986: Dan Harlan - Cosmic Thinker

One of magic’s most creative minds, Dan Harlan, joins us this week. No doubt many of you have his “Card Toon” card trick or have watched him on Penguin Live videos or perhaps on the Tarbell Course of Magic on video. Maybe you once subscribed to The Minotaur which he co-published with Marv Leventhal. His life and career hasn’t all been roses and indeed had many bumps along the way. Currently he hosts MagiCon - The Mystic Tower convention in Raleigh, North Carolina plus he continues to create and perform.

Dan Harlan is quite candid about his successes and shortcomings as he openly shares many stories in this week’s episode. We learn that Dan doesn’t like card tricks and he tells us why. He also reveals a long time secret that Majoke was co-authored by him and Scott Alexander. He talks about the time it took to create and film “Every Trick in the Book” of Tarbell. Dan also tells us about his years with Penguin and other creative projects that hold his attention.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Pandora and SiriusXM (formerly Stitcher) by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here. If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

985: MAGIC Live! 2026 - Day Four

Schedule

Wednesday, August 6th

24 hours Bicycle Lounge, St. Charles

9:00 a.m. Information Booth, Kiosk (9:00p)

10:00 a.m. General Sessions, Showroom, (Noon)

10:00 a.m. Focus Sessions (11:00a)

11:00 a.m. The MAGIC Shop, Mardi Gras, (2:00p)

11:15 a.m. Focus Sessions (12:15p)

11:30 a.m. Cafe Live!, Esplanade K/L (2:00p)

12:15 p.m. Lunch Break (2:15p)

2:15 p.m. General Session, Showroom (4:15p)

2:15 p.m. Focus Sessions (3:15p)

3:30 p.m. Focus Sessions (4:30p)

Live Tonight!

6:00, 9:00 p.m. - Live Onstage!, Showroom

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. - Farewell Party, Mardi Gras

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. - Souvenir Program Handout, Mardi Gras

Time stamps and guest names for this episode:

00:00:15 – Jamie Salinas and Scott give a recap of the previous day’s activities, plus a review of some Vegas shows.

00:09:53 – host of the Wednesday night General Session, Ben Barnes, talks about his experience at MAGIC Live! 2026 plus the Chicago magic scene (since he is the Entertainment Director of the Chicago Magic Lounge) plus his recent recording for Masters of Illusion television show.

00:17:03 – Griffen Barry basically grew up in Dean Dill’s barber shop. The close-up magic experience at MAGIC Live! featured a look back in history at Dean’s shop and what it was like. Griffen gives us a bit more context.

00:30:34 – Mark Doetsch, from Chicago, is a regular attendee at MAGIC Live! and we chat about the morning’s General Session.

00:40:58 – Lance Rich was the Director for the General Sessions. He tells about some of the acts and what he did to make everyone look good.

00:54:03 – We do a wrap-up of MAGIC Live! with the organizer, Stan Allen, who can finally sit down to relax and reflect.

984: MAGIC Live! 2026 - Day Three

Schedule

Tuesday, August 4th

24 hours Bicycle Lounge, St. Charles

9:00 a.m. Information Booth, Kiosk (9:00p)

10:00 a.m. General Sessions, Showroom, (Noon)

10:00 a.m. Focus Sessions (11:00a)

11:00 a.m. The MAGIC Shop, Mardi Gras, (6:00p)

11:15 a.m. Focus Sessions (12:15p)

11:30 a.m. Cafe Live!, Esplanade K/L (2:00p)

12:15 p.m. Lunch Break (2:15p)

2:15 p.m. General Session, Showroom (4:15p)

2:15 p.m. Focus Sessions (3:15p)

3:30 p.m. Focus Sessions (4:30p)

Live Tonight!

5:45, 7:10, 9:00, 10:20 p.m. The Close-up Experience, Bienville G

6:15, 8:00, 10:00 p.m. In Concert: Dani Daortiz, French Quarter

6:00 – 11:00 p.m. Curiosities Exhibit, Dauphine

7:00p – Midnight - Bicycle Lounge Cash Bar, St. Charles

Time stamps and guest names for this episode:

00:00:14 – Matthew Alexander joins me for breakfast as we break down yesterday’s first full day of activities.

00:16:31 – A Magic Castle favorite, Howard Hamburg, joins us to tell us stories about the Castle and his dear friend, Dai Vernon.

00:29:22 – Stephen Bargatze talks about the morning’s General Session that was hosted by Pat Hazell that concluded with a panel discussion of several performers who had appeared on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.

00:41:29 – Alex Boyce was one of the presenters in the General Session. Twenty years ago, Lance Burton interviewed Channing Pollock on stage. This year, the young dove worker, Alex, interviewed Lance Burton.

00:47:22 – Kyle Purnell is one of the young “up and coming” magicians who recently quit his job to become a full-time magician and creator. He has several clever items on the market and loves creating.

00:53:53 – Local close-up magician, Mickey Silver, chatted about the local scene.

00:59:35 – Trade show performer, Scott Tokar, and Fair performer (State and County fairs), Frank Thurston, talk about how they enjoy meeting up each year and reconnecting at MAGIC Live!

01:07:22 – Genii Editor, Will Houston, talks about his new role as the editor of Genii after having been the editor for the Magic Circular for so many years.

01:11:21 – Adam Blumenthal, proprietor of Tannen’s tells us about his shop, the magic shows that are run from there, plus Tannen’s Magic Camp.