3 Magic Podcasts That Will Improve Your Performances and Business
Or just something fun to listen to
I used to drive every day to work as part of my full-time job and during those drives my preferred form of auditory entertainment was podcasts.
I listened to many magic podcasts during those drives, but ever since the pandemic and the magic of working from home was forced upon us, I drive a lot less these days and as such listen to less podcasts now. Any driving I do is often with family, and that is spent listening to things that are more interesting to them such as music or audiobooks, who wants to hear about some magician they’ve never heard of and their favourite magic book!?
I do! Nowadays I am a bit more selective with the podcasts that I consume when I drive alone, which is predominantly during school drop offs and picks up, or on the way to a gig. You may have heard of these podcasts before and if not, hopefully discover a new one to add to your list.
The Magic Guys
My absolute favourite magic podcast currently is The Magic Guys podcast, which you might not have heard of, originating from Australia with two magicians - Jason Maher and Josh Norbido.
If you’ve been in magic and are active on social media you would have come across Jason Maher at some point, whether it was one of his viral shorts or part of his 365 project that has more starts and stops than me struggling to learn how to drive manual. Eventually Jason left the podcast to focus on his magic busking career further, travelling around the world performing and now the podcast consists of Doug Conn (who everyone knows), Nick Kay (Melbourne based magician and guy who gave me a hug when we first met) and Josh Norbido (Queensland based magician and MVP glue that holds the show together).
When these full-time magicians aren’t interviewing other magicians ranging from the usual ones you know and lesser known underground magicians, they’ll have episodes where they talk amongst each other, focusing on a topic, sharing gig stories, business tips or just chatting up a storm. I prefer to catch the podcast on YouTube, streaming live whenever possible and literally be part of the podcast via chat, whether it’s asking questions or just reacting to the often hilarious conversations. Watching it on YouTube instead of listening on your podcast service allows you to catch the moments where they show props or sometimes show off an effect to camera. They also have a SpeakPipe where you can record and submit questions to be used on the show.
Do yourself a favour and check out this podcast, the dynamics are great and it makes you feel like you’re part of a lively conversation that you’d often see magicians get up to at a convention.
The Magic Insight Podcast
This is a relatively new magic podcast on the scene hosted by Joao Miranda and Artur Santos and like The Magic Guys some of their standout episodes are usually just when they’re chatting together about a topic rather than interviewing a magician.
YouTube is the main place to catch this podcast which has more visual elements as they include photos and videos when they make reference to something. They even perform magic for each other so if you’re listening on a drive, you’ll want to rewind and watch the performances when you’re no longer driving.
What I like is that the episodes aren’t all one hour long but range in length depending on the topic or guest, such as the Dani DaOrtiz interview which is an hour and a half long! Unfortunately, the episodes are a bit sporadic, presumably because they’re all filmed and recorded in house and not on zoom, so the guests are actually with the hosts. This however does give the podcast a different feel, getting to see them physically interface with one another.
I hope they continue the podcast on a somewhat regular basis as more insights from professional magicians of different backgrounds are always interesting.
Discourse In Magic
If, however you prefer to enjoy podcasts purely with your ears and not include your eyes you can’t go past Discourse in Magic with Jonah Babins.
I’ve been following this podcast since the early days when Jonah hosted with Tyler Williams back in 2016 and to see the podcast still continuing on 8 years later is awesome and a testament to Jonah and his dedication. Every main episode is an interview with a magician and there’s always such interesting nuggets to gleam from each episode, be they theoretical or practical.
Nowadays Jonah specialises in helping magicians increase their earning potential with a Mastermind that you can join. Part of his thoughts and advice are showcased in smaller podcast episodes to give you a flavour of his thinking, such as what making $100k a year would literally look like with the gigs you charge and book. This is also reflected in his interviews, where Jonah asks about their business acumen.
But I’m not here to sell you on someone’s else’s service, just their awesome podcast!
Other Awesome Podcasts
While time is limited with what I devote my time to listen to on my drives or downtime at home here are a few other podcasts that I keep an eye on when a guest or topic interests me:
Penguin Magic Podcast with Erik Tait
If you don’t know Penguin Magic then you’re either new to magic or living under a rock. Sit back and relax to the deep dulcet tones that is Erik Tait’s voice as you listen to the Merlin Award winning best podcast!
The Magic Word with Scott Wells
This podcast feels like it’s been around longer than most people have been alive, Scott Wells is the go-to podcast if you get FOMO when there’s a convention on but want to get an idea of what went on during it. Scott does great breakdowns of conventions day by day in addition to his regular magician interviews.
Talk Magic with Craig Petty
On the other hand, Craig has only been back in the magic community since 2020 and has managed to produce over 300 podcast episodes in that time, and that’s just magician interviews only. Add in his reviews, performances, rants and thoughts on various topics from his YouTube channel and you’ve got more content than you would have time to watch!
The great thing in common with these podcasts is that they’re all with working magicians who have a lot of knowledge to share and then it’s up to us to take those solid pieces of advice, gobble them up and digest them into practical patties to use in your next gig or lead communications.
What magic podcasts do you listen to and why do you like listening to them?