Scamapalooza with Nicholas J. Johnson

Based on his award winning one man show, Sucker is the new feature film from comedian Lawrence Leung. Starring John Luc (youtube’s MyChonny) and Timothy Spall (Harry Potter), Sucker is a coming of age con artist flick that shares DNA with Paper Moon and The Sting. This week on the podcast, Nicholas talks to Lawrence about making the movie, his favourite con artist films and why, not matter what Ni...

The phrase neuromagic sounds like an obscure genre of cyberpunk fantasy novels. In reality, it is the study of the neuroscience of magicians and magic. Founders of the discipline Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde have spent years unlocking the secrets of the human brain and why we are so easily fooled. On this week’s episode, the pair talk about their research and reveal some of the real s...

Dee Madigan is an advertising creative and political campaigner who spends her days selling politicians to the public and her nights revealing the secrets of advertising on television shows like the Gruen Transfer and in books like the Hard Sell. On this week’s episode, Dee explains the techniques campaigns uses to sell us politicians and their policies and Nicholas reveals his appearance as the a...

The Cottingley Fairies were the talk of the early 20th century. A pair of girls, Elsie and Francis, took five photos that appeared to depict real live fairies. The photos sparked off a series of events that stretched through the 20th century involving the Theosophical Society, Kodak, James Randi, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and sexy, sexy Harvey Keitel. This week on Scamapalooza, pop culture commentato...

Brian Brushwood is the ultimate drinking buddy. A king of bar magic, propositional wagers and short cons. Since 2008, Brian has been sharing the tricks of social engineering, bar bets and close up magic in his uber-popular series Scam School. On this week's episode, Brian sits down and explains the key to a good bar room hustle, the history of Scam School and ethics of teaching the secrets of magi...

Art Maines is a clinical social worker and co-host of the Scammercast. On this week's episode Art explains to Nicholas the psychology of being swindled, the impact of elder fraud and what the deal is with mindfulness colouring books. www.scammedbook.com http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

The snipe hunt is a grand and nobel tradition. Jerks the world over from trades to the armed forces have sent apprentices and greenhorns searching for everything from striped paint to left handed screwdrivers. On this week’s episodes, comedian Laura Davis discusses her 2008 paper Snipe Hunts: An Oral History of The Fool’s Errand and Nicholas forgets to check his microphone is working properly. htt...

The Tichborne Claimant was either a 19th century lord, long thought missing at sea or a butcher from Wagga spinning an elaborate lie to get his hands on the Tichborne fortune. In this episode author and historian Robyn Annear explores one of the most notorious court cases in Australian history and Nicholas gets distracted by the phrase ‘Retractable Penis.’ http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapaloo...

Rob Zabrecky was once the leader singer of indie rock band Possum Dixon. Now he’s a magician on the board of trustees of The Magic Castle in Hollywood California. In this episode, Rob (and his dog Chase) take Nicholas on a virtual tour of the castle while Nicholas gets confused by all the panting in the background. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

In 1998, Andrew Wakefield fooled the world into believing that the MMR Vaccine causes autism. On this week’s show infectious diseases doctor and host of the Quackcast Mark Crislip MD examines the scam and the motives of the man responsible for one of the most dangerous medical frauds in recent memory while Nicholas tries to explain what a Leunig is. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

Nicholas has a love/hate relationship with the 2013 fim Now You See Me. In this episode, he’s joined by pop culture commentator Nick Mason from The Weekly Planet as they pick apart the film. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

David Kwong not only designs puzzles for the New York Times crossword, he also designs heists and illusions for movies like Now You See Me. In this episode, David explains the art of the puzzle and Nicholas tries to stump him with a cryptic clue of his own. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Stand up mathematician Simon Pampena specialises in explaining complex math to simple minds. In this episode, Nicholas tries to wrap his simple mind around the Monty Hall dilemma, arbitrage and the gambler’s fallacy. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

Author Simon Caterson shares Nicholas’ love of film noir. In this episode Simon explores the great con artist film noir, Nightmare Alley and Nicholas drools over fifties silver screen heartthrob Tyrone Powers. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

Identity theft speaker James Munton has the unenviable task of teach high school students how to stay safe online. In this episode James explains exactly how he does it and Nicholas ambushes his guest with surprise meth addicts. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

Magician Pop Haydn is a time traveller, confidence man and snake oil huckster. In this episode Nicholas meets his idol, gets schooled in the shell game and almost loses his shirt. http://mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Erotica author Peter C Hayward writes under four different non de plumes. In this episode Peter explains why he uses fake names and Nicholas is forced to apologise for being Nicholas. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

Ventriloquist Sarah Jones knows how to speak without moving her lips. She also knows how to speak about the dark history of throwing your voice. In this episode Sarah reveals all about belly talking, creepy dummies and necromancy while Nicholas mocks her life’s work.

Police officer Glenn Hester spent 28 years shutting down crooked carnival games. In this episode Glenn teaches Nicholas how to cheat at pretty much every game on the midway.

In his television series Unbelievable comedian Lawrence Leung set himself the goal of attempting to con a skeptic into believing that they had developed genuine psychic powers. In this episode, Lawrence explains exactly how he did it and Nicholas’ bathroom reading practices are called into question.