Listen | Discover | Engage a service of Southern Oregon University
The Jefferson Exchange

Sleight Of History: The Story Of Magic

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio

Joseph Pinetti wowed crowds in the late 18th century.
Public Domain

Do you remember the first time you saw a magic trick as a kid?  Something vanished, or appeared, or broke and got fixed again.  And you wondered how it was done. 

Magicians are not supposed to tell their secrets.  But magic designer and author Jim Steinmeyer tells a few, with co-author Peter Lamont, in The Secret History of Magic

Not so much tricks, as the secret of magic's own story, and some of the myths that have grown around it.  Jim Steinmeyer visits with an overview. 

Stay Connected
Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.