Penn & Teller

[[File:PennAndTeller.jpeg|right|thumb|250px|The one who speaks is the one holding the microphone.]]{{skepnav|1}}
'''Penn Jillette''' (born 1955) and '''Teller''' (born '''Raymond Joseph Teller''' in 1948) are a pair of professional [[illusionism|magicians]]. For the uninitiated, Penn is "the big one with the long hair who talks" (though since 2020 he's cut his hair short) and Teller is "the short one who doesn't talk". As a general rule, Teller only speaks when he's not in character or when he can't be seen talking (e.g. outside the camera or when behind a puppet).

Outside of their longtime [[Fun:Nevada|Las Vegas]] stage show, they are best known for their Showtime series ''[[Penn & Teller: Bullshit!]]'' in which they investigate and debunk topics of interest. Well, kind of… Penn & Teller are more than happy to take on [[New Age]] trinkets, [[Feng Shui]], and so on, but a number of episodes are "bullshit" themselves, especially those relating to [[politics]], [[economics]], and [[environmentalism]]. This has made them controversial figures in the skeptic community.

Their newer shows, ''Penn & Teller Tell a Lie'' (2011) and ''Penn & Teller: Fool Us'' (2011-present) are not based on [[scepticism]].

==''Penn & Teller: Bullshit!''==
{{main|Penn & Teller: Bullshit!}}

'''''Penn & Teller: Bullshit!''''' was a TV infotainment show in which a wide range of topics were investigated and debunked.

Covered topics of interest to [[sceptic]]s and [[rationalist]]s included [[religion]]s, [[cult]]s, [[New Age]], [[alternative medicine]], [[conspiracy theories]], the [[anti-vaccination movement]], and so on.

[[inverse stopped clock| Unfortunately]], a number of episodes are [[bullshit]] themselves and veer off into [[pseudoscepticism]] and [[denialism]]. Generally speaking, the show's coverage of [[woo]] and general [[crank]]ery is pretty good, while episodes that deal with social trends, [[politics]], [[environmentalism]], and [[economics]] vary in quality—in no small part due to the then [[libertarian]] beliefs of Penn & Teller. They usually acknowledge their own bias, and planned to end the show with a Bullshit episode on their own bullshit, but it never materialized.

==On libertarianism==
Penn identified as libertarian, specifically as an [[anarcho-capitalist]] since at least 2003.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160314052000if_/http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/qa/s_136178.html Dear graduates: Work for freedom] by Bill Steigerwald (Saturday, May 24, 2003) ''Pittsburgh Tribune'' (archived from March 14, 2016).</ref> In 2008, Penn and Teller even became research fellows at the [[Cato Institute]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080513235259/http://www.cato.org/people/penn-jillette/ Penn Jillette] ''Cato Institute'' (archived from May 13, 2008).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080512081550/http://www.cato.org/people/-teller/ Teller] ''Cato Institute'' (archived from May 12, 2008).</ref> Unusually, Penn disavowed libertarianism and endorsed [[Joe Biden]] for president in 2020.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/09/opinions/post-election-roundup-what-now-america-opinion/index.html ‘You have one job, Joe’] by Penn Jillette (November 12, 2020) ''CNN''.</ref> Oddly, Cato has not gotten the message after 4 years.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240119141943/http://www.cato.org/people/penn-jillette/ Penn Jillette] ''Cato Institute'' (archived from January 19, 2024).</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bullshit]]
*[[Magic]]

==External links==
*[http://www.pennandteller.com/ P&T homepage]
*[http://www.youtube.com/user/pennpoint Penn Point], Penn's [[YouTube]] channel
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO9L3oyQhQ8 Let's ask the magician to balance the budget! He'll make the debt disappear!]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Libertarians]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Magicians]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Skeptics]]

Categories: Atheists, Libertarians, Living people, Magicians, Pseudoscience promoters, Skeptics