Hermitix

Felix John Taylor, librarian and scholar of Welsh mythology with a PhD, wrote a richly illustrated cultural history of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He explores why creative writers joined, the Order’s ritual spaces and graded teachings, the roles of figures like Yeats, Crowley and Florence Farr, and how occult networks and art shaped a wider revival.

Vincent Lê, philosopher and author of Unknown Lands, unpacks Nick Land, the CCRU, and accelerationist thought. He traces Land’s Warwick theatrics, his split between early libidinal materialism and later techno-occult turns, and the provocative idea of capitalism acting like an autonomous intelligence. Short, sharp conversation on theory, ritual, and the future of humans in a machinic world.

A review explores a raw, truck-stop world and an unnamed cross-dressing narrator's longings. Supporting figures Glad and La Loop shape a small, mythic community. The episode traces the book's publication, the later revelation about its authorship, and how that shifted readers' views. Sensuous Southern-Gothic language and a theme of sacred longing run throughout the discussion.

A lively birthday Q&A covers Jung and Klages links, Barry Long recommendations, and tricky niche topics like Aztec metaphysics. He talks religion, near‑death memory, and personal metaphysics including 'I am' and time. Practical habits come up: phone addiction, daily routines, and breathwork. There are reflections on money, crowdsourced cultural figures, writing pen names, and plans for a Jung course and school.

Bob Dobbs, renegade McLuhan scholar and longtime Frank Zappa archivist, shares vivid recollections and rare anecdotes. He explores Zappa’s improvisational reinventions, multimedia Project/Object ideas, xenocrony and synchronicity, lyrical instrumentation as sonic texture, and Zappa’s role as an anthropologist of media. The conversation ranges from bootlegs and live tactility to playful anti-doctrine messages.

A brisk review of Jed McKenna’s controversial take on spiritual enlightenment. They map his autolysis method and blunt, memoir-style teaching. Discussion covers the dream state, death as the undoing of the self, and a provocative reading of Moby Dick. They also probe the social cost of waking and McKenna’s shift toward a compassionate reframe.

Christopher John Müller, a senior lecturer and translator of Günther Anders, introduces Anders' collage-like prose and translation choices. He discusses Promethean shame from household devices, how technology creates a separate, oppressive reality, and Anders' reading of the bomb as concentrated technological power. Short, sharp conversations about cosification, media templates, and why humans feel obsolete in a tech-shaped world.

James Reich, novelist and research psychologist known for work on Wilhelm Reich, brings sharp, provocative takes. He explores Reich's link between sexual repression and mass politics. Short, focused conversations unpack somatic armoring, the leader-mass sadomasochistic bond, scapegoating, and why certain social classes tilt toward authoritarian movements.

A preview of Jungian shadow work and what the shadow actually contains. Exploration of how social conditioning and persona formation push parts of the self underground. Practical signs of projection and exercises to notice triggers. Discussion of integrating disowned potentials, risks like inflation, and how recovery of suppressed energy affects relationships and creativity.

Philip Pilkington, macroeconomist and author, discusses the decline of global liberalism and its roots in anti-hierarchical thought. He explores how economics became liberalism’s language, the geopolitical shifts accelerating the collapse, demographic and care crises, and policy ideas like family support and trade-bank reforms. Short, provocative takes on civilization, freedom, and near-term risks.