locked into a bunch of stuff that you wouldn't normally buy. They also back it with 100% money back guarantee, which tells you that they're confident in the quality. Go to goodchop.com podcast and use code 50jordan to get $50 off plus free shipping on your first order. That's $50 off plus free shipping at goodchop.com podcast code 50jordan this episode of the Jordan Harbinger show is brought to you by booking.com look, if you got a vacation rental and you want to grow that business, you got to make sure people can actually find you. That's where booking.com comes in. It's one of the most downloaded travel apps in the world, and since 2010, they've helped more than 1.8 billion vacation rental guests find places to stay. That's an enormous number of people looking for places like yours. But here's the thing. Most vacation rental hosts don't even realize they can list their properties on booking.com and if you're not on the platform, your rental is basically invisible to millions of Booking.com travelers worldwide. After all, they can't book what they can't see, right? Once you list, your property gets in front of a huge global audience of travelers, which means more visibility, more bookings, and more chances to build real momentum with your rental business and the barrier to entry is low. Here you can register your property in as little as 15 minutes. And nearly half of hosts get their first booking within a week. So if your vacation rental isn't listed on booking.com, it could be invisible to millions of travelers searching the platform. Don't miss out on consistent bookings and global reach. Head over to booking.com and start your listing today. Get seen, get booked on booking.com don't forget about our newsletter. We Bit Wiser. It's a two minute read every Wednesday to your inbox. Very practical, something you can apply and use right away. Right out of the box. It's a nugget of wisdom or a gem from the show or our lives from us to you. Jordanharbinger.com News is where you can find it. Now back to Skeptical Sunday. All my life I've heard people say it's always crazier during a full moon. Right? ERS hospitals are supposedly more crowded on the full moon. 911 dispatchers say they're busier. Everybody's got a story. So is there any lunar effect on things like this? Really?

[C]

No. But the people saying it believe it sincerely. And they're trained professionals who deal with chaos for a living. But when we look at the data, I'm talking large data sets, actual statistics, the effect just isn't there. One study looked at hundreds of thousands of ER visits, no full moon effect. Psychiatric emergencies tracked over multiple years, no correlation. Trauma admissions, nothing.

[A]

Huh. I've also heard people swear maternity wards spike during full moons. Is there data on that? There's gotta be.

[C]

That's actually been tested a lot because it is such a common claim. You know, there's millions of babies born every month from France to North Carolina to India. Hundreds of thousands of births a day. Zero correlation. And the more emergencies that are claimed, like more emergency C sections during full moons, also show nothing. No increase, no pattern. The claim that more pregnant women's water breaks during full moons was specifically studied, specifically tested multiple times. And it always fails. The belief is obsessively studied because it's easy to measure and it just never holds up.

[A]

Not even a tiny blip.

[C]

Nothing.

[A]

So there's another popular myth that the moon affects blood pressure. And that sounds like what you just explained with the tidal forces. And that's false too, I'm guessing.

[C]

But I'm just surprised how much this one comes up. You know, the thing is, your blood pressure changes constantly with activity, stress, food, even your posture. So these changes are measured down to millimeters of Mercury. If the moon affected blood pressure, the change would be measured in micro units, far below anything physiological. But your blood pressure changes more when you simply stand up out of a chair than it could ever change from something lunar.

[A]

So I've heard people say that you should avoid medical procedures and surgery during the full moon. Also bs, right?

[C]

Yeah. People claim it causes increased bleed, bleeding. This has also been studied. Thousands of procedures studied over years. No increase in bleeding, no increase in complications, no problems with recovery. That belief comes from ancient humoral medicine.

[A]

What is humoral medicine?

[C]

So it was a really popular medical theory in the west from ancient Greece up through the 19th century. The idea was that illness came from an imbalance in the body's fluids, what they called the four humors, which were blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.

[A]

Gross. Yeah.

[C]

And people believed these four bodily fluids controlled all health and temperament. They also believe the moon affected fluids like tides. So things like wound healing, bleeding, and even surgery were thought to depend on the lunar phase.

[A]

I guess that's somewhat reasonable if you thought tides worked that way on human bodies. So this is all very pre science vibes.

[C]

Yeah, very, very much so. The specific belief was that lunar phases, you know, affected bleeding, healing, and surgical outcomes. But that belief hasn't just been tested once. It's been tested repeatedly across decades with these large data sets. Meta analysis studies of many studies have completely disproven it. But the belief still lingers somehow. You know, some surgeons still schedule around the moon, Some patients still request surgery be scheduled around lunar phases. It's crazy.

[A]

Geez. If there were an effect, these mass massive data sets would capture it, but they don't at all. So maybe people are. Maybe they're a little moonstruck.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, well, the connection between behavior in the moon is ancient.

[A]

So a lot of these myths, they stick because people have been repeating them forever like any good folktale. Right. And I even know doctors that'll tell me a folktale. And I'm like, is that true? And they're like, oh, you know, it's like something you heard from. Remember you heard some crap from your parents when you were a kid, and then when you're 40, you're like, I should Google this. And it's just total bullshit. You're like, wait a minute, that's not true.

[C]

I mean, it's a thing really strong oral tradition holds. And beliefs around the moon go further back than you realize. Even the language gives it away. The word lunatic comes from Latin. Luna means moon. Tick is Latin for Touched. So originally, it literally meant moon touched.

[A]

So the idea that the moon messes with your mind is baked right into our vocabulary from the jump.

[C]

Yeah, totally. Ancient cultures believe the moon caused madness, crime, emotional instability. Women were often central to that story. You know, women out at night, women's cycles, intuition, healing. Suddenly every woman became, you know, a witch by the moonlight.

[A]

Huh. Well, there are women today wrapped up with the moon and cycles, and they call themselves witches, I suppose. Right? That's a thing.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, that's definitely a thing. But now it's framed as, you know, empowerment or spirituality instead of suspicion. And the claims about spells and the moon's powers today from these modern witchy women are just as misguided as the ones that say, you know, the full

[A]

moon means more crime, but police officers make full moon claims too. If there's more moonlight, is there more violence? I mean, it kind of seems plausible. Not because of metaphysical reasons, but people are out later, there's more light, so they get up to no good. Or they drink more. I don't know. I'm not sure.

[C]

I mean, it is a good theory until you look at the actual crime data. So, homicides, assaults, domestic violence, robberies. Decades of records across lots of cities show no consistent relationship with lunar phases. One study looked at four years of crime data just in Ohio. No effect. And a 2009 meta analysis reviewed multiple studies and found again, nothing. I know. Firefighters say it, 911 dispatchers say it, EMTs say it. So the belief reinforces itself across professions, but there's just no pattern.

[A]

So does anything predict busy ER nights or more police activity?

[C]

Yeah, more boring things, you know, nothing. Lunar. Hospital admissions and ER visits show weekly patterns. Monday morning heart attacks are more common. Oh, man. It's thought to be returning to work stress.

[A]

Depressing.

[C]

Yeah, it's horrible. Traffic accidents increase on specific days and times. You can probably imagine.

[A]

Yeah, Friday night, Saturday night. When people are dumb and drinking.

[C]

Right, Exactly. After the bar closes.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And these patterns are predictable and consistent. There's a clear weekend effect where more recreational and alcohol related incidents happen.

[A]

That's predictable.

[C]

It's all predictable, completely. Hospitals, police and emergency services all know when chaos is coming. So they prepare for things like holidays, major events, even paydays. You know, New Year's Eve, fourth of July, Super Bowl, Sunday. These move the numbers. Not lunar phases, but a chaotic ER shift. It's explained by day of the week, time of day, local events, weather, holidays, staffing levels matter. But then someone says, hey, it's a full moon. That becomes the explanation. So we ignore the mundane factors and grab onto the cosmic one. You know, there's a lunacy myth in psychiatry that's been thoroughly debunked. Modern studies should show no increase in psychiatric admissions, suicide rates or self harm incidents during full moons. Crisis hotline calls don't spike either. But you hear people say that.

[A]

Yeah, you do. I swear I've heard that some places used to staff up for the full moon or whatever. Right?

[C]

That's 100% true.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Despite no evidence. And then we get a scheduling effect. So when hospitals staff up for full moons, more staff means more observations, more documented incidents. See, we were right to staff up.

[A]

Right. Okay, so. But in this case, they've created the pattern they were looking for.

[C]

Yeah, exactly. It's not science. It's a self fulfilling prophecy. So the distribution is random for all the things people claim happen more frequently under a full moon.

[A]

So this is the part that I still struggle with. These are trained professionals. They work with people, they work with data. Why doesn't the evidence land?

[C]

It's a great question. I know. Well, I don't think it's an intelligence problem. It's like a human brain problem. It's these systemic routines and these learned procedures and the stories.

[A]

Oh, good, that's worse. But I guess we see it all the time on the show, right? Especially on Skeptical Sunday because a ton of these topics come down to, hey, cognitive bias actually exists.

[C]

Yeah, sure. And it's because they work nights, so they see the moon often.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

If you work nights, you're missing daylight and this affects you way more than the moon phase. Plus, their jobs are stressful, can be unpredictable and emotionally intense, and humans hate that kind of randomness. So anecdotes are shared and reinforced among colleagues. You know, remember that crazy full moon last month? Because the calm nights don't become stories.

[A]

I know. What I've seen with my own lying eyes always beats statistics every time.

[C]

Right. It's subconscious confirmation bias. Right. You don't realize you're doing it. It makes you notice and remember information that confirms existing beliefs and ignore or forget information that contradicts them. So even when confronted with the data, personal experience feels more real, you know?

[A]

Yeah. Okay, so this is the part where I have to tell a personal example that makes me look like a bit of an idiot. But when I was younger, my mom, who's a very reasonable person, my whole family, we lived on the street and there was like a main road that turned onto a side street like most people. And there's a Street light in that little turn, right? Because it's a turn. You want a nice street light there. So we would turn and come home. And a lot of the time that light would turn off as we turned under it. And it was like, whoa, that's weird. It happened so often over the period of, I don't know, 15 or 20 years or however long I lived in that area. And my mom would be like, oh, that's a thing that happens to me all the time. And then when her father passed away, she's like, oh, it's my father saying hello. I mean, she was, you know, sort of tongue in cheek with that part, but she was like, look, that light turns off. It's like a special thing that happens for me. And I. Then as I. When I started driving and I went to college and stuff like that, and I started coming home late, I also would notice that that light would turn off for me. And I would be like, mom, I have the light thing too. And she'd be like, oh, it runs in the family, or whatever. And so this is all sort of pre Internet. Later, when the Internet became more of a thing and there were news groups and science discussions and stuff, I remember being like, okay, what's the real reason for this? So I posted about it, and that's when somebody basically had to explain what confirmation bias is. And they're like, you don't notice the thousand times that light didn't turn off when you drove under it. You only notice the time that it did. Even if it's one in 10 times, you're like, that light, there it goes, turns off when I drive under it. You just don't notice when a light that's in an area with other lights doesn't turn off. Why would you notice that? And then another guy on the same board, this is like a news group or whatever, another guy chimes in and is like, hey, this is my time to shine. So here's the thing. I build these, and inside the light, there's something called. I think it's called a solenoid or something, and it's some electronic component. And the problem is older ones that are like the ones in streetlights that are on, on all the time, they get hot. And what they are programmed to do when they get hot is turn off so that they don't melt. And it's like, oh, okay. So the streetlight turning off is totally random. It has to do with how hot the solenoid or whatever inside gets. That plus confirmation bias makes you think you have A mystical power to turn off lights when you drive onto them.

[C]

How bummed were you? You got the stacks?

[A]

I was pretty happy because I don't like the idea of, like, supernatural stuff. There's always an explanation for things. But that was sort of my entree into being like every time somebody thinks they have some sort of superpower or something is too crazy of a coincidence. It's probably something like this. And it is actually.

[C]

And it is. It's why showing people data often doesn't work too, because they've just programmed their mind to think. That's why that light is going off.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And the data is forgettable. Experiences are memorable. So people often double down when confronted with contradicting evidence. The moon is basically the perfect trigger for our pattern seeking brain. You know, it's regular, it's visible, and it's culturally loaded.

[A]

And pattern seeking is what we're all about. We can't help it. As a species.

[C]

We cannot. You know, humans evolved to detect patterns. It's a survival mechanism. Because it's better to see patterns that aren't there than miss real danger. You know, we're biased toward finding connections. And the moon shows up like a giant spotlight, and our minds go, something's happening.

[A]

And we're only really watching the moon half the time. Right. At night, I don't see what's going on there during the day.

[C]

That's the spotlight effect. So full moons are bright, beautiful, and noticeable. New moons are invisible. So unless you live somewhere with no light pollution, you're not consciously tracking new

[A]

moons, which is increasingly rare, as we discussed in episode 1237. Right. You got very few places have no light pollution. So, yeah, I don't know. I'm not tracking the moon at all. I just. If I needed it, I would look at some website that does that.

[C]

I guess you could put on that planets app.

[A]

There you go.

[C]

Yeah. So when a chaotic night happens during a new moon, you don't connect it to the lunar cycle. You blame literally anything else. But when something dramatic happens during a full moon, it feels connected. And you can see this when people try to match big events to lunar phases. You know, for example, less than 50% of the moon was illuminated on 9 11. So that didn't get blamed. Right. Meanwhile, November 28, 2012 is known for being the most peaceful day ever recorded in New York City. There just was no murders, there were no shootings, no stabbings.

[A]

Huh.

[C]

And it was a full moon. But people don't want to talk about that because it goes against their right it's the craziest on the full moon,

[A]

I have to say. How crazy is that? That there's one day over a decade ago where it's like, hey, nobody got murdered, shot or stabbed in the city. And it's not like, oh, there was no crime. I mean, there was still crime. It's just that nobody died or got shot or got stabbed. There were no murders or attempted murders, basically, on one day 13 years ago. I mean, that's just, to me, like,

[C]

we need to celebrate it.

[A]

Yikes. So catastrophe doesn't line up with the phase of the moon.

[C]

Yeah, not at all. There's just no correlation to catastrophe and the moon's appearance.

[A]

I guess this is massive observational bias because you're only testing your theory once a month during full moons.

[C]

Right. And this creates what psychologists call illusory correlation, seeing a relationship where none exists. So the relationships that might exist aren't as exciting as, well, traffic sucks, must be a full moon or he's a werewolf or whatever, you know. Once again, our brains are pattern seeking

[A]

machines and we'll connect dots that aren't even there in order to create those patterns. So. So illusory correlation is the technical term for our moon problem.

[C]

Yeah, it's. The term was coined by psychologists Chapman and Chapman in 1967. It's all extensively studied from full moon to lunar eclipse.

[A]

Do lunar eclipses have special effects? People get pretty excited about these.

[C]

Oh, I mean, they're cool to look at for sure. So, you know, a lunar eclipse is when Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the moon. They happen about twice a year and they're visible from large portions of Earth. They're visually dramatic and it's like entertainment for humans, you know, but it's not physiological. But they're historically significant. Eclipses were terrifying to ancient cultures. They thought the sun and or moon was disappearing, and that was a really bad omen. And this fear persists in modern eclipse beliefs. You know, even though we understand the mechanics now, some believe lunar eclipses have even stronger effects than regular full moons. There's claims that are made about emotional intensity, spiritual significance, transformation. Some people claim health effects or behavioral changes, even impacts on pregnancy.

[A]

But the reality of a lunar eclipse is just. What? Nothing.

[C]

It's just Earth's shadow falling on the moon. The moon doesn't gain or lose power. It just receives less reflected sunlight temporarily. So there's no change in energy. There's no mechanism for behavioral change.

[A]

Still beautiful though, I'll give it that.

[C]

Yeah, incredibly. It's just not biologically relevant. So rare coincides with rare. If something unusual happens during an unusual eclipse, we connect them. Well, of course I felt weird there was a blood moon or, you know, whatever.

[A]

Right?

[C]

You know, this rarity just. It makes it more memorable, thereby strengthening confirmation bias. And so eclipses are beautiful astronomical events. They demonstrate orbital mechanics and give us perspective on our place in the universe. But they don't affect human behavior any more than regular full moons, which is to say, not at all. So enjoy them for what they are, but don't add mystical effects that just aren't there. This is all just another belief inherited from ancient medicine.

[A]

Got it.

[C]

So the moon isn't causing chaos. Our brains are. Which is arguably more impressive and a little more unsettling.

[A]

What's up with the blood moon? What is that? Because that sounds ominous. I mean, what's that all about?

[C]

The blood moon is just a specific time of year when the eclipse happens, and it makes it turn like a blood red. There has to be three bodies aligned during the full moon when the eclipse happens. So it's really specific things lined up in space.

[A]

Yeah, that's something straight out of a horror movie, though, right? Like the first blood moon. And then everyone's racing to, I don't know, make sure that they can't complete the ritual. Turns out the moon is not pulling on your blood, your brain, or your vibes, which means you don't get to blame celestial objects for your terrible personality anymore. While we sit with that uncomfortable truth, let's take a quick break. We'll be right back. This episode is sponsored in part by Wayfair. Up until recently, our backyard not dialed in. We had our smoker sitting on the ground, which is probably really dangerous, actually, because rain, but no table, no setup. Just kind of making it work. Then we finally fixed that with Wayfair. We got a legit grill table. It instantly made the whole space feel more organized, more functional, way more ready for summer. That's kind of been our experience with Wayfair across the board. We ended up getting a lot of home stuff from there, not just outdoor pieces. We picked up a really nice knife block for the kitchen, a laptop side table that I use all the time when I'm answering your emails, which I always do. It's one of those places where once you start looking around, you realize they've got pretty much everything. And what I like is how easy it is to find the right thing without wasting a ton of time. You can filter by style price reviews, so you're not just guessing. And with over 20 million verified five star reviews. That's a lot of furniture. You get a pretty good sense of what actually works in real homes. They also have Wayfair Verified, which is basically a shortcut to the good stuff. Their team vets products by hand for quality so you can shop with a lot more confidence no matter what your budget. Get prepped for patio season. For way less, head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W-A-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair Every style, every Home this episode is brought to you in part by Lufthansa. When people talk about travel, they usually focus on the destination, the hotel, the restaurants, all the stuff that happens after you land. But the flight is part of the experience too. Just like a great hotel can shape an entire trip, so can a great flight. That's exactly what Lufthansa Allegris is built around. On a long haul route, comfort matters more than people realize. If you're cramped, tired and can't relax, you feel it the second you land. But when a flight is comfortable, you can actually stretch out, rest, work, or just enjoy the ride. It changes the whole trip. I was thinking about that on my recent Intercontinental Lufthansa flight. I got so comfortable I honestly didn't want the flight to end, which is not something you say very often after a long international trip. That's why Lufthansa Allegris stands out. It's built around the idea that people travel differently. Lufthansa Allegris Business class has five seat options. You've got the suite, the privacy seat and the extra long bed, the extra space seat and the classic seat so you can choose what works for you. And that's what I like most. It feels elevated, but still practical. More privacy, more comfort, more thoughtful design for the way people actually travel. Now. Visit lufthansa.com and search for Allegris to learn more. Lufthansa Allegris all it takes is a yes. Limited availability on select routes. More routes coming soon. Thank you for listening to and supporting the show. Your support of our advertisers keeps the lights on around here. All of the deals, discount codes and ways to support the show are searchable and clickable on the [e-mail] deals now for the rest of Skeptical Sunday. All right, so do we have any relationship with the moon? What does it mess with? Tides and what?

[C]

Well, it's stuff we ignore. I mean, there is some irony here because we obsess over The Moon's mystical influence. Meanwhile, we ignore or downplay factors that actually are affected, like barometric pressure. That's measurable, it's documented, it's significant. But it sounds less romantic, so it doesn't capture our imagination the same way.

[A]

How is that related to the Moon?

[C]

Well, the moon's gravity. It doesn't just cause bulges in the oceans. It has the same effect on the atmosphere. So it can slightly change barometric pressure and air pressure changes have documented effects on human physiology. So barometric pressure is an underrated influence on us? Many people are sensitive to pressure changes, so drops in barometric pressure can trigger headaches and migraines. Arthritis sufferers often report increased pain before storms. And that's when the pressure drops. Or if you've ever broken a bone, you might have felt it. So those forces are thousands of times stronger than any lunar effect. Yep. We don't often track barometric phases.

[A]

Yeah, I've never heard anyone discuss it that way.

[C]

I know. Maybe we should, though. Because? Because some studies suggest low pressure systems are linked to fatigue and depression in some people. Pressure changes affect our sinus pressure, fluid balance, oxygen levels, even how our hair grows.

[A]

Huh. So things we actually experience in our bodies. Wow.

[C]

Right. And another place the moon's effect on us gets nuanced is with our sleep. So moonlight is bright enough to mess with melatonin. Even when it's a fraction of the sun's light, those photons hit your retina, they suppress melatonin and they affect your sleep.

[A]

So it's not gravity or energy or vibes. That's an argument for those blue blockers. Everyone's like, oh, that doesn't do anything. And I'm like, I don't know, man. When I put sunglasses or blue blockers on, I fricking get so tired so fast. But if I'm looking at a bright screen or my phone, I stay awake till 2 o' clock in the morning, no problem.

[C]

Right. And it's all about the light.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, it's the same thing that we mentioned. Affects the wildlife as well.

[A]

So the moon isn't controlling your sleep. Your curtains are controlling your sleep.

[C]

Absolutely. How dark your room is and how much artificial light you're surrounded by, too. You know, street lights, phones, screens. The moon just happens to be a natural light source, but it can affect sleep if it's coming through your window. This is not mystical, it's just light. And blackout curtains solve the problem. You don't need to cleanse your crystals. You need better window treatments.

[A]

So no mysticism, it's just light in your eyes. It's not lunar magic.

[C]

And it's about coincidences. For a long time I believed if a woman went off the grid, her menstrual cycle would link to the phases of the moon. But then you start to think about it and the average menstrual cycle is about 28 days. The lunar cycle is about 29 and a half.

[A]

That feels meaningful.

[C]

It does. The numbers feel close. There's intuitive appeal. And ancient cultures noticed this similarity and assumed a connection. But there's no evidence moonlight ever influenced ovulation. And large studies tracking real cycles show no synchronization. So if cycles were moon linked, periods would occur at the same lunar phase. They don't. A large study was done in the 80s. There's no correlation between menstrual onset and lunar phase. In 2013, a study with detailed tracking of women's cycles was done. Null relationship. A woman's cycle length, which can be anywhere between 21 to 35 days, makes consistent lunar sync impossible.

[A]

I'm still stuck on the light blockers thing. People wrote in, they were like, these are bs. These are bs. The eye strain stuff, the claims they make on a lot of the websites for it, those are not necessarily true. But if light suppresses melatonin, which it does, you can find science that shows that light from screens also does this. And usually I just feel the need to defend this because I recommended them to the whole show.

[C]

I feel like if people tried them, there's no contest.

[A]

The primary use case for me is at night when I'm on my phone looking at something or if I'm working late and I, you know, I don't want to be. Or I'm at an event and it's like, yeah, we're going to have a bar night and everyone's going to be out till 10, 30 or 11. And I'm like, I don't want to be full on blasted with that. I'm going to show up in blue blockers and kind of hang out for a bit or a late dinner. I'll hang out for a bit and then I'll go to bed and I fall asleep like right away. Because it doesn't take me all that time to have my eyes adjust. And it's just, I don't know. Look, there's scientific backing for that. I found it specifically because I didn't want to recommend something that was bunk anyway.

[C]

And on the opposite end too, there's studies that say if you wear sunglasses too much it's sort of the opposite thing because you're not getting natural light into your eyes. Ah, there's all kinds of thoughts on that, too. Like, don't always wear sunglasses.

[A]

No, just at night when I. Before I'm trying to do the wind down. Go to sleep. All right. Anyway, so the similarity in cycle length that you just mentioned, that. Man, that makes it feel true. The whole women's cycle, moon cycle thing.

[C]

I know, but. And some women report feeling more connected to the moon, which is valid.

[A]

Sounds so science.

[C]

It has a personal experience. Right. But it's not a biological mechanism. If your period happens during a full moon once or twice, you remember it. It's just more confirmation bias.

[A]

Okay, so what about pets? There's something there, right? People swear their dogs and cats get weird about it. What's going on there?

[C]

Yeah, that's a big one. But veterinary ers show the same pattern as human ones. No lunar effect. We see the same variables affecting animal care professionals as human healthcare workers, though.

[A]

Dogs don't lose their mind either, then.

[C]

No. If an animal is outside at night, brighter nights can change their activity. More light equals more movement. But again, that's light, not the lunar phase itself. Okay, there's no documented evidence that dogs, cats, or other domestic pets act differently during full moons. There's Internet forums full of anecdotes. But plural of anecdote isn't data so true. If you're in a windowless room, you're not going to see those same changes, right?

[A]

No werewolves transforming under the moon.

[C]

Of course not. But the origins of werewolves come from ancient European folklore, and it taps into a deep human fear of losing control, becoming bestial, something dangerous. The full moon makes symbolic sense as a trigger. You know, it's a bright night. Things that are usually hidden become visible. The moon itself appears to transform, so it feels logical that it might transform other things. But what started as this metaphor eventually became literal in folklore.

[A]

Don't tell me people still believe in werewolves, though. This is like the most comical.

[C]

I looked. I looked. I did not come across anyone. But, you know, who knows? But when people say, oh, you get crazy during full moons, it's the same underlying belief. So something transforms when the moon is full. The mythology didn't disappear. We've just replaced werewolves with. I'm just more emotional or energetic or weird or whatever during full moons.

[A]

So what about farm animals, livestock? There's a lot of old farmer wisdom about livestock behavior during full moons.

[C]

Yeah, and there's been scientific studies on the moon and livestock. There are Again, no documented effects on cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, egg production, breeding success, you know, feeding behavior, all of it. None show lunar patterns when properly studied. And lunar phase, independent of visibility, does not affect animal behavior. So, for example, a full moon on a cloudy night versus a clear night. The light matters, not the phase itself.

[A]

So if we're talking a little bit of sunlight, does the change of moonlight affect plans? Should we be lunar gardening? You know, you remember the old Farmer's Almanac? It's got these strong feelings about planting by the moon, right?

[C]

I mean, it's a very old tradition that goes back thousands of years across multiple cultures. To plant above ground crops during waxing moons, root crops during waning moons. The idea being that the moon gravity will move water and soil like tides. Evidence of this is really mixed. But I found when reputable researchers control for temperature, moisture and soil conditions, lunar effects totally disappear.

[A]

Okay, so it's the weather, not the moon. Surprise, surprise.

[C]

Yeah, right, right. Who knew? Controlled studies comparing plants grown by lunar calendar versus random planting show no difference in germination rates, growth rates, or even yields.

[A]

So why does the tradition persist at all? By the way, do they still put out the Farmer's Almanac?

[C]

Do we know they just announced the 2026 edition will be its last?

[A]

I know, kind of sad, slow demand for. For nonsense, woo woo farming technology.

[C]

But it's just all based on tradition. You know, grandpa did it this way and had good harvests. And planting times in almanacs often coincide with good weather patterns for specific regions. It's just more confirmation bias. But when lunar planting, you know, quote unquote works, it's remembered failures are attributed to other factors. So many farmers continue traditions even while understanding they're not mechanistic. So the harm is minimal, though if it encourages people to garden, it's not causing real problems. There's a whole biodynamic farming movement which takes lunar agriculture even further with additional mystical elements. It has no scientific support, but it's really popular among some organic farmers. I mean, that said, if lunar gardening's getting people outside touching plants, I mean, I think it's mostly harmless as long as we don't pretend it's physics or biology. It's just interesting to see how pre scientific traditions get repackaged as alternative wisdom.

[A]

Alternative wisdom? Like crystal charging in moonlight and the moon water trends I see all over social media. Social media is deep into this.

[C]

Oh, so deep. Lunar haircutting is a big one these days. Have you seen this?

[A]

No, obviously not.

[C]

The hashtag has over like a Billion views. So the idea is that you cut your hair during a new moon for growth, a full moon for strength, and a waning moon to slow growth. So the thing is, our hair growth is controlled by genetics, Our hormones, our diet. The moon has zero effect. But some salons now charge more for a nighttime full moon cut.

[A]

Okay, you know, I've got to ask. What if I want the hair on my head to grow more, but I want the hair elsewhere to stay short? Do I wax during a waning moon, but I go to my barber during a new moon? What's going on here?

[C]

Oh, Jordan. I mean, your schedule's pretty complicated already, but, yeah, sure, throw moon waxes on your calendar.

[A]

Yeah, I need to see Coco on Tuesday. You don't understand. It's important.

[C]

Me charging you $1,000.

[A]

I'm just going to end up getting banned from European Wax Center. That's what's going to happen. And, sir, we've asked you not to come in when you don't have an appointment. You don't get it. It's a waxing gibbous. I need this ripped out now. Oh, man. All right. I feel I. You know, I just don't feel bad for whoever's paying for this stuff. So, to be clear, all the crystal moon charging stuff is clearly not. I think we've done crystals. I mean, it's nonsense. Yeah, yeah.

[C]

I mean, as far as crystals go, it's all nonsense. Of course, crystals don't absorb lunar energy or get cleansed by moonlight. It's just. Just not how it works. No mechanism exists for the moon to charge objects with energy. But if that kind of ritual is good for you spiritually, fine. Just don't call it science. Same with charging water under the full moon, which has become a thing like social media, has amplified these practices enormously.

[A]

Oh, yeah, Instagram TikTok full of moon water tutorials.

[C]

I mean, moon water, that's literally just water that sat outside.

[A]

Right. So most water.

[C]

Most water. I've seen the claims that full moon water has special properties or healing energy. It doesn't.

[A]

Right.

[C]

It doesn't gain special molecular structure or properties. In fact, in science, moon water is a real term, but it refers to ice or molecules on the moon that provide evidence water once existed there.

[A]

Some people say a moon water event is a meaningful ritual and that it helps them feel centered. What do you think about that?

[C]

That's valid, if that's how that makes you feel. But don't confuse that with a scientific physical claim. You know, if anyone says moon water, Cures illness run. That's misinformation.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

When mystical explanations replace physical understanding, that creates scientific illiteracy and that can be expensive. People sell moon charged products at premium prices.

[A]

People are buying pre charged by the moon products. That's hilarious.

[C]

It's whole category on Etsy. Water crystals, oils, sprays, all infused with lunar energy during specific moon phases for various rituals. There's one product that has a warning to avoid charging certain crystals in moonlight.

[A]

I would love to know what they think is going to happen if you do. Gosh, sounds legit. Nothing speaks cosmic truth like an Etsy listing. Am I right? Right.

[C]

What do you do? I'm a astrophysicist. Okay. I'm a Gemini. Amazing.

[A]

That's from. I like the Bachelor Australia or something. I hope it's staged and that she has a great sense of humor, but

[C]

you know, I feel like that was genuine.

[A]

She probably sells moon charged crystals on Etsy for a living.

[C]

Yeah, definitely. I mean, you can have meaningful rituals without making false scientific claims. Prepackaged spiritual practices, they appeal to people seeking meaning and that's a lot of people. So moon beliefs have evolved, but they haven't disappeared. You know, we've gone from the moon causes lunacy to the moon charges my crystals. It's a different language, but it's the same fundamental misunderstanding of lunar influence. It just shows how pseudoscience adapts to cultural trends. The core error is still attributing properties to the moon that it doesn't have.

[A]

Debunking all this, it makes me worry that it's taking away some of the magic. People love the idea of being connected to the cosmos. I mean, even before you're like, oh, we surveyed women and they reported feeling connected to the moon, like, okay, fine,

[C]

we are connected to the cosmos. Just we take it to a strange place, you know, take it too far. Yeah, but you can keep wondering without inventing fake mechanisms. The complex interplay of weather, light, biology and social factors is fascinating. So understanding actual causes is more empowering than blaming the moon. You can still love the moon, just love it for what it is.

[A]

It's just so ingrained in us that the moon is doing a lot more than it actually is.

[C]

I know. Yeah. And it just all stems from ancient peoples. They were observant and intelligent, but they just lacked the tools to test properly. So lunar effects were reasonable hypothesis. What's less reasonable is maintaining these beliefs in the age of large scale data analysis.

[A]

But considering it's been doing the quiet work of stabilizing Earth for billions of years. It's still amazing to gaze at the moon and appreciate its beauty.

[C]

Absolutely. I love it. I literally had my telescope out the other night. It's a fascinating object. Just thinking about the photons that bounced off the moon's surface and traveled all the way to your eye is incredible. The tides it creates across our oceans, the way it stabilized Earth long enough for life to exist. I mean, it's been lighting up nights for our entire history. Ancient cultures tracked it, they navigated by it and scheduled their lives around it. Astronauts walked on it. All of that is real, and all of that is enough. You don't need to add magical properties to make it special, because the moon does extraordinary things, just not to your personality.

[A]

So the next time someone says, must be a full moon, when something weird happens, you can smile, you can nod and remember, it's not the moon. The moon is just showing up on time every time the chaos part is on us. Which honestly is way more interesting than blaming a rock in space. So the moon, it'll still be up there tonight. Silent, predictable, and completely innocent. Unlike many of us. Thanks, Jess. I'm. I'm over the moon after this episode. I really appreciate that. Thank you so much. And thank you all for listening. Topic suggestions for future episodes of Skeptical Sunday directly to me jordanordanharbinger.com advertisers, deals, discounts, ways to support the show, [e-mail] deals I'm @jordan Harbinger on Twitter and Instagram. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn. You can find Jessica on her substacks, between the lines and where shadows linger. We'll link to those in the show notes as well. This show is created in association with Podcast One. My team is Jen Harbinger, Jace Sanderson, Tata Sidlowskis, Robert Fogarty, Ian Baird, and Gabriel Mizrahi. Our advice and opinions are our own. And yeah, I might be a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. Of course we try to get everything as right as we can in these episodes. Not everything is gospel, though, even if it is fact checked. So consult a qualified professional before applying anything you hear on the show, especially if it's about your health and well being. Be careful. Don't charge those crystals in moonlight if they say not to. Remember, we rise by lifting others. Share the show with those you love. And if you found the episode useful, please share it with somebody else who could use a good dose of the skepticism and knowledge we doled out today. In the meantime, I hope you apply what you hear on the show so you can live what you learn and we'll see you next time. You probably don't picture drug cartel operations running through rural America, but that's exactly why they're so hard to stop. Mariana Van Zeller breaks down how these networks hide in plain sight using everyday systems and small town blind spots to stay one step ahead.

[D]

I've been covering the cartel for many years and I sort of wanted to do a story about cartel presence in the U.S. and once we started researching it, I realized that actually the story should be about all the things that we don't know about cartel presence in the U.S. including the fact that they're in small town America. So one of our first shoots for that episode was in Georgia and we started with a murder investigation of this woman who was tortured and they cut off her finger and then eventually killed her and she was killed by the cartel and it was in the middle of nowhere in Georgia. And then we followed the investigation and Jihad realized that they're everywhere and particularly like to operate in small town America. Less law enforcement, easier to hide the drugs and have their distribution networks. You know what was so interesting about that story is that in order to get access to the cartel in the US we actually had to go down to Mexico and gain perhaps and have them say yes, because a lot of these groups have people that work for them in west, obviously the US Is the end goals where they're sending their drugs. And so eventually he said, okay, we've got you. And it was all set up and we were supposed to meet them in Minnesota. We get there and then we waited and waited and waited for days and the guy never showed up. I want people to see many of these traffickers again. We do not condone what they do. It's difficult to even empathize. But the majority of the people that I talk to are people just like you and me that don't have the opportunities or the luck that we have. I try to always do my job as a journalist, which is hold people accountable.

[A]

If you want to hear how cartels hide in plain sight, Check out episode 1302 of the Jordan Harbinger Show. If you like this show, there's another podcast you should check out. If you want to stay informed about what's happening around the world without drowning in noise, check out the President's Daily Brief. It's built for people who want the big stories fast and clear. Think 20 minutes in the morning, then a quick 10 minute update in the afternoon. Just focused coverage of the developments shaping the world right now, from the Middle east and Venezuela to China, Russia and beyond, with an emphasis on what actually has real world consequences for the United States. The show's hosted by Mike Baker, a veteran of the CIA with decades of first hand experience. So you're getting smart analysis from somebody who's been inside the system. You get straightforward context to help you understand what's happening and why it matters. Follow the President's daily brief wherever you get your podcasts and stay ahead of the curve. And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[C]

Hey everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[A]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent.

[C]

Liberty Liberty. Liberty Liberty. At Energy Trust of Oregon, we know it isn't easy. The tremendous weight of today's operating costs. Working in cold, drafty spaces with inefficient heating systems or under lights that have seen brighter days. But we also know how to help you upgrade those systems, lower those costs and meet the demands of your business with smart, energy efficient solutions. Find cash [e-mail] Energy Trust of Oregon. More power to you.

[A]

I'm Kiana and I leveled up my business with Shopify. Once I figured out that Shopify was a thing, I never turned back. I can create a site with my eyes closed. Shopify thinks ahead of know and it thinks about the customer more than anything. Every day I'm thinking about some other new business, but Shopify is doing it to me because it's so easy to use. It's like I can't stop. I'm addicted.

[B]

Start your free trial at Shopify.

[A]

Com.