Through the exploration of various cultures and archaeological mysteries throughout the world, authors J David Osborne and Kris Saknussemm attempt to get to the heart of our lost moment, and provide some potential paths out. LOST XPLORERS is a psychogeographical exploration of culture, art, language, and strange history.
Episodes
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
On the first part of this episode, Kris and I go over the distinction between values vs. goals, with a focus on cultivating an imagination and an appreciation for nature.
The Value of Imagination / Connection to Nature / The Importance of Commitment
In part 2, we talk about the strange vine-like nature of memories. Where are memories stored? Where do plants store memories? Is every memory we have the first time we have it?
The Metaphysics of Inspiration / Where Do Memories Come From / Bike Escape from Living Mannequins
“A Neville Goddard Method for Creating Reality”
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
Imperial by William T. Vollmann
Quick note about the bonus section toward the end: JDO acknowledges that the planets do not revolve around the earth. It was very late.
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
On Part 1 of this episode, Kris and I begin to construct a framework for how to raise a child, with a focus on “how” to live rather than “what to achieve.” We discuss the influence of capitalism and economic prosperity on prior generations’ priorities.
On Part 2, we discuss characters as an antidote to individuality, integrating yourself with your tools, and how not all questions are answered with words. Have you ever received an answer to a problem with a smell?
Show Notes:
The Residents - “Infant Tango”
Byung-Chul Han’s concept of “The Idiot”
Writing by Drawing: When Language Seeks Its Other
Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronsilaw Melanowski
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
On this episode, Kris and I discuss initiation rites throughout the world, with an eye towards distinguishing childhood from adulthood in terms of agency when dealing with uncertainty.
We finish up with some practical questions: what’s the best way to know how many gumballs are in a gumball machine? Why are there so many large insects in the Solomon Islands? Does sex magic work?
We continue our quest to acquire new and interesting questions…
Part 1
Death Thinking / Initiation Rites/ Rumspringa / Bull Jumping
Part 2
Land Divers / Developing Agency in Uncertainty / Hieroglyphic Silence
Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders by Samuel Delaney
“Spiritual Politics of the Dead”
William S. Burroughs Mini-Documentary
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
In Part 1 of this episode, Kris and I discuss the invention of childhood from the perspective of time and sexuality. Is being a child denoted strictly by preparing for adulthood? Is adulthood a prison?
In Part 2 we continue our discussion of archetypes and characters, with a deep dive into the quantum mechanics of the tarot and the aesthetic quality of nostalgia. Are we touching parallel worlds?
Kris also has a great recounting of his recent dream, which connects with a formative moment from my past.
Part 1:
Scientific Uncertainty / Prison of Adulthood / Algorithmic Control / Cultural Cognitive Dissonance
Part 2:
Verbing Nouns / Tarot as a Method for Concretizing the Past / The Aesthetic Quality of Nostalgia / The Nastronomer
A Little Pretty Pocket-Book by John Newbery
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Part 1:
Ambient Noise / Thought Formulation / Getting Too Old for Pop Music / The Invention of Childhood
Part 2:
Everyday Archetypes / Oscillating Frequencies / Character as Process / Nailing Down Some Definitions / Tarot
Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience by William Blake
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
This might be one of the most involved episodes we've recorded. We start out with a Gus Update, then move into discussions of lost civilizations, similarities in different mythologies, indecipherable languages, and dreams of green darkness.
Then, in part 2, we begin an incredibly ambitious and free-ranging conversation about language and the world of archetypes, how they might manifest both in characters and in human beings, and what a "choral reef" of lesser gods might look like. How might these beings interact through art?
This is pretty dense stuff, and one of my favorite conversations Kris and I have had so far. We're getting somewhere here, and really running up against the barriers of the language we have to describe it.
Part 1:
Maintenance Art / Black Phoenicians / The Handbags of the Gods / Strange Languages
Part 2:
Roko’s Basilisk / Archetypes as Psychic Resonances / The Etymology of “Character” / Lives of Archetypes
SHOW NOTES:
Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Maintenance Art Manifesto
Colette's libretto for Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges
In the Dark Places of Wisdom by Peter Kingsley
Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
Key 23 from The Invisibles (Incorrectly referred to as “Key 6” in the episode)
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
On this episode we begin with a great piece of listener mail that asks the question: how does one avoid feeling like a ghost in the world? This leads to a discussion of Rilke’s poem “Turning-Point.”
In the second half, Kris and I elaborate on the Crystal Radio / Pirate Radio / Ghost Radio theory of Culture as a Force / Entity with Language as its medium. Why are eccentrics so important? How do we move on from expertisism? And how to we interact with the maps of our world to separate the signal from the noise?
Part 1:
Finding Better Ghosts / The Origin of Idioms / 3-Foot Elvis
Part 2:
Culture as Energy Field / Animism to Religion to Science to Scientism / Mutual Exploration / Living in Territory, Speaking with Maps
“Turning-Point” by Rainer Maria Rilke
Backwoods Witchcraft: Conjure & Folk Magic from Appalachia by Jake Richards
The Presence of the Past by Rupert Sheldrake
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Kris and I begin to develop a frame for a big theory of imagination, magic, and the paranormal.
Part 1:
Why Are Alien Encounters Violent? / Hypnotic Implanted Memories / David’s Alien Visitation / The Magic of Gypsies
Part 2:
Exclusive Excerpt / Where is the Signal Coming From? / Desert Radio at Night / Meinong’s Jungle
Show Notes:
Care of the Feeble Minded and Insane in Texas
Milton H. Erickson (hypnotism)
Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny
The Voice of the Pirate Nation
Harry Caray - The Sounds of Baseball
I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon by Philp K. Dick
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
In the first hour, we talk about:
UFOs Declassified / Distrust in the Media / The Cultural Significance of Bigfoot / Conspiracy as Folklore
In the second hour, we talk about:
What Would an Alien Intelligence Look Like? / The Primacy of Symbols / Are Languages Entities? / The Multiplicity of Answers
Show Notes:
“The £1,000,000 Bank-Note” by Mark Twain
The Power of Eight by Lynne McTaggart
UFOs as a Modern Myth by Carl Jung
Philip K. Dick’s Pink Laser Beam
Robert Anton Wilson’s Reality Tunnels
Programmed to Kill by David McGowan
The Illuminatus! Trilogy by RAW
The Long Walk by Sławomir Rawicz
“The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood
Wednesday May 26, 2021
Wednesday May 26, 2021
On this episode, Kris and I wrap up our discussion of celebrity. We discuss our own personal heroes, and the gradual cultural slide from the sacred to the ubiquitous. David also relates the story of a recent burglary.
TMNT / Johnny Quest / Totems / Postmodern Syncretism / The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction / The Real World / Drag Race / Mimetic Desire / Snoop Dogg / Graham Greene / Meteorites & Satellites