Skepticism

Bostonist: Psychics Loving the Boom Times

Oh, look, the Boston Globe discovers a 4-month old story and does nothing to make it any smarter. This inspired my post today on Bostonist, which begins . . .

Here’s an interesting story: as the economy plunges into a recession and people panic over the prospect of lost jobs and money, psychics continue to make big money. Well, okay – it was a mildly interesting story when NPR’s Day to Day covered it in November of last year. When a CBS affiliate did it in January it was somewhat less fresh. By the time CNN wrote about it back in February, let’s face it, much of the appeal was gone. Yesterday, when Boston Globe writer Brian MacQuarrie found it in the back of the fridge, sniffed it, and tossed it the microwave for 90 seconds, it was probably time to throw it out.

Here is how this story is always written, and will probably continue to be written until we return to boom times: the economy is bad, people are worried about the future, they seek solace in the supernatural, they drop a lot of cash, the end.

A thought: might future versions of this story be more interesting if they explored whether or not people are getting their money’s worth?

Continue reading Skepchick: OK, We Get It – Psychics Are Making Money . . .

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

Related Articles

4 Comments

  1. I love it that the blood sucking con artists are surprised by the extra money and the interviewer never asks why they are surprised. Seems like the follow up question should be “Why didn’t you predict the upturn in your personal economy, aren’t you a psychic?” Rat bastards make me so angry I want to kick a puppy.

  2. Or “Why didn’t you foresee the tanking of the economy and warn us?” LOL

    That would be against their “Code of Ethics” about using their psychic powers for their own personal gain…Uhhh, wait, what? :-D

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button