Conspiracies and collapse. Felt the lightning. Waiting on the thunder.

The QWERTY keyboard and its resonance with cognitive and behavioral assumptions we all carry within us that are designed around conditions that no longer exist. And other stuff.

On this AROMA, we answer a listener’s question about whether non-monogamy is an expression of a desire for escapism, fantasy, and a lack of commitment — a perpetual state of discontent. We talk about the nature of falling in love, projection, and what our longing can teach us if we engage with it intentionally. We also discuss the puer aeturnus archetype in connection to these themes, and how that energy manifests not only in people, but also within subcultures like Burning Man. We end with a discussion of how/whether it’s possible to maintain an anti-consumerist enterprise (like this podcast) in a deeply consumerist world.

Andy grew up in the UK, but a series of events led him to drop his life there fly off to a place where he knew no one (although he was born there). As you’ll hear, that gutsy decision paid off very well.

In which we talk about our last days in LA, our impressions of the tenth Bombay Beach Biennale, our arrival back in Crestone, and the importance of choosing your discomforts wisely.

Jesse Bering is an award-winning science writer specializing in evolutionary psychology and human behaviour. He is the author of The Incredible Afterlives of Dr. Stevenson, about the world's leading reincarnation researcher.

Peter Michael Bauer is an internationally known leader in the cultural rewilding movement. For over 20 years he has written and taught about rewilding. He has served as an expert source in multiple academic articles and books on the subject. He is the founder and director of Rewild Portland, a trend setting community based nonprofit.

Tao is a magical man, living a magical life. Film director, musician, philosopher, bon-vivant, and all-around lovely human being. I’m thrilled to bring him back into our party again (for the fourth time?). Anya, Tao and I recorded this in our van at his recent 50th birthday celebration.

I got an email from a guy named Nick, who suggested I might like to meet his buddy, Ryley, who happened to be in Baja. I could sense the love and respect Nick felt for his friend. And then fate placed Ryley just a few miles down the coast from where we were camped out, so it all came together pretty organically.

Probably our last AROMA from Baja. This one comes to you from a campfire on the beach. We talk about education, the war in Iran, and the ones who walk away from Omelas, among other things.