Scamapalooza 63: The Little Golden Calf with Maya Vinokour

WORDS
“This author knows the world of scams and scammers... these books are not just entertaining, they are educational into the bargain”
– Australian Crime Fiction
It isn’t sleight of hand or smoke and mirrors that I make my living with – it’s words.
As well as performing and speaking, I am also the author of two best-selling books, with my latest book due out in mid 2020. I also have a popular blog, Scamopedia, and a podcast, Scamapalooza.

My new novel will be out in 2020 (Pan Macmillan). For younger readers, it’s a memoir about growing up as a magician (that’s also a pack of lies).

“A sparkling debut about con artists on the make and on the lam… both entertaining and insightful.”
– The Age

“Johnson has dealt us an excellent hand, at once exciting and intriguing, with a sprinkling of wry humour.”
– Sydney Morning Herald




- 1 min
Scamapalooza 62: Corporate Bullshit with Ian McCarthy


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 61 - Card Counting with Steven Bridges


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 60 - The Shell Game with Nick Stein


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 59 - The Music Man with Em Chandler


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 58: Deepak Chopra's Bullshit with Gordon Pennycook


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 56 - Performing Deception with Brian Rappert


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 55: Science Magic with Dr Matt Pritchard


- 2 min
Why you can't teach critical thinking


- 1 min
Deceptology with State Library Victoria


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 54: Hocus Pocus Practice Focus with Amy Kimlat


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 53: Card Shark with Nicolaï Troshinsky


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 52 - The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit


- 2 min
Don't Be Fooled by ChatGPT: The Dangers of Talking to Machines


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 51 - Harry Potter and The Cursed Child with Lee Cohen


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 50 - Bro-Science and The Liver King with Dr Vyom Sharma


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 9 – An Angry Word About Puzzles with Magician David Kwong


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 36 – Alien Autopsy Part 1 with Spyros Melaris


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 48 – Card Counting With Dale Sadler

- 13 min
Every con artist movie I watched to write my first novel


- 3 min
The worst kept secret in card cheating history


- 1 min
Scamapalooza 47 - The Truth About Lie Detectors with Dr Celine Van Golde


- 2 min
An evening with Penn & Teller

- 2 min
How to fool a magician with reality

- 1 min
How to bend a spoon with the power of your mind


- 1 min
The Best Illusion Of The Year


- 2 min
Does learning magic make you creative?


- 1 min
Science Gallery Melbourne

- 2 min
The Life-Change Science of Detecting Bullshit

- 2 min
Scientists did magic tricks for birds and here's what they learnt.


- 2 min
Why the hell do these snakes move?


- 1 min
George Washington's teeth and the backfire effect


- 4 min
The magician I hate most in the world


- 4 min
The man who invented bunkum


- 2 min
The scientific secret behind carnival scams


- 2 min
What the hell even IS critical thinking?


- 1 min
Do scientists go to heaven?


- 2 min
I accidentally turned my studio into an Escher painting


- 2 min
What my seven-year-old taught me about scams.


- 1 min
Six mind-bending furniture illusions


- 2 min
Five books for critical thinking with kindness


- 1 min
Creative thinking or critical thinking?


- 3 min
Who invented the colour blue?


- 1 min
The Best Illusion Of The Year Contest


- 2 min
How optical illusions may help diagnose autism


- 1 min
Learn anything with The Feynman Technique


- 2 min
Teachers can't make their students think critically (but that's ok)


- 6 min
How to play three card monte

- 3 min
How to rig a coin toss


- 1 min
Sleight Night