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...
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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...
info_outlineFirst we chat about a weird little chupacabra play Ben saw, then discuss the conspiracies that have metastasized from Joe Biden's prostate cancer and the resurgence of our old nemesis the Food Babe. For our main topic, we have esteemed historian of magic Owen Davies, who wrote the book (two, actually) on grimoires. In pop culture we see them in horror movies, comic books and even old children's movies like "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," but real (or "real") grimoires have been an ever-present relic for thousands of years. Grimoires are a mix of magic, marketing, fraud -- and sometimes blood -- and they have evolved along with the changes in ancient information technology, i.e., parchment and the printing press. From the Grand Grimoire of the early 18th century to Lovecraft to the pulp grimoires of the 1960s, magical words and demonic conjurations have gotten around one way or another.