Skeptic Check: Betting on Pseudoscience

Fortuneteller

Psychics may not be able to predict the future or sense your thoughts.  Nonetheless, they rake in hundreds of millions of dollars every year.  But the harm from pseudoscience can go far beyond your wallet – especially when it promotes unscientific treatments for serious disease.  Find out what alarming discovery led one naturopath to quit her practice and why scientific ignorance is not bliss. 

It’s our regular look at critical thinking, but don’t take our word for it.

Guests:

  • Robert Palmer – Member of the Guerilla Skeptics on the Wikipedia editing team and columnist for the Skeptical Inquirer on-line magazine
  • Lee McIntyre – Research fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and lecturer on ethics at Harvard Extension School
  • Britt Marie Hermes – Former naturopath doctor; now doctoral student in evolutionary genetics at the University of Kiel, Germany

Segments:

Part 1: Robert Palmer / Psychic Pscam
Part 2: Lee McIntyre / The Rise of Denial
Part 3: Lee McIntyre / Engaging Disbelievers
Part 4: Britt Hermes / Science Convert

Originally aired November 25, 2019