Christmas Special 2017: The Science of Magic
The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC
4.7 • 9.4K Ratings
🗓️ 25 December 2017
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Infinite Monkey Cage Christmas Special: The Science of Magic
The Infinite Monkeys bring their own brand of yule friendly science and comedy to the BBC Radio 4 Christmas schedule, and this year add an extra sprinkling of festive magic. Brian Cox and Robin Ince will be joined on stage by some very special guests to look at the science behind some of our best loved magic tricks and illusions. Actor, writer and illusionist Andy Nyman,actor and comedian Diane Morgan, Professor of Psychology and magician Richard Wiseman, and theologian and broadcaster Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou will all be demonstrating how basic human psychology and evolution allow us to see and believe the seemingly impossible. They'll be exploring how some basic psychology can lead to some truly impressive deceptions, and ask how easy it is to trick the human mind, even a mind like Brian's. Prepare to be amazed.
Producer: Alexandra Feachem.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast and maybe it's when I had a hand in. |
| 0:04.0 | I'm Tammy Walker and I produce podcasts with a BBC. |
| 0:07.4 | My role is to give new and diverse creators a voice with the opportunity to build a career. |
| 0:12.1 | That's the thing I love about Podcast. |
| 0:14.0 | You start with just a good idea. |
| 0:16.0 | But then you have the space to see where it goes. |
| 0:18.0 | And doing that at the BBC means we can really run with the best stories |
| 0:21.0 | while developing the most unique audio talent. |
| 0:24.0 | So if you like what you hear, why not check out the huge range of |
| 0:27.2 | podcast we've got on BBC Sounds? |
| 0:29.7 | This is the BBC. |
| 0:31.3 | Hello, I'm Robin Ince. And I'm Brankop. is the BBC. |
| 0:34.0 | Hello, I'm Robin Ince. And I'm Brancox. |
| 0:35.0 | And it is the Monkey Cage Christmas special and because it is Christmas |
| 0:38.0 | we are talking about the magic of science and the science of magic. Now of course science has been magical |
| 0:45.3 | really since the beginning of the 20th century when it became silly with quantum |
| 0:49.6 | physics and that made the universe quite inexplicable so things were dead and alive. |
| 0:54.0 | And then other stuff was in no positions and in all positions. |
| 0:57.0 | And that is probably why telepathy is possible |
| 1:00.0 | and also why I can bend spoons with my mind. |
| 1:03.0 | Dribble. |
| 1:04.0 | Is it? |
... |
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