Skeptoid

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Skeptoid is a weekly podcast created by Brian Dunning, a computer software designer turned science writer, run in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), and partly inspired by The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. Its subject is the 'critical analysis of pop cultural phenomena' and the investigation of the reality behind all kinds of pseudosciences, myths, urban legends or popular fads. It is generally much shorter than most other science podcasts at around 10-14 minutes per episode, mostly because the host had a regular day job for most of the duration of the show, but also to be easy to listen to and to appeal to a general mass audience.

You may either read or listen to podcast episodes at the show's Web site.

Tropes used in Skeptoid include:

• Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti
• Catch Phrase: "Let's point the skeptical eye..." and "Be skeptical," come up at least Once an Episode.
• Deadpan Snarker: The podcast contains some of the finest dry verbal beatdowns anywhere in skepticism, although the host is apparently moving away from being snarky to opponents.
• Insult Backfire: Some of the more invective emails Brian reads from his viewers make the writer seem like a raving loon. This is most impressive when Brian patiently deconstructs fallacious logic and explains that even if every demented thing the correspondent has claimed about the world were true it still wouldn't change the scientific validity of what he said in the episode.
• Musical Episode: The quality of which is up to the listener to decide.
• Nice Guy: The evolving persona of Brian Dunning, who started as a Deadpan Snarker but has recently become unfailingly polite and yet uncompromising. His persona as of early 2012 is more of one who wishes his opponents well and that they would "get it."
• Satire: A few episodes, such as the Musical Episode "Screwed!", instead send-up pseudoscientific or conspiracy theory belief structures. The "Most Effective Homeopathy Podcast Ever," roughly ten minutes of silence with an intro and outro, is another example.
• Shown Their Work: Brian does in depth research on every topic and provides his sources in the show notes. It shows, especially when he makes a mistake, which he will usually correct and apologize for with some self-depreciating humor.
• You Fail Logic Forever: The Logical Fallacies two-parter is an excellent primer on common fallacies.
• The Movie: YouTube video "Here Be Dragons" sums up many of the basic themes of the show in 40 minutes.
• Science Hero: Brian Dunning, mostly for being so reasonable and fair-minded when it comes to many subject that most people in the scientific community would laugh at (like Backmasking or the Face on Mars).