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.
Zheng He in the Americas and Other Unlikely Tales of Exploration and Discovery
by Mark Newbrook
Volume 14.3, September 2004
...Menzies proposes that both shores of the Pacific were extensively traveled and surveyed by the Chinese in late medieval times
Abraham Lincoln: An Instance of Alleged ‘Spirit Writing’
by Joe Nickell
Volume 14.3, September 2004
Investigative Files
Modern spiritualism began in 1848 at Hydesville, New York, when two schoolgirls pretended to communicate with a ghost who...
Ritual Killing and Pseudoscience in Nigeria
by Leo Igwe
Volume 14.2, June 2004
The murder in London of a Nigerian boy may have brought focus to one of the most dreadful practices in Nigeria - ritual killing.
Mysterious Beings or Mere Accidents?
by Dawn M. Peterson
Volume 14.2, June 2004
It isn't unusual to get strange shapes and lights in photos even when they were not present at the time the pictures were taken.
The Evolution of Creationism
by Victor Stenger
Volume 14.2, June 2004
Reality Check
The species of religious thought called creationism continues to evolve by a process of natural selection.
The Disappearing Writing Guru, Sweetwater, and Chicken McNugget: Stop Me If You’ve Heard This
by Barry L. Beyerstein
Volume 14.1, March 2004
As every conscientious skeptic knows, we are obliged to let all but the most patently absurd claimants have their day in court.
Can Prayer Change the Past?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 14.1, March 2004
Reality Check
The notion that human consciousness can supervene the material principles of physics is often found in the literature on...
Scenes from a Bigfoot Conference
by Rob Boston
Volume 13.4, December 2003
Many people associate Bigfoot, the mysterious eight-foot-tall man/ape creature of longstanding lore, with the Pacific Northwest.
Riddle of the Glowing Statues
by Joe Nickell
Volume 13.4, December 2003
Investigative Files
Two women noticed it first. The eyes of the Virgin Mary statue on the church's bell tower had begun to glow.
Paranormal Claims in Peruvian Mass Media
by Manuel A. Paz y Miño
Volume 13.3, September 2003
One of the main goals of the Peruvian Center for Investigation of Paranormal Claims, Pseudo-Sciences, and Irrationality...
