On the 337th episode of the Spirit of Magic Podcast, I am thrilled and honored to welcome Howard Hamburg  to the Magic Newswire family.  Have you ever wanted to spend and hour or so with Dai Vernon,Michael Skinner,  Larry Jennings, Charlie Miller, JC Wagner, Tony Giorgio, Francis Carlyle or any of the legends of magic that preceded this generation? If so, I am more than happy to get you one step closer o that goal by bringing you this interview with Howard.  You are about to hear stories about many of the people that we idolize in magic today from an underground card magician that was an intimate of them all. As we launch this episode, I am also very happy to announce that the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast has now exceeded Two Million Downloads since we first began tracking such things in March of 2008. Thank you so much for this endorsement of what I do. When I first began recording these conversations, I never imagined where it would take me and I cannot that you, the listeners, enough for the emails, donations and downloads. I more than justifies this small contribution to our art that I make by producing these interviews. Again, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. 

My guest on this episode of the "Spirit of Magic" podcast is comedy magician and February 2010 Genii cover-boy Michael Finney. Michael talks about hs unique path to discovering magic as a career and how he developed the personality that works so well for him on stage. Michael also reflects on some of the people that influenced him over the years including Charlie Miller, Dai Vernon, Carl Ballantine, Karrell Fox Johnny Thompson & Billy McComb. If you've ever wondered if a kidnapping could lead to a career in magic, then you'll be very interested in what Michael has to say.

Wayne Houchin has been creating magic since trying to duplicate the illusions of David Copperfield with cardboard boxes in his family's living room. He went on to stage a straight jacket escape while hanging from a crane in order to promote his first series of shows at the age of sixteen. In 2003, an underground tape of Wayne's original magic was seen by acclaimed mentalist Banachek who immediately recognized Wayne's potential. While consulting for the first season of Criss Angel : Mindfreak, Banachek suggested that Wayne be brough on to assist in the production of several of his original effects. In 2007 Houchin, Jonathan Bayme, Chris Kenner, B.J. Bueno, and Dana Hocking formerd Theory 11, a new online entity devoted to the advancement of the art of magic. Today, Wayne is releasing his latest project, "The Art of Magic" as a DVD or online download. Wayne joins us on the Magic Newswire's Spirit of Magic podcast to discuss his philosophy and thoughts on magic today.

Seconds, bottoms, the pass, Malini, Vernon and so much more. Charlie Miller is one of those name tossed around in the context of modern magic that I feel most f the community knows too little about.  I hope that this conversation with some of his closest friends does something to rectify that.  Our good friend Johnny Thompson is joined by two other legends in magic, Harry Riser and Bob White. 

In July of 2008 I was thrilled to have the chance to record an interview with Richard "The Cheat" Turner. While updating the links to the entire podcast archive, I realized that I had never posted the promised second part of that conversation. Fortunately, I had it in my backup and I am able to rectify that error by posting Part 2 of my Interview with the amazing Richard Turner! Enjoy!

In this episode of the Magic Newswire's "Sprit of Magic Podcast" I am thrilled to welcome the only pupil of the legendary  Walter Irving Scott known in the magic and gambling communities as The Phantom. Scott is the focus of the book that Gazzo collaborated on with David Britland entitled "Phantoms at the Card Table: Confessions of a cardsharp" . Beyond his career as a street magician, Gazzo is an expert on cons and scams and was Scott's only pupil. He was also the only person with whom Scott entrusted his biography and life's work at card cheating and sleights. 

If you subscribe to the Magic Newswire Podcasts via iTunes or via our RSS feed, then you were the first to receive our latest show featuring Underground Magician, magic creator and magic consultant Daniel Garcia.  As a consultant to David Blaine and a creator of many of the effects so hotly discussed within our art today, Daniel Garcia has a lot to say. What did he think of the final product after seeing the recent David Blaine "Dive of Death" special in which he was so intimately involved? What is his opinion on the major online magic retailers? What inspires his creative process? All this an more in our interview with Danny Garcia on the Magic Newswire's 60th episode!

As the Executive Producer of the television series Masters of Illusion, the wife of renowned performer Harry Blackston Jr. and former President of the Aacademy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle, Gay Blackstone knows her way around the world of magic. Gay joins us on this episode of the "Spirit of Magic" podcast to talk about working wither her famous husband, celebrity magicians such as Orson Welles and Neil Patrick Harris, the challenges that she's faced in putting together a thirteeen episode series for television and about shows that reveal the secrets of our craft.