reading" trick, wherein he receives intimate details  about his marks via a small radio, loosely follows the exploits of  televangelist Peter Popoff, who performed a very similar trick with  his wife at the microphone. Popoffs career took a nosedive when he  was publicly "outed" on the Johnny Carson show by professional  magician and skeptic James Randi, who had managed to smuggle a radio  scanner into one of Popoffs revival meetings.