While there have been hundreds of one-off or occasional writers for CSICOP/CSI whose work is important and valued, Skeptical Inquirer columnists have shown a special dedication to skepticism and the organization. They repeatedly contribute unique insight and information, often by deadline.
In my capacity as an editor at SI, I’ve had the privilege of editing and working with some of the best and brightest skeptics in the world. From an editorial standpoint, while articles typically require much more lead time between submission and publication—sometimes a year or more—columns are (usually) shorter, timelier, and often more personal and idiosyncratic. Columnists have a bit more license to pick their own topics and share their stories. This often results in delightful slices of life, from Martin Gardner reminiscing about meeting Ernest Hemingway on a New York sidewalk to Joe Nickell discovering his unknown daughter, from Stuart Vyse’s European travelogues to Robyn Blumner’s youthful interest in ancient aliens. All these reveal a more personal side of skepticism.
As Craig Foster reveals in his own SI column, The Time Warp, the sheer volume of columns and breadth of topics is amazing. In terms of total number of column entries, prior to this issue of SI, the grand totals are: Joe Nickell (174); Robert Sheaffer (164); Benjamin Radford (126); Massimo Polidoro (114); Martin Gardner (92); Massimo Pigliucci (91); Stuart Vyse (52); Kenneth Krause (31); Ralph Estling (29); Harriett Hall (28); Mick West (26); Matt Nisbet (23); Eugene Emery (15); Robyn Blumner (13); Steven Novella (12); Craig Foster (10); Andrea Love (6); James “The Amazing” Randi (5); Chris Mooney (2); Stephen Barrett (2); and Robert Epstein (1).
There are, of course, many other important columnists associated with CSICOP/CSI, including for the Skeptical Briefs newsletter, Skeptical Inquirer online, and Pensar. But to the extent that SI is the flagship publication of the skeptical organization, the backbone of that ship is the editors and columnists who work issue after issue doing the best they can to produce thoughtful pieces of investigation, commentary, and critical examination of extraordinary claims.
The magazine covers below depict some of our former columnists, and the timeline represents the start and end dates of each of the print columnists over the first fifty years.
