Penn & Teller: Bullshit! is an American documentary comedy television series hosted by magician and skeptic duo Penn & Teller that aired from 2003 to 2010 on the premium cable channel Showtime.[1]
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! was hosted by professional magicians and skepticsPenn & Teller. Its format consisted of debating political topics, usually from a naturalistlibertariancapitalist point of view (the political philosophy then espoused by both Penn and Teller)[2] or aiming to debunkpseudoscientific ideas, paranormal beliefs, popular fads and misconceptions. The hosts criticize proponents of what they perceive as nonsense and dishonesty, often citing ulterior political or financial motives. In the first episode, Penn said the aim of the show is to "hunt down as many purveyors of bullshit as [they] can."[3] As indicated by the show's title, the program adheres to Penn & Teller's characteristically blunt, aggressive presentation. The show was nominated for 13 Emmy Awards.
At the beginning of the first episode of the first season, Penn points out that the series will contain more obscenity and profanity than one would expect in a series dealing with scientific and critical inquiry, but explained that this was a legal tactic because, "if one calls people liars and quacks one can be sued... but 'assholes' is pretty safe. If we said it was all scams we could also be in trouble, but 'bullshit,' oddly, is safe. So forgive all the 'bullshit language', but we're trying to talk about the truth without spending the rest of our lives in court."[4]
The series premiered on January 24, 2003, and 89 episodes aired over the course of the series in the span of 8 seasons, concluding on August 12, 2010.
Show format
In each episode, Penn and Teller debunk a chosen misconception such as cryptozoology, debate a controversial topic like gun control, or "expose the truths" of an organization like PETA. Sometimes their objective is not to completely dismiss the topic at hand but to decry certain aspects of the topic that they believe to be pernicious, misleading, unnecessary, or overemphasized. For example, in the case of college they argue that while college is a great place to learn, drink beer or train for a career, the concept of diversity is "bullshit" when used as an excuse to restrict free speech or selectively recruit to fill quotas. Or that "the casual asshole, or just plain dickhead, might do well in an anger management program" but teaching people they can relieve anger through attacking or screaming at inanimate objects is "bullshit", since this "venting" (as it's called in the industry) by an angry person in a social situation will lead to violence.
Proponents of the topic make their case in interviews; however, they often end up appearing fallacious or self-contradicting. For example, in "Safety Hysteria", a manufacturer of "radiation guards" for mobile phones admits that there is no proven link between mobile phone radiation and brain cancer, but assures viewers that "you can't be too safe" (mobile phones use conventional radio waves for communication, which are non-ionizing radiation). When he states his background is in advertising, not medical science, it is implied that he knows his product is useless but exploits people's fears to turn a profit.[7] A second consecutive interview with another proponent is often started with the phrase: "And then there's this asshole..."
Penn Jillette has stated that those being interviewed know what show the interview is for and its purpose. One episode shows a video crew from the show going into a building to perform an interview, and Jillette points out that a member of the crew is wearing a Penn & Teller: Bullshit! baseball cap.[8] Opponents are then interviewed and they offer rebuttals to the proponents' arguments. These are usually experts, celebrities, or sometimes speakers from the Center for Inquiry, the James Randi Educational Foundation, or the Cato Institute.[8]
Penn and Teller often conduct informal experiments. For example, in the episode "Bottled Water", diners in an upscale restaurant are presented with a variety of apparently fancy bottled water brands. After the diners praise and pick a favorite, it is revealed that each bottle was filled by the same garden hose behind the restaurant.[9] In one of their more serious experiments during the "Conspiracy Theories" episode, Teller fires a rifle at a melon wrapped in one-inch fiberglass tape to demonstrate that when a human head is shot, it is likely to be forced in the direction opposite to the bullet's trajectory. This demonstration was aimed at discrediting a John F. Kennedy conspiracy theory that points out that the fatal gunshot rocked Kennedy toward the shot through the use of simple principles of physics (i.e., "back and to the left", the fallacious belief that a shot from behind would cause a head to jerk forward is used as evidence that JFK must have been shot from the grassy knoll, in front of the vehicle). Penn and Teller look over the scene of the aftermath of the experiment to which Penn comments, "Second gunman my aching ass..."[10]
Penn and Teller often have skits and stunts performed with them on set or use stock footage to combine reasonable arguments with straightforward, entertaining ridicule. For example, the "Sex, Sex, Sex" episode may be satirizing the media's obsession with sex appeal by having the hosts constantly surrounded by naked actors and actresses.[11] Penn and Teller often close episodes with an impassioned ethical plea against whatever they are debunking, summarizing how this particular belief is harmful and should be resisted. The presenters distinguish between believers (often explaining that Penn and Teller themselves would like to believe these things are true, and showing compassion to the people who do think the things are true) and those they see as charlatans out for money or to advance a political agenda, at whom their anger is directed. For example, in their premiere episode, they debunk the idea that psychics can talk to the dead. While expressing the utmost sympathy towards people who are desperate for a chance to speak to a loved one who has died, they explain that charlatans take advantage of this love to get money from people, and deliver false messages that have nothing to do with the genuine character of the departed.
Cancellation
During the October 31, 2010, episode of Penn Point,[12] Penn alluded to Bullshit! no longer being on Showtime, saying "it's where Penn & Teller's Bullshit! used to be", while referring to Showtime.[12]
In an interview published November 3, 2010, by the Atlantic City Weekly, Teller states, "We are in the process of making a decision to continue with Showtime or move on to a new show on Discovery Channel."[13] In April 2011, Jillette announced on Twitter that Bullshit! had ended and the duo would appear in a new Discovery Channel series, originally titled Penn & Teller: Secrets of the Universe[14] but ultimately airing as Penn & Teller Tell a Lie.[15] On the July 21, 2013 episode of Penn Jillette's podcast show Penn's Sunday School, he mentioned he would like to bring Bullshit! back, as he felt it was more important than ever, but Showtime's new management wanted a clean break and HBO would not associate with a previous Showtime show. He suggested Netflix as a possible return platform.[16]
Since the show's title contains an obscenity (by common standards in the United States), the series is often listed in newspaper television listings there under the alternate title B.S. Some printings of the show's DVD releases also carry this alternate title. Dish Network and DirecTV list the show as Penn & Teller: Bulls...!Comcast Digital Cable lists the show as "Penn & Teller: Bull!" Netflix lists it as "Penn & Teller: Bullsh*t", while the iTunes Store lists "Penn & Teller: BS" (though one of its graphic icons for it has "BULL SH T" with Teller standing about where the I should be).
In the "Profanity" episode, Penn tells the viewers that the planned title for Bullshit! was Humbug! This, Penn goes on to say, relates their skepticism (and TV show) to Harry Houdini's reactions to the popular misconceptions of his day; but the idea was scrapped because humbug had less of an impact than the more profane, more informal word, bullshit. It is also discussed during the profanity episode that humbug was considered as profane at one time as bullshit today. During that same episode, Penn and Teller themselves did not use any profanity, even changing the name of the show to Humbug! for that episode. At one point, Penn suggests the use of the phrase Jesus Christ! by a non-Christian is not profanity, but as Teller apparently drops a bowling ball on his foot just as he mentions the phrase, his yelling of the expression makes its use ambiguous. (See Wikiquote's transcription of the quote.)
When discussing Bullshit! on his radio show, Penn either broke the word in half, usually with a clap and a slight pause (Bulls[Clap]Hit), or change it to Bullshot. He frequently referred to how Criss Angel's show Mind Freak had "the perfect title, everyone knows what you mean and you can advertise", which they could not. On an episode of the public radio program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, Penn referred to the show as Bushlit.
Showtime's official website for the program only displays the title Penn and Teller, despite the full title of the show appearing in its web address.[17]
Proposed topics
Plans to make an episode focusing on Scientology were believed to have been rejected by Showtime executives to avoid provoking legal action by the Church of Scientology, though Penn later revealed on his radio show that this was not true, commenting that he has slight interest in dealing with Scientologists despite being critical of their practices. Matt Stone and Trey Parker, friends of Penn and Teller, were motivated by this to create their own long-planned, controversial South Park episode lampooning Scientology, "Trapped in the Closet".[18] Another planned episode on airport security has been rejected from every season's topic list: "It turns out, to shoot anything on airport security, you are violating federal law. You're not allowed to shoot anything there," said Penn.[19] He has done radio, film and print regarding airport security, but has been unsuccessful adapting it for television.
During a Q&A session at The Amaz!ng Meeting of 2005, he said that the episode about conspiracy theories did not cover Holocaust denial, since it should have its own episode.
Libertarianism
In addition to paranormal and pseudo-scientific claims, Penn & Teller take a skeptical view of government authority.[20] In various episodes of their show, they have heavily criticized both the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as taken stances against regulations or prohibitions on things such as guns, drugs, tobacco, prostitution, nuclear energy, nudity, and profanity. Penn & Teller are both H. L. Mencken research fellows with the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.[21][22]
Criticism
In the episode "Family Values", Penn acknowledged his and Teller's biases, saying, "We're fair and we never take people out of context. We're biased, but we try to be honest."[23] Still, Dennis Cass of Slate magazine has criticized the duo for resorting to the same sensationalism as their targets, stating in a review of the series, "One of the unwritten rules for winning an argument against an inflammatory, irrational opponent is to calmly adhere to a loftier set of rhetorical standards. Penn and Teller showily throw this notion into the trash."[24]
Noel Murray, in an otherwise favorable review The A.V. Club, opined that Penn & Teller, despite being skeptics, are not dedicated to fact-based debunking or inquirydata retrieval, commenting:
Bullshit! isn't journalism, exactly. The show is one-sided by design: P&T's field interviewers rarely confront their subjects with the evidence against them, preferring to let the crackpots ramble on so that Jillette's voice-over rejoinders can score points without inciting a real argument.[25]
At The Amaz!ng Meeting 3 Penn and Teller were asked about the evidence for their secondhand smoke episode being faulty. Penn Jillette, with Teller sitting at his side, said "What we talked about during the show was where the stuff was there", meaning that he was using the data that the government had when they instituted the ban, then said regarding this episode they were "very likely" wrong. Penn went on to describe "a new study that came out of England, just recently, that seems to have more stuff about it" and "right now, as I sit here, there probably is danger in secondhand smoke". He went on to say that this was a small portion of the program, and their main point was their opposition to "outlawing" smoking in privately owned businesses, which they still "stand behind 100%".[26]
Robert Todd Carroll, author of The Skeptic's Dictionary, originally sided with the show's conclusion that there was no link between secondhand smoke and cancer. But Carroll changed his conclusions after further investigation into the studies. Carroll concluded that the studies were biased, and consequently decided that secondhand smoke does have negative effects on people.[27]
During an interview on the January 31, 2007, episode of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Teller said that the final episode of the show would be about "the bullshit of Bullshit!" and would detail all the criticisms that they themselves had of the show;[28] however, the series ended before such an episode could air.
Bullshit is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism bull or the initialism B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive. It is mostly a slang term and a profanity which means "nonsense", especially as a rebuke in response to communication or actions viewed as deceptive, misleading, disingenuous, unfair or false. As with many expletives, the term can be used as an interjection, or as many other parts of speech, and can carry a wide variety of meanings. A person who excels at communicating nonsense on a given subject is sometimes referred to as a "bullshit artist" instead of a "liar".
Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since the late 1970s. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic.
Michael Brant Shermer is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. The author of over a dozen books, Shermer is known for engaging in debates on pseudoscience and religion in which he emphasizes scientific skepticism.
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured in numerous stage and television shows, such as Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, and is as of 2024 headlining in Las Vegas at The Rio. Jillette serves as the act's orator and raconteur.
A debunker is a person or organization that exposes or discredits claims believed to be false, exaggerated, or pretentious. The term is often associated with skeptical investigation of controversial topics such as UFOs, claimed paranormal phenomena, cryptids, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, religion, exploratory or fringe areas of scientific, or pseudoscientific research.
Steven Craig Banks is an American actor, musician, comedian, and writer of television, plays, books and cartoons, including CatDog, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Emily Rosa is the youngest person to have a research paper published in a peer reviewed medical journal. At age nine Rosa conceived and executed a scientific study of therapeutic touch which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2009 with a major in psychology. Her parents, Larry Sarner and Linda Rosa, are leaders of the advocacy group Advocates for Children in Therapy.
Paul Provenza is an American television presenter, actor, radio panelist, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and skeptic based in Los Angeles. He has appeared on several podcasts and in recent years has interviewed other stand-up comedians. In 2005 he became a director, in 2010 an author and in 2011 he started producing for comedy festivals and television.
Teller is an American magician. He is half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller, along with Penn Jillette, and usually does not speak during performances. Teller is a H.L. Mencken Fellow at the Cato Institute.
John Max Thompson was an American comedian and Las Vegas illusionist who performed under the stage name The Great Tomsoni with his wife, Pamela Hayes. They had a comedic slapstick act with the well-dressed Thompson and his gum-popping assistant, Pam, performing illusions while enduring a series of mishaps. Within the magician community, Tomsoni was considered a virtuoso, widely known as a mentor and teacher of magic, and a creator of tricks, as opposed to simply a performer. He worked behind the scenes with magicians such as Penn and Teller, Lance Burton, Criss Angel and Mat Franco. In 1999, he was awarded one of the highest honors in the magician community, a Masters Fellowship with the Academy of Magical Arts. January 30, 2020, Showtime released a documentary about Thompson written and directed by Emery Emery called Gambler's Ballad: The Legend of Johnny Thompson.
"The Biggest Douche in the Universe" is the 15th episode of the sixth season of the American animated series South Park, and the 94th episode of the series overall. It was first broadcast on Comedy Central on November 27, 2002, and was the last in a mini-arc depicting Cartman being occasionally possessed by Kenny. The episode is centered on Liane Cartman and Chef attempting to exorcise Kenny's soul while Stan tries to debunk self-proclaimed psychic John Edward, whom the entire crew of South Park Studios agreed to be "the biggest douche in the universe."
Rosemary Altea is a British author who describes herself as a medium and healer. She has appeared on various programs, including Larry King Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and featured in the series premiere of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! alongside mentalist Mark Edward. She has written six books and claims to have a "healing foundation".
Michael Carey Goudeau is a juggler and an ex-circus clown who graduated from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. He is a writer and was an executive producer for the Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.
Robert Starrett Lancaster was an American computer programmer and skeptical activist who created the websites Stop Kaz and Stop Sylvia Browne.
Penn & Teller Tell a Lie is a six-part series starring Penn Jillette and Teller. Each episode contains six or seven stories, including a demonstration performed by the hosts during the recording of the show as the last story. One of the stories is falsified, and the rest are true. During each broadcast, viewers can guess which story is the lie, voting on Discovery's website, with the answer and voting results revealed at the end of the episode.
Mark Edward was an American mentalist and author. He wrote books on mentalism and séance theory and production, including Psychic Blues (2009), where he discussed working for the Psychic Friends Network. Wilson made appearances on television as both primary consultant and on-air performer in programming such as ABC's The Con, A & E's Biography: "Houdini, the Great Escape", NBC's The Other Side, and Psychic Secrets Revealed, the Sci-Fi Channel's Mysteries, Magic and Miracles, Disney's Forces Beyond, as well as two episodes of the Learning Channel's Exploring the Unknown. His featured segment as a spirit medium on the pilot episode of Showtime's Penn & Teller's Bullshit! series, titled "Speaking with the Dead", helped secure an Emmy Award nomination for that episode in 2002. He coined the term "grief vampire" as a description of alleged psychic mediums who prey on vulnerable people. Edward was a fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Joe Rogan Questions Everything is an American television series that premiered on SyFy in 2013. The series followed entertainer and stand-up comedian Joe Rogan, as well as co-host Duncan Trussell, as they investigated claims about paranormal and mysterious subjects like Bigfoot, psychic ability and UFOs. The show was cancelled after one six-episode season.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
