Whereas you have someone like Houdini, who works really, really hard to get really, really famous, and then has actual intellectual ideas that he puts into the culture that stay there.

I don't travel in circles where people say, 'I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith.' That's just a long-winded religious way to say 'Shut up.'

Direct confrontation, direct conversation is real respect. And it's amazing how many people get that.

The highest ideals are human intelligence, creativity and love. Respect these above all.

Magic is the Special Olympics of entertainment.

A lot of people, to attack an outspoken atheist, one of the things they'll do is say, 'You are as bad as the fundamentalist Christians.' And my answer is always, 'I hope so.'

I intend to do the Penn & Teller show until they pry my cheesy magic wand from my cold dead fingers.