The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2021

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Quick, think of a famous magician. Dimes to donuts, you just thought of Harry Houdini. Though it's been almost a century since his death, Houdini still occupies a prime place in the cultural imagination, and my guest explains why in his book, The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini, and for us today on the show. His name is Joe Posnanski, and we begin our conversation with Houdini's childhood -- how he mythologized it and carved a path out for himself from his desire to not be like his father. We then discuss Houdini's early days as a magician, the trick he honed that helped make his name, and the outsized importance of that name in his fame and legacy. We then explore how escape artistry became Houdini's calling card and why it resonated so much with the public. We get into the way Houdini brought an athlete's physicality and mindset to his performances, and how the difference between magic and escape artistry can be described as the difference between the impossible and the amazing. From there we turn to the fact that Houdini was, and wasn't, interested in money, his insatiable ambition and drive for fame, and how even the turn he took later in life towards debunking spiritualism kept him in the public eye. We end our conversation with why some modern magicians downplay Houdini's talents, while he yet remains an enduring cultural icon amongst the public. Get the show notes at aom.is/houdini.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brat McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness Podcast.
0:11.0	Quick, think of a famous magician.
0:14.0	Dimes to Donuts you just thought of Harry Houdini.
0:16.0	Though it's been almost a century since his death, Houdini still occupies a prime place in the cultural imagination
0:21.0	and my guest today explains why in his book, The Life and After Life of Harry Houdini.
0:25.0	His name is Joe Posnansky and we'll be in a conversation with Houdini's childhood.
0:28.0	Harry mythologized it and carved a path out for himself from the desire to not be like his father.
0:32.0	We then discuss Houdini's early days as a magician, the tricky hone that helped make his name,
0:36.0	and the outsized importance of that name in his fame and legacy.
0:39.0	We then explore how escape artistry became Houdini's calling card and why it resonated so much with the public.
0:44.0	We get in the way Houdini brought in athletes, physicality and mindset to his performance
0:48.0	and how the difference between magic and escape artistry can be described as the difference between the impossible and the amazing.
0:54.0	From there we turn to the fact that Houdini was and wasn't interested in money,
0:58.0	his insatiable ambition and drive for fame and how the turn he took later in life towards debunking spiritualism,
1:03.0	kept him in the public eye.
1:04.0	We interconversation with why some modern magicians downplay Houdini's talent
1:08.0	while he yet remains an enduring cultural icon amongst the public.
1:11.0	After the show's over, check out the show notes at aewim.is slash Houdini.
1:15.0	Alright Joe Paznowski, welcome to the show.
1:25.0	Great to be here.
1:26.0	So you are a sports writer but you've also written a biography of Harry Houdini
1:32.0	and his impact on our culture.
	...

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