Articles by Jim Underdown

Jim Underdown

James Underdown has been Executive Director of the Center for Inquiry-Los Angeles since 1999. He is also the Founder and Chair of the Independent Investigations Group, a team of inquirers who look into paranormal, pseudo-scientific, and extraordinary claims. He is also the creator of the Steve Allen Theater at CFI-L.A. Jim has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows including Hannity and Colmes, Penn and Teller's Bullshit, History's Mysteries, Proof Positive, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. He is a regular Skeptical Sunday guest on the SETI Institute's Are We Alone? radio show/podcast. His many pre-CFI endeavors include writing and directing short films (A Day in the Life of Frank Sinatra, The Test, Dear Father), and directing his stage play, Party of 13, a secular re-telling of the Last Supper. Jim also toured midwest comedy clubs as the Poet Laureate of Calumet City, IL.

Jim Underdown represents CSI at ConDor XX

March 15, 2013

From March 8 – 12, 2013, I attended and spoke at ConDor XX, a sci/fi and fantasy conference at the Town and Country Hotel in San Diego.

13 Is Their Lucky Number

February 13, 2013

The IIG is—we believe—the largest paranormal investigations team in the world. With affiliate groups in several states and a Canadian province, we are in the process of creating an international network of trained investigators who will not only look into paranormal, fringe science, and extraordinary claims in their own regions, but also administer the IIG $50,000 Challenge.

From Dr. Who to Mr. Spock: The Perfect Humanist Day

Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)

August 6, 2012

For the third time that day, I was among people who had a deep appreciation for science, reason, and humanity in a way that did not invoke anything supernatural to gain that appreciation. We humans made that art, that child, and that spaceship. People took the risks associated with those creations and accepted those consequences.

Godless Particle

Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)

July 6, 2012

God Particle. Please. If anything, the new (overwhelming) evidence for this particle paints God into a tinier corner than he was already in. It answers one more question about how the universe works that God doesn’t. This evidence allows us to focus more directly on a path to more discovery about the nature of mass, time, and space.

Dr. Phil, Meet Bitter Psychic

Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)

May 30, 2012

Skeptics are almost always at a disadvantage when doing major media appearances. Many talk shows seem to cater to heavily believer-based audiences, and seek to entertain more than to inform — despite presenting a façade of scientific or journalistic inquiry. Such was the case with my appearance on the Dr. Phil Show on May 25^th.

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A Droll Stroll Down Skeptical Lane

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.2, March/April 2012

Book Review

A review of Psychic Vibrations by Robert Sheaffer with illustrations by Rob Pudim

Bitter Psychic?

Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)

May 24, 2012

So when the Dr. Phil Show called CFI looking for someone to represent the side skeptical of psychic claims, I was pleasantly surprised. John Edward, whom I’ve written about in Skeptical Inquirer, appeared on Dr. Phil this past January, and now they were doing another show with skepticism being represented.

Power Balance Bracelets a Bust in Tests

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.1, January/February 2012

Special Report

Members of the Independent Investigations Group and sixteen volunteers, including former Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes, conducted a test of Power Balance bracelets. The results will not be surprising to skeptics.

And another thing, Tebow…

Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)

January 12, 2012

Let's get something straight football fans.

A recent poll revealed that 43% of those asked thought that God helps Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow win.

He (God) does not.

God, almost certainly, does not exist.

Hold on, believers, there's another point here!

No Justice Scalia

Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)

October 5, 2011

A death-row inmate is denied an appeal because his attorneys had switched law firms. A letter the court sent to the inmate's lawyers' old firm is returned, and the deadline to file an appeal expires before they can respond.

An Atheist in Church

Free Thinking (centerforinquiry.net)

August 10, 2011

When I got a call from a woman named Lindsey inviting me to appear at the Moment Church during their Sunday evening service, some warning bells went off in my head. She sounded like a nice enough person, but why would they want me, a career atheist, to even be at their church, much less have a voice there?

This ain’t no UU Church, by the way. Moment’s “what we believe” statement of faith on their website represents what I would call pretty hardcore Christianity – God is the ubiquitous, all-knowing creator of the universe; the bible is inerrant; you get to heaven through Jesus; marriage is between one man and one woman. You get the picture.