Stuart Vyse reports on how the popular podcast The Telepathy Tapes, which promotes debunked pseudoscientific methods of communication among nonspeaking autistic individuals—including telepathy—attempted to silence critics with a copyright claim.

Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-telepathy-tapes-tries-to-silence-a-critic-and-fails/

About the Author:

Stuart Vyse is a psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, which won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. He is also author of Going Broke: Why Americans Can’t Hold on to Their Money. As an expert on irrational behavior, he is frequently quoted in the press and has made appearances on CNN International, the PBS NewsHour, and NPR’s Science Friday. He can be found on Twitter at @stuartvyse.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Nick Tiller unpacks how wellness influencers and companies scapegoat seed oils to sell overpriced alternatives, despite a lack of scientific evidence supporting claims that seed oils are harmful. He argues that the attack on seed oils is part of a broader anti-science narrative driven by identity-based marketing, profit motives, and distrust of mainstream health institutions.

Read this article and find accompanying references at :https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-seed-oil-gambit/

About the Author:

Dr Nick Tiller is an exercise scientist and author of The Skeptic’s Guide to Sports Science, named one of Book Authority’s “Best Sports Science Books of All Time.” He’s a columnist at Skeptical Inquirer and an elected Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. www.nbtiller.com

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

In this "flashback" episode of Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition, Rob Palmer reads an article from his "The Well-Known Skeptic" online column at skepticalinquirer.org, originally published on January 8, 2020. Palmer recounts a frustrating museum tour at the Museo de Sitio Intiñan near Quito, Ecuador, where guides perform pseudoscientific demonstrations—like water draining in different directions on either side of the equator—to mislead tourists.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/ecuadorian-equatorial-pseudoscience/

About the Author:

Rob Palmer has had a diverse career in engineering, having worked as a spacecraft designer, an aerospace project engineer, a computer programmer, and a software systems engineer. Rob became a skeptical activist when he joined the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia team in 2016, and began writing for skepticalinquirer.org in 2018. Rob can be contacted at TheWellKnownSkeptic@gmail.com Like Rob's Facebook page to get notified when his articles are published.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Stuart Vyse’s investigation into the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) reveals an organization, once rich in both assets and history, that has all but collapsed.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-demise-of-the-american-society-for-psychical-research/

About the Author:

Stuart Vyse is a psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, which won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. He is also author of Going Broke: Why Americans Can’t Hold on to Their Money. As an expert on irrational behavior, he is frequently quoted in the press and has made appearances on CNN International, the PBS NewsHour, and NPR’s Science Friday. He can be found on Twitter at @stuartvyse.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of Skeptical Inquirer and the Center for Inquiry.

Stephen reflects on a investigative career in memory of Joe Nickell.

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/04/joe-nickell-leaves-a-legacy-of-intrigue-and-solved-mysteries/

About the Author:

Stephen Hupp, PhD, is editor of Skeptical Inquirer. He is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and professor of Clinical Child & School Psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

In late 2024 and early 2025, reports of mysterious drone swarms over New Jersey and U.S. military bases triggered widespread media coverage and public concern, culminating in official statements from the Air Force and President Trump. Skeptical investigator Mick West debunked many of these sightings—often just misidentified planes—by promoting the need for “DTLs” (date, time, and location) to verify such claims through flight tracking and 3D reconstructions.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/04/mysterious-drone-sightings-give-me-the-dtls-dates-times-locations/

About the Author:

Mick West is a writer, investigator, and debunker who enjoys looking into the evidence behind conspiracy theories and strange phenomena and then explaining what is actually going on. He runs the Metabunk forum, tweets @mickwest, and is the author of the book “Escaping the Rabbit Hole”.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Pseudoscientific claims that chemotherapy kills more than it saves are dangerously misleading; in reality, chemotherapy has significantly improved survival rates for numerous cancers, including childhood leukemia and HER2-positive breast cancer. Rejecting evidence-based treatments in favor of "natural" alternatives drastically increases the risk of death, a trend driven by wellness industry disinformation and medical conspiracism.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/04/cancer-misinformation-kills-chemotherapy-saves-lives/

About the Author:

Dr. Andrea Love is an immunologist and microbiologist with over a decade of experience in basic sciences, translational medicine, and clinical research. She is a subject-matter expert in infectious disease immunology, cancer immunology, and autoimmunity and is adept at translating complex scientific data and topics for the public and healthcare providers. She works full-time in life science biotechnology in the fields of vaccinology, immunology, immunotherapy, cancer, cell and gene therapy, and other related fields. While she will always be a biomedical scientist, she has a passion for helping the public understand complex science topics in order to navigate the world better. She is also the author of Immunologic, a newsletter and science information hub that communicates evidence-based information on science and health topics. Andrea is also the Executive Director of the American Lyme Disease Foundation, and was the 2023 American Medical Writers Association McGovern Award Recipient. She is passionate about scientific literacy starting from an early age and encouraging children toward a career in STEM. Outside of her career in science and efforts in science communication, she lives near Philly with her partner and their 7 rescue cats. She is a marathoner and ultramarathoner, a yogi, a black belt in judo, and an amateur wildlife photographer.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Vazquez and Trecek-King discuss the importance of epistemic vigilance—critical thinking about our beliefs and biases—to combat misinformation. They emphasize that while educators work to teach students to evaluate claims and sources, the more difficult challenge is addressing our own vulnerabilities to misinformation, and suggests that critical thinking should be integrated not only in schools but also in workplaces, communities, and through everyday conversations to foster a culture of skepticism.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/04/critical-thinking-about-our-vulnerabilities-to-misinformation/

About the Authors:

Bertha Vazquez has been teaching middle school science in Miami-Dade County Public Schools for 24 years. She has BA in Biology from the University of Miami and a Master’s in Science Education from Florida International University. A seasoned traveler who has visited all seven continents, she enjoys introducing the world of nature and science to young, eager minds. An educator with National Board Certification, she is the recipient of several national and local honors, including the 2014 Samsung’s $150,000 Solve For Tomorrow Contest and The Charles C. Bartlett National Excellence in Environmental Award in 2009. She was Miami-Dade Science Teacher of the Year in 1997 and 2008 and was one of Florida’s 2015 finalists for the most prestigious science award in the country, The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Melanie Trecek-King is an associate professor of biology at Massasoit Community College. Her website is www.ThinkingIsPower.com.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.