Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (2003-) is a Showtime Channel TV program shown in the United States, hosted by professional magicians Penn Jillette and Teller. The aim of the show is to expose ideas they believe to be unscientific or pseudoscientific through scientific skepticism, and to expose promotors of such things - especially those with ulterior motives.

Since their act is not normally associated with gratuitous profanity, Jilette explains in the opening episode that if they referred to people as frauds or liars, they could be sued for libel even in the face of overwhelming evidence of chicanery, but referring to them as assholes or motherfuckers (which express an opinion rather than a statement of fact) is legally safer for them. The show's name, Bullshit! reflects this approach. Some see this as a gratuitously confrontational attitude and others see it as an ironic comment on the overly-litigious nature of the US.

The show reflects the atheist libertarian stance of the presenters, and inherits their characteristically blunt, often aggressive style, complete with profanity and gratuitous sexual references. In "PETA" (the first show of the second season), they illustrate the absurdity of a PETA campaign comparing the slaughter of animals with the Holocaust by cutting between shots of PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk and Hitler.

Show format

Each episode, Penn & Teller choose a number of subjects under a common theme and proceed to systematically undermine them, using a variety of methods:

• Proponents of the topic at hand, in heavily edited interviews, try to make their case. However, they often end up looking stupid or providing evidence to defeat their own arguments. For example, in "Safety Hysteria" a manufacturer of 'radiation guards' for mobile phones admits that there is no proven link between phone radiation and brain cancer, but assures viewers that you can't be too safe. He also says his background is in advertising, not medical science or engineering. The unspoken (and thus legally safe) implication is that he knows his product is useless, but uses marketing techniques to rip off an uninformed public.

• Opponents are interviewed and offer rebuttals to the proponents arguments. These are sometimes professional experts in the subject under discssion but may also be outspoken celebrities or opinionated amateurs.

• Penn & Teller sometimes make use of speakers from the Center for Inquiry Transnational , James Randi Educational Foundation or the Cato Institute.

• Penn & Teller conduct informal, and freely admitted unscientific experiments. For example, in "Bottled Water" diners are asked to choose between genuine bottled water and similarly-packaged tap water; most diners preferred the tap water in this informal taste-test.

• The subject matter is generally ridiculed by Penn and Teller through stunts performed on-set or through stock footage. The approach here seems to complement reasoned argument with straightforward ridicule for entertainment value.

• Penn & Teller often close with an impassioned ethical plea against the subject matter near the end of the show as to why this particular belief is harmful and should be resisted. The presenters distinguish between believers (often saying that they would like to believe also) and direct their anger at those they see as charlatans while showing compassion towards the victims of what Penn and Teller see as manipulation and deception.

Episode list

Season 1 (2003)

1. Talking to the Dead
2. Alternative Medicine
3. Alien Abductions
4. End of the World
5. Second Hand Smoke / Baby Bullshit (educational products for babies)
6. Sex, Sex, Sex
7. Feng Shui / Bottled Water
8. Creationism
9. Self-Helpless
10. ESP
11. Eat This! (Dieting / Genetically modified food hysteria)
12. Ouija Boards / Near-death Experiences
13. Environmental Hysteria

Season 2 (2004)

1. P.E.T.A.
2. Safety Hysteria
3. The Business Of Love
4. War On Drugs
5. Recycling
6. The Bible
7. Yoga, Tantric Sex, Etc.
8. Fountain of Youth (Life extension / Cosmetic surgery)
9. Death, Inc.
10. Profanity
11. 12-Stepping
12. Exercise vs. Genetics
13. Hypnosis

Season 3 (2005)

A third season of the series has been confirmed to begin on April 25, 2005.

1. Circumcision

Criticism of the show

Though the show is generally well received, critics of the show complain that Penn and Teller's political and personal beliefs get in the way of making an objective case. Instead of seriously considering the arguments of their targets, Penn and Teller simply assume that the claims are wrong from the start and then spend the show making them appear foolish. While this approach may be appropriate for issues that are viewed with skepticism by most people (like talking to the dead), some critics say that the technique is unsuitable for murky or controversial issues (like recycling and the environment). Penn and Teller can also, in the views of some, be overly confrontational, ridiculing people who may be well-intentioned.

Critics also feel the approach tends to weaken the force of the show's argument, since the audience may not be getting the whole story, but instead a biased view of the topic. Particularly criticized is the episode on second hand smoke, which features radio talk show host Larry Elder. It also features experts from politically-motivated organizations like the Cato Institute. The use of such sources, regardless of the truth of their factual claims, could contribute to the perception of the show as biased. Though, it should be pointed out that a World Health Organization study found no link between secondhand smoke and cancer [1].

External links

• Official web site (can only be accessed from within the United States)
• Article on Slate
• Episode guide
• Penn and Teller: Bullshit! SourceWatch critique of Second-hand Smoke and Environmental Hysteria