Cory Cove (a.k.a. “Sludge”), a morning talk show host on KFAN radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul, invited host of A&E’s “Psychic Kids” show Chip Coffey to the studio on Monday and they had the best exchange ever.

Normally, talk show hosts (like Montel Williams and Larry King) treat psychics with deference. They ask the psychics to make predictions, they “ooh” and “aah” at the specificity of the claims, and then they rarely, if ever, take them to task when those predictions fail.

Cove, on the other hand, used the 7-minute segment to call Coffey out on his bullshit. (Note: Coffey had previously told Cove that he would have a prostate problem, setting up this exchange.)

Cove: … Who told you about New York, London, and my prostate? Coffey: Somebody in spirit told me that. Cove: You don’t know who that is, though. Coffey: Not exactly. Cove: So they could be related to me, they could not be related to me, you have no idea. Just random voices. Couldn’t just be your own voice in your head, possibly, telling you things? Coffey: How big a skeptic are you? Cove: 100%. There’s no proof that a psychic has ever proven anything. There’s zero evidence. Coffey: Um, really? Cove: Really. Coffey: Really. Cove: Chip, if there was ever proof that a psychic could actually do what it did, and it was peer-reviewed, you would win the Nobel Prize for proving the afterlife. It’s never been proven. There’s zero evidence. It’s all anecdotal. Coffey: Have you done your research? Cove: I don’t have to. Coffey: That’s your… educated answer? Cove: No, it’s not. Coffey: Yeah it is. Cove: Give me one piece of evidence– Coffey: –alright, here, want one? What’s your name? Tell me again? Cove: Shouldn’t you know?! Ask a spirit! Coffey: You know, that’s above my pay grade.

Coffey goes on to give his evidence: He once told a woman who was trying to get pregnant that she would get pregnant. And then she got pregnant. Voila!

Cove couldn’t believe that’s all he had: “But people get pregnant. That happens. People get pregnant by having sex and getting pregnant… You predicted that a person trying to get pregnant got pregnant. That’s not evidence!”

Coffey was shocked anyone would question him: “You really think that’s a coincidence?”

Coffey eventually accused Cove of being “combative” and walked out of the studio.

Hats off to Cove. He conducted the interview exactly as these interviews ought to go. He didn’t let Coffey get away with sloppy science. Instead, he called Coffey a “fraud” and made him defend his lying ways. Coffey had no choice but to shut up and give up.

Afterwards, Coffey fell back on the excuse all psychics use in that situation:

And he went on Twitter to whine about how rude the host was to him:

Wow! Sludge on @KFAN1003 was just very rude to me when I did a quick guest spot on his morning show! Very unprofessional & uncool! — Chip Coffey (@chipcoffey) October 14, 2013

Cove wasn’t rude. Cove was doing exactly what any interviewer of a psychic should be doing: He put on his skeptic’s hat and questioned Coffey’s legitimacy without letting himself get derailed by an emotional “reading” or pure gullibility.

Coffey didn’t know what hit him. He’s so used to being in front of fawning, grieving people who don’t understand how he’s pulling a fast one over them (and making plenty of money in the process).

(via Reddit)



