Skepticism

About Jamy’s Skeptic Activism

Jamy has been an activist for scientific skepticism — promoting critical thinking, rational inquiry, and a scientific worldview — for more than thirty years. He is a co-founder of the National Capital Area Skeptics [ncas.org]; a co-founder of the New York City Skeptics [nycs.org]; has spoken and performed across the U.S. on behalf of the Center For Inquiry; has been a contributor to Skeptic magazine; has been Senior Fellow at the James Randi Educational Foundation, including appearing as an annual presenter at the TAM conference and serving as a member of the Million Dollar Challenge subcommittee [randi.org]; and was a co-creator and on-stage host of the annual Northeast Conference on Science & Skepticism [necss.org] in New York City for its first nine years. He currently serves as Vice-President of San Diego Skeptic Society.

Videos

The Honest Liar
What does a villain see in the mirror?

In this installment of 'The Honest Liar', Jamy Ian Swiss considers why villains like phony mediums still like what they see when they look in the mirror, thanks to the workings of cognitive dissonance.

The Honest Liar
Homeopathy: money for nothing

In the first installment of "The Honest Liar", Jamy Ian Swiss punctures the pretense of homeopathy. How much is too much to pay for a remedy with nothing in it?

The Honest Liar’s
pseudoscience collection

In this installment of The Honest Liar, Jamy Ian Swiss considers the differences between science and pseudoscience, and discusses some highlights from his vast and colorful pseudoscience collection, from Aromatherapy to Xenoglossy!

The Honest Liar
Turn your radio off!

In this installment of The Honest Liar, Jamy Ian Swiss recounts a tale of years gone by when he and his friend and skeptical colleague, psychologist Ray Hyman, appeared on radio along with a channeler, and the talking spirit of a 6th-century Irishman who spoke English and offered career advice to callers. HONEST!

The Honest Liar
What’s America’s most deceptive sport?

In this installment of the Honest Liar, Jamy Ian Swiss turns his attention away from traditional skeptic subjects and take a look at the critically important but concealed role that deception plays in the American pastime.

Overlapping Magisteria

Magician and skeptic Jamy Ian Swiss shares his passionate vision for the scope of modern scientific skepticism, live from the stage at TAM 2012. His most-viewed skeptic presentation, this talk considers the agreements, and differences, between skepticism, humanism, and atheism.

Credit the Con Man

Jamy applies his expertise in the psychology of psychic scams, con games and more to explain how such predators work, why it is a mistake to blame the victim, and why we must “credit the con man,” from marketers of phony bomb detection devices to Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff.

A Year of Skeptic Win

A talk about a rare event: skeptic victories, including successful criminal prosecutions against psychics and other scammers, and an embarrassing appearance before Congress by the dangerously deceptive Dr. Oz.

A Conversation with
Richard Dawkins

At the 2016 CSICon conference, Jamy sat down with longtime skeptic friend and colleague Richard Dawkins for an unscripted and spirited conversation on what it means to be a skeptic, skepticism's history in stage magic, finding the beauty in science, and what the future of science might entail.

Simon Singh interview

From NECSS 2013, Jamy interviews British author Simon Singh about his experiences defending a libel suit filed by British chiropracters, and fighting for libel reform in the UK.

Magicians vs. Psychics panel

From TAM 2013, with Ray Hyman, DJ Grothe, Jamy Ian Swiss, James Randi, Max Maven, Banachek, and pseudo-skeptic Mark Edward.

Skeptical Scope & Mission

Sharon Hill moderates a panel discussion articulating the mission of the skeptic movement, with Jamy Ian Swiss, Steven Novella, Daniel Loxton and Barbara Drescher.