Richard Saunders (skeptic)

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Richard Saunders
Born 28 November 1965 (1965-11-28) (age 46)
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 (born on 28 November 1965) is an Australian skeptic, podcaster and professional origamist. He has received recognition by the Australian Skeptics with a Life Membership in 2001 for his contributions to the organisation.[1] Saunders has been President and is currently co-Vice President[2] of the Australian Skeptics and is the founder of Sydney Skeptics in the Pub.[3] In addition, he has presented on skepticism globally, represented the Australian Skeptics on numerous television and radio shows and is the co-host of the Skeptic Zone podcast.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales[1] Australia. His early life involved international travel, as his father Rev. Robert H. Saunders',[4] career as a Methodist preacher required 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.

[edit] Professional career

After graduating from high school, Saunders joined educational publishers Ashton Scholastic and sold educational software for Apple and Commodore home computers. From 1988 he authored over thirty books on origami,[5] which subsequently featured on the Australian children's television program Wombat,[6] The ABC Afternoon Show[7] and similar programs.

He has also worked as a web designer for The Advance Bank of Australia and Commonwealth Bank[2] In 1999 his job was transferred to EDS where he worked for two years (he designed the interface for netBank online banking) 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.

[edit] Career as a skeptic

He has over 10 years experience researching claims of the paranormal.[2] 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 to the organization in reward for 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,[3] initiated "The Skeptic Tank" radio show on Net.FM with Stefan Sojka,[8] 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 he and Alynda Brown founded The Mystery Investigators Show for schools. This program demonstrates scientific concepts by testing claims of the paranormal. In 2008 Brown left the show and was replaced with Dr. Rachael Dunlop.

He has used his expertise in origami to design an origami pigasus[9] in honor of the mascot of the James Randi Educational Foundation. He has posted instructions for folding the pigasus and a dragon for Skeptic (U.S. magazine).[10]


[edit] Awards and Honours

  • 2001 Made 'Life Member' of Australian Skeptics Inc.
  • 2011 Made CSI Fellow (Center for Skeptical Inquiry)[11]

[edit] Podcasting

He was producer and host of the The Tank Vodcast (aka The Skeptic Tank).[12] In 2008 this podcast was reformed into The Skeptic Zone podcast which he still hosts. It appears biweekly and is billed as "The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason."

He has appeared as a guest on many other podcasts and vodcasts including The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe,[13][14] Skepticality,[15] Dragon*Pod,[16][17][18] The Reason Driven Podcast,[19] The Amateur Scientist Podcast[20] and Bad Psychics TV.[21]

[edit] Public & Media appearances

He has made many appearances on radio and television in his role as a skeptic including on Today Tonight,[22] Sunrise, Radio 2GB, Radio 2UE,[3][23] Nova 106.9,[24] 702 ABC[2] and on the pilot show for Curiosity Aroused.[25] In 2007 he did a recurring segment for the Mike Williams Saturday Night Live radio program called Myths and Mysteries.[26]

In July and August 2008 he appeared as the resident skeptic judge on The One, an Australian reality television program on ATN 7 Australia, that tested the alleged powers of several psychics.[2]

He has spoken at many skeptic meetings including the Australian Skeptics National Convention in 2003,[27] 2004[28] and 2008.[29] In the United States he appeared at The Amaz!ng Adventure North to Alaska[9][30] in 2007, and The Amaz!ng Meeting 6[31][32] and Dragon Con[33] Skeptrack, both in 2008.

[edit] See also

[edit] Selected bibliography

  • Saunders, Richard; Morris, Campbell; Mackness, Brian (1988). Aussiegami: Paperfolding Down-under - Just for Fun. Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Lothian Publishing Co.. ISBN 0850913446. http://www.giladorigami.com/BO_Aussiegami.html 
  • Saunders, Richard; Mackness, Brian (1989). Prehistoric Aussiegami: Paperfolding Down-under Dinosaurs ... for Fun. Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Lothian Publishing Co.. ISBN 0850913667 
  • Saunders, Richard; Mackness, Brian (1990). Horrorgami: Spooky Paperfolding Just for Fun. Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Lothian Publishing Co.. ISBN 0850913802. http://db.origami.com/book_contents.asp?BookID=339 [dead link]
  • Mackness, Brian; Saunders, Richard; Saunders, Geoff (1990). Food Tricks. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Barnacle Publishing. ISBN 1863380132 
  • Mackness, Brian; Saunders, Richard; Saunders, Geoff (1990). Paper Tricks. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Barnacle Publishing. ISBN 1863380094 
  • Saunders, Richard; Mackness, Brian (1990). Boats. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Barnacle Publishing. ISBN 1863380027 
  • Saunders, Richard; Mackness, Brian (1990). Decorations. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Barnacle Publishing. ISBN 1863380086 
  • Saunders, Richard; Mackness, Brian (1990). Games. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Barnacle Publishing. ISBN 1863380019 
  • Saunders, Richard; Mackness, Brian (1990). Hats. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Barnacle Publishing. ISBN 186338006X 
  • Saunders, Richard; Mackness, Brian (1990). Masks. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Barnacle Publishing. ISBN 1863380051 
  • Saunders, Richard; Mackness, Brian (1990). Planes. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Barnacle Publishing. ISBN 1863380078 
  • Saunders, Richard; Mackness, Brian (1990). Toys. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Barnacle Publishing. ISBN 1863380035 
  • Saunders, Richard; Roche, Brad (February 1992). The Eyespy Book of Boredom Busters. Sydney, Australia: Ashton Scholastic. ISBN 086896882X 
  • Saunders, Richard; Davis, Michael (April 1992). The Eyespy Book of Dinosaur Data. Sydney, Australia: Ashton Scholastic. ISBN 0868968870 
  • Saunders, Richard; Davis, Michael (July 1992). The Eyespy Book of Aussie Action. Sydney, Australia: Ashton Scholastic. ISBN 0868968846 
  • Saunders, Richard; Somers, Greg (July 1992). The Eyespy Book of Magic Tricks. Sydney, Australia: Ashton Scholastic. ISBN 0868968862 
  • Saunders, Richard; Davis, Michael (July 1992). Lucky's Favourite Jokes. Sydney, Australia: Ashton Scholastic. ISBN 0868968978 
  • Saunders, Richard; Spoor, Mike (September 1992). The Eyespy Book of Animal Disguises. Sydney, Australia: Ashton Scholastic. ISBN 0868968811 
  • Saunders, Richard; Martin, John (October 1992). The Eyespy Book of Christmas Gifts to Make. Sydney, Australia: Ashton Scholastic. ISBN 0868968889 
  • Saunders, Richard (1992). Animals. Roseville, NSW, Australia: Lineup. ISBN 0646094459 
  • Saunders, Richard (1992). Decorations for All Occasions. Roseville, NSW, Australia: Lineup. ISBN 0646094467 
  • Saunders, Geoff; Saunders, Richard (1992). Surfing. Roseville, NSW, Australia: Lineup. ISBN 0646101935 
  • Saunders, Geoff; Saunders, Richard; Gamble, Kim (1992). Tennis. Roseville, NSW, Australia: Lineup. ISBN 0646101927 

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Vic Skeptics: Richard Saunders". Victorian Skeptics. http://www.keypoint.com.au/~skeptics/Richard_Saunders. Retrieved 12 June 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f "The One: Judge - Richard Saunders". Yahoo TV Australia. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080723034708/http://au.tv.yahoo.com/b/the-one/8/judgerichard-saunders. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  3. ^ a b c "Sydney Skeptics in the Pub". Australian Skeptics. http://www.skeptics.com.au/events/inthepub.htm. Retrieved 2 June 2009. 
  4. ^ "My dear father, Rev. Bob Saunders". Mystery Investigators. Archived from the original on 9 December 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061209153204/http://www.mysteryinvestigators.com/richard/index.html. Retrieved 8 June 2009. 
  5. ^ "books on origami". Mystery Investigators. Archived from the original on 19 November 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061119142321/http://www.mysteryinvestigators.com/richard/books.htm. Retrieved 5 May 2009. 
  6. ^ "Origami - Richard Saunders 1988 - Wombat - Ch. 7". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQQO_AKzI3I. Retrieved 7 May 2009. 
  7. ^ "Origami - Richard Saunders 1989 - Afternoon Show ABC TV". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiOaj8ptYTw. Retrieved 7 May 2009. 
  8. ^ Saunders, Richard (2001). "Take an Internet Dip in The Skeptic Tank". The Skeptic 11 (4): 65. http://www.skeptics.com.au/tank/itstarts.pdf [dead link]
  9. ^ a b Randi, James (14 September 2007). "Our Recent Adventure". SWIFT (James Randi Educational Foundation). http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-09/091407thebook.html#i6. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  10. ^ Saunders, Richard. "How to Fold Origami Pigasus". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqo-dLkyl3o. Retrieved 5 December 2008. 
  11. ^ "CSI announces new Fellows". http://www.csicop.org/news/press_releases/show/csi_announces_new_fellows. Retrieved 2011-08-07. 
  12. ^ "The TANK Vodcast: Skepticism Never Looked So Good!". The Tank Vodcast. http://tankvodcast.wordpress.com/. Retrieved 5 December 2008. 
  13. ^ Novella, Steven (27 September 2007). "Episode #114". The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. http://www.theskepticsguide.org/skepticsguide/podcastinfo.asp?pid=114. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  14. ^ Novella, Steven (26 August 2008). "Episode #162". The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. http://www.theskepticsguide.org/skepticsguide/podcastinfo.asp?pid=162. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  15. ^ McCarthy, Robynn; Colanduno, Derek (2 November 2005). "Episode #22: The Australian Skeptic - Interview: Richard Saunders". Skepticality (Skeptic Magazine). http://www.skepticality.com/the-australian-skeptic/. Retrieved 27 November 2011 
  16. ^ "Panel 2 - Videocasting 101". Dragon*Pod. 8 September 2008. http://dragoncon.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=375800. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  17. ^ "Panel 4 - Podcasting United Nations". Dragon*Pod. 8 September 2008. http://dragoncon.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=375804. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  18. ^ "Panel 9 - PodSci, Science Podcasters Roundtable". Dragon*Pod. 8 September 2008. http://dragoncon.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=375819. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  19. ^ "Episode 12 - Providence and Superstition". The Reason Driven Podcast,. January 2008. http://reasondriven.blogspot.com/2008/01/12-providence-and-superstition.html. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  20. ^ "Episode 42". The Amateur Scientist Podcast. 10 September 2008. http://www.amateurscientist.org/2008/09/amateur-scientist-podcast-episode-42.html. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  21. ^ Brougham, William (10 December 2008). "BPTV: William Brougham Interviews Australian Skeptic Richard Saunders". BadPsychics.com/tv. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9pbGJ8i8z8&eurl=http://badpsychics.com/tv/. Retrieved 11 December 2008. 
  22. ^ "Ghost (spider) on the stairs". YouTube. 19 September 2006. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YMtlShAEJ4. Retrieved 12 December 2008. 
  23. ^ "Richard Saunders on Radio 2UE". YouTube. 14 July 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObF-9wGO8gw. Retrieved 11 December 2008. 
  24. ^ "Richard Saunders on NOVA Radio". YouTube. 5 August 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07gY2hcMfBk. Retrieved 12 December 2008. 
  25. ^ Watson, Rebecca (16 December 2007). "Curiosity, Aroused: The Pilot". WordPress. http://curiosityaroused.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/hello-world/. Retrieved 12 December 2008. 
  26. ^ "Myths and Mysteries with Richard Saunders". Mystery Investigators. http://mysteryinvestigators.com/myths/index.htm. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 
  27. ^ "Report: Convention Roundup". The Skeptic (Australian Skeptics Inc.) 23 (3): 9–10. Spring 2003. ISSN 0726-9897. http://www.skeptics.com.au/convention/2003/skeptic23-3.pdf. Retrieved 12 December 2008 [dead link]
  28. ^ "2004 Annual Convention, Sydney". Australian Skeptics. http://www.skeptics.com.au/convention/2004/2004.htm. Retrieved 12 December 2008. [dead link]
  29. ^ "Skeptics National Convention 2008". Skeptics SA. http://www.skepticssa.org.au/conf08.html. Retrieved 12 December 2008. 
  30. ^ "Richard Saunders on the Amazing Adventure 2". YouTube. 11 September 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MsVpvFMnDk. Retrieved 11 December 2008. 
  31. ^ Randi, James (4 July 2008). "Saunders is in Action!". SWIFT (James Randi Educational Foundation). http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/201-swift-july-4-2008.html#i3. Retrieved 5 December 2008. 
  32. ^ "TAM 6 DVD Set (Disk 2)". James Randi Educational Foundation. 7 November 2008. http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/jref-store.html?page=shop.product_details&category_id=1&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=1&vmcchk=1. Retrieved 11 December 2008. [dead link]
  33. ^ "Past Guest List". Dragon*Con. http://dragoncon.org/dc_past_guests.php#S. Retrieved 5 December 2008. 

[edit] External links

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