Joe Nickell
Joe Nickell, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and "Investigative Files" Columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1998), Pen, Ink and Evidence (2003), Unsolved History (2005) and Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (2007). He has appeared in many television documentaries and has been profiled in The New Yorker and on NBC's Today Show. His personal website is at joenickell.com.
Failed “Psychic” Tip
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
June 21, 2011
Do “psychics” really solve crimes or help police find missing persons? Not according to an incident that drew not only Liberty County, Texas, sheriff’s deputies, but also Texas Rangers, FBI agents, and cadaver-sniffing dogs, as well as a swarm of reporters and a TV helicopter.
“Finding Bigfoot” a Howler
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
June 13, 2011
Finding Bigfoot, a new series airing on Animal Planet on Sundays (10 p.m. eastern and pacific time), looks like another silly TV program aimed at the credulous. Its “special preview episode”—filmed in the “remote woods of northern Georgia,” in the Chattahoochee National Forest—set forth the show’s formula: make it look as much like Ghost Hunters as possible.
“Incendies” (A Nickell-odeon Review)
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
June 7, 2011
Based on a play, Scorched, by Lebanese emigrant to Montreal Wajdi Villeneuve, Incendies is at once an intriguing mystery, a compelling evocation of human values and choices (humanists take note) during a horrific war, and an utterly stunning drama about the quest for familial completeness—a drama that harks back to the ancient Sophocles tragedy, Oedipus Rex.The Beast of Gévaudan— In New Orleans?
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
June 3, 2011
Another Ghost in the Mirror: Marilyn at the Hollywood Roosevelt?
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
May 31, 2011
Ghost in the Mirror—Part II: Mystery Solved
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
May 25, 2011
Apparitions—and “orbs”—explainedGhost in the Mirror—Part I: Mystery at the Lowe Hotel
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
May 16, 2011
Can the mystery be solved?Alien McHoaxes, McSkepticism, and More
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
May 9, 2011
Wow! An alien corpse on ice! Discovered "in the frozen wastes of Siberia"—at a "known UFO hotspot," no less—the damaged but preserved creature (partially buried in snow) surfaced in a short video posted on Youtube. In just a few days the clip drew nearly three-quarters of a million viewers, according to an online British news source (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1378400/Body-dead-alien-Siberia-claims-UFO-hurtling-earth.html; April 20, 2011).“Water for Elephants” (A Nickell-odeon Review)
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
April 29, 2011
‘Pop’ Culture: Patent Medicines Become Soda Drinks
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.1, January/February 2011
Investigative Files
Mineral water, including naturally carbonated water, has long been promoted as a curative for various ailments.
Death by Chupacabra!
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
April 25, 2011
Rumors of my death are fictional.“ Paul” (A Nickell-odeon Review)
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
April 19, 2011
Off-the-planet humor.Well Met: Loren Coleman
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
April 12, 2011
The Business of Mothman
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
April 6, 2011
Mothman: The Continuing Saga
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
March 28, 2011
Meeting Margaret Fuller
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
March 22, 2011
A modernist of over 160 years ago.Baker’s “Miracle” Minions
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
March 14, 2011
The lack of critical thinking continues.
The True Cross: Chaucer, Calvin, and the Relic Mongers
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 34.6, November/December 2010
Investigative Files
Calvin suggested that "if we were to collect all these pieces of the True Cross exhibited in various parts, they would form a whole ship's cargo."
“The Illusionist” (A Nickell-odeon Review)
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
February 22, 2011
Views from opposite ends of life.“Tracking the Man-Beasts”
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
February 14, 2011
“The Rite” Stuff
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
February 10, 2011
Confessions of a skeptical demonologist.“The Rite” (A Nickell-odeon Review)
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
February 2, 2011
Tijuana: Magic and Mystery
Skeptical Briefs Volume 20.2, June 2010
At first thought, Tijuana has little to do with the Olmecs, who lived in the rich lowlands of Mexico’s Gulf Coast and created a great civilization that was...
“Season of the Witch” (A Nickell-odeon Review)
Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)
January 25, 2011
In the Media: 2010 Report
January 20, 2011
Chronicling another busy year for CSI's Senior Research Fellow, Joe Nickell.
