The Rises and Falls of One-True-Cure Oddballs
Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling devotes most of his engrossing book If It Sounds Like a Quack… to describing how some of the most preposterous panacea promoters in the United States came to conclude they had...
View ArticleDouble the Weirdness but Not Double the Fun
I formed my first impression of Postcolonial Astrology while browsing in a bookstore. It seemed to be an aggressively stupid amalgamation of two normally separate species of nonsense. Flipping through...
View ArticleAstrology under the Microscope
Most readers of this magazine probably thought that the scientific validity of astrology was settled science, with the conclusion that astrology is completely invalid. It would follow from this...
View ArticleSweeping Views into Alien Skies
Philip Plait, PhD, an astronomer, skeptic, and science advocate, has authored another important book titled Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer’s Guide to the Universe. This book is a notable contribution...
View ArticleIf You Should Go at Midnight …
In his new book If You Should Go at Midnight: Legends and Legend Tripping in America, Jeffrey Debies-Carl, associate professor of sociology at the University of New Haven, examines a curious and common...
View ArticleUnmasking Misanthropology
Misanthropology: Science, Pseudoscience, and the Study of Humanity by Sean M. Rafferty, an anthropology professor at the University at Albany, is intended as an introductory textbook to teach...
View ArticleGrimcutty Reveals Dark Thread Tying Together Cases of Moral Panic
Grimcutty. Written and directed by John Ross. Produced by 20th Digital Studio and Capture, 2022. _______________________________________________ Not all teen horror is vapid. The film Grimcutty manages...
View ArticleThe Movie Review THEY Don’t Want You to Read
Over the past year, UFO lore seems to have tightened its grip on the public’s imagination. This is thanks largely to politicians who think that “I know a guy who says he has stuff that’ll blow your...
View ArticleA Foolproof Defense against Misinformation?
Fake news and misinformation in the media—especially social media—is obviously a serious problem, not only in the United States but worldwide. But what to do about it? There have been numerous...
View ArticleHealthy Skepticism about Wellness Culture
The Gospel of Wellness is the book I most strongly recommend to those who are invested in making themselves as healthy as possible through trendy products, practices, or services. It offers healthy...
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