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Episode Notes for
Darwin vs. the Wolfman

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Brian Regal

In this episode

  • The ties between silver and werewolves appears to derive from the 1941 Universal film The Wolfman.
  • Before the 1941 film most werewolf legends involved people becoming wolves by ritual.
  • America has legends of wolfmen in Wisconsin, described in the book The Beast of Bray Road by Linda Godfrey.
  • While many sightings have been reported, there is no scientific evidence of a wolfman living in Wisconsin.
  • Most of the lore of werewolves (and vampires) in pop-culture derive from movies — especially The Wolfman.
  • Ancient legends of werewolves involved magical rituals, Satan, and cannibalism.
  • Darwin’s theory does not allow for humans and wolves to produce hybrids.
  • The rise of science and materialism demystified werewolves, but did nothing to diminish belief in the supernatural overall.
  • Brian shares a story about his experience with creationists who want to leverage cryptozoology to promote their beliefs.
  • He also tells us a bit about his new book Pesudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia

For more information on pseudoscience topics covered in this episode:
http://whatstheharm.net/colloidalsilver.html
http://whatstheharm.net/reparativetherapy.html

Episode Transcript

Read a complete transcript of this episode

The views expressed on this program are not necessarily the views of the Skeptics Society or Skeptic magazine.

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