People must not be allowed to choose whether to have children, or else people will die out.… Read the rest
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
Blessed Be the Atheists 
Jan 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They talk about god so theists talk about god so it’s all good hooray.… Read the rest
Temper Inflexible Religion with Flexible Politics
Jan 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
One need not be a member of Hamas to believe that religion speaks in absolutes.… Read the rest
Serious Journalism and British Libel Law
Jan 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Expensive corporate lawsuits will discourage investigations of complex financial affairs..… Read the rest
A See-no-gene Perspective is Obsolete
Jan 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It is possible to identify sociology departments in which gene-environment interactions amount to a subfield.… Read the rest
Madoff and the Epistemology of Investment
Jan 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It it wasn’t hard to see that the profits were too good to be true, yet the SEC turned a blind eye.… Read the rest
Scientists Dismiss ‘Detox Myth’
Jan 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Producers and retailers admit they simply renamed processes like cleaning or brushing as detox.… Read the rest
Dancer Claims ‘Healer’ Cured Mystery Illness
Jan 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Michael Flatley got his life energy rebalanced, and rose from his chair and walked.… Read the rest
Sense About Science Launches Detox Dossier
Jan 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Detox’ has no meaning outside of the clinical treatment for drug addiction or poisoning.… Read the rest
Denialism and the Death of Christine Maggiore
Jan 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How do AIDS denialists explain the death of Christine Maggiore? Lots of ways.… Read the rest
Christine Maggiore and the Price of Skepticism
Jan 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Determined to reject scientific wisdom, Maggiore breast-fed her daughter, who died at age 3. … Read the rest
BSLS: The Two Cultures in Question
Jan 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
24 January: Gillian Beer, Ben Goldacre, Anthony Grayling, Jonathan Miller, Alan Sokal.… Read the rest
Sue Blackmore on Thought for the Day
Jan 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Atheists have thoughts too, but they are banned from Thought for the Day.… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre, Today, Detox Nonsense
Jan 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘I read a quote. She laughed and said I was mistaken.’ But he wasn’t.… Read the rest
Happy New Year, But Nothing Has Changed
Jan 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
People continue to have stupid ideas, newspapers continue to laud them, and lives will be lost.… Read the rest
The Edge Question 2009
Jan 4th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nicholas Humphrey, Ian McEwan, Michael Shermer, the Dysons, Irene Pepperberg, many more.… Read the rest
Narendra Nayak’s Rationalism Tour of India
Jan 4th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The locals are proud of their proponent of the supernatural and proclaim tall claims of their powers.… Read the rest
Ken Miller on the Discovery Institute
Jan 4th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
More than three years after Kitzmiller v. Dover, DI spokesman Casey Luskin is still trying to win the case.… Read the rest
Producer Defends ‘Expelled’
Jan 4th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Says ‘Darwinism’ leads to death camps because it does not accept ‘the sanctity of life.’… Read the rest
The Guardian Chats with A C Grayling
Jan 3rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Belief in the tooth fairy but not God is the beginning of wisdom: the tooth fairy might pay up.… Read the rest
