Skeptrack Panel Discussion:

"Why Magic is Important"
featuring James Randi &
D.J. Grothe

The hosts of Skepticality are recovering from their spectacularly successful "Skeptrack" events at Dragon*Con 2008: four days of lively discussion featuring guests from some of the most prominent skeptical organizations around the world. Included were James Randi and Dr. Phil Plait from the JREF, Dr. Michael Shermer of the Skeptics Society, Benjamin Radford and D.J. Grothe from the Center for Inquiry, and Richard Saunders and crew from the Australian Skeptics—to name only a few.

For those who participated in this groundbreaking weekend, we look forward to hearing your stories. For those who could not attend, Skepticality brings you the first of several recordings from last week's panel discussions, beginning with James Randi and D.J. Grothe discussing "Why Magic is Important to Skepticism." This in-depth discussion of the entwined histories of magic and skepticism reveals how creating illusions can illuminate the truth.

Show Notes

Date - September 9th, 2008 read by Derek.
The lineup for the first ever Skeptics track at Dragon*Con 2008 in Atlanta :
The Amazing Randi
Dr. Michael Shermer
Dr. Phil Plait
Dr. Steven Novella
D.J. Grothe
Benjamin Radford
Alison Smith
Michael A. Stackpole
Richard Saunders
Today's recording came from the first day of Skeptrack.
The panel was entitled Why Magic is Important to Skepticism.
DJ Grothe, host of Point of Inquiry was also once a professional magician.
The Amazing Randi delighted Dragon*Con attendees with his close up magic.
We recorded the audio and filmed the SkepTrack panels, and also filming them.
You can keep an eye on the proceedings via SkepTrack.org and subscribe the feed.
Skepticality outro.