James Randi: The Former Magician Who Exposed Fakes, Frauds, and Charlatans

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

"My final wish is to be cremated and my ashes tossed into Uri Gellar's eyes." What a legend.

[@DarylReeceJames]

:D I wonder if he ever made it! Loved The Amazing James Randi, He had amazing wit and was a very intelligent man who is very much missed.

[@judithslone6472]

😂😂😂

[@michaelimbesi2314]

Came here to say this.

[@nicks6657]

Cool name

[@Rob-tq7xq]

He’s a legend

[@WeirdExplorer]

I met him once. I went to one of his lectures when I was a kid. When I asked him to sign my ticket stub, he sent me a signed copy of one of his books. He was such a good man.

[@bjkarana]

so cool!

[@dudepool7530]

You lucky sombitch! Im jealous, and Im okay with that.

[@jacktastick]

Simon must be a lot older than he looks...

[@stmounts]

@@jacktastick It's hard to tell in the case of a chrome dome...

[@Tastiest-of-Cakes]

Wow. That's an amazing memory. What a great dude.

[@catherinehaven7015]

The first person to submit a cereal box as legal evidence. He stated that Uri Geller’s bending spoons was a trick that could be learned from a cereal box. Geller took him to court for defamation, so Randi brought the actual cereal box. The judge dropped the suit. EPIC. ABSOLUTELY EPIC.

[@OldSkullInn]

Yeah, Randi seemed like a more friendly version of Octavian/Augustus.

[@johnbockelie3899]

Houdini also went after fake seers in his time.

[@mrd1433]

@@johnbockelie3899 and then his wife wasted her money on so called mediums trying to talk to his ghost.

[@BadCookWhoJudgesChefs]

@@mrd1433 Really?

[@BadCookWhoJudgesChefs]

@@mrd1433 Can you share a source?

[@craigh5236]

“It's Easier to Fool People Than It Is to Convince Them That They Have Been Fooled.” - Mark Twain.

[@dudepool7530]

I feel like James had a poster of Mark Twain, and another of Houdini on his bedroom wall as a kid lmao.

[@bmcsshop272]

Kind of sums up our politics right now

[@forcedtohaveahandle]

@@bmcsshop272 since always

[@Fiedman]

The easiest people to fool are conspiracy theorists, tell them the most out there theory you can think of but as long as it has a shred of believability they will believe it.

[@evanroberts2771]

@@Fiedman That's because 'Truth is often stranger than fiction'.

[@qwellen7521]

If people actually had psychic powers, they would not be using it to bend spoons.

[@michaelsayavong2656]

If most people had psychic powers powers , they would use it to get rich. Like cheating the stock market or beating casino games. Hell if I could see the future or read minds I could break any law I want, knowing the police will never catch me. Even if they did, what would they say in court? That the defendant is a superpower mutant?

[@sluttymctits4496]

@@ViscousVoice - Thank you, beat me to it. If he was talking about his girlfriend or wife, I'd begrudgingly let it slide. But if someone dreams of forcing miscellaneous women to be at his beck and call and obey his every whim, that's problematic, to put it lightly. I'm sure someone will call me a feminist snowflake or something, but that dude clearly doesn't respect a person's autonomy and has some deep-seated issues with boundaries.

[@jamescarter3196]

And they wouldn’t be telling the general public about it, or trying to associate with liars like James Randi. Robert Lindblad won Randi’s ‘Put Up or Shut Up’ contest in the ‘90s but Randi didn’t award the prize because it would have made him look bad. He is often quoted as having said, regarding having no intention of giving out the prize, “I always have an out- I’m right!” and when asked about that quote, he acted like it’s a valid explanation, because he was a massive egotist who would rather be a liar just like the people he debunked, than admit he was wrong.

[@k3nny111]

@@michaelsayavong2656 Rich like Uri Geller?

[@honeysucklecat]

@@ViscousVoice he’s being honest. I suspect most men would be seduced into becoming a rapist if they had mental powers. Women too. Power corrupts everyone

[@jimland4359]

I bend spoons all the time, just not intentionally. That ice cream can be thick.

[@KonnyP]

my mind thought metal spoons by default and I was about to comment man what sort of ice cream is that 😂

[@k3nny111]

@@KonnyP deep frozen ice cream can absolutely bend metal spoons

[@judithslone6472]

Oh man,I do this all the time.

[@neoqwerty]

@@KonnyP I've had to un-bend SEVERAL dozen metal spoons with just normal, non-luxuriously-fluffy ice cream here in Canada. I had ONE good spoon that didn't bend to ice cream and I've used that thing to dig in hard-packed dirt in an emergency before, every normal metal spoon you can buy for cheap can bend from ice cream if it bends just from fingers.

[@CorbCorbin]

Hot water on the spoon will help. Magic...

[@ALHat22]

What really makes me upset are the “psychics, spiritualist, and mediums” that play on hurting people’s emotions to make money. People that have lost love ones, people that have loved ones that are missing, or were deeply loved then passed away-It’s truly evil.

[@ross-carlson]

So you mean EVERYONE claiming to have ANY supernatural power - HORRIBLE people indeed.

[@bobshark123]

I understand what you are saying but this is a 2 sided coin. Ever think the bereaved are so at a loss that they willing to take any kind of contact? Even if their subconscious knows it may not be real, their conscious needs that perceived contact or connection? A comfort blanket you could say. Not unlike the bible?

[@honeysucklecat]

They’re trumpturds - people who lie for their own glory. Psychotic bullies, narcissists, greedy and incapable of compassion, like trumpler, they abuse for their own pleasure

[@bobshark123]

@@honeysucklecat nothing wrong with a touch of narcissism

[@Oblivisci........]

Youre talking about televangelists right?

[@ethanramos4441]

“Magicians are the honest people in the world; they tell you they’re gonna fool you, and then they do it” James Randi

[@bostonblackie9503]

Randi was a spoiler, Keller was an act, a performance. In those times the typical magic show was so repetitive people were sick of it. Keller found a way to get people interested again. As usual people just tried to figure out how he did it.

[@davidjorgensen877]

@@bostonblackie9503 Randi didn't spoil the secrets of honest magicians, only of those who claimed to possess genuine paranormal powers. He would have honoured Kellar just as Houdini did. There's a fine line between a magic show, where people pay to be entertained, and chicanery, which profits from people's ignorance and superstition. Whether or not the paranormal actually exists is not the issue, it's whether or not the people claiming it does are being truthful or are just grifting those who deeply wish to believe in it. What Randi did was a public service, just as Houdini did in his later years.

[@cherrydragon3120]

@@davidjorgensen877 agreed tho. Why spoil the secrets of a honest magician? He was one himself. He knows the trade. But those who claim to have REAL powers put magicians into a bad lighting. Hence why he exposed them

[@redredmane5544]

The reality is this: A kid is alone with a magician who just got done blowing the audience away. Now, both are on the top floor of a burning building. The kid screams “the fire is almost here!!! The floor below is blazing and the carpets are turning black, .. SAVE US WITH YOUR MAGIC!!!” The magician replies “I’m sorry kid! I don’t have supernatural abilities. I’m just a “trickster!!!” Im just as stuck here as YOU are!!!”… Both parties break a window and start screaming for help as the crowds gather and the firefighters arrive. It takes more than illusions and tricks to get yourself out of a burning building. A damn good magician would not be able to escape a maximum security prison, either, because he ( or she ) would not have access to his or her props, mirrors, dry ice and smoke machines!!! Yuri Geller CERTAINLY cannot bend PRISON BARS!!!

[@ALuimes]

@@redredmane5544 I'm amazed that people were so entertained by TV specials of illusionists like David Copperfield in the 1980's. There was one where he "escaped" from Alcatraz with guards trying to stop him, etc. It was so obviously easy to fake that I fail to see the entertainment value in that.

[@theofficialsikris]

James Randi, what a legend, thank you for covering him, Simon. Truly an inspiration, a man who devoted his life to entertaining others, but also to ensuring that the *TRUTH* was at the forefront of everything he did.

[@bostonblackie9503]

I never found him very entertaining, actually boring!

[@theofficialsikris]

@@bostonblackie9503 Thank you for contributing your negative comment to my 2 month old one. Really appreciate it. 👍

[@0001nika]

Legend in his own mind

[@conors4430]

James was a great man. No one ever won that $1 million. And we all know why

[@promethium-145]

No we don't. We shouldn't pretend to know. Also, I thought James Randi cancelled the challenge.

[@Xydorf]

@@promethium-145 yes we do :-)

[@promethium-145]

@@Xydorf No, you don't. There's a lot left to explain.

[@Tureynul]

@@promethium-145 we can all agree that the number of things we can't explain yet keeps shrinking though, right?

[@promethium-145]

@@Tureynul It does. But I think our rate of mystery solving has slowed down. At this point, we're doing more speculation with physics than making new discoveries.

[@rredeyee2460]

"Throw my ashes in Uri Gellar's eyes"🤣

[@leighpowell1062]

Be careful he may spoon you

[@justincarroll1836]

This man was better than the world deserved and his contributions are incredible. May he live on in history.

[@hiebrantsify]

He was exposing everyone except himself. He was who he hated the most. Charlatan, fraud and a fake.

[@justincarroll1836]

@@hiebrantsify um pardon? He was a stage magician but that's not exactly claiming super powers lol

[@molayda]

@@hiebrantsify Wow. Why do you even bother to watch these videos if you’re going to bring such a level of vitriol to them? He did an amazing amount for the community. He helped create the community. Either you’re being rude for the sake of it or you’re just a troll that disagrees with him.

[@superscatboy]

@@hiebrantsify You've completely and utterly missed the point. He fooled people and told them outright they were being fooled. The people he opposed were the ones that insisted they weren't fooling anyone and had real supernatural powers.

[@gordonhill8164]

@@hiebrantsify Calm down and take your meds.

[@elstabstab]

That last part about his dying wish will have me chuckling randomly for the rest of the day. What a legend.

[@jimbo6238]

you sponsored yourself for this vid simon... now that is legendary.

[@codfan2057]

Allegendly

[@Bouldah]

@@codfan2057 what

[@codfan2057]

@@Bouldah Business Blaze reference.

[@Direblade11]

If only I could grow a beard

[@RoamingSouthernNorway]

Gone full circle!

[@Paul-ur5kc]

In March of 2009 I had the good fortune to meet with Mr. Randi at JREF HQ in Ft. Lauderdale FL and speak with him one on one for 2.5 hours uninterrupted in the library. It was an unforgettable experience. Mr. Randi was one of the most interesting and decent human beings I've ever met.

[@SheldonHelms]

Hi, Paul! :)

[@Paul-ur5kc]

@@SheldonHelms Slow evening on the left coast? :)

[@michaelconran5252]

I met him once when I was in 8th or 9th grade. I worked for a guy, a friend's dad, helping do various home improvement type stuff. We did the steps to a sunken living room in his home he had in south Florida. Never knew who he was, until I saw him on a Happy Days rerun. He had an interesting collection of odd objects and thought he was some kind of college professor. Even at 13 or 14, I found him to be a very fascinating individual. I have always really into history and science

[@ispartacus1337]

Supposedly his house had all sorts of weird and cool objects that he had collected over the years. I'm jealous.

[@barrydysert2974]

Thank you for sharing!:-) 🖖

[@joseybryant7577]

Yes, Simon! You have delivered! James Randi, absolute LEGEND

[@thefourshowflip]

I would’ve said absolute legend, but as Simon said...the amazing Randi does not deal with absolutes 😉

[@garyoa1]

Without allegedly!

[@codfan2057]

@@garyoa1 allegendly

[@SneedyKetler]

One of the best channel productions yet.

[@clarencefuller9843]

“He wanted to be cremated and thrown into Uri Geller eyes.” Lmao

[@lokishvibes202]

😂😂😂😂😂😂The man himself

[@jeremytheloner]

Thank you for this. James Randi is a man who changed my life and introduced me to the realities of science and reason, as opposed to fantasy and chicanery. He was a great man that deserves much more recognition than he gets. Thank you, Mr. Randi!!

[@etymos6644]

James Randi was the absolute best. His curmudgeonly and dogged dedication to honesty and reason helped me become a much better and honest skeptic. Thank you, Randi, for all you did. You taught me that I can talk to the dead all I like, but I should never claim that they talk back...

[@scroopynooperz9051]

James Randi, Carl Sagan and Richard Feynman... these are the type of guys that teach you HOW to think and not what to think Invaluable lessons in this day and age.

[@DerptyDerptyDUM]

Hear hear.

[@gram.]

Rest in peace, Mr Rhandi. Thank you for your work. Very respectable man.

[@TheLokiBiz]

"I think that people with mental aberrations who have family histories of inherited diseases and such, that something should be done seriously to educate them to prevent them from procreating. I think they should be gathered together in a suitable place and have it demonstrated for them what their procreation would mean for the human race. " - James Randi.

[@kse8348]

@Big Bill Gates that is not what the nazis did, its daft comparisons like that coming from idiots that makes the religiotarded confused

[@sschmidtevalue]

I very briefly dated a woman who was into psychic stuff, particularly psychic surgery. I had seen Randi on the Tonight show, demonstrating to Johnny how that trick was done. The night this woman came over with photos of her trip to the Philippines to have this 'surgery' done is the night I broke up with her. I could tell that we were not going to have a good relationship because each of us was always going to be trying to change the other.

[@casinodelonge]

I'm a scientist and a skeptic with a pinch of "I want to believe" , I learned a lot from this, thank you Simon.

[@MidTierVillain]

_”no good deed goes unpunished.”_ Pretty much sums up his entire body of work, a hero is deemed a villain by the untrustworthy.

[@dakrontu]

A prophet is never welcome in his own home town.

[@ross-carlson]

As a skeptic yourself it's SO WONDERFUL to see you cover this amazing man!!

[@dodge96neon]

when houdini's mom died he so wanted to talk with her spirit that he went to people who claimed that they could talk to the dead. he quickly found out that there were many fakes and frauds . he spent a great deal of the rest of his life exposing them

[@superscatboy]

Arthur Conan Doyle of all people took Houdini to a psychic to talk to his mother. The psychic performed an act of "automatic writing" where she went into a trance, claimed to be channeling Houdini's mother, and wrote a letter to him. It would've been a great trick if it wasn't for the facts that she wrote it in English (a language his mother didn't know) called him Harry (which his mother never did) and signed it with a crucifix (even though his mother was Jewish). Needless to say this angered Houdini somewhat.

[@Mtz2604]

Playing to milk the money with people's loss and mourning is the lowest. A person going through a grieving process is so vulnerable and deserve respect.

[@Mtz2604]

@Manuel Labor 78 oh, thanks! Since I'm the youngest daughter of all my mom's children. So my older siblings chose the name.... with my mom. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Mtz2604]

@Manuel Labor 78 haha thanks

[@bigbird2451]

I'm honored to have been present at one meeting of The Skeptics Society at Cal Tech back in the mid eighties where the main presentation was a complete debunking of dowsing rods. Good fun.

[@agent_of_cthulhu]

Who doesn't love the Amazing Randi? Only the people he has exposed as frauds. He is an absolute legend. Great video, Simon.

[@rexpayne7836]

He helped vulnerable people realise that these people were fake. Great mission. 👍

[@whyme777x]

Well this is one helluva way to find out he died last October :( I was always hoping to meet him one day

[@jonnysupreme]

You still might (If you believe that crap) 🤣

[@whyme777x]

@@jonnysupreme I think anyone who genuinely wants to meet him is already resigned to the fact they won't :P

[@dudepool7530]

@@jonnysupreme Ha! I got that reference!

[@redstateforever]

I knew he was really old, but I didn’t know he’d passed, either. Interesting life.

[@pretendtobenormal8064]

@@jonnysupreme LOL 🤣

[@richardfurness7556]

A great man. A global treasure. A paragon of intellectual integrity. And he radiated such warmth and concern for his fellow humans in every word he spoke.

[@taylorlibby7642]

One of my favorite people! Wish he was still with us, but he sure gave us a lot while he was here!

[@MrVvulf]

The best way to honor him is to be a skeptic, and teach kids to be skeptics. There are con artists all over the world, and most of us run into at least one per week (phone and email scams, etc.).

[@anonymousperson799]

James Randi is such an inspiration! I would say may his soul rest in peace, but hey, he'd have wanted me to prove a soul exists first! ☺️

[@anonymousperson799]

@@PhilJakes my mistake! Corrected, ty.

[@john-paulsilke893]

@@PhilJakes 😳😁😆. That’s hilarious and subtle at the same time.

[@TheKing60210]

So is there an Afterlife or something?

[@anonymousperson799]

@@TheKing60210 Not that I know of, no.

[@caseylimbert266]

This guy was wonderful, you can watch old recordings of TV shows of him making dishonest scam artists look like jackasses in front of the world

[@eggz09]

You briefly mentioned him but you should really do an episode on BF Skinner. Incredibly fascinating and intelligent man, he really pulled no punches and was never afraid to Express his opinion. A week before he died he received a lifetime achievement award and used his acceptance speech to refute an entire subfield of psychology.

[@cwj9202]

"It is easier to fool people than it is to convince them that they have been fooled." -- Mark Twain

[@badluck5647]

This quote represents 2020

[@promethium-145]

Someone already posted this quote lol. But I guess it's sort of true haha.

[@kittymervine6115]

My daughter was his intern twice! He was a family friend, a dear person, and did what he did because he CARED about people. He worried about people that were scammed by others. His heart was large even if he was "small sized". He got my daughter into MIT by just writing a letter and checking in with those that admired him that worked there. He did so many things for others, never taking credit, just small things that made all the difference to that person and he taught my family to always take the time to do a favor for someone if you can, and help out always. THANK YOU SIMON!!!

[@Shadowofdeath1995]

He was one my heroes. So sad that we lost him, but we got him for almost a 100 years and that is awesome!!!!

[@joshklein7842]

"My friend overdosed on his homeopathic medicine. He forgot to take them." -James Randi (paraphrase but he made a similar joke)

[@henrybadd7116]

Me too!

[@Luubelaar]

Randi actually took an entire bottle of some homoeopathic remedy, saying that if it truly did what it claimed, he should be in great danger. Absolutely nothing happened. He did this several times.

[@colindickson8034]

@@Luubelaar it was homeopathic sleeping pills.

[@byteresistor]

@@Luubelaar But he did die several years later. Coincidence? i think not.

[@skrrtskrrt2410]

@@byteresistor 99.8% of people who died has seen the moon. Coincidence? I think not.

[@matthewoverd9435]

As a student of magic/mentalism I would like to point out that in his later life Uri Geller has taught his techniques to magicians and mentalists and has released DVD's teaching them a well. Also James Shaw/Banachek is one of the greatest mentalists to ever list he has created some of the best mentalist effects in the industry. Great video keep up the good work.

[@yt.personal.identification]

His April's Fools presentation where he convinced an entire auditorium that he was about to hand over the money. Legendary.

[@pennyjupiter7604]

“An Honest Liar” is such a great documentary.

[@FranFerioli]

Yes, but we need a full movie.

[@darkaero]

It must have been hard for him to come out as gay when he was so old.

[@RAS_Squints]

'Be cremated and have his ash thrown in Yuri's eyes' What a mad lad legend

[@Mr.Oberman]

If I had real "woowoo" psychic powers, I wouldn't use it for bending spoons 😂

[@ReiverBlue1971]

Fair point

[@robertnett9793]

What if your only woowoo power was to bend spoons?

[@ReiverBlue1971]

@@robertnett9793 Also a fair point ;D

[@Mr.Oberman]

@Robert Nett I Agree, also a fair point.

[@Otokichi786]

Speaking of Uri Geller, I recall a certain visiting Psychic character, "Yuri Kellerman" in the "Cowboy Bebop" episode, "Jamming With Edward."

[@Saikotic]

Ashes thrown in Geller's eyes. Absolute mad lad!

[@Marauder99991]

I would pay all the money I have to see it happen.

[@matthewbyrd398]

Grew up watching him on The Tonight Show. He was awesome!

[@mzrohan3226]

Now this restores my faith in humanity

[@pulepebane5679]

Few things in this life cause me more pain than knowing that I am incapable of growing a luxurious beard and therefore will never know the ecstacy of applying Simon branded beard oil.

[@ferociousgumby]

Do you have nose hairs? There's still hope.

[@PhantomFilmAustralia]

If James Randi had that beard oil, he may still be alive.

[@elias_xp95]

You could always buy it for a real man.

[@lordofthehouseofstormcrows8615]

Thank you for doing this one! His stage name says it all. His life's works proves that there has never been a person in the history of the world capable of communicating to any deceased human being. Thank you Mr. Randi! Your work will never be forgotten!

[@dodge96neon]

when he exposed his first fake at that church and realized that there are some people that want to be deceived . this is so true . there are sincere church goers who don't really know god's word and will accept anything from the pulpit

[@flighttherapybullisticfpv133]

What an absolute legendary figure... people like Randy dont get the credit they deserver and in time like these we need people like him more than ever.. Crisis cults and scam artists are rampant in America today as things get worse and worse and people look for more and more ways to escape reality

[@Seele2015au]

IIRC some time in the 1970s, Geller was debunked by a US photography magazine: he claimed to be able to take some vague pictures with the lens covered by an opaque lens cap, what happened was that he took the lens cap off, held it close to the lens, and the film would then record some bits of image. What Geller did not know on that occasion was that the team at the magazine fitted a super-wide-angle lens to the camera, as a result, much more was recorded on film showing him holding the lens cap close to the front of the lens.

[@MountainDewbies]

The last statement was just truly amazing

[@clintstewart5545]

he was actually a hero ...

[@djquinn11]

For sure. Anyone who stands for truth and exposes lies is a hero in my book.

[@justinweber4977]

Criss Angel even went after a Gellar disciple once, pulling a sealed envelope out of his coat and asserting "I will give you $100,000 to tell me what the paper inside says."

[@davidsmith1310]

It is worth remembering that people also want these things to not be true.

[@ryanrizzo4869]

Wonderful video! I've always been fascinated with mentalists. As usual, I'm here to request a Biographic on Chinese martial artist, Ip Man, mentor to the late, great Bruce Lee. Four over the top action films just can't do such a talented man justice quite like Biographics can. Thank you in advance! Keep up the great content! -A Loyal Subscriber

[@Emily_Charley]

😂😂😂 love that last part. Then the ashes into Uri Gellers eyes

[@cscott9361]

I miss the great James Randy , especially his sense of humour . We desperately need people like him now , more than ever .

[@Chrisxerri]

Honestly I'd never heard of this guy before. Thank you Simon for enlightening me!

[@MrNorker77]

You should really do an episode on Simon Whistler, that guy is everywhere.

[@brendanthedreamer]

Honestly, if this channel ever goes defunct, THAT should be the final Biographics video.

[@annakeye]

Fantastic biography of one of my favorite people. I watched some of the t.v. show where people came on to try and win the ten grand. Of course, as you said, it was never won. The thing is, that no matter how obviously these claimants were failing, he never tried to humiliate them further, being very gracious and thanking them for coming on the show.

[@ReiverBlue1971]

Indeed. A true gentleman

[@valthor1972]

I got a chance to meet Mr Randi at the JREF in 1997, he was a great man and a lot of great stories. The world will miss him very much.

[@DiamondWisps]

9:38 Should've let him bring his own spoons then did a segment where they took those away and gave the unmodified spoons for him to use. The excuse "I don't feel strong tonight" wouldn't have worked lol

[@augustb.w.4778]

Feels good to see both you and super eyepatch Wolf honoring him

[@Doctor180185]

He was an investigator, not a debunker. He never went by the term 'debunker'

[@M.M0709]

Could you do some episodes on African figures such as Thomas Sankara please?

[@villagechillershorror228]

That would be a good one

[@dakrontu]

Or India's Sai Baba - now there's a scandal.

[@georgeso4364]

dakrontu What did Sai Baba do?

[@jacko250]

YES! I love the fact you are doing a bio on Randi, such a deserving figure and criminally under appreciated by the mainstream. Other candidates who’s fascinating lives would make for great videos are: Josephine Baker Don Bradman Johan Cruyff Isadora Duncan Auguste Escoffier Bobby Fischer Antoni Gaudí Ray Harryhausen Jim Henson Le Corbusier Lumière Brothers Diego Maradona Marcel Marceau Georges Méliès Rudolf Nureyev John Peel Ayrton Senna Konstantin Stanislavski Lee Strasberg Dalton Trumbo Marie Tussaud

[@appleman3216]

There's an anime that used this phenomenon in their episodes about ghost hunting. It's called Ghost Hunt and it's probably one of my most favorite paranormal anime, and I would recommend anyone who likes anime to watch the first 5 episodes to give it a chance.

[@valmid5069]

Harry Houdini: *Give me high five James!*

[@ivojanssen7376]

I know it's a bit of a weird sugestion, but maybe you could do a video on Ruud Lubbers. He was the longest sitting prime-minister of The Netherlands. He is considered one of the best prime-minister of The Netherlands. I would like to see a video about the smart choices he made during his career. Like his smart way to prevent the placement of nuclear rockets in The Netherlands is one of the many examples. I know it might be a underrated sugestion, but i think a video on him would be a great opportunity to show how it was for a neutral, small frog country to cope with the cold war.

[@briandoss9232]

I used to be a street magician. My thing was to come up with amazing, and easily repeated tricks that no matter how many times you looked at that them, it was hard to figure it out. To avoid the rule of never do the same trick twice.

[@MetallicADudE94]

This man probably more than any other taught me the true value of skepticism and critical thinking. RIP friend

[@dandymc2458]

In Australia there is a very famous moment when a TV show host goes off his face at James Randi for saying Gellar and others are charlatans. Look up James Randi Don Lane on you tube. Don Lane was an American born immigrant who migrated too Aus and had his own Carson style tv show. He was a big supporter of Gellar and other psychics

[@ComaDave]

I was looking for this. Don Lane was actually defending the credentials of Doris Stokes, an English psychic who had appeared on the show on a number of occasions. It got rather heated, Lane told Randi to "piss off!" and angrily cut to an ad break. I watched it back then. Stokes' abilities were all subsequently debunked a decade later upon her death.

[@DibIrken]

I enjoyed his exposés. Man left a lasting imprint to the world

[@DRAKED411]

Very much worth watching! Great job

[@anrit5972]

I remember seeing on tv when I was a kid, I also had parents that instilled the mindset of always question everything so that I could make a well reasoned judgement about things. After presenting my case as a ten year old that the notion of god and religion was a man made construct and a complete nonsense therefore I would no longer be attending church or Sunday school, my parents said that it was my choice and that they backed my decision. 40 years later they still attend their church and I have only entered them for the occasional wedding and funeral .

[@thedevilluis]

Would absolutely love if you could do the biographics of William Blake and John Milton. Absolutely love this channel. Keep them coming!

[@deecee784]

Regarding Uri Geller's Tonight show failure and his believer's reactions. There are none so blind as those who refuse to see !

[@jonathanleach4086]

Honestly, james Randi is an inspiration of mine. His work in debunking is one of the reasons I seek out to debunk false claims and religious indoctrination. We as a people are lesser without him

[@msmoniz]

Magic, mentalism, spirits, homeopathy, religion... people want so badly to believe in things that are not real and woe to us who try and disabuse them of such nonsense. They don't graciously thank you for exposing the fraud, they in many cases angrily and in some, violently, lash out at those exposing the fraud. This is what holds humanity back.

[@Luubelaar]

James Randi was a gift to the world. I am so grateful we had him for as long as we did. May he rest in peace. Thank you for being an awesome human, Mr Randi.

[@Tarotgal8205]

THANK YOU!!!!!!! I'm so excited, I suggested him.

[@Filiolus]

I found out about James Randi via Penn & Teller, both amazing themselves disproving people. (and just being great dudes lol), glad you are covering him. The guy had a very interesting life in the trade and was an absolute legend.

[@SheldonHelms]

Did you know that there would be no Penn & Teller without James Randi? He's the one who suggested (demanded?) that they form an act together. They were reluctant, but he insisted. He said they reminded him of Laurel & Hardy. And the rest is history!

[@nachoisone]

Finally!!! One on James Randi!! Love you guys!! ❤️

[@redram5150]

I won a jackpot once. I had to ask people who knew to please not tell anyone else because, among other reasons, I kept dealing with people trying to rub up against me for “good luck”

[@theblackbaron4119]

They did it wrong, they should have cut off your hands and feet to put them on a keychain. For good luck... It's barbaric.

[@jkranites]

I met him during a lecture in College. Brilliant man, super nice, and surprisingly approachable

[@ReiverBlue1971]

I envy you ;)

[@g.b569]

Geez they arrested him for calling out the trick, how sensitive can you be

[@dakrontu]

Yes, another example of Magic Christians claiming persecution by the vast seething hordes of atheists and fraud debunkers in America.

[@jonhall2274]

That's religion for you, luckily he he did it in America, any Muslim dominated geographic or demographic area, and he would have been killed on the spot.

[@georgeso4364]

Jon Hall Don’t let those Privileged People see your comment or they will report you for hate speech!

[@redsampler2017]

@@georgeso4364 why would anyone report jon hall for hate speech? , i believe in Jesus but i despise religion.. its man-made nonsense, made up rules and tricks to keep people dumb. there are ten commandments, and even if you are not a believer those ''rules to live by'' aren,t so bad for anyone. if people ask me and wanna talk with me about my faith i have no problem with that what i do have a problem with is people pushing their believes on others , and that works both ways. also just because you can and may insult another person(as anyone has the right to his/hers own opinion) doesn,t mean you have to. too each their own.

[@whocanChandlerCAN]

Another great video Simon!

[@gernnnblanstennn7862]

If spoon bending is your only psychic power you will never get into the Justice League or be allowed to join the Avengers.

[@slake9727]

Well, could probably replace Hawkeye...

[@jackhamilton9604]

what’s out bending knives?

[@string_fellow_hawk]

Thank you to Radu Alexander for the story, and Simon's presentation. I knew of Randy before ,being a Penn & Teller fan for years . This help me gain more understanding of thier skepticism. I had read of the Geller incident but was cool to see it. Thanks for that as well.

[@InciniumVGC]

James Randi is an inspirational figure to those of us who are neither religious nor spiritual and have no belief in anything supernatural.

[@ReiverBlue1971]

I suspect he was open to the idea but never had an proof/evidence of it and was the constant cynic

[@bobbertbobby3975]

God Bless James Randi. I loved him dearly. He gave me the courage to think criticly and to not be gulible. And at the end he even helped me come out to my friends and family so James Randi...i hope there is a heaven, cause if anyone deserves to go there its you.

[@numeristatech]

Damn, he died last year? So sad. A great magician and seemed to be an honest seeker of truth in this world.

[@joya4077]

I really miss having him around. He continues to be an inspiration in my life and helps keep me grounded and skeptical of woo.

[@josephrossi6775]

VIDEO SUGGESTION: ADMIRAL YI- The admiral that defeated the Japanese

[@californiaweather4369]

Extra Credits has a great series on him

[@darter9000]

@@yaboibSLT I generally heard he died in the final battle of the Japanese invasion. He was nearly executed for refusing to fall into an obvious Japanese trap. Which his ‘replacement’ promptly fell for and restored his position.

[@joelstein4657]

I don't know who said this but; "I keep waiting to read the headlines, 'psychic wins lottery'. Haven't heard it yet"

[@stephjovi]

Ah I was wondering when you'll make this, since Simon mentioned on Business that he admired James Randy. If ghosts were real James would've returned as ghost to get the 1 million dollars 😇

[@DerptyDerptyDUM]

😅

[@AnotherPointOfView944]

Ever notice that Uri Gellar disappeared from the public eye over the last couple of decades? Maybe his Gallium supplier stopped bending to his needs.

[@HallsteinI]

Uri Geller ultimately ended up leaving the US and establishing himself in the UK. He was invited to QI once where they made fun of him mercilessly.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

They made fun of him, as they should have.

[@HappySinnar]

I don't mean to be a dick or anything, but having seen all the episodes of QI multiple times this made me curious as to why I couldn't remember this at all. He was on an episode of 8 out of 10 cats, not QI, and it was brutal to watch if anybody's curious.

[@slake9727]

@Hidden it was hilarious. Sean Locke takes the piss out somebody like no one else.