Biomedical scientist Andrea Love highlights the inconsistency in public acceptance of genetic engineering—embraced in medicine but often rejected in agriculture. She argues that the same scientific tools used to treat cancer and genetic diseases can also save lives through innovations like Golden Rice, and warns that misinformation and ideology are blocking progress where it’s needed most.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/06/same-science-different-reactions-genetic-engineering-in-medicine-and-food/

About the Author:

Dr. Andrea Love is an immunologist and microbiologist with over a decade of experience in basic sciences, translational medicine, and clinical research. She is a subject-matter expert in infectious disease immunology, cancer immunology, and autoimmunity and is adept at translating complex scientific data and topics for the public and healthcare providers. She works full-time in life science biotechnology in the fields of vaccinology, immunology, immunotherapy, cancer, cell and gene therapy, and other related fields. While she will always be a biomedical scientist, she has a passion for helping the public understand complex science topics in order to navigate the world better. She is also the author of Immunologic, a newsletter and science information hub that communicates evidence-based information on science and health topics. Andrea is also the Executive Director of the American Lyme Disease Foundation, and was the 2023 American Medical Writers Association McGovern Award Recipient. She is passionate about scientific literacy starting from an early age and encouraging children toward a career in STEM. Outside of her career in science and efforts in science communication, she lives near Philly with her partner and their 7 rescue cats. She is a marathoner and ultramarathoner, a yogi, a black belt in judo, and an amateur wildlife photographer.

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

Taner Edis reviews Quanta in Distress: How New Age Gurus Kidnapped Quantum Physics by Sadri Hassani.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/06/calling-out-quantum-woo/

About the Author:

Taner Edis is a professor of physics at Truman State University.

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

Joe Nickell’s final “Investigative Files” column critically examines the canonization of Carlo Acutis, a tech-savvy teen dubbed the first millennial saint. Nickell explores Acutis’s fascination with Eucharistic miracles and challenges the legitimacy of the “miraculous” healings attributed to him, arguing instead for rational, evidence-based explanations.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/06/miracle-boy-the-first-millennial-saint/

About the Author:

Joe Nickell, PhD, was senior research fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and “Investigative Files” columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he authored numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1983), Pen, Ink and Evidence (1990), Unsolved History (1992) and Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (2007). He has appeared in many television documentaries and has been profiled in The New Yorker and on NBC’s Today Show. His personal website is at joenickell.com.

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

Foster and Miller travel to Summer 1979, volume 3 number 4 of Skeptical Inquirer in the latest edition of The Time Warp!

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https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/06/full-moon-full-wards-how-science-craters-that-lunar-link/

About the Authors:

Craig A. Foster is a CSI fellow and the director of research and evaluation at Northshore School District in Bothell, Washington.

Kate Miller is a certified healthcare simulation operations specialist (CHSOS) at SUNY Upstate Medical University and a graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

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

Talia Felix, a contributor to the Online Etymology Dictionary, explores the widespread misunderstanding of etymology—not just as a confusion with "entomology," but as a belief that words contain hidden, mystical truths. This outdated notion assumes language was divinely assigned and that etymology can unlock secret meanings, a view long discarded by modern linguistics.

Felix critiques the pseudolinguistic use of etymology by occultists and conspiracy theorists who claim words are "spells" designed to manipulate people. She debunks examples like the false idea that "week" and "weak" are related, showing that such claims ignore real historical language development and cross-linguistic differences.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/06/pseudo-etymology-do-words-have-hidden-meanings/

About the Author:

Talia Felix is the assistant editor of the Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com).

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

Jay Novella reflects on the 20-year journey of The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe (SGU) and its founding force, his brother Dr. Steven Novella.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/06/the-force-behind-the-skeptics-guide-to-the-universe/

About the Author:

Jay Novella is a skeptic, podcaster, and coauthor who’s been fighting pseudoscience since dial-up internet was around. He cohosts The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast, where he’s spent decades expertly side-eyeing nonsense.

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

Cara Santa Maria reflects on two decades of debunking health pseudoscience as a cohost of The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe (SGU). From bleach-based “cures” like Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) to enduring myths such as homeopathy, chiropractic, detoxes, and anti-vaccine rhetoric, she tracks the dangerous persistence and evolution of medical quackery.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/06/twenty-years-of-health-scams-and-wellness-trends/

About the Author:

Cara Santa Maria, PhD, is a clinical health psychologist, science communicator, podcaster, and Emmy Award–winning journalist. She is the host of the weekly science podcast Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria and cohost of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. She also coedited the book Pseudoscience in Therapy: A Skeptical Field Guide.

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

Steven Novella reflects on the evolution of the modern skeptical movement, particularly through the lens of his own decades-long involvement and the 20-year success of The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast, which recently celebrated its 1,000th episode.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/06/after-decades-of-skepticism-how-are-we-doing/

About the Author:

Steven Novella, MD, is an assistant professor of neurology at Yale University School of Medicine. He is the host of the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast, author of the NeuroLogica blog, executive editor of the Science-Based Medicine blog, and president of The New England Skeptical Society.

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