EPISODE #153: JOHN MUIR IN THE WILD DESERT

Tonight we visit with the friendly ghost of John Muir, specifically regarding his many excursions in the California deserts. Now is the time for EPISODE #153: JOHN MUIR IN THE DESERT.

New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Listen on the radio tonight 10PM-11PM, on KCDZ 107.7 FM … Pioneertown to Twentynine Palms, Yucca Valley to Wonder Valley, from Amboy to Zzyzx.

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Thanks to those of you who support this operation on our Patreon.com/DesertOracle page! And thanks for picking up a copy of our new paperback edition of Desert Oracle Vol. 1.

EPISODE #152: SETTLE DOWN, WITH PURPOSE

It’s the prettiest time of year in the High Desert, with longer days and the last winter precipitation setting it all up for springtime. What will it look like, in a thousand years? Probably pretty much the same, minus the Airbnbs and vintage shops. Now is the time for EPISODE #152: SETTLE DOWN W/ PURPOSE. Hear it on the radio tonight from Amboy to Zzyzx on Joshua Tree’s own KCDZ 107.7 FM, plus a classic episode following the new one, 10-11 p.m.

New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver with some drumming help on the last act by S.W. Lauden, who just put out the book Forbidden Beat about the history & art of punk-rock drumming.

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Thanks to those of you who support this operation on our Patreon.com/DesertOracle page! And thanks for picking up a copy of our new paperback edition of Desert Oracle Vol. 1.

EPISODE #151: NASRUDDIN & OTHER HOLY FOOLS

Back from our brief convalescence to bring you desert prayers in the night — Ancient Egyptian prayers & psalms, in this case. And some tales of Mullah Nasruddin, the Sufi mystic philosopher & fool who lived early in the last millennium. Now is the time for EPISODE #151: NASRUDDIN & OTHER HOLY FOOLS.

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Our Desert Oracle Vol. 1 paperback is a Southern California bestseller! Available now from your neighborhood bookseller, this fancy paperback reproduces all the design, photos and illustration from our popular hardcover edition.

Here the show tonight at 10 P.M. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & the Mojave High Desert, a new episode plus a weird classic at 10:30 P.M. We appreciate your support of the show on Patreon. New soundscapes tonight by RedBlueBlackSilver. Recorded in Los Angeles at the Muse Lighthouse.

EPISODE #149: EMPTY CHURCHES FOR FUN & (NON) PROFIT

I'M GOING TO KILL BILL

Sure are a lot of mostly abandoned churches out here in the California desert. A lot of good community real estate. How do you take over churches? Like the little old run-down church—a religious non-profit—just sitting there. Nobody’s using it. Maybe all you’ve got to do is find the person who runs the joint. Maybe it’s down to the last person, the organist or whoever. The fourth deacon …. Now is the time for EPISODE #149: EMPTY CHURCHES FOR FUN & (NON) PROFIT.

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Tonight at 10 P.M. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & the Mojave High Desert, a new episode plus a weird classic at 10:30 P.M. We appreciate your support of the show on Patreon. New soundscapes tonight by RedBlueBlackSilver.

EPISODE #148: MISTRESS OF OUR DREAD

Mistress of Dread

How long has Sekhmet ruled over humanity? Five-thousand years! That’s when She is first known to us, appearing in something like her current form, in Upper Egypt, 2,930 B.C., worshipped in her great temples until the coming of the Coptic Christians and then the followers of Allah. Her cult went underground. But it never went away. And now is Her Time.

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PLUS: Strange tales from the RV parks of the Southwest, as delivered to our friends at Club Congress in Tucson. New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. This is Episode #148, Mistress of our Dread.
Listen live tonight on the radio, KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree and the Mojave Wilderness, “from Amboy to Zzyzx.”

EPISODE #147: THE LIGHT SAW ME

Jason Boland and the Stragglers: The Light Saw Me

Take a look around, the void is closing in. Jason Boland joins us from Texas to talk about The Light Saw Me, the tale of a cowboy taken up into the sky—a tale told by Jason Boland and the Stragglers on their new record, which features some narration from our host Ken Layne. It’s our first show of the new year, EPISODE #147: THE LIGHT SAW ME. With new soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver.

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As Hank Williams sang, “I saw the light.” But what are those strange nocturnal illuminations seen from Joplin, Missouri, to Marfa, Texas? And what crashed in Aurora a century ago. And just what did they bury up on Boot Hill? Listen live tonight on the radio, KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree and the Mojave Wilderness, “from Amboy to Zzyzx.” (There’s a bonus half-hour episode for our Patreon supporters, with more of our UFO/transformative-light conversation with Jason Boland.)

Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2022 http://DesertOracle.com

EPISODE #146: WINTERTIME TALES FOR A STORMY NIGHT

photo by SW Lauden

Live from the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles, here’s our final show of the 2021 Tour, with your host Ken Layne and live solstice soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Occultists and mystics, cultists and coyotes, all gathered together in uneasy alliance on this Christmas Eve.

(There’s no show on the radio tonight in the High Desert, as our home station is playing Christmas music tonight. Photos by SW Lauden.)

EPISODE #145: RUN FOR THE DESERT HILLS

Like the beaver, we can change parts of our environment. Like the birds, we can move to other lands or at least try. And sometimes those Other Lands are the arid lands, the American Desert. It’s Episode #145, with guest Kendra Atleework, author of the wonderful book about the Owens Valley/Eastern Sierra called Miracle Country. She joins us for the second half of the program. AND: New eerie soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver.

Tickets now on sale for our Desert Oracle Radio Live tour: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, (Memphis) Tennessee & (New Orleans) Louisiana.

Listen on the radio:
Tonight on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree and the Mojave High Desert, 10-11 p.m.
Saturday at 9 p.m. on KZMU FM Moab/Castle Valley, Utah
Sunday at 8 p.m. on Valley 104.9 FM Snoqualmie Valley, Washington.
Wednesday at 3 p.m. on KPFA FM, Pacifica Radio in Fresno, California.

PS — Desert Oracle Radio is now available on your Audible audiobook player.

EPISODE #144: HUEHUECOYOTL, THE COYOTE GOD

Coyote at Bandelier, photo by Larry Lamsa via Flickr Creative Commons

Looking for God in the world? Watch the coyote. Huehuecoyotl, that’s its Holy name. Old, old coyote. Lord of the arts, god of music and dance, our guide through adolescence and onward to adulthood. King of the Prank, patron of the promiscuous, lord of the Friday night party. Canis latrans is the new name, from the 1800s. Coyotl is the ancient American name.

Now is the time for EPISODE #144: HUEHUECOYOTL, THE COYOTE GOD. Thanks for supporting the show via our Desert Oracle Patreon page.

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Tickets on sale now for the Desert Oracle Radio 2021 Tour: San Diego, Tucson, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Galveston, New Orleans, Memphis, Norman Okla., Santa Fe, Phoenix/Mesa, and Los Angeles.

Photo by Larry Lamsa via Flickr Creative Commons.

EPISODE #143: THE WITCHING HOUR

Well look at that, it’s Halloween again. Remember when they said on the news or whatever how Halloween was finished, because this was no time for a holiday that, uh, remembers the dead?

Tonight we’re joined by New York Times-bestselling author Tod Goldberg, who has written such acclaimed desert crime thrillers as The Low Desert, Gangsterland, Gangster Nation, and Living Dead Girl.

Plus, some very spooky soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. It’s EPISODE #143: THE WITCHING HOUR. Thanks for supporting the show via Patreon.com/desertoracle!

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Here’s a treat: If you’re listening on Z 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley/29 Palms tonight, we’ve tucked in a second episode that’s from our recent Campfire Stories bonus podcast. So if you missed that one on the feed last week, you’ve got two new episodes awaiting on the airwaves. Or stream it live on Z1077fm.com!

TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED, ALL TICKETS ON SALE NOW. Just click that link for venues, dates, and ticket links.