Skeptophilia

I recently joined Substack (I encourage you to check it out and subscribe if you like -- my focus there is different than here at Skeptophi...

Beliefs in an afterlife of some sort are pretty ubiquitous.  It's understandable; death is scary, and seems final, and it's natural ...

A scarily long list of friends who have been coping with serious illnesses in the last six months has brought home to me how fragile life is...

In this week's episode of the current season of Doctor Who , entitled "Boom," the body of a soldier killed in battle is conver...

In July of 2004, my father died.  I was at his bedside in Our Lady of Lourdes General Hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana when it happened.  He...

In the brilliant, funny, thought-provoking, and often poignant television series The Good Place , a character named Simone, who is an Austra...

It's easy to scoff at the superstitious beliefs of the past.  I've certainly been known to do it myself.  But it bears keeping in mi...

It's fascinating how long into our past we've had rituals surrounding death. There's decent evidence that our cousins the Neande...

A man is discussing his fears about dying with his parish priest. "Father," he says, "I'd be able to relax a little if I ...

Before I run a race, I have to give myself a serious pep talk, because I'm the kind of person who always assumes the worst.  Although I...