How do you take a spark of an idea and turn it into something original, finished, and unforgettable? In this conversation, we sit down with some of The World’s most creative people and get geeky about their creative process. The breakthroughs, the failures, the step-by-step hard work that audiences never see. Join Ben Hanlin as he interviews Comedians, Musicians, Writers, Content Creators and asks them, “What’s The Trick?” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Booking probability
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Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchHow do you take a spark of an idea and turn it into something original, finished, and unforgettable? In this conversation, we sit down with some of The World’s most creative people and get geeky about their creative process. The breakthroughs, the failures, the step-by-step hard work that audiences never see.
What's The Trick? is hosted by Ben Hanlin. The show has published 40 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "Grenade Founder: How I Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Everyone Said Would Fail | Al Barratt" (23 October 2026, 72 minutes), "Rob Law (Trunki): How a Dragons Den Failure made Millions" (18 September 2026, 56 minutes), and "Simon Painter: How a Violinist Created Now You See Me Live" (11 September 2026, 63 minutes).
What's The Trick? publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 51 minutes across 40 episodes.
Booking probability for What's The Trick? is 31%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. What's The Trick? requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. What's The Trick?'s contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for What's The Trick? are Artists, Writers & Performers. What's The Trick? has an arts audience.
Ben Hanlin hosts What's The Trick?, an arts show with 40 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Episode #39
How do you turn just £27 into a billion-dollar business? Grenade founder Alan Barratt joins Ben Hanlin to reveal the incredible story behind building one of the UK's most successful nutrition brands. From almost losing...
Episode #37
Dragon’s Den told Rob Law his business was worthless. What happened next turned Trunki into a global success story. Ben Hanlin sits down with Trunki creator Rob Law to uncover how a university design idea became a...
Episode #36
Simon Painter went from an unemployed classical violinist to creating and producing some of the biggest live entertainment shows in the world, including The Illusionists and Now You See Me Live. He joins Ben Hanlin to...
Episode #35
The Summer Social 5 brings together highlights from three incredible guests: America’s Got Talent winner Paul Zerdin, Mischief Theatre co-founder Henry Lewis and The Simpsons & The Office writer Brant Forrester...
Episode #34
Join Ben Hanlin for a special episode of What’s the Trick? as he looks back over the first 30 episodes and revisits three of his personal highlights. Featuring Andy Nyman on creativity and performance, Callie Hart on...
Episode #33
Join Ben for his summer specials series of What’s the Trick? as he looks back on the first 30 conversations. We explore three more of his personal highlights and the unforgettable insights from some of the show’s most...
Episode #32
Ben is back for the summer specials of What’s the Trick? as he looks back on the first 30 conversations. Revisit three more of his personal highlights and the unforgettable insights shared by some of the show’s most...
Episode #31
Join Ben Hanlin for a special episode of What’s the Trick? as he looks back on the first 30 conversations. Revisit three of his personal highlights and the unforgettable insights shared by some of the show’s most...
Episode #30
How a dinner with Joan Rivers led to Cally quitting her big boardroom job and pursuing her passion as a standup comedian, as a single Mum in late forties. She reveals the mindset behind taking big risks, the lessons she...
Episode #29
Brian Conley reveals how he went from performing in clubs and warming up television audiences to becoming one of Britain’s biggest Saturday night entertainers, regularly reaching 15 million viewers. He shares the...
Episode #28
Emmy Award-winning writer Brent Forrester reveals what really happened inside the writers’ rooms of The Simpsons and The Office, from the pressure of pitching jokes to the techniques used to generate unforgettable...
Episode #27
Henry Lewis reveals how a late-night production performed to tiny audiences grew into The Play That Goes Wrong , a West End phenomenon that has now reached more than 50 countries. He shares the persistence, testing...
Episode #26
Paul Zerdin shares the truth about winning America's Got Talent, revealing how 25 years of preparation, relentless refinement and calculated risks led to one of the biggest moments of his career. Sharing the reality of...
Episode #25
In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Derren Brown to explore how to create a psychological hypnosis show. If you want to develop your performing skills, this episode breaks down what...
Episode #24
In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Warrick Brownlow-Pike to explore how to become a professional puppeteer working for Jim Henson and The Muppets. If you want to improve your character...
Episode #24
<p>In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Warrick Brownlow-Pike to explore how to become a professional puppeteer working for Jim Henson and The Muppets.</p><br><p>If you want to improve your...
Episode #23
<p>In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Nadia Casey to explore how to become funny, without being a comedian. </p><br><p>If you want to improve your timing, pace and humour thought...
Episode #22
<p>In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Dominic McGregor to explore how he and Steven Bartlett built Social Chain into a £200 million company.</p><br><p>If you want to understand how...
Episode #21
<p>In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Shoot From The Hip to explore how they turned an improv group in a full time career.</p><br><p>If you want to discover how to make a success improv...
Episode #20
<p>In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Derren Litten to explore how he wrote Benidorm.</p><br><p>If you want to learn how to write your own show and have it commissioned, this episode...
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