August 26, 2024
CFIIG Web Series SkeptiLab: The Bunk Stops Here! Debunks Weird Claims … with Celebrity Assists
Los Angeles, CA: What do Andy Richter (Conan), Matt Walsh (Veep), Julia Sweeney (Saturday Night Live), Jim O’Heir (Parks and Recreation), Phil LaMarr (Futurama, Samurai Jack), Annabelle Gurwitch (Dinner and a Movie), and Adam Felber (Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!) all have in common?
They’ve all been featured on SkeptiLab: The Bunk Stops Here!, a web series dedicated to scientifically explaining and debunking supposedly “paranormal” phenomena produced by the Los Angeles–based Center for Inquiry Investigations Group (CFIIG).
Polls show that large percentages of Americans still believe in psychic powers, dowsers, Bigfoot, UFOs and other dubious notions—despite voluminous evidence to the contrary. Science-based skeptics have debunked such claims over the past fifty years, but these stubborn beliefs still persist in the popular consciousness. Since younger Americans get much of their information and news online, SkeptiLab aims to share its science-based findings with that audience through video.
SkeptiLab is the brainchild of James Underdown, founder of the Center for Inquiry Investigations Group (CFIIG), a nationwide team of volunteer sleuths who have been looking into extraordinary claims since 2000.
“Literally millions of people believe in these long-debunked claims,” Underdown added. “SkeptiLab is a way to get this information out there and have some fun doing it!”
CFIIG also famously sponsors and oversees the $500,000 Paranormal Challenge, the largest prize in the world offered for proof of paranormal ability. The team of investigators fields between 150–200 applications per year. No one has ever passed a science-based test of paranormal ability (think psychics, telekinetics, remote viewers, spoon-benders, etc.)
“We’ve been investigating and testing wild claims for almost twenty-five years and found zero proof that paranormal abilities actually exist,” said Underdown. “Our hope is that using some celebrity friends in addition to our own experts might help get the word out a little better.”
SkeptiLab: The Bunk Stops Here!first debuted in April 2023. The latest episode, featuring Phil LaMarr on the truth behind fortune telling, debuted August 16, 2024, and new episodes are on the way. Visit Skeptilab.tv for a complete list of episodes and CFIIG.org for more information about the group, the $500,000 Paranormal Challenge, and other recent tests and investigations.