Canberra Skeptics proudly presents: Skeptics vs Grief Vampires

Date: December 10

Time: 6:00 to 7:30pm

Speaker: Susan Gerbic and Mark Edward

Venue: Room 2, Belconnen Community Service, 26 Chandler Street, Belconnen ACT 2616

Cost: Free

Susan Gerbic and her partner Mark Edward made the New York Times magazine last February in a report about their investigations into celebrity psychics, who they call “Grief Vampires.” Gerbic has run a number of stings and investigations under names like “Operation Pizza Roll” and “Operation Peach Pit.” Her goal with these stings is to uncover how the psychics ply their trade and then to get this information out beyond the skeptics’ community and into the public and to those who are grieving and being scammed. She will discuss her recent stings, focusing on how to have a real effect on the Medium.

Gerbic, affectionately called the Wikipediatrician, is the founder of the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) project and is a self-proclaimed skeptical junkie. She is a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine and the Skepticality podcast, and is a CSI Fellow. She is the 2012 winner of the “In the Trenches Award,” the 2013 James Randi Award for “Skepticism in Public Interest,” and the 2017 James Randi Prize.

Mark Edward is a magician and author of “Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium.” He “has worked as a 900-number psychic, ghost hunter, and Hollywood Magic Castle medium. He has also worked vigorously to debunk psychic frauds and currently works on the editorial board of Skeptic magazine.”

For more information about Gerbic’s work see:

Dinner will follow the lecture (venue TBC). To RSVP for the dinner, please email canberraskeptics@gmail.com.

Canberra Skeptics Inc. is a non-profit association incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory for the purpose of promoting critical thinking. For further information about Canberra Skeptics, please visit our website: http://www.canberraskeptics.org

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CanberraSkeptics/

Twitter: @cbrskeptics

Event announcements:

Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/SocialSkepticsCanberra/

Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/canberra-skeptics-18628458762