In this episode, Ashley and Les talk with author and artist Ru Marshall about their newly published book, American Trickster: The Hidden Lives of Carlos Castaneda. Marshall uncovers the complex, controversial, and often mysterious world surrounding Castaneda—one of the most influential and debated figures in 20th‑century anthropology and counterculture.

This conversation dives into Castaneda’s secretive life, his impact on popular spirituality, and the myths that shaped his public persona. Marshall shares insights from years of research, revealing the hidden stories behind the man who captivated millions.

American Trickster is available from OR Books, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

#CarlosCastaneda #AmericanTrickster #RuMarshall #Anthropology #Counterculture #Biography #InvestigativeResearch

In this episode, Ashley and Les sit down with PhD candidate Anika Elema to explore her fascinating new article, “Poseidon, Athena, and Demeter: Epithets and Associations in the Divine.”

We dive into ancient Greek religion, mythological symbolism, and how divine epithets reveal deeper cultural meaning. Anika breaks down the relationships between major Greek deities, the power of names and titles, and what these associations tell us about worship, identity, and myth-making in the ancient world.

If you’re interested in classical studies, mythology, archaeology, ancient religion, or the history of ideas, this conversation offers rich insights and fresh perspectives.

#GreekMythology #AncientReligion #ClassicalStudies #Archaeology #Poseidon #Athena #Demeter #MythologyPodcast #AcademicTalk #AncientGreece #Anthropology

In this episode, we dive into the book Doing Ethnography with authors Jessica Smartt Gullion and Susan Harper. We explore what ethnographic research is, how to conduct ethnography in real‑world settings, and why this method matters for social scientists, students, and anyone interested in understanding culture, identity, and lived experience. If you’re curious about qualitative research, fieldwork, or how scholars study communities, this conversation offers practical insights and expert guidance.

In this episode we interview Kirk D French about his new article Sharing the past A reciprocal approach to community engaged.

This is a special feature episode in which I explain Roman Jakobson's Six functions of Language as taught in Laura Ahern's book "Living Language".

In this episode we discuss the book Fluent Forever by Gabriel Wyner

In this episode we interview Dr Nandar Yukyi about her work with the Duckworth Burma Cranial Collection .

In this Episode we discuss the book "Proto, How One Ancient Language Went Global" written by Laura Spinney.

In this episode we discuss the book

UNSTABLE GROUND - The Lives, Deaths, and Afterlives

of Gold in South Africa with the author of the book Doctor Rosalind C. Morris

In this episode we discuss the book "The house of my Mother by Shari Franke