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.
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?”
Alone on the Loch: One Man’s Search for Nessie
by Ben Radford
Volume 20.3, September 2010
I found Feltham more or less by accident. I was at Scotland’s famous loch for about a week following a speaking engagement in London...
Scientific Investigation vs. Ghost Hunters
by Joe Nickell
Volume 20.3, September 2010
Investigative Files
I have often crossed paths with The Atlantic Paranormal Society, headed by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, stars of the popular Ghost Hunters series.
How to Talk to Philosophers
by Julia Galef
Volume 20.3, September 2010
Book Review
A review of Philosophy Bites: 25 Philosophers on 25 Intriguing Subjects
Tijuana: Magic and Mystery
by Joe Nickell
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...
Is There Evidence for an Afterlife?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 20.2, June 2010
D’Souza claims that near-death experiences (NDE) suggest that consciousness can outlive the breakdown of the body, and they cannot be explained as the...
