Recently I had the special pleasure of appearing on a podcast called “The Show About Science.” Among other things, the podcast is remarkable because the host, Nate, is 5 years old. This was Nate’s 13th episode, so he invited me on to talk about superstitions. You can listen to the episode here.

People have begun to realize that “The Show About Science” and other podcasts for and by children have great educational potential.  Nate, who is clearly ahead of the curve on this trend, is mentioned in this recent article in The Atlantic.

Until later,

SV

My latest Behavior & Belief column, “Good News for Grouches: Happiness is Overrated,” is up at Skeptical Inquirer. I review new research showing that—contrary to popular belief—being happy (or unhappy) has no effect on the length of your life. Furthermore, if you go on to get a college degree, you may forfeit some of your happiness in the process. But don’t let that stop you. The bliss of ignorance isn’t worth the ignorance.

Happiness is a good thing—maybe even a great thing—but it isn’t everything.

Until next time,

SV

A little number I wrote called, “Don’t Ask ‘How’s the Book Going?,'” appeared in the Coffeelicious collection on Medium today. Some of my writer friends will sympathize, I’m sure.

In other news, the (modestly updated) print version of my December “Behavior and Belief” column “Guns: Feeling Safe ≠ Being Safe” has just appeared in the March-April issue of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. At your local news stand now. Also for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

I feel spring coming on…..

SV

My latest column for Skeptical Inquirer, “Nudging People to Save the Planet,” is up today. It outlines five “best practices” for getting people to combat climate change.

As a small bonus, the column also includes a bit of good news in a follow-up to my May, 2015 column on the bogus therapy Facilitated Communication (FC). In that piece, I mentioned that the prestigious Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire promoted FC. I am happy to report that the institute has subsequently decided to sever all connections with this thoroughly discredited therapy.

Jewelry designed to ward off the Evil Eye.

I confess to a certain weakness for the Evil Eye superstition. It is often motivated by the fear of harm to oneself or to a prized loved one, such as a new baby. Although I never knew about the Evil Eye until a student told me about it a few years ago, it is popular in vast areas of the Middle East, Europe, and South America. The malevolent social nature of the Evil Eye makes it somewhat different than a simple taboo belief or good luck charm.

Yesterday, I was quoted in Alison Stevenson’s nice piece on the Evil Eye in Vice.

My latest article for Skeptical Inquirer, “Guns: Feeling Safe Does Not Equal  Being Safe,” is up, and it has created a bit of a storm on the Skeptical Inquirer Facebook page. Whenever you stick your nose into the gun debate, you are likely to get attacked, and I guess it’s my turn today.

The editors at Skeptical Inquirer seem to like the article, nonetheless, and have said they will republish it in Skeptical Inquirer magazine this spring.

Enjoy the holidays and a Happy New Year to all!

SV

My November column for Skeptical Inquirer, “Psychology’s CAM Controversy,” outlines the increasing use of unsubstantiated complementary and alternative medicine methods by practicing psychologists.
Despite the lack of evidence to support their use, these treatments are very popular and have been championed in articles and books published by the American Psychological Association.

Thankfully, there has been some recent pushback from science-minded practitioners.

Friday November 13th has come and gone, and once again I offered pithy quotes on superstition for several media outlets. USA Today and National Geographic recycled earlier articles I appeared in, but the Toronto Sun and Minnesota Public Radio published original pieces for November, 2015.

My latest piece, “How a Headache Saved My Life” has just gone up on the New York Observer website. The Observer has previously reprinted material I’ve written for other outlets, but this is the first story to appear as an original on the Observer site. I am delighted to be involved with such a wonderful media organization, and to be alive to tell you this particular story.

In other news, October is superstition month, and so I was quoted in this Yahoo News story about America’s Top Superstitions.

After laying low for a month, I have two new articles out today.

The first is a column at Skeptical Inquirer entitled “Welcome to the Season of Conspiracy Theories.” It describes some of the latest conspiracies floating around, including several coming out of the 2016 Presidential campaign. I also review recent research on why people adopt conspiracy theories.

Also out today, my first publication for The Coffeelicious collection on Medium. It is a whimsical thing called “My Enormous Radio,” a title drawn from John Cheever’s 1947 short story, “The Enormous Radio.”

That’s it for now. SV

“Hanging out at the Café: Cultures of Skepticism and Belief,” my latest Behavior and Belief column for Skeptical Inquirer has just been published. After spending a wonderful vacation in a hip area of southern California, I share some thoughts about LOHAS, Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, a marketing approach that encourages a number of anti-scientific beliefs.

I also make a humble proposal to build a culture of scientific thinking by establishing a chain of science-friendly coffee shops.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

SV