Magic Tricks with Larry Wilmore | StarTalk

Anytime I interview somebody, no matter who they are, I want to know if they have some hidden geek credentials. Almost everybody does; they just don't admit to it in any other interview because they don't get any street cred for doing so. But on Star Talk, that's where the street cred is found. So I had to check with Larry Wilmore to see what he had. Let's check it out.

"Do you count yourself a member of the geek community?"

"I am, but in different ways that might surprise you."

"Really? Mhm. So give me an example."

"Like, I'm a magician. I do sleight of hand magic. Magicians do know how to demythologize and demystify in the same way that someone of your scientists would."

"That's what I'm saying, because you have information that most people don't have."

"Right, on purpose."

"Correct, withheld from exactly."

"And, in fact, that's one of the famous edicts from Arthur C. Clarke."

"There you go!"

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

"That's exactly right. A lot of early magic was technology, and a lot of techniques that magicians used in the early days came from things like mirrors or techniques. Good, I mean, that's an important— that's really important geek cred."

"Exactly! Thank you very much."

"Totally there. I always, to prove it, carry a deck of cards. I always, always have a deck of cards."

"This proves the geek?"

"Is a legit deck."

"Yeah, it's an old deck. It's all beaten up."

"That's what any magician would say."

"Yeah, it's a regular deck."

"It is. But, yeah, I always have these with me because, you know, I'm always maybe practicing that kind of stuff."

"Well, that's nice. That's good. That's good."

"Let me show you the one I did. I got one here. Okay, so I learned how to cut with one hand."

"Nice."

"No, do that."

"Y—very good."

"Oh, very. That's called a Charlie cut, by the way."

"Charlie, uh-huh. That's what it's called."

"I'll show you a different version of that too. I don't know if the camera can simulate—"

"Yeah, they got you covered from here."

"See, if you cover like that, you know, that's the six of hearts, and you lift like that, so it becomes the Joker."

"I don't know how it's done."

"You know—oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what happened? Something happened there. But that Joker, when you take it back and you just spin around, that becomes a six."

"So, I don't know! Cards just change like this."

"Yeah, just on you. You have no idea—it’s not like I understand."

"I don't know how it works. So, there you go—another way to cut all that kind of stuff. Here's a fun way to cut too. That's a good one-handed cut."

"Oh, there! Yeah, that's what they do at the poker table, you know. 'Cause those guys that flip the chips—"

"You don't want to do this stuff at the poker table, by the way. It's how you're going to get sh—sh."