What if the strongest magic in your set isn’t the flashiest or the fastest to reset, but the piece that shines where you actually perform. Coffee shops, classrooms, living rooms? We sit down with hobbyist magician and primary school teacher Elliott Hodges to explore eight effects that prove context and clarity beat pocket space every time.

Elliott opens with Ambitious Jazz, a tight packet routine that builds phase by phase, and Elmsley’s Four Card Trick, a masterclass in logical endings powered by a single elegant move. He champions Quadratic, a lightning-fast calculation stunt that turns everyday calculators into proof of skill, and he shares how Wonder Spot paddles do more than amaze, used with care, they can calm a room and shift emotions. We also dive into the AAA Book Test, a clean, borrowed-book revelation that feels truly impromptu, and Tenyo’s Tower of Dice, a silent visual that doubles itself into disbelief.

Along the way, we talk Card Warp as the ultimate everyday carry, adapting to whatever cards or tickets are on hand, and we spotlight Fred Kaps for timeless lessons in timing, expression, and audience command, even after the Beatles. Elliott’s stance is clear: ditch the snobbery that labels effects “beginner.” Foundational methods, smart structure, and honest framing still crush with lay audiences, and books like Scarne on Card Tricks are goldmines for adaptable, modern miracles.

If you’re a hobbyist building a set that fits real life, or a pro who wants to refresh fundamentals with purpose, this conversation is your blueprint. Send in your list to sales@alakazam.co.uk to have your own episode in the future!

Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

Stranded for two years with a snooker table and a legendary list, Liam Montier finally gets a rescue and uses it to rethink everything.

We revisit his original Desert Island picks and watch half of them evolve: Dynamic Coins gives way to Peter Kane’s Variant, Psycho Dice upgrades to Steve Cook’s The Gamble, Twilight Angels steps aside for Stephen Tucker’s Alpha to Omega, and John Bannon’s Royal Scam edges out Strangers Gallery. What stays says as much as what changes: The Kick survives on the strength of Gemini Twins, and Out of This World holds its throne as card magic that feels like life, not just cards.

Liam digs into why direct plots hit harder, how to escalate fairness across phases, and the art of construction that lets spectators do the impossible. He shares a candid stance on failure, don’t catastrophes it and a pointed banishment: single-trick downloads. We unpack why multi-trick books, lectures, and deep-dive projects build better magicians, widen method literacy, and deliver more value per idea. There’s heart, too: a sliding-doors memory of leaving a hated retail job for Big Blind Media, meeting John Bannon, and finding a path where craft and community meet.

For company on the island, Liam chooses Alex Elmsley, eager to talk structure beyond the count, and for a timeless watch he picks John Lenahan’s Stuff the White Rabbit, live-to-camera magic from Rene Lavand to Tom Mullica that proves clarity outlives editing. If you care about strong card magic, practical philosophy, and the choices that shape a repertoire, this rescue mission is packed with insight and inspiration.

Liam’s SOS Substitutions: :

1. Dynamic Coins for Kane’s Variant
2. Psycho Dice for The Gamble
3. Twilight Angle's for Alpha to Omega
4. Strangers Gallery for Royal Scam
5. Four Card Trick for Predictor

Banishment. Single Trick Downloads

Guest. Alex Elmsley

Memory. First time working with BBM

Horror Story. Don’t give importance to when things go wrong

Show. Stuff the White Rabbit

Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

This week we flipped the format and put our host in the hot seat to reveal a set that can carry an entire career: intimate close‑up, parlour storytelling, and full‑blown stage moments that stick. The choices are surprising, practical, and deeply audience‑first, from Richard Sanders’ Identity, retooled to fit holiday crowds, to ProMystic’s MD Mini and Inception, a duo that turns mind reading into a shared experience people can’t stop talking about.

Joined by guest host Peter Nardi, we dig into why some methods never die when they’re framed as real experiences. Pegasus Page To Lovecraft shows how a torn page can become a narrative anchor and a gift. Killer Elite Pro gets its flowers for transforming a classic mentalism principle into a cinematic micro‑thriller. And Toxic Plus (within the iThump ecosystem) proves that app magic can be invisible, fair, and scalable, whether you’re at a dinner table or in a thousand‑seat theatre, the audience does the work on their own phones while you drive the story.

The finale? PK Touches, presented as the closest thing to “real” magic many spectators will ever feel. We talk structure, safety, and why it creates electric rooms where strangers lean in and whisper instead of just cheering. Along the way, we challenge a common fear: chasing only loud “wow” reactions. Magic is an art, and art earns permission to evoke different emotions, curiosity, unease, wonder, even quiet tears. For resources, we spotlight Seance, a bound collection rich with hands‑on séance methods and essays, and a humble non‑magic item, rope, to build a spirit tie and cabinet anywhere, proving that theatre doesn’t need heavy tech to feel impossible.

If you love smart, reliable, and story‑driven magic that puts the spotlight on your spectators, you’ll find ideas here to reshape your set and your thinking.

Jamie’s Desert Island Tricks:

1. Identity
2. MD Mini
3. Inception
4. Killer Elite Pro
5. Spirit
6. Pegasus Page
7. TOXIC +
8. PK Touches

Banishment. Being worried about eliciting different reactions in an audience

Book. Seance

Item. Rope

Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk