The Magic Word Podcast

Jay Alexander is a mentalist who operates and performs at the San Francisco Magic Theater. More than just a mentalist, Jay performs across the country and even entertains as half-time entertainment at major sporting events. He has been a resident of San Fran since 1986 and has seen it go through a lot of changes, including Earthquake McGoon’s where a trove of Carter posters was unearthed. View ful...

Depending upon how you look at it, time passes either slow or fast. It was nearly 50 years ago that we began learning magic in a whole new way: video. Prior to that, most magic was learned through books, magazines, lectures, or through an apprenticeship that was passed on from one magician to another. In some ways it seems that our evolution moved slowly from video tape to where we are today with...

Brian Brushwood has been on my radar for the podcast almost since i first began 15 years ago. Since he lives in the Austin area, I always felt I would have time to chat and feature him on an episode. As we approach 1,000 episodes, I'm beginning to shift some guests from the back burner to the front. My son Nick, interned with Brian when he was in the thick of the college circuit in the early 2000’...

Joel Bauer stands tall in the legendary hall of trade show performers and motivational speakers. More than an entertainer, Joel provides information to potential clients through his unique and boisterous approach of commanding attention at trade shows making him a fusion of both entertainment and information making him that ultimate “infotainer.” Love him or hate him, there is no denying his finan...

There are those few in our craft of magic that are well-known, but few who are as universally respected as Jeff McBride. Founder of the Magic & Mystery School in Las Vegas, Jeff has transcended to the pinnacle of our industry. Having been awarded nearly every conceivable trophy and accolade in the magic community, Jeff continues to build and personally contribute to the coterie. Jeff continues...

“If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere,” sang Frank Sinatra in “New York, New York.” Rachel Wax traveled from Chicago to follow her dream of making it in the fashion industry. Though she did well and enjoyed her work, her true passion was with magic. She was influenced by “The Magnets” who encouraged her to pursue her magic dream. Soon thereafter Rachel began working at “SpeakEasy Magik”...

While at the 2025 Abbott’s Get Together, we chatted with several magicians. A while back we chatted with Craig Diamond and last week we released the one with Antony Gerard and this week we talk with Derek Hughes . That is a subtle hint for just another reason why you should attend magic conventions…all the great talent that comes and shares their time and talents. Derek has performed his magic on...

Over the years, many of you have become acquainted with Antony “Tony” Gerard, and some of us have been lucky enough to call him a friend. He is a fascinating gentleman who defies labels because of he is a polymath who enjoys many disciplines outside of magic, such as archeology, martial arts, creating remote control things for Hollywood, and more. He has written over a dozen books and lectured all...

While at this year’s Magic At The Beach convention in Myrtle Beach, SC, one of the magicians who performed was my friend Trigg Watson. Trigg has performed on America’s Got Talent [sic], Penn & Teller Fool Us, Masters of Illusion, just to mention a few of the television shows where he has appeared. He prefers performing in theaters where he has access to a large stage, a stage crew, and a stron...

Everyone who listens to this podcast no doubt has some degree of love and respect for the art of magic. Starting from that common point, we all go off in our divergent ways and follow the paths that give us joy and often success along the way. This week we chat with three disparate magicians who share that passion for magic but have, indeed, found totally different ways of getting to their “end ga...

Saturday Event                                         Time            Chad Long                            11:00 – 12: 00 Shimpei                  &n...

Thursday Event                               Time                 Joseph Daniels        6:00 pm – 7:00pm Newcomer                8:00pm – 8:45pm Robin Deville            9:30pm – 10:30p...

One of the favorite parts of each year’s Magic At The Beach convention in Myrtle Beach, SC, is when the stars take to the stage and share some of their embarrassing, funny and tragic stories from their days on the road. If you have performed long enough and in enough different venues around the world, you will eventually have things go wrong during your travel, your show, during your preparation o...

Craig Diamond has been performing magic on cruise ships since the 1970’s. That is nearly 50 years at sea as he has visited ports across the world and both sides of the equator. Because of his busy career, he has not been regularly seen at magic conventions nor even featured on magazine covers…until now. His energy is infectious and he has a great memory for hundreds of stories. You may have never...

It’s National Magic Week, as designated by the Society of American Magicians. It also means it’s that time of the year to chat with the Houdini expert, John Cox. He has been blogging daily for years about all things Houdini. So, on the eve of the 99th anniversary of Houdini’s death, it seems appropriate to check in with John to see what’s new with Houdini. During our chat, he surprises us with sev...

While attending the recent Magistrorum Conference in Dallas, I was surprised to see and hear from a variety of entertainers I had never met, seen, nor (in most cases) even heard of before. It was refreshing to see such robust and exciting talent. One such person who made an impression on me was Susan Gerbic. A long time skeptic (and regular contributor to the Skeptical Inquirer), Susan has been di...

Marc DeSouza is a name that should be familiar to most listeners of The Magic Word Podcast. Marc has provided “color” at the past few FISM conferences as well as a few other subsequent magic conventions. But no doubt you know him best for his vast knowledge in magic, his collection, his path to become the National President of the S.A.M., and (most recently) as the builder of the House of Magic in...

Jim Cunningham is the voice behind the Eli Marks Mystery Series, penned by John Gaspard. For many seasons, he was affiliated with both the Minneapolis Twins (baseball) and the Minneapolis Wild (hockey) teams. But his real passion is for all things spooky. Many years ago, he called on the Master, Eugene Burger, to help him develop a seance which he still does to this day. View fullsize View fullsiz...

Tony Hassini is well into his 80’s and has earned a time to look back at his illustrious career and all that he has done for entertainment. In the 1970’s he developed “The Magic of Burger King” which was a nationwide campaign coupling their advertising with real life characters. But before that, in 1968, Tony formed the International Magicians Society (IMS) which developed into the world’s largest...

Wayne Alan’s Washington D.C. experience ranges from working at the magic shop that sold magic tricks to President George H. W. Bush to magic performances in front of audiences in homeless shelters, parties at the homes of prominent Washington politicians, and several national TV appearances. He has consulted for David Copperfield and Criss Angel. He was one of the pioneers in the trade show magic...

Saturday September 20, 2025 Dealer room----------------------9:00 am - 10:00 am Melody the Magnificent-------10:15 am - 10:45 am Doug Gorman----------------------11:00 am - 11:30 am Lunch--------------------------------11:30 am - 12:30 pm Dealer room-----------------------12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Jeff McBride-----------------------1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Remy Connor------------------------2:45 pm - 3:30 pm De...

Thursday September 18, 2025 vendor & stage set-up ------------8:00 am The Guide Presenting Opening Ceremonies --------------2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Dealer room--------------------------3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Susan Gerbic-------------------------5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Richard Green------------------------6:15 pm - 7:00 pm Rolando Santos----------------------7:15 pm - 8:00 pm Paul Draper------------------------...

Saturday, September 13th 9:30 am - 10:30 am   Lecture: Gustavo Raley 11:00 am - Noon Lecture: Ed Ellis 11:00 am - 6:00 pm Dealers Room Open Noon - 1:00 pm - LUNCH and talk shop with Trigg Watson  at Dave & Buster's (15% off meal with badge) 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm - Lecture:  Howard Blackwell 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm - Lecture: Lance Rich 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm - LAST CHANCE IN DEALERS ROOM! 6:00...

Friday, September 12th 8:30 am - Registration Opens, Wonders Theatre Box Office 9:00 am - Open Mic Magic Competition - One Trick, Five Minutes 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Dealers Room Open 10:30 am - 11:30 am  - Lecture:  Jeki Yoo 11:30 am - 12:30 am  - Lecture: Nick Lewin 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm - LUNCH BREAK 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm - Lecture:  Bizzaro 3:00 pm - 4:00pm -  Lecture:  Davi...

Thursday, September 11th Noon - 3:00pm  - Dealers Room Early Open 2:00 pm - Registration Opens, Wonders Theatre Box Office 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm - Dealers Sneak Preview Show (ten minutes per dealer) 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Dealers Room Open 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm - Lecture: Eric Jones 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm - DINNER Served By Magic At The Beach 7:00 pm - Wonders Theatre | House Opens 7:30 pm -   Masters of...