The games are "backed by Donald Trump Jr.'s venture capital firm, 1789 Capitol, and tech billionaire Peter Thiel." "Enhanced Group, is using the games as a launch pad for their business, selling peptides and other supplements."

However, the theory took off and “outpaced the actual data,” Dr. Kaeberlein said. “You get high-profile people writing review articles, talking at conferences, nowadays going on podcasts stating what I would say are early stage models as if they are proven fact.”

"What is Blake Whiting?" is more like it. Popular science books rewritten by AI.

“'Vaccine skepticism is bad politics,' read one polling memo by conservative polling firm Fabrizio Ward that was presented to congressional leaders and shared with Trump officials in recent months." Wrong use of the word "skepticism" but I like the claim!

Novella vs. Dawkins on AI consciousness. They're both wrong! (1/2)

"the Defense Department on Friday released dozens of previously classified files on alleged UFO sightings to provide what ‌it called 'unprecedented transparency'"

For my newsletter, I mocked Richard Dawkins for his AI consciousness argument and his decision that Claude is a woman. "Mr. Dawkins, have you seen Claude's vagina, sir?" www.burnsnotice.com/richard-dawk...

“Readers should not get their hopes up that there’s going to be some document with photos, interviewing the aliens when they came down,” [Kirkpatrick] said. “Because that just doesn’t exist.”

Religious group ‘reviewing all available remedies’ after clips of young people rushing its buildings in ‘raids’ go viral, reports Uwa Ede-Osifo. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Time travel and prophecy all in one LLM!

This was an excellent presentation to NCAS by Dr. Kirkpatrick a few weeks ago. The video was posted today!

If you're in Texas, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, or Arizona, check it out! "The Psychics vs. Science Tour appeals to fans of magic, psychology, true crime, science, skepticism, spirituality, and immersive live theater..." @magictony.bsky.social

"This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation."

Coming up next Thursday!

Arizona has a measles outbreak. 97% of cases are in unvaccinated people. Now lawmakers are pushing a measure to make vaccines optional across the board. If you live in AZ, you can weigh in before the vote. It takes under a minute: centerforinquiry.org/alerts/arizo...

"A 2021 Pew Research survey found that around two-thirds of Americans said they believed intelligent life likely exists on other planets." I agree, but it's not riding in UFOs!

Check out the latest NCAS video with @benmckenzie.bsky.social

Today we celebrate the discovery by a few witnesses of something so unexpected and important that for centuries people have debated the facts of the case. On April 5, 1722, Jacob Roggeveen and his crew became the first Europeans to see the moai of Rapa Nui.

Coincidence?

"The brief summary released by OMB did not disclose many details about the NASA budget, but the 2027 proposal includes many of the same proposed cuts as in 2026. Science, for example, would be cut by $3.4 billion, or 47%." That's the same cost as a few days of bombing Iran...

Shroud of India?

How about a good-news story?

Please protest RFK Jr. and MAHA today!

If you're in the DC area, you don't want to miss this presentation by Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick on April 9. Advance registration is required!

Streaming now!

CFI is building a museum!

"Cryptozoology in the 21st century is primarily the realm of the Pop Cryptid. Cryptids, in that sense, are more popular than ever." @sharonahill.bsky.social

Happy pi day!

Still here!

Senator Chris Van Hollen standing up for Science!

Time to Stand up for Science!

On March 7, 1785, James Hutton’s paper “Concerning the System of the Earth” was read to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He argued that Earth was shaped by slow, natural processes operating over immense spans of time, challenging Ussher’s famous calculation that God created the world in 4004 BCE.

Tomorrow!

Tonight!

This is madness. I wrote about "peptides" a few years ago, before the trend really hit. People are injecting themselves with black-market liquids purported to contain experimental drugs that were abandoned for failing to show benefits or being unsafe. gizmodo.com/rfk-jr-tells...

This Saturday (March 7), Stand up for Science!

This could be interesting. See also Betteridge's law of headlines: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word 'no.'"

"Frye... and his colleagues launched double-blind placebo-controlled trials that were funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and Defense Department. They involved children who took a twice-daily pill version of leucovorin."

“'These are just the latest examples in a record that stretches back a decade of Secretary Kennedy making claims about vaccines that are contradicted by facts and data,' Michael Osterholm, executive director of the University of Minnesota’s Vaccine Integrity Project, said in a statement."

On Feb. 28, 1998, Andrew Wakefield published a paper in The Lancet claiming that the MMR vaccine causes autism. It doesn't.

This is obvious, but I'm gonna say it anyway... The fact that this wellness grifter is being normalized and legitimized by the nomination and (inevitable) appointment is a powerful symbol of how far the U.S. has fallen. Dark Age 2.0. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Tomorrow's National Capital Area Skeptics presentation will be Dr. Caitlin Ahrens. She will be discussing what we know about building structures on the moon. Join us at 1:30 pm, in person or watch the livestream!

"Trump said Thursday that he was directing agencies to release files pertaining to 'alien and extraterrestrial life.'"

Here’s a shocking fact: they were lied to. MAHA Moms Turn Against Trump: ‘Women Feel Like They Were Lied To’ www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/u...

In first speech to her FDA staff, Høeg says she’ll scrutinize RSV shots and SSRIs in pregnancy www.statnews.com/2026/02/19/t... by @lizzylawrence.bsky.social via @statnews.com She wants to "question the norms" [read: ignore science & push MAGA agenda]. Dark Age 2.0.

On Feb. 19, 1796, Elisha Perkins received a U.S. patent for “metallic tractors.” These expensive ($25) metal rods were sold as medical devices. The metal was said to draw “noxious electrical fluid” from injuries. In 1800, physician John Haygarth showed that wooden replicas were equally effective.

Grief Vampire #SusanneWilson the #CarefreeMedium within seconds of my latest video calling her and other Arizona Mediums out for not finding Nancy Guthrie has released this video invoking the "Dr. Gary Schwartz" fallacy. youtu.be/d_Pobgac7wo