Buried Secrets Podcast (Page 2)

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a collage of some swirls and the first page of the Anomaly newsletter

Hallucinatory UFOs and sound

I've been reading through old issues of John Keel's Anomaly newsletter from the 60s and 70s, and I found some interesting tidbits in Anomaly issue 1, May 1, 1969 that I wanted to share. As I've mentioned plenty before, my goal is to find

a green image of flowers with the words "morality salience hypothesis"

The morality salience hypothesis

Last week, I wrote about terror management theory. Today's another quick post to share a single concept: the morality salience hypothesis. I also learned about this idea from the article "Fighting the future with the past: Nostalgia buffers existential threat", published in the Journal of Research

a digital black and white sketch of a peony

Learning Things

Researching the pigman (Learning Things: July 10, 2023)

Before I get into what I've been up to this week, I wanted to take a sec to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported the New Blood Kickstarter! We hit our goal, thanks to the many awesome people who backed the project. Paranormal research This

a polaroid-style drawing of the frogman holding a wand

Last chance to back the New Blood Kickstarter

This post is for my fellow procrastinators—if you want to support two new, queer paranormal TV shows and get some cool rewards, there's still time!

a green image of flowers with the word "terror"

Terror Management Theory

Terror management theory (TMT) is about how we get through day-to-day life while still being aware of our own mortality. It's what keeps us from being consumed by our own fears and anxieties. I'd argue that good terror management practices are probably pretty essential to stay

green collage with a Saul Bellow quote

Nostalgia and the Fear of Death

I've been writing a lot about nostalgia and the paranormal lately, looking at how some common paranormal investigation tools are nostalgic and asking what that means. Do our feelings of nostalgia heighten the usefulness of a tool? Do we just trust certain tools more because we feel nostalgic

a green isometric drawing of a vintage laptop

We deserve modular devices

We shouldn't have to be victims of planned obsolescence and incompatibility.

a sketch of deadnettle, catchweed bedstraw, and dwarf mallow seen at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, NY

Learning Things

Another foggy week (Learning Things: July 3, 2023)

I'm still low-energy and vaguely sickly (and the wildfire smoke sure didn't help), so aside from that, it's been a quiet week for me and my projects. Here's what I've been up to:

a halftone collage of a courthouse and a bookstore with the words Haunted Denton, Texas

Outlaw ghosts and a haunted bookstore (Haunted Denton Square - Denton, Texas)

Not far from the famed Goatman's Bridge in Denton County, Texas, a courthouse square has its share of spirits.

halftone solarpunk collage of flowers and tech with the words "why so many devices?"

Modular devices, BS excuses, and simple solarpunk solutions

We need repairable devices.

halftone collage of flowers and tech with the words "not excessive at all"

Device overload and solarpunk imagination

Why the heck do we need multiple computers?

halftone flower collage with the words "cyberpunk versus solarpunk"

Cyberpunk, cautionary tales, and imagination

This week, I'll be writing about science fiction, solarpunk, and imagining better futures.

a digital sketch of asters

Learning Things

A quick Monday update (Learning Things: June 26, 2023)

A super short version of my weekly update on my research and projects.

a green and blue halftone photograph of a churhc with the words "In the present we are always memory -Trish Keenan"

Making digital art feel analog

Yesterday, I wrote about the vintage, halftone-speckled aesthetic of the Ghost Box record label, which got me thinking about a larger art trend that's been on my mind: after the soulless minimalism of the 2010, the 2020s have so far been defined by lush, maximalist imagery. Puffy (sometimes

a halftone photograph of a liminal space-style corridor

A fictional town evoked by music: Belbury and Ghost Box records

This weekend, I took a bit of time to listen to some albums put out by the hauntology-heavy Ghost Box record label. I especially enjoyed The Owl's Map and The Belbury Tales by Belbury Poly. The latter is a sort of . . . nostalgic, prog rock-y supernatural concept album that

a yellow and orange halftone photograph of a raven with the words "lost futures, liminal music"

Musical hauntology

I wouldn't say that I'm "knowledgeable" about "music"

a green and gray halftone photograph of mushrooms with the words "psychogeography & hauntology"

I still don't quite understand hauntology or psychogeography

But I'm trying to

a sketchy digital drawing of a crested owl

Learning Things

Randonauting, synchronicity, and lost batteries (Learning Things: June 19, 2023)

The New Blood Kickstarter campaign is still going strong this week! (It'll be running until July 9 at 8:08 am EST.) Last week, I appeared on a livestream with the rest of the cast and crew of New Blood and Inhuman Beings, two brand-new paranormal shows that

a purple halftone drawing of a cassette tape and the word "nostalgia"

Feelin' nostalgic: emotions and analog paranormal investigation tools

Continuing my deep dive into nostalgia and the paranormal! Does the way we feel about paranormal investigation tools change their efficacy? How do our emotions (especially nostalgia) interact with the paranormal? Highlights include: * My continuing fascination with whether the ghosts of living people can haunt us * Looking at nostalgic paranormal

a halftone illustration of a UFO and the NYC skyline with the words "anemoia in NYC, feels bad, man"

Midcentury UFO literature, anemoia, and bitterness: Part 2

Check out part one of this post. One of my favorite terms is anemoia, or "nostalgia for a time or place that one has never known." It was coined in John Koenig's Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, which I own but haven't read cover-to-cover yet.

a halftone illustration of a UFO and the NYC skyline with the words "anemoia in NYC, feels bad, man"

Midcentury UFO literature, anemoia, and bitterness: Part 1

A quick heads up: I’ll be on a livestream tonight at 8:30 pm along with the rest of the cast and crew of the two new queer paranormal shows we’re currently funding on Kickstarter, so tune into the New Blood TV YouTube channel to watch that! (In

a halftone illustration of the Luxor hotel with the words The Curse of The Luxor Part 9

The Curse of the Luxor Hotel (Part 9)

The actual ghost stories

green halftone UFO drawing with a Russell Targ quote: to be right, you have to be willing to be wrong.

Digital camera nostalgia, remote viewing, and digital gardening (Learning Things: June 12, 2023)

I'm back from Iceland and back in the swing of things. It's shaping up to be a busy month, but a good one! One big ongoing project: I mentioned this last week, but the New Blood Kickstarter is still in progress! In case you missed it,

a halftone illustration of the Luxor hotel with the words The Curse of The Luxor Part 8

The Curse of the Luxor Hotel (Part 8)

Check out the rest of my look at the legends surrounding the Luxor Hotel: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 Yesterday, I mentioned that the Luxor's pyramid shape worked upon people's imaginations, encouraging them to construct occult lore

a halftone illustration of the Luxor hotel with the words The Curse of The Luxor Part 7

The Curse of the Luxor Hotel (Part 7)

Some real bad stuff