Benjamin Radford debunks popular myths about habituation, including the chained dog and boiled frog stories, showing they are inaccurate metaphors often misused in politics, business, and culture. While habituation is real in psychology, these animal myths rely on slippery-slope reasoning and bad science—so skeptics should reject them and leave the dogs and frogs alone.

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/08/boiled-frogs-and-chained-dogs-habituation-myths/

About the Author:

Benjamin Radford, M.Ed., is a scientific paranormal investigator, a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, deputy editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, and author, co-author, contributor, or editor of twenty books and over a thousand articles on skepticism, critical thinking, and science literacy. His newest book is America the Fearful.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Mick West examines the history and criticism of the “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” maxim, showing how its vagueness invites accusations of unfairness from UFOlogists and parapsychologists. He argues that skeptics should move beyond catchphrases and instead apply Hume’s principle of proportioning belief to evidence, stressing that claims violating established science demand especially strong proof.

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/08/is-extraordinary-evidence-unreasonable/

About the Author:

Mick West is a writer, investigator, and debunker who enjoys looking into the evidence behind conspiracy theories and strange phenomena and then explaining what is actually going on. He runs the Metabunk forum, tweets @mickwest, and is the author of the book “Escaping the Rabbit Hole”.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Dan Wilson explains how proposed 44% cuts to NIH funding could devastate lifesaving research and stall future medical breakthroughs. He highlights past NIH-supported discoveries like CRISPR and Gleevec that have already transformed deadly diseases into treatable conditions.

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/08/nih-funding-cuts-hurt-basic-research-and-patients/

About the Author:

Dan Wilson earned his PhD in biological sciences from Carnegie Mellon University. He currently works as a scientist in industry and spends some of his free time debunking vaccine and medical misinformation on YouTube with his channel, Debunk the Funk with Dr. Wilson.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Bill Nye gave the following speech on March 7, 2025, as part of the Stand Up for Science rally held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/08/we-must-stand-up-for-science/

About the Author:

Bill Nye (The Science Guy) is chief executive officer of The Planetary Society. He learned his love of astronomy from Carl Sagan while earning a mechanical engineering degree at Cornell University. He was the writer, producer, and on-air talent for the Emmy Award-winning Bill Nye the Science Guy TV series from 1992–1998. More recently his program 100 Greatest Discoveries aired on the Science Channel. He is a Committee for Skeptical Inquiry fellow and was the keynote speaker at the recent Center for Inquiry/CSI/CSH Summit Conference in Tacoma, Washington.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Skeptical Inquirer editor Stephen Hupp previews issue (Vol. 49, No. 5) of the magazine titled The Disturbing Attacks on Science: Science Communicators Fight Back.

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/08/science-saves-lives-but-science-is-under-attack/

About the Author:

Stephen Hupp, PhD, is editor of Skeptical Inquirer. He is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and professor of Clinical Child & School Psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Stuart Vyse explores new research showing that the long-dismissed “hot hand” in sports may be real once shot difficulty is considered, vindicating athletes’ experiences. In contrast, the gambler’s fallacy remains alive and well, but recent studies reveal it stems from decision-making biases rather than an inability to understand probabilities, leaving psychologists with fresh questions to investigate.

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/a-closer-look-at-the-gamblers-fallacy-and-the-hot-hand/

About the Author:

Stuart Vyse is a psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, which won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. He is also author of Going Broke: Why Americans Can’t Hold on to Their Money. As an expert on irrational behavior, he is frequently quoted in the press and has made appearances on CNN International, the PBS NewsHour, and NPR’s Science Friday. He can be found on Twitter at @stuartvyse.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

A long-lost manuscript commissioned by Harry Houdini, The Cancer of Superstition, has finally been published a century after it was written. Though the core text is brief, it offers surprising insights into enduring patterns of belief—and missed opportunities for historical context.

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/houdinis-lost-manuscript-discovered/#michelle-ainsworth

About the Author:

Michelle E. Ainsworth holds an MA in history. For seven years she reviewed books on magic history and related topics for Skeptic magazine.

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.

Science writer Nick Tiller critiques lifestyle magazines for promoting pseudoscience under the guise of empowerment, highlighting how superficial gestures toward skepticism mask an industry driven by profit and gendered consumerism. By mocking only fringe “woo” while protecting lucrative wellness trends, these outlets distort critical thinking and undermine public health.

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/consumer-magazines-and-the-fine-art-of-pseudo-skepticism/

About the Author:

Dr Nick Tiller is an exercise scientist and author of The Skeptic’s Guide to Sports Science, named one of Book Authority’s “Best Sports Science Books of All Time.” He’s a columnist at Skeptical Inquirer and an elected Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. www.nbtiller.com

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Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.