Skeptoid is a weekly podcast

Podcast

A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

 created and hosted by American skeptic

Scientific skepticism

Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...

 and author Brian Dunning

Brian Dunning (skeptic)

Brian Dunning is the host and producer of Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena, a weekly audio podcast dedicated "to furthering knowledge by blasting away the widespread pseudosciences that infect popular culture, and replacing them with evidence-based scientific reality." He is also the...

. The show follows an audio essay format, and is dedicated to the critical examination of pseudoscience

Pseudoscience

Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...

 and the paranormal

Paranormal

Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...

.

Along with similarly themed Point of Inquiry

Point of Inquiry

Point of Inquiry is the radio show and podcast of the Center for Inquiry, a think tank promoting science, reason and secular values. Started in 2005, Point of Inquiry has consistently ranked highly among similar podcasts. It has been celebrated for its guests, and for the quality of its interviews....

, Skepticality: The Official Podcast of Skeptic Magazine

Skepticality

Skepticality is the official biweekly podcast of The Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine. It explores rational thought, skeptical ideas, and famous myths from around the world and throughout history...

, and The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, it is a Top-50 program on the iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 (US) Science & Medicine podcast charts. Skeptoid has been featured on the Science Podcasts front page of iTunes since January 2008.

Skeptoid (ISBN 978-1434821669) is also the title of a 2008 book based on content from the Skeptoid podcast. The sequel Skeptoid 2 (ISBN 978-1440422850) is now also available.

Each roughly ten-minute Skeptoid episode focuses on a single pop culture phenomenon that is pseudoscientific in nature. Episodes usually fall into one of four categories:

• Quackery
  Quack
  A quack is a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or qualifications he or she does not possess.Quack may also refer to:* Quack , an independent-comics series published by Star Reach in the 1970s...
  
   medical modalities: such as homeopathy
  Homeopathy
  Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
  
  , reflexology
  Reflexology
  Reflexology, or zone therapy, is an alternative medicine involving the physical act of applying pressure to the feet, hands, or ears with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques without the use of oil or lotion...
  
  , detoxification, or chiropractic
  Chiropractic
  Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...
  
  
• Popular cultural misconceptions: such as organic foods, SUVs, and global warming
  Global warming
  Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
  
  
• Urban legends: such as crop circles, the Amityville Horror, the Phoenix Lights
  Phoenix Lights
  The Phoenix Lights were a series of widely sighted unidentified flying objects observed in the skies over the U.S...
  
  , or the Philadelphia Experiment
  Philadelphia Experiment
  The Philadelphia Experiment is the name of an alleged naval military experiment said to have been carried out at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA sometime around October 28, 1943. It is alleged that the U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Eldridge was to be rendered...
  
  
• Religion and mythology: such as creation legends, New Age
  New Age
  The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
  
   religions, and concepts of sin
  Sin
  In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
  
  

In May 2007, Skeptoid was announced as a qualifying media outlet for the James Randi Educational Foundation's "One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge". Applicants to the challenge must have a presence in popular broadcast media in order to qualify. By passing a simple test of their paranormal ability and having it reported on the Skeptoid podcast, applicants can satisfy that primary requirement and then proceed to apply for the Challenge.

Production

Skeptoid is recorded with professional studio microphones using Apple's GarageBand

GarageBand

GarageBand is a software application for Mac OS X and iOS that allows users to create music or podcasts. It is developed by Apple Inc. as a part of the iLife software package on Mac OS X.-Audio recording:...

 software. Sometimes short musical cues are mixed in, all of which is royalty free music also created in GarageBand.

Listenership

As of March 2010, Skeptoid claims to have more than 100,000 listeners download the show each week. It is typically in the top 5 listings for science podcasts on the iTunes store.

External links

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Skeptoid Forum at the James Randi Educational Foundation
• The Skeptics Guide to the Universe interview with Brian Dunning
• The Reason Driven Podcast's interview with Brian Dunning
• Dogma Free America podcast interview with Skeptoid host Brian Dunning
• Video of interview with Dunning about Skeptoid by Ann Althouse
  Ann Althouse
  Ann Althouse is an American law professor and blogger. Raised in Newark and Wilmington, Delaware , Althouse has a degree in fine art from the University of Michigan, B.F.A. 1973, and graduated first in her class from New York University School of Law, J.D. 1981. She clerked for Judge Leonard B...
  
   on Bloggingheads.tv
  Bloggingheads.tv
  Bloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...