The Jinx is packed with brilliant ideas for mystery performers—but finding what still works (and how to use it today) takes time.
The Jinx Navigator Podcast does that work for you.
Each episode explores a classic issue or source from magic and mentalism, uncovering standout effects, theory, and creative thinking—and then reimagining them for modern performers and audiences. This isn’t about preserving history for nostalgia’s sake; it’s about extracting usable ideas and turning them into practical, contemporary presentations.
If you care about strong material, thoughtful performance, and making classic magic feel alive again, this podcast is for you.
Jinx Navigator Podcast — Issue #25, 21st-Century Silks, and More
Issue #25 opens with Annemann falling off a boat at a magician’s picnic and billing the suit to the Jinx expense account. The effects include a flag production with no gimmick, a sleightless ambitious card built around a short card, a coin divination that works because Canadian nickels are magnetic, and a stack-based book test with a built-in out.
Effects Covered
[1:06] 21st Century Silks — Lorne Dubois A flag appears knotted between two ordinary silks with no switch and no sympathetic silk gimmick. One corner of a duplicate flag is prepared to match one silk and rolled tightly inside it — the visible knot at the start is real, just tied around the hidden corner.
[2:14] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann fell overboard at a magician’s picnic and is billing the new suit to the Jinx. He praises the debut issue of The Genie while noting its editor publicly sided against him in the ongoing Gravitt piracy dispute. A substantial section covers nightclub magicians being pressured into unpaid extra work — his advice: refuse it, and you’ll probably keep the job anyway. A Nebraska magic club has removed Blackstone from their membership over his exposure series, a move Annemann clearly approves of.
[4:23] The Modern Eye Popper — Dick Madden A sleightless ambitious card built around a short card that makes every double lift automatic. The selected card keeps returning to the top through multiple visual phases, with one genuine double lift saved for the end.
[5:28] Numus Matagic — Stuart James Five coins — four American nickels and one Canadian — are sealed in envelopes and mixed. The performer identifies the Canadian one every time from behind his back. The secret is genuine physics: Canadian nickels of the era were magnetic. A strong magnet under the coat does the detecting. Jay notes the comments at jinxnavigator.com (http://jinxnavigator.com) list which years the Canadian nickels were actually magnetic.
[6:47] Letters — Theodore Annemann Period correspondence from the era — at jinxnavigator.com (http://jinxnavigator.com) under Issue #25.
[7:02] The Word on the Page — Theodore Annemann A stack-based book test using the 1415 stack. Four cards lifted from anywhere in the spread always produce one of only two possible words, and Annemann’s handling includes a verbal out — starting to spell one word and smoothly switching to the other backwards if the first turns out wrong.
[8:20] Cards in the Cases — John Braun and Theodore Annemann Two stacked decks, never crossing hands. The performer places a card at a position in the blue deck before the helper selects from the red — and the card at that position in the blue deck matches exactly. The performer never touches the deck the helper selects from.
[9:50] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #26 — featuring R.M. Jamison’s Here or There.
31 Aug 2026
Jinx Navigator Podcast — Issue #24, Miraskill, and More
Issue #24 is a strong one — Stuart James contributes two effects including Jay's personal favorite, Annemann's Think It Over column returns with a long run of practical performance advice, and the issue closes with a two-person card match that hinges on a fan the helper thinks they can see through but can't.
Effects Covered
[1:05] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Blackstone has wrapped seven weeks of exposure columns without exposing a single trick from his own act — Annemann repeats his standing dare. Also: a con man's trick with a roll of bills, and practical advice on what to do when a spectator catches you mid-trick (don't walk away).
[3:14] Miraskill — Stuart James This one is Jay's personal favorite. A shuffled borrowed deck sorted by color pairs produces two piles whose difference the performer predicted — then a second shuffle produces piles of equal size, also predicted. The deck does the work; the only move is quietly removing a few cards before the first phase and secretly returning them before the second.
[4:56] Think It Over — Theodore Annemann Drop the clichéd opening line. Vary your handling between effects. Ten minutes of daily mirror practice beats ten magicians' opinions. Never borrow something you could easily carry. Don't needle your helpers for laughs at their expense. Buy the best materials you can afford — cheap materials cap the performance.
[6:29] Business Cards — Theodore Annemann Period magicians' business cards — at jinxnavigator.com (http://jinxnavigator.com) under Issue #24.
[6:36] The Candy King — Stuart James The Mirror Skill principle adapted for a children's show, using candy kisses in red and white wrappers instead of playing cards. The prediction of who wins and by how many is revealed on the inside of the paper bag — or a cardboard crown, if you prefer.
[7:49] A Mental Test Revamped — Herbert Hood A refinement of Annemann's torn-newspaper billet method from Issue #6, moved to a deck of cards. The helper merely thinks of a card, writes it on a slip, the slip is torn and burned — and the correct card is produced. No impressions, no switches, no gimmicked paper.
[8:47] The Reticent Queen — Newton Hall A helper writes a deceased person's name on a card. The Queen of Hearts is supposed to relay it — but keeps failing, needing privacy, needing the helper to place the card herself — until finally the name comes through. The earlier failures are covering the glimpse. Jay's note: please come up with a presentation other than "who's your favorite dead person?"
[10:11] Climax — Henry Christ A helper thinks of a card from a fanned deck — convinced they saw the whole spread, they actually only saw one card. That card is forced on a second helper across the room who stops a riffle at random. The two match. Annemann calls it startling in front of a decent-sized audience.
[11:28] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #25 — featuring Lorne de Blois's 21st Century Silks.
24 Aug 2026
Jinx Navigator Podcast - Issue #23; Daley's Death Divination, and More
Issue #23 delivers calendar math, a complete pocket act built around a pencil, a 25-minute mentalism program assembled from earlier Jinx effects, an odd-backed card that keeps switching decks without anyone claiming to do a trick, and a touch-based divination that's been sitting in Annemann's notebook since 1928 with no author attached.
Effects Covered
[1:13] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann sketches a complete impromptu pocket act built around a single pencil, goes after a dealer whose second encyclopedia is more up to date in its plagiarism than the first, and closes with a verdict on collaborative magic shows: doomed by ego.
[3:18] Calendar Conjuring — Tom Sellers Three effects built on the fixed mathematical relationships in a calendar grid — name four dates from the total, work out nine from the highest and lowest, derive three from a row total. Annemann suggests stringing them into a complete routine and closing with a torn and restored page.
[4:28] A Mental Club Act — Theodore Annemann A complete 25-minute mentalism program built from seven previously published Jinx effects, all pocketable except a small slate, sequenced for clubs, lodges, and banquets.
[5:49] What the H — Vincent Lynch Not a trick — a piece of business where an odd-backed Ace of Spades keeps switching between two decks, presented as a puzzling personal observation rather than a formal effect. Lynch argues the lack of a trick frame makes it land harder.
[6:51] Dr. Daley's Death Divination — Dr. Jacob Daley A living-and-dead test with flash paper, aimed at convincing a genuine skeptic. Jay suggests flipping the premise so the living names burn and the dead one survives — proof they live on in memory.
[8:19] The Touch That Tells — Unknown The performer touches cards in a 4x4 grid while a helper plays cards from behind their back one at a time — and at the exact moment the helper plays their last, the performer's finger lands on a card whose value matches the number secretly pocketed. Annemann has had this since 1928 with no idea who originated it.
[9:28] Last Minute News — Theodore Annemann Two losses in the magic community, a new club forming in Syracuse, and a dry observation that Harry Blackstone's weekly exposure column is careful never to expose anything from Blackstone's own act.
[10:23] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #24 — featuring Stuart James's Mirror Skill, one of Jay's personal favorites.
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