The Magicians’ Podcast Network

The new series begins with the winner of season 10 of America's Got Talent. Paul Zerdin began his professional life as a magician and shares the reason he moved away from magic and into the world of ventriloquism after a conversation with an agent. Paul talks us through his incredible journey and also discusses some of the more controversial aspects of being a vent including threat of material.

A special episode recorded during the 2018 Edinburgh Festival, Richard revisits six previous guests who are all performing at the festival with their own shows for a catch up. Featuring Piff The Magic Dragon, Ben Hart, Ben Hanlin, Harry De Cruz, John Lenahan and Pete Firman.

TIME STAMPS:

PIFF THE MAGIC DRAGON (17:21)

BEN HART (45.42)

BEN HANLIN (1:05.11)

HARRY DE CRUZ (1:27.40)

JOHN LENAHAN (1:53.06)

PETE FIRMAN (2:17.30)

Stuart MacLeod is one half of the double act Barry & Stuart. I would recommend you listen to Barry's episode first (episode 70) before you listen to this one as it follows on perfectly. In this interview Stuart discusses their influences, why commercial success was never their plan, why they decided to expose all of the secrets to the tricks in one of their Edinburgh shows, his solo projects including the soon to open Band of Magicians show on the Las Vegas strip. Stuart also explains how they are able to continue as a double act today despite the fact that they live on different continents.

Barry Jones is half of the double act Barry & Stuart, they are without question two of the most creative and innovative magicians in the world today and over the last 15 years they have produced an incredible body of original work. In this interview Barry discusses their journey from rural Scotland to the bright lights of London where they made their own TV series for Channel 4 in their early twenties called Magick, he also talks about their time as featured performers on the BBC1 show 'The Magicians' including the night The Slicer illusion they were performing went wrong on Live TV. I also ask Barry about their Live shows, their upcoming appearance on ITV1's 'The Next Great Magician' featuring the incredible 'Barry's Belly' trick and how he and Stuart have kept their double act going strong despite Stuart moving to America.

It is always great to hear an enthusiastic young magician talk about the magic world and how they view its past, present and future. This week Harry De Cruz takes to my hot seat, he is the youngest magician to ever do so. Harry is only 22 however for the last 4 years he has worked in the very heart of team DYNAMO and has been at Steven Frayne's side throughout the TV shows, national arena tours and publicity stunts, Harry has also recently been working alongside Paul Kieve and has some big plans for his own performing future. This episode also features the first ever pair of magicians to gate crash a podcast recording, Alan Hudson and Tom Elderfield add in their 2 cents. https://www.harrydecruz.co.uk

The lovely Debbie McGee takes to my hot seat this week to discuss her incredible life and career as both a ballet dancer and also as one half of the most famous magic double act in the UK over the last 30 years. Debbie talks about her marriage to Paul Daniels, the TV shows, the West End run, the live shows, the Louis Theroux and 'Wife Swap' documentaries, as well as sitting on Mrs Merton's sofa when she asked that very famous question. Debbie also talks about her future plans and your host points out an amazing potential new avenue that Debbie could go down in the world of magic at the end of the interview.

This is possibly the most thought provoking episode I have released in a long time. I have tried to convince Ben to be a guest on the podcast since the very beginning and today is the day he finally sits and talks to me about his incredible approach to magic. Ben doesn't do interviews for magicians, so I am honoured that he choose to speak to you via this podcast. We go right back to the start of his professional career to discuss his DVD Past Midnight, we talk about why he decided to try and fool Penn & Teller rather than the how he fooled them. Ben also talks candidly about his Channel 4 series Trick Artist. Did he really ask security to eject the magicians he spotted in the studio audience? He answers that question in this podcast with 100% honesty. Ben is just beginning the start of a new journey for him and his magic, a project he calls Neo-Movement which is an approach to magic which makes sleights invisible and magic look purer than ever before.

Professor Richard Wiseman takes to my hot seat this week to discuss his incredible (and often magical) viral videos, he shares an amazing insight into the success of his YouTube channel Quirkology. He also talks about the framing of magic, being a guest at EMC, the new Quirkology Marvin's Magic set and his fantastic books. This is also the very first episode ever to feature an unexpected (and unwelcome) co-host.

Katherine Mills is the first female magician in the UK to secure her own TV Series, the show called 'Mind Games' was commissioned and broadcast on the same channel Dynamo found fame on and in this interview she shares the 'ups' of securing the series and the 'downs' of its demise after one series. We also discuss Help! My Supply Teacher is Magic both the TV version and Live show and also her very brief time in the West End show Impossible. Katherine also shares some great tips and advice from many years working as a gigging female magician that any budding female performer should hear.

Epistemic paradigms? Peddling epistemological agendas? I don't know what they mean either, but Max Somerset does, a man who a decade ago was doing more magic on television than anyone else. He was Max in Max Magic on Sky, The Sorcerer on The Sorcerer's Apprentice on BBC1 and then he was mugged and left in a bad way in a brutal unprovoked attack in the street in which he lives. He tells the story of that attack and how it made him re-evaluate his outlook on life in this weeks podcast. Max also talks in detail about his chance encounter with the 1992 Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell who he has helped to recover from a major accident in a racing car by helping him learn magic.