Oz Pearlman's Life Story is UNREAL - The Art of Mentalism | Miss Understood #373
4/28/202659 min
Before he was standing next to the President of the United States at the most chaotic White House Correspondents' Dinner in history — Oz Pearlman sat down with Rachel in 2023 and told her everything.
In this throwback episode, Rachel sits down with Oz Pearlman, the mentalist who just took the world by storm at the 2026 WHCD, for an intimate conversation you won't find anywhere else. Oz opens up about growing up as the twin who survived, how losing his other half at birth shaped the man he became, and how a magician on a bar mitzvah cruise changed the entire trajectory of his life.
From teaching himself magic in his bedroom in Michigan, to quitting Wall Street after a CEO told him he had no business being there, to becoming the most talked-about mentalist in America — this is the origin story the world is now desperate to know.
And yes — he reads Rachel's mind live on mic. And it will make your jaw drop.
If you're just discovering Oz Pearlman, start here. This is where it all began.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsRachel Uchitel· Host0:00
[upbeat music] So, you, we were just talking about your name.
Oz Pearlman· Guest0:34
Yeah.
Rachel Uchitel· Host0:34
You go by Oz- That's- ... and people, I think, would say Oz all the time.
Oz Pearlman· Guest0:38
Right.
Rachel Uchitel· Host0:38
How'd you get that name?
Oz Pearlman· Guest0:38
It's an Israeli name, so it means brave and strong in Hebrew. So in Israel, it's not as weird of a name or pronunciation.
Rachel Uchitel· Host0:44
Ah.
Oz Pearlman· Guest0:44
But here, first off, now I'm kinda like, you know, a mentalist and a magician, so you're leaning into the Wizard of Oz thing, so I have so many things going against me.
Rachel Uchitel· Host0:52
Right.
Oz Pearlman· Guest0:52
It, it makes sense for it to be Oz.
Rachel Uchitel· Host0:53
Yeah.
Oz Pearlman· Guest0:54
Uh, I was born, my mom could only have twins.
Rachel Uchitel· Host0:56
Hm.
Oz Pearlman· Guest0:56
Some very strange condition, so I have twin sisters. I was a twin, but my twin died at birth.
Rachel Uchitel· Host1:01
Wow.
Oz Pearlman· Guest1:01
Which I found out later in life. She actually didn't tell me for a while. But, um, what was interesting is, 'cause I was gonna have a totally different name, but since I survived, they changed my name to be, it means, like brave and strong.
Rachel Uchitel· Host1:12
Wow.
Oz Pearlman· Guest1:12
So that's, that was the name.
Rachel Uchitel· Host1:13
That's unbelievable.
Oz Pearlman· Guest1:14
Yeah.
Rachel Uchitel· Host1:15
Was it a twin boy or girl?
Oz Pearlman· Guest1:16
Twin boy.
Rachel Uchitel· Host1:17
Wow.
Oz Pearlman· Guest1:17
And I always, this is the weirdest thing, 'cause I, I am not a psychic. It's not like supernatural what I do. It's a s- skill that you can learn, but I always had this intuitive thing forever when I was a kid that I kept saying, "I have a twin. I have a twin," and it freaked out my parents.