Our inner lives do matter, more than ever, in this moment. But how do they matter, and how can we offer them up to the tasks of our time? And what if some of us get those inner conditions properly oriented to the spiritual work of the world we're in, but most people don't? Will any of it make a difference? To discuss this, I welcomed author and tea…

Friends, In the wake of Donald Trump’s second election win, amongst those who didn’t vote for him at least, calls for mourning and grieving have been issued all around. The idea being that something has been lost, that it may be irretrievable, that a brokenness must be felt and that we should honor that feeling. But what if instead of making room t…

I talk with Faroese songwriter and performer Eivør about music, water, The Faroe Islands, and myth!

I talk with authors/teachers/organizers DEAN SPADE (Mutual Aid) & SHULI BRANSON (Practical Anarchism) about how to get out of the mindset of the state as the election approaches, and how to think about creative and real engagement with the political instead.

On the heels of the release of their first album in 20 years (!) I talk with Karate frontman GEOFF FARINA about music as a conversation with ideas, and how music creates a lens for life.

Michaelmas is the esoteric christian celebration of the Archangel Michael. How can connecting with the impulses of the holiday show us how to co-share their burden of those who are suffering; strengthen love through our will; and leave the path of empowering violence?

Why is white magic so ill-defined? And why is it vital for our spirituality today AND if the occult is going to continue to matter? This is the second episode in a two part series on white magic, and on this one, I strive towards a definition by giving seven points.

Why is white magic so ill-defined? And why is it vital for our spirituality today AND if the occult is going to continue to matter? I begin this short series of episodes by looking at Saint Brendan the Navigator and how his seven-year voyage from Ireland to North America, as well as my encounters with him, can help us understand what white magic is…

Part two in a two part series on figuring out - from a spiritual rather than materialist starting point - how to live in our moment.

Part one in a short series on figuring out - from a spiritual rather than materialist starting point - how to live in our moment.

Friends, How does music become meaningful? How does it become meaning? And what can we learn about reality from music without reducing music to its function? Rudolf Steiner said “The music of the spheres is a reality. As soon as we come into the spiritual world which lies beyond the soul-world, we are in a world which lives altogether in sound and …

Why is transforming time the most urgent task? I examine this through the works of Jean Gebser, Rudolf Steiner, Byron Katie, Jeff Vandermeer, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emmanuel Swedenborg, and more.

I talk with legendary experimental pop musician and philosopher TOM KRELL, AKA, How To Dress Well, about art, spirt, and connecting with each other in the vast distances between us.

Hope is dead. Long live hope! Whereas once hope was simply an audacious wish that we turned over to representatives of power, hope now can be a radical act through which we erode power. But how? How do we leverage hope to help us direct and engage rather than simply wish and spectate? To investigate this, I asked one of the most exciting and influe…

“The study of movement is a science of the imperceptible...” In the final episode of my series on scientific concepts, I talk with historian of science and culture, Janina Wellmann, about the mystery of motion, movement, and stillness.

I talk with author of The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World and Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self, Andrea Wulf about the meeting point of science and art... and why it matters so much. Episode six in my series on how science intersects with our lives!…

I talk with Predrag Slijepčevic, biologist and author of Biocivilisations: A New Look at the Science of Life about the radical potential of biology and symbiosis! This is the fifth episode in my series on how scientific concepts intersect with our lives.

I do a deep dive on the work of scientist, psychoanalyst, Marxist, and criminal, Wilhelm Reich... both on my own and with Dr. James Strick. It's a whole episode examining Reich's theories and experiments, as part of my series of episodes on how science intersects with our daily lives!

I talk with cultural theorist and nature philosopher ERICA BERRY, author of Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell about Fear. This is the third episode in a series of episodes about how science and scientific concepts intersect with our lives!

I talk with wildlife biologist and the co-host of my favorite podcast, Tooth & Claw, about what happens when animals attack people, and why it makes for such a good story. The second episode in my series of episodes on how science and scientific concepts intersect with our lives.

In the first episode in a series of episodes about how scientific concepts intersect with our lives in surprising ways, I talk with author of In Light Years There's No Hurry, Marjolijn van Heemstra about the way that conceptualizing space differently can heal and transform us in the face of the challenges that confront us today.…

On this challenging episode, I talk with author and psychoanalyst Avgi Saketopoulou about how to reframe what trauma is, and how to think beyond consent.

On Thursday, March 28, myself and journalist & organizer UNA MULLALLY, presented the event THE BEGINNING IS NEAR in Dublin, where we talked about the end of the world and what comes after that. It marked in person with frequent AEWCH guests, philosopher and activist SREĆKO HORVAT, and cultural critic and writer MARK O'CONNELL. The event marked Sreć…

On this personal, spiritual, and worldly episode, I talk with spiritual teacher and writer Lisa Romero - using events in my own life - about how turning point in our lives, and our relationships, can offer opportunities to help the world's development... if we work through them properly.

I talk with novelist, essayist, playwright, and organizer Sarah Schulman about bringing utopianism and reform together in the political and cultural realms.

I talk with journalist, activist, and artist Una Mullally about what happens after collapse and how we can learn to draw strength from the destruction of who we once were.

After a short break, we're back - and AEWCH 228 guest SHULI BRANSON returns to discuss anarchism, spirituality, and peace. This is a special crossposted episode with Shuli's excellent new podcast, The Breakup Theory!

I talk with author of BIG FICTION: HOW CONGLOMERATION CHANGED THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY AND AMERICAN LITERATURE, Dan Sinykin, about how the aesthetics of what we read is shaped by big business decisions.

I talk with fantasy and horror novelist Sarah Maria Griffin about what it takes - and what it takes from you - to be a working writer.

I talk with Rev. Jonah Evans about what "spiritual work" is, how it differs from other kinds of work, how it differs from spiritual practice, and why we probably can't just call everything spiritual work.

Friends, Leftists and progressives more broadly are becoming increasingly aware of the lie of "loving what you do." And we're also becoming more aware of the ways corporations try to ameliorate real reflection and demands for higher wages via "perks" like organic cereal dispensers and "funny hat day" and other forms of glitzy dross. But conversatio…

Why would anyone start a podcast? Doesn't everyone have a podcast? Is podcast work actually work? Is there a spiritual aspect to podcasting? (And also, why do we all have to work, even with all this crazy stuff going on in the world?)

Is peace possible? If so, is it possible or even okay to find it in a time of extreme conflict and violence? Is it ethical to work towards your personal goals in a time of crisis? I look at this from a spiritual perspective on the first episode of the year.

Happy Holidays, friends! Track List Elk River by Ben Chasney/Six Organs of Admittance from AEWCH 45 • Boomer Class by Dick Diver • What Have I Done by Anna Ternheim (live) • Sudden by Jeb Havens • The Speeding Train by The Van Pelt • The Land of Spirit and Light (Part 3) by Michael White • Galway Girl by Daoiri Farrell with Geoff Kinsella and Robbi…

I talk with visionary artist and front person of Lungfish, musician Daniel Higgs about friendship, perceiving spiritual beings in a spiritual landscape, the way a presence appears in the middle of a concert, and the role trust plays in relationship and creating art.

Political philosopher of empires and subversions, Michael Hardt returns to the show to discuss how to walk on water when we're drowning.

I went to the island of Vís in Croatia to talk with visionary philosopher, author, and organizer Srećko Horvat about living a good life in the midst of madness, and his new project (with Bifo Berardi and Pamela Anderson), the Island School of Social Autonomy.

I talk with Lisa Romero about the esoteric answer to the question of our time: What is to be done?

I invite my favorite Norwegian occultist acupuncturist veterinarian, Are Thoresen, back on the show to encounter materialism and see where it falls short. Time, space, physics, animal communication, healing... nothing is off the table in this episode.

I turn to my favorite money-worker, Pilar Lesko, for a spiritual perspective on quantities, financial integrity, and spiritualizing money beyond "abundance."

I talk with Duncan Barford and Alan Chapman - authors of the Baptist's Head trilogy and co-hosts of the WORP FM spirituality/magick/paranormal podcast - bout misunderstanding magick, spiritual development, and practice...and how to re-connect to destiny and peace.

I talk with scholar and author Mitch Horowitz about why the occult matters in a time of chaos. We talk about the radical possibilities it might offer today, the ethics (and the unethical) of esotericism, and more.

To cap off my episodes on music, here's a mix tape for you of some of my favorite songs and some stories about them, too. It includes rarities, songs you might not know, live performances, and more. TRACK LIST Persevere by Dave Le'Aupepe/Gang of Youths (live/acoustic) from AEWCH 31 Purple Haze by Ris Paul Ric from Purple Haze Before You Go by Sarah…

I talk with my favorite live singer, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, about earworms, songs we sing at home, the power of singing, and more in the third episode in my series of eps on musicians talking about music.

In the second episode in my series talking about music with musicians, Ian Lynch (LANKUM + FIRE DRAW NEAR podcast) and I discuss how traditional Irish music pulls from the earth and horror and rebellion to vitalize itself and its listeners, both boozy and sobered.

Kicking off my series of episodes talking about music in our lives and world with musicians is prolific musical artist Will Oldham AKA Bonnie "Prince" Billy!

Concluding my series on HORROR, I talk about horror's offerings to the world - which go much deeper than most people (even horror scholars!) suggest.

In the fourth of my episodes on horror, I talk with new horror star CJ Leede (Maeve Fly) and seasoned master Paul Tremblay (The Cabin at the End of the World, The Beast You Are) about the burdens and pleasures of writing such dark material.

In the third episode on HORROR, I talk with two award winning horror authors - John Langan (The Fisherman) and Sophie White (Where I End) - about the way horror inheres in places and in the bodies of everyone we know!

In this second episode on a series on horror, I talk with masters of the genre Sara Gran (Come Closer, The Book of the Most Precious Substance) and Nathan Ballingrud (North American Lake Monsters, The Strange) about creating forceful and frightening art, the fear of not knowing the truth (and the fear of investigating), why horror films scare us in…