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Brian Dunning

@briandunning.bsky.social
1.4K followers 45 following 923 posts

I make movies & podcasts & books & stuff. apple.co/3VlpfOv theufo.movie

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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
How many tons of lava rocks are mailed back to Hawaiian national parks each year, because superstitious people attributed bad luck to their theft? I’ve got the answers right here:
briandunning.substack.com
Pele doesn't want your apology: How many tons of stolen lava rocks Hawaii gets in the mail each year
People who steal stuff from important sites often default to superstitions when they experience subsequent bad luck.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Is AI causing an ordinary moral panic, or a full-blown psychosis? This week on Skeptoid: skep.us/1060
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Much of legacy crime scene forensics is bullshit — and it cost this woman 15 years of your life. What are 15 years of your life worth to you? Today on my Substack:
briandunning.substack.com
The TV Forensics You Trust Are Mostly Bunk, and Bite Marks Cost This Woman 15 Years.
Sheila Denton has finally been exonerated after having been convicted of murder based on bite mark evidence, and spending 15 years in prison.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Have you seen ads that your weight problem is due to cortisol? I say we put that particular claim under the skeptical eye. This week on Skeptoid, fact-checking "cortisol belly" — skep.us/1059
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Tomorrow night, Utah's Beehive Skeptics are hosting a free screening of my 2023 film The UFO Movie THEY Don't Want You to See. If you're within striking distance of Salt Lake City, join them! Details on Meetup: www.meetup.com/outdoor-heat...
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A little moment of science communication I'm most proud of, today on my Substack: briandunning.substack.com/p/a-little-s...
briandunning.substack.com
A little story in science communication
Share whenever you can. Sometimes it’s worth it.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
For the astronomically curious: A report from this week's Alien Echoes production — briandunning.substack.com/p/report-fro...
briandunning.substack.com
Report from the production office
The last day of location shooting for Alien Echoes is in the can!
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Two shoots today for #AlienEchoes — @astrokatie.com and Dakotah Tyler. Thanks to @planetarysociety.bsky.social for the location!
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The terror! The true science behind this most fearsome of all North American cryptids — the Honey Island Swamp Monster!!!! This week on Skeptoid: skep.us/1058 (Skeptoid Media is not responsible for any emotional or psychological damage you might suffer as a result of this episode.)
skep.us
Tracking the Honey Island Swamp Monster - Skeptoid
Does a huge, hairy, ape-like creature roam the swamps of Louisiana?
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Science has fixed up some false beliefs about Britain's tallest standing stones. Today on my Substack:
briandunning.substack.com
Britain’s tallest standing stones have a new home.
Their place of birth has been moved — even if the stones themselves have not.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A general asked Palantir for alien anti-gravity tech. More evidence that serving in the military does not confer immunity from strange beliefs and gullibility: geekspin.co/palantir-ant...
geekspin.co
US general asked Palantir to build an alien machine
Palantir CEO Alex Karp claims a U.S. general asked the company for an “alien anti-gravity machine,” fueling UFO and UAP questions.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
From Skeptoid's online conference "Outpost 2020" — a panel called "Are Aliens Visiting us?" I moderated, and the panelists were Sarah Scoles, Tim Russ, and Dr. Alex Olshansky. Fun stuff! youtu.be/xC0MmWVfy8A
youtu.be
So Are Aliens Visiting Us, or What?
YouTube video by Skeptoid Media
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
An AI whistleblower announced his conviction that AI will cause the extinction of humanity within a decade. Is he a crackpot, or do others truly share his view? This week on my Substack:
briandunning.substack.com
Will AI cause the extinction of all humans within the decade?
Aha! Does Betteridge’s Law of Headlines apply here as well? Maaaaaybe...
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
How are your NFTs doing?
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
They say people who have served in the military are inerrant witnesses, incapable of being mistaken or of not knowing what they're looking at, with memories that remain unchanged for decades. This week on Skeptoid: skeptoid.com/episodes/1057
skeptoid.com
The 1973 Mansfield UFO Encounter - Skeptoid
Four men in an Air National Guard helicopter had a terrifying UFO encounter in the skies above Ohio.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It's a story you've heard before, but not like this: youtu.be/ZBw5Nn2uv8Y
youtu.be
Fighter pilot reflects on order to sacrifice herself to stop Flight 93 on 9/11
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
When Carl Sagan and James Randi first met, sparks flew. Good sparks. Today on my free Substack newsletter:
briandunning.substack.com
When Carl Sagan met James Randi
How exactly did the world’s most beloved science communicator get hooked up with the world’s most ruthless charlatan buster?
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
"There are no greater liars in the world than quacks, except their patients." — Dr. Benjamin Rush, 1853; usually wrongly attributed to his close friend Benjamin Franklin.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Need reading glasses as you get older? Maybe you need this bullshit supplement instead! Today on my Substack:
briandunning.substack.com
Need reading glasses as you get older? Maybe you need some bullshit supplement.
And maybe you don’t. The latest bullshit grift to sell worthless supplements to the unfortunate (especially the elderly).
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
This week on Skeptoid: Everything you thought you knew about Peru's Nazca Lines, and a lot of stuff you didn't: skeptoid.com/episodes/1056
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Nepal, one town of many similarly impacted. Same house circled in yellow.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Want to come on Skeptoid's "Mysteries of the Maya" adventure, but facing a budget crunch? GREAT NEWS: We are offering a limited number of scholarships for educators and students. Link to the application is on the Adventure web page: skeptoid.com/events/30319
skeptoid.com
Mysteries of the Maya
Skeptoid event on December 6, 2026
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Time to take sides... Are you iPhone or Android? 😅
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Yosemite Valley's premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation; shall be inalienable for all time. - Abraham Lincoln
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Want to come on the "Mysteries of the Maya" Skeptoid Adventure, but funds are a bit tight? No problem, we've got you covered! We are offering a limited number of scholarships for this guided trip in December to the Yucatán Coast. Details on the page: skeptoid.com/events/30319
skeptoid.com
Mysteries of the Maya
Skeptoid event on December 6, 2026
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
My report from last week's East Coast loop filming "Alien Echoes". Many fun & delightful adventures took place. Enjoy:
briandunning.substack.com
“Alien Echoes” filming: Report from the East
Another flyaway week for Alien Echoes film production is now wrapped. Here’s what happened.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
This week on Skeptoid: Updates to shows on truth serum, religious justifications for ghosts existing, the graveyard of the elephants," and more! skep.us/1055
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Some hippie used a Sharpie instead of a dry erase marker on Ori's smart slate on the previous shoot, which meant we got to use white gaff tape and our own Sharpie. 😅 #AlienEchoes
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
#AlienEchoes Family after a full week of full immersion. #Tired #NeedAVacation #DesperatelyTired #TraumaBonding @skeptoid.bsky.social
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
The more chapters are added to the fantasy universe of UFOlogy, the weirder it makes itself. www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/the-sec...
jasoncolavito.com
The Secret History of Dick Cheney's Prison for Space Aliens
​As many of you are undoubtedly aware, David Grusch made some rather bizarre claims on the Dr. Phil podcast this week, and one of the wildest was the allegation that Dick Cheney ran a space alien...
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Here's why you never heard of "Gain-of-Function" research until it became of COVID-denial rallying cry in mid-2021:
briandunning.substack.com
What is "Gain-of-Function" research, and why hadn't you heard of it before 2021?
In mid-2021, the world was in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the US was gripped in a battle of disinformation.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
I have my famous pimento cheese spread, and you don't.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I took this picture of Mount St. Helens on Saturday, and for shiggles, added an overlay of how it looked pre-1980 from about the same angle. Note that the entire left front face is completely hollowed out.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Did you die yesterday? No? Amazing — because history's worst catastrophe was supposed to strike the Earth. Today on my Substack:
briandunning.substack.com
We Didn't All Die Yesterday
What luck! The Internet says we were supposed to.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Can your subconscious really "block out memories," and can they be recovered through hypnosis? Pop culture sure seems to think so. This week on Skeptoid: skep.us/1053
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Man, this Skeptical Inquirer magazine is really going downhill.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
One guy's plan to salvage the value of homes in Japan where a murder or suicide took place. Today on my Substack:
briandunning.substack.com
Here's how much value a "haunted" property loses.
Who wants a creepy ghost for a roommate? Not very many people, it turns out — especially in Japan.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The "multi-sensor data" evidence for UFO videos is every bit as amazing as the dragon that Carl Sagan had in his garage. Today on my Substack: briandunning.substack.com/p/the-eviden...
briandunning.substack.com
The Evidence for Aliens, and Carl Sagan's Dragon in the Garage
What's the difference between evidence that is claimed to exist but never shown, and no evidence at all?
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
CERN's Large Hadron Collider is a social media star again — because, as usual, ignorant crackpot influencers think it's destroying the universe. This week on Skeptoid: skep.us/1052
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
We wrapped up last week's flyaway filming trip down near San Diego, where we stopped at the home of astronomer and sci-fi author David Brin. His famous 1983 paper "The Great Silence" proposed two solutions to the Fermi Paradox. I'll tell you all about it on tomorrow's Zoom:
open.substack.com
Talking Aliens with David Brin
The award-winning sci-fi author has many thoughts about alien visitation...
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
From the "Alien Echoes" files — the Doomsday Argument is one proposed explanation for why, in a universe probably teeming with life, we don't have any evidence for it. And it's wrong. Free preview of today's Substack: open.substack.com/pub/briandun...
open.substack.com
Why the Doomsday Argument is wrong
Does a simple statistical analysis really show that humanity is near the end of its existence? It's not quite so simple.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Today on Skeptoid: I take a big bite of Humble Pie and correct errors in previous shows. Thanks for keeping me honest: skeptoid.com/episodes/1051
skeptoid.com
The Humble Pie Report - Skeptoid
Once again, we issue your corrections to errors made in previous Skeptoid episodes.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
O crazy heavy case full of lithium ion; How I do love thee so. Why doth thou not have rollers?
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Giving up on sleep for tonight — again. I need to get up at 2:40am to catch a plane to our next shoot, and that's only an hour away. So what's the point? 😵
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Under RFK Jr., the most openly corrupt FDA advisors in history always do this crap on a Friday, hoping it will get lost in the news cycle:
open.substack.com
History's worst FDA advisors recommend filling pharmacies with their own unsafe, untested crap
RFK Jr's advisory panel of profoundly conflicted supplement sellers are recommending that you buy their supplements. Shocker!
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Up that way.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Yes, this actually has to be said: Please do not inject fluid into your testicles. Today on my Substack:
open.substack.com
Do not inject fluid into your testicles.
I place this high on the list of "Things we shouldn't even have to say."
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Interesting thing alert: Is the "reality shifting" trend truly a way we can use our minds to escape into a different world of our own making — as absolutely real as this one? It's worth looking at, and guess what, Skeptoid has done just that! skeptoid.com/episodes/1049
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I am most pleased with this Skeptoid episode art — this show comes out in 2 or 3 weeks.
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Brian Dunning @briandunning.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Too often, people bring in the wrong kind of experts — e.g., when SRI brought in physicists to see if Uri Geller was actually magical or was using simple tricks, when they should have brought in magicians who actually know the tricks to look for. Some more examples are in my Substack for today:
open.substack.com
Scientists Are Incredibly Easy to Fool
What do blood testing, cold fusion, Uri Geller, and the space shuttle Challenger have in common?
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