S408: The Psychic Kids (James Randi and Project Alpha)

In 1979, two high school kids claiming to be psychic managed to fool parapsychology researchers at Washington University using simple magic tricks and sleight of hand. Little did the scientists know, these kids were just amateur magicians pulling a fast one on them. Today, these kids are grown. Their names are Steve Shaw, who now goes by the stage name Banachek, and Mike Edwards. But back in 1979, they were seen as boys with exceptional abilities. They were planted in the parapsychology research study by the magician and skeptic James Randi. They coined this stunt Project Alpha. The parapsychology lab at Washington State University was called the McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research. The lab ran a long series of experiments ranging from moving objects in sealed glass domes to controlling clocks and creating images appear on unexposed film. Banacheck and Edwards say they received no training from James Randi. They had to rely on their instincts and come up with illusions on the fly. During their time at the McDonnell research institute, they followed one rule—always tell the truth if you’re ever asked whether they were faking the results. They kept this ruse going for almost three years. This is part of my series on Psychics. Part 1 features my conversation with Uri Geller. ------------- Links EXPLORATORY RESEARCH WITH TWO NEW PSYCHIC METAL BENDERS Transcribed from Research in Parapsychology (1981), pp. 144-146 Peter R. Phillips and Mark Shafer† (Washington University) http://www.aiprinc.org/documents/PS.pdf McDonnell Laboratory press release after the revelation http://www.aiprinc.org/documents/CIA_on_Randi.pdf Parapsychological Weapon - NSA Memo Project STARGATE https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/nsa-rdp96x00790r000100030042-9 ------------- Written and Produced by Javier Leiva Theme music by Joe Basile with thechicken.net Additional music by Podington Bear and Glad Rags Additional audio provided by Banachek's Brain podcast ------- Story idea? If you have a story to share, email Javier a voice memo or short written description at [email protected]. For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org. To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate Support for this episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Is there is something that interferes with your happiness or is preventing you from achieving your goals? Connect with your professional counselor in a safe and private online environment. Sign up today with discount code "PRETEND" to get 10% off your first month. Betterhelp.com/pretend Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices