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.
Jan 09, 2017•38 min•Ep. 39
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....
Dec 15, 2016•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 38
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....
Nov 28, 2016•22 min•Ep. 37
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/
Nov 22, 2016•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 36
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.
Oct 05, 2016•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 35
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...
Sep 26, 2016•19 min•Ep. 34
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?
Aug 07, 2016•59 min•Ep. 33
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...
Jun 21, 2016•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 32
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 mos...
May 17, 2016•48 min•Ep. 31
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
May 11, 2016•31 min•Ep. 30
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
Apr 14, 2016•45 min•Ep. 29
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
Mar 28, 2016•52 min•Ep. 28
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
Feb 26, 2016•55 min•Ep. 27
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
Feb 07, 2016•48 min•Ep. 26
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...
Feb 02, 2016•54 min•Ep. 25
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
Jan 24, 2016•21 min
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 th...
Dec 21, 2015•51 min•Ep. 24
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/...
Dec 14, 2015•42 min•Ep. 23
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.
Dec 07, 2015•31 min•Ep. 22
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. MATTHEW'S SITE: https://matthewspecktor.com/
Nov 30, 2015•38 min•Ep. 21
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...
Nov 23, 2015•51 min•Ep. 20
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 yo...
Nov 15, 2015•36 min•Ep. 19
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....
Nov 09, 2015•37 min•Ep. 18
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/scamapa...
Nov 02, 2015•41 min•Ep. 17
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/scamap...
Oct 26, 2015•41 min•Ep. 16
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/
Oct 18, 2015•35 min•Ep. 15
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/...
Oct 12, 2015•32 min•Ep. 14
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/
Oct 05, 2015•46 min•Ep. 13
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/
Sep 28, 2015•39 min•Ep. 12
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/
Sep 21, 2015•34 min•Ep. 11
