Commonwealth Club of California Podcast Grief Vampire: Operation Onion Ring
The February 2019 New York Times Magazine reported on Susan Gerbic and her team's successful work exposing psychic medium Thomas John in a sting called Operation Pizza Roll. Throughout the pandemic Gerbic's team (Guerilla Skeptics) researched and exposed multiple mediums operating on Zoom using hot and cold reading to appear to be in communication with the dead; this series of reports was called Operation Lemon Meringue.
In April 2021, medium Thomas John scheduled an 8-person Spirit Circle for children ages 5–12, charging $400 per reading. After trying unsuccessfully to get the Spirit Circle cancelled, the Guerilla Skeptics decided to attend and report back on the event. Susan will be discussing what happened in Operation Onion Ring and how they say they once again caught "grief vampire" Thomas John.
For more information on the work the Guerilla Skeptics have done concerning various "grief vampires," visit their website.
About the Speaker
Affectionately called the Wikipediatrician, Susan Gerbic is the founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) and the Monterey County Skeptics, and is a self-proclaimed skeptical junkie. A Skeptical Inquirer contributor Gerbic is a fellow of CSI and winner of the James Randi Foundation award for 2017. In 2018, Susan founded and manages About Time, a nonprofit organization focusing on scientific skepticism and activism. While her particular focus has been “Grief Vampires” (psychics), her activism encompasses all areas of skepticism. You can find out more at AboutTimeProject.org.
MLF ORGANIZER
Patrick O'Reilly
NOTES
MLF: Psychology
SPEAKERS
Susan Gerbic
Founder, Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW); Founder, Monterey County Skeptics; Founder and Manager, About Time
Patrick O'Reilly
Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist; Chair, Psychology Member-Led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—Moderator
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on January 10th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.
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