# Houdini Defies Death

An episode of [HISTORY This Week](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1493453604), 19 Jan 2026, 26 min.

Audio: https://pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/v9Uiw3bGr54f6BVZKSyc/pscrb.fm/rss/p/serve.castfire.com/audio/8247195/8247195_2026-04-14-055935.192.mp3?rssID=6398

January 25, 1908. Harry Houdini is the most famous magician in America. He’s known for his escapes – from handcuffs, boxes, jail cells, even a giant football. But the escape act is getting old, and ticket sales aren’t what they used to be. And on this day, an under-capacity audience at the Columbia Theater in St. Louis is about to witness Houdini’s most dangerous escape yet… from death itself. How did a Hungarian immigrant named Erik Weisz become Harry Houdini? And when his career was fading, how did Houdini embrace death to bring it back to life? Special thanks to our guest, Joe Posnanski, author of The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini. Additional thanks to San Diego magician Tom Interval for providing archival audio of Houdini. ** This episode originally aired Jan 25, 2021. Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com Follow on Instagram: @historythisweek Follow on Facebook: HISTORY This Week Podcast To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com

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