Peter Hadfield (journalist)

Last updated

Peter Hadfield
Aust Skeptic Con 2014 Hadfield1.JPG
Hadfield in 2014
Personal information
Born (1954-07-01) 1 July 1954 (age 70)
NationalityBritish
Occupations
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2007–present
Subscribers226.00 thousand [1]
Total views32.11 million [1]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2015

Last updated: 8 July 2022

Peter Hadfield (born 1 July 1954) is a British freelance journalist and author, [2] trained as a geologist, [3] who runs the YouTube channel Potholer54, [4] which has over 233,000 subscribers. [5] He has previously lived in Japan, [2] and now lives in Australia. [6] [7]

Contents

Early life and education

Peter Hadfield's father was a noted child psychiatrist, Dr. Ian Hadfield. [8]

Hadfield has a degree in geology from Kingston University.[ citation needed ] [9]

Reporting career

Hadfield wrote a weekly humour column for The Mainichi Daily News (the English edition of the Japanese-language Mainichi Shimbun ) while living in Japan. [10] He was The Sunday Times correspondent in Tokyo from 1988 to 1990, then wrote a regular column for the Daily Mail on life in Japan.

Later he became Tokyo correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph and U.S. News & World Report. He was also the Tokyo correspondent for New Scientist for 14 years. [2] His writing has appeared in other publications, such as the BBC News website [11] , USA Today, The Guardian, [12] The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, [13] The South China Morning Post and The Lancet.

In 1991 Hadfield became Far East correspondent for Monitor Radio, and reported throughout East Asia. [14] During this period, Hadfield wrote and appeared on screen regularly as a correspondent for CNN, [15] the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), ABC News (U.S.) [16] and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). [2]

Hadfield's book, "Sixty Seconds that Will Change the World," about the potential implications of an earthquake in Tokyo, was published by Sidgwick & Jackson in 1991. [17] A second revised edition was published by Pan and Tuttle in 1995 after the Kobe earthquake. [18]

In 1995, Hadfield was one of a group of reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) that interviewed Tatsusaburo Suzuki, a lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) who had served during World War II as the IJA's liaison to the Japanese nuclear weapons programme, about the activities and progression of Imperial Japan's nuclear programme over the course of the war. [19] Hadfield published an article about Suzuki's revelations in New Scientist that same year. [20] On 13 January 2024, fearing the potential that the FCCJ could one day become defunct, Hadfield uploaded the full interview to his YouTube channel, where he also expressed dismay about what he saw as the time wasted by amateur tabloid reporters who did not understand science and asked Suzuki to explain basic facts about nuclear physics to them, referencing an instance of a tabloid reporter asking Suzuki to explain to him what a neutron was. [19]

More recently, he has contributed regularly to the CBC, NPR, and BBC radio programmes Costing The Earth, Science in Action , The World Tonight , Outlook and East Asia Today, as well as the ABC's Science Show. [2] [21]

YouTube career

Hadfield, known on YouTube as "Potholer54" and "Potholer54debunks", has made videos about various scientific topics, such as the science behind global warming, [22] [23] [24] including debunking Climategate "with gentle sarcasm", [25] the age of the Earth (debunking arguments used by young Earth creationists to claim the Earth or universe are young), [26] and how 'tricks of the trade' in journalism can be used to fool viewers. [27] In March 2010 Hadfield penned an opinion piece on his YouTube series for The Guardian. [4] Hadfield has debunked claims made by Christopher Monckton about climate science in a series entitled "Monckton Bunkum." [28] His video about how climate change deniers have claimed that the earth has been cooling since 1998 was called "true skepticism at its best" by Maggie Koerth-Baker. [29]

An analysis of Reddit posts during 2016-19 found that Hadfield's videos were often linked to from climate subreddits. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Suzuki</span> Canadian scientist and environmentalist

David Takayoshi Suzuki is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001. Since the mid-1970s, Suzuki has been known for his television and radio series, documentaries and books about nature and the environment. He is best known as host and narrator of the popular and long-running CBC Television science program The Nature of Things, seen in over 40 countries. He is also well known for criticizing governments for their lack of action to protect the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TV Tokyo</span> TV station in Tokyo

JOTX-DTV, branded as TV Tokyo, is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network. It is owned and operated by TV Tokyo Corporation, itself a subsidiary of TV Tokyo Holdings Corporation, in turn a subsidiary of Nikkei, Inc. It is headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo. TV Tokyo is one of the five private broadcasters based in Tokyo, and the last to have started its broadcasts on VHF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Kent</span> Former Canadian politician

James Peter Kent is a former Canadian journalist and former politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Thornhill from 2008 to 2021. He served as Minister of the Environment in the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Before entering politics, he was Deputy Editor of the Global Television Network, a Canadian TV network. He has worked as a news editor, producer, foreign correspondent, and news anchorman on Canadian and American television networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">False balance</span> Media bias on opposing viewpoints

False balance, known colloquially as bothsidesism, is a media bias in which journalists present an issue as being more balanced between opposing viewpoints than the evidence supports. Journalists may present evidence and arguments out of proportion to the actual evidence for each side, or may omit information that would establish one side's claims as baseless. False balance has been cited as a cause of misinformation.

<i>The Jupiter Effect</i> 1982 book by John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann

The Jupiter Effect is a 1974 book by John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann, in which the authors predicted that an alignment of the planets of the Solar System would create a number of catastrophes, including a great earthquake on the San Andreas Fault, on March 10, 1982. The book became a best-seller. The predicted catastrophes did not occur.

<i>The Manster</i> 1959 film by George Breakston

The Manster is a 1959 American science-fiction horror film. Shot in Japan, it was produced by George P. Breakston and directed by Breakston and Kenneth G. Crane from a screenplay by Walter J. Sheldon. Sheldon's script was based on Breakston's story which he originally titled The Split.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Carlet</span>

Louis Carlet is the founder of Tozen, a union representing both Japanese and migrant workers, including foreign language teachers, bank and newspaper workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syukuro Manabe</span> Japanese–American meteorologist and climatologist

Syukuro "Suki" Manabe is a Japanese–American physicist, meteorologist, and climatologist, who pioneered the use of computers to simulate global climate change and natural climate variations. He was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi, for his contributions to the physical modeling of Earth's climate, quantifying its variability, and predictions of climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dome F</span> Antarctic base in Queen Maud Land

Dome Fuji, also called Dome F or Valkyrie Dome, is an Antarctic base located in the eastern part of Queen Maud Land. With an altitude of 3,810 metres (12,500 ft) above sea level, it is the second-highest summit or ice dome of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and represents an ice divide. Dome F is the site of Dome Fuji Station, a research station operated by Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley</span> British peer (born 1952)

Christopher Walter Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley is a British public speaker and hereditary peer. He is known for his work as a journalist, Conservative political advisor, UKIP political candidate, and for his invention of the mathematical puzzle Eternity.

The Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI) is a United States public policy organization which promotes climate change denial.

<i>Frozen Planet</i> Nature documentary series focusing on life and the environment in both the Arctic and Antarctic

Frozen Planet is a 2011 British nature documentary series, co-produced by the BBC ZDF and The Open University. It was filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit. The production team, which includes executive producer Alastair Fothergill and series producer Vanessa Berlowitz, were previously responsible for the award-winning series The Blue Planet (2001) and Planet Earth (2006), and Frozen Planet is billed as a sequel of sorts. David Attenborough returns as narrator. It is distributed under licence by the BBC in other countries, Discovery Channel for North America, ZDF for Germany, Antena 3 for Spain and Skai TV for Greece.

John P. Abraham is a professor of thermal sciences at the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering, Minnesota in the United States of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Koerth</span> American science journalist

Maggie Koerth, formerly known as Maggie Koerth-Baker, is an American science journalist. She is a senior science editor at FiveThirtyEight and was previously a science editor at Boing Boing and a monthly columnist for The New York Times Magazine. Koerth is the author of the 2012 book Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us.

World Wonder Ring Stardom, often referred to simply as Stardom, is a Japanese joshi puroresu or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded in September 2010 by former All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) co-producer Rossy Ogawa, retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist Fuka Kakimoto, and former AJW veteran professional wrestler Nanae Takahashi. Since June 2024, Stardom is owned by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

Peter Sinclair from Midland, Michigan, is an environmental activist whose focus is on climate change. He is a YouTube blogger, explorer and founder of the ClimateCrocks.com website. Together with climate researchers he's traveled to hot spots of climate change, for instance to Greenland as part of the Dark Snow Project. Sinclair is perhaps best known for producing the Climate Denial Crock of the Week series on his YouTube channel. Videos have received praise from climate scientists such as Gavin Schmidt, Michael E. Mann, and the late Stephen Schneider. In 2012, he launched another YouTube series, entitled This is not Cool, for the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.

The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) is an international marine research collaboration dedicated to advancing scientific understanding of the Earth through drilling, coring, and monitoring the subseafloor. The research enabled by IODP samples and data improves scientific understanding of changing climate and ocean conditions, the origins of ancient life, risks posed by geohazards, and the structure and processes of Earth's tectonic plates and uppermost mantle. IODP began in 2013 and builds on the research of four previous scientific ocean drilling programs: Project Mohole, Deep Sea Drilling Project, Ocean Drilling Program, and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Together, these programs represent the longest running and most successful international Earth science collaboration.

Michael Rogge, also known as IJsbrand Rogge or Ysbrand Rogge was a Dutch photographer, videographer and amateur filmmaker, best known for his depictions of post-WW2 life in the Far East, in particular, Hong Kong and Japan.

The Asadas is a 2020 Japanese biographical drama film written by Ryōta Nakano and Tomoe Kanno and directed by Nakano. The film was part of the official selection for the Warsaw Film Festival and the 26th Busan International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunjiro Koto</span> Japanese geologist

Bunjirō Kotō was a Japanese earth scientist (Geologist). He is from Iwami Province. Kotō is from Tokyo Imperial University, and after graduating, he became a professor at Tokyo Imperial University. He is known for taking photographs of the Neodani Fault when he investigated the 1891 Mino–Owari earthquake.

References

  1. 1 2 "About potholer54". YouTube.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hadfield, Peter. "Who I am". YouTube.
  3. Evelyn (14 May 2011). "Earthquakes and End-of-the-World Nonsense". Skepchick . Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 Hadfield, Peter (29 March 2010). "How my YouTube channel is converting climate change sceptics". The Guardian . Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  5. "YouTube channel belonging to Peter Hadfield – YouTube username "potholer54"". YouTube .
  6. Welcome to PragerU — the "university" that gets its science wrong , retrieved 26 September 2021
  7. The cause of Australia's bushfires – what the SCIENCE says , retrieved 26 September 2021
  8. "DR IAN HADFIELD". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  9. "Peter Hadfield addresses the recent email release". skepticalscience.com. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  10. MacLaren, Don, "Pros and cons of Japan-bashing" The Mainichi Daily News, 31 October 1998
  11. "Fujimori charged with murder". 28 August 2001. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  12. Hadfield, Peter. "Japan's earthquake will create a global financial aftershock" The Guardian, 15 March 2011
  13. Hadfield, Peter (2 December 2001). "Joy in Japan as princess gives birth". Daily Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  14. Hadfield, Peter (13 January 2014). "Thai protests: Coup talk in the air as opposition shuts down Bangkok". CBC News . CBC/Radio-Canada.
  15. "CNN.com – Japan suspects first case of mad cow – September 10, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  16. "8 Children Dead in Japanese School Stabbing". ABC News. 6 January 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  17. Hadfield, Peter (1991). Sixty Seconds that Will Change the World: The Coming Tokyo Earthquake. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN   9780283060793. OCLC   636240141.
  18. Hadfield, Peter (1995). Sixty Seconds that Will Change the World: The Coming Tokyo Earthquake (2nd ed.). Pan. ISBN   9780330345804. OCLC   877595802.
  19. 1 2 potholer54. "The last surviving scientist on Japan's atomic bomb program tells his story (Dr. Tatsusaburo Suzuki)". YouTube . Retrieved 13 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. Hadfield, Peter (29 July 1995). "Japan 'came close' to wartime A-bomb". New Scientist . Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  21. "Thousands flee Japanese floods". Asia-Pacific. BBC News. 12 September 2000.
  22. potholer54. "27 -- The evidence for climate change WITHOUT computer models or the IPCC". YouTube . Retrieved 3 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. potholer54. "28 - The consequences of climate change (in our lifetimes)". YouTube . Retrieved 3 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. potholer54. "Why global temperatures never go up in straight lines". YouTube . Retrieved 3 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  25. Yeo, Sophie (23 April 2015). "10 of the best YouTube videos on climate change". Carbon Brief.
  26. potholer54. "5 -- The Age of Our World Made Easy". YouTube . Retrieved 3 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. potholer54. "TV tricks of the trade -- Quotes and cutaways". YouTube . Retrieved 3 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. Readfearn, Graham (1 November 2012). "Climate Science Denialist Lord Monckton's IPCC "Appointment" That Wasn't". DeSmogBlog . Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  29. Koerth-Baker, Maggie (4 November 2010). "Where climate myths come from". Boing Boing . Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  30. Parsa, Mohammad S.; Shi, Haoqi; Xu, Yihao; Yim, Aaron; Yin, Yaolun; Golab, Lukasz (2022). "Analyzing Climate Change Discussions on Reddit". 2022 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI): 826-832. doi:10.1109/CSCI58124.2022.00093.