Echoes Underground

A riposte to our earlier episode on how the UFO phenomenon is best understood as the faeries of old viewed through a modern lens. Aliens are not faeries, they are portents.

Carl Jung wrote a book about UFOs that functions well as an application of his broader theoretical work. When we observe a phenomenon, he argues, we apply the myths and narratives from our collective unconscious, so what narratives are we applying when we see a light in the sky?

UFOs are a mass rumour, and they’re an end of days rumour. We’ve seen these before - portents in the heavens, signs in the sky, one epoch ends and a new era is born. The star above Bethlehem, Halley’s Comet before the Battle of Hastings. Can it be a coincidence that UFOs in their moderm form begin to appear just after WWII, often around military sites at the beginning of the cold war? This is a new epoch, a new metaphysical era, one with nuclear weapons that could destroy the whole planet.

We also talk about tulpas.

Baby naming ceremonies, except in the nude and with gifts of cuttlefish! Wandering shamans preaching the mystical power of numbers! A living oral tradition that goes back to the last Ice Age!

Behold, the Ancient Greeks! In the face of some scepticism, it is argued that they were stranger and more interesting by far than we now imagine.

Also featuring a whistle stop tour of the Mycenaean Age, the Bronze Age Collapse, Homer, the Persian invasions and the birth of classical antiquity and all that came with it - philosophy, history, drama, democracy, athletics, and everything else that makes us think the Greeks were more relatable than they actually were.

Welcome to our failed attempt at a CURRENT AFFAIRS EPISODE.

The aim was a discussion of unfolding events in the Middle East, now too long ago to be relevant (things move quickly). The actual result was twenty minutes of reminiscing about life among the Houthis in Yemen, followed by a MANIFESTO on why the UK should not have an army or air force and instead focus all its excess resources on a reinvigorated navy that will rule the seas with GREAT SEVERITY. To the extent that one suspects that the entire concept of a topical episode was a trojan horse to introduce more Royal Navy propaganda into our lives.

“You can make the French ambassador feel really small, and nobody can put a price on that.”

Are aliens just American faeries? One of our hosts read Jacques Vallee’s Passport to Magonia: from Folklore to Flying Saucers and took it literally. UFOs exist, and they are the same phenomenon as faeries and elves but reinterpreted by a twentieth century audience.

This view is met with some scepticism. “They’re all just part of the collective unconscious.” Regular listeners will become familiar with this pattern.

We also talk about Zimbabwean goblins, the interdimensional hypothesis, and how it would feel to be a demon.

We look at alcohol’s ritual, psychological, and cultural function. Starting with Dionysus and the ancient Greeks, we compare alcohol with psychedelics and other drug and explore what’s going on beneath the surface at after-work drinks through this lens.

Can you really trust someone you have never seen with their inhibitions lowered? Is transgression required for bonding? We attempt to reach some deep conclusions over some good whisky.