Psychics keep wedging themselves into police cases — and grieving families pay the price. Nick Pell explains the grift on Skeptical Sunday!Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher <a href="https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/author/nicholas-pell" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nick Pell</a>!Full show notes and resources can be found here: <a href="https://jordanharbinger.com/1329" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">jordanharbinger.com/1329</a>On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:<ul><li>Psychic detective work traces back to 19th-century spiritualism, which surged after the Civil War and WWI as a grief-coping mechanism — part therapy, part pop religion, part proto-reality TV. The post-WWII pulp era rebranded it as "science," birthing the modern psychic detective archetype.</li><li>The genre's most-cited "successes" — Etta Smith in the Melanie Uribe case, Dorothy Allison on the John List murders, and Noreen Renier's many TV appearances — all collapse under scrutiny. Police never credited any of them with usable leads, and Allison reportedly tried to bribe cops to vouch for her.</li><li>Sylvia Browne is the cautionary tale that turns this from harmless grift into genuine harm. She told Amanda Berry's mother her daughter was dead in 2004 — Amanda was alive, held captive in Cleveland until 2013. Mom died never knowing. Browne botched the Shawn Hornbeck case too.</li><li>Four mechanisms explain every "psychic solved it" story: confirmation bias (remembering hits, forgetting misses), post-hoc reasoning (vague claims retrofitted to fit), emotional vulnerability of grieving families, and Barnum statements — deliberately vague phrases like "I see water" that let your brain fill in the blanks.</li><li>Real cases get cracked by forensic evidence, behavioral profiling, and community tip lines — the unsexy, methodical work that rarely makes headlines. Families seeking closure are better served by counseling and victim support than by false hope, and learning to spot the four tells above makes anyone a sharper media consumer.</li><li>Connect with Jordan on <a href="https://twitter.com/JordanHarbinger" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jordanharbinger" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEJORDANHARBINGERSHOW" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at <a href="mailto:jordan@jordanharbinger.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">jordan@jordanharbinger.com</a> and let him know!</li></ul><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1344999619?mt=2&ls=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here</a> — even one sentence helps! <ul><li>Sign up for <a href="https://jordanharbinger.com/course" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Six-Minute Networking</a> — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at <a href="https://jordanharbinger.com/course" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">jordanharbinger.com/course</a>!</li><li>Subscribe to our once-a-week <a href="https://www.jordanharbinger.com/news/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wee Bit Wiser</a> newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!</li><li>Do you even Reddit, bro? <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/JordanHarbinger/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Join us at r/JordanHarbinger</a>!</li></ul>This Episode Is Brought To You By <a href="https://www.jordanharbinger.com/deals/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Fine Sponsors</a>: <ul><li>Lufthansa Allegris: <a href="https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/discover-lufthansa/allegris" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Go to Lufthansa.com and search for "Allegris" to learn more</a></li><li>SimpliSafe Home Security: <a href="https://simplisafe.com/jordan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">50% off + 1st month free: simplisafe.com/jordan</a></li><li>Whatnot: <a href="https://www.whatnot.com/sell" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Start selling today: whatnot.com/sell</a></li><li>ZipRecruiter: <a href="https://www.ziprecruiter.com/jordan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Learn more at ziprecruiter.com/jordan</a></li></ul>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

1329: Psychic Detectives | Skeptical Sunday

The Jordan Harbinger Show

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews