Jamy Ian Swiss - Psychics, Science, and Magic (Free Podcast)

[Ian David]

Jamy Ian Swiss - Psychics, Science, and Magic



Jamy Ian Swiss is universally considered one of the world’s top sleight of hand performers, famous to magicians for his subtlety, skill and depth of understanding of magic’s history. He has appeared on a number of television programs in the United States, Europe, and Japan, including on The Today Show, CBS’s 48 Hours, Comedy Central, CNN, PBS Nova and the PBS documentary, The Art of Magic. He’s performed internationally for corporate clients, lectured to magicians in over a dozen countries, and is a co-producer of New York City’s longest-running Off-Broadway magic show, Monday Night Magic. He is also a co-founder of the National Capital Area Skeptics and a long-time contributor to the skeptical movement and its magazines.

Swiss is an author of The Art of Magic, which is the companion book to the PBS documentary of the same name, and he contributes a monthly book review column to Genii, the Conjurors’ Magazine. He is also the author of Shattering Illusions, a collection of essays on the art and science of magic.

In this interview with DJ Grothe, Swiss discusses the intersection of psychics, science, and magic. He also discusses how magicians have contributed to skeptical activism.

Also in this episode, Point of Inquiry contributor Lauren Becker shares some thoughts about some dangerous distractions hiding “over the counter” at your local drug store.


Paul Kurtz - Skepticism of the Third Kind



Paul Kurtz, considered the father of the secular humanist movement and a founder of the worldwide skeptic movement, is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo. As chair of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), the Council for Secular Humanism, and Prometheus Books, and as editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry magazine, he has advanced a critical, skeptical inquiry into many of the most cherished beliefs of society for the last forty years. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been featured very widely in the media, on topics as diverse as reincarnation, UFO abduction, secular versus religious ethics, communication with the dead, and the historicity of Jesus.

In this interview with DJ Grothe, Paul explores the history of skepticism, defines various types of skepticism, and highlights what he calls “skepticism of the third kind”.

You can discuss this episode and other Point of Inquiry episodes with other CFIers on our online forums at www.cfi-forums.org.

If you have Apple's iTunes software you can listen now for free by clicking the "Subscribe with iTunes" button below.
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=107134018

For other instructions on how to listen or subscribe for free, visit our website at www.pointofinquiry.org.

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.
http://ga1.org/CSICOP/join.html?r=G7_Xvf11uaz8E