**WHAT:** In 1980, James Randi made an historic visit to Australia that formed the basis for the Australian TV documentary “James Randi in Australia”, commissioned by Australian businessman Dick Smith. An elaborate, controlled test of dowsing involving buried water pipes – approved by dowsers themselves – is established, and confident dowsers set forth to demonstrate their abilities. What do you think happens? The original film has been lost for decades, and the only known copy was an old VCR tape in poor condition that had been recorded off of television. For the 45th anniversary of this founding event of the Australian Skeptics, Richard Saunders and Glenn Brady digitally restored the copy to a print of amazing fidelity to the original. Richard joins us to watch the video and discuss the significance of the documentary to the history of skepticism, and also how they restored the film. Whether you’re a techie or a skeptic, you’ll want to join us. It’s fair dinkum!

**PRESENTER:** Richard Saunders starred as the “Skeptical Judge” on two seasons of the Australian TV show “[The One: The Search for Australia’s Most Gifted Psychic](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2165235/)“. He is also the host of the weekly skeptical podcast “[The Skeptic Zone](https://www.skepticzone.tv/)“, now in its 18th year. Richard is a featured guest at American skeptical conferences, an origami expert and children’s author, a CSI Fellow and a life member of [Australian Skeptics](https://www.skeptics.com.au/). He was part of the James Randi Education Foundation’s $1,000,000 challenge.

**WHEN:** 11 September at 7:30 PM Pacific

**HOW:** Live online. Click [HERE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aFjYAq3Hf8)

**Q & A:** Submit your questions during the talk

Eugenie C Scott

Bay Area Skeptics

Science & Education

Science

Drinking Skeptically

Philosophy

Discussing Atheism Skepticism & Secularism

Skeptics

Ethical Humanism

Intellectual Discussions

Critical Thinking

Medicine

Every 2nd Thursday of the month until March 10, 2026

Tucker Hiatt

Larry Hicok

Aaron Hardin

Greg Dorais

William Patterson

Harold Baize

Susan F.

SkepTalk: James Randi in Australia

Online event

Share

Bay Area Skeptics

SkepTalk: James Randi in Australia

Bay Area Skeptics

Details

Members are also interested in