803: John McLaughlin -The Intersection Between Spy Craft and the Craft of Magic

It was a hot and muggy night in Warsaw, unusual for this time of the year. Sitting at the bar was a man nursing a beer. No one noticed his unkempt appearance or the bulge in his jacket pocket. As the bartender rang up another transaction, a young man wearing a ball cap swung open the door. A quick sideways glance was given to the stranger who strode over to take a seat at the bar. The young man ordered a beer then turned and quietly said, “Erdnase.” After a few uneasy moments that seemed like an eternity, the man reached into his pocket. He pulled out a deck of cards and suddenly…it was magic time.

That could have gone in a completely different direction and oftentimes it does in the world of spy craft. This week we chat with the former Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.), John McLaughlin. There is an overlap and kinship in the keeping of secrets both as spies and as magicians, though one doesn’t control the balance of life and death in their hands. John is an American Intelligence Officer who served as Deputy Director of the C.I.A. under President Bill Clinton and then briefly as the Acting Director of the C.I.A. under President G.W. Bush then retired in 2004. McLaughlin currently serves as a Senior Fellow and Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C

While attending the 2023 S.A.M. convention in New Orleans, John and I had a chance to have a long conversation about some of the declassified operations in the C.I.A., “Project Mincemeat”, the “War Magician” (Jasper Maskelyne), the similarities between spies and magicians, and the local magic scene in Washington, D.C.

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676: Ed Alonzo - In The Library

While I was in Los Angeles to work on “Masters of Illusion” TV series, Ed Alonzo found time to sit in the library of the Magic Castle to chat about his career. As a former member of the Long Beach Mystics and the Magic Castle Junior group, Ed launched successful careers as both a magician and an actor having major roles in many television series including “Saved By The Bell.” He also went on to work with Britney Spears on her worldwide concert tour where he interacted with her on stage in his character as a magician.

In this week’s episode, Ed covers a lot of territory in a short hour podcast. He talks extensively about the Magic Castle and his love and dedication to the clubhouse. He also talks about his time as a youth as he was trying to “find his character” when he was a member of the Long Beach Mystics and the Magic Castle Juniors. He tells how he transitioned into acting but never lost his love for performing magic, which he still does to this day having just completed the taping of Season Nine of “Masters of Illusion.” By the way, he talked about running for office on the Academy of Magical Arts: he won the election and is now on the Board of Directors. Congratulations, Ed.