After his death this weekend, Art Bell, whose “Coast To Coast AM” show owned overnight radio for a couple of decades on hundreds of stations, is being mourned by many in the radio industry. I am not one of them. I believe Bell contributed to the dumbing-down of America by regularly embracing pseudoscience, the paranormal, claims […]
This is a conversation from 2013 between evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and illusionist Derren Brown. The latter has become famous in England for his TV specials that combine magic and mentalism (which he never presents as anything paranormal). Dawkins asks Brown to explain cold reading, psychic tricks, and the nonsense behind tarot cards, among other […]
In the NY Times, James Poniewozik writes about the president’s TV addiction: The problem is not how much TV Mr. Trump watches. It’s the kind of TV he watches. As Mr. Trump’s associates report and his Twitter feed confirms, his video diet of choice is cable news, the most agitating, psychically toxic programming you can […]
This is Part 3 of a speech I gave to the Ethical Society of St. Louis on Sunday, July 16, 2017. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here (You can listen to the audio here)… What drives me crazy is when news outlets that were once considered respectable fall for nonsense just because it comes out […]
This is Part 3 of a speech I gave to the Ethical Society of St. Louis on Sunday, July 16, 2017. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here (you can listen to the audio here). What drives me crazy is when news outlets that were once considered respectable fall for nonsense just because it comes […]
Over the weekend, The Daily Beast published a story with the headline “How U.S. Marines Are Using ‘ESP’ to Weaponize Intuition.” Below it was the sub-headline, “The Daily Beast has obtained, via the Freedom of Information Act, the Office of Naval Research’s sensemaking training manual — a how-to guide for extra-sensory perception.” I call bullshit. […]
In my four decades as a broadcaster, there have been a few times when a guest or a caller has said something insane on my show. I try not to let them get away with it. I always make it a point to challenge them, to insist they provide evidence of their claims (just as […]
Another in my occasional series of poker stories… When I started playing poker in St. Louis in 1999, I played in middle-limit stud games, but was quickly drawn to the most popular variant in town — limit hold’em. There were games practically every night, with the biggest having blinds of $20-40 or $15-30, both with […]
After attending this summer’s Amazing Meeting, I mentioned that this was probably the last annual event presented by the James Randi Educational Foundation. Now comes this announcement: Since James Randi’s retirement earlier this year, the Board has considered how to continue the Foundation without his direct involvement. The Board has decided that it will convert […]
I have just finished a weekend at the James Randi Educational Foundation‘s 13th annual event, The Amazing Meeting. I haven’t attended all of them (I’ve missed three), but I’m glad I went this year because it’s likely to be Randi’s last TAM. He’s 86, is battling medical issues, and wants to spend more time at […]