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!

Direct download: MNW338SOLSTONE.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:35am EDT

MNW338: SOL STONE

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!

Direct download: MNW338-SolStone.mp4
Category:general -- posted at: 10:24am EDT

MNW69 JOHN CARNEY

John Carney is no ordinary magician. John is a performer, creator, writer and philosopher when it comes to the art of magic and has received more awards from the Magic Castle than anyone else in their long history. Carney talks with us about his evolution as a performer and what it takes to be a truly good student of magic. His mentors included "The Professor" (Dai Vernon), Faucett Ross and many more legendary figures from the history of our craft. Carney's "Book of Secrets" is being re-released as well as a new DVD series that he developed with Jim Steinmeyer. 

Direct download: MNW69-JohnCarney-11-25-2008.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:54am EDT

My guest on this episode is an entertainer considered by many to be the foremost Mentalist performing in the English language, Richard Osterlind. In addition to his many and varied performing credits, Richard is also the creator of several landmark effects of mentalism and has just released the much anticipated six DVD set on Corinda's Thirteen Steps to Mentalism in which Richard performs dynamic effects from each step of Corinda's seminal work in front of a live audience.

Direct download: MNW163-RichardOsterlind-10-27-2009.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:46am EDT

Previous Magic Newswire podcast guest Max Maven returns to discuss his decision to resign as the Entertainment Director of the Magic Castle. As this information began to circulate on the Interwebs, I thought it best to call  Max in order to allow him to tell out listeners what the real story was before too many rumors began to circulate. In addition, he talks about this expereince booking acts for one of the most unusual clubs in the world.

Direct download: MNW161-MaxMaven-10-21-2009.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:40am EDT

Max Maven makes a return appearance as my guest on this episode of the Spirit of Magic Podcast. Why has the first place prize for mentalism not been awarded at FISM since 1985 and then, not for eighteen years before that? Can mentalism even be successfully performed within the framework of a FISM competition? These are just a few of the topics that we touch on in this interview with one of our favorite mystery performers.

Direct download: MNW129-MaxMaven-08-13-2009.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:33am EDT

MNW112: STEVE BROOKS

Magic Cafe founder Steve Books joins me on this episode of the Spirit of Magic podcast. We discuss his early days in magic, the founding of the Magic Cafe website in the very early days of the internet and the many challenges and issues that he's had to deal with as they site has evolved over the years. In addition, we also discuss the launch of the new Tenyo Elite series of magic tricks and how that project came about.

Direct download: MNW112-SteveBrooks-05-19-2009.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:51am EDT

Chase Goforth, Scott Wells, Cameron Ramsay and I are joined on this episode of This Week in Magic podcast by magic creator, author and all around nice guy Jim Steinmeyer.  Jim helps us to explore the creative process of illusion design and also discusses a few of the many consulting projects that he has been involved in for companies like Walt Disney and the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. He also shares a few stories on how some of his creations have been abused and overused.  Join us now for a fantastic conversation with Jim Steinmeyer!

NOTE: This is a recently recovered podcast originall published on Jan 5, 2010

Direct download: MNW180c-JimSteinmeyer-01-05-2010.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:23am EDT

As America's Premier Corporate Presentainer Paul Gertner has performed for more than 500 corporations in more than 20 different countries, has lectured at MIT and has been featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal... twice. A frequent guest on the Tonight Show Paul has also appeared on NBC's World's Greatest Magic, HBO, That's Incredible! In 1998 he wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed one-man theatrical production... "Paul Gertner-Ten Fingers." Now he's reached the pinnacle of his career by being a guest on the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast.

(NOTE: This a recently recovered podcast which was originally posted on 2/4/10)

Direct download: MNW184-PaulGertner-02-04-2010.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:04am EDT

Joanie Spina is our special guest on this episode of the podcast. If you're not yet familiar with Joanie, she acts as a performance coach to magicians, jugglers, dancers, singers, clowns, mimes, and actors. She offers a variety of services including theatrical direction, staging and/or choreography, individual performance coaching and promotional tape design and is best known to many as the co-director and choreographer for world renowned magician David Copperfield. If your demo tape does more traveling than you do, then sit back and enjoy the expert opinions of a master magic coach on This Week in Magic!

Direct download: spina.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:42pm EDT

Premier night has come and gone, the first episode has aired,  and we say goodbye to Carnie Wilson and her Magic Coach Simon Lovell. Former con man turned magician, Simon Lovell, is the star of the longest running one man show off Broadway "Strange and Unusual Unusual Hobbies" at the Soho Playhouse. He is the author of numerous instructional works and DVD's on magic as well as his book for lay audiences, "How to Cheat At Anything." We were very please to present an interview with Simon in which he discusses his time on VH1's latest show, "Celebracadabra." 

Direct download: MNW11-SimonLovell-04-28-2008.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:18pm EDT

Previous Magic Newswire guest, magician and expert on the art of the con Simon Lovell pays a visit to the Magic Newswire for a special edition of the Magic Newscast. During this chat, Simon takes a moment to help us remember Earl "Presto" Johnson as a part of our ongoing memorial to this influential underground magician. Simon shares his memories, impressions and opinions on the magician that he had to meet simply because he was mentioned in the biography of infamous comedian Lenny Bruce. Simon will also be a guest on the first ever iTricks"Live Clinic" tonight at 9 PM EDT.


Direct download: MNW114-SimonLovell-06-01-2009.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:08pm EDT

With only hours to go before David Blaine's "Dive of Death" is set to air on ABC, David took time to speak with us by phone. David talked about the medical breaks that many have referred to by some as cheating, his medical condition, his readiness for the final stunt and what moment is his favorite in the broadcast. Because of the live speech by the President at 9PM, the special will air in its' entirety on ABC from 9:15 - 11:15.

Direct download: MNW54-DavidBlaine-09-25-2008.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:08am EDT

As I begin the next season of the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast, it is a pleasure to introduce you to the Master in Residence of the Conjuring Arts Research Center, the amazing David Roth.  In this first in an ongoing series of conversations, David will discuss a wide array of topics including the relevance of magic with coins at a time where the quarter is the largest coin that most Americans will be familiar with. Dai Vernon's circumcission, the Spaghetti Sessions, the El Cerrito Seven and so much more. 

Direct download: MNW337Roth.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:16pm EDT

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