Scam School LIVE! Workshop with Brian Brushwood

Thursday, July 15 | 9:00 AM–10:30 AM

Learn five tricks that will make you the most interesting person in the room. Join Scam School creator Brian Brushwood for an exciting, interactive hands-on workshop packed with ingenious tricks, sneaky bar bets, and impossible-looking feats you can perform yourself. Brushwood will fool you, show you how it works, and coach you through turning the tables on your fellow attendees. No magic experience required. Come ready to be fooled; leave ready to amaze.

Admission to this workshop is $75.

Alien Echoes Movie Screening and Q&A with Brian Dunning

Thursday, July 15 | 11:15 AM–1:15 PM

Enjoy an early screening of the documentary Alien Echoes, the latest from Skeptoid Media. According to the description: “Life may indeed be everywhere, yet there might be something completely unexpected preventing (or hiding) contact. And if we're lucky, our investigation will ultimately lead us to the answer to our mystery: Where is everybody?” Stick around after the screening for an out-of-this-world Q&A with the film’s producer Brian Dunning.

This event is included with General Admission.

Digital Fakery: How to Spot Deceptive Imagery

Thursday, July 15 | 1:45 PM–3:15 PM

Julia Visentin (video editor extraordinaire) and Kenny Biddle (CSI’s chief investigator) explore the latest and greatest digital tools and techniques used for creating convincing fake photos and videos (with and without a paranormal theme). Attendees will learn how modern editing software, visual effects, and AI-generated content can be used to create deceptive imagery, along with practical tips and tricks for identifying signs of manipulation. Learn how to separate digital fakery from authentic evidence.

Admission to this workshop is $75.

Squaring the Strange Live Podcast with Benjamin Radford and Celestia Ward

Thursday, July 15 | 4:00 PM–5:15 PM

Join hosts Benjamin Radford and Celestia Ward for a live podcast recording of Squaring the Strange, a show that uses critical thinking to examine the world around us, from the mysterious and the paranormal to the mundane. For this episode, Radford and Ward welcome Stuart Vyse, Amy S. F. Lutz, and Katharine Beals for a lively discussion on telepathy and other forms of pseudoscientific communication.

Admission to this podcast is $69.

VIP Luncheon

Friday, July 16 | 12:00 PM–1:50 PM

Join the Center for Inquiry’s President and CEO Robyn Blumner as she hosts this once-in-a-lifetime luncheon and panel featuring Ann Druyan and Bertha Vazquez. Seating is limited. $400 of this ticket is tax deductible.

Admission to this luncheon is $500.

Mind Games and Mystifying Variety Show

Friday, July 16 | 8:00 PM–10:00 PM

Get two shows for the price of one! First, Join Richard Wiseman for Mind Games, a high-energy game show exploring psychology, magic, science, and the quirks of the human psyche! Expect audience interactivity, rapid-fire quiz questions, jaw dropping videos, brain-bending tasks, optical oddities, two laughs, and a banana. Exploring your mind has never been so much fun. Then, join George Hrab for the Mystifying Variety Show. Expect mystifying magic, mesmerizing music, curious comedy, and even a scientific presentation by Benjamin Franklin (you’ll have to come to find out if we booked Franklin’s ghost or America’s #1 impersonator!). Performers include Meadow Perry, Brian Brushwood, Malorie Mackey, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Patrick Mulligan.

Admission to this combined show is $99.

Social Trivia Lunch with Susan Gerbic and Rob Palmer

Saturday, July 17 | 12:00 PM–1:50 PM

Whether you’re on your own or you show up with others, you’ll be seated at a table with several other CSICon attendees. In the spirit of community, groups greater than three will be randomized across multiple tables so that everyone gets to meet other like-minded skeptical inquirers and free thinkers. While enjoying the fabulous buffet lunch, your team will answer trivia questions related to general science and skepticism. Win bragging rights and prizes.

Admission to this combined show is $99.

What Would Randi Do?

Saturday, July 17 | 4:00 PM–5:15 PM

Banachek (president of the James Randi Educational Foundation) hosts a brand-new magical experience premiering at CSICon in Philadelphia. Behold the art of deception as three illusionists attempt to deceive Chip Denman (statistician behind the James Randi Educational Foundation One Million Dollar Challenge and JREF vice president) and James Underdown (founder of the Center for Inquiry Investigations Group). Will these seasoned investigators be able to identify experimental controls that would stifle the apparent “paranormal” abilities of Brian Curry (The Good Liar), Dustin Dean (Mentalist/Psychic Debunker), and Steve Trash (The Rockin’ Eco Hero)? There’s only one way to find out!

This event is included with General Admission.

Eastern State Penitentiary Excursion with Kenny Biddle and Benjamin Radford

Sunday, July 18 | 1:45 PM–4:30 PM

Join fellow CSICon attendees for a terrifying visit to Eastern State Penitentiary. Opened in 1829, America’s first penitentiary was once the most famous prison in the world and pioneered the use of solitary confinement. Today, its massive, crumbling cellblocks and historic grounds offer a fascinating look into the intersection of penitence and incarceration—and have given it the reputation as being one of America’s most famous “haunted” locations. We’ll travel together by bus from the Loews Philadelphia Hotel to the penitentiary, where you’ll have time to explore the sprawling facility on a self-guided tour. See the original cellblocks, prison hospital, chapel, and other historic spaces while learning about the people contained by its walls, including those who tried to escape and even the gangster Al Capone. The excursion will be led by Center for Inquiry investigators Kenny Biddle and Benjamin Radford.

Admission to this excursion is $89.