Richard Saunders (skeptic)

Richard Saunders

At New Zealand Skeptics conference 2016
Born (1965-11-28) 28 November 1965
Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia
Residence Sydney, Australia
Known for Skepticism, origami, author, podcaster
Website

http://skepticzone.tv/ and http://www.mysteryinvestigators.com
Richard Saunders Voice
recorded in March 2014
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Richard Saunders (born 28 November 1965) is an Australian skeptic, podcaster, and professional origamist. He received recognition by the Australian Skeptics with a Life Membership in 2001 for his contributions to the organisation.[1] Saunders was twice president[2][3] of the Australian Skeptics, and he founded Sydney Skeptics in the Pub.[4] He has presented on skepticism, represented the Australian Skeptics on television and radio shows, and is the co-host of the Skeptic Zone podcast.

Biography

Early life

Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales,[1] Australia, Saunders traveled internationally with his family in his early life, since his father, Rev. Robert H. Saunders,[5] a Methodist preacher, took the family to live in Tribune, Saskatchewan, Canada from 1968-1969. Returning to Australia, Saunders attended a variety of primary schools in Mullumbimby, Lithgow, and graduated from Woy Woy High School in 1984.

Professional career

After graduating from high school, Saunders joined educational publisher Ashton Scholastic and sold educational software for Apple II and Commodore 64 home computers. In 1988 he began authoring over twenty books on origami,[6] which subsequently were featured on the Australian children's television program Wombat,[7] The ABC Afternoon Show,[8] and similar programs.

He also worked as a web designer for The Advance Bank of Australia and Commonwealth Bank[2] and in 1999 was transferred to EDS, where he designed the interface for netBank online banking and worked for two years before joining GreenStone Pty Ltd as a web designer for three years.

From 2005 - 2008 he worked part-time as a film and TV extra, appearing in the background in such feature films as Superman Returns and Australia as well as in the background in the TV shows All Saints (TV series) and Home and Away.

In 2013 he was invited to be a member of the "World Competition Jury" at Academia Film Olomouc's 48th International Festival of Science Documentary Films or AFO48 in the Czech Republic.[9] He also gave a lecture on the claims of water divining as part of the "Pseudoscience" block and a lecture and workshops on origami as part of the "The Beauty of Numbers" block.[10][11][12]

In 2008 he and Gary Clark produced "DVD Origami," an instructional DVD with step-by-step instructions on how to fold 20 paper models.[13]

Career as a skeptic

Saunders has over 10 years of experience researching claims of the paranormal.[2] As a teenager he was inspired by Channel 7's Great Mysteries of the World with Scott Lambert; he was surprised at just how easily people could fool themselves, even after being shown evidence that they may be wrong.[14] He joined the committee of the Australian Skeptics in 2001 and has been President and Vice President[2] of the organization. He was granted a Life Membership in the organization in recognition of his work on The Great Skeptic CD.[1] He went on to create the Great Water Divining DVD and the "card carrying skeptic card." He founded Sydney Skeptics in the Pub,[4] initiated "The Skeptic Tank" radio show on Net.FM with Stefan Sojka,[15] produced The Australian Skeptics collection on "Theories of Everything" for TVS local Sydney TV, and created several of the Australians Skeptics convention DVDs. He was the acting artistic director and layout manager for The Skeptic Magazine from Australian Skeptics until Tim Mendham was appointed the new editor in June 2009.

In 2003 Saunders co-founded The Mystery Investigators Show with Alynda Brown and Ian Bryce. The program teaches students to use science and critical thinking to investigate claims of the paranormal, such as water divining, spoon bending, and firewalking.[16] In 2008 Brown left the show and was replaced by biologist Dr. Rachael Dunlop. In 2013 the show celebrated 10 years of performing.

In 2010 he helped organize the first The Amaz!ng Meeting Australia in Sydney. The meeting featured presentations by several high-profile members of the skeptical community, including James Randi, Brian Dunning, and Eugenie Scott.[16]

He has used his expertise in origami to design an origami Pigasus[17] in honour of the mascot of the James Randi Educational Foundation. He authored instructions for folding the Pigasus and a dragon for Skeptic (U.S. magazine).[18]

Awards and Honours

Podcasting

Saunders was producer and host of The Tank Vodcast (aka The Skeptic Tank).[20] In 2008 this podcast became The Skeptic Zone podcast, which he still hosts. It appears weekly and is billed as "The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason."[21]

He has appeared as a guest on many other podcasts and vodcasts including The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe,[22][23] Skepticality,[24] Dragon*Pod,[25][26][27] The Reason Driven Podcast,[28] The Amateur Scientist Podcast,[29] Bad Psychics TV,[30] and Meet the Skeptics![16]

Public & Media appearances

He has made many appearances on radio and television in his role as a skeptic, including on Today Tonight,[31][32][33] Sunrise, Radio 2GB,[34] Radio 2UE,[4][35][36] Nova 106.9,[37] 702 ABC,[2][38] and the pilot show for "Curiosity Aroused".[39] In 2007 he did a recurring segment for the Mike Williams Saturday Night Live radio program called Myths and Mysteries.[40] In 2011 and 2012 he was a regular on The Dirty Disbelievers a radio program on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio network.[41]

In July and August 2008 (series #1) and in 2011 (series #2), he appeared as the resident skeptic judge on The One, an Australian reality television program on the Seven Network that tested the powers of several alleged psychics.[2][42][43]

He has spoken at many skeptic meetings including the Australian Skeptics National Convention in 2003,[44] 2004,[45] and 2008.[46][47] In the United States he appeared at The Amaz!ng Adventure North to Alaska[17][48] in 2007, and The Amaz!ng Meeting 6[49][50][51] and the Skeptrack at Dragon*Con,[52] both in 2008.

Bibliography

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Victorian Skeptics: Richard Saunders". Victorian Skeptics, Australian Skeptics. Archived from the original on 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The One: Judge - Richard Saunders". Yahoo 7 TV Australia. Archived from the original on 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  3. ↑ "Group Info: New South Wales (Australian Skeptics Inc.)", Australian Skeptics website, Australian Skeptics Inc., retrieved 2013-05-16
  4. 1 2 3 "Sydney Skeptics in the Pub". Australian Skeptics. Archived from the original on 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  5. ↑ Saunders, Richard (2006-04-09). "My dear father, Rev. Bob Saunders". Mystery Investigators. Archived from the original on 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  6. ↑ "Books by Richard Saunders (authored and co-authored)". Mystery Investigators. Archived from the original on 2006-11-19. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  7. ↑ "Origami - Richard Saunders 1988 - Wombat - Ch. 7". YouTube. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  8. ↑ "Origami - Richard Saunders 1989 - Afternoon Show ABC TV". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  9. ↑ "AFO 48: Competition Juries". Olomouc, Czech Republic: Academia Film Olomouc. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  10. ↑ "Výzva pro AFO48: Odhalit krásu matematiky" [Call for AFO48: Discover the beauty of mathematics] (in Czech). Olomouc, Czech Republic: Academia Film Olomouc. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  11. ↑ "Souboj vědy s mýtem na AFO48 rozsoudí Richard Saunders" [Clash of science toll on AFO48 judge Richard Saunders] (in Czech). Olomouc, Czech Republic: Academia Film Olomouc. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  12. ↑ Academia Film Olomouc (2013), "48th International Festival of Science Documentary Films" (PDF), catalog, Olomouc, Czech Republic: Profi-Tisk Group s.r.o., pp. 86, 91, ISBN 9788024434629, retrieved 2013-05-16
  13. ↑ DVD Origami (online vendor site), Maximedia, retrieved 2013-05-12
  14. ↑ Saunders, Richard (June 2015). "Birth of a Nation". The Skeptic. 35 (2): 53.
  15. ↑ Saunders, Richard (Summer 2001). "Take an Internet Dip in The Skeptic Tank" (PDF). The Skeptic. New South Wales, Australia: Australian Skeptics Inc. 21 (4): 65. ISSN 0726-9897. OCLC 173343236.
  16. 1 2 3 Brown, Christopher. "Meet Richard Saunders". Meet the Skeptics! Podcast. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  17. 1 2 Randi, James (2007-09-14). "Our Recent Adventure" (blog). SWIFT. James Randi Educational Foundation. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  18. ↑ Saunders, Richard. "How to Fold Origami Pigasus". YouTube. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  19. ↑ Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (2011-02-07), CSI announces new Fellows (press release), Amherst, NY, retrieved 2011-08-07
  20. ↑ "The TANK Vodcast: Skepticism Never Looked So Good!". The Tank Vodcast. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  21. ↑ "Skeptical Podcasts from Australia: The Skeptic Zone", Australian Skeptics website, Australian Skeptics Inc., retrieved 2013-05-16, The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason
  22. ↑ Novella, Steven; Watson, Rebecca; Novella, Jay; Novella, Robert; Bernstein, Evan (hosts) (2007-09-27), "Episode #114" (podcast), The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, New England Skeptical Society, retrieved 2008-12-06
  23. ↑ Novella, Steven; Watson, Rebecca; Novella, Jay; Novella, Robert; Bernstein, Evan (hosts) (2008-08-26), "Episode #162" (podcast), The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, New England Skeptical Society, retrieved 2008-12-06
  24. ↑ McCarthy, Robynn; Colanduno, Derek (2005-11-02), "Episode #22: The Australian Skeptic - Interview: Richard Saunders", Skepticality, Skeptic Magazine, retrieved 2011-11-27
  25. ↑ "Panel 2 - Videocasting 101", Dragon*Pod, Dragon*Con, 2008-09-08, retrieved 2008-12-06
  26. ↑ "Panel 4 - Podcasting United Nations", Dragon*Pod, Dragon*Con, 2008-09-08, retrieved 2008-12-06
  27. ↑ "Panel 9 - PodSci, Science Podcasters Roundtable", Dragon*Pod, Dragon*Con, 2008-09-08, retrieved 2008-12-06
  28. ↑ Schade, Danny; Lockwood, Mikyle (hosts) (January 2008), "Episode 12 - Providence and Superstition", The Reason Driven Podcast, retrieved 2008-12-06
  29. ↑ "Episode 42", The Amateur Scientist Podcast, AmateurScientist.org, 2008-09-10, retrieved 2008-12-06 External link in |publisher= (help) (audio of show available as mp3 here)
  30. ↑ Brougham, William (2008-12-10), BPTV: William Brougham Interviews Australian Skeptic Richard Saunders (video), http://badpsychics.blogspot.com/, retrieved 2008-12-11 External link in |publisher= (help)
  31. ↑ "Ghost (spider) on the stairs", Today Tonight, Seven Network, 2006-09-19, retrieved 2008-12-12
  32. ↑ Pangallo, Frank (2009-12-22). "Bracelet claims put to the test". Today Tonight. Seven Network. Retrieved 2013-05-16. Is it a mind blowing scientific marvel or merely the mind playing games with reality?
  33. ↑ Pangallo, Frank (2011-07-27). "Homeopathy put to the test". Today Tonight. Seven Network. Retrieved 2013-05-16. A scientist is out to bust myths about staying healthy, popping pills by the handful to show what works, and what doesn't.
  34. ↑ "The Skeptic Zone #127" (podcast), The Skeptic Zone, New South Wales, Australia: Australian Skeptics Inc., 2011-03-25, retrieved 2013-05-16
  35. ↑ "Richard Saunders on Radio 2UE". YouTube. 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  36. ↑ "The Skeptic Zone #92" (podcast), The Skeptic Zone, New South Wales, Australia: Australian Skeptics Inc., 2010-07-23, retrieved 2013-05-16
  37. ↑ "Richard Saunders on NOVA Radio". YouTube. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  38. ↑ PM. Bigfoot still out there, despite hoax video. 2008-08-15. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  39. ↑ Watson, Rebecca (host) (2007-12-16), "Curiosity, Aroused: The Pilot" (podcast), Curiosity, Aroused, WordPress, retrieved 2008-12-12
  40. ↑ "Myths and Mysteries with Richard Saunders". Mystery Investigators. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  41. ↑ Maynard (2012-01-23), The Dirty Disbelievers, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 2013-05-16, Take the red pill AND the blue pill on ABC Digital Radio across Australia
  42. ↑ Ellliot, Tim (2008-07-07), "Just act paranormal", The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Australia: Fairfax Digital, Fairfax Media, OCLC 226369741
  43. ↑ Robson, Lou (2008-07-03). "Witches brave the fires of scepticism". Green Guide. The Age. Victoria, Australia.
  44. ↑ "Report: Convention Roundup" (PDF). The Skeptic. Australian Skeptics Inc. 23 (3): 9–10. Spring 2003. ISSN 0726-9897. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  45. ↑ "Convention Roundup" (PDF). The Skeptic. Australian Skeptics Inc. 24 (4): 6–9. Summer 2004. ISSN 0726-9897. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  46. ↑ "News: Convention Roundup" (PDF). The Skeptic. Australian Skeptics Inc. 28 (4): 38. Summer 2008. ISSN 0726-9897. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  47. ↑ "Skeptics National Convention 2008". Skeptics SA. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  48. ↑ "Richard Saunders on the Amazing Adventure 2". YouTube. 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  49. ↑ Randi, James (2008-07-04), "Saunders is in Action!" (blog), SWIFT, James Randi Educational Foundation, retrieved 2008-12-05
  50. ↑ Richard Saunders at TAM 6 on Bringing Critical Thinking to Schools on YouTube uploaded 23 January 2012 by James Randi Foundation. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  51. ↑ "TAM 6 DVD Set (Disk 2)". James Randi Educational Foundation. 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  52. ↑ "About: Archive: Past Guests". Dragon*Con website. Dragon*Con. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
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