The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

Episode Notes for
Folklore and Urban Legends
(episode 112)

Heather Joseph-Witham

We are joined by Heather Joseph-Witham, Associate Professor in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Department at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. She has a PhD in Folklore and Mythology from UCLA. In this episode, we talk about folklore as an academic field, urban legends, the nature of culture and story, and much more…

Further Reading

• Star Trek Fans and Costume Art (Folk Art and Artists)
• Understanding the Ghost Flashlight Trick
• Electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) skepticism
• Encyclopedia of Urban Legends
• Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends
• The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings
• The Big Book of Urban Legends: 200 True Stories, Too Good to be True!
• Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends
• American Folklore: An Encyclopedia
• Folklore: A Study and Research Guide
• more books on urban legends and folklore, by Jan Harold Brunvand

Music

• Monstertalk Theme: Monster by Peach Stealing Monkeys

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