Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
| Bullshit! | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Michael Goudeau Eric Small |
| Developed by | Michael Goudeau Eric Small Penn Jillette Teller |
| Starring |
Penn Jillette Teller |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 89 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Peter Adam Golden Star Price (2003–2006) Eric Small Mark Wolper Michael Goudeau Penn Jillette Teller |
| Running time | 28–30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Penn & Teller Star Price Productions The Wolper Organization Showtime Networks |
| Release | |
| Original network | Showtime |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) (2009–2010) |
| Original release | January 24, 2003 – August 12, 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! is an American documentary television series that aired from 2003 to 2010 on the premium cable channel Showtime.
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! was hosted by professional magicians and skeptics Penn & Teller. Its format consisted of debating political topics, usually from a naturalist libertarian capitalist point of view (the political philosophy espoused by both Penn and Teller) or aiming to debunk pseudoscientific ideas, paranormal beliefs, popular fads and misconceptions. The hosts criticize proponents of what they perceive as nonsense and dishonesty, often citing ulterior political or financial motives. In the first episode, Penn said the aim of the show is to "hunt down as many purveyors of bullshit as [they] can." As indicated by the show's title, the program adheres to Penn & Teller's characteristically blunt, aggressive presentation. The show was nominated for eleven Emmy Awards.
At the beginning of the first episode of the first season Penn points out that the series will contain more obscenity and profanity than one would expect in a series dealing with scientific and critical inquiry, but explained that this was a legal tactic because, "if one calls people liars and quacks one can be sued... but 'assholes' is pretty safe. If we said it was all scams we could also be in trouble, but 'bullshit,' oddly, is safe. So forgive all the 'bullshit language', but we're trying to talk about the truth without spending the rest of our lives in court."
Paranormal subjects of episodes include alien abduction, alternative medicine, literal exegesis of the Bible, and ESP. Other episodes cover social issues such as the War on Drugs, organic food, animal rights, gun control, and environmentalism. Penn & Teller approach the topics in the manner of Harry Houdini and James Randi (who has appeared more than once on the show), who are known for debunking claims of supernatural powers.
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