Episode Summary:

First, Ben and Celestia chat about reflecting pool gashes, a biohacking longevity guru’s diagnosis, the new Info Wars, and two anti-vaxxers in the news. Then we are joined by children’s author Elizabeth Shreeve to discuss her new book Dinosaurs to Dragons: The Lore and Science of Mythical Creatures. Elizabeth takes a clever approach in structuring her book, which invites kids to think about monsters and fairies but also sneaks in evolutionary knowledge, folklore detective work and critical thinking. A few of her chapters have also been the subject of previous Squaring the Strange episodes, so we had a lot to talk about. In addition to discussing how storytelling can be an ally to science, we also discuss misconceptions about writing, using imagination as a skeptical tool, and Elizabeth’s recent introduction to the skeptical community. Teachers will be happy to know Bertha Vasquez has created a teacher’s guide for the new book already, and she and Elizabeth have teamed up to work on “Germ Wars,” a story due out in 2027 about how modern public health and medicine have decreased child mortality.