Rune Soup

This week, in an ever so slightly delayed show, we have an ever so slightly brilliant guest, Dr Amba J Sepie. I first encountered Dr Sepie’s work in Damned Facts, which is a Charles-Fort inspired collection of essays by academics who are exploring or confronting the broadly Fortean, edited by another previous guest, Dr Jack Hunter. We talk about navigating the academy's shortcomings, better ways of thinking with the broadly paranormal and participating in indigenous modes in a non-appropriative way. Show Notes Dr Sepie's article, More than Stories, More than Myths. (pdf download.) Amba on Facebook.

Two solo shows in a row? Why, yes. This is technically the September one if you don't look at a calendar. But it is also a wild ramble through the politics, poetics and metaphysics of walking in public and private spaces. Dedicated with big love to the premium members who are officially embarking on the Q3 Course: Magical Geography and Spirits of Place. Show Notes Skewing the Picture - China Miéville

The August solo show! In the lead-up to the Q3 premium member course on Magical Geography, this month we explore the notion of near and far places, cold places, and imaginal places. Colonial ghosts, Antarctica and Ursula Le Guin ahead. Enjoy.

This week we welcome to the show permaculture designer and theorist, Dan Palmer. Dan is the host of the podcast, Making Permaculture Stronger, where he facilitates fascinating discussions on what’s right and what’s wrong with permaculture and where it might be headed next. And the tl;dr is that what’s wrong with permaculture is, in the main, what’s wrong with everything else. So we have a great discussion on the theory of design in general, the shortcomings of western categorisations and their dualist implications and, somewhat improbably, merging with a chicken. It’s a truly fantastic chat. Enjoy. Show Notes Making Permaculture Stronger Living Design Process

This week, we speak to James Sullivan. James is a fellow podcaster and -more importantly- a fellow fan of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series. So these books form the through-line for a wide ranging discussion on the state of modern philosophy, theories of mind, the role of fantasy fiction and what might be called subversive, anarcho-pacifist self-transformation. Great stuff.   Show Notes James the Giant Podcast James on Twitter James on Facebook 

This week, we are speaking with Kenric McDowell. Kenric is a musician, public speaker, and AI curator for Google Research. We discuss AI, inevitably, but not from either a lurid ‘the world is ending’ way or from a 'techno-utopian jibber jabber' way. Instead we look at what the implications of AI are for personhood, a theory of technology and its appropriateness, and whether we’re teaching AI to think or AI is teaching us to. Very, very good times. Show Notes Kenric's website Kenric on Twitter Google's Artists and Machine Intelligence Programme Kenric's Gray Area presentation

As promised, and just in time, here's the July solo show. It was gonna be too annoying to have dropped a week for mere illness after 136 episodes delivered rain, hail, or shine in five countries, on boats, in hotel rooms, and so on. So! The broken run has been mended with a Mars Retrograde ghost story. Enjoy.

This week, we welcome the one and only Richard Dolan to the show. As you’re very likely aware, Richard is the author and publisher of many books in the UFO field, as well as a radio host, trained historian and gifted public speaker. We actually met out in the central Australian desert in May of this year and had the opportunity to chat about what’s right and what’s wrong with the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH). For those of you who are unaware, ETH is the model for UFO phenomena that asserts that a majority or possibly all cases -credible ones, at least- are best explained as encounters with beings from other planets… rather than, say, extra dimensional, demonic, spiritual, earth-based or under-earth entities that predate mankind and all the other non-ETH hypotheses. Anyway, splendid stuff.   Show Notes Richard Dolan Press Richard Dolan Members Richard on Youtube Richard on Twitter

Another solo show this week, inspired in part by Douglas Rushkoff's recent article on the grimness of the billionaire future. We play around with notions of technology and personhood and agency and morality and AI. Also hobbits. Enjoy.

This week, we welcome back to the show my good friend, Conner Habib. Writer, sex worker, activist, Anthroposophist and host of Against Everyone with Conner Habib. And the topics under discussion are how desire destroys materialism and what a cosmic or fully haunted activism might look like. Show Notes Against Everyone with Conner Habib. AEWCH Episode exploring how desire destroys materialism. Conner on Twitter.

This week we have one of my favourite discussions of the entire year. Joining us is Dr Diana Walsh Pasulka. Diana is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion. She is a specialist in Catholic history with a particular emphasis on the saints. Her current research sits in that really compelling intersection between psi, UFOs, technology and religion. We talk saintly powers, Marian apparitions, UFOs, Vatican archives, Jacques Vallée and all that top shelf stuff. So, so good. Show Notes Diana's website and Blog, American Cosmic American Cosmic on Facebook Diana's Academia Page Diana's interview with Jacques Vallée

In honour of a very special anniversary and in light of a new biographical series, Paul Weston returns to the show to regale us with his strange angelic blend of history, synchromystic analysis and personal adventure. Rockets, redheads, dianetics, Beat poets and the Babalon Working. It's all in this week's episode.  Show Notes Paul's website and blog Paul's Babalon Working presentation

This week sees the return of one of the show's most popular and only recurring episodes, our half-yearly catch-up with Austin Coppock. Yes, we are halfway through 2018 but is the dumpster halfway through burning or is it just about to hit some highly flammable medical waste? Let's find out. SHOW NOTES Austin's website. Austin's latest book, The Celestial Art. Austin on Twitter. Austin on Facebook.

This week we welcome to the show Sinéad Spearing. Sinéad is the author of the recently released Old English Medical Remedies. She joins us to talk about extracting ravens' eyes, the myriad uses of gall, hag attacks, the Nine Herbs Charm and many more of our favourite things. Great stuff. Show Notes Old English Medical Remedies. (US.) (UK.) Sinéad's website. Sinéad on Twitter.

This week, Gary Lachman returns to the show to discuss his two latest books, Lost Knowledge of the Imagination and Dark Star Rising. In this wide-ranging chat we cover the Socratic Turn, how the west abandoned the imagination, how we might recover it and what happens in world politics if we pretend it isn't there. Very good stuff. Show Notes Lost Knowledge of the Imagination Dark Star Rising Gary's website Gary on Twitter Gary on Facebook

This week it is my extra special pleasure to be speaking with one of the co-originators of permaculture itself, David Holmgren. David is an author, educator, designer, activist and permaculturalist (obviously) with many decades experience. He joins us today to talk about his fantastic new project and accompanying book, Retrosuburbia, the details for which you will find in the show notes. Extremely good times. Show Notes Retrosuburbia website. Buy the Book: US, UK, AU Retrosuburbia on Facebook: Page, Group. Holmgren Design on Twitter. Note: There is extra material for this episode at the post page on runesoup.com

This month's solo show is my impressions and observations from spending last week out in the desert with a group of amazing people. It covers Aboriginal star lore, Songlines, the Dreaming and how we can think with and derive inspiration from indigenous lifeways. There are a bunch of photos from the trip on the post page at runesoup.com. Enjoy! Show Notes Photo Gallery of APY Lands The Tale of the Seven Sisters

This week, Dr Jack Hunter makes his return to the show. Jack is the author and/or editor of Talking With The Spirits, Strange Dimensions, Why People Believe in Spirits, Gods and Magic, Damned Facts and the recently published Engaging The Anomalous. He joins us for a fascinating chat about spirits, anthropology, ecology, animism, the limits of our modern frames in coming to terms with all these notions and a surprising detour into the state of permaculture. Enjoy. Show Notes Jack's latest book, Engaging the Anomalous. US. UK. Jack's website. One School, One Planet. Paranthropology Journal.

Something of a special episode this week. Julio Ody returns to the show for a vigorous discussion of the best depictions of spirits and the spirit world from a practitioner perspective on film and television. We spent the past week throwing titles back and forth to each other, compiling the list, striking some names and adding others. I had to break out my old DVD collection from storage and then find some way to actually play them. (There is at least one good thing about the modern world: the demise of DVDs with their auto-playing trailers, copyright warnings and animated menus.) Some of the category winners may surprise you almost as much as the exclusions. Great fun. Enjoy. Show Notes Announcement for Julio's new book, Magister Officiorum. Julio's Blog, Crossing Sun. Julio on Twitter.

This week we welcome Jason Louv to the show. Jason is an occultist, author and journalist. He joins us today to talk about his latest book, John Dee and the Empire of Angels. Along the way we cover the prevalence of magic in Elizabethan England, the influence of Enochian on the story of western ritual magic and the role of the extradimensional in world politics. Great stuff.  Show Notes John Dee and the Empire of Angels Jason's website Jason on Twitter Magick.me