Robert Sheaffer
Robert Sheaffer's "Psychic Vibrations" column has appeared in the Skeptical Inquirer for the past thirty years. He is also author of UFO Sightings: The Evidence (Prometheus 1998). He blogs at www.badUFOs.com.
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Electric Asteroid Zaps Earth
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 32.3, May / June 2008
News & Comment
The "Electric Universe" is codswollop, with or without gods hurling thunderbolts.
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Alien Ghosts at Roswell
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 32.2, March / April 2008
Psychic Vibrations
Can a pseudoscientific documentary be so insulting that even the cable channel planning to run it turns it down?
Over the Hill on UFO Abductions
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.6, November / December 2007
Book Review
The story of the alleged UFO abduction of Betty and Barney Hill in New Hampshire in 1961 is well known to the public.
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A Model UFO Debunking
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.5, September / October 2007
Book Review
Review of Ware of the Words: A True but Strange Story of the Gulf Breeze UFO by Craig R. Myers.
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Betty Hill’s Last Hurrah
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.5, September / October 2007
Psychic Vibrations
A Secret UFO Symposium in New Hampshire
A Model UFO Debunking
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.5, September / October 2007
Book Review
While such a book is not likely to make any best-seller list, it's a valuable contribution to our understanding of UFO mania
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First They Came for Darwin, Then They Came for Copernicus and Galileo…
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.4, July / August 2007
Psychic Vibrations
A recent mass mailing was sent to thousands of addresses in California asking "Have Scientists Been Wrong for 400 Years?"
The Incredible Bouncing Cow
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.2, March / April 2007
Psychic Vibrations
When aliens return cows after they have finished mutilating them, do the cows bounce when they hit the ground?
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The Flashlight of the Gods
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.1, January / February 2007
Psychic Vibrations
Now that the crashed saucers seem to have replaced alien abductions as the "gold standard" of UFOlogical excitement...
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Time Flies LIke an Arrow, but Fruit Flies like Bilked Bananas
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 30.5, September / October 2006
Psychic Vibrations
At the 87th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science...
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The Internet: A Shining Beacon of Truth
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 30.4, July / August 2006
Psychic Vibrations
Where have all the UFOs gone? In recent months, three widely read articles have been published by thoughtful observers...
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Loon Season in Canada
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 30.2, March / April 2006
Psychic Vibrations
Paul Hellyer was Canada's Defence Minister from 1963-1967 under Prime Minister Lester Pearson, as well as later serving...
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Will Hack for Extraterrestrials
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 30.1, January / February 2006
Psychic Vibrations
London's Gary McKinnon, recently arrested for computer crimes, has been described as "the world's biggest computer hacker."
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Philip J. Klass (1919-2005)
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 29.6, November / December 2005
News & Comment
The man who was indisputably the most influential UFO skeptic of all time passed away August 9 at the age of 85.
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Where the UFO Conspiracy Theories Roam
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 29.4, July / August 2005
Psychic Vibrations
The International UFO Congress has been taking place each March in Laughlin, Nevada, for fourteen years and I had yet to...
Tsunami Conspiracies and Hollow Moons
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 29.3, May / June 2005
Psychic Vibrations
As the destruction became clear from the recent tsunami in southern Asia, claims surfaced of strange events associated with it.
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Hurricane Osama?
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 29.1, January / February 2005
Psychic Vibrations
With the recent devastating and remarkable assault on Florida by one destructive hurricane after another, some are...
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Tunguska 1, Roswell 0
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 28.6, November / December 2004
News & Comment
This past summer, the Tunguska Space Phenomenon Foundation, led by Yuri Labvin, headed off into the wilds of the vast...
The Campeche, Mexico ‘Infrared UFO’ Video
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 28.5, September / October 2004
Article
Mysterious objects filmed by the Mexican military in March 2004 created a flurry of excitement and strange claims.
Toutatis Threatens Totally
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 28.4, July / August 2004
Psychic Vibrations
Heads up—the End of the World is coming again!
UFOs Hot and Cold
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 27.5, September / October 2003
Psychic Vibrations
Some places are reputed to be "UFO Hot Spots," and the San Luis Valley is one of them.
Conspire This!
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 25.6, November / December 2001
Psychic Vibrations
Sheaffer covers a Santa Clara convention of conspiracy theorists
ET, You’ve Got Mail
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 24.2, March / April 2000
Psychic Vibrations
UFOlogy in America
Uncritical Publicity for Supposed ‘Independent UFO Investigation’ Demonstrates Media Gullibility
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 22.5, September / October 1998
News & Comment
In 1998, major media outlets were suddenly filled with accounts that an scientists had taken a fresh look at the UFO question.
E-mailed Antigens and Iridium’s Iridescence
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 22.1, January / February 1998
Psychic Vibrations
Many readers of this magazine will no doubt recall the 1988 fiasco of so-called “memory water”...
The Truth Is, They Never Were ‘Saucers’
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 21.5, September / October 1997
Psychic Vibrations
June 24 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the day UFOs were discovered, or else invented, whichever you prefer.
Implants and Gurus Are Everywhere
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 21.1, January / February 1997
Psychic Vibrations
When a UFO supposedly crashed on Long Island and was being covered up by the authorities, we brought you the story.
Travels on the Extraterrestrial Highway
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 20.5, September / October 1996
Psychic Vibrations
Nevada appears to have pulled off another minor miracle, transforming a barren stretch of desert road into a tourist destination
Bra Hazards, Carpet Circles, Lunar Aliens, and Adam’s Animals
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 19.6, November / December 1995
Psychic Vibrations
Researchers looking into the causes of breast cancer may have overlooked the most obvious cause of all: the wearing of bras.
Recovered Memories Cross the Oceans
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 19.4, July / August 1995
Psychic Vibrations
The American practice of "recovering memories" of unspeakable abuse has leaped the Atlantic, and the Pacific as well.
