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Scamapalooza 9 – An Angry Word About Puzzles with Magician David Kwong
David Kwong not only designs puzzles for the New York Times crossword, he also designs heists and illusions for movies like Now You See...
Scamapalooza 36 – Alien Autopsy Part 1 with Spyros Melaris
In 1995, the world was captivated by the Alien Autopsy video, a grainy 17-minute film supposedly depicting the dissection of an alien...
Scamapalooza 48 – Card Counting With Dale Sadler
Imagine you’re a professional magician, performing a few card tricks at function when you’re approached by a mysterious stranger who...
The scientific secret behind carnival scams
If I had to list my top five things in the world it would look like this: 1. My wonderful daughter. 2. My other, slightly less wonderful...
How optical illusions may help diagnose autism
Check out this simple optical illusion: Watching this illusion, it appears like a spinning cylinder. In reality, it is two columns of...
Why your brain just let me steal your wallet
My all-time favourite movie scene comes from Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket. (Actually, my all-time favourite movie scene is when Little...
The Melbourne Magic Festival is dead! Long live Sleight Night
So the Melbourne Magic Festival is over for another year. But here you are, a magic junkie jonesing for your next fix of the impossible....
The Greatest Magicians Of All Time (you’ve probably never heard of)
Everyone knows the big names in magic. Copperfield. Angel. Penn. Teller. Johnson. But what about those magicians who’ve made an...
The magic of manipulation at the Melbourne Magic Festival
I have hired a business coach. Her name is Jo Gilbert and she provides me with fantastic advice on how to connect with the business...
The shared secret of magic and car crashes
I got rear-ended last week. I stopped suddenly in slow moving traffic and a black BMW slammed into the back of me, destroying the back...
Why so many Melbourne audiences are falling in love with close up magic
Every month, I run an evening of close up magic with four of my magician buddies at The Laneway Theatre in Northcote. And every month,...
All magicians are liars
It is true, I can’t deny it: All magicians are liars. What’s more, I am a magician. Therefore, I am a liar. But here is where things get...
The movie that every magician needs to watch
Can you guess what my favourite movie of all time is? The Prestige? Nope. The Illusionist? Not even close? Now You See Me? Don’t insult...
I have five books of illusions to give away…or do I!
Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik’s new book of optical and other illusions culled from the Best Illusion of the Year Contest and...
Champions of Illusion: The Science Behind Mind-Boggling Images and Mystifying Brain Puzzles
Neuroscientists, magicians and friends of the podcast Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik have a new book of optical illusions...
The second Sleight Night proves the magic show wasn’t a fluke
Fool you once, shame on me. Fool you twice and it might just be the second ever Sleight Night. I’m absolutely loving producing and...
46 – Women In Magic with Carisa Hendrix
I have always assumed that it must be hard to be a woman in magic. It’s an industry dominated by men and populated by old guys with...
45 – The Ethics of Mentalism with Jon Archer
What’s the difference between a con artist and a magician? A great magician tells you they’re about to lie you. They admit it out right....
Become a professional con artist at Melbourne Magic Festival
In case you haven’t figured out yet, I love the world of the professional con artist. After  close to three decades learning the tricks...
The Melbourne Magic Festival Turns 10
What do cheese, salami, drag queens and Game of Thrones themed wine tasting have in common? They all have Melbourne festivals dedicated...
Here you'll find resources for teaching and promoting critical thinking, scam protection, and deception education. Many are linked to his school incursions while others are just for fun.
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Make sure you subscribe to Nicholas's podcast. Scamapalooza. He interviews psychologists, authors, and researchers about why people are so easy to fool.
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