
Well, I Laughed RE-AIR 19: Now You See Me
Jan 21, 2026
They revisit Harry Houdini’s life, revealing how iconic escape stunts like the Metamorphosis and Chinese water torture were staged. They unpack the public feud with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the dramatic investigations into spiritualist mediums. Between magic history, dating app riffs, and stories about teaching and childhood before cell phones, the conversation stays playful and surprising.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Casual Friends, Late-Night Confidants
- Grant and Maia open with a dating-app and social life rant that segues into personal stories about late-night visits and frozen pierogies.
- The hosts set a conversational tone of friendship that frames the Houdini segment as a shared discovery.
Why Spiritualism Reemerged After Wars
- Spiritualism resurges after mass bereavement because people seek contact with lost loved ones.
- Mediums offered answers when scientific and social institutions could not soothe collective grief.
Trumpet Séance Sting That Exposed A Fraud
- Maia retells a 1925 séance where a trumpet-medium named Cecile Cook was exposed by an elderly man who ripped off a wig and cried 'You're a fraud.'
- The reveal ended with Harry Houdini arriving and declaring the medium a fraud.



