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The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe

Dr. Steven Novella·Hosted by Steven Novella·915 episodes

ScienceWeekly science newsSkeptical panelScience literacyConversationalInteractive gamesPseudoscience debunking

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is a weekly science podcast discussing the latest science news, critical thinking, bad science, conspiracies and controversies. -The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: Your escape to reality - Produced by SGU Productions, LLC: https://www.theskepticsguide.org

Why listen

The Skeptics' Guide breaks down the week's biggest science discoveries across physics, medicine, space, and biology with genuine skepticism and entertaining debate. Each weekly episode mixes news analysis with recurring games like 'Science or Fiction' and 'Who's That Noisy', making it perfect for anyone who wants to stay current on real science without pseudoscience or hype.

Episodes

Jan 14, 2023
The Skeptics Guide #914 - Jan 14 2023

Dumbest Thing of the Week: Sock Potatoes; News Items: Roman Concrete, Neuroimaging and Mental Health, Using Tumor Cells to Kill Tumors, Planet Spirals Into Star; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Damascus Steel; Science or Fiction

Jan 7, 2023
The Skeptics Guide #913 - Jan 7 2023

Psychic Predictions for 2022; News Items: Hydration Myths, Bioplastics, GPS on the Moon, Russia Fears Western Psychics; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Dec 31, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #912 - Dec 31 2022

2022 Year in Review; with Guest Rogue: Ian Callanan; Best Science of the Year; Best SGU Segments of the Year; Skeptical Hero of the Year; Skeptical Jackass of the Year; In Memorium; Science or Fiction

Dec 24, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #911 - Dec 24 2022

Live from Phoenix; News Items: Fusion Breakthrough, Closed Loop Pumped Hydro, Jibber Jabber, Artemis I Returns, Bright Satellites, Cuttlefish Pass Marshmallow Test; Science or Fiction

Dec 17, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #910 - Dec 17 2022

Interview with AI Specialist Mark Ho; What's the Word: Science Fiction Terms; News Items: Electric Planes, Zetawatt Laser, Solar Sails; Live Q Science or Fiction

Dec 10, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #909 - Dec 10 2022

News Items: Square Kilometer Array, Mantle Plume on Mars, Swimming Dinosaurs, Ancient Environmental DNA, Cat Domestication; Who's That Noisy; Potent Quotables; Your Questions and E-mails: Rocketry Advance; Science or Fiction

Dec 3, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #908 - Dec 3 2022

Quickie with Bob: Milky Way Stellar halo; News Items: Plan to Occupy Moon, Cannabis for Pain, Acupuncture for Backpain, New SI Units, 911 Call Analysis; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Science or Fiction Protocol; Science or Fiction

Nov 26, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #907 - Nov 26 2022

What's the Word: Geophony; News Items: Artemis I Launch, Skin-Like Electronics, Homoploid Sympatric Speciation, Lab Grown Blood, Water Meteorite ; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Nov 19, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #906 - Nov 19 2022

Dumbest Thing of the Week: Volcanic CO2; News Items: Developing New Antibiotics, China Completes Space Station, 8 Billion People, New SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Psychogeneology; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and e-mails: Clinically Proven, Billion Dollar Disasters; Science or Fiction

Nov 12, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #905 - Nov 12 2022

Dumbest Thing of the Week: Alternative Medicine; News Items: Climate Change in the Classroom, Effects of Climate in US, Closest Black Hole, AWARE II Study of NDEs; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Astrology; Science or Fiction

Nov 5, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #904 - Nov 5 2022

Quickie with Bob: Matter in Neutron Star Collisions; News Items: Daylight Saving Time, Humans Working With Robots, Lottery Miracle, Mechanical Neural Network; Special Report: History of Vibrators; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Intermittent Energy; Science or Fiction

Oct 29, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #903 - Oct 29 2022

Special Guest: Richard Saunders; News Items: Trust in Scientists, Reliability of World Energy, Video Games and Cognition, New Aging Technique, NASA UAP Study; What's The Word: Regression; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Oct 22, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #902 - Oct 22 2022

Quickie with Jay: Hiding Anti-Vaccine Misinformation; News Items: Electric Universe, Neanderthal Clan, Gorillas and Chimps Friends, Brightest Gamma Ray Burst, Cheating Scandals; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: COVID Vaccines and Bell's Palsy; Science or Fiction

Oct 15, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #901 - Oct 15 2022

Quickie with Bob: Sails of Supertanker; News Items: Neurons Play Pong, Smelling in VR, Technosignatures and Biosignatures, TWA 800 Lawsuit, DART Mission Success; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Oct 8, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #900 - Oct 8 2022

What's the Word: Hominid vs Hominin; News Items: Nobel Prizes 2022 - Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, Homeopathy Lawsuit, Silkworm Pangenome; Quickies with Steve: New ALS Drug, 3D Printing Computer Chips; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Oct 1, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #899 - Oct 1 2022

Interview with Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut; Forgotten Superhero of Science: Raye Jean Montague; News Items: Are Fake Meats Sustainable, Why Go Back to the Moon; Science or Fiction

Sep 24, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #898 - Sep 24 2022

News Items: 2022 Ig Nobels, It's OK to Ask for Help, Bitcoin and Fedimints, Multivitamins for Memory, Refreezing the Poles, Neuro Emotional Technique; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Chess Cheating Follow Up; Science Fiction

Sep 17, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #897 - Sep 17 2022

Is It Real: Ear Snake; News Items: What Children Believe, Health Effects of Gas Stoves, Neanderthal Brains, Synthetic Microbiome, UFO Videos Classified; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Climate Nihilism; Science or Fiction

Sep 10, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #896 - Sep 10 2022

Quickie with Bob: Frank Drake; News Items: MOXIE Follow Up, Talk More, EMDR Update, Did Giant Meteorites Create Continents, Death by Herbal Remedy; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Sep 3, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #895 - Sep 3 2022

Interview with Dr. Seema Yasmin; News Items: Hot Summer, Tear Down this Paywall, Volcano Catastrophe, Solar Energy Update; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Aug 27, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #894 - Aug 27 2022

Report from Italy; News Items: Space-Based Solar Power, Theory of Decision Making, Urban Crops, Protons have Charm; Who's That Noisy; Dumbest Thing of the Week; Science or Fiction

Aug 20, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #893 - Aug 20 2022

Live from NECSS with guests Andrea JonesRooy and Kelly Burke; Perry DeAngelis Memorial; News Items: Earth Spinning Faster, Scientific Rigor, More Space Debris, The Alex Jones Trial; Special Segments: Chorizo Hoax, Audio Pareidolia; Science or Fiction

Aug 13, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #892 - Aug 13 2022

Special Report: New Climate Change Bill; News Items: The Physics of Meteors, New Kind of Motion, Structured Water, Cryonic Horror Stories; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Photons Have Momentum; Science or Fiction

Aug 6, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #891 - Aug 6 2022

Quickie with Bob: Friction; News Items: The Neuroscience of Politics, Cozy Lava Tubes, Video Games and Well-Being, Invisible Dark Matter; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Lord Kelvin, Green Methane, Universe Isotropy; Science or Fiction

Jul 30, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #890 - Jul 30 2022

What's The Word: Cladistics; News Items: Detecting Exoplanets, Too Hot, Overconfidence and Denial, Monkeypox Update; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Self-Advocacy vs Kibitzing; Science or Fiction

Jul 23, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #889 - Jul 23 2022

Interview with Brian Dunning about UFO Movie; Cara's Cancer Experience; News Items: Global Warming Technologies, SLS Launch, Periodic FRBs, Habitable Super Earths; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Jul 16, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #888 - Jul 16 2022

News Items: Green Steel, T. Rex Arms, Getting Out The Vote, James Webb Latest Images; Who's That Noisy; Quote Quiz; Science or Fiction

Jul 9, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #887 - Jul 9 2022

Interview with Dr. Dave Stanton; Special Segment: The Fate of Fireworks; News Items: Universal Coronavirus Vaccine, Preserving Ukraine's Landmarks, Detecting Particles with Gravitational Waves, Who Owns the Moon; Your Questions and E-mails: What Is a Skeptic?; Science or Fiction

Jul 2, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #886 - Jul 2 2022

Quickie with Bob - Gamma Ray Burst Pauses; News Items: Mining the Sea, Science of Abortion, How Many Galaxies; Your Questions and E-mails: Can Dogs Talk; Science or Fiction

Jun 25, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #885 - Jun 25 2022

Secret of Skinwalker Ranch; News Items: Jupiter Ate Baby Planets, The Risk of Sitting, NASA Joins Study of UAPs, Galapagos Giant Tortoise Not Extinct; What's the Word: Nostrum; Your Questions and E-mails: Testing AIs; Science or Fiction

Jun 18, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #884 - Jun 18 2022

News Items: Is LaMDA AI Sentient, AI Influencers, Kids Don't Get Cancer Because They Are Unhappy, Free Floating Black Hole; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Jun 11, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #883 - Jun 11 2022

News Items: Infantile Amnesia, The Age of Giants, AI and Traffic Jams, Green Bank Radio Observatory; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E=mails: Science of Gun Regulation; Science or Fiction

Jun 4, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #882 - Jun 4 2022

News Items: Exascale Supercomputer, Dinosaurs Warm or Cold Blooded, Preventing Violent Crime, Revising the Evolutionary Tree, New Optical Illusion; Quickie with Bob: Gato AI; Who's That Noisy; Your questions and E-mails: Reading Systematic Reviews; Science or Fiction

May 28, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #881 - May 28 2022

Interview with NASA's Naomi Rowe-Gurney; News Items: Monkeypox, NASA's Mars Plans, Linear Bias; Who's That Noisy; Name That Logical Fallacy; Science or Fiction

May 21, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #880 - May 21 2022

News Items: Health Benefits of Clean Energy, SIDS, Growing Plants in Lunar Soil, Milky Way Black Hole, Gullible Acupuncture Article; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Language and AI, Raw Food Diet; Science or Fiction

May 14, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #879 - May 14 2022

Dumbest Thing of the Week: Best UFO Picture; News Items: AI Artists, Molten Salt Battery, Trolling Science Journalism, Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Action Bias vs Omission Bias; Science Fiction

May 7, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #878 - May 7 2022

SGU 17 Year Anniversary; Quickie with Bob: Follow Up Solar Lens; News Items: Sustainable Jet Fuel, Dog Personality, COVID and Cognitive Function, Fertilizer Shortage, Cosmic Expansion; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Lemuria; Science or Fiction

Apr 30, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #877 - Apr 30 2022

The Skeptics Guide to the Future Book Preorder; News Items: Redefining the Second, NFT Medicine, LHC Restart, Energy Psychology, Researching the Paranormal; Who's That Noisy; Corrections: Native vs Endemic; Science or Fiction

Apr 23, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #876 - Apr 23 2022

News Items: Vaping and Inflammation, Projectile Fusion, Facilitated Communication is Still Pseudoscience, Gamma Rays and Gravitational Waves, AI Emotion Detection; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Communicating Skepticism; Science or Fiction

Apr 16, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #875 - Apr 16 2022

Live from Boston with guest George Hrab; Over-Under; News Items: CRISPR-On, Achromatic X-Ray Lens, Pareidolia and Gender, Cleaning Solar Panels, Public Media and Democracy; Science or Fiction

Apr 9, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #874 - Apr 9 2022

Interview with NASA Biologist John Kiss; News Items: Life on Europa, Ancient Skull Surgery, Artemis Stuck, Most Distant Star, Fake News; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Evolution and Racism; Science or Fiction

Apr 2, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #873 - Apr 2 2022

Guest Rogue Andrea Jones Roy; Special Report: Political Science of War; News Items: Transgenic Plants in Space, Homeopathy Trials and Publication Bias, Psychedelic Treatments, Anti-Universe, Plastic in our Blood; Science or Fiction

Mar 26, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #872 - Mar 26 2022

Daylight Saving Time; News Items: SLS is here, COVID Brain, Origins of Life, Orbiting Solar Power, Antarctic Heat Wave; Who's That Noisy; Name That Logical Fallacy; Science or Fiction

Mar 19, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #871 - Mar 19 2022

Interview with Michelle Ciulla Lipkin from the National Association for Media Literacy Education; News Items: Why Is Life Symmetrical, Evolution of Language, Moon Rocks, Plasma Laser Lens, International Paranormal Conference; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Mar 12, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #870 - Mar 12 2022

Guest Rogue, Brian Wecht; News Items: Solid State Batteries, Are Coronal Loops Real, COVID Anosmia, Alcohol and the Brain; Special Report: Update on String Theory; Quickie with Bob: Bacteria Convert Sunlight to Energy; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Mar 5, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #869 - Mar 5 2022

Special Report: Ukraine; News Items: Quantum Gravity Gradiometer, Sea Level Rise, NASA Innovative Projects, Biological Sex; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction

Feb 26, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #868 - Feb 26 2022

News Items: Hot Jupiters, Jumping To Conclusions, Nanoparticles to Stop Internal Bleeding, Internet 2035; Quickie with Bob: Plasma Physics; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Bird Deaths; Science or Fiction

Feb 19, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #867 - Feb 19 2022

First Scientists; News Items: Psyche May Not Be The Iron Giant, Planet Around White Dwarf, Falling Birds, HIV Cure; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Girt; Name That Logical Fallacy; Science or Fiction

Feb 12, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #866 - Feb 12 2022

Quotation Rotation; News Items: Treating Spinal Cord Injury, Artificial Enamel, Laser Thermal Propulsion, Chimps Self-Medicating; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: De-Extinction; Science or Fiction

Feb 5, 2022
The Skeptics Guide #865 - Feb 5 2022

Quickie with Bob - Scientists Invent Flubber; News Items: Machine Learning and Mental Health, Hardy Tardigrades, DNA Microfossils, Belief in the Paranormal and Credibility, Tesla Robots; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Rogan and Spotify; Science or Fiction