Hello listeners! This time I welcome back a returning guest, Jeremy Harte. Jeremy is an author and folklorist whose writing and research is inspired by landscape and stories of encounters with other worlds. His latest book is Treasures on Earth: Buried Wealth in Landscape and Legend. In it Jeremy examines the history and folklore in Britain of hidden treasure – stories not just of gold and silver, but of ghosts, curses and forbidden knowledge. In the interview I talk with Jeremy about the ideas behind the book and the interesting relationship between the folklore and storytelling of buried wealth and the written accounts of such discoveries. We also discuss the relationship magic and paranormal phenomenon have with the search for and finding of hidden valuables, and the social factors that have influenced the use of occult techniques in such endeavours. You can find out more about Jeremy's new book at https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/treasures-on-earth. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.
My guests for this episode are Jamie Lewis and Andrew Bartlett. Jamie is a Reader in Sociology at the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University and Andrew is based at the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations at Sheffield University. They joined me to discuss their new book Bigfooters and Scientific Inquiry: On the Borderlands of Legitimate Science. The book examines the Bigfooting community sociologically. Using concepts from Science and Technology Studies (STS) as well as cultural sociology, Jamie and Andrew shed new light on what it is to do ‘science’, what it is to behave ‘scientifically’, and where the borders of legitimate scientific practice lie. Through detailed interviews with Bigfooters themselves, this book explores the ways in which the Bigfooting community makes sense of traces and absences to make knowledge claims that are acceptable to those within that community. It also shows how Bigfooters, in the face of scepticism, attempt to render Bigfoot a proper object of scientific inquiry outside of their own circle. In the interview I talk with Jamie and Andrew about how the idea for the book came about, after which we discuss the subject matter itself; the early history and legacy of bigfooting, the methods and techniques Bigfooters use to make knowledge claims, the challenges they face to legitimise their endeavours, and how they navigate and contextualise hoaxes. To find out more about Jamie and Andy, please visit their respective university website profile pages: Jamie: https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/lewisjt1 Andy: https://sheffield.ac.uk/spir/people/academic/andy-bartlett You can find out more about their book from the publisher, Routledge. Their article The Shape of Bigfoot: Transmuting Absences into Credible Knowledge Claims is available here. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.
Joining me for this episode are Robert Williams and Jacqui Thackway-Winn. Robert and Jacqui were part of a small group of people who in 2023 took part in an experimental magical project at Cley Hill in Wiltshire, England. Cley Hill is perhaps best known in fortean circles for being something of UFO hotspot, most notably ‘The Warminster Thing’ in the 1960’s. The magical project was part of an attempt by the group to develop a new practice they called ‘Meta Magic’ and took place from January to December 2023, finishing on the Winter Solstice. A written record of their experiments, rituals and experiences was kept and has now been published by Liminal Gate Press as a book called The Magical Rites at Cley Hill. In the interview I initially talk with Robert and Jacqui about their backgrounds and how the idea for the yearlong magical project came about. We discuss why they chose Cley Hill, some of the rituals they used and experiences that resulted from that and what the ideas and goals were for Meta Magic. We conclude by talking about The Warminster Thing. You can find out more about Robert, Jacqui and the book at Liminal Gate Press. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.
For this episode my guest for is academic and author Shira Chess. Shira is Associate Professor of Entertainment and Media Studies at the University of Georgia. For a long time she was a Game Studies scholar but her recent focus has moved to the ‘Digital Uncanny', resulting in her new book The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse. The book explores the magical thinking and occult influences that have shaped the history of digital spaces since the early days of the internet – and by extension, reality itself (or at least our perception of it). It examines subjects such as technopaganism, Gnosticism and simulation theory, reality hacking, the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and much more. In the interview I begin by talking with Shira about her background and how the idea for the book came about. We also discuss the curious connection throughout human history between new or emerging technologies and paranormal phenomena (such as telegraphy and spiritualism). Our conversation is more of an exploration of the themes and subjects in the book, rather than an analysis of the book itself but I think that we managed to cover a lot of interesting topics. You can find out more about Shira and her research at https://unseeninternet.substack.com/. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.
My guest for this episode is psychologist and psychotherapist Michael Wilson, who joined me to discuss his recent book, Portals into Deep Imagination: Celtic Mythology, Nature’s Year, and the Quest for Soul. The book is an anthology of weekly contemplations and practices for spirituality through the lens of psychology, inspired by the culture and mythology of the Celts in Britain and Ireland and their connection with nature. Following the course of the Celtic year (beginning at Samhain), each weekly chapter offers tales and folklore from Celtic mythology, followed by a suggested practice of meditation and contemplation. It explores the metaphor and symbolism contained in these myths and legends and shows how those themes can be used to examine the nature of the human mind and imagination and the relationship between them. In the interview I begin by talking with Mike about his background and how the idea for the book came about. We discuss the structuring of the book around a yearly cycle and then our conversation broadens a little, exploring the importance of connecting with nature and the relationship between folklore, myth, the imagination, dreams and altered states. You can find out more about Mike and his writing at https://www.michaelwilson.uk.com/. Portals into Deep Imagination: Celtic Mythology, Nature’s Year, and the Quest for Soul can be purchased from Aeon Books. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.