BBC Radio 4’s archive hour recently aired an episode called “Masters of the Impossible,” which centers on David Berglas’ impact on magic and the history of early mentalism.
Richard Wiseman was ultimately behind Radio 4 taking on the project—he was working with the company TellTale on his own podcast, and told his colleagues about Berglas. They were intrigued, so much so that they pitched Archive Hour an episode focused on his life. “It’s a challenging commission to get because any topic has to extend for an hour and involve lots of different kinds of recordings for texture,” Wiseman told THE EYE via email. “However, the BBC were very keen right from the start and we eventually got the green lights.”
David Berglas
The first half of “Masters of the Impossible” mentions the telepathic duo, The Piddingtons, the “World’s Greatest Mind Reader,” Maurice Fogel, and “Psycho-Magician,” Chan Canasta. The second half centers on Berglas and includes archival recordings of him performing a Blindfold Drive, among other things.
Magicians interviewed for the piece in- clude Teller, Derren Brown, Andy Nyman, Laura London, Steven Frayne, Chris Wood- ward, and Martin T. Hart. “All of the inteviewees were amazingly generous with their time, and produced lovely and insightful comments about David and mentalism,” said Wiseman.
BBC Radio 4 released the 57-minute episode on April 19, 2025. Listen to the episode:
Photos courtesy of Jim Steinmeyer
