Episode 286 - Bob Nygaard, psychic-busting investigator
Release Date: 08/15/2026
Episode 292 - "TV folklorist" Lynne McNeill on fakelore, folklorism and the folkloresque
Squaring the Strange
Ben is now able to give his quick takes on "Capturing Bigfoot" and "You Can See Everything," the hot ticket double feature all skeptics are rushing out to see. Then we are joined by the delightful Lynne McNeill, who talks to us about "Folklore in the Public Square" -- and her chapter in a book by that name. As a regularly appearing expert on many shows including "Paranormal Caught on Camera" and "The World According to Jeff Goldblum," among others, Lynne has navigated the dual, often conflicting roles, of presenting folklore studies in a way true to its academic nature but also enthusiastic...
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Episode 291 - Ru Marshall's American Trickster: The Hidden Lives of Carlos Castaneda
Squaring the Strange
This episode is really a trickster triptych! Just in time for trick-or-treating, we look at three tricksters in popular media right now: Holmes, Patterson, and Castaneda. First, an old friend has some thoughts on the Department of Health and Human Services gathering data on potential EMF harms. Celestia is giddy about how the new documentary "You Can See Everything" pushed all her buttons, and Matt Crowley stops by to talk about Marq Evans's film "Capturing Bigfoot," newly out in limited release and on Amazon Prime for streaming. Then Ben and Celestia have an in-depth talk with author Ru...
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Episode 290 - Monsters and Cryptozoology Today, with Darren Naish and Sharon Hill
Squaring the Strange
First, Ben and Celestia chat about current events involving clowns, Noah's ark, psychics, measles, moon hoaxes, and more. Then we welcome Sharon Hill and Darren Naish, both of whom published books on cryptozoology and monster hunting around a decade ago. We talk about the evolution of that field, including the depletion of actual experts and rise of influencers in their place. Monsters and cryptids have come to represent a sense of community and local pride, artistic and pop culture expression, and a fantasy escapism from news and everyday life. In many ways, we are living through a similar...
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Episode 289 - The Ethics and Worries of AI Writing, with Amy Frushour Kelly
Squaring the Strange
After some current events discussion about AI images in real estate and RFK Jr. mentioning chemtrails, we welcome friend of the podcast Amy Frushour Kelly. She's a longtime editor turned AI writing consultant, and has watched what the new models have done to the average editor's workload. We ask some questions on what AI writing means in terms of authenticity, honesty, and contractual obligations. How accurate are the tools that supposedly determine whether something has been written with AI, and what makes humans "get a feeling" something has been crafted by an LLM? Fair warning: we three...
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Episode 288 - Dragon Con, 9-11 and Sci-Fi Skepticism with Paul and Andy
Squaring the Strange
First, we recount a tiny bit of the beautiful chaos that was Dragon Con. Then, after a few current event tidbits related to 9-11, we are joined by Andy Taylor of Geekshock and (retired Klingon) Paul Mattingly of Matt & Mattingly's Ice Cream Social. With our geeky nerd power tripled, we discuss all flavors of sci-fi and how various franchises have approached critical thinking, gullibility and other skeptic-adjacent topics. Does Kubrick's dense cinematic style attract lovers of conspiracy thinking and, thus, invite moon hoax theories? Did the communicator really inspire the flip-phone? How...
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Episode 287 - Roswell Rods, a.k.a. Skyfish
Squaring the Strange
First, housekeeping about our upcoming visit to DragonCon in Atlanta next week (come say hello if you plan on going!). Ben and Celestia lament the latest measles news, pay respects to Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, and discuss the ever-present "rule of threes" when it comes to celebrity deaths. Then for our main topic Ben talks about Jose Escamilla and his decades-long obsession with what he termed "Roswell rods" or "skyfish." They were an ill-defined phenomenon, somewhere between UFOs, interdimensional cryptids, and light-speed bacteria. Still, Escamilla took them seriously enough to make...
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Episode 286 - Bob Nygaard, psychic-busting investigator
Squaring the Strange
First, we chat about what's making us skeptical these days, from the latest executive order targeting vaccine access to a really creative way to fund a biology lab. Oh, and we didn't experience zero gravity for seven seconds this week, did you? Then we bring on the legendary private investigator Bob Nygaard, who parlayed his career as a New York City cop into a busy life as the world's most effective psychic buster. And we don't mean he spills their secrets -- we mean he gets them put behind bars. Bob has been instrumental in getting many millions of dollars returned to victims and persuading...
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Episode 285 - Grab Bag! Jimothy and Dr. Fauci walk into a bar...
Squaring the Strange
1:30 Clamper Mea Culpa 4:00 Lara Benham and Richard Saunders report on Not A Con Australia 17:00 Drinking conspiracies in Las Vegas 26:00 JIMOTHY JIMOTHY JIMOTHY JIMOTHY SO MUCH JIMOTHY 31:15 Dr. Fauci questioned in bad faith by senators 52:15 "Curse of Mayo" is broken 1:00:20 Giant of Kandahar shows up on Joe Rogan show 1:04:00 American Trickster, Carlos Castaneda and Marlo Morgan
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Episode 284 - Author Elizabeth Shreeve on Dinosaurs to Dragons
Squaring the Strange
First, Ben and Celestia chat about reflecting pool gashes, a biohacking longevity guru's diagnosis, the new Info Wars, and two anti-vaxxers in the news. Then we are joined by children's author Elizabeth Shreeve to discuss her new book Dinosaurs to Dragons: The Lore and Science of Mythical Creatures. Elizabeth takes a clever approach in structuring her book, which invites kids to think about monsters and fairies but also sneaks in evolutionary knowledge, folklore detective work and critical thinking. A few of her chapters have also been the subject of previous Squaring the Strange episodes, so...
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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...
info_outlineFirst, we chat about what's making us skeptical these days, from the latest executive order targeting vaccine access to a really creative way to fund a biology lab. Oh, and we didn't experience zero gravity for seven seconds this week, did you? Then we bring on the legendary private investigator Bob Nygaard, who parlayed his career as a New York City cop into a busy life as the world's most effective psychic buster. And we don't mean he spills their secrets -- we mean he gets them put behind bars. Bob has been instrumental in getting many millions of dollars returned to victims and persuading district attorneys to press charges against the generational syndicates who orchestrate this type of crime. He explains to us their methodology and the skills he acquired that help him tie all the parts of a case together, often working against reluctant bureaucrats at every step. Laws against fortune telling and financial crimes vary in different jurisdictions, and victims are often reluctant to fight for themselves. Blending empathy with hard-nosed investigation work and dogged persistence, Bob shares success stories and some tips for spotting psychic criminals before they can get their hooks into a mark.