A Mentalist, Psychic, and Magician Walk Into a Bar… with Mark Edward

There's one common desire that allows you to be taken advantage of or to be manipulated that leaves you wanting to kick yourself for not doing one simple thing to prevent it. Today's guest is Mark Edward. Mark is a professional mentalist who has specialized in magic of the mind for over 35 years. He travels internationally as a skeptical activist using his skills as a mentalist to teach and promote critical thinking.

Show Notes:

• [1:01] - Mark shares his interesting background in magic and as a mentalist.

• [4:03] - As a starving artist, Mark formed a group with other magicians and began street performing.

• [6:33] - If people want to believe in it, it's mentalism.

• [8:09] - When working as a medium, Mark learned about people's desire for things to be true.

• [11:41] - Mark describes the 900 years where people could call psychics on the phone.

• [15:27] - After his years in the field, Mark wrote a book.

• [17:42] - Mark shares his experience moving over into the skeptic community.

• [20:20] - Scams are like magicians because it's all manipulation and performance.

• [24:35] - In some cases, Mark investigated people who claimed to be able to do something that genuinely believed they could.

• [28:14] - Don't be fooled by those who know things about you. A lot of things can be determined through observation.

• [29:13] - These days there are Zoom calls for sessions with psychics and they have the internet at their fingertips to search for information.

• [31:08] - Mark explains what a pre-show is and some of the ways to manipulate getting information ahead of time.

• [33:19] - What is the difference between a mentalist and a psychic?

• [37:28] - No matter what you know, you can still fall for things if you really want to believe them.

• [40:40] - Generally speaking, most Americans don't want to be told the truth, but rather be told what they want to hear.

• [42:44] - Manipulation is the lowest form of humanity.

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• Mark Edward's Website

• Psychic Blues by Mark Edward