Continuing our series exploring the vampire, the ever-popular figure and symbol against which we can define our own humanity. Today we will be looking at a sample of the literary vampire treatments before Dracula, and particularly the ways in w

History of the Vampire: the body and the blood in metaphor and society

Feb 13th, 2024 29m 9s

Continuing our series exploring the vampire, the ever-popular figure and symbol against which we can define our own humanity. Looking today at the myriad of religious, social and political associations around blood and the body in the Age of En

History of the Vampire: historic vampire cases and their reception

Jan 29th, 2024 27m 48s

Continuing out series exploring the vampire, the ever-popular figure and symbol against which we can define our own humanity. Looking today at some of the most famous and influential historic 'vampire' cases and panics, as well as the discourse

History of the Vampire: origin of the word 'vampire' and folkloric bloodsuckers

Jan 15th, 2024 22m 32s

Back with a new series exploring the vampire, the ever-popular figure and symbol against which we can define our own humanity. We will be beginning by attempting to find the origin of the word 'vampire' as well as exploring some of the folklore

Artificial Intelligence: How do we measure 'human level' AI? Is 'talking' like a human enough?

Aug 1st, 2023 24m 57s

Starting a new series on AI or Artificial Intelligence by beginning to question how we measure for 'human level' or general Artificial Intelligence. Does simply 'talking' or responding like a human imply understanding and therefore machine inte

'Reality Shifting': a kind of 'digital spirituality', a New Religious Movement, or a cult?

Jun 14th, 2023 34m 55s

Concluding our series discussing the phenomenon of Reality Shifting, a practice part spirituality, part supernatural, and rising to prominence in the perfect storm of covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns and the rise of TikTok. We have discussed

'Reality Shifting': as a form of Maladaptive Daydreaming, or as a viral mental health crisis

May 15th, 2023 37m 57s

Continuing our discussion (still) on the phenomenon of Reality Shifting with a question of where it falls on the spectrum between 'normal' imaginative escape, and something more damaging. Exploring a related (and seemingly overlapping) phenomen

'Reality Shifting': as an evolved form of Tulpamancy, or as a symptom of the post-covid mental health pandemic

May 5th, 2023 30m 14s

Continuing our discussion on the phenomenon of Reality Shifting by exploring some of the potential psychological underpinnings of an emergent practice. Can we view Reality Shifting as an evolved form of Tulpamancy and explore it from the same p

‘Reality Shifting’: shifting symptoms and scripting for a shift

Apr 4th, 2023 52m 22s

Continuing our discussion on the phenomenon of Reality Shifting by looking at some of the ‘symptoms’ that may indicate being close to, or achieving a shift, as well as a deeper look at ‘scripting’ for shifting. What are the kinds of thing peopl

‘Reality Shifting’: shifting techniques and supporting behaviours

Mar 15th, 2023 36m 28s

Continuing our discussion on the phenomenon of Reality Shifting by looking at some shifting techniques, certain behaviours and habits thought to enhance the brains innate ability to shift, and some of the overlap between shifting practices and

‘Reality Shifting’: the offered scientific proofs for the TikTok phenomenon

Mar 6th, 2023 36m

We are beginning a new series today on the topic of ‘reality shifting’, RS or simply ‘shifting’. It is a method of transferring one’s consciousness to a desired reality in the multiverse. This is a method used by mostly teens to try to transpor

History of Witchcraft: Wicca and witchcraft post Salem

Feb 11th, 2023 34m 4s

Rounding out (for now) our exploration of the history of witchcraft with a look at New Religious movement and esoteric order Wicca as well as the unfortunate truth that witchcraft accusations persist into the current day…

History of Witchcraft: the New England witch craze of Salem, Massachusetts

Jan 17th, 2023 45m 40s

Continuing our discussion on the witch and witch hunt throughout time by exploring the witch in colonial New England. What was crucial to Salem, Massachusetts that resulted in one of the most ferocious witch hunts in modern history? We will be

History of Witchcraft: the New England witch craze before Salem

Jan 9th, 2023 32m 24s

Continuing our discussion on the witch and witch hunt throughout time by exploring the witch in colonial New England. What transformed the satanic witch as it existed in Europe into demonic witch conspiracy of Salem? What influences fanned the

History of Witchcraft: the European witch trials

Dec 14th, 2022 44m 30s

Deeping our discussion on the satanic witch panic by exploring a few influential European witch trials. Witch trials from their inception have a startling level of uniformity, aspects of even the earliest organised trials would be echoed in lat

History of Witchcraft: the 'persecuting society' and the creation of the satanic witch

Nov 23rd, 2022 36m 13s

Continuing our series on witchcraft by exploring the transformation which took the idea of the 'witch', a magical practitioner with varying cultural contexts and qualities, and turned it into an archetype of a person capable of being hunted...

History of Witchcraft: the creation of the 'witch' archetype

Nov 5th, 2022 31m 18s

Continuing our series on witchcraft, by taking a deeper look at what social and literary ideas merged to form the idea of the 'witch'. We also begin to answer the question of why the idea of the witch came into being at this time, if, as some

History of Witchcraft: a brief overview

Oct 9th, 2022 38m 17s

Back with a new season, we are beginning a new series exploring the history of witchcraft, with a particular focus on the vulnerable women whose treatment by society at large informed the kinds of magic they were often accused of. We will be co

Intro to Cryptozoology: the UAP connection and the vanishing 'frontier' of science and the mind

Sep 14th, 2022 40m 25s

Concluding (for now) a lengthy series exploring the various things Bigfoot, Sasquatch and related creatures mean to various peoples and in various contexts. Today, rounding out our investigation with a look at the overlap between Bigfoot and UF

Intro to Cryptozoology: the Sasquatch-like creatures of Native American & First Nations oral history

Aug 29th, 2022 51m 40s

Continuing a two-part series on the oral history and legends of Sasquatch-like creatures. Following on from a look at the context around how the stories reach non-indigenous peoples, and looking at some more specific creatures and the many many

Intro to Cryptozoology: ‘Monsters of the frontier’, Native American Legends transformed

Aug 22nd, 2022 39m 16s

Continuing a series on Cryptozoology by looking at the changing context in which Native American and First Nations legends were re-interpreted by European audiences. Exploring some of the ways in which the personhood of Sasquatch-like encounter

Intro to Cryptozoology: Illusion, delusion, hallucination or hoax, potential encounter explanations

Aug 9th, 2022 50m 36s

Continuing a series on Cryptozoology by looking at an overview of some of the potential explanations for the Bigfoot/Sasquatch encounter experience. Are they some form of hallucination, a simple hoax, or some other animal encounter misinterpret

Intro to Cryptozoology: Potential hoaxes and the responses to them

Jul 31st, 2022 47m 14s

Continuing a series on Cryptozoology by looking at a selection of the more notable hoaxes that dogged the community from day one. Ultimately though, many hoaxes turn out to be as hard to prove as hoaxes as they do the real deal…Bibliography c

Intro to Cryptozoology: The Pacific Northwest research effort and the career of Grover Krantz

Jul 24th, 2022 47m 53s

Continuing a series on Cryptozoology by exploring the second wave of ‘anomalous primate’ research, and how it delineated itself and reacted to the expedition’s that came before them. Exploring a few of the reactions to the ‘Yeti Hunting’ craze

Intro to Cryptozoology: Yeti hunting, the early study of anomalous primates

Jul 9th, 2022 33m 40s

Continuing a series on Cryptozoology by beginning to explore the various contexts in which bipedal hominids are studied, starting with the Western Yeti craze of the 1950s and the tensions and motivations that informed the foundation the Pacific