February 13 - Remembering Randi

Presented by Banechek

President of the James Randi Educational Foundation

Saturday, February 13, 2021

2:30 pm (Note new time) (Online Virtual Talk)

The link to view the live stream of this talk is

https://youtu.be/XqeL30DyCv4

This talk will be about Banachek's lifetime relationship in the skeptical movement with James Randi, how they met, Project Alpha,the Peter Popoff exposé, the Million Dollar Challenge and everything in between. The relationship was complex and eclectic. Stories that have never been told before will be revealed - the life of the greatest skeptic ever through the eyes of one of the Alpha kids who is now the President of the James Randi Educational Foundation.

Q&A via live chat will follow the talk.

Banachek was born in England, November the thirtieth, 1960.  In 1976, Banachek moved to the United States. It was at the end of this same year he picked up a worn copy of James Randi’s book, The Truth About Uri Geller.  This was the book that changed Banachek’s life. This book gave Banachek the tools to construct his own versions of metal bending and his life was never the same.

In what became known as Project Alpha, Banachek went on to fool scientists at the prestigious Washington University in St Louis, MO. He convinced them that he could bend metal with his mind, only to explain later that despite the half a million-dollar grant from McDonnell Douglas, he was using trickery the entire time, giving Banachek the unique title as “The man who fooled the scientists.” Since that time, Banachek has gone on to expose not only other psychic  claims but also hoaxes such as his well documented exposé of the evangelist Peter Popoff.

Banachek has performed on over 50 major magic TV shows, from CNN Live to NBC's Today show, and had hundreds of smaller appearances on TV shows the world over. He has appeared in almost every major magazine and newspaper from the New York Times to the National Enquirer. From the college market he has received the coveted Entertainer of the Year award from the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities two years in a row and the Novelty Act Of The Year, beating out bands, comedians and other novelty artists. He has been awarded the Psychic Entertainers Association's Creativity in Mentalism award and is sought out as a consultant by most major magicians and mentalists in the USA and abroad, including David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, Criss Angel and David Blaine. Banachek has put more magic on television than any other magic consultant in the USA.