Scamapalooza

Imagine you're a professional magician, performing a few card tricks at function when you're approached by a mysterious stranger who wants to make use of your unique set of skills. He wants to turn you into a card counter. That is exactly what happened to Dale Sadler, a magician turn card counter who spent years making his living winning at blackjack at casinos across Australia. On this episode, Dale explains how to card counts, how to gain access to the high rollers room, how to avoid get caught and why he gave it all up.

What would you say is the best method of detecting lies? A truth serum? A polygraph machine? A body language expert? The truth about lie detectors is…they probably don’t work. So why do they show in popular culture on reality tv shows and, most disturbingly, in criminal investigations? And what are the ramifications of putting our faith in these dodgy devices and half baked theories? On this episode of Scamapalooza, Dr Celine Van Golde of the Not Guilty project helps uncover the truth about lies.

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 It’s an industry dominated by men and populated by old guys with outdated ideas of gender, young boys who got into magic to pick up girls and antisocial men of all ages who struggle to talk to ANYONE, let alone members of the opposite sex. We have the organisations like the International 'Brotherhood' of Magicians and The Magic Circle that didn’t allow women to even join until the 1980’s. But is the magic fraternity at hotbed of misogyny who see women’s only value as being sawn in half? On this episode of Scamapalooza I talk to magician Carissa Hendrix about her extraordinary life and the challenges and benefits of being of a woman in magic.

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. And then fool you anyway. But a great con artist will suck you in and leave you refusing to believe you were ever deceived. So what then, about mentalism, that branch of magic that brings to life psychic phenomena like psychokinesis and telepathy or that makes extraordinary psychological techniques like neurolinguistic programming or body language reading seem legit. These magicians are often so credible that audiences are left actually believing that the entertainer has abilities that they do not have and often, do not exist. Are they con artist? Is it ethical to lie to an audience in this way? Or is it all just show business? On this episode of Scamapalooza, magician and comedian Jon Archer seeks to get inside the mind…of the mind readers.

How do working GPs deal with alternative medicine? These frontline healthcare practitioners have to deal with constant red tape, constant education, strict laws and pesky professional ethics. Alternative medicine practitioners, on the other hand, are so unburdened by professional oversight, rules and regulations that they can sell remedies that do not even work (and in the case of homeopathy, often don't even exist) with few ramifications. On this episode of Scamapalooza Nicholas talks to Dr Vyom Sharma about working as a GP and how to deal with the problem of fake medicine. https://www.vyomsharma.com.au

OzLockCon is Australia’s first conference dedicated to locksport and physical security. From the amateur lockpicker to the professional security expert, the conference has something for everyone interesting locks. On this week's episode OzLockCon organiser Topaz talks about the event and explains how to pick a lock. https://ozlockcon.com

Why, given the constant need for people to measure everything from their personalities to their intellect, is there no test for gullibility? Alessa Tenunisse, a pHd student at Macquarie University’s Department of Psychology, has spent several exploring gullibility and it's relationship to scams. On this week's episode, Alessa discusses her work while Nicholas tries to strike it rich with a GQ test. You can help Alessa with her survey here: https://mqedu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cFOQHzCBWX7B76d

We are living in a golden age of bullshit. Nowhere is this more evident than in the media where fake news is now almost indistinguishable from the real deal. So how do you spot fake news? How do you spot it spreading? And how do you deal with that weird relative wanting to spread pizzagate conspiracy theories on facebook? On this week's episode, satirist Toby Halligan explains how to defeat lies in the era of fake news.

It's only a paper moon, sailing over a cardboard sea. And this week's episode is only pop culture queen Sarah Baggs exploring the whimsical and heartwarming world of Paper Moon. From the Peter Bogdanovich film to the Joe David Brown novel to the Jodie Foster starring TV series, Sarah and Nicholas explore what makes this rare con artist film a classic. www.conman.com.au

Stephen Greenspan has dedicated a large part of his career to explaining why people act gullibly. As a psychologist and author, he’s drawn from research, literature and his own personal experience as a victim of Bernie Madoff to help explain the psychological underpinnings of why otherwise smart people do stupid things. On this week’s episode, Nicholas takes to Stephen about his work, his life and the reason why, if you say the word gullible really slow, it sounds like word oranges.

There are no two con artists films less alike than I Love You Phillip Morris and FOCUS. One is a true story, the other fiction. One is slick and cool, the other bright and slapstick filled. One features two men falling in love in prison while the other features a run of the mill Hollywood romance. On this week’s episode, Nicholas talks to Martin Dunlop about the differences between the two films while exposing their complete lack of understanding of the politics of sexuality.

The Laborastory is a science storytelling event in Melbourne that comes to tell the stories of science – the heroes, the egos, the breakthroughs and the mistakes of genius. From forgotten history and lonely laboratories, science and scientists quite literally take centre stage. On this week’s episode, Nicholas talks at the monthly science event about his scientific hero: amatuer geologist and fossicker Charles Dawson. But being Nicholas, there is a twist in the tale. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Anthony “Magic Tony” Barnhart is a cognitive psychologist at Arizona State University. He studies the psychological processes underlying handwritten word perception and the psychological foundations of magic and illusion. On this week’s episode of the podcast Tony discusses his work while Nicholas tries to sell Tony on his crackpot theory connecting magic and autism. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

Nick Mason, from the Weekly Planet Podcast, returns to help Nicholas deal with complex feelings about the 2016 film Now You See Me 2. The sequel to the surprise 2013 hit, Now You See Me 2 features more magic, more heists and more confusing plot twists than the original.

Do you remember that story about the man who sold his fob watch to buy his wife a comb while she sold her hair to buy him a watch chain? That classic twist comes from the mind of O Henry, a short story writer famous for penning tales filled with criminals and the down on their luck. Almost all of his stories have unpredictable, ironic endings. On this week’s episode, actor Tosh Greenslade brings to life my favourite O Henry short story, a tale of two con men, written by a man who might have been a swindler himself.

In the second part of Nicholas’ conversation with Spyros Melaris about the 1995 Alien Autopsy video, Spyros discuss the fallout from the hoax video, his falling out with his collaborator Ray Santilli and the many easter eggs hidden throughout the film. Is Spyros telling the truth? Or is he creating a conspiracy inside a conspiracy?

In 1995, the world was captivated by the Alien Autopsy video, a grainy 17 minute film supposedly depicting the disection of an alien “Grey” in Roswell, New Mexico. A decade later, the film was exposed by British man Ray Santilli who claimed he had masterminded the hoax. However, in recent years, another man, Spyros Melaris, has claimed that he was responsible for the lion share of the work. Where does the conspiracy end and the truth begin? http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Ben and Kevin just want to play. As two members of Pop Up Playground they create fun, immersive game experiences that feel like real live computer games. So why has their latest project, Small Time Criminals, attract the ire of tabloid media and victims of crime groups. Is it an ultra-realistic bank heist simulation that mocks the victims of real robberies? Or is it a media beat up? On this week’s episode Ben and Kevin talk games, cheating and bank heists while Nicholas tries to make the two most laidback men in Melbourne angry. http://mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Everyone wants to be a good liar. Or at the very least, be able to spot a good liar. But what do you do when all of the books on the subject are written by authors who are experts on doing just that? On this week’s episode, Vinny DePonto talks about five of his favourite books on lying and Nicholas wonders with Mark Twain would be doing burlesque if he was alive today. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Dom and Dumber have taken on a mammoth task, combining magic and sketch comedy into an entirely new genre. In this week's Scamapalooza, Dom Chambers and Bayden Hammond sit down and talk about their favourite comedy, magic and how you manage to jam the two of them together. #comedy #magic #scams #sketch http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Paul Zenon is the father of street magic, the first magician to take close up magic to the streets in his successful TV specials. However, Paul is also an accomplished actor, author and skeptic. His tales of his run ins with mediums, television producers and other scumbags are the stuff of legend. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

How does a psychic prove they are the real deal? For close to a hundred years, skeptics around the world have been offering cash prizes to anyone who can provide evidence of the paranormal. On this week’s episode podcaster Richard Saunders explores the world of psychic challenges from the Scientific American in 1922 to the James Randi Million Dollar Prize. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Orson Welles' last project before the descending into a life of frozen pea commercials and voicing Transformers was F Is A Fake. The film is a magician’s bag, full of cinematic tricks and double bluffs. On this week’s episode, Simon Caterson returns to explore Orson Well’s final great trick, a pseuod-documentary about an art forger and the hoaxer who wrote his biography. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Jan Marshall is an intelligent woman. She’s university educated, articulate and has lived and travelled around the world. So why, in 2012, did she lose over a quarter of a million dollars to a romance scammer? On this week’s episode, Jan tells her incredible story, not just of how she lost the money but how she regained her life. And then she came face to face with an even bigger foe: the Tax Office. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Scamapalooza returns for 2016. On this week’s episode Nicholas is flying solo as he recounts the top episodes of last year, reveals a few rejected episode ideas and reads a classic tale of gambling, cheats and beautiful blondes from card cheating expert John Scarne. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

Harry Houdini was not just one of history’s most famous magicians he was also obsessed with death and the afterlife, dedicating years to uncovering the truth about life after death. Mina Crandon was a spirit medium who claimed that the ghosts she communicated with could ring bells, float tables and throw trumpets across rooms. On this week’s episode Jon Cox from from the website Wild About Houdini tells the incredible story of Houdini and Crandon’s battle of wits and the extraordinary lengths the would-be psychic went to prove she was the real deal. Scamapalooza will return in 2016. http://mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza

On 25 August 1835, The Sun newspaper in New York reported that a telescope had been invented so powerful that it could see the surface of the moon. There, alien life had been discovered. Man bats, bipedal beavers and abandoned temples to forgotten gods were all described in great detail. On this week’s episode Matthew Goodman, author of The Sun and The Moon, explains how the hoax came about and how it changed journalism and astronomy forever. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

Piff The Magic Dragon isn’t your usual magician. He plays Las Vegas and wows judges on TV shows like America’s Got Talent and Penn and Teller Fool Us. But, his also a fire breathing dragon with a pet chihuahua, known for sending playing cards into toasted cheese sandwiches and shooting his beloved Mr Piffles out of a canon. On this week’s episode, Piff aka John Van Der Put explains how he become the world’s most famous magical dragon and what it’s like being an internet sensation.

The Sting is the king of con artist movies and the godfather of every twist happy heist movie from Ocean’s 11 to Matchstick Men. This week on the podcast writer Matthew Specktor talks about the incredible legacy of The Sting, a film that swept the 1973 Academy Award, reteamed Robert Redford and Paul Newman and changed film forever. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

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 Nicholas says, you can’t con an honest man. http://www.suckerthemovie.net/ http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

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 secrets of magic including change blindness, misdirection, perception and saccades. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. http://www.sleightsofmind.com/ http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

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 arms and torso of an Australian politician in a magic themed campaign ad from 2014. www.campaignedge.com.au/ http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

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 commentator Sarah Baggs asks the question: "Do you believe in fairies?" http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

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 magic to millions of people online and for free. www.scamstuff.com http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

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. http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/

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/scamapalooza/

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.