Houdini Defies Death
HISTORY This Week
The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios
4.5 • 4.2K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
January 25, 1908. Harry Houdini is the most famous magician in America. He’s known for his escapes – from handcuffs, boxes, jail cells, even a giant football. But the escape act is getting old, and ticket sales aren’t what they used to be. And on this day, an under-capacity audience at the Columbia Theater in St. Louis is about to witness Houdini’s most dangerous escape yet… from death itself. How did a Hungarian immigrant named Erik Weisz become Harry Houdini? And when his career was fading, how did Houdini embrace death to bring it back to life?
Special thanks to our guest, Joe Posnanski, author of The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini. Additional thanks to San Diego magician Tom Interval for providing archival audio of Houdini.
** This episode originally aired Jan 25, 2021.
Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com
Follow on Instagram: @historythisweek
Follow on Facebook: HISTORY This Week Podcast
To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | AI is incredible. They can teach you how to fry an egg and even write a poem, pirate style. |
| 0:07.0 | But it knows nothing about your work. Slackbot is different. It doesn't just know the facts. |
| 0:14.0 | It knows your schedule. It can turn a brainstorm into a brief and it doesn't need to be taught. |
| 0:20.0 | Because Slackbot isn't just another AI. |
| 0:23.3 | It's AI that knows your work as well as you do. |
| 0:26.4 | Visit Slack.com forward slash meet Slackbot to learn more. |
| 0:30.7 | This episode is brought to you by Shopify. |
| 0:33.5 | With Shopify, 2026 is the year you make it happen. |
| 0:37.2 | It gives you the tools to build your dream store, online and in person. |
| 0:41.5 | Plus with marketing built-in, it'll help you reach exactly who you need to. |
| 0:45.9 | Join the millions who've already made the leap, like Jim Shark and all birds. |
| 0:50.5 | And ring in the new year with Shopify. |
| 0:53.5 | Sign up for your £1 per month trial at Shopify.com.uk. |
| 0:58.4 | The History Channel, original podcast. |
| 1:04.2 | History this week, January 25th, 1908. |
| 1:10.1 | I'm Sally Helm. |
| 1:13.0 | All month, there have been ads running in St. Louis newspapers about a magician who's come to town. |
| 1:19.8 | Quote, the handcuff king has left a trail of astonishments around the world. |
| 1:26.1 | No manacles or cells can hold him. |
| 1:28.8 | Kings and potentates have honored him. |
| 1:31.8 | In all the world, there is no act like his. |
| 1:37.6 | The handcuff king is none other than Harry Houdini. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.