Potholer54

Peter Hadfield (born July 1, 1954), known online as Potholer54, is a British freelance journalist, author, and geologist who has become one of the most rigorous voices in science communication on YouTube. After earning a geology degree from Kingston University, Hadfield spent decades as a working science journalist, serving as Tokyo correspondent for publications including The Sunday Times, the Sunday Telegraph, U.S. News & World Report, and New Scientist—where he was science correspondent for fourteen years. This deep background in professional journalism gives his debunking work a distinctive emphasis on primary sources, careful citation, and the methods that separate reliable reporting from misinformation.

Hadfield launched the Potholer54 channel in 2008 with a focus on climate science and creationism. His flagship "Climate Change — Anatomy of a Myth" and subsequent climate series methodically walk through the actual peer-reviewed literature, exposing how denialists misrepresent data, cherry-pick studies, and misquote scientists. His long-running "Monckton Bunkum" series, aimed at the claims of climate skeptic Christopher Monckton, became a widely cited resource among climate scientists and communicators. Hadfield is notable for his use of gentle but relentless sarcasm and for insisting on tracking every claim back to its original source—a practice shaped by his career in professional journalism.

Beyond climate science, Hadfield produced the "Big Bang to Us Made Easy" series, which presents the scientific evidence for cosmological and biological origins in an accessible format aimed at creationist audiences. Now based in Australia, he continues to upload videos that model best practices in science communication: every claim is sourced, every misrepresentation is traced to its origin, and the tone, though satirical, never obscures the underlying science. His channel is considered a gold-standard resource for anyone seeking well-documented takedowns of climate denial.