I have very little idea what carny bunkum is, but if it means "unsubstantiated reports combined with trickery", I agree wholeheartedly with Joe from Chicago ( for once )
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John Edward's "abilities" can be readily explained by a mixture of psychological theory and the techniques which quack doctors, fortune tellers and other fakes have been using for centuries.
A common trick which showmen use, when they want to prove that they know information about people they haven't met is to have people listen in on the audience and ringup family members. But I don't even think that you need to use that to explain John Edward's readings. All that he needs to do, to get the level of accuracy he gets, is to key into the cues which audience members are giving.
Somebody reading this post has a brother starting with B.......... ( scanning around) Ben, Bill, Bob, Brian. I'm sensing a B . This person is very special to one of you.