Interview with Vicki Monroe and cold reading (Righteous Indignation podcast)

[zooterkin]

Interview and cold reading with Vicki Monroe (Righteous Indignation podcast)

I can see previous threads mentioning the Righteous Indignation podcast, but I first heard of it last night (at Skeptics in the Pub).

The current edition is a break from their normal format, and is the complete interview they did with psychic medium and ‘cold case investigator’ Vicki Monroe. It starts off as an interview, and then spontaneously develops into a reading. I won't spoil it by giving too much detail, but it's fascinating to hear an unedited (I believe) recording of someone attempting cold reading, but not making a lot of progress (Marsh and Hayley keep largely silent, and give her plenty of rope, rather than volunteering information or responding to vague suggestions). She seems so genuine, though, it's hard to tell if she really believes she has an ability or is just putting on an act. She was pointed in the direction of the JREF Million Dollar Challenge, so it will be interesting to see if anything comes of that.

ETA: While I suggest you don't read it until after you listen to the podcast, there's a pretty good description of it in the comments for the podcast, by "The Doctor'.

 

[philkensebben]

'As for my prices, you cannot say what I charge is unfair? Nor that my work is not valid, your opinion is respected, but this is my job, whether you believe me or not, and I also have a mortgage, family, and bills to pay'

Just came across her comment in the relevant section. Seriously?

 

[Cueshark]

I came here wondering if there was a thread about the RI podcast.

What a disaster for that 'psychic'.

It was tough to listen to.

 

[dlorde]

...
She seems so genuine, though, it's hard to tell if she really believes she has an ability or is just putting on an act.

She makes a convincing effort to appear genuine until you hear the reading she does for the interviewers, when it becomes clear she is just putting on an act. She claims to actually see a grandmother wearing a piece of jewelery that she passed down to the interviewer, but, despite several specific attempts at a description, gets the item completely wrong. Suggesting that a subject has jewelery belonging to a departed grandparent is a common cold-reading probe item, and has a good chance of success.

Having mentioned grandparents having pocket watches and admitting you don't really need to be psychic to predict that, she mentions that one grandparent smoked a pipe, and particularly, that the tobacco smelled like vanilla. On being told it was just plain tobacco, she claimed that "yes, but it smells like vanilla to me, because I don't like tobacco...". This seems like a clear and knowing wriggle to me - because even if we allow that she thinks ordinary tobacco smells like vanilla (really?), specifically mentioning the smell of vanilla as a point for someone else to recognise is senseless; it also renders the apparent 'hit' of pipe smoking mundane, as pipe smoking was relatively common among that generation. The previous admission, drawing attention to the fact that predicting ownership of pocket watches didn't require supernatural powers, was a misdirection to make the pipe-smoking suggestion appear more convincing. It didn't work.

Finally, when confronted with the long list of names she'd mentioned which failed to connect, she used the traditional cold-reading trick of putting responsibility onto the subjects, by saying that they should remember the names because they'd become relevant or be recalled at a later date.

ISTM these types of techniques are not the signature of someone who honestly or genuinely believes they can see and talk to dead relatives of the subject.

 

[Kuko 4000]

This was really fascinating, especially the reading at the end, classic stuff! As others have mentioned, Vicki has posted in the comments section, but it's definitely better to listen to the whole thing before reading more about it!

Definitely worth a listen, thanks zooterkin!

 

[underboyleheating]

It was getting desperate towards the end of the podcast and I truly believe this girl needs psychiatric help.

 

[Moochie]

I listened to about 15 min of this woman prattling on and was saved by an urgent need to defecate. Upon pushing the flush button, it occurred to me what this woman was about.

M.

 

[Nursefoxfire]

It was getting desperate towards the end of the podcast and I truly believe this girl needs psychiatric help.

I don't know if chicanery is a psychiatric condition, although I doubt it.

I got the sense she knew EXACTLY what she was doing, and has tuned up her method of speaking and presenting herself so that she comes across as sweet, likable, self-effacing and genuine, so that everyone trusts her.

In the comments section for the podcast, "The Doctor" pretty much sums up everything she's guilty of.