The Geller Papers controversy

Record summary

Uri Geller’s spoon-bending and clairvoyance claims generated sustained controversy in North America during the 1970s, including criticism from magician James Randi and debate over the Stanford Research Institute experiments. The episode is useful for comparing stage magic, occult performance, laboratory parapsychology, and media authentication. Researchers can distinguish televised demonstrations, experimental reports, and later memoirs. The existence of the controversy is well documented, but the interpretation of particular demonstrations remains dependent on contested recordings, controls, and testimony.