Skeptoid #848: On the Trail of Papillon

The 1928 murder of a folk healer ignited a media frenzy and moral panic, revealing how superstition and magical thinking can fuel real-world tragedy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices 

We’re sharing a preview of a new audiobook, Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth, which celebrates the wit and wisdom of the legendary science fiction author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Douglas Adams was someone who thought ... Show More

Is there good science backing up the idea that you should eat based upon which of three body types you have? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices 

Locked cells, surrounded by an impenetrable concrete fortress, surrounded by high barbed wire fences, surrounded by water, on an island in San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz was considered the most 'inescapable' prison in the world. The worst of the worst were sent there. So how, in 196 ... Show More

Is jail just a finishing school for criminals? And just what is it like to be behind bars? Nicola Tallant talks to Fr Brian D’Arcy, whose work has brought him into some of the most notorious jails in Ireland. He describes the sounds and smells of prison life and describes what it ... Show More

Jason Carroll is serving life in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit. The only evidence against him? His own taped confession. More than 30 years later, is it possible to get to the truth – and who gets to tell it? More at bearbrookpodcast.com 

Learn about an island “geomyth” that helped researchers solve an ancient mystery; and whether truth serum really works.An indigenous "geomyth" helped scientists figure out where 3 huge boulders came from by Grant CurrinHakai Magazine. (2021). Rounding Out the Story of Three Legen ... Show More

This episode originally aired in 2012. An all-star lineup of producers — Pat Walters, Lynn Levy, and Sean Cole — bring you stories about traps, getaways, perpetual cycles, and staggering breakthroughs.  We kick things off with a true escape artist — a man who’s broken out of jail ... Show More

Prison protest: Laurie Taylor explores the way in which prisoners have sought to transform the conditions of their imprisonment and have their voices heard. Nayan Shah, Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity and History at the University of Southern California, considers the ... Show More

In 1999 John Killick and his then-girlfriend Lucy Dudko pulled off the most daring prison break in Australian history when Lucy hijacked a helicopter and landed it in Silverwater prison before she and John flew to freedom. John tells us everything that went down before the big ev ... Show More