Myles Power
Pseudoscience Debunker and Science Advocate
On YouTube at powerm1985

I was introduced to Mr. Myles Power’s work by my boyfriend, Adam, who probably sold it to me as “a charming British man who talks a lot about conspiracy theories.”

And that is a pretty good summary of Mr. Power’s channel.

A Natural Choice for True-Crime, Actually

While it may seem far-fetched to have a chemist featured on a true-crime blog, Myles is, in many ways, very forensic in his approach. Forensic, after all, refers to the application of science towards the fact-finding mission of a court.

The topics he investigates, as mentioned above, often tend towards conspiracy theorists, which make his channel accessible to true crime junkies, like yours truly.

Exhibiting a level of patience for the world’s stupidity and dishonesty that I can only aspire to, Myles examines the claims of 9/11 truthers, anti-vaxxers, Big Government Alarmists, GMO opponents, and AIDS denialists.

Yes, apparently there are people who (claim to) believe that HIV does not exist, or does not cause AIDS. And they are killing people. And they suck.

How Myles even manages to review their “evidence” long enough to systematically critique it without losing his mind, I have no idea. As previously mentioned, my response to 9/11 truthers on this blog remains to summary digital keelhauling and blockage. Even more impressive is that Myles continues on his crusade for truth despite DMCA-reporting abuses and legal challenges from people he unmasks.

The systematic critiques always come with razor-sharp wit. Imagine a somewhat foul-mouthed Bill Nye the Science Guy with a posh accent. The first line I ever heard out of Myles remains one of my all-time favorite insults:

“Official Stories reads like the transcript of a lobotomized, paranoid fool talking to himself in the pub.”

I made Adam replay that line at least four times.

If you need a place to start watching Myles’ videos, I recommend the recent series on Waco conspiracy theories he is producing at the time of this writing.

A Public Service

While viewers with a penchant for the dark and the criminal might come to Myles Power’s channel for the conspiracy theory content, they should stay for the “woo.” “Woo” is Myles’ term for pseudoscience products that prey upon desperate people, which really ought to be a crime.

Myles outlines times he believes pseudoscientific products have led to the suffering and/or death of people who only wanted answers.

Before I get accused of being a shill–a word I learned from Myles–I should out myself as the semi-hippie that I am. I own three vegan cookbooks and lots of candles and incense; I am easily impressed by parades and elaborate church liturgies; despite my very high level of educational attainment, despite my own childhood interest in science, I remain unconvinced, while flying, that the plane is held up by anything other than magic.

Then again, my 1.75 degrees are in social sciences, so the hard science people will never recognize me as one of their own.

Seriously, if I were a shill, I would have better web design. But you can become my patron on Patreon to help fix that.

Very amusingly, I now get lots of pseudoscientific ads when I watch Myles’ videos, so he is definitely neutralizing some of the impact of those advertising campaigns.

A particular favorite of mine is the video on kitty chakra healing stones that Myles reviews. While it ends with the sobering observation that anyone who relies on pseudoscience rather than a vet is endangering their animal, it is quite funny (and impressive) to watch Myles’ mother’s cat bite him as he tries to apply the chakra stones.

Summing Up

For his delightful presentation, zippy video production style, and important services rendered to the YouTube public, Myles Power comes highly recommended by me to anyone who loves the search for the truth, within or without the true-crime community.

5/5 stars: I should’ve stayed in STEM.
4/5 ‘ick factor’: You’ll meet a woman who rummages through her own excrement daily and see graphic photos of what ‘black salve’ can do to human skin.
3/5 ‘fraidy cats: You are surrounded by charlatans and the people who believe them: in the grocery store, in your workplace, in your legislative assemblies…