The world of skeptical investigation is full of interesting personalities full of stories about their run-ins\xa0with ghost chasers, debunking charlatans, and dealing with "magic". Today on Point of Inquiry, Jim Underdown talks with Massimo Polidoro and Kenny Biddle while at CSICon 2018 about what they've been through as two of the top\xa0investigators in the skeptic movement.
In this episode, Massimo speaks about the fascinating details around the life of genius, Leonardo da Vinci and about his new book,\xa0Leonardo.
Jim and Massimo also speak about Massimo's training under James Randi to be a magician and about Sherlock Holme's creator, Arthur Conan Doyle and his fascination with the occult and spiritualism, specifically Conan Doyle's fascination with The Cottingley Fairies and Princess Mary's Gift Book.\xa0
Jim and Kenny speak about Kenny's work with Skeptical Inquirer, The Independent Investigations Group, and Kenny's previous life as a ghost chaser.
Massimo Polidoro is a\xa0writer and an internationally recognized \u201cmystery detective.\u201d\xa0He began\xa0his career as James Randi\u2019s apprentice and is the cofounder and head of the Italian skeptics\xa0group CICAP. He is a TV personality in Italy, a research fellow for CSI, and a longtime columnist\xa0for its magazine, the Skeptical Inquirer. He is starting a new series, \u201cStranger Stories\u201d, on his\xa0YouTube channel.\xa0
You can find Massimo on twitter:\xa0twitter.com/massimopolidoro
Kenny Biddle\xa0is a science enthusiast and skeptical investigator of paranormal claims. He\u2019s been involved in photography for over twenty years. He applies his knowledge, experience, and critical thinking skills to analyzing alleged paranormal photographs and video to determine the most plausible causes. His work has been featured in several skeptical publications. Find him on twitter:\xa0twitter.com/kennybiddle42
New music heard on this episode
"The Time To Run (Finale)" by Dexter Britain / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0\xa0
"Wahre by Blue Dot Sessions / CC BY-NC 4.0