Podcasts and the Occult - A Case of Squandered Potential?
For an interest as popular as the occult (how’s that for irony?), there is no reciprocal abundance of occult-related podcasts. To date, the most popular occult-themed podcast is Thelema Coast to Coast [TCTC], but John Crow, the producer of the show, recently hung up his microphone and headed off for Amsterdam, where he’s attending the University of Amsterdam, in pursuit of a MA in Western Esotericism. Listeners knew whether they agreed with him or not, he was informed and enthusiastic about the subject matter, and the production values would remain consistent. The Kentroversy Tapes, another popular occult-themed podcast, eclipses TCTC in the diversity of subject matter, but it suffers from low sound quality and amateurish interviewing. Kent gets around, and has been interviewed several times on Occult of Personality, which gets a strong nod as the most inclusive occult-themed podcast in production - in spite of inconsistent interviewing. There’s certainly a lot of room for improvement in the world of occult podcasts, so when I learned of the launch of Occult Sentinel, I was enthusiastic, but not optimistic.
Occult Sentinel was launched on Feb 20, 2008 (relevant info, for the numerologically-inclined), and his first interview was with ‘Greg’, from Occult of Personality. Greg’s interview - which was less interview than a smattering of meandering polemics - spanned Manly P. Hall, the Philosophical Research Society, Theosophy, Francis Bacon, Masonry/Co-Masonry, and T. Allen Greenfield - in about an hour. It was the first show and interviewing another interviewer is a unique challenge, so the inconsistent questioning should be considered in context. One of the first things that stood out about the podcast was its use of music during the beginning of the interview. I’m not sure what inspired the host to take this path, but I’d urge him to reconsider (subsequent podcasts have corrected this). He also seemed a little eager in touting the ‘superiority’ of his podcast, and this type of self-congratulations probably won’t resonate with many adepts.
The second interview, released 5 days later, was with Charles Papapetrou, an ‘osteopath/naturopath/acupuncturist’. Unfortunately, there was more passive interviewing, and there were several segments where the guest seemed to be fluffing, but if he was, it was purely due to weak questioning. Within the interview the guest touched on A.O. Spare and the Typhonian OTO, but there was no follow-up from the host. Instead, he asks several basic, mundane questions that sounded perfunctory. At one point the host decides to confide in the guest that he had only read bits of the guest’s work, and the questioning certainly indicates a superficial grasp of the topics at hand. I’m not sure what the host was thinking, but successful interviewers exude confidence and enthusiasm, so a different tactic might be in order.
On April 8, Occult Sentinel released its third podcast - an interview with IAO131, the editor of the Journal of Thelemic Studies. IAO’s delivery sounded a little shaky, but he gave an informative interview that successfully introduced and described the journal. In an attempt to demonstrate an affinity, the host stumbled over the name of an artist. It would be presumptuous and absurd to suggest that the interviewer should remember obscure names or information, but it might be a good idea to keep some notes handy while doing an interview. The host states that he had only spent 'ten minutes or so' perusing the guest’s forum, so once again he publicly declares his brief exposure to the relevant content. At one point the host is reduced to: “... mmm... yeah... ... There’s a lot to chew on there... ...” One gets the impression he had zoned out, or possibly had little previous introduction to the topics of discussion.
By the release of the fourth episode, also on April 8, my enthusiasm had certainly dulled, but I remained hopeful that matters could improve. After all, surely the host could contrast his own interviewing performance with that of others and see the need for improvement, right? This episode featured his strongest guest yet, IMHO. The interviewer gave Chris Penczak, a popular wiccan author/teacher, a wonderful introduction. Afterwards, the guest didn’t ramble nearly as much as previous guests, so if the questions lagged it would have been more obvious. However, there seemed to be a slight increase in enthusiasm from the interviewer, so this was a definite improvement. At one point the host alludes to having participated in one of the guest’s classes, so one might assume this fraternity contributed to the increased attentiveness. There are more admissions of unfamiliarity with the content (the guest’s book & goetia), but the guest politely laughs it off. The audience, on the other hand, may infer glimmers of a pattern of naiveté developing.
For episode five, released on May 12, Occult Sentinel interviewed Lance Bauscher, co-founder of Robert Anton Wilson’s Maybe Logic Academy. Somehow the introduction goes horribly awry and totally fails to lead in to the guest. After pleading for feedback from the audience, the interviewer goes on to demonstrate a remarkable arm-chair love of Robert Anton Wilson. One certainly doesn’t get the impression that Uncle Bob has been on the host's reading-list for very long, and this may have factored into the brevity of the interview. It concluded well short of an hour, with all sorts of un-mined territory. Now that Uncle Bob is gone, first-hand accounts and anecdotes should probably be recorded as quickly as possible, but somehow the interviewer seems to have missed that memo. Fans of Robert Anton Wilson will learn several interesting tid-bits, but the guest certainly could've been pressed for more.
On June 14 episode five was released - an interview with Taylor Ellwood. Taylor, like Kent from the Kentroversy Tapes, gets around and has a prolific footprint in the occult podcast circuit. Taylor’s experience getting interviewed glossed over the implicit inexperience within the questioning. Also, maybe it was just me, but the closing seemed a little terse.
After only six episodes, it may be too early to pass judgment. Occult Sentinel needs feedback and time to implement revisions. Unfortunately, occultists can be notoriously difficult to drag out of their reclusive shells, and feedback hasn’t been forthcoming. Apparently John Crow has submitted the most inclusive feedback yet:
There are a number of problems with the podcast. First, and most important, his RSS feed is flawed. Right now it just links to the blog posts and not the actual MP3 files. Technically, this means it is not a podcast because the original definition was audio distributed by RSS feed. Look how iTunes handles podcasts. Currently his show and its distribution does not work with iTunes. I have emailed him twice about this and he has failed to correct this. This issue alone may spell the death of the show as over half of the 150,000 downloads I received for Thelema Coast to Coast was from iTunes and other podcatchers that use RSS exclusively.
No arguments there. This needs to be sorted.
The second issue is the uneven production. I understand that it is still new but by #5 he should have most of the bugs worked out. The audio levels are low and sound quality inconsistent.
For the most part, I think the sound quality is adequate, but could be better.
Next is the enthusiasm. It varies per show and per guest. I brought this issue up with the host too. If the host is not excited about the material and guest, then no one else will be either. On some shows the host is very enthusiastic on other, not. This is a problem. (sic)
I don’t think John underscored this point quite enough. There have been a few segments where it was abundantly obvious that the interviewer was sincerely engaged with the guest, but there have been a good many more segments that seem compulsory and rote. Also, it would be nice if the host began with an introduction to the guest [that stayed on topic], then gave the guest a chance to espouse how they came to be interested in the subject at hand. Alex Tsakiris, the host at Skeptiko, does a wonderful job of informing the audience of relevant background information before interviews, then allows the guest to lead into the topic. This is a skill Joe would do well to emulate.
Lastly, the releasing of the podcast is very intermittent. Regularity is very important. When I failed to release the podcast regularly, the show suffered.
Maybe there’s some clever pattern to the release of the episodes, but it does seem rather ad hoc. Even if episodes are released bi-weekly, or monthly, or whatever, consistency goes a long way in winning an audience.
On the Occult Sentinel website it states the host of the show, Joe, will: “try to keep this site and show about things [he finds] interesting in the occult-o-sphere. Hopefully the podcast will be kept to magick, metaphysics, Thelema, psychology, entheogens, paganism in general, astrology, theurgy, etc.” But another snip also caught my eye, "Sponsored by Eastern Design Syndicate." So I went and did a little digging on Eastern Design Syndicate, a website design company that caters to small businesses. There isn’t much of a footprint for this ‘syndicate’, but I did find an illuminating thread on a web design forum. Apparently this 'syndicate' launched in '04 and is 'sponsoring' the Occult Sentinel website. Why? Who is 'Joe'?
I’m completely enthused by the ease with which citizens can produce and distribute their own media, and hope Joe can pull this thing together. There is no shortage of available content or interested listeners, but if Occult Sentinel is to thrive, it may be wise for Joe to seek outside council. Regardless of the vector, the bulk of the value lies in the content. Occult Sentinel’s next episode, an interview with Lon Milo DuQuette, was billed as an “Enochian extravaganza”. DuQuette has amazing charisma, so if the host can’t distinguish between tablets, Lon’s likely to carry the interview on his back. Nonetheless, I think it would be wonderful if the occult community rallied in support of this fledgling effort.
Occult Sentinel was launched on Feb 20, 2008 (relevant info, for the numerologically-inclined), and his first interview was with ‘Greg’, from Occult of Personality. Greg’s interview - which was less interview than a smattering of meandering polemics - spanned Manly P. Hall, the Philosophical Research Society, Theosophy, Francis Bacon, Masonry/Co-Masonry, and T. Allen Greenfield - in about an hour. It was the first show and interviewing another interviewer is a unique challenge, so the inconsistent questioning should be considered in context. One of the first things that stood out about the podcast was its use of music during the beginning of the interview. I’m not sure what inspired the host to take this path, but I’d urge him to reconsider (subsequent podcasts have corrected this). He also seemed a little eager in touting the ‘superiority’ of his podcast, and this type of self-congratulations probably won’t resonate with many adepts.
The second interview, released 5 days later, was with Charles Papapetrou, an ‘osteopath/naturopath/acupuncturist’. Unfortunately, there was more passive interviewing, and there were several segments where the guest seemed to be fluffing, but if he was, it was purely due to weak questioning. Within the interview the guest touched on A.O. Spare and the Typhonian OTO, but there was no follow-up from the host. Instead, he asks several basic, mundane questions that sounded perfunctory. At one point the host decides to confide in the guest that he had only read bits of the guest’s work, and the questioning certainly indicates a superficial grasp of the topics at hand. I’m not sure what the host was thinking, but successful interviewers exude confidence and enthusiasm, so a different tactic might be in order.
On April 8, Occult Sentinel released its third podcast - an interview with IAO131, the editor of the Journal of Thelemic Studies. IAO’s delivery sounded a little shaky, but he gave an informative interview that successfully introduced and described the journal. In an attempt to demonstrate an affinity, the host stumbled over the name of an artist. It would be presumptuous and absurd to suggest that the interviewer should remember obscure names or information, but it might be a good idea to keep some notes handy while doing an interview. The host states that he had only spent 'ten minutes or so' perusing the guest’s forum, so once again he publicly declares his brief exposure to the relevant content. At one point the host is reduced to: “... mmm... yeah... ... There’s a lot to chew on there... ...” One gets the impression he had zoned out, or possibly had little previous introduction to the topics of discussion.
By the release of the fourth episode, also on April 8, my enthusiasm had certainly dulled, but I remained hopeful that matters could improve. After all, surely the host could contrast his own interviewing performance with that of others and see the need for improvement, right? This episode featured his strongest guest yet, IMHO. The interviewer gave Chris Penczak, a popular wiccan author/teacher, a wonderful introduction. Afterwards, the guest didn’t ramble nearly as much as previous guests, so if the questions lagged it would have been more obvious. However, there seemed to be a slight increase in enthusiasm from the interviewer, so this was a definite improvement. At one point the host alludes to having participated in one of the guest’s classes, so one might assume this fraternity contributed to the increased attentiveness. There are more admissions of unfamiliarity with the content (the guest’s book & goetia), but the guest politely laughs it off. The audience, on the other hand, may infer glimmers of a pattern of naiveté developing.
For episode five, released on May 12, Occult Sentinel interviewed Lance Bauscher, co-founder of Robert Anton Wilson’s Maybe Logic Academy. Somehow the introduction goes horribly awry and totally fails to lead in to the guest. After pleading for feedback from the audience, the interviewer goes on to demonstrate a remarkable arm-chair love of Robert Anton Wilson. One certainly doesn’t get the impression that Uncle Bob has been on the host's reading-list for very long, and this may have factored into the brevity of the interview. It concluded well short of an hour, with all sorts of un-mined territory. Now that Uncle Bob is gone, first-hand accounts and anecdotes should probably be recorded as quickly as possible, but somehow the interviewer seems to have missed that memo. Fans of Robert Anton Wilson will learn several interesting tid-bits, but the guest certainly could've been pressed for more.
On June 14 episode five was released - an interview with Taylor Ellwood. Taylor, like Kent from the Kentroversy Tapes, gets around and has a prolific footprint in the occult podcast circuit. Taylor’s experience getting interviewed glossed over the implicit inexperience within the questioning. Also, maybe it was just me, but the closing seemed a little terse.
After only six episodes, it may be too early to pass judgment. Occult Sentinel needs feedback and time to implement revisions. Unfortunately, occultists can be notoriously difficult to drag out of their reclusive shells, and feedback hasn’t been forthcoming. Apparently John Crow has submitted the most inclusive feedback yet:
There are a number of problems with the podcast. First, and most important, his RSS feed is flawed. Right now it just links to the blog posts and not the actual MP3 files. Technically, this means it is not a podcast because the original definition was audio distributed by RSS feed. Look how iTunes handles podcasts. Currently his show and its distribution does not work with iTunes. I have emailed him twice about this and he has failed to correct this. This issue alone may spell the death of the show as over half of the 150,000 downloads I received for Thelema Coast to Coast was from iTunes and other podcatchers that use RSS exclusively.
No arguments there. This needs to be sorted.
The second issue is the uneven production. I understand that it is still new but by #5 he should have most of the bugs worked out. The audio levels are low and sound quality inconsistent.
For the most part, I think the sound quality is adequate, but could be better.
Next is the enthusiasm. It varies per show and per guest. I brought this issue up with the host too. If the host is not excited about the material and guest, then no one else will be either. On some shows the host is very enthusiastic on other, not. This is a problem. (sic)
I don’t think John underscored this point quite enough. There have been a few segments where it was abundantly obvious that the interviewer was sincerely engaged with the guest, but there have been a good many more segments that seem compulsory and rote. Also, it would be nice if the host began with an introduction to the guest [that stayed on topic], then gave the guest a chance to espouse how they came to be interested in the subject at hand. Alex Tsakiris, the host at Skeptiko, does a wonderful job of informing the audience of relevant background information before interviews, then allows the guest to lead into the topic. This is a skill Joe would do well to emulate.
Lastly, the releasing of the podcast is very intermittent. Regularity is very important. When I failed to release the podcast regularly, the show suffered.
Maybe there’s some clever pattern to the release of the episodes, but it does seem rather ad hoc. Even if episodes are released bi-weekly, or monthly, or whatever, consistency goes a long way in winning an audience.
On the Occult Sentinel website it states the host of the show, Joe, will: “try to keep this site and show about things [he finds] interesting in the occult-o-sphere. Hopefully the podcast will be kept to magick, metaphysics, Thelema, psychology, entheogens, paganism in general, astrology, theurgy, etc.” But another snip also caught my eye, "Sponsored by Eastern Design Syndicate." So I went and did a little digging on Eastern Design Syndicate, a website design company that caters to small businesses. There isn’t much of a footprint for this ‘syndicate’, but I did find an illuminating thread on a web design forum. Apparently this 'syndicate' launched in '04 and is 'sponsoring' the Occult Sentinel website. Why? Who is 'Joe'?
I’m completely enthused by the ease with which citizens can produce and distribute their own media, and hope Joe can pull this thing together. There is no shortage of available content or interested listeners, but if Occult Sentinel is to thrive, it may be wise for Joe to seek outside council. Regardless of the vector, the bulk of the value lies in the content. Occult Sentinel’s next episode, an interview with Lon Milo DuQuette, was billed as an “Enochian extravaganza”. DuQuette has amazing charisma, so if the host can’t distinguish between tablets, Lon’s likely to carry the interview on his back. Nonetheless, I think it would be wonderful if the occult community rallied in support of this fledgling effort.