The Skeptic Volume 20, No. 1

From Psychic to Sceptic
James Byrne in retrospect on being a psychic

The Great Masturbation Delusion
A bout of moral alarm in the educated? Hilary Evans considers another example where the scientific evidence is absent

Making up History
Steuart Campbell questions how we are to know historical fact from fiction
when delivered to us in novels

Darwin Died an Agnostic
Donald Rooum investigates the claim by one of the world’s most distinguished philosophers that Darwin experienced a deathbed conversion

Humour

Sprite, by Donald Rooum, the ongoing saga of an ethereal being who has the misfortune to fall for a confirmed skeptic.
Cartoons by Tim Pearce and The Parking Lot is Full
Pictures from Hilary Evans’ Paranormal Picture Gallery

Book reviews

Opus Dei: The Truth About its Rituals, Secrets and Power by John L. Allen
Just Another Day: The Science and Technology of our Everyday Lives by Adam Hart-Davis
That's Bollocks: Urban Legends, Conspiracy Theories and Old Wives'Tales by Albert Jack
The Nativity: History and Legend by Geza Vermes

News and comment

Editorial
Victoria Hamilton and Chris French

Skeptical Stats
A column based on the observation that sometimes statistics don’t lie - they’re just plain crazy...

Hits and Misses
Shoe fetish
Future science
Free Darwin
Scientology in London
Not the bionetics news
Who’s the fool now?
YouGeller

Skeptic at large
Wendy M Grossman

Rhyme and Reason
Steve Donnelly

Philosopher’s Corner
Julian Baggini

From Michael Heap
Chairman of the Association for Skeptical Enquiry

Letters from our readers
Superhuman
Comments on The Skeptic