Nathan Burton returns to the Magic Newswire's Spirit of Magic podcast after his appearance on the current season of America's Got Talent. Nathan was also a contestant on the first season of the show in which he placed 11th. Nathan returns to a show which seems more receptive to magic acts than it has been in the past. In addition to discussing the why and how of his return to the America's Got Talent stage, he offers his opinions on how to succeed as a magician on one of the most popular television shows in the world. In addition, Nathan talks about Michael Jackson and his love of magic as well as a photograph of MJ which has surfaced showing the King of Pop in attendance at Burton's show with his children.

Doc Eason is known today as one of the premier bar and close-up magicians in the Magic. Most recently, Doc was honored by the Academy of Magical Arts at their 41st annual awards ceremony where he was named "Close-up Magician of the Year." This was not Doc's first award from the AMA as he was named WC Fields' Bar Magician of the Year in 2005. Know for his long run at John Denver's Tower Restaurant in Snowmass, Colorado, Doc began his career in magic at the age of 30 when he met Bob Sheets. Bob became his longtime friend and mentor helping to shape Doc as the magician that he is today. Doc talks about his time with Bob and JC Wagner as well as talks about working on the television show "Masters of illusion."

We continue to celebrate making it to our 100th episode of the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast with Part 2 of our chat with  Master Magician Lance Burton. In this segment, Lance talks a bit more about people like Channing Pollock , Johnny Thompson and others that have impacted his career. In addition, we joke about his reaction to the Masked Magician television shows and discuss the impact that the next generation of magicians can have upon our art.  Lance is one of the top performers in Las Vegas with a $27 Million dollar venue built just for him at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino. In July of 1980, he became  the first magician to win magic's most coveted "Gold Medal Award for Excellence" from the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Two years later, Lance received magic's highest accolade when he won the Grand Prix at the Federation International Society de Magic (F.I.S.M.) in Lausanne, Switzerland making him a "World Champion Magician." 

If you don't know the name of Jon Racherbaumer, you should either walk away from magic or take some time to explore his influence on our art form. Jon is one of those guys that managed to connect to some of the greatests names in the modern history of magic including Ed Marlo, Eddie Fields, Orson Welles, and Senator Crandall. Given the controversies surrounding Blackpool & FISM 2010, it is also interesting to note that he was at one time blackballed by both the IBM & the SAM. Please join us for Part One of our interview with Jon Racherbaumer and learn more about lesbian bowlers, the "Magic Mafia" and how a good magician becomes controversial.

As discussed in our interview with Robert Wallace regarding the recent release of the manual that John Mulholland producedunder contract for the CIA,  I thought it only appropriate to explore this topic further.  In this episode, we talk to Ben Robinson, the author of the only biography of this individual,MagiCIAn : The Secret Life of John Mulholland. John Mulholland became a consultant to the newly born CIA in 1953. His assignments included working with billionaires and inventors, cracking codes and delving into the clandestine world of ESP research, LSD use and the secret MK-ULTRA world headed by the notorious Dr. Sidney Gottlieb. During this period, CIA Dr. Frank Olson died the day after Thanksgiving, 1953. This book examines Mulholland’s role during this dramatic period in the CIA’s history and goes against the current trend of accusing Mulholland as having a role in Olson’s fatal fall from a hotel window. Enjoy exploring the fasinating topic with the Magic Newswire.

Welcome to the launch of a new addition to the MagicNewswire.com podcast lineup. When I first began podcasting on the subject of magic, it was just me and a microphone talking about the news of the week. I quickly grew bored and the interview concept that you now know as the "Spirit of Magic Podcast" was born.  This is a return to the magic news discussion that started it all, but in the form of a roundtable discussion. I've recruited a number of friends from the magic community to participate in a rotating roster of co-hosts and will include a "Mystery Guest" in the show that they are not aware of until we start recording. On this episode, Jim Callahan is the Mystery Guest and Scott Wells joins Cameron Ramsay as my co-hosts. We discuss Jim's recent interview on the "Spirit of Magic,"  marketing magic in today's economy and discuss the exposure of secrets in all its' forms.

On the second episode of "This Week in Magic" Scott Wells, Cameron Ramsay and I are joined by special guest, Brian Brushwood. During last weeks show with guest Jim Callahan, one of the topics discussed was exposure and Jim expressed the opinion that Brian was essentially exposing the secrets of magic and mentalist on his Revision 3 podcast "Scam School." This week, Brian joins us to offer his thoughts on this topic and to explore the many ways that a magician can market their act in the college market.

One of the most controversial figures in mentalism joins me on this episode of the Magic Newswire "Spirit of Magic" podcast. Why is Jim such a debated personality? Does he actually claim to possess supernatural powers that allow him to speak with the dead or is he simply misunderstood as a performer? Has he actually applied to participate in the James Randi Educational Foundation Million Dollar Challenge or is it all just a scam? We talk about all of these topics and much more in this episode and look forward to your questions and comments to be discussed in a future conversation with Jim.

On this episode of the Magic Newswire Spirit of Magic podcast I am thrilled to be joined by the ultimate "Underground Magician." For more than 50 years, Sol Stone has been referred to as "the magician's magician." In May of this year, Sol was named "Magician of the Year" by the Parent Assembly of the Society of American Magicians, Assembly #1 in NYC. Sol is best known as a coin magician, teacher and mentor to generatons of performers. Join David Roth, Jeff McBride, myself and other guests for this fascinating conversation. You will hear tales of Howard Thurston, Dai Vernon, Flosso, Paul le Paul, Jerry Openheimer, Ed Balducci, Tarbell, Gene Huggard, Slydini and many more!

On this episode of the Magic Newswire Spirit of Magic podcast I am thrilled to be joined by the ultimate "Underground Magician." For more than 50 years, Sol Stone has been referred to as "the magician's magician." In May of this year, Sol was named "Magician of the Year" by the Parent Assembly of the Society of American Magicians, Assembly #1 in NYC. Sol is best known as a coin magician, teacher and mentor to generatons of performers. Join David Roth, Jeff McBride, myself and other guests for this fascinating conversation. You will hear tales of Howard Thurston, Dai Vernon, Flosso, Paul le Paul, Jerry Openheimer, Ed Balducci, Tarbell, Gene Huggard, Slydini and many more!