Richard Wiseman+

HOUDINI AND MYSTERY OF THE VANISHING BOOTS

This substack is a mixture of psychology, magic, paranormal and speaking stuff.

1000 free jokes and a personal look at LaughLab

I’ve conducted lots of strange research over the years, but one project always sparks the most questions: My quest for the world’s funniest joke.

A free magic walking tour!

Lots of people will be heading up to the Edinburgh Festivals, and so I thought that it would be fun to put together a free, self-guided, magical tour of the city.

How to talk: 7 quick tips

I have spent most of my career giving talks.

Paranormal research and a free book!

Feeling the future

Why science needs the strange

I have just returned from Buffalo, where I attended a conference hosted by the brilliant Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In one session I interviewed science writer Mary Roach about her wonderful books and in another I gave a talk about the power of paranormal research. While mainstream scientists often dismiss such work as fringe, my talk highlighted how investigating weird stuff frequently drives scientific breakthroughs. Here are a couple of examples….

The Science of Ghosts

A pioneer of paranormal activity!

The Green Dot Trick: Top tips for your first Powerpoint slide

While many speakers focus entirely on the content of a talk, I put lots of effort into my slides.

How your name influences your life.....

The Guardian had just run a fun piece arguing that the recent UK elections contain a striking alphabet effect.

FRESH FISH SOLD HERE TODAY

The "£1000 per word" rule

It's puzzle time!

First, a big hello to all of my new subscribers!

So young we didn't know it couldn't be done

The psychology of optimism

Is Your Life Moving Too Fast?

Studying the pace of life

GIVE YOURSELF THE PERFECT PEP TALK

Here is a quick and easy way of boosting your motivation….

A Secret to Great Performances and Presentations

I recently ran a session at the University of Hertfordshire on the 7 factors that I believe underpin an impactful presentation.

The science of sleep and dreaming

A huge hello to all of our new subscribers - nice to have you with us as we explore psychology, magic, the paranormal, and other quirky stuff.

The greatest ever self-help book

I am a huge fan of Dale Carnegie and mention him in pretty much every interview I give.

A poodle impersonator, the magician who was cremated twice and a demon ventriloquist!

It’s time for some obscure magic and music hall history.

Ten tips for New Year's Resolutions!

First, a huge thank you to everyone who came to the special performance of The World’s Most Boring Card Trick at Edinburgh’s Magic Fest.

Christmas cracker jokes!

I am staging a one-off performance of the World’s Most Boring Card Trick at Magic Fest in Edinburgh on the 27th December.

An amazing and magical story

First, a quick announcement - I will be presenting a special, one-off, performance of The World’s Most Boring Card Trick at the Edinburgh MagicFest this year.

Celebrating Tony Cornell - paranormal pioneer

Last weekend I was at the 48th Annual Conference of the Society for Psychical Research.

Magic, Ego and FISM

A few months ago, I was invited to present a series of events at FISM — often referred to as the Olympics of Magic.

The terrifying and wonderful world of music hall

I am a big fan of music hall and variety.

The World's Most Boring Card Trick

I am going to perform a new show at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival called ‘The World’s Most Boring Card Trick.’

How the paranormal is ahead of the curve

Around 2010, psychologists started to think about how some of their findings might be the result of several problems with their methods, such as not publishing experiments with chance results, failing to report all of their data, carrying out multiple analyses, and so on.

Harry Marvello Lives!

I am a big fan of magic history and a few years ago I started to investigate the life and work of a remarkable Scottish conjurer called Harry Marvello.

Celebrating S. J. Davey

I have recently carried out some detective work into one of my favourite paranormal studies.

The Little Brown Box

For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt

Science Magic: Irène Joliot-Curie

I hope you enjoy our new series of Science Magic. With thanks to The Royal Society of Chemistry https://www.rsc.org/

Science Magic: Robert Boyle

I hope you enjoy our new series of Science Magic. With thanks to The Royal Society of Chemistry https://www.rsc.org/

Science Magic: C V Raman

For more information about Raman spectroscopy, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raman_spectroscopy I hope you enjoy our new series of Science Magic. With thanks to The Royal Society of Chemistry https://www.rsc.org/

Pop-up magic

For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt

The Magic Of The Moon Landings

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shoot-Moon-Richard-Wiseman/dp/1787474453 https://www.amazon.com/Moonshot-Landing-Collaboration-Creativity-Mind-set-ebook/dp/B07KNTD5SD http://drhoustoun.co.uk Music: Cameron Watt

Launching a book into space!

Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shoot-Moon-Richard-Wiseman/dp/1787474437 Sent Into Space: https://sentintospace.com Creative consultant: https://www.helenkeen.com Music: Cameron Watt

10 Amazing Memory Hacks

For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt The presenter and producers not responsible for any adverse effects resulting from the use of the information presented in this video.

An amazing bet you will (almost) always win

For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt The presenter and producers not responsible for any adverse effects resulting from the use of the information presented in this video.

7 amazing bets you will always win (NEW!)

For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt The presenter and producers not responsible for any adverse effects resulting from the use of the information presented in this video.

The Magic Cards

For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt

The Mysterious Glass

For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt

Speed Reading

For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt

7 amazing optical illusions

For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt

NEW! 10 Amazing Bets That You Will Always Win (Ep 16)

With special thanks to Mitch for the 'knocking down the wall' bet! For more information about my work, visit https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/ Music by Cameron Watt The presenter and producers not responsible for any adverse effects resulting from the use of the information presented in this video.