Podcast
The Skeptic Podcast
Hosted by The Skeptic · ENGLISH
The official podcast of The Skeptic, the UK’s longest-running publication offering skeptical analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal.
64episodes
Episodes
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Episode #063
6d agoTap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020. On this episode: Andrew Tate's misogynistic BRUV political party is a joke we should take seriously by Abi Kennedy from February 2025 The Truth of Skinwalker Ranch… probably won’t shock you by Nick Garratt from April 2025 Perspectives on Peer Review by Edzard Ernst from November 2020The Better Way conspiracy conference went all-in on the moral panic around trans people by Aaron Rabinowitz from August 2023 Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
Transcribe →Episode #062
2w agoTap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.On this episode:The Tartarian Conspiracy: a silly pseudo-archaeology for our serious times by Dave Hahn from April 2025In the face of AI-driven encyclopedia, cherish Wikipedia - and original sources by Hayley Stevens from December 2025Lytham's 'Beast of Green Drive': The Monster that almost certainly wasn’t by Andy Owens from October 2022Understanding the origins of the 15-Minute City panic takes just 30 minutes by Tim Jokl from February 2025Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
Transcribe →Episode #061
3w agoTap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.On this episode:Attempts to "bring back" the woolly mammoth distract us from vital conservationist goals by Sarah Hearne from November 2021The anti-fluoridation movement is born of public health mistrust and misinformation by Elissar Gerges from January 2025Auriculotherapy: why poking needles into your earlobe is, essentially, pointless by Edzard Ernst from December 2023Patients with Alzheimer's deserve care and dignity - not false hope of miracle cures by Lena Bohman from January 2025Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
Transcribe →Episode #060
4w agoTap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020.On this episode:Conclave raises fascinating questions about hypothetical scenarios within the Catholic Church, by Gabriel Andrade, from January 2025Coping with Death: Why the 5 stages of grief don’t tell the whole story, by Sarah Hearne, from May 2021A brief history of radio-phobia: new technology is always met with fear and uncertainty, by Sean Slater, from February 2024Brazil’s Covid-19 inquiry puts pseudoscience on trial, by Natalia Pasternak, from June 2021Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
Transcribe →Episode #059
Apr 10Tap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020. On this episode: Exploring the limits of skepticism. Part 3: The value of adversarial collaborations, by Chris French, from January 2026Rachel Elnaugh: the Dragon's Den star and Covid conspiracist preparing for the 'food apocalypse', by Mark Horne, from January 2023Counterweight, and the continued enabling of bad faith 'anti-woke' actors, by Aaron Rabinowitz, from July 2021The much-hyped UAP report’s lack of substance will do little to deter avid UFO believers, by Nigel Watson, from July 2021Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
Transcribe →Episode #058
Apr 3Tap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020. On this episode: Exploring the limits of skepticism. Part 2: The plot thickens, by Chris French, from November 2025Cheap talk skepticism: why we need to push back against those who are 'just asking questions', by Aaron Rabinowitz, from January 2021Fact checking a live debate taught me we shouldn't let political falsehoods stand, by Brian Eggo, from March 2021How genuine is cultural commentators' 'concern' for OnlyFans model Lily Phillips?, by Abi Kennedy, from January 2025Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
Transcribe →Episode #057
Mar 27Tap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020. On this episode: Exploring the limits of skepticism. Part 1: We need an Epilogue, by Chris French, from September 2025Those who define as 'post-tribal' forget that we all have communities - and biases, by Aaron Rabinowitz, from November 2021From the outset, chiropractors have held anti-vax views – sadly, not much has changed, by Edzard Ernst, from October 2020 Rapa Nui: European myths mask the reason for societal collapse on Easter Island - colonialism, by Sarah Hearne, from August 2021Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
Transcribe →Episode #056
Mar 20Tap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020. On this episode: Animals, acupuncture and alt-med: the Brazilian penguin being subjected to Enya, by Natalia Pasternak, from November 2024Donald Trump's survival was no miracle - unlikely things happen, without supernatural interference, by Gabriel Andrade, from July 2024Another mass shooting in America cites the Great Replacement conspiracy theory as motivation, by Dave Hahn, from June 2022The assisted dying conversation requires sensitive and compassionate debate, by Brian Eggo, from January 2025Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
Transcribe →Episode #055
Mar 13Tap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020. On this episode: The shaky evidence for medical cannabis, by Dave Hahn, from June 2023Paul McCartney and The Bates Method of eyesight restoration, by Mark Horne, from July 2021Brazil's bogus "Covid kit" represents a failure of private healthcare regulation, by Natália Pasternak, from April 2021From the archives: Fact checking the decibels at Wimbledon, by Wendy Grossman, from April 2012 Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
Transcribe →Episode #054
Mar 6Tap to summarizeFrom the pages of The Skeptic magazine, this is The Skeptic podcast, bringing you the best of the magazine’s expert analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal since its relaunch as online news source in September 2020. On this episode: How Religion Trumped Science in America’s Coronavirus Response, by Noah Lugeons, from November 2020If we're going to convince the vaccine hesitant, we need to tackle conspiratorial thinking, by Dave Hahn, from May 2021Spotify Trapped? The algorithm is not what's keeping you from new music, by Nick Garrett, from December 2024The Cost of Loving: falling birthrates, and the increased role of personal choice in procreation, by Deborah Hyde, from July 2022Find more from The Skeptic at skeptic.org.uk, or to support the show, take out a small voluntary donation at patreon.com/theskeptic
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