What we’re about
"Scientific Skepticism" is a social movement that began in the 1970s to investigate & debunk topics like ESP, faith healing, astrology, UFOs, ghosts, and other "paranormal" phenomena. Skepticism was essentially a pro-science movement in reaction against the rise of New Age mysticism on the left and Christian fundamentalism on the right. Over time, the skeptic movement has addressed other debates about the dividing lines between science & pseudoscience, medicine & quackery, history & mythology, reason & faith, etc., and has tried to ascertain why people often hold irrational beliefs and how they might be persuaded to adopt more evidence-based beliefs.
"Skeptics In The Pub" started in London in 1999 as an informal social event designed to promote fellowship and social networking among scientific skeptics, free thinkers, rationalists, science enthusiasts, and other kindred spirits. The group is now held in various forms around the world, with well over a hundred local chapters.
The Philadelphia chapter of "Skeptics in the Pub" was founded back in 2014 and hosts bi-weekly group discussions on a range of topics related to science and rationality. There's several things that set our group apart from many other skeptic groups out there:
(1) While most Skeptics in the Pub chapters rely on guest lecturers, we're primarily an intellectual discussion group. That means that our regular bi-weekly meetups have a discussion topic and require some preparation and involve active participation.
(2) Most other chapters of Skeptics in the Pub host their events in "pubs" as the name suggests, but we found them to be too loud and shifted to cafes in 2017. However, since the COVID pandemic began in 2020, most of our events have moved online. Even with the pandemic over, we've found that online events have a big advantage in terms of being able to attract participants from all over America and even overseas, rather than just catering to people in the Philly metro area.
(3) When it comes to addressing pseudoscience & the paranormal, we tend to address controversies among serious scientists & scholars that aren't clear cut rather than just debunking fringe beliefs like homeopathy, Flat Earth, Bigfoot, ghosts & alien abductions for the hundredth time. We typically only address pseudo-scientific beliefs once they become widespread enough to cause major risks or interfere with major benefits to society (e.g. the anti-vaccine, anti-flouride, anti-GMO, anti-nuclear power, AI doomer, AIDS denial, COVID denial, and climate change denial movements). We also try to understand the social & psychological factors behind pseudoscientific beliefs.
(4) While we champion the scientific approach to empirical questions, we're careful to avoid a common pitfall of some skeptic groups -- i.e. "scientism" -- the application of science to non-empirical questions in fields like ethics, aesthetics & political philosophy. Also, while we generally defer to the scientific establishment, we also occasionally act as critics when it comes to issues like funding biases, academic fraud, and the replication crisis.
(5) When we cover conspiracy theories, we tend to focus less on bizarre beliefs about "Men in Black" and the "Illuminati" in favor of somewhat more plausible allegations of political corruption, corporate malfeasance, police cover-ups, covert military actions, domestic spying, etc. We also look at how low science literacy & internet echo chambers lead many normal people to go beyond realistic concerns about Big Government & Big Business and embrace irrational conspiracy theories.
(6) We tend to cover "pseudo-history" more than other skeptic groups. While the skeptic movement has done a fairly good job debunking far-out claims about "ancient aliens" & lost civilizations like Atlantis, we tend to focus more on dubious historical claims that have bigger implications for modern-day politics like the various cases of genocide denial (e.g. Holocaust, Holodomor), Neo-Confederate "Lost Cause" apologetics about the Civil War, the 1619 Project's revisionism, the antisemitic theories of the Black Hebrew Israelites & the Nation of Islam, and historical conspiracy theories about Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination, the Apollo moon landing, the 9/11 attacks, etc. We also occasionally cover lighter topics related to mythology, folklore & urban legends from both a historical & socio-psychological perspective.
(7) When we address problems with the news media, instead of debunking obvious hoaxes from junk tabloids & "fake news" websites, we tend to focus on problems within the mainstream media coverage, such as the exaggeration of scientific findings in "pop science" journalism, political biases that corrupt journalistic objectivity, and the fear-mongering that drives "moral panics". We also try to help members cut through conflicting accounts of highly polarizing events, like foreign wars or domestic social turmoil, and find out what's probably true and what's unwarranted speculation or outright disinformation.
(8) Although we occasionally address ethical & political issues, we do so from a non-partisan, empirical approach. Any politician, pundit or political party that makes claims that are unsupported by logic & evidence are open for criticism. There's also no expectation that members have specific ethical or political commitments, beyond a commitment to the use of reason & empiricism to make arguments and support for free inquiry & open debate. Whether or not atheists should adopt specific secular philosophies like "ethical humanism", "objectivism", "transhumanism", "longtermism", "effective altruism", etc., or even whether or not a scientific worldview can support certain ethical or political principles is an open question as far as this group is concerned.
(9) While most skeptic groups double as atheist groups, this meetup doesn't require members to have any particular position on abstract metaphysical questions like the existence or non-existence of a "higher power” or "ground of being", free will vs determinism, the nature of the "self", the hard problem of consciousness, panpsychism, the simulation hypothesis, the multiverse, etc. While many of the supernatural claims made by traditional organized religions are either unfalsifiable or don't withstand scientific scrutiny, the skeptic movement's major figures have had a variety of metaphysical positions, from Carl Sagan's pantheism to Richard Dawkins' anti-theism, and from Paul Kurtz's "ignosticism" to Martin Gardner's "fideism". When we cover religious issues, rather than debating the existence of God or creationism vs evolution for the thousandth time, we often focus on topics related to the psychology & sociology of religion, or we look at the ways in which the frontiers of physics can inform metaphysical speculation.
If this sounds interesting to you, we hope you'll join us!
Upcoming events
2
Profs & Pints: "Fake News and War of the Worlds"
Black Squirrel Club, 1045 Sarah Street,, Philadelphia, PA, USEvent Title & Speaker:
Profs and Pints Philadelphia presents: “Fake News and War of the Worlds,” a look at an infamous, panic-inducing Orson Welles broadcast as an early lesson on mass media’s dangers, with Daniel H. Foster, associate professor and chair of liberal arts at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute.
Event Cost & Ticket Info:
Advance tickets: $13.50 plus processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. (Doors open at 3:30 pm, Talk starts at 4:30.)
To purchase tickets, go to: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profs-and-pints-black-squirrel/war-of-worlds
Event Description:
On the evening of October 30th, 1938, somewhere between 6 and 12 million Americans tuned in the radio version of New York City’s experimental Mercury Theater. It was a decision that some, no doubt, came to regret. What they heard was an all-male chorus of talking heads—scientists, journalists, politicians, and military experts—repeatedly telling them that New Jersey was being invaded by Martians.
The ensuing hours were terrifying ones for those who did not realize they were listening to Mercury Theater on the Air’s adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells science fiction novel War of the Worlds. The broadcast, directed by and starring Orson Welles, left many convinced that Martians were wreaking havoc on Earth and harvesting humans from the Garden State. Its masterful use of music, sound effects, and especially silence showed how radio could ignite the imagination and make listeners fear the worst.
Revisit that classic moment in media history, and learn what lessons it holds for us today, with Professor Daniel Foster, who over the years has taught the “War of the Worlds” broadcast as part of courses in radio, theater, and sound studies at several universities.
His talk will go beyond the trivia and urban legends surrounding the broadcast and focus on the broadcast itself, to reveal what really happened and why it mattered. He’ll look at the broadcast not just as a moment of public panic, but a daring work of art.
Aired during a period of rapid modern change, marked by the rise of dictators in Europe to the recent fiery destruction of the Hindenburg, the “War of the Worlds” broadcast tapped into widespread anxiety about new technologies and invading forces. Often labeled as an early case of “fake news,” it exposed deep questions about the institutions listeners trusted: education, the media, government, and the military.
To emphasize the mischief radio can bring to the world, Orson Welles, at the end of the broadcast and in person, compared the radio to a jack-o-lantern and warned us to beware this “invader of the living room.”
Answering questions about the performance, its historical context, and radio as a medium—new, blind, and global— isn’t merely an academic exercise. It can help us better understand how fake news works today and how to detect such lies before they cause irreparable harm.
About Profs & Pints:
Profs and Pints ( https://www.profsandpints.com ) brings professors and other college instructors into bars, cafes, and other venues to give fascinating talks on various topics. Lectures are structured to allow at least a half hour for questions. Admission to Profs and Pints events requires the purchase of tickets, either in advance (through the link provided in event descriptions) or at the door to the venue. Please note that your indication on Meetup of your intent to attend an event constitutes neither a reservation nor payment for that event.
.........................................................1 attendee
•OnlineM.A. Lecture: "Beyond the Vampire: Transylvania as Matriarchal Origin"
OnlineEvent Title: "Beyond the Vampire: Transylvania as Matriarchal Origin" with Medical Art Psychotherapist & Artist Isabelle Rizo
Event Date: Monday, Feb. 23, 2026 at 7:00 PM EST
Ticketing Info: $8.00 - tickets can be purchased at: https://www.morbidanatomy.org/events-tickets/p/online-talk-beyond-the-vampire-transylvania-as-matriarchal-origin-with-medical-art-psychotherapist-artist-isabelle-rizo
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email info.morbidanatomy@gmail.com. (Video playback of this event is only available to Morbid Anatomy's Patreon members.)
Event Description:
When most people think of Transylvania, they imagine Dracula — a gloomy castle, a pale count, and a story of terror that has haunted Western culture for over a century. But what if this famous myth was never just about vampires? What if it was a clever disguise that helped erase an entire civilization’s sacred heritage?
For the last few years, medical art psychotherapist & artist Isabelle Rizo been investigating how the legend of Dracula became intertwined with Transylvania’s identity — and how this association has obscured a much older and far more astonishing truth. Her research traces the region’s cultural roots back to the Neolithic era, when Transylvania was home to some of Europe’s earliest matriarchal societies. These ancient communities developed one of the world’s first symbolic languages — a visual system of spirals, serpents, and sacred geometries that expressed cycles of life, death, and rebirth.
Through fieldwork, folk art analysis, and comparative mythology, Rizo uncovered how both Western colonial narratives and Soviet-era politics worked to suppress Transylvania’s indigenous symbolism. In their efforts to modernize or exoticize the region, these powers recast its spiritual traditions as superstition — turning its goddesses into monsters and its protectors into predators. The vampire became the perfect metaphor: a figure that drains life and story from others.
In this talk, we’ll move beyond the clichés of horror to explore how literature can both shape and silence cultures. We’ll look at how Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Murnau’s Nosferatu borrowed from misunderstood folk traditions, and how their global success cemented a distorted image of Transylvania. We’ll also question what it means when Western narratives — and later, Soviet ideologies — decide who gets to define history, beauty, and truth.
This journey is as much personal as it is scholarly. As an art therapist and ethnographer of Transylvanian descent, Rizo approaches this material as both researcher and descendant — reclaiming symbols that were nearly lost to political propaganda and cultural hegemony. Her goal is to invite listeners to rethink what we consider “myth” and “history,” and to recognize how the stories we tell can either illuminate or eclipse the societies that birthed them.
Because in the end, Nosferatu is not who you think he is. He is not a monster, he’s a projection of the deep collective fears of the unknown with everything the world tried to forget about Transylvania’s luminous, matriarchal past.
About the Speaker:
- Isabelle Rizo is a Transylvanian American art therapist, folkloric researcher, and internationally exhibited artist whose work explores the intersections of myth, medicine, and cultural memory. With a background in Visual & Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and graduate training in Counseling and Art Therapy, she has developed a unique practice in medical syncretism—integrating ancient symbolic systems and ritual arts into contemporary clinical settings such as hospitals, museums, and community care institutions.
About the Event Host:
This event is hosted by the Morbid Anatomy Blog & Library, a website dedicated to interstices of art and medicine, death and culture. Morbid Anatomy was created in 2007 as a blog by Joanna Ebenstein, a multi-disciplinary artist, curator, writer, lecturer and graphic designer. It later expanded to include a library of lectures, exhibitions, classes, spectacles, symposia, field trips, books, parties, and films. It is best known for its brief incarnation as the critically acclaimed Morbid Anatomy Museum (2013-2016) in Brooklyn, New York.
........................................................................................................................................................................................................1 attendee
Past events
885
