The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

Michelle E. Ainsworth reviews the book: The Witch of Lime Street: Séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World, by David Jaher.

In this week’s eSkeptic, we present a transcript of a classic lecture on skepticism delivered by James Randi at the inaugural session of the Skeptics Society’s Distinguished Lecture Series at Caltech on April 12, 1992. With wit and wonderfully illustrative examples, Randi teaches us several lessons on the scientific investigation of unusual claims. (This transcript appeared in Skeptic magazine volume 1, number 1, Spring 1992. Order this lecture on DVD.)

Psychic readings and fortunetelling are an ancient art — a combination of acting and psychological manipulation. While some psychics are known to cheat and acquire information ahead of time, these ten tips focus on what is known as “cold reading” — reading someone “cold” without any prior knowledge about them…

Let me admit from the start that I have a murky and conflicted relationship with the quaint concept of “psi”. On the one hand, trained as a physical scientist, I find little to admire about a field that has almost nothing to show after a century and a half of strenuous and diligent effort…

From uttering a prayer before boarding a plane, to exploring past lives through hypnosis, why has superstition become so pervasive in an age of science? Robert Park, the University of Maryland physics professor and the best-selling author of Voodoo Science, asks why people persist in superstitious convictions long after science has shown them to be ill-founded…

In this week’s eSkeptic, Jason Colavito comes to the rescue of fiction with a skeptical defense of television shows that incorporate the supernatural.

In this week’s eSkeptic, Calvin Campbell shares his lively and strange personal experience with psychic “thoughtographer” Ted Serios.

In this week’s eSkeptic, Michael Shermer reviews The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson.

In this week’s eSkeptic, John Olmsted reviews the fantasy docudrama and cult hit What the #$*! Do We Know?.