Today I sit down with David Gordon White, a distinguished indologist and scholar of Tantra. Our conversation focuses on David’s most recent project tracing the transregional histories of spirits, gods, demons, and their associated rituals across Eurasia. Along the way, we dive into an intellectual conversation about dog-headed men, angry goddesses, alchemical mercury, body-snatching yogis, the origins of Dracula, and much, much more. 

If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. You can also check out our members-only benefits on blackberyl.substack.com. Enjoy the show!

Resources mentioned

• David Gordon White, Daemons are Forever (2021)
• David Gordon White, Myths of the Dog-Man (1991)
• David Gordon White, The Alchemical Body (1997)
• David Gordon White, Kiss of the Yogini (2006)
• David Gordon White, Sinister Yogis (2011)
• Michel Strickmann, Chinese Magical Medicine (2002)
• Michel Strickmann, Mantras et Mandarins (1996)
• David Gordon White, “Three Shades of Tantric Yoga,” in Oxford Handbook of Tantric Studies (2024)
• David Gordon White, "Were-Creatures of the Eurasian Ecumene," Journal Asiatique (2020) 
• David Gordon White, "Dracula’s Family Tree," Gothic Studies (2021)

Resources provided by the interviewee on blackberyl.substack.com:

• PDF of David's chapter in Oxford Handbook of Tantric Studies 
• PDF of David's article, "Were-Creatures of the Eurasian Ecumene"
• PDF of David's article, "Dracula’s Family Tree"