Midwest Real

Some parting, soap boxy thoughts on what this show has taught me, and details on our new show, Third Eye Drops!   For more, check out midwestreal.net

Evan Snyder (Skytree) makes psychedelic space jams and co-hosts The Future Fossils podcast. For more on Evan and other conversations teleport to midwestreal.net

My friend, Nick Hammond is an artist, traveler and lover-maker to life's mysteries. Nick's Website For more on this episode and Nick, head to our site midwestreal.net

Tommy Vandervort is a former Alderman, Philosopher and the founder of the Enlightened Brewing Company. For more on Tommy and other conversations head to midwestreal.net.

In addition to being debonair and a brain-melting conversationalist, Michael Garfield is an Austin-based writer, speaker, musician and visionary artist.   Head to midwestreal.net and michaelgarfield.net for more!

Nic Gregoriades is a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt, founder of the Jiu-Jitsu brotherhood, entrepreneur, world-traveler, meditator and psychonaut. He’s hosted several podcasts, including his latest, Digital Communion. For links and a full write-up, head to midwestreal.net

Cody Hargreaves, known online as "Excessive Profanity" went from casting on Twitch for fun to making it his full time job in under a year. He's also lived on several continents including Asia, Europe and Australia. 

Daniele Bolelli is an Italian-born writer, martial artist, university professor, and podcaster. He is the author of several books including On the Warrior's Path, Create Your Own Religion and his latest, Not Afraid.   For a full write-up and more head to midwestreal.net

Yunrou (formerly known as Arthur Rosenfeld) is a Taoist monk, author and martial artist. His latest book, YIN a Love Story is slated for a simultaneous release in the U.S. and China on November 1st. Head to midwestreal.net for links and more. 

Liam Wilson and Chris de Cinque are two of the most talented, handsome, well-spoken, well-read sons of bitches that I’ve ever had the pleasure of speaking with. We joined forces for a lovely live chat on twitch a couple of weeks back and oh, goody am I excited to finally share it with you.   For more details and links, head to midwestreal.net!

Gabriel D. Roberts is the author of several books, including Born Again To Rebirth, The Quest For Gnosis and his stellar new effort, The Hermit. Snatch it up now from Rubedo Press or Amazon.    For more on Gabriel, links and many more casts, head to midwestreal.net Dig the show? Help us out with an iTunes review!

I asked the most epic question I could think of and the answer was beautiful. 

Maja D' Aoust is a purveyor of the arcane, an esoteric personal trainer and most importantly, a beaming beacon of positivity.  For more on Maja D' Aoust, visit her site and her new nonprofit, The Well Wishers.

Michael Garfield can only be described as a polymath, a renaissance man, something of a debonair brain-melter. At times, exchanging words with him honestly felt kind of like speaking to a library with a mouth. I'm not really sure how he does it. Michael is also a serial creative. He writes for a number of websites, paints and makes music. Get a taste of what Michael does over at michaelgarfield.net For write-up, links and more podcasts head to midwestreal.net

Artist Mike Winkelmann (Beeple) has been churning out a new piece of art everyday for over 3000 days (more than eight years). The Beeps also creates short films, loads of free VJ clips and has worked with some of the biggest music acts on the planet. Head to midwestreal.net for links and more.    

Can we really know anything? Some of history's greatest minds weren't so sure.  

Shane Mauss is a comedian and the host of the Here We Are podcast (his chat with Michael Garfield is a must-listen). Grab Shane's latest comedy special "My Big Break," on Itunes, Spotify or Amazon. 

Katy Walker and Joel Mejia are two of the main creative forces behind Time Is Art. A film that explores "an artist's search for inspiration in a money-driven society that shuns creativity, and the human search for meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. A cinematic meditation along the lines of Waking Life and Samsara... A film less concerned with linear storytelling and more open to the cycle patterns, the hidden meanings of symbols and the dreamlike overlapping of people, places and moments."

Excerpt from Man & His Symbols (Audiobook) by Carl G. Jung on the concept of synchronicity. Listen to the whole clip here.   Head to midwestreal.net for more and for a full talk on synchronicity, time and a bunch of other woo-dipped nuggets, check out podcast 75 and Time is Art.  

Kevin Kunze is the filmmaker behind Mobilize, an investigative documentary exploring the potential long-term health effects from cell phone radiation. The film examines the most recent scientific research, follows national legislative efforts, and illuminates the influence that technology companies have on public health.   For links and a full write-up head to midwestreal.net

Matt Pallamary is the author of A Land Without Evil and Spirit Matters. He's been traveling to the Amazon for more than 15 years, where he has studied, lived and participated in visionary rites with both indigenous peoples and western-worlders.  

Pal, author and tireless dream-chaser, Gabriel D. Roberts returns for another rousing tete-a-tete.    For a full write-up and links head to midwestreal.net! 

Dr. Bruce Damer is a multi-disciplinary scientist and an aficionado of all things woo. He researches evolutionary biology, especially focusing on questions surrounding the origin of life. He designs asteroid-wrangling spacecraft and he's an expert in computer science who has spent decades researching emergent, lifelike virtual systems. Head to midwestreal.net for a full write up and links!  

  Chris de Cinque has special, cheeky, verbose way about him. He's a born performer orator and novelty magnet. He also sings in the proggy, deep-diving satire-soaked band Closure in Moscow. If you think it’s not possible to write an insightful, mystical rabbit hole of a concept record that grapples with grandiose themes like enlightenment, metamorphosis and transhumanism all while maintaining a deep sense of fourth-wall-breaking satire complete with boner noises, Closure in Moscow's critically acclaimed opus, Pink Lemonade will prove you deeply wrong.  head to midwestreal.net for a full write up and links!

Marty Leeds is an author and researcher on the subjects of myth, math, spirituality, philosophy, sacred geometry and lost civilizations. He has an ongoing lecture series available on Youtube and he’s the host of the podcast The Marty Leeds' Mathemagical Radio Hour. Marty has been a guest on many popular podcasts, had an article recently featured on grahamhancock.com, and has been a featured speaker at several conferences, including the up-comingModern Knowledge Canadian Tour.     Head to midwestreal.net for a full write-up! Get in touch!  Follow Midwest Real on Twitter and Facebook. Dig the show? Stop on by our iTunes channel to review and subscribe! Support us! You can donate (we gladly accept Bitcoin!) or shop via our Amazon portal on the righthand side of the page!

  Never forget just how possible it is to take a 90 degree turn off of the the well-worn. You have the capacity to sharpen the stick on your freak flag, stab it deep into the soil and craft something that is uniquely yours around it. If you nurture it, tend to it and care for it enough, it just might bear enough fruit to free you from the nine-to-five path for good.   Greg Carlwood has done just what I've described in a huge way. His show, The Higherside Chats has become one of the most popular conspiracy-based podcasts out there- and the thing just keeps growing. It's chalk full of all of the sexy, shadowy, esoteric, entertaining goodness you could ever hope for in a podcast, so check it out and give the Carlwood some love! thehighersidechats.com For a full write-up and more links, head to MIDWESTREAL.NET  

Nicolas Gregoriades is a man who lives life to the fullest. He's a competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, a world-traveling psychonaut with a number of Ayahuasca ceremonies under his belt and he hosts The Journey Podcast.  Head to midwestreal.net for links and a full write-up

Dr. Carl Hart is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Columbia University and the author of High Price. He has spent two decades studying pharmacology, drugs and their effects. He's well-known for his blunt, unflinching, truth-based approach to drug education.      

  Dr. Aubrey de Grey is Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at the SENS Research Foundation, a not for profit dedicated to defeating age-related disease. 

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him? Daniele Bolelli is a professor, writer, martial artist podcaster and truly excellent human being.    Head to midwestreal.net for links a full write-up!

Guest and pal Liam Wilson is a musician, psychonaut, yogi, meditator, traveler and writer (by no means does he live an unexamined, "typical" nine-to-five lifestyle). Yet, none of that has prepaired him one bit for the trajectory altering uppercut to the nethers that is fatherhood. As if that weren’t nuclear enough, he also just participated in a two-day Ayahuasca ceremony run by a mysterious, otherworldly, head-sucking nomadic shaman. An experience that has left him rethinking even the most basic anchors most of us ground our very realities in. For a full write up and links, head to midwestreal.net  

We have absolutely no idea what the future will hold, but we’re definitely on the cusp of something huge. Are we headed for an unprecedented utopian neo renaissance? Will technological and medical breakthroughs enable us to live practically forever so we’re free to pursue our passions all day long? Or are we on the verge of something darker? Some sort of Huxlian, Orwellian dystopia steeped in thought control, murderous AI and oligarch overlords who'll invade our minds in an effort to milk us for money and energy as we jump willingly into ultra-plush matrix pods of their design?  Who knows? Our guest this week, Zoltan Istvan is the author of the Transhumanist Wager. He writes for practically every major technology website (Gizmodo, Huffington Post, Motherboard Wired etc.) He’s the founder of a transhumanist political party, which aims to draw attention and dollars to science and tech. He’s also traveled around the world on a god damned sailboat.  Head to midwestreal.net for links and the full write-up and more!

Although more and more of the analog world is seeping into the digital realm, the almighty dollar has managed to resist the pixel-y tide. Currency creation remains an esoteric, behind-the-scenes process controlled by a few privileged, monocle-clad, suit- wearers -- why is that? Are we meant to believe money is great the way it is, or sacred? I'm not (pun intended) buying it, nor are the thousands of people using Bitcoin. Will Pangman is a Bitcoin evangelist, works for a Bitcoin start up and is a regular on The Bitcoin Group podcast. Head to midwestreal.net for a full write-up.  

Dennis McKenna is an ethnopharmacologist, lecturer, founding member of the Heffter Research Institute, world traveler, mystic and author of Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss, My Life with Terrance McKenna. get the full write-up and links at midwestreal.net  

Scott Onstott is an Author and researcher with a background in math and architecture. Thanks to his proclivity for quantification, Scott has an aptitude for tracking down, highlighting and making sense of truly unbelievable numerological and geometrical synchronicities that reverberate throughout manmade structures, nature and the cosmos. His self-produced film, Secrets in Plain Sight is an exploration of these and many other phenomena and has been viewed over 4 million times on Youtube. head to midwestreal.net for links and a full write-up

Alexandre Tannous is one of those guys whose insight just continually surprises you.  He holds multiple degrees in music and philosophy. More importantly, he has traveled to over 40 of countries where he has participated in dozens of shamanic, meditative and initiatory ceremonies. Alexandre also researches the esoteric and therapeutic properties of sound from scientific and shamanic perspectives. He has lectured at many major universities including Georgetown, Princeton and NYU.   Head to midwestreal.net for a full write-up.

Author, 32nd degree Freemason and scholar Robert W. Sullivan IV is back to blast more hidden knowledge! This time, he takes a scalpel to your favorite films, exposing the cloaked allegory, messages, symbols and archetypes that fuel man's most powerful narratives. As always, for a full write-up, head over to midwestreal.net 

Within all of us, there's a chemical gateway to another dimension. It's called DMT. What is its purpose? Why is it so ubiquitous throughout nature? No one knows, but one thing's for sure- it can change your life in a matter of minutes.   Dr. Rick Strassman has studied the substance for over 20 years. He's the author of DMT the Spirit Molecule and his new book, DMT and the Soul of Prophecy. For a full write up, head to midwestreal.net ! 

Our friend, Author Gabriel D. Roberts returns to the show. We discuss why we're all heroes in training, why fear is overrated and how to be the best, most authentic versions of ourselves.  For a full write-up head to midwestreal.net! 

“In the first half of the 20th century, the prevailing idea was that humans could be masters of nature and the universe. We thought that human power was unlimited. We thought- ‘we can change rivers, we can move mountains—’ we can actually conquer nature. Then, sometime in the second half of the 20th century, we made the realization that the relationship between nature and humans is actually much more complex than that.       We can learn a lot from nature. This is where the idea of biomimetics and harmony between man and nature came in.”  Dr. Michael Nosonovsky For the full article, head to midwestreal.net

The show is joined by filmmakers Spencer Chumbley and Erik Ljung. They've shot for a variety of organizations including VICE, Al Jazeera and more.  Head to midwestreal.net for a full write-up and links!

David W. Mathisen's latest work, The Undying Stars dances comfortably where traditional historians wouldn't dare tread. The book ties together ancient megalithic structures with star myths and a holographic, worldview that's oddly similar to what modern science is finding. Still not sexy enough? The Undying Stars also argues that this ancient wisdom was deliberately suppressed by forces who took over the Roman empire, which launched a ruthless campaign to eradicate this esoteric system of knowledge. We also talk about dolphins. For a full write-up and links, head to midwestreal.net 

Tom Campbell has had an impressive career in applied physics. He has worked in military intelligence, he has reverse-engineered the weapons technology of rival governments, he has worked in national missile defense, even on huge engineering projects for NASA— impressive stuff.    But what makes Tom an even more interesting and rare specimen is that he has also spent three decades researching the nature of consciousness and reality. He has done so by remaining open-minded about topics that many scientists and snopes frequenters would greet only with a scoff and a pompous finger wave— Out of body experiences, altered states of consciousness, the statistically measurable power of intent and a bunch of other stuff that sounds like it’s straight out of an episode of FRINGE.    Tom has chronicled has his experiences, findings and anecdotes in a three-part series of books- My Big Toe (Theory of Everything).   Spoiler- the sum total of Tom’s research can be summed up by saying that "reality" as we know it is basically a simulation.    Head to Midwestreal.net for the full write-up and links!  

Randall finishes the brain melting he started in the second part of our conversation. Head to MidwestReal.net for the full write-up!

Every night we go to bed taking it for granted that tomorrow will come. Worst case scenario, our heart will give out and we won't wake up. But, what if that wasn't the worst case scenario? As we speak, massive chunks of instant extinction are flying by the vessel we inhabit at preposterous speeds. If one of them crosses the earth's path, it could easily be game over for the human race. As long as we've been aware of that inconvenient fact, it's been good for precisely one thing- apathy. That's because the ability to do anything about it was completely absent. Well, that's not the case anymore. We do have the technology and intelligence to do something about it. However, thus far, we've shown a complete and total lack of will to even discuss it seriously. What will it take to pay attention? A 9/11 scale tragedy? A Hiroshima scale tragedy? Worse? Unfortunately when you're talking about asteroids, all are very possible. If you know anything about my guest on this show, Randall Carlson, it's probably because he's become a living library of brain melting knowledge. He's as an architect, master builder, Free Mason, globe trekking scholar, a geology and history enthusiast and many other things. Yet, of everything he's learned, there's clearly one matter of paramount importance- The ancients left of clues about world-wrecking cataclysms and it's just a matter of time until history repeats itself. That is, unless we do something about it. As sprawling and deep as this conversation with Randall is, it only scratches the surface of what's available over at Sacred Geometry International. There's literally hundreds of hours of mind blasting information at SGI, much of it free. For a full write up and links head to midwestreal.net

Liam Wilson is best known for playing bass in the spastic, technical, AMAZING progressive metal mainstay, Dillinger Escape Plan. If you're a fan of heavy music and you somehow haven't heard of them over the course of the last 15 or so years, I don't even know what to say.  If you're not so much into the metal, fear not, for this man is likely the opposite of what comes to mind when you imagine a guy with millions of head bangs under his belt. He's a voracious reader, a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, a yogi, a psychonaut, a student of many philosophies, and a bunch of other things I can guarantee he'd never be comfortable calling himself.  Liam and I spent very little time hovering around the surface in this conversation. In fact, I think Liam might have been a little bit excited to be on a show that welcomes fare beyond his bass rig. Go give my new friend (and I do mean that) Liam some love on Twitter, Facebook and on some of his articles over at Talkhouse. If you want to see what his band is up to, head to their site! (Head to Midwestreal.net for links and a full writeup!)   

Ancient languages like Hebrew had a numerical values embedded into every character. This added levels of meaning and allegory to the bible that gave people like Sir Isaac Newton and many other scholars a life-long headache. But, numerical value is totally absent from the English language... right? I don't know. But, Author and researcher Marty Leeds has some pretty god damn interesting thoughts, videos and books that argue for it. Head to midwestreal.net for links, and a full write-up!

I spoke with Closure in Moscow about their highly intelligent, psychedelic, satyrically lased new masterpiece of a record, Pink Lemonade. Go buy it right now on iTunes or your local record store.  See the full article at Midwest Real.

LISTEN People are evil, violent, greedy, hopeless bastards.  Even as a prepubescent flesh ball that would experience withdrawal symptoms if you took away his Super Nintendo controller for more than five seconds, I knew that.  How could I not?  Fear of the “bad guys” was embedded into roughly 99.9% of the mega-tons of media I consumed on a daily basis.  As a tyke I'd often lie in bed at night fearing a who’s who of boogie men with all manner of otherworldly weaponry that I could never hope to defeat.  But, thankfully, I somehow managed to survive the onslaught of demonic hordes that plagued my mind, the news, movies and the games I so eagerly devoured. I'd even argue that some of it made me a better person.    More recently, from firsthand evidence, I've learned that as scary as the world can be, it’s actually a pretty awesome, dare I say, cooperative place.  I buy shit on Craigslist. I get rides from Uber drivers. And you know what?  I’ve never once been shanked, scammed or raped by a devil worshipper masquerading as a guy with speakers for sale. In fact, it seems like the best things humans can do are usually accomplished collectively.  Thankfully, we live in an era where we actually have the ability to supercharge our collective efforts through open-source, or consensus based platforms.  Just look the wild power and success of media like Twitter, Reddit, Bitcoin and crowd-funding.  Yet, even these vessels would be truly toothless and impossible without mass participation and trust.   Our guest on this episode, Jeffery Tucker has been labeled a lot of things- Economist, Libertarian, Anarchist, Entrepreneur, Publisher, Bitcoin expert, the list truly goes on.  However, I’ve found that rather than putting him in a ideological box, it's more accurate to call him a human that trusts other humans, despite all the fear-mongering and propaganda that reverberates throughout the mainstream discourse.  Though he and I may not agree on every philosophical point, we agree on the most important thing.  We’re all in this together and if we’re going to make this exponentially more interconnected world harmonious, we’re sure as hell going to need to trust one another.  Cumbauya.  For more on Jeffrey, you can follow him on Twitter, or visit his latest venture, liberty.me  You can also say hi, to my well-read, Bitcoin-mongering co-host Will Pangman on Twitter! Join the thousands who already support Midwest Real. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and don’t forget to subscribe and review on iTunes! P.S.-You can now tip the show at midwestreal.net