Chapter 2 Best of the Web

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1088248/

For an in depth discussion of the etiology and history of childbed fever.

Podcasts

There are some terrific podcasts produced by various organizations and individuals in which a skeptical approach is applied to topics such as UFOs, ESP, Atlantis, ancient astronauts, Bigfoot, and other such phenomena on the fringes of science. Some have an extensive backlog of interviews with experts in various related fields of science, and they’re a wonderful resource. Among my personal favorites are “The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe” (http://www.theskepticsguide.org, produced by the New England Skeptical Society in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation and hosted by Steve, Bob, and Jay Novella), “Monstertalk” (http://www.skeptic.com/podcasts/monstertalk/, hosted by Blake Smith), and “Skepticality” (http://www.skeptic.com/podcasts/skepticality/, hosted by Derek and Swoopy). “Skepticality” and “Monstertalk” are affiliated with Michael Shermer and the Skeptical Society. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve done interviews for the “Skeptic’s Guide” and “Monstertalk”; you can check them out online. Finally, archaeologist Jeb Card and I serve as permanent co-hosts along with archaeologist Sara Head on her podcast, “Archaeological Fantasies.” We focus on what it sometimes called “fringe archaeology,” including many of the topics discussed in this book. You can find the podcasts archived at http://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/archyfantasies/. An alert; we curse. A lot. Especially Sara. Sara maintains a blog that accompanies the podcasts. The podcasts are available through iTunes, and directions for accessing them are available on the podcast websites.