It has been a rough week for magic.  This afternoon I learned that we had lost yet another member of magic's royality, "Princess" Irene Larsen.  From Erika:

It is with the greatest sorrow imaginable, that we announce the passing of my beautiful, beloved mother, Irene Larsen. She left us suddenly, but not before touching many, many lives deeply and permanently. She was grace personified. Her love is all around us. She will be missed forever. The family is grieving, and we appreciate your kind words and we know you are hurting too. We will never stop celebrating Princess Irene.

I was incredibly lucky to have a few moments with Irene very early on in the production of this podcast. Enjoy remembering her with me. She will be truly missed by us all!

YOU ARE ALREADY MISSED MY FRIEND

As a native Atlantan, I have very fond memories of seeing Tom Mullica perform at his magic bar on Peachtree Street, The Tom Foolery. I am sad to report that today, we lost one of magic's great performers and a genuinely nice guy. When we recorded this, Tom had been battling leukemia, but it was in remission and Tom was preparing to renew his Red Skelton tribute show in Branson. There was recent talk about the opening of a new Tom Foolery on Las Vegas as well. I am so happy to have had the chance to share this moment with Tom and can only say that I am so sorry to not have had more time with him.

Chris Ramsay is a magician. He's a photographer. He's a guy that can't be easily categorized, which is probably exactly how he likes it. Chris discovered magic as a child and honed his skills as a traditional magician while working in a restaurant, but it wasn't until he discovered cardistry and flourishing that he really came into his own.  These days, he has become one of the most popular performers posting material to social media. Listen in to learn what it is about magic that inspires him and how he thinks that new performers should begin and progress in the craft.