Skeptical Briefs
The Skeptical Briefs newsletter is only available to Associate Members of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. It is published four times per year (in March, June, September, and December), and includes articles; news from skeptical groups across the country and around the world; and regular columnists Joe Nickell ("Investigative Files"), Lewis Jones ("Inklings"), Victor Stenger ("Reality Check"), Henry Huber ("Group News"); and Benjamin Radford ("Briefs Briefs"). It also includes a Hidden Messages puzzle in each issue by New Mexico physicist and skeptic David E. Thomas.
Psychic Mary Occhino Doesn’t Know Best
by Ryan Shaffer
Volume 21.3, Fall 2011
Over the years, Occhino has claimed to assist in missing persons cases, talk to the dead, and peer into the futures of celebrity lives. This article delves into Occhino’s predictions and activities, revealing that while Occhino is short on claims, her claims are short on independent proof. . . .
On a Wing and a Prayer: The Search for Guardian Angels
by Joe Nickell
Volume 21.3, Fall 2011
Investigative Files
Are these experiences really supernatural? Or are they only natural, the result of misperceptions and even misreporting? A look into the phenomenon of claimed guardian-angel encounters is illuminating.
Return of the Living Dead: The Final Chapter
by Paul DesOrmeaux
Volume 21.2, Summer 2011
Although most of us haven’t had the exhilarating and life-affirming experience of nearly dying, a lucky few have returned from being “living challenged” to report their near-death experiences (NDE).
The Doctor’s Ghostly Visitor: Tracking ‘The Girl in the Snow’
by Joe Nickell
Volume 21.2, Summer 2011
Investigative Files
Although skeptics insist ghosts are unreal, there are many ghostly encounters that seem to present startling evidence to the contrary. One such incident is presented in the book The Telltale Lilac Bush and Other West Virginia Ghost Tales by Ruth Ann Musick.
Heralding the End of Discovery?
by Julia Galef
Volume 21.2, Summer 2011
Book Review
A review of The End of Discovery by Russell Stannard.
The Atlanta Child Murders: Evidence vs. Psychics
by Joe Nickell
Volume 21.1, Spring 2011
Investigative Files
While television often offers pseudoscience and fantasy instead of lessons in critical thinking (consider shows like The Ghost Whisperer), there are noteworthy exceptions. One is Soledad O’Brien’s CNN special Atlanta Child Murders (2010).
Tripping on the Trebuchet: An Interview with George Hrab
by Skeptical Briefs
Volume 21.1, Spring 2011
Interviews
Musician and skeptic George Hrab recently sat down with Skeptical Briefs to discuss his latest album, Trebuchet, his Geologic Show at Dragon*Con, and why bald guys are just plain smarter than everyone else.
The Problem with the Cosmological Constant
by Victor Stenger
Volume 21.1, Spring 2011
Reality Check
Einstein had inserted into his gravitational equation a factor called the cosmological constant that provided a repulsive force to counteract the gravitational attraction that otherwise would make the universe collapse. Although the cosmological constant is often referred to as a “fudge factor,” that is a misnomer.
Shootout with Martians: In the Wake of the 1938 Broadcast Panic
by Joe Nickell
Volume 20.4, December 2010
Investigative Files
A visit to an art exhibit—based on Orson Welles’s famous 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast—at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in Buffalo introduced me to a remarkable incident that reportedly occurred during the “panic” caused by Welles’s dramatized Martian invasion.
Did the Universe Come from Nothing?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 20.4, December 2010
Reality Check
They will tell you that they intuitively feel that something must be “out there,” some power that is responsible for the universe and the laws that govern it. After all, they ask, “How can something come from nothing?”