Steven Shaw (born November 30, 1960), better known by his stage name Banachek, is an English mentalist, magician, and "thought reader."Banachek first came to public attention as a teenager for his role in James Randi's Project Alpha experiment, which exposed the lack of objectivity in parapsychology research.
As director of the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge conducted by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), he has since tested the authenticity of many self-described psychics, none of whom has managed to pass scientifically controlled tests of their claimed paranormal abilities.He is currently a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, a program of the Center for Inquiry.