Episode 277 - Your Brain on Caricature, with Jacob Shaw
Release Date: 04/09/2026
Episode 283 - A skeptical look at Americana
Squaring the Strange
After a quick chat on the launch of a new climate data website, an exorcist who suggested UFOs were demons, and a FEMA leader getting transported out of his job, Ben and Celestia look at some classic Americana for this week's 250th Independence Day. What is Americana? Symbols, traditions, and folk heroes all fall under that category -- and all of those are also up for some skeptical examination from time to time. For instance, how important was the American flag to our nation's founders and early citizens? And did Betsy Ross really sew the first one, or is that a bit of posthumous hearsay...
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Episode 282 - CSI Con in Buffalo: 50 years of skepticism... plus a folklore con!
Squaring the Strange
The past two weeks, we have absorbed way too much to come up with our own content. And the speakers at the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research and CSI Con 2026 deserve some signal-boosting. So this episode is a recap of these two conventions -- one is skeptic-adjacent but starting to move toward the big tent of skepticism, and the other is the original circus that put up the tent back in 1976. Ben recounts interesting tidbits from his colleagues in folklore world, and then we go in-depth on the CSI Con held in Buffalo, New York for the 50th anniversary of the...
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Episode 281 - Glowing Aerial Jellyfish? Ben revisits the Pachacamac Video mystery
Squaring the Strange
First, we talk CSI Con Buffalo (coming soon!), a new study on how pigeons find their way, and the passing of an ad man who coined Ben's favorite skeptical phrase. Then we look back at a video taken at a gas station just outside Lima, Peru, in 2016 that perplexed viewers around the world. This is a great example to show the difference between hasty, dismissive skepticism and a truly thorough dive into solving the mystery. Ben peels back layer after layer until we have a hefty basket of clues that add up to a good conclusion. It all begins with an initial look at a video for the show "Strange...
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Episode 280 - Conspiracy rumors about Trump staging his assassination attempts
Squaring the Strange
First, some fun news bits on Knight Rider's K.I.T.T., how cats land on their feet, and a Times article debunking facilitated communication. Then, we talk Trump assassination rumors. This is a hot topic, and one that has many skeptics and level-headed people divided. A new poll shows a majority of Americans surveyed either thought the attempts on Donald Trump's life were staged, or were unsure whether they were staged or authentic. Trump, who has a long history of weaponizing conspiracy rumors about others, is now at the center of widely believed rumors that dismiss his assassination attempts...
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Episode 279 - SkeptiCamps and Mini-Cons, a breakdown and how-to
Squaring the Strange
After some chatter about the recent UAP file dump from the Department of Defense and the skepticism surrounding a purported Epstein suicide note, we welcome Adrienne Hill and Dave Thomas to talk about last week's WeCanReason and SkeptiCamp New Mexico. If you've ever wondered what goes into a smaller, regional get-together for skeptics, this is a good primer. These low- or no-cost, more intimate gatherings are playing a bigger and bigger role in skeptical outreach and community building. And, we admit, in the midst of all the serious topics in current events that require our skeptical toolkits,...
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Episode 278 - WTF is up with Bigfoot?! With Matt Crowley and Sharon Hill
Squaring the Strange
Make plans to attend if you are near Albuquerque! First, Ben and Celestia talk about the "death list" of scientists, Herzog's cryptid-ish new film "Ghost Elephant," Bloodsuckers down under, getting rid of the military mandate for flu shots, Info Wars getting Onionified, and a potential new CDC leader that doesn't suck. Then we have a roundtable with guests Matt Crowley and Sharon Hill, to discuss the surprising turn of events in Bigfootery! We offer a primer on the Patterson-Gimlin film, which -- despite the skeptical points against many aspects of it -- has remained the diamond in Bigfoot's...
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Episode 277 - Your Brain on Caricature, with Jacob Shaw
Squaring the Strange
After some chit-chat about teleporting FEMA officials and Bigfoot folks with heels dug in, we have a fascinating talk with Jacob Shaw. One of the very few people studying and teaching the intersection of caricature art and neuroscience, Jacob geeks out with Celestia and Ben about what he calls the most psychological art form. There are many points of interest that overlap with skepticism, from pareidolia to the reliability of our perception to a well-known middle school ritual in front of a darkened bathroom mirror. We also ruminate on the power of caricature as propaganda, how it has been...
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Episode 276 - Micronation Machinations
Squaring the Strange
First, Celestia gets her aura read at a trade show, and then we talk about National Science Appreciation Day, Banksy being unmasked, and the continued fallout from Marq Evans' movie "Capturing Bigfoot." For our main segment, we dive into micronations. This wide array of self-declared states showcase many strange topics we love to examine: hoaxes, ostension, performance art, crime, cosplay, cults, tourism, and a touch of mental illness. From purported do-gooders like Greenpeace and even, believe it or not, Uri Geller, to criminals hoping to evade taxes or regulation, there are so many...
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Episode 275 - Bigfoot Bombshell and Leo Igwe on fighting witchcraft accusations in Africa
Squaring the Strange
First, we have a few current events items that hit our skeptical radar -- and a Bigfoot bombshell drops at SXSW film festival! (For more on that, see Ben's just-released piece in Skeptical Inquirer online, "Documentary's Devastating Bigfoot Debunking." Then Leo Igwe joins us during his visit to the U.S., and he shares progress and challenges facing his organization, Advocacy 4 Alleged Witches. Leo is a stalwart skeptic and champion of rational thought, and his heroic work in Africa puts him in danger on many fronts. He lays out aspects of cultural and economic life in parts of Africa that make...
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Episode 274 - Houses after the haunting, with Kenny Biddle
Squaring the Strange
First, we chat about Havana Syndrome and a rumored "discombobulator," Trump releasing the UFO files, a new poll on belief in aliens and cryptids, and RFK doing a 180 on glyphosate. Then we meet up with Kenny Biddle, chief investigator for the Center for Skeptical Inquiry, to talk about haunted houses. Not just the stories and the (lack of) evidence, but rather what happens after the hooplah dies down. We look at the Conjuring House, Amityville, the Sallie House, and the "House of 200 Demons," finding out what went on after interest faded with these properties. We go into some laws on the books...
info_outlineAfter some chit-chat about teleporting FEMA officials and Bigfoot folks with heels dug in, we have a fascinating talk with Jacob Shaw. One of the very few people studying and teaching the intersection of caricature art and neuroscience, Jacob geeks out with Celestia and Ben about what he calls the most psychological art form. There are many points of interest that overlap with skepticism, from pareidolia to the reliability of our perception to a well-known middle school ritual in front of a darkened bathroom mirror. We also ruminate on the power of caricature as propaganda, how it has been weaponized in modern history, and how we can separate the art from its complicated past.