# The Rise and Fall of Parapsychology by Alejandro Borgo

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/skeptical-inquirer-audio-edition-7055829/the-rise-and-fall-of-parapsychology-by-alejandro-borgo.md
Podcast: [Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition](https://stenobird.com/podcast/skeptical-inquirer-audio-edition-7055829)
Published: 2026-03-25T20:37:00+00:00
Episode link: https://3e64cc12-0a9b-49a7-be84-de7d280b7a8c.libsyn.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-parapsychology-by-alejandro-borgo
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/3e64cc12-0a9b-49a7-be84-de7d280b7a8c/Alejandro_Borgo_-_The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Parapsychology_-_Read_by_AI_Oscar_en_v2.mp3?dest-id=4375028
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Duration seconds: 540

## Resource

Alejandro Borgo traces the history of parapsychology, from its origins with the Fox sisters and the spiritualist movement to the formalization of research by Joseph Banks Rhine, who attempted to study telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis using experimental protocols and statistical analysis. Despite decades of experimentation worldwide, including rigorous attempts at replication, no repeatable evidence for psi phenomena has been found, leaving parapsychology in decline and its claims unproven, with most supposed effects now explained by psychology or chance rather than a new form of energy or ability. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-rise-and-fall-of-parapsychology/ About the Author: Alejandro Borgo is director of the Center for Inquiry Argentina and a journalist, writer and musician. He has written two books about pseudoscience and critical thinking. He is editor of Pensar magazine ( pensar.org ) and has been a speaker at several skeptics congresses and conferences. Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/

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