September 29, 2025 | Skeptical Inquirer
Year: 2025| skepticalinquirer.org
Editor’s note: This article is excerpted from chapter 4, “The Pros,” in the forthcoming book Science under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World by Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez. We are grateful to the authors and Public Affairs, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc., for …| Skeptical Inquirer
Breakthroughs in medicine that transform patients’ lives for the better depend on adequately funding basic research, the kind of research that aims to understand how things work. This funding is provided largely by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with other global funding sources for health research not even coming close (Gaind 2025). As of …| Skeptical Inquirer
The current assault on science, research, and academia is calculated. Pulling federal funding from universities, labs, and entire agencies may allow the Trump Administration to claim they are “saving money,” but it also has another side effect that I suspect is the real reason: scientists, researchers, and academics are arbiters of truth and reality, and …| Skeptical Inquirer
Editor’s note: Bill Nye gave the following speech on March 7, 2025, as part of the Stand Up for Science rally held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Hello, Washington! It is so good to see you all. Greetings, greetings, greetings. Thanks for joining us today. We are gathered to insist …| Skeptical Inquirer
As director of ScienceSaves—CFI’s campaign to promote appreciation for the role of science in our lives—I’ve had the incredible privilege of watching the entries for this year’s scholarship contest, in which high school seniors create thirty-second videos to answer the question: “What has science done for me or someone I know?” Watching the 451 entries …| Skeptical Inquirer
In January 2011, Penn State political scientists Michael Berkman and Eric Plutzer released the shocking results of their research into how public high school biology teachers across America taught evolution. Their analysis revealed a “cycle of ignorance” in which the anti-evolution beliefs and attitudes of communities are perpetuated and reinforced by educators within those communities. …| Skeptical Inquirer
I became an anti-quackery activist in 1987 when I started planning a one-day conference on “Taking the Fraud out of Health” to be held at Kent State University on April 18, 1988. The conference turned out to be the launching pad for the Ohio Division of the already established but now defunct National Council Against …| Skeptical Inquirer
Nestled in the central region of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States lies West Virginia, a state that has spawned countless stories featuring strange and mysterious creatures. The most famous legends from the Mountain State include the eldritch Flatwoods Monster (1952) and Mothman (1966–1967), both of which have become para-celebrities of Fortean fame. …| Skeptical Inquirer
Note: This press release was issued by CFI on May 14, 2025. Karr’s last day was July 3. After a storied career spanning more than four decades, one that began as a college kid stuffing envelopes and eventually led to a distinguished tenure as executive director of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), Barry Karr has announced …| Skeptical Inquirer
The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) started in 1976, thanks largely to the organizational and inspirational ...| skepticalinquirer.org
SUMMARY: Biology faces a grave threat from “progressive” politics that are changing the way our work is done, delimiting areas of biology that are taboo and ...| skepticalinquirer.org
The evidence of Abraham Lincoln’s supposed belief in Spiritualism includes his attendance at séances, his alleged professions of belief to other believers, ...| skepticalinquirer.org
Last year, wasabi had a big moment. CBS News claimed the sushi condiment could offer a “boost in memory,” while USA Today suggested it was linked to “a bett ...| skepticalinquirer.org
As advertised, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry made it possible for us to see “the brightest stars of reason and science shine” at CSICon 2024 from Octo ...| skepticalinquirer.org
From left to right: Katie Dyer, Andrea Roach, Christy Macias, Jacques Rousseau, Ray Hall, John Pfister, DeanMcKay, Natalia Pasternak, Anthony Bishara, Willi ...| skepticalinquirer.org
The health and wellness industry is big business—massive, in fact—and is rife with misinformation and pseudoscience. Three presenters covered this topic and ...| skepticalinquirer.org
Many of my fellow conference attendees mentioned that this was the best CSICon lineup ever. What certainly came across loud and clear was the knowledge and ...| skepticalinquirer.org
CSICon 2024 has come and gone, and what a ride! In addition to reuniting with old friends, meeting new friends in person for the first time, and hosting an ...| skepticalinquirer.org
In the Spring 1978 issue of Skeptical Inquirer, James Randi wrote a Special Report, “Tests and Investigations of Three ‘Psychics.’” And here we are, nearly ...| skepticalinquirer.org
A pair of talks about biological sex provided plenty of content for discussion—sometimes heated—during CSICon 2024. For this report, I’ll stick to the “two ...| skepticalinquirer.org
CSICon 2024 was my (Adrienne Hill’s) fourth CSICon, and I must say, the best one I’ve attended yet. I reunited with old friends, made new ones, and soaked i ...| skepticalinquirer.org
“We didn’t expect this heating to happen so early in the year and to be so extreme,” Derek Manzello, a coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric A ...| skepticalinquirer.org
In this issue of Skeptical Inquirer, Eric J. Ward writes that sea level rise (SLR) is a threat, that scientists’ predictions—especially via the Intergovernm ...| Skeptical Inquirer
More American public middle school science teachers are teaching, and teaching more about, recent global warming, although more of them are also giving “equ ...| skepticalinquirer.org
The process of science, if we manage it well, affords us a systematic way of thinking that enhances our ability to make decisions. It invites creativity and ...| skepticalinquirer.org
When Stephen Hupp and Barry Karr approached me about being a guest editor, I thought it would be easy enough, even recreational. I expected to sort through ...| skepticalinquirer.org
My work with the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science began with providing teachers engaging professional development and free lessons on evo ...| skepticalinquirer.org
When we think of the damage caused by misinformation, we tend to think of false beliefs. Misinformation reduces acceptance of the reality of climate change, ...| skepticalinquirer.org
Over the past decade, many of us in the scientific community have come to appreciate the existential threat we face today—a threat unlike any we’ve witnesse ...| skepticalinquirer.org
The global population is predicted to reach just above ten billion in the 2080s (United Nations 2024) before it starts to fall, which sets targets for all o ...| skepticalinquirer.org
Democrats and Republicans have accused each other of waging a “war on science” (Mooney 2006; Stossel 2018). Unfortunately, they both have a point. Mistrusti ...| skepticalinquirer.org
In our modern world, we consider science to naturally go hand in hand with progress.1 These two concepts are almost perceived as synonyms. Science is progre ...| skepticalinquirer.org
Some moviegoers, during intense scenes of horror, dig their fingernails into the armrest of their seats and then nearly leap from those seats when the slash ...| skepticalinquirer.org
The new Netflix documentary Tell Them You Love Me represents a much-needed return to reality in a world largely inhabited by stories of miraculously discove ...| skepticalinquirer.org
Mark Edward in 2023 at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. Credit: Susan Gerbic Mark Edward Wilson, who was known by the stage name Mark Edward, died ...| skepticalinquirer.org
Most people agree that critical thinking is an important skill that should be taught in schools. And most educators think they teach critical thinking. I kn ...| skepticalinquirer.org
I have missed working with my former colleagues since retiring from the classroom in June 2023. Fellow science teachers Ana and Eli and I often planned our ...| skepticalinquirer.org
Presidential politics first grabbed my attention in the leadup to the ’92 election due to a high school teacher’s collection of memorabilia. Every day, Mr. ...| skepticalinquirer.org
Museum Curator Reveals Fake Picassos. On July 10, 2024, museum curator Kirsha Kaechele admitted that she painted fake Picassos and displayed them in the wom ...| skepticalinquirer.org
The shooting of Donald Trump and several others on July 13, 2024, spawned conspiracy theories within minutes. Shootings and acts of violence have long been ...| Skeptical Inquirer
Alejandro Borgo When I was a child, my father used to give me huge popular science books on various subjects. The one I liked the most was an illustrated bo ...| skepticalinquirer.org
