Episodes

Connie Boyd, award-winning magician and author of "The Power of Magical Women," shares her journey from ballet to circus aerialist, Las Vegas headliner to cruise ship producer, and five career reinventions. Discover how the pandemic inspired her Magical Women project documenting female magicians, wh...

Master magician and historian Ben Robinson reflects on his fifty-year journey from watching Fred Kaps on television to uncovering John Mulholland's secret CIA work. Discover what drove his three-decade obsession with researching one mysterious file, why the bullet catch became legendary, and his phi...

Hong Kong-based psychic entertainer Stuart Palm shares his journey from bartending in post-9/11 New York to becoming one of Asia's premier performers. Discover how a brain condition requiring surgery became his mentalist origin story, and why he believes psychic entertainment is "mentalism with more...

Fourth-generation magician Alex Arnold Lee shares how a cringeworthy moment in 2003 involving a broom suspension, dated music, and a baby doll costume, transformed her career. Discover how she created the beloved comedy character Dazzle and turned that stage persona into the children's book " Dazzle...

Jim Hagy began publishing magic history at age 11 and never stopped. Now a distinguished historian and author, he discusses his unique approach to magic's past - focusing on social history and audience relationships rather than methods. From his childhood correspondence with Milbourne Christopher to...

Dr. Matt Tompkins, experimental psychologist and magician, explores the intersection of magic and cognitive science. From mastering coin tricks as a child to designing "fake mind control machines" at Lund University, Matt reveals how magicians understood principles like change blindness decades befo...

Professional magician Jim Kleefeld reflects on six decades of performing magic, revealing his strategic journey from children's performer to mentalism authority. Jim discusses writing "Locked" to establish credibility before tackling "The Book Test Book" - a comprehensive encyclopedia covering 600+ ...

Professional magician and historian Mike Rose discusses documenting magic's forgotten innovators, from Joe Karson, creator of the Zombie floating ball, to Phil Thomas, Baltimore's "Ambassador of Magic." Mike reveals how Joe's early Zombies were made from glass, how Phil survived a devastating shop f...

Dr. Rebecca Josephy reveals how magic and magicians influenced detective fiction through her book examining these surprisingly interconnected art forms.