Pop Apocalypse

In Pop Apocalypse, Ep. 19, we welcome author and musician, Gary Lachman, to the show. Lachman was the original bassist for the seminal new wave band, Blondie. He later became an intellectual historian; to date, Lachman has published twenty-six books, most recently a memoir, Touched by the Presence: From Blondie’s Bowery and Rock and Roll to Magic and the Occult (Inner Traditions, 2025). In this wide-ranging chat (3:01), we discuss how Lachman’s reading of comics and Lovecraft inspired a lifelong interest in the occult, his early days in Blondie, and how he came to Crowleyan magick. Then we turn to Lachman’s time practicing “The Work” of Gurdjieff, his relationship with the author Colin Wilson, and how keeping a dream journal can change our view of the nature of time.Gary Lachman BioGary Lachman is an author and lecturer on consciousness, counterculture, and the Western esoteric tradition. His works include Dark Star Rising (Tarcher, 2018), Beyond the Robot (TarcherPerigee, 2016), and The Secret Teachers of the Western World (Tarcher, 2015). A founding member of the rock band Blondie, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. He lives in London.Gary Lachman's webpageTouched by the Presence: From Blondie's Bowery and Rock and Roll to Magic and the OccultCSWR EVENTSCharles Stang and Sarah Schorr, "Thoreau's Solar and Lunar Philosophy."Jane Hirschfield: A Reading.

In Pop Apocalypse, Ep. 18, we welcome theologian, author, and Episcopal priest Cynthia Bourgeault, whose work combines the Christian contemplative and wisdom traditions, “The Work” of GI Gurdjieff, and the philosophy of Henry Corbin into a lived mystical theology. Throughout the episode (2:38), we explore Cynthia’s religious upbringing and early mystical awakening, her academic training in Medieval sacred drama, and her decision to pursue the priesthood. Then we take a deep dive (14:01) into Bourgeault’s relationship with the practice and theory of The Work, and how she has integrated them into the Christian wisdom tradition. As the interview ends (55:37), Cynthia and I discuss the benefits of a hermit's life, the influence of the Gospel of Thomas, and how contemplative Christianity resonates with the spiritual concerns of many in the early twenty-first century. Watch the episode on YouTubeBio:Cynthia Bourgeault is a modern-day mystic, Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader. She is the author of numerous books, including Eye of the Heart: A Spiritual Journey into the Imaginal Realm(Shambhala, 2020)and The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice (Shambhala, 2016).She divides her time between solitude and sailing the waters around her seaside hermitage in Maine, and a demanding schedule traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative and Wisdom paths.LinksWisdom WaypointsCynthia Bourgeault's SubstackCynthiaBourgeault.orgBourgeault's published books.Jacob Needleman's Lost Christianity.YouTube links to the G.I. Gurdjieff conference at the CSWR (Dec. 2024) 

Do we live inside a Matrix-like simulation? For Episode 17 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome one of the leading theorists behind the simulation hypothesis, Rizwan Virk, to discuss that question. Virk is an entrepreneur, videogame pioneer, and academic author of two major works on simulation theory:The Simulation Hypothesis (Tarcher, 2025) and The Simulated Multiverse (Bayview Books, 2021). In the interview (3:51), we discuss the technologies necessary to make a Matrix-like simulation possible and how close we are to achieving them. Then we turn to the religious and mystical dimensions of simulation theory (29:43), exploring reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, UAPs, angels, and the anthropocentrism and ethical pitfalls of simulation theory.Rizwan Virk bioA graduate of MIT and Stanford University,  Rizwan Virk, PhD, is a successful entrepreneur, video game pioneer, film producer, venture capitalist, professor, and bestselling author of The Simulation Hypothesis (Tarcher, 2025), Wisdom of a Yogi(Bayview Books, 2023), and The Simulated Multiverse (Bayview Books, 2021). Virk’s video games, including Tap Fish and Penny Dreadful: Demimonde, have been played by millions. He is the founder and executive director of Play Labs @ MIT, a video game accelerator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and currently teaches at Arizona State University.Rizwan Virk's HomepagePop Apocalypse linktree

For Episode 16 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome composer, artist, and media theorist Paul Miller. Miller is best known for his music as DJ Spooky, the avant-garde turntableist who has collaborated with artists ranging from Chuck D to Yoko Ono. He has also re-scored classic films, such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and his art has been showcased in exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In this wide-ranging conversation (6:12), we asked Paul to explore the eeriness of life in the digital age. We touch on the perils and possibilities of artificial intelligence, the role of the DJ, Japanese Butoh as a response to nuclear tragedy, re-scoring D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, and how Einstein, science fiction, and Sun Ra have shaped Miller’s work. Paul Miller bioPaul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, is currently at work on two books: one about the impact of algorithms on how we think of storytelling, Digital Fiction for Duke University Press, and The Future of Food, about the impact of AI on how we think of the production of food in the twenty-first century. He was Artist in Residence at Yale University Center for Collaborative Arts and Media (2023-2024). He is a composer, multimedia artist, and writer whose work engages audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. Miller has collaborated with an array of recording artists, including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Metallica, Chuck D from Public Enemy, Steve Reich, and Yoko Ono, among many others. His 2018 album, DJ Spooky Presents: Phantom Dancehall, debuted at No. 3 on Billboard Reggae.Paul Miller linksHomepageSongs of a Dead DreamerJapanese ButohRebirth of a NationRhythm ScienceSound UnboundPop Apocalypse linksLinktreeYouTubeInstagramCSWR landing pageEmail us at popapocalypse@hds.harvard.edu 

For episode 15 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome assistant professor, Fryderyk Kwiatkowski, on to discuss the relationship between ancient Gnostic myth and modern cinema. Fryderyk takes us through the impact European intellectuals 20:29 Carl Jung, Hans Jonas, and Eric Voegelin on popular conceptions of Gnosticism. We then dive into analyses of the Gnostic elements in films 34:34 like the Matrix, Dark City, Truman Show, and more recent cinema like Free Guy, Chappie, and the television series Silo.BIOFryderyk Kwiatkowski is an Assistant at AGH University of Krakow. He earned a joint doctoral degree from the University of Groningen and the Jagiellonian University in 2023 with a thesis entitled Gnosticism in Hollywood: From European Academia to American Popular Culture. His research interests encompass the cultural reception of late antique esoteric traditions, their intersections with discourses on utopias and dystopias, and the (not-so-obvious) intertwinement of popular media, philosophy, and religion. He is currently developing a project on the role of imagination in contemporary technoculture, with a focus on the feedback loops between transhumanism, science fiction, and esotericism. He has published his research in venues such as Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies, CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, Journal of Religion and Film.NOTESFryderyk KwiatkowskiAcademia.eduGnosticism in Hollywood: From European Academia to American Popular Culture"Eric Voegelin and Gnostic Hollywood""How to Attain Liberation from a False World? The Gnostic Myth of Sophia in Dark City."

For episode 14 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome the linguist and philosopher Wouter Kusters. Kusters is the author of Pure Madness (2004) and A Philosophy of Madness (2014), both of which won the Dutch Socrates Award for best philosophy book of the year. We discuss (5:26) how the experience of psychotic thinking challenges and illuminates our notions of language, philosophy, and mysticism. Along the way, we touch on the similarities between mystical and mad experiences, apophatic and psychotic uses of language, the phenomenology of time, and the impact of Kusters’ books on mental health specialists.Wouter Kusters, PhD, is a linguist and philosopher based in the Netherlands. Two of his books received the Dutch Socrates Award for the best and most inspiring philosophy book of the year: Pure Madness (2004) and A Philosophy of Madness (2014). The English version of this latter work was released in 2020 by MIT Press. In 2022, an Arabic version was released, and a Chinese translation is expected this year. Kusters writes on a range of themes in various outlets that explore perennial questions of meaning, madness, mysticism, and language.LINKSWouter Kusters' homepageA Philosophy of Madness

For Episode 13 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome Shannon Taggart, an American photographer, writer, researcher, and curator known for exploring how photography can navigate boundaries between the seen and unseen. Her book, Séance (Fulger Press, 2019), offers hundreds of photographs documenting contemporary Spiritualism across the U.S. and Britain. We discuss (3:26) what sparked Shannon’s interests in Spiritualism, the intersecting histories of photography and Spiritualism, ectoplasm, what inspires people to become mediums, and the techniques she developed for photographing the invisible.Shannon TaggartWebsiteSeánceLily Dale Symposium, 2025CSWR EventsMay 1, 6-8pm EDT: Peripheries Launch Event, Volume 7May 15-17: Thinking with Plants and Fungi Conference

For our 12th episode, we welcome the philosopher, artist, and musician Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix. Haela is best known as the songwriter and singer behind the black metal band, Liturgy, which has released 1 EP and 6 full-length albums. We discuss Haela’s early relationships to Christianity and metal music, the growth of her philosophical interests, and her recent conversion to Orthodox Christianity. In the second part of our chat (42:33), we explore her philosophical system of Transcendental Qabalah and how it informs records such as H.A.Q.Q., Origin of the Alimonies, and 93696.LINKSHaela Ravenna Hunt-HendrixSubstackYouTube Channel"Transcendental Black Metal essay"Liturgy recordsH.A.Q.Q.Origin of the Alimonies93696ReferencesMeditations on the Tarot: A Journey Into Christian HermeticismDeleuze and Guattari, Anti-OedipusSergius Bulgakov, The Sophiology of Death

For Episode 11 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome Jennifer Higgie. Jennifer is the author of several books, including Bedlam, a novel about the artist Richard Dadd; The Mirror and the Palette, a history of women’s self-portraits; and The Other Side: A Story of Women in Art and the Spirit World, a beautiful and personal study of the relationship between spiritual experience and art in the lives of modern women. In this career-spanning chat, Jennifer and I discuss her early career in painting, what inspired her to write Bedlam, and how the art world changed during her time at Frieze magazine. Then we dive into Jennifer’s latest book, The Other Side: A Story of Women in Art and the Spirit World. We discuss the spiritual and artistic lives of women like Georgiana Houghton (20:35), Hilma af Klint (34:06), Ithell Colquhoun (46:09), and Hildegard of Bingen (52:53). Along the way, we touch on topics like fairies, Spiritualism, gardening, Carl Jung, spiritual ecology, Theosophy, ascended masters, angels, and much else.LINKSJennifer HiggieThe Other Side: Women, Art, and the Spirit WorldThe Mirror and the Palette: Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance: 500 Years of Women's Self-PortraitsBedlamOthersGeorgiana Houghton's Evenings at Home in Spiritual SeánceAmy Hale's Ithell Colquhoun: Genius of the Fern Loved GullyJulia Voss's Hilma af Klint: A Biography

For episode 10 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome the musician, composer, and producer Trey Spruance. We discuss (3:42)Trey’s early musical and occult explorations and how reading the philosopher Henry Corbin changed the course of his life. Trey then takes us through the esoteric dimensions of Secret Chiefs 3 (22:59) and how albums like Book M and Book of Horizons are filled with correspondences to Kabbalah, astrology, Hermetic magic, and Pythagorean musicology. Along the way, we touch on Trey’s work with John Zorn and Kronos Quartet, his conversion to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and the afterlives of Saint Cyprian the Mage.LINKSWeb of Mimicry websiteBook MBook of HorizonsBook of Souls: Folio AThe Book Beri'ah, Vol. 10: MalkhutXaphan: Book of Angels, Vol. 9PerichoresisLink to the G.I. Gurdjieff Conference at Harvard Divinity School, Dec 4-5th

For episode nine, we welcome to the show Diana Pasulka, Professor of Religious Studies at UNC – Wilmington. Her books American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology and Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences are both classics in the field of Religion and Technology studies. We discuss how Pasulka’s early work on Catholic purgatory led her to the study of UFOs, the spiritual practices of experiencers, and the role of government (dis)information and popular culture in the rise of UFO religion. On the way, we touch on A.I., revelations, St. Teresa of Avila, sleep paralysis, and the perils and possibilities of new technologies.LINKSDiana Pasulka's Heaven Can Wait: Purgatory in Catholic Devotional and Popular CultureAmerican Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, TechnologyEncounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences"From Purgatory to the UFO Phenomenon: The Catholic Supernatural Goes Galactic"Keith Cantu's Om-gnosis video podcast

For our eighth episode, we welcome the author Eric Wargo to the show. Eric is perhaps the world’s foremost expert on precognition. His most recent book, From Nowhere, examines precognition in its relationship to creativity in the lives of major authors and artists. We discuss the nature of time, dreamwork, memories from the future, and the four-dimensional brain. Along the way, we discuss figures like Virginia Woolf, Philip K. Dick, Andrei Tarkovsky, Sigmund Freud, and the sculptor, Michael Richards.NOTESEric Wargo's work:Blog "The Nightshirt"From Nowhere: Artists, Writers, and the Precognitive ImaginationTime LoopsPrecognitive  Dreamwork and the Long Self: Interpreting Messages from Your FutureAn exhibit of Michael Richards' Sculpture

For episode 7, we welcome the writer and scholar Erik Davis (4:06) to reflect on the journey that led to his new book, BLOTTER: The Untold Story of an Acid Medium. We discuss Erik’s writing for the Village Voice in the early 90s, his breakthrough monograph Techgnosis, and how his home state of California informs his oeuvre. In the second half of the interview, we discuss the academic study of “the weird,” perils and possibilities for the psychedelic renaissance, and how BLOTTER is a love letter to LSD.LINKSBlotter book launch event 4/30Erik's websiteBurning ShoreBlotter: The Untold Story of an Acid MediumTechgnosis: Myth, Magic, and  Mysticism in the Age of InformationHigh Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the SeventiesLed Zeppelin IV 33/13Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern EsotericaVisionary State  

For our sixth episode, we welcome the spirit channel, teacher, and playwright Paul Selig. In this conversation 8:14, we explore Selig’s early career as a playwright and professor, his spiritual awakening during the Harmonic Convergence of 1987, how he cultivated his mediumship abilities, and the twelve books Selig has channeled from “the Guides.” On the way, we explore what happens to Selig in the channeling state and the metaphysics of mind that make these states possible.LINKSPaul Selig's WebsiteSelig, I Am the WordA Course in MiraclesAnn Braude, Radical SpiritsEd. Cathy Gutierrez, Handbook of Spiritualism and ChannelingTaves, Revelatory EventsJane Roberts, Seth Speaks

For episode five of the pod, we are honored to welcome Jeffrey J. Kripal, J. Newton Rayzor Chair of Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. In this career-spanning chat 10:36 we discuss Kripal’s Catholic upbringing, psychoanalysis, and the ecstatic experience in Calcutta that changed the direction of his career. From there, we touch on Jeff’s role at Esalen, historical mystics and paranormal powers, telepathic insects, and how the study of religion and popular culture come together in film, comedy, and music.NOTESPeripheries No. 6 launch eventJeffrey J. Kripal's personal websiteJeffrey Kripal, Mutants and MysticsKripal, The SuperhumanitiesKripal, Authors of the ImpossibleKripal, Kali's ChildKripal, How to Think ImpossiblyThe Archives of the ImpossibleHellier, season 1Hellier, season 2Esalen's Center for Theory and Research

For episode four, we welcome the acclaimed novelist and scholar Victoria Nelson. Nelson is the academic doyen of what is today labeled Occulture Studies. Her first monograph on the supernatural in popular culture, The Secret Life of Puppets (2001), practically willed the field into existence. The follow-up book, Gothicka (2012), theorized shifts in popular culture that we are living through today. In this interview we discuss Victoria’s early life, her first forays into fiction, and explore expressions of what Nelson terms the “repressed supernatural” in androids, vampires, and hyperreal religions.Victoria Nelson is a writer of fiction, criticism, and memoir. Her books include The Secret Life of Puppets, a study of the supernatural grotesque in Western culture that won the Modern Language Association’s Scaglione Prize for Comparative Literary Studies in 2002, and Gothicka, which won the Association of American Publishers PROSE (Professional and Scholarly Excellence)Award in Literature in 2012. A novel, Neighbor George, came out in 2021. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2016 and teaches in Goddard College’s MFA creative writing program. ####Show NotesVictoria Nelson, The Secret Life of PuppetsV. Nelson, GothickaV. Nelson, Neighbor GeorgeBruno Schulz, The Street of Crocodiles and Other StoriesVictoria Nelson on the Weird Studies PodcastStephenie Meyer, The Twilight SagaHarold Bloom, The American ReligionThe website of Paul Selig

For our third episode, we welcome the #1 New York Times best-selling author Whitley Strieber. Whitley discusses his boyhood as a Roman Catholic, the erotic dimensions of alien contact, his lifelong meditative practice, evolving views of the afterlife, and the recent U.S. Congressional testimony concerning Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs).Whitley Strieber is the author of Communion, one of the most iconic books in the literature of the unexplained and the bestselling nonfiction book on UFO-related subjects in history. His most recent book about alien contact is Them, published in 2023. In 2021, he published Jesus: A New Vision, and in 2022, A New World. Both Them and A New World are follow-ons to Communion that extend his research beyond personal issues of contact and into broader areas.He is the author of over 40 other books, including the Wolfen, the Hunger and Superstorm, all, like Communion, made into films.Pop Apocalypse now has email! Please reach out to us at popapocalypse@hds.harvard.edu with any queries.References from the episode:The Afterlife RevolutionThe Super Natural, by Jeffrey Kripal and Whitley Strieber.American Cosmic by D.W. PasulkaPassport to Magonia by Jacques ValleeIntimate Alien by David HalperinThe Myth and Mystery of UFOs by Thomas Bullard

For episode two, we welcome Laurence Caruana, one of the leading figures in the European visionary art world. We discuss the ontology of dreams, Henry Corbin, ayahuasca visions, the language of images, Jesus in the Nag Hammadi Library, the ascent of the soul at death, and Laurence’s plan for an Apocryphon Chapel based on the ancient gnostic scriptures. Laurence Caruana is a visionary artist, novelist, historian, and teacher. His paintings have been exhibited from Seattle to Hungary. Laurence has written several books, including Enter through the Image: The Ancient Image Language of Myth, Art, and Dreams, the novel The Hidden Passion, and most recently Sacred Codes, an exploration of sacred geometry and imagination in the history of art. He founded and directed the Vienna Academy of Visionary Art from 2013-2020, and is now working on the Apocryphon Chapel, the first such chapel to be modeled on the ancient Gnostic scriptures. Pop Apocalypse CSWR homepageLaurence Carauna's webpageThe Apocryphon ChapelApril DeConick webpageGnosis in Song and RhythmSecret Chiefs 3 homepageHenry Corbin, The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism, Alone with the Alone Elliott Wolfson, Through a Speculum that Shines, A Dream Interpreted Within a DreamCharles Stang, Our Divine Double. 

For our premier episode, we welcome the visionary artists Alex and Allyson Grey. We discuss Alex and Allyson’s early performance art, the ecstatic experiences behind their paintings, the history of their Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, and the culture-shift around psychedelics in the last twenty years.* Alex Grey's personal website* Alex Grey's Instagram page* Allyson Grey's personal website* Allyson Grey's Instagram* The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors website* Music by Secret Chiefs 3* Artwork by Kristie Welsh