Sacred Tension: Carrie Poppy on Pseudoscience, Conspiracy Theories, and Claims of the Paranormal

In this episode of Sacred Tension I’m joined by Carrie Poppy.

Carrie Poppy is a journalist, host, podcaster, and speaker who examines everything at the corner of belief and behavior.

Her investigative journalism podcast, “Oh No, Ross and Carrie” was the first podcast ever nominated for a journalism award by the L.A. Press Club, and her dark Disney fancast, “Hidden Mickeys” was featured as a show to listen to by BBC Radio.

Carrie’s work has been featured in The Guardian, Vice, Skeptical Inquirer, Gizmodo, Boing Boing, Tech Times, Mental Floss, The AV Club, and others. Her TED talk, “A Scientific Approach to the Paranormal,” has been viewed over 1.5 million times, and featured on NPR’s TED Radio Hour.

Over the course of her work, Carrie has gone undercover in Scientology, Mormonism, the Raëlians, 9/11 Truthers, flat earthers, occultists, ufologists, and more. She has been fire-cupped, chakra-aligned, palm-read, and exorcised. She has completed the Master Cleanse, flushed out her colon, taken “Gorgeous Pills,” walked across hot coals, and drunk her own urine. She has explored Charles Manson’s nonprofit, as well as televangelist Peter Popoff’s mail-order healing. She even yelled at wet rice for a week, to see if water is affected by emotions.

Carrie earned her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California, where she served as the Director’s Scholar, and received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of the Pacific. She lives in Los Angeles with her senior rescued chihuahua mix, Ella.

Find Carrie Poppy here.

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