Expanding Mind

Philip K. Dick - 08/02/12

Empathy, entropy, and bringing fans and scholars together: a talk with Total Dickhead blogger David Gill about the forthcoming PKD Festival. http://www.philipkdickfestival.com/

Ayahuasca Spirits - 07/26/12

Ayahuasca, affect, and the university of the forest: a talk with Chip Horner on the nature and culture of Amerindian spirits.

The Horror of Philosophy - 07/19/12

Lovecraft, medieval mysticism, and thinking the world-without-us. A talk with Professor Eugene Thacker, author of In the Dust of the Earth: the Horror of Philosophy, and After Life. http://www.newschool.edu/media-studies/faculty.aspx?id=55483

Magic Experience Design - 07/12/12

Astonishment, creativity, and the design of magical experiences: a talk with Italian stage magician and experience designer Ferdinando Buscema. www.ferdinando.biz

Magic and the Corporation - 07/05/12

Maker culture, AI advertising, and the occult origins of the modern corporation: a fascinating talk with author and data scientist Paco Nathan. http://liber118.com/x/

Green Funerals - 06/28/12

Casket handles, the violence of embalming, and renewing our link with the ancestors: a wonderful talk with Ru Callender, the director of the UK's Green Funeral Company, and the co-editor of the new edition of the Natural Death Handbook. http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk http://www.thegreenfuneralcompany.co.uk

Consciousness and the Brain - 06/21/12

Teilhard de Chardin, your personal zombie army, and the Jennifer Aniston neuron: an enlivening talk with neuroscientist Professor Christoph Koch, author of the new book Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist. http://www.klab.caltech.edu/~koch/

American Zen - 06/14/12

Sitting Zen, drinking tea, and asking "Who am I?": a talk with David Chadwick, author of Crooked Cucumber: the Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki and the honcho behind the immense Suzuki online archive. www.cuke.com

Warrior energy - 05/31/12

Warrior spirit, the golden ratio, and turning into a star in the sky: a talk about energy and healing with Chinese medicine doctor Kelvin deWolfe. http://themindandbodymedicine.com

Hilobrow - 05/24/12

Bridging hi- and low-brow, publishing as community building, and the Radium Age (1904-1933) of science fiction. A talk with Joshua Glenn, editor of hilobrow.com and the new imprint HiloBooks. www.hilobrow.com