The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe

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The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
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Cast and voices
Hosted bySteven Novella
Jay Novella
Bob Novella
Evan Bernstein
Cara Santa MariaScript error: No such module "WikidataIB".
Publication
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Reception
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The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (SGU) is an American weekly skeptical podcast hosted by Steven Novella along with a panel of contributors. The official podcast of the New England Skeptical Society, it was named to evoke The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The show features discussions of recent scientific developments in layman's terms, and interviews authors, people in the area of science, and other famous skeptics. The SGU podcast includes discussions of myths, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, the paranormal, and other forms of superstition, from the point of view of scientific skepticism.

Hosts

The SGU podcast was first released in May 2005. The original lineup of the podcast consisted of the Novella brothers, Steven Novella, Robert "Bob" Novella and Jay Novella, along with Evan Bernstein, and Perry DeAngelis. DeAngelis contributed until his death in 2007, shortly before his 44th birthday. Rebecca Watson joined in 2006 and later left the podcast in 2014.[1] Cara Santa Maria joined the cast in July 2015.

The podcast is affiliated with the New England Skeptical Society and with the SGU Productions LLC.[2]

Until late 2018 there were no full-time employees of the podcast. Co-host Jay Novella stated that this was partially a result of the financial drain from a protracted defamation lawsuit, filed by Edward Tobinick, which had "consumed financial resources that would have otherwise been available" for hiring staff.[3] The transition to full-time status for Jay Novella was a result of three concurrent factors in 2018: the favorable resolution of the lawsuit, the end of Novella's existing career job, and the podcast successfully reaching its funding goal of over 3,000 patrons on Patreon. As the podcast's first full-time employee, Novella's role expanded beyond co-host and website manager to focus on business operations, project management, and growing the podcast's audience, which included launching a new website and newsletter.[3]

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Production

File:SGU cast at CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas.jpg
SGU live recording at CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas. From left to right: Rachael Dunlop (guest), Evan Bernstein, Jay Novella, Steven Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and Bob Novella.

Segments include interviews, discussions of significant but largely unknown figures in science ("Forgotten Superheroes of Science"), and games played with the audience or between the panelists, such as "Science or Fiction" and "Who's That Noisy?".[4] The show typically closes with a "Skeptical Quote" read by a host.

Most episodes last approximately 80 minutes. On September 23, 2011, the SGU produced a 24-hour live podcast titled "SGU-24" to mark the year 2012 approaching (referencing the 2012 phenomenon), featuring contributions from skeptics worldwide.[5]

Theme music

The show's theme music is "Theorem" by the San Francisco rock band, Kineto.[6] The theme was acquired from the Podsafe Music Network. Prior to the November 2, 2005 show, the initial theme song was Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me with Science," which the hosts selected because "it seemed to fit."[7]

Guests

Many Skeptics' Guide episodes contain interviews. Often the interviews feature well-known scientists or skeptics, for instance Massimo Pigliucci or Joe Nickell. Rarely the guests are proponents of fringe or pseudoscientific views. Some episodes have guest rogues, such as Bill Nye, participating in the entire podcast. Notable guests include the following:[8]

Show date Episode Guest Description
Frequent guest --- James Randi A Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic, founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation
Frequent guest --- Phil Plait An American astronomer and skeptic, former president of the James Randi Educational Foundation, known as "The Bad Astronomer"
Frequent guest --- George Hrab Musician, skeptic podcaster
Frequent guest --- Richard Saunders An Australian skeptic, podcaster and professional origamist[9]
Template:Dts 5 Michael Shermer Founder of The Skeptics Society, author of Why People Believe Weird Things[9]
September 7, 2005 12 Steve Milloy Founder of junkscience.com
Template:Dts 15 Chris Mooney Author of The Republican War on Science[9]
Template:Dts 50 Gerald Posner Author of Case Closed[9]
Template:Dts 51 Neal Adams A proponent of the hollow and expanding earth hypotheses[9]
Template:Dts 63 Michael Shermer Founder of The Skeptics Society, author of Why People Believe Weird Things[9]
Template:Dts 73 B. Alan Wallace The president and founder of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies[9]
Template:Dts 80 Teller One-half of the illusionist team Penn and Teller[9]
Template:Dts 81 Adam Savage and Tory Belleci From the Discovery Channel show MythBusters[9]
Template:Dts 82 Christopher Hitchens Journalist and literary critic, author of God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything[9][10]
Template:Dts 82 Matt Stone Co-creator of South Park[9]
Template:Dts 83 Julia Sweeney Former Saturday Night Live cast member[9]
Template:Dts 91 Susan Blackmore PhD in parapsychology, skeptic, and author[11]
Template:Dts 105 Jimmy Carter 39th President of the United States, Nobel laureate[9][12]
Template:Dts 111 Bill Nye "The Science Guy"[9]
Template:Dts 121 Paul Kurtz Committee for Skeptical Inquiry founder and chairman of the Council for Secular Humanism
Template:Dts 156 Neil deGrasse Tyson An American astrophysicist and science communicator
Template:Dts 162 Richard Saunders An Australian skeptic, podcaster and professional origamist
Template:Dts 168 PZ Myers An American biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) and the author of the Pharyngula science blog
December 16, 2008 178 Richard Wiseman A psychologist and professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire
Template:Dts 182 Michio Kaku Theoretical physicist
Template:Dts 196 Seth Shostak An American astronomer and senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute
Template:Dts 199 Rusty Schweickart An American Apollo astronaut
Template:Dts 219 Mark Edward Mentalist
Template:Dts 245 George Hrab Musician, skeptic podcaster
Template:Dts 265 Rhys Morgan Teenage consumer advocate
Template:Dts 304 Jon Ronson Author of The Psychopath Test
Template:Dts 331 Neil deGrasse Tyson An American astrophysicist and science communicator
Template:Dts 333 Rhys Morgan Teenage consumer advocate
Template:Dts 373 Billy West Voice actor on Futurama and other shows
Template:Dts 376 Pamela Gay Astronomer and podcaster
Template:Dts 379 Jamy Ian Swiss Close-up magician
Template:Dts 383 Bruce Hood Psychologist and author
Template:Dts 385 Banachek Mentalist and director of the JREF Million Dollar Challenge
Template:Dts 390 Massimo Pigliucci Philosopher and author
Template:Dts 393 Zack Kopplin Educational activist
Template:Dts 398 Jon Ronson Journalist and documentary film maker
Template:Dts 408 Don McLeroy Creationist and former member of the Texas State Board of Education
Template:Dts 414 Daniel Loxton Illustrator and editor of Junior Skeptic magazine
Template:Dts 417 Paul Offit Pediatrician and vaccine advocate
Template:Dts 421 Michael E. Mann Climatologist
Template:Dts 423 Sanal Edamaruku Author and founding president of Rationalist International
Template:Dts 424 Cara Santa Maria Science communicator
Template:Dts 430 Marty Klein Sex therapist and author
Template:Dts 434 Chris Mooney and Indre Viskontas Science writers and Podcasters
Template:Dts 435 Gerald Posner Journalist and author[13]
Template:Dts 438 Susan Gerbic & Tim Farley Founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia & The creator of WhatsTheHarm.net [14]
Template:Dts 443 Mark Crislip Medical doctor and podcaster
Template:Dts 445 Karen Stollznow Linguist and podcaster
Template:Dts 451 Michio Kaku Physicist and science communicator
Template:Dts 453 Jennifer Ouellette Science writer
Template:Dts 456 James Marsters Actor and musician
Template:Dts 460 Elise Andrew Founder and maintainer of the "I Fucking Love Science" Facebook page
Template:Dts 481 Daniel Dennett Philosopher and cognitive scientist
Template:Dts 680 Bill Nye "The Science Guy"[15]
Template:Dts 701 Susan Gerbic Founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia discussing that project[16]
Template:Dts 713 Susan Gerbic Founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia discussing New York Times coverage of psychic sting operation on Thomas John[17][18]

Recognition

The Skeptics' Guide won the 2009 Podcast Awards in the "Education" category, and the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014 Podcast Awards in the "Science" category.[19]

It was also a 2014 "Dose of Rationality" Top 10 Podcast,[20] and a 2010 Physics.org Best Podcast nominee.[21]

Sponsors and membership

On July 30, 2013, Steven Novella announced that the SGU would begin offering membership and airing sponsors. Novella went on to say that the money raised would go into funding skeptical activities, including but not limited to, development of skeptical educational content and web-series such as "Occ The Skeptical Caveman". The addition of sponsors is not permanent, according to Novella, they shall be removed "if 4% of listeners support the SGU through membership at an average of the $8 per month level."[22] Though membership has begun, the SGU continues to publish a free weekly sponsored podcast. Membership entitles one to an ad-free version of The SGU, extra content, and discounts to NECSS (The Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism). Membership range from $4/month to $200/month.[23]

Additional financial support from listeners is provided through Patreon. The SGU has established several goals after achieving a certain number of financial supporters. A major benchmark was reached in 2018 with 3,000 Patreon supporters that sustained enough predictable income for a full-time employee.[3] Other benchmarks include a 12-hour and 24-hour live show after reaching 4,000 and 5,500 supporters, respectively.[1] These live shows may be located on the most complete and accurate reproduction of the Starship Enterprise Star Trek: The Original Series set, which was built by James Cawley and can be seen on the SGU Patreon page introduction video.[3]

As of early 2026, the show is supported by over 7,700 members.[24] This funding has facilitated large-scale projects, including studio upgrades and live touring events such as the "SGU Extravaganza."

Books

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (2018)

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The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake is a 2018 book written by Steven Novella and co-authored by the other current co-hosts of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast—Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Bernstein. It also contains posthumous material from former co-host Perry DeAngelis. The book is meant to be an all-encompassing guide to skeptical thinking. In an interview with The European Skeptics Podcast, Jay Novella describes their approach to writing the book from the "point of view of an alien species observing the earth from a skeptical perspective using critical thinking," reminiscent of the podcast's namesake The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.[3]

The Skeptics' Guide to the Future (2022)

In September 2022, the hosts published their second book, The Skeptics' Guide to the Future: What Yesterday's Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow.[25] The book examines historical predictions of the future that failed, explores the reasons why futurism is often inaccurate, and speculates on potential technologies such as genetic manipulation and quantum computing.[26]

It received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which described it as "pop science done right" and an "antidote to spreading anti-scientific sentiments."[27] Barnes & Noble named it one of the "Best Science Books of 2022."[28]

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Watson, Rebecca (December 27, 2014). "Why I've Left SGU". Skepchick.org. Skepchick. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Senapathy, Kavin (June 14, 2022). "Conquering Secular and Skeptical White Supremacy in America". The Humanist. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."TheESP Ep. #160 – Jay Novella & The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe". soundcloud.com (Podcast). March 4, 2019. Event occurs at 1:16:26. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."About The Skeptics' Guide". The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Plait, Phil (September 23, 2011). "24 hour SGU podcastathon tonight!". Discover Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kineto's Myspace page". Archived from the original on June 14, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.jlavarnway (June 23, 2025). "The Force behind The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe | Skeptical Inquirer". Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Episode list". theskepticsguide.org. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe podcast archive, archived from the original on May 3, 2013
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gerbic, Susan (September 28, 2017). "An Interview with CSICon Speaker Bob Novella". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SGU Episode 91". sgutranscripts.org. SGU Productions. Archived from the original on November 24, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Larry King needs a new format". The Herald Tribune. January 21, 2008. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SGU Episode 435". SGUtranscripts.org. SGU Productions. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SGU Episode 438". SGUtranscripts.org. SGU Productions. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Podcast #680 – July 21st, 2018". theskepticsguide.org. SGU Productions. July 21, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Podcast #701 – December 15th, 2018". theskepticsguide.org. SGU Productions. December 15, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Podcast #713 – March 9th, 2019". Facebook.com. SGU Productions. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Podcast #713 – March 9th, 2019". theskepticsguide.org. SGU Productions. March 9, 2019. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Podcast Award Winners 2005-2014". The People's Choice Podcast Awards. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sacerich, Robert (July 9, 2014). "The 2014 "Dose of Rationality" Top 10 Podcasts!". Rationality Unleashed. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The physics.org web awards 2010". Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The SGU and Skeptical Activism". Neurologica Blog. July 30, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Member Subscription". The Skeptics Guide To The Universe. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe Patreon". Patreon. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Novella, Steven (September 27, 2022). The Skeptics' Guide to the Future: What Yesterday's Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1538709542.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Review, Kirkus (September 27, 2022). "THE SKEPTICS' GUIDE TO THE FUTURE". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Skeptics' Guide to the Future". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Best Science Books of 2022". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved January 2, 2026.

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