The Melbourne Magic Festival is dead! Long live Sleight Night
So the Melbourne Magic Festival is over for another year. But here you are, a magic junkie jonesing for your next fix of the impossible....
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The magic of manipulation at the Melbourne Magic Festival
I have hired a business coach. Her name is Jo Gilbert and she provides me with fantastic advice on how to connect with the business...
Why so many Melbourne audiences are falling in love with close up magic
Every month, I run an evening of close up magic with four of my magician buddies at The Laneway Theatre in Northcote. And every month,...
What do you call an Irishman offering home repairs door-to-door? A con artist.
That is, at least, according to Victorian Consumer Affairs Minister Marlene Kairouz who this week said that “If anybody knocks on your...
The second Sleight Night proves the magic show wasn’t a fluke
Fool you once, shame on me. Fool you twice and it might just be the second ever Sleight Night. I’m absolutely loving producing and...
The Melbourne Magic Festival Turns 10
What do cheese, salami, drag queens and Game of Thrones themed wine tasting have in common? They all have Melbourne festivals dedicated...
Deceptology at Melbourne Magic Festival
It has been a while since my last update. I have not, as some sources suggest, been ‘disappeared’ by con artists I’ve upset. Instead I’ve...
Episode 29 – Dom and Dumber with Dom Chambers and Bayden Hammond
Dom and Dumber have taken on a mammoth task, combining magic and sketch comedy into an entirely new genre. In this week’s Scamapalooza,...
What the hell is an “honest con man?”
When I’m performing I always insist on being introduced as an honest con man. (It’s in my rider along with a bathtub full of mountain dew...
Meth heads, identity theft and a bucket of lemons
Jack is a good neighbour. Maybe a little too good. After forty years on the street, he knows everyone and is always willing to lend a...
Episode 20 – Sucker with Lawrence Leung
On a cold wet Scottish night over five years ago at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I had a quiet drink with comedian Lawrence Leung in a...
Comedy Magicians and Comical Con Artists
Every year, my home town of Melbourne is descended upon by an army of comedians in town for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival....
Episode 18 – Keeping The Bastards Dishonest with Dee Madigan
Dee Madigan is an advertising creative and political campaigner who spends her days selling politicians to the public and her nights...
How To Learn A Working Magician’s Real Secrets
I’m a working stiff. Really I am. I make a big part of my living as what we magicians call ‘a worker.’ Every weekend I’m invited to be a...
Episode 17 – The Cottingley Fairies with Sarah Baggs
In 1920, five photographs took the world by storm. Taken by two young girls, Elsie Wright and Francis Griffith, the photos appeared to...
Episode 14 – Snipe Hunts with Laura Davis
The snipe hunt, the art of sending a sucker to find something that doesn’t exist, is a grand and noble tradition. Jerks the world over...
Episode 8 – A Fool and A Thief with Simon Pampena
Melbourne Stand up mathematician Simon Pampena specialises in explaining complex math to simple minds. In this episode, Nicholas tries to...
Episode 7 – Nightmare Alley with Simon Caterson
Melbourne Author Simon Caterson shares Nicholas’ love of film noir. In this episode Simon explores the great con artist film noir,...
Swindling Yourself on to a Melbourne Map
I know a man named Steve (not his real name) who works as a documentary filmmaker (not his real job) in the Melbourne suburb of...
Here you'll find resources for teaching and promoting critical thinking, scam protection, and deception education. Many are linked to his school incursions while others are just for fun.
Make sure you subscribe to Nicholas's podcast. Scamapalooza. He interviews psychologists, authors, and researchers about why people are so easy to fool.
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