Dark Sky Twelve

Chris Ballew, the lead singer of the rock band The Presidents of the United States of America and children's entertainer, Caspar Babypants, joins me for the latest episode of DarkSkyTwelve. We discuss being a bonafide rockstar in the 1990s, living and touring with Beck, his philosophy on the perception of reality inherent in children from ages zero to five, artistic pursuits in 2024, and more. We discuss cosmic lullabies, Ram Dass, Alan Watts, and much more in this latest episode. All music featured in the episode is written and performed by Caspar Babypants. Check it out at www.babypantsmusic.com, and see Chris's recent music on all streaming platforms or at Chris Ballew on Bandcamp.com

What is the CampFire Wild Adventure Book Club? It is that thing Josh Parks and I created where we lead UTC students on local hikes / natural adventures and discuss nature writing. All students can join the club! Listen to this episode for the details. The first event is coming up on Thursday afternoon, November 10th. Sign up and read more about it here: https://campfirebookclub.wordpress.com/ Josh is on Instagram @JoshParksGA Jaynes is on Instagram @JaynesUTC

UT Administrator, Educator, Renaissance Man, and all-around interesting character, Dr. David Rausch, joins me for episode 38!    

Jeff "Birddog" Lane joins me for a Music Mythos episode where we discuss his life as a professional musician, what it was like sitting in with Widespread Panic at Radio City Music Hall, and we discuss the good old debate of "Widespread Panic or Phish?" 

As promised, Mysterious Guest is back for two episodes in one week! In this one, she discusses her love for Math and other Mathematically related topics.  All opinions are my own.   Darkskytwelve.com  

This week I'm bringing you a Mysterious Guest double-episode. Here's the first one...next one coming soon. Is a hamburger a sandwich? MG drops some knowledge.

Happy New Year! The DarkSkyTwelve NYE Special features a return appearance of one of our most downloaded guests, the utterly original Justin Nave...Tattoo Artist and owner/operator of Sick Boys Ink in Chattanooga, TN and Dunlap, TN.  One of things we discuss...sweat lodges. Hear his take on them and much more...including the story of how I came to have a human skull in my possession. Happy 2021 everyone, from DarkSkyTwelve!   All opinions are mine and the guest's   Insta/Twitter @ darkskytwelve  

Mysterious Guest comes back for a second episode! We discuss the Nintendo Entertainment System (the NES) and classic games. Which is Mysterious Guest's favorite game?  Check out this episode to find out!  Check us out on Twitter and Instagram @darkskytwelve. All opinions are mine. 

Welcome to the Dark Sky Twelve Christmas Eve Special! Horror Writer, Jessica Ann York, joins me to discuss all manner of spooky things...her career, horror literature, the ghost story at Christmastime tradition, sleep paralysis, and much more.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all from DarkSkyTwelve! All opinions are my own and the guest's.  See our info and links at DarkSkyTwelve Big new things coming in the New Year...starting with the New Year Eve special on...well, NYE! See you back here for NYE/DS12. 

12/18/20: Just a quick bit for new listeners to let you know what to expect if you listen to this podcast! DarkSkyTwelve started in September of 2019 as The Lunar Podcast with Mike...now it is a small indie podcast with a new name and a small team of three...no one is getting paid...we do this because we love it.  Big Christmas Night Special Coming soon followed by another huge New Year's Eve special...stay updated on Insta...the show's main social media.   Check out our Instagram Page Check out out Twitter page Visit our website

We cover a lot of territory in this one...teaching...UFOs...Lovecraftian Horror...the Fermi Paradox and the Drake Equation...and much more. Andrew Najberg is a poet and creative writing teacher at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has a new book coming out (The goats have taken over the barracks / Finishing Line Press / 2021). Pre-order his book at Finishing Line Press!   Follow on Instagram   As always, all opinions are my own.

1. We are now officially DarkSkyTwelve! I explain the rebranding in the first bit of this episode. From here on, no more TLP...DS12 is our new secret agency!  2. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, this episode features me discussing the possibility of extra-terrestrial intelligent live (I know...this is becoming a theme!) with a six year old fan of the show who called in to talk with me! 3. Thanks for listening! There is much more headed your way here at DarkSkyTwelve...releasing episodes all winter.  4. I'm also getting on a more regular schedule. So, starting tonight, episodes release every Saturday night. I hope you make some time for Dark Sky Saturdays!    Visit the show!: Website: www.DarkSkyTwelve.com  Feel free to leave a comment! Show idea? Like the new name? I'll see them and respond. Insta @darkskytwelve.com  

[NOTE: This was the final episode recorded when the name of the show was "The Lunar Podcast." Now it is "Dark Sky Twelve."]   François Gabart is the guest for tonight's episode, and he holds the record for sailing around the world solo (42 days 16 hours 40 minutes and 35 seconds. He was sailing singlehanded in the 30 metre Trimaran Macif). Not many people can claim that...well, one can...in the entire world! The celebrated Vendée Globe race is underway right now, and he won the 2012-13 Edition of the race, setting a new race record in the process. I caught up with him in France earlier this year for a phone interview. He was kind enough to call in to the show and talk to our students about the challenges and successes of his world-class career...and what it takes to pursue a wild dream with passion and determination...especially when things get difficult.     NOTE: our international phone connection was problematic at times, so there are some audio issues with this episode. AND: this was recorded in Spring of 2020. The file was corrupted and just recently salvaged. I am very happy to be able to release this episode; however, there are some small missing areas that results in some awkward transitions here and there.  However, I hope you enjoy our conversation! Visit his website at http://www.francoisgabart.com/  He is also on Instagram @francoisgabart

[NOTE: this was recorded when the show was named "The Lunar Podcast." It is now "Dark Sky Twelve"] instagram @darkskytwelve twitter@darkskytwelve Answering some questions from listeners including: Best Starfleet Captain? / Mayo or Miracle Whip? / Have I ever been addicted to any drug? / which holidays do I like and not like? / do I go to church? / who is scarier: Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft? And more! And, as always, stay safe out there and be well!

[NOTE: this was recorded when the show was named "The Lunar Podcast." It is now "Dark Sky Twelve"] instagram @darkskytwelve twitter@darkskytwelve I often get questions about paranormal / cosmic topics due to the name of the podcast being "The Lunar Podcast." I understand that, and...after all...I am very much interested in those topics. In fact, The Lunar Podcast will be expanding deeper into paranormal topics in January 2021, when full production resumes. Because why not?  In this episode, I explore the topic of extra-terrestrial intelligence on a clear Thanksgiving night. This episode was TLP's first live episode, and while it was a learning experience...it was a great time! Josh from Two Likeable Guys...another Podbean show...called in and it was great to get his perspective on "the" cosmic question...are we alone in the universe?  Check out my guest's podcast at www.twolikeableguys.com   

A mysterious guest helps me test some new tech. And she talks about cooking. [NOTE: this was recorded when the show was named "The Lunar Podcast." It is now "Dark Sky Twelve"] instagram @darkskytwelve twitter@darkskytwelve

[NOTE: this was recorded when the show was named "The Lunar Podcast." It is now "Dark Sky Twelve"] instagram @darkskytwelve twitter@darkskytwelve Full episodes with guests coming soon... in the meantime... Check the show out on Instagram at Instagram.com/darkskytwelve Let me know if you’re still out there by going to the Insta page and dropping a mysterious emoji or two. I’ll respond in kind, and then we’ll meet up in the future at a Dark Sky Twelve Live Show...it will be great! Stay safe out there! Peace, Love, and moonlight.

[NOTE: this was recorded when the show was named "The Lunar Podcast." It is now "Dark Sky Twelve"] instagram @darkskytwelve twitter@darkskytwelve   Yep. It's true...I'm back! To get you primed for new episodes, I am releasing this long-lost episode. It was recorded back in April of 2020, so you'll notice some date discrepancies here and there. It's a brief, weird little journey that landed in the cutting room floor back in April. Finally, be safe out there tonight...stay vigilant and well!   ABOUT EPISODE 21 For some time, a significant amount of The Lunar Podcast's listeners have been asking me to post an episode where I simply read a story. Alas, your wait is over. In this solo-cast, I read passages from Annie Dillard's book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.  That's it; story time with m. Wishing you safety, peace, and happiness, wherever you are under the moon tonight. -m

[NOTE: this was recorded when the show was named "The Lunar Podcast." It is now "Dark Sky Twelve"] instagram @darkskytwelve twitter@darkskytwelve   Greetings to all! Now I've had two actual church officials on The Lunar Podcast: who knew? Beth Sullivan is the Associate Pastor of Burk's United Methodist Church in Hixson, Tennessee. She is a Hixson native and an Elder in the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. Beth has an undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She attended Candler School of Theology and received her Masters of Divinity in 2012. Beth called in to the Moon Studio in March of 2020, and we proceeded to discuss all manner of things under the moon happening during these odd and trying times.  Stay safe out there, wherever you are.

[NOTE: this was recorded when the show was named "The Lunar Podcast." It is now "Dark Sky Twelve"] instagram @darkskytwelve twitter@darkskytwelve   Animal Wonders was founded by Jessi Knudsen Castañeda and Augusto Castañeda in August 2008 to fulfill their dream of sharing the wonders of wildlife with the public. The animal center is nestled in the forest outside of Missoula, Montana. The animals who are currently residing at Animal Wonders share the breathtaking scenery and natural surroundings of Western Montana. Most of the animal residents were displaced from their homes and adopted by Animal Wonders. Some were donated by zoos, and others were illegally owned and needed to be placed with Animal Wonders. The Animal Wonders YouTube channel is growing, and Jessi could be considered a YouTuber by most any metric. 200k+ subscribers with some videos having more than 2.5m views.  I was pleased to have Jessi call into the Moon Studios on the February's Full Moon to discuss what she is up to, how big YouTube is to their mission, and of course... Kemosabe! Animal Wonders web page: www.animalwonders.org YouTube page: Animal Wonders Montana at https://www.youtube.com/user/Anmlwndrs