The Adam Buxton Podcast

[thugler]

I live near Norwich (near Buxton actually, have seen him in the supermarket and said hello before). I know a teacher who taught his kids at prep school and I know a kid who goes to school with them now.

Fair enough. I still think it's a bit weird posting personal stuff about him like that.

[Rolf Lundgren]

Brown's always had good intentions with his act. Some stunts work better than others but I've always liked that he's trying to make event television. For example The Push was absolutely brilliant and the level of detail required to set it up and get it right was impressive.

[Ferris]

What was the point of doing a whole telly episode to lie about how he did a trick though? Saying "here's how I did a trick - but ho ho not really!" isn't exactly a great illusion is it? It's neither entertaining (as a magic trick should be) or interesting (as an explanation should be).

I really agree with this - the gambling episode aside (which I reckon was an amazing bit of telly), the David Blaine style "specials" were just... a bit shit.

Ultimately, as an audience member I'm used to people doing trickery on TV. I don't think the production staff of Doctor Who really did get a dinosaur inside a spaceship. Likewise with Derren - "ooooh I'm playing Russian roulette" yeah but are you though? Because it could just be a blank firing pistol with a BFA, or you're just mucking about with lottery numbers via a fake feed, or you've paid actors to pretend to rob a bank or whatever. "Oooh but I didn't do it that way, I did it this way". Still shit and boring, sorry.

If a potential solution is obvious, then the actual explanation is no fun. Could have been done a million ways, who cares how you actually did it? And if I can see an obvious solution, then the whole thing is pointless.

Contrast that to his stage shows, which are genuinely very impressive pieces of showmanship. Always been a weird dichotomy, really. Interesting chap though.

[rasta-spouse]

His great (?) grand da more than makes up for whatever political sympathies Buckles has today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Buxton

So Count Buckules is a baronet. Is that how it works?

I always assumed Baddad just scraped some journo money together and sent his lad to a nice public school. What about Dr Sexy, is he in line for any seat?

[Twit 2]

Fair enough. I still think it's a bit weird posting personal stuff about him like that.

Didn't think of that. Was illustrating the point that he's unlikely to vote for a party that wants to reform the kind of schools he went to and has sent his kids to. But yeah, probably shouldn't have said that.

[The Roofdog]

Reading more, it sounds like the real fuckup was the follow-up "explanation" saying he predicted the numbers through the wisdom of crowds. Fuck off.

I wonder if he just plain didn't understand the wisdom of crowds idea: it's not as if he's from a mathematical field. I reckon he read a couple of articles, liked the idea for a TV show, and understood the maths enough to hang himself without realising it has fuck all to do with predicting the lottery.

[Phil_A]

His great (?) grand da more than makes up for whatever political sympathies Buckles has today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Buxton

I'm confused, I thought from what Adam's said his dad was born to relatively poor parents(both in service at a big house) and thus always strove to be appear more middle class than he really was. It doesn't sound like he had any kind of noble lineage.

[rasta-spouse]

I'm confused, I thought from what Adam's said his dad was born to relatively poor parents(both in service at a big house) and thus always strove to be appear more middle class than he really was.

This was my takeaway too, he talked about how his dad was a journo and he didn't grow up rich. Quite recently mentioned this I think.

[Ferris]

This was my takeaway too, he talked about how his dad was a journo and he didn't grow up rich. Quite recently mentioned this I think.

I mean, he went to Westminster school so he was hardly Oliver Twist.

Edit: oh, you mean Buxton Sr. Ok, disregard my point above.

[Sin Agog]

I'm confused, I thought from what Adam's said his dad was born to relatively poor parents(both in service at a big house) and thus always strove to be appear more middle class than he really was. It doesn't sound like he had any kind of noble lineage.

:D

[rasta-spouse]

Ah, a prankster?

[Sin Agog]

Are not pranksters really the most sage and useful teachers of all?

No.  No, they are not.

Just knew about this Noel Buxton geezer from some place or other, and by gum I wasn't going to let the one opportunity in my life to bring him up slip through my fingers.

Dunno about Adam, but I get the vibe Joe may be a casual Labour guy.  It's usually the more irascible types whose early rebellious instincts survive the rightward erosion from starting a family.  Loved hearing what a giant On Cinema head he was in that Films to be Buried With pod, by the way. Ta for the link!

[rasta-spouse]

Have to say I fell for it. Even though there was no mention of baddad or Count Buckules on the wiki page which really should have tipped me off.

And good for you knowing about obscure early 20th century politicians. A pet interest?

I mean, he went to Westminster school so he was hardly Oliver Twist.

I see your point, there's a certain swagger to posh lads that make them seem minted, but there can still be quite a wealth disparity between people at public school even somewhere like Westminster. Some pupils have parents in middle-class jobs who are really busting their ass (or involved in a scholarship scheme), others could have a family seat near St Andrews and massive inherited wealth. But this class conversation is making me sweat dude...

[marquis_de_sad]

I wonder if he just plain didn't understand the wisdom of crowds idea: it's not as if he's from a mathematical field. I reckon he read a couple of articles, liked the idea for a TV show, and understood the maths enough to hang himself without realising it has fuck all to do with predicting the lottery.

He didn't seem that clued up on psychology, as the Stanford Prison "Experiment" is total bullshit. He probably just gloms onto ideas that he can work his magic around. Fair enough, really.

[Wet Blanket]

Sometimes Buckles will make reference to the 'hard kids' when he was at school which always makes me laugh.

[Chollis]

like Cedric Diggory

[Thomas]

Re: Derren. In the 1800s, magicians got by pretending to be magic. In the 21st century they get by pretending to be psychological. I'm sure that in a hundred years they'll do behind-the-scenes specials chalking their coin tricks up to quantum physics. Same sleight of hand, updated 'in-character' explanation.

The thing is, Brown mixes his messages.

I haven't seen much of his stuff, but I remember being really impressed by his episode on gambling, where he convinced someone he had found a way to predict which horse would win at the races. He ends the episode by revealing that actually he had thousands of people gamble using his various predictions, and of course statistically one of them was going to win every time - the woman in the episode. This is a brilliant demonstration of how human beings are bad at understanding numbers and probabilities, and was entertaining, informative and intellectually honest all at once. It really stayed with me.

In the lottery one, he purports to do a similar thing. He "reveals" that he predicted the numbers using a similar-sounding method of statistics and randomness. But it was actually bollocks. I think that's misleading, especially in the context of his other stunts.

I like Derren, and I think he's a brilliant performer, but I don't enjoy this blurring of lines between his really good documentary stuff (examining rip-off psychics and healers, for example) and his flexibly 'in-character' trick explanations (i.e.the NLP days and the absurd Lottery how-dunnit). Ultimately makes for an untrustworthy mix when it's all presented in the same 'it's all psychology' docutone.

Actually I reckon he probably is magic and the cod-psychological explanations are an elaborate triple bluff.

[Old Gold Tooth]

Actually I reckon he probably is magic and the cod-psychological explanations are an elaborate triple bluff.

Dodds would agree. Bit off-topic but his continuing fear/suspicion of Derren Brown in the Parapod always makes me smile.

[Noodle Lizard]

Derren's a weird one, because the things I do like and admire about him are also the reason I dislike so much of what he does now. He rightfully spoke out against psychics, self-help gurus, faith healers etc., and continues to do so to an extent, but he really did end up doing the essentially same thing as them, just on TV and with a huge budget. I'm speaking mostly about those recent specials, these "experiments", especially the recent Netflix one where he makes a racist not so racist anymore, which is some of the worst, most dishonest TV I've ever seen. And the "it's magic, of course it's dishonest!" excuse really doesn't work when all pretense of it being a magic show has completely gone. Something else entirely, and it's shit.

Weirdly though, his "anti-self-help self-help book" Happy was pretty good. Basically just a distillation of stoicism and Epicureanism and all that, but well-written and effectively presented for a contemporary audience. And of course his actual magic skills are incredibly impressive, which makes it even more of a shame that he hardly even uses them anymore except for his live shows (which range from extremely good to pretty fucking tedious, and they ran out of material a long time ago). Still, Mind Control and Trick Of The Mind are excellent magic shows, as were a couple of his earlier specials (Messiah, Seance etc.), and his very early Devil's Picturebook tutorial DVD is essential for any magician.

Wish he'd drop the saccharine, sensationalist bollocks, but I suppose that's where the money is now.

[DrGreggles]

Dodds would agree. Bit off-topic but his continuing fear/suspicion of Derren Brown in the Parapod always makes me smile.

[Ham Bap]

Derren's a weird one, because the things I do like and admire about him are also the reason I dislike so much of what he does now. He rightfully spoke out against psychics, self-help gurus, faith healers etc., and continues to do so to an extent, but he really did end up doing the essentially same thing as them, just on TV and with a huge budget. I'm speaking mostly about those recent specials, these "experiments", especially the recent Netflix one where he makes a racist not so racist anymore, which is some of the worst, most dishonest TV I've ever seen. And the "it's magic, of course it's dishonest!" excuse really doesn't work when all pretense of it being a magic show has completely gone. Something else entirely, and it's shit.

Weirdly though, his "anti-self-help self-help book" Happy was pretty good. Basically just a distillation of stoicism and Epicureanism and all that, but well-written and effectively presented for a contemporary audience. And of course his actual magic skills are incredibly impressive, which makes it even more of a shame that he hardly even uses them anymore except for his live shows (which range from extremely good to pretty fucking tedious, and they ran out of material a long time ago). Still, Mind Control and Trick Of The Mind are excellent magic shows, as were a couple of his earlier specials (Messiah, Seance etc.), and his very early Devil's Picturebook tutorial DVD is essential for any magician.

Wish he'd drop the saccharine, sensationalist bollocks, but I suppose that's where the money is now.

Yeah i think Netflix drives a truckload of money to him for those specials. Difficult for any mere mortal to turn down.

[Noodle Lizard]

And Channel 4 before them. To be fair, this "bad streak" has been going on for over a decade now, in my opinion.

I think a lot of what made TV Derren good in those early days had to do with the people behind him. Credit goes to Andrew O'Connor, Andy Nyman, Anthony Owen and even Michael Vine among others - all people with a genuine passion for magic, and mostly practitioners themselves to various extents. With most of those people not involved anymore, he's basically just another TV "personality".

Still, this interview was fine, even if it's pretty much the same as every other interview he's given over the past year or two.

[Harpo Speaks]

It's one of the three annoying things Brett Goldstein does on his film podcast

Going to give this a go, though I'm only familiar with him via his role as Merchant Navy in Derek. I see there's a Ricky Gervais episode in the back catalogue, so here's hoping for some more magic (of the kindness variety).

[Pranet]

Is the problem with DB on the tv, and the reason why he doesn't really do magic on the tv now, is that there are not really that many ways to do magic and you soon run out of ways to make them seem interesting and new on telly.

[Pranet]

Dodds would agree. Bit off-topic but his continuing fear/suspicion of Derren Brown in the Parapod always makes me smile.

Years ago I had an internet argument which got quite heated with someone who was convinced that David Blaine actually has magic powers.

[Glyn]

I have an irrational hatred of two passions combining so Nicky Wire popping up on this is bound to lead to disappointment

[marquis_de_sad]

I have an irrational hatred of two passions combining

The incel motto.

[Glyn]

The incel motto.

Manics fans are a far worse bunch.

Bit odd that Buckles had sat on both this and the Derren Brown one for so long but I guess they're both a bit niche as guests go.

[MigraineBoy]

Manics fans are a far worse bunch.

Bit odd that Buckles had sat on both this and the Derren Brown one for so long but I guess they're both a bit niche as guests go.

You don't think a human rights lawyer is far more niche than a man who's had Number One albums?

I'd say it's more that when the chat is very general & not tied to the guest having a book/tv/album it's much easier to let that one slip to the bottom of the pile.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

You don't think a human rights lawyer is far more niche than a man who's had Number One albums?

I'd say it's more that when the chat is very general & not tied to the guest having a book/tv/album it's much easier to let that one slip to the bottom of the pile.

Yep, it's a sensible scheduling approach. Derren Brown is a big star, a world-renowned magic man, and Nicky Wire, as you say, is a member of a hugely successful band. They didn't discuss anything topical, not really, so it makes sense for Buckles to release these episodes at staggered intervals: interesting 'serious' person you've never heard of followed by musician/actor/comedian/author you're aware of, but maybe don't know much about, followed by, oh crikey, it's Chris Morris, Derren Brown and Nicky Wire!

The latest episode is enjoyable, yer Wire is a good, amusing egg. One of the things I've always liked about the Manics is that, for a band renowned for expressing splenetic political fury and harrowing existential angst, they never come across as remotely po-faced during interviews.