[2][8] Banachek collaborated with fellow teenager Michael Edwards on James Randi's Project Alpha experiment at the newly founded McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research of Washington University in St.

[9][10] From 1979 to 1982, Banachek and Edwards replicated numerous mentalist effects, so thoroughly convincing researchers of the authenticity of their alleged paranormal abilities that some could not later be persuaded that they had in fact been deceived.

[9][11] The revelation that a pair of untrained teenagers had succeeded in hoodwinking a well-funded team of scientists exposed the lax methodology and lack of scientific control rife in the field of parapsychological research[7][11] and led to permanent closure of the laboratory.

[13] On the television special The Search for Houdini (1987), hosted by William Shatner, Banachek performed an escape stunt in which he successfully dug his way out after being chained, handcuffed, locked in a coffin, and buried six feet underground.

[2] He reserves special disdain for mediums and faith healers who profit from people suffering from physical disability, disease, or the loss of loved ones.

[7] However, he urges caution when debunking psychics, encouraging skeptics not to "belittle the very people they are trying to convince" and to remain cognizant of the limitations of their own knowledge and expertise.