Society
When skepticism collides with human experience. The societal implications of scientific skepticism.
From the archives: media clippings from the death of Doris Stokes
From the archives in 1987, The Skeptic looks at media reporting surrounding the death of noted "psychic medium" Doris Stokes
“It’s in our DNA”: the clichés that confuse the public about genetics and essentialism
Clichés about a quality being "in our DNA" use the terminology of genetics to depict ideas of essentialism - and in doing so, they reinforce a spurious link
Critical thinking is essential, especially around emotionally-charged subjects like Gaza
If we want to better understand what's going on in situations like the Israeli-Gaza conflict, we need to be aware of our biases, and how to mitigate their impact
Europa: The Last Battle – the antisemitic documentary going viral among the far right
The makers of the viral documentary Europa: The Last Battle want viewers to believe Jewish people rule and control the world - and they have a far-right audience primed to believe it
Mark McDonald, America’s Frontline Doctors, and some very troubling beliefs about autism
A recent interview between former atheist James Lindsay and Dr Mark McDonald showed the distasteful views anti-vaxxers share when among friends
“Trillions of humans”: is Elon Musk right about population size?
Should we aim to limit population growth to maximise resources, or follow Elon Musk's advice and aim for trillions of humans? Or is the answer actually neither?
Dragons’ Den has a quackery problem that goes far beyond ear seeds
While recent attention has understandably been on Dragons' Den's promotion of ME/cfs quackery, the BBC show's flirtation with pseudoscience runs much deeper
Dragons’ Den’s uncritical promotion of ear seeds is an insult to ME/cfs patients like me
The Dragons' Den Acu Seeds debacle shows how understandably desperate ME/cfs are - and how vulnerable to misinformation from authoritative sources
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