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Nobody who is a Penn & Teller fan thinks of us first and foremost as magicians, but as a comedy team.

I'm a big Penn & Teller fan. But I myself was never very good; I was a teenage magician who performed at kids' parties. I can still perform a vanish, credibly, and I still, in special circumstances, will make a balloon animal.

People do not come to a Penn & Teller show to see a magic show. They just don't. They come to see weird stuff that they can see no place else, that will make them laugh and make the little hairs stand up on the backs of their necks.

I never really was much of a practical jokester or anything.

The thing is, comedy's gone in a weird direction. People are really into ironic comedy and fakeness and cleverness.

Penn & Teller don't know jack about global warming.

They don't make you pay for the humor. It's up and down, but they're trying to give you as many laughs as possible in 2 minutes. They are the most honest comedians ever.

I'm terrible at practical jokes. I do them too well, so they're not funny. I end up saying, 'Oh, no, I'm joking, I'm joking.'

Whatever happened to a good pie-in-the-face joke?

Comedians don't laugh. They're too busy analyzing why it's funny or not.