Desert Island Tricks

He opens with a joke about sending us a bill, then drops the number: $1,325 spent on books, tricks, downloads and masterclasses sparked by recommendations from the podcast. Meet Walt Falconer, a Houston-based card guy whose “desert island” list turns into a masterclass on how a real-world close-up magician chooses material that actually gets used.We start with a banishment that hits a nerve: laziness in card magic. Walt’s story is a reminder that progress isn’t always about buying the newest thing, it’s about returning to your shelves, re-reading classics and discovering the hidden gems you couldn’t do years ago. From there we unpack a welcome-package staple, the Ambitious Card and why its simple plot can support a lifetime of stronger phases, better timing and cleaner handling.Then the list gets wonderfully specific: a Bicycle double backer put to work with Paul Gordon’s Muldoon Match, John Bannon’s Strangers Gallery as a best-in-class colour changing deck that leaves you clean, a Tenyo Statue of Liberty illusion that slays for kids and adults and Mariano Goni’s Boarding Pass that turns a spectator’s phone into a jaw-dropping travel reveal. We close with stone-cold classics like MacDonald’s Aces, Twins, Triumph and Paul Curry’s Out of This World, plus a surprise book pick: David Regal’s Approaching Magic.If you would like your list read out on an episode of Stranded with a Stranger, please send in your list to [email protected] Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A Halloween special that goes way deeper than spooky props: Dr. Larry Hass joins us to talk about what makes magic feel like real mystery instead of a clever trick. Larry is known as the Philosopher Magician and you hear it in the way he thinks about perception, theatre and why a performance should have texture, structure and emotional movement, not just a string of effects.We also get a moving inside look at Eugene Berger’s legacy. Larry shares how Eugene secretly arranged two posthumous books and asked Larry to serve as the “medium” who would bring them to the world after he was gone. From spirit theatre and séance work to the ethics of how we treat volunteers, the conversation keeps returning to the same question: are we building puzzles or are we creating wonder?Then we do what Desert Island Tricks does best: a full list designed to build an actual show. Borrowed-deck Out of This World. A punchy opener with a light bulb or shot glass production. Losander’s Japanese Wonder Silk. Eugene Berger’s Thought Sender. A personal storytelling piece. Al Koran’s A Word In Thousands book test with theatrical revelation. Dai Vernon’s Spellbound. Cups and balls. And, for the Halloween finale, spirit slates that bring spirit magic back to centre stage.If you care about magic performance, mentalism, storytelling, spirit theatre and building stronger routines that audiences genuinely feel, hit play.Larry’s Desert Island Tricks: Welcome Package: My Way Out of This WorldShot Glass / Bulb Production The Japanese Wonder Silk Thought Sender Tale of the Rabbi Magician A Word in Thousands Spellbound Cups and BallsSpirit Slates Routine Banishment. Performance pieces that set up a participant to lose Book. The Magic Rainbow Item. 6 Foot Piece of White RopeFind out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A four-year-old “vanishes” a toy car so perfectly that a grown magician tears apart a couch looking for method. That story kicks off a return visit with Andy as we reopen his desert island list and ask the question every working performer eventually faces: what actually deserves a permanent place in your case when your standards change, your venues change and your taste gets sharper? We walk back through the routines that still hold up under real audience pressure, from Three Fly and ring and rope to the cups and balls as the ultimate training ground for timing, audience management and misdirection. Then the tough decisions: what gets swapped when you stop performing something, when you find a cleaner construction, or when you realise a plot deserves deeper study. Expect practical talk on Spellbound as more than a move, billet work that strips away fiddly props and why The Grail remains a brutally direct card at any number that can silence a room. The conversation gets opinionated in the best way when we banish an infamous comedy prop and debate the line between a quick gag and a shortcut that cheapens the magic. We also hit the personal picks: the one guest Andy would want on the island, a memory he’d replay on hard days, the horror story of being turned away for “witchcraft” and the show he wishes he could have seen live. If you care about close-up magic, stand-up magic, sleight of hand, mentalism and building a repertoire that lasts, you’ll get plenty to steal. Andy Smith’s SOS: Swap Interchange for Spellbound Swap Fourth Dimensional Telepathy for Christopher Carters 3 Billet Routine Swap Hanging Coins for Linking Rings Swap Invisible Palm Aces / Open Travellers for Triumph Care Package. Trick That Can’t Be Explained Banishment. Sponge Ding Dong Guest. Max Maven Memory. His toddler son accidentally making a toy cars vanishHorror story. Being told not to perform because the spectator thought it is witchcraft Show.  Ricky Jay’s Show Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A beginner magician walks into a magic shop and gets overwhelmed fast. Now imagine he works there. Emilio joins us from the Alakazam team to build his Desert Island list: eight tricks he’d keep forever, one thing he’d banish from magic culture, plus the “book” and everyday item he’d take to keep performing anywhere.We talk through why practical close-up magic staples still dominate in the real world. Emilio breaks down why Triumph remains a perfect crowd-pleaser, why a strong sandwich routine earns a permanent spot and why Bank Night plays so clean when everything happens in the spectator’s hands. We also get into performance structure for walk-around and restaurant gigs, including why a fast visual opener like Paper To Money can feel like a cheat code when you’re approaching a table cold.Then we go deeper on what new magicians rarely hear: self-working magic is not a shortcut, it’s a different kind of hard. Sequencing, timing, memory and presentation are the real “moves.” Emilio shares how he practices sleights like the Elmsley Count, why recording yourself beats living in the mirror and how dyslexia shaped his preference for video tutorials and lectures over traditional magic books. We also hit the emotional side of the craft: the one miracle he refuses to learn because he wants to keep the wonder and the bold routine he’s scared to try because it feels too exposed.If you’re building a working set of magic tricks, refining your close-up case, or figuring out what to learn next, this one will give you a clear blueprint.Emilio’s Desert Island Tricks: Welcome Pack: Triumph JoKingBank Night Confusing Coins Four Card Trick Horizontal Card RisePK TouchPaper to MoneyInvisible DeckBanishment: People who speak down about self workers Book: No Book - Oliver Meech’s Studio LiveItem: Close up bagFind out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A lot of people think magic is something you either start as a kid or you miss your shot. Doug Gorman blows that idea up. He started at 45 after a Las Vegas moment hooked him for good, spent years performing classic close-up, then made a sharp turn into storytelling magic and bizarre magic that feels like real theatre, not just “watch me do a move.”We talk through the turning points that shaped his style, including the influence of Ed Solomon and the late Eugene Burger and why Doug believes every effect needs a reason to exist. That single idea changes everything: it justifies strange props, strengthens misdirection and keeps you from falling into the trap he wants to banish most, trick narration. If you’ve ever caught yourself saying “now I’m going to…” you’ll know exactly what we mean.Then we do the full magical island challenge: eight tricks (from Cups and Balls to Fast and Loose), a haunted key piece inspired by Professor BC and Doug’s own dark favourites like The Tooth Fairy and Psychic Spectacles. There’s also a hilarious coins through the table with a “portable hole” and an over-the-top coin-sucker that turns a standard plot into a cartoonish miracle. We wrap with his one-book pick, “From Beyond” by Larry Hass and where to find Doug’s creations online.Doug’s Desert Island Tricks: Welcome package: Triumph Cups and Balls The Cuba LibraFast and Lose Haunted Inns of EnglandThe Tooth Fairy Coins Through TableUncorkedThe Psychic Spectacles Banishment. Trick narration Book. From Beyond Item. Giant Mouse PadVideo’s Doug mentions: The Synchronized Cups and Balls:https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=hmMstGmFE-AUncorked:https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=dWm-W6-Uy0YFind out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A Covent Garden magic stall in winter, a boat that hosts magic sessions and a career that somehow threads through it all to The Magic Circle. We sit down with Lee Hathaway and get the kind of candid, craft-obsessed conversation that only happens between people who have lived magic for decades. Along the way, Lee talks about the uncomfortable truth most working performers feel: you can “unlearn” technique when life gets busy and getting it back is less about time and more about calm, repetitive focus.Then we maroon Lee on a desert island and make him choose. His list moves from Roy Walton’s Cannibal Cards as a mastery project, to the mythical Any Drink Called For kettle, to David Williamson’s Torn and Restored Transposition as a masterclass in structure. We also dig into practical working tools like the fire wallet as an instant visual hook, plus bigger swings like the balloon swallow and the always-evolving cups and balls. If you love close-up magic, street magic, classic plots and real-world performing choices, you’ll hear your own thinking reflected back at you.The back half goes deeper into wonder and philosophy: Houdin’s Orange Tree illusion as Lee’s favourite piece of magic ever, sponge bunny rabbits as an underrated layperson miracle and a banishment we fully agree with: petty arguments over credit that drain the joy out of the art. Lee’s must-read pick, Juan Tamariz’s The Magic Way, ties the whole mindset together, from “clever” to truly impossible.Lee’s Desert Island Tricks: Welcome pack: Cannabal Cards Any Drink Called For Kettle (with consumables) Torn and Restored TranspositionFire wallet The RainbowBalloon Swallow Cups and BallsThe Orange Tree IllusionSponge Bunny RabbitsBanishment. Arguments about who created whatBook. The Magic WayItem. Utility Knife Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A coin vanishes three times, ends up trapped inside a phone and then bends after the spectator has been holding it. That’s how Stephen Maule chooses to open his desert island set and it instantly tells you what kind of thinker he is: practical, modular and obsessed with reactions that spread from one friend group to the next. We start with Stephen’s backstory, including the influence of classic TV magic and the way big moments like the Blackpool Magic Convention can pull people back into the craft after years away.Then we dig into his “Stranded with a Stranger” list: Daryl’s Three Card Monte and why a challenge-style gambling routine can still feel playful, “SAM Memory” as a four-card packet trick framed like a memory test or pseudo-hypnosis, plus timeless card magic like Paul Curry’s Out of This World and the punch of Doctored Daley in the spectator’s hands. If you love close-up magic, card sleight of hand and building stronger sets, there’s a lot here to steal in principle.The back half turns toward clean mentalism and impossible locations: Collateral OTT as an open billet technique, the Infinity Wallet as both a prediction device and a genuine safety net and Nest of Wallets as a visual closer for a signed coin or borrowed ring. Stephen’s banishment might be the most valuable takeaway: stop rushing to show a trick before you’ve practiced, tested and made it yours. Subscribe for more lists, share this with a magician friend and leave a review if it helps you rethink what belongs in your “only eight tricks” repertoire.Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

Magic gets stale when we keep reaching for the same props, the same references and the same “safe” structures. So we invited Oliver Meach back for a Desert Island Tricks SOS and he did something no one else has done yet: he replaced every trick on his original list with a completely new set, chosen to showcase how he thinks about modern card magic, close-up mentalism, and audience-first interaction.We talk through effects built on bold starting conditions like performing with your back turned, using touch as the driving sense and hiding procedure inside familiar game logic. Oliver shares how he aims for fresh plots, streamlined methods and interesting interactions and why those three filters keep his material both creative and practical. Along the way we hear about Effervescent, the Effervescent membership, Effervescent 2, and what he brings to Alakazam Unlimited, plus the small “psychological convincers” that make an effect feel impossible even when the method is already done.Then we go bigger with a banishment that hits a nerve: the lack of variety and diversity in magic, from overused ESP tropes to the industry habits that flatten originality. We wrap with the island extras: a care package trick, a magical guest, a career-defining memory, a horror story that still hurts, and the one show Oliver would watch forever. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share it with a magician friend who needs new fuel, and leave a review with the most “different” magic idea you want to see next.Oliver Meech SOS: Switching Gemini Twins for Back View Switching Killer Elite Pro for Untrue CrimeSwitching Holy Moly for Touching TranspositionSwitching Hydrostatic Glass for Morphin TimeSwitching Word-o for The Secret Steps Switching B’Wave for Go With The FlowSwitching Snaps for Card Number RecapSwitching Coin Jar for The Other Three MagiCare Package. Piles of AcesBanishment. Lack of Variety and Diversity in MagicGuest. Liam Montier Memory. Vanishing Wife During Wedding Horror story. Glass Jar Shattering Show. Derren Browns First Live ShowFind out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

He’s performed for Queen Elizabeth II, he’s a resident magician in Gordon Ramsay restaurants and he’s Vice President of The Magic Circle, but he still geeks out over the same question every working magician wrestles with: what actually works when you’re in the trenches night after night? We sit down with Michael J. Fitch for a wide-ranging, laugh-out-loud conversation that turns into a practical guide to building a set that plays for real people, not just magicians. Michael breaks down how a single choice, doing magic for the restaurant staff in the kitchen, sparked an 11-year run with Ramsay venues and why those behind-the-scenes moments create the biggest career leverage. We also talk Magic Circle, from conventions and tributes to what’s coming next, including the Magic Circle Awards evening, seasonal shows and a Houdini celebration at the London Hippodrome.Then we “maroon” Michael on a magical desert island and force the hard decisions: one normal deck, eight effects, one book, one non-magic utility item, and one thing he’d happily bury forever. Expect memorised deck ambition with a modern training twist using ChatGPT, signature spoon bending with a Uri Geller story, underrated paddle magic, the tiny plunger, rope work, Doc Eason-inspired bar material, multiplying bottles, egg bag and a Cube Zag illusion tied to Wayne Dobson. We also go on a needed rant about negativity in magic and why judging a show by the audience reaction matters more than magicians expectations. Michael’s Desert Island Tricks: Welcome Pack: Memorised Deck Spoon Bending HowzattTiny PlungerRopeMoney to Lemon / All of Doc Eason’s material Multiplying Bottles Egg BagCube-Zag Banishment. Negativity in Magic Book. Notes from a Fellow Traveller Item. Mobile PhoneFind out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A card rises to the top of the deck because a violin is playing and somehow that makes perfect sense by the time it’s over. That’s the kind of “how is this even happening?” thinking we love and it’s why we’ve wanted Chris Funk on for years. Chris is a touring magician known for Redefining Wonder and for bringing music into modern stage magic in a way that feels lived-in, not bolted on.We talk through his desert island list of essential routines, from Bill Abbott’s Five Card Box as a killer opener to a lottery ticket prediction he’s preparing to release (Numera), plus a colour match that ends with a guitar reveal. Chris breaks down what makes multi-phase magic routines work: theme and variation, raising the stakes, and scripting that sounds like a real human instead of “instructions on a page.” We also get into a wild guitar-and-looping piece where a moving power plug changes the music and why audiences sometimes need you to say the thought they’re already thinking.Then we go backstage into the real touring magician life: cramped travel, questionable hotels, missing luggage, TSA surprises and why “utility props” and redundancies matter if you want a professional show that survives the worst day. Chris shares a kid-led drawing duplication built around trust and confidence, his spicy banishments (including the phrase “Do me a favour”), the classic book he’d take to a desert island (Royal Road to Card Magic) and the tech that runs his show via QLab and a DAW.Chris’ Desert Island List: Welcome: Violin Card Rise Bill Abbotts 5 card box Lottery Ticket Prediction NumeraColour Match Guitar Trick Mind reading production effect Drawing Duplication Bill to lime Impossible Instrument Balance Banishment. Do me a favour / The Floating Table Book. Royal Road to Card Magic Item. Laptop Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk