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You would never send a postcard instead of an email, create a zine instead of a white paper, or take polaroids instead of digital headshots. But that's why you, the digital marketer, should do it.There's an appeal to all of these lo-fi, analog mediums that call back to yesteryear. A nostalgia. A deliberate denial of modernity. Not only would it surprise your audience, it would lure them right in.So in this episode, we're making a case for lo-fi content. We're doing so by pulling marketing lessons from Ken Layne's Desert Oracle.With the help of our special guest, Chief Evangelist at Contentful, Nicole France, we talk about creating lo-fi content, bucking convention, taking a distinct perspective, and much more.About our guest, Nicole FranceNicole France is Chief Evangelist at Contentful. Nicole is a passionate customer advocate evangelizing new ways of thinking about content and organizing the work of digital business. It's the wave of the future — and her mission is to make sure everyone knows why. She brings the perspective and critical thinking of an industry analyst and the first-hand experience of a practitioner. Before joining Contentful, Nicole worked as an analyst at Constellation Research and Gartner. She also held a variety of strategy and marketing roles at Fujitsu, Equinix, ITSMA, and Cisco. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Nicole enjoys the outdoors, flying small planes, and embarking on yet another house project in her spare time.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Desert Oracle:Create lo-fi content. Make a zine, a radio show or podcast, a book or comic book. Something your audience can touch and can use to get a bit deeper into your world. Make your brand real for them. Nicole says that when it comes to Desert Oracle, “There's something here that kind of harkens back to what the arts and crafts movement was. In the industrial revolution, you know, this idea of kind of going back to this craft, this artisanal, this very human, this very lo-fi way of doing things. And ironically enough, I think there's a real space for that, even in these digital channels.”Buck convention. Feeling disillusioned with the mainstream take on building an audience? Ken Layne grows his audience by creating niche, tangible content with a strong sense of place and it has garnered a dedicated following. In 2024, 44% of Spotify listeners were new to the Desert Oracle podcast, and it ranked among the top 5 or top 10 podcasts for 5,000 listeners. Nicole says, “ [Ken Layne] is actively rejecting conventional wisdom about how you build an audience. And yet that is absolutely part of what is making him successful at doing it. And it's almost like the extent to which I think of Patagonia a lot of times in this kind of context, where Patagonia is telling you, like, use the stuff you already have. And that somehow is part of what makes you want to keep going back to Patagonia. This is what makes people so loyal to Patagonia is the bigger mission. And like weirdly telling people not to buy it somehow is what makes them want to go and buy more, which is sort of, but not actually their intent.”Take a distinct perspective. What is the story that is unique to you? That's the story you want to tell. Nicole says, “ That distinctiveness in that perspective and that point of view, I think that's something that really effective brands gravitate toward anyway. They're good at it consciously and sometimes unconsciously as well. And I think B2B marketing needs more of that. You know, where what we offer our customers, regardless of what we're selling is typically not generic stuff. So why should our marketing sound like generic stuff? And yet a whole hell of a lot of it does. For a long time, we've been in a world where there's a tremendous volume of noise and the kinds of things that get cut through are things like Ken Layne's curmudgeonly, somewhat dismissive and yet somehow totally compelling take on the world. That's what draws people in."Curate an experience. Ken Layne curates an experience that captures the mystical nature of Joshua Tree and the greater Mojave Desert. And he does it by appealing to the senses - more than just the sight that digital content requires. You hear the voices of the desert through his podcast and radio show. You can hold an artifact of the desert: the Desert Oracle zine. His multimedia approach creates a world unique to Desert Oracle. And you get the inside scoop. Nicole says, “ There is a very specific point of view, it is Ken Layne's point of view. But he also brings in a bunch of stories from other people and from other places and sometimes from other times as well. he's curating an experience for you. And I think that is a really powerful takeaway here.”Quotes*” What Ken Layne does with Desert Oracle is paint this very compelling picture of a place. In some cases, a literal place, like when he's hiking out in Joshua tree, or in some cases, it's more of almost like a spiritual place, a conceptual place that we want to be in.*” How do we get back in touch with the things that are really fundamental, that really are the most important in our existence and nature and, you know, as people? And then how do we associate those meaningful things with what we do in the rest of our lives?”*” [Ken Layne] is actively rejecting conventional wisdom about how you build an audience. And yet that is absolutely part of what is making him successful at doing it. And it's almost like the extent to which I think of Patagonia a lot of times in this kind of context, where Patagonia is telling you, like, use the stuff you already have. And that somehow is part of what makes you want to keep going back to Patagonia. This is what makes people so loyal to Patagonia is the bigger mission. And like weirdly telling people not to buy it somehow is what makes them want to go and buy more, which is sort of, but not actually their intent.”*” When you have a really compelling idea or message at the core, you can find all of these different ways of communicating it really effectively.”*” We found the podcast and then we found the publication. And I guess it really speaks to this idea that multimedia is everywhere. It's in a whole bunch of different stuff. And I think that is actually a really important message and takeaway here, too. I think that this idea of being able to explore different aspects of the story and the story world is really key. Knowing where your audience is, but also being able to bring your audience to where you are, or where you want them to be. Like, I have totally been brought in and then bought into the world of Desert Oracle. How I got there is almost immaterial, but like there are all these different places that I'm getting this enjoyment from, being part of that world and I feel like I have found a path that brought me in there.”*”[Desert Oracle] is not for everybody for sure, but boy, it creates an incredibly loyal and dedicated audience. That's actually what we want to do as B2B marketers as well.”Time Stamps[0:55] Meet Nicole France, Chief Evangelist at Contentful[3:45] Nicole France's Role at Contentful[4:54] The Creation of Desert Oracle[7:07] Ken Layne's Career Journey[10:17] Marketing Lessons from Desert Oracle[13:57] The Power of Authenticity in Marketing[14:49] The Role of Generative AI in Marketing[39:06] The Importance of Longevity in Content Creation[41:34] Final Thoughts and ConclusionLinksConnect with Nicole on LinkedInLearn more about ContentfulAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith Gooderham, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.
This week, Chris shifts focus to recommending several podcasts that align with the mission of desert protection and conservation. Marissa Ortega Welch’s “How Wild” challenges conventional perceptions of wilderness by exploring cultural narratives that shape our understanding of solitude in nature. With Emily Guerin’s investigative series, "California City," listeners uncover the tantalizing history and real estate tales of this less-known Mojave Desert town. Michael Elizabeth Sakas captivates audiences with "Parched," a series that unpacks the critical water shortages plaguing the Colorado River Basin. And Jennifer Errick from the National Parks Conservation Association's podcast The Secret Lives of Parks gets Chris and Luke Basulto out in the field to talk desert protection Highlighting gems from these productions, this episode celebrates the intricate beauty and significance of deserts in contemporary discourse. Key Takeaways: Discover various perspectives on wilderness concepts with Marissa Ortega Welch in "How Wild," which critiques the cultural narratives surrounding solitude and wilderness. Explore the thrilling investigative journey of Emily Guerin's podcast "California City" to explore historical and ongoing real estate dynamics in the desert. Gain insights into the pressing water issues facing the Colorado River Basin with Michael Elizabeth Sakas' comprehensive series "Parched." Hear from Jennifer Errick and Luke Basulto on the newly designated Chuckwalla National Monument and the importance of connecting desert landscapes for better ecological health. Resources: How Wild with Marissa Ortega Welch https://www.howwild.org/ California City by Emily Guerin https://laist.com/podcasts/california-city Parched, Hosted by Michael Elizabeth Sakas https://www.cpr.org/podcast/parched/ The Secret Lives of Parks, with Jennifer Errick https://thesecretlivesofparks.org/ The Border Chronicle https:/theborderchronicle.com Desert Oracle https://www.desertoracle.com/radio/ Desert Advocacy Media Network https://thedamn.org Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Born in Mississippi but drawn to the West, Minerva Hamilton Hoyt was behind the push to make Joshua Tree a special place on the map. The millions of people who visit Joshua Tree have an abundance of vacation rentals to choose from — but that also means challenges to the local community. For eight years, Ken Layne has been keeping desert wanderers company with his esoteric musings about the lore, legends, and landscape of the Mojave — via his periodical and radio show Desert Oracle.
Let's take a trip in the wayback machine to springtime. That's when the Desert Oracle himself, writer Ken Layne, first visited KZMU for a live broadcast of his eponymous radio show. We spoke to him before that broadcast about his background and approach to storytelling. Now is probably a good time to *finally* release our full conversation with him. That's because Layne is returning to our local desert to tell campfire tales under the starry night sky. The event, dubbed ‘an extra-terrestrial evening,' will also feature the amazing Crystal White of Moab Astronomy Tours and is a fundraiser for KZMU (we still have a few tickets left!!) As a precursor to that evening of mythic tales, enjoy this conversation with the one and only Ken Layne.
Todd Fink is the lead singer of The Faint, a vital and important band that grew up alongside Bright Eyes in those early Saddle Creek years in Omaha. We talk about touring with Bright Eyes on the Digital Ash tour, life in Joshua Tree, the Desert Oracle, creative Saddle Creek bands, going electronic, masterful Mogis production, keeping imperfections, me having Covid, Todd's parents didn't love young-kid squealing Conor but Todd saw his talent, the Fevers & Mirrors radio interview and Pitchfork review, Conor's and Bright Eyes' writing and recording process, what's next for The Faint, Recapitate Headwear, and Tim Kasher's early encouragement. At 53:00, I'm joined by a few of the After the Deluge Patreon supporters to talk about this record and some select tracks. The voices you'll hear are Reed, Per, Jon, Lyzi and myself. We dig into specific Digital Ash tracks, moments, and lyrics. Extra shit and a Bright Eyes zine! patreon.com/afterthedeluge Todd Fink: instagram.com/toddthefink Justin Cox: twitter.com/routinelayup --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afterthedeluge/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afterthedeluge/support
Full episode is live at patreon.com/afterthedeluge -- Todd Fink is the lead singer of The Faint, a vital and important band that grew up alongside Bright Eyes in those early Saddle Creek years in Omaha. We talk about touring with Bright Eyes on the Digital Ash tour, life in Joshua Tree, the Desert Oracle, creative Saddle Creek bands, going electronic, masterful Mogis production, keeping imperfections, me having Covid, Todd's parents didn't love young-kid squealing Conor but Todd saw his talent, the Fevers & Mirrors radio interview and Pitchfork review, Conor's and Bright Eyes' writing and recording process, what's next for The Faint, Recapitate Headwear, and Tim Kasher's early encouragement. At 53:00, I'm joined by a few of the After the Deluge Patreon supporters to talk about this record and some select tracks. The voices you'll hear are Reed, Per, Jon, Lyzi and myself. We go dig into specific Digital Ash tracks, moments, and lyrics in that second section. Extra shit and a Bright Eyes zine! patreon.com/afterthedeluge Todd Fink: instagram.com/toddthefink Justin Cox: twitter.com/routinelayup --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afterthedeluge/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afterthedeluge/support
Ken Layne is the creator of Desert Oracle magazine and Desert Oracle Radio.I like a mythological landscape, you know? If you can figure out how to live in a landscape like that–at least for my temperament–that's everything.Notes and references from this episode: @KenLayne - Ken Layne on Twitter Desert Oracle magazine - home pageDesert Oracle Radio - home pageDesert Oracle Radio - Apple PodcastsDesert Oracle Vol. 1 - MCD/Picador Robinson Jeffers - Poetry FoundationThe Land of Little Rain, by Mary AustinArt Bell - Radio Hall of Fame“Out in the wild: how Ken Layne created an alternative to clickbait in the desert,” by Dominic Rushe, The GuardianAmbrose Bierce - Wikipedia=====Produced, hosted and edited by Stu VanAirsdaleTheme music: Sounds SupremeTwitter: @WhatCaliforniaSubstack newsletter: whatiscalifornia.substack.comSupport What is California? on Patreon: patreon.com/whatiscalifornia Email: hello@whatiscalifornia.comPlease subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And if you liked What is California?, please rate and review What is California? on Apple Podcasts! It helps new listeners find the show.
We're excited to share a recent conversation that Amy Wright had over video call with Oklahoma native Jason Boland, who along with his band The Stragglers recently released their UFO-inspired, and Shooter Jennings-produced concept album The Light Saw Me. In today's talk, we dig into the origins of Red Dirt music, the state of pop music today, and of course the writing of The Light Saw Me. This incredibly insightful conversation shines a light on Bob Childers and the growth of the Stillwater music scene, The Desert Oracle radio show based out of Joshua Tree, and much more.Part of Pantheon Podcasts
We're excited to share a recent conversation that Amy Wright had over video call with Oklahoma native Jason Boland, who along with his band The Stragglers recently released their UFO-inspired, and Shooter Jennings-produced concept album The Light Saw Me. In today's talk, we dig into the origins of Red Dirt music, the state of pop music today, and of course the writing of The Light Saw Me. This incredibly insightful conversation shines a light on Bob Childers and the growth of the Stillwater music scene, The Desert Oracle radio show based out of Joshua Tree, and much more.Part of Pantheon Podcasts
We're excited to share a recent conversation that Amy Wright had over video call with Oklahoma native Jason Boland, who along with his band The Stragglers recently released their UFO-inspired, and Shooter Jennings-produced concept album The Light Saw Me. In today's talk, we dig into the origins of Red Dirt music, the state of pop music today, and of course the writing of The Light Saw Me. This incredibly insightful conversation shines a light on Bob Childers and the growth of the Stillwater music scene, The Desert Oracle radio show based out of Joshua Tree, and much more. Part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We're excited to share a recent conversation that Amy Wright had over video call with Oklahoma native Jason Boland, who along with his band The Stragglers recently released their UFO-inspired, and Shooter Jennings-produced concept album The Light Saw Me. In today's talk, we dig into the origins of Red Dirt music, the state of pop music today, and of course the writing of The Light Saw Me. This incredibly insightful conversation shines a light on Bob Childers and the growth of the Stillwater music scene, The Desert Oracle radio show based out of Joshua Tree, and much more. Part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ken Layne is behind Desert Oracle, a zine, radio show and now book by the same name.
Ken Layne, author of Desert Oracle, Volume 1: Strange True Tales from the American Southwest, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing, along with fairies and unexplainable goings on in the desert.Download audio. (Broadcast date: December 23, 2020)Musical intro, outro and interludes by Travis Barrett. Find his music on Spotify and also find him on Patreon.
Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker unpack the response to the news that the Pfizer vaccine has been cleared in the U.S. (2:12) before breaking down ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ in We’ve Got Notes (19:00). Then writer Ken Layne joins to discuss his book ‘Desert Oracle,’ and his experience in the desert (45:45). Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.
Ken Layne Writer, publisher and proprietor of Desert Oracle joins Sean on the show.
This week on Transmissions, we welcome back a return guest: desert scribe and radio personality Ken Layne. He’s the editor of Desert Oracle, a pocket-sized field guide to the American Southwest and the host of Desert Oracle Radio, a weekly late-night broadcast out of Joshua Tree. With synthesist RedBlueBlackSilver in tow, Layne offers up tales of the paranormal, the odd, and the arcane. Layne illuminates these damned and or transcendent topics with good humor and dusty charm. This week, he releases a new book which collects and expands stories from the program and the magazine, Desert Oracle Volume 1: Strange and True Tales From the American Southwest. He joins us for a far-reaching conversation about the new book, the allure of the weird, the late ’80s underground music scenes of Southern California, the early days of digital publishing, conspiracy theory and literature, the disenchantment of modern life, and of course, venturing into the spiritual wilderness represented by the desert. Transmissions is hosted and produced by Jason P. Woodbury. Andrew Horton edits our audio. Jonathan Mark-Walls produces content for our social media and video outlets. Transmissions art by D. Norsen. Justin Gage, head honcho and executive producer. Show notes and more at Aquarium Drunkard.
Halloween Special Featuring Stories From Special Guests: Gangsta Boo, The First Lady of Three 6 Mafia. Her Catalog is streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and all the usual places and you can catch her now on Run The Jewels' HolyCalamavote Special now streaming on HBOMax. Scarah, The Damsel of the Doomed! Host of Horror Web, and the Tub of Terror which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjeYPlaunEEtKmoqUkUcWMQ Ken Layne, Host of the inimitable Desert Oracle Radio available wherever fine podcasts are consumed and the author of the forthcoming Desert Oracle, Vol. 1: "Strange True Tales From The American Southwest" available for pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374722388 Daniel Pujol, Nashville based punk rock writer-musician. He's got a patreon with music and poetry you should check out here: https://www.patreon.com/pujoldotrocks
For decades, Californians have been obsessed with trying to profit off desert land. In this bonus episode of California City, host Emily Guerin, the Desert Oracle’s Ken Layne, and artist and curator Kim Stringfellow explore the myths of the Mojave Desert as "wasteland," failed schemes and utopias, Instagram-driven tourism and coronavirus refugees. The audio was recorded during a live virtual event on September 3, 2020 and presented by LAist Studios and KPCC in partnership with The Autry Museum of the American West. California City sponsors include: Sun Basket is offering $35 off your order when you go right now to SUNBASKET.com/calcity and enter promo code calcity at checkout. Simplisafe: Try SimpliSafe today at SimpliSafe.com/CALCITY. You get free shipping and a 60-day risk free trial. There’s nothing to lose. Korea Tourism Organization: Visit Korea and experience delicious food, vibrant cities, and natural beauty. Please visit https://www.visitkorea.com.my/ Caltech: Cal Tech Science Exchange provides trustworthy answers, clear explanations, and fact-driven conversation on critical topics in science and technology. Please visit scienceexchange.caltech.edu
Ken Layne, founder of Desert Oracle, talks with Lee Pacchia about building a multimedia company in the middle of the Mohave Desert, his past stints with Gawker and Wonkette and the future of digital media in America. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/niteswknds/support
Ken Layne is the creator of Desert Oracle, a magazine and radio show/podcast all about the strange inhabitants and culture of the Mojave Desert. Layne’s trajectory through the world of alternative media winds through the 1990s and 2000s, when he was present at the creation of the Gawker media empire and subsequently took the reins of their influential politics outlet Wonkette. In this conversation, we talk about the evolution of underground culture through layers of toxic capitalism, as we trace Layne’s path from the fast lane of LA/New York/DC digital media to the burgeoning psychedelic scene in the California desert.
Remember campfires? We sure do. Standing around a campfire telling stories and socializing used to be a big part of the Desert Oracle "workflow," as they say over in corporate. And it will be again. But while we ride the storm out, here's our most recent Campfire Stories night, from January 2020, with a brand-new RedBlueBlackSilver soundtrack and some other weird stuff. And it's an hourlong special episode, too. Life ain't always empty. Support the show.
An all-new quarantine episode of Desert Oracle Radio from our secure desert compound, where we are noting the return of the wildlife, the blue skies, the clear air, the happy songbirds, and all the springtime joys of a time when the people have chosen to stay mostly at home, for the sake of human society. New & classic soundscapes by our own RedBlueBlackSilver. Here the terrestrial radio broadcast on our home station, KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree, Calif., Fridays from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. http://DesertOracle.com (c)(p) 2017-2020 Desert Oracle Support the show.
New year, new decade, time to drop everything and move to the desert . . . . where we can ponder the mystery of the messages from the old gods and old devils. Support the show.
We gathered some Wonder Valley characters together, across the road from The Palms, and let the tales loose: military crashes, weird lights, strange residents and interesting ministers. Support the show.
Well we wound up burning the devil, here in Joshua Tree. It's the kind of winter-holiday fun you can expect up here in the High Desert. And Jason P. Woodbury joins us to investigate a real Low Desert Mystery: Where was "White Christmas" written? There are two answers and they'll both surprise you. Support the show.
"You have a grandfather clock, you bastard!" In this jam-packed episode, the panel investigates The Atlantic's hatred of democracy, shares their most recent revelations, and Aisling invites the team to participate in Ritual Shaming. In a corny postscript, everyone shares a thing that they are thankful for. The panel this week was senior editor Brianna Rennix, editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson, contributing editor Eli Massey, finance editor Sparky Abraham, podmaster-general Aisling McCrea, and your host is Pete Davis. 'Too Much Democracy Is Bad For Democracy': https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/12/too-much-democracy-is-bad-for-democracy/600766/ Desert Oracle: https://www.desertoracle.com/ Frogge: https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wp/enm/Frogge This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA. Music: 'The Show Must Be Go' - Kevin MacLeod
What's going on with these bizarre and gruesome cattle mutilations all over the west, all over the world? Well there are some ugly new cases up in Eastern Oregon, cattle country north of Burns, and as usual there are no witnesses, suspects, arrests, not even an agreed-upon cause of death. But something was responsible for setting those cleanly mutilated bulls a quarter-mile apart from one another, 15 miles from the road. Support the show.
He called himself the King of Western Swing and he was building an immense theme park in the Mojave Desert. What does this have to do with claims that Roy Rogers ran a sex cult out of Apple Valley? Support the show.
Desert intuition. Desert awareness. Erik Davis joins us and throws down a challenge to engage with our Weird World. Our Weird Time. And why the desert is the eternal landscape for this kind of work. Support the show.
We're hanging on to Halloween with our guests Laura Bolt, who both covers and lives within the California witchcraft scene, and Arizona music journalist Jason P. Woodbury, here to talk about the new re-release of singer-songwriter Jim Sullivan's second record. (Sullivan vanished in the New Mexico desert and no trace of him was ever found.) Support the show.
Live at the Ace Hotel campfire ring on Halloween 2018, here's a bonus episode with our Weird Campfire Stories. Support Desert Oracle Radio on Patreon and you'll get four bonus episodes per year, including longer interviews and live events like this Halloween edition of Desert Oracle Campfire Stories. And come see us at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs tonight, Thursday October 31 (2019), for live Campfire Stories, free & open to all. Support the show.
From high up in the Joshua Tree foothills, we bring you the sad tale of Coyote Rex. Gabriel Hart, Lauren White from the band Kokomo, and Country Club Dan call in from a haunted payphone. Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Recorded live at the Furstwurld theater in Joshua Tree. Support the show.
It's nearly Halloween in the High Desert and we have spooky tales, spooky phone calls, and a haunting performance by our in-studio guests, the band Kokomo. Support the show.
UFO sightings over Joshua Tree National Park and time-travel adventures with Jean-Paul Garnier of Space Cowboy Books. A recording off the radio, because that's all that worked. Support the show.
Live from Joshua Tree, it's our second episode of the season with best-selling author and Joshua Tree Retreat Center director Terry Taylor Castillo, and the subject is angel consciousness. It's our first hourlong podcast! Thanks for being part of it. Support the show.
Back for our third season, now live on the radio and delivered to you in the form of a podcast. Support the show.
We're back on Friday the 13th—September 13, 2019 at 10 p.m. Pacific Time—live from the KCDZ FM studios in downtown Joshua Tree, Calif. Listen live on Z 107.7 FM in the High Desert, or stream the show live on TuneIn. Support the show.
Was the organized theft of a 600-pound petroglyph-covered boulder from a canyon near Ridgecrest related to the monster earthquakes that followed? Probably not, but we can't exactly prove otherwise. Brendan Maze calls in from Trona. Support the show.
A UFO sermon from the Joshua Tree Astronomy Arts Theater, introducing a screening of Bob Lazar: Area 51 and Flying Saucers, with Jeremy Corbell and RedBlueBlackSilver. Support the show.
How do we not die in the desert this summer? One way is to stay underneath the swamp cooler, reading and writing letters, to and from various denizens of these arid lands. Support the show.
Author Erik Davis joins us to talk about our favorite subject and his new book, High Weirdness. With new sounds by RedBlueBlackSilver. Support the show.
What is known is that there’s something going on, something a little wilder than usual. Plus: Rachel Monroe, writer & author & Marfa volunteer firefighter. Support the show.
The holiday so nice we celebrate it twice: once when the snakes come out, and once when the snakes go back in the ground for their long winter's nap. Support the show.
Every weird story that you almost want to believe is required, by cosmic law, to have a Goofball Factor. What is the Goofball Factor? And how does it end up on the front page of the New York Times? Support the show.
Time-shifted audio is what podcasting was built upon. We didn't want to be stuck with the appointment-based mentality of radio, television, or other media that require the listener of the content and the producer of the content to be on the same schedule. Because this is podcasting! People subscribe to the show and then our content automatically downloads, leaving it up to the listener to consume the content on their schedule. At least that's the theory. Since starting my consultancy (https://podcastlaunch.pro/) , I have been recommending my clients select set day and time for their episodes to release. Unless they have a compelling reason not to, that time is usually midnight local time for the producer. Assuming a good portion of their listener base is on the same or adjacent time zones, putting a file out at midnight allows time for the file to propagate down to all of the devices all of the applications for all subscribers. When the audience wakes up in the morning, there is a fresh episode of the podcast waiting for their listeners to consume. That has been the advice I've given for a very long time. But maybe that advice needs to change. Several things have happened recently that are causing me to change my opinion. One is the proliferation of shows that are time-of-day dependent. The Daily (https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily) , for example, comes out every weekday morning while you're sleeping. That makes sense because the New York Times is a newspaper, and papers tend to come out in the wee hours of the morning. But there are also some new shows releasing episodes timed for evening drive-time. Ride Home Media produces both a politics (https://podnews.net/podcast/1459176271) -based show to get you caught up on all the niche news you missed while you were working. Episodes of both shows are out by 5:30 pm Eastern Time. The third trend is the time it takes for a new podcast episode to be available to subscribers. That used to take some time, so making sure your episode was ready as soon as listener wakes up and looks to their phone for content was smart. But with the proliferation of new podcast listening apps and updates to existing ones, you've probably seen "new episode available" notifications from your listening app of choice throughout the day. What took hours before is now only taking single-digit minutes. That's powerful. Especially when you remember that just because someone is subscribed to your podcast, it doesn't mean they're actually listening to your episodes. (https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/the-growing-trend-of-not-subscribing-to-podcasts) Many of your subscribers rely on that little notification to remind them to check out the recent episode to see if it's worth downloading. Maybe time of day is much more important than I thought? To help you answer that question, I have three "tests" for your show. Is the source and/or content you're producing time-dependent? I mentioned the Ride Home shows earlier. Those shows gather news that happened throughout the day, so those episodes need to go out at the end of the day. If the hosts waited until first thing the next morning, they'd be talking about yesterday's news. When is the audience in the right mood to listen to your show? Take the great and very weird show Desert Oracle (https://www.desertoracle.com/) as an example. The only time I listen to it is when I'm taking a late-night drive. It's just too weird for daytime use. Think about your listeners for a moment and think about when they might be in the mood to listen to your show. Can you take advantage of a buzz factor from those podcast app notifications? Few people are getting notifications at midnight, because the phone and the person are both asleep. Which is why many of us wake to something like 17 notices of new episodes every Monday. All of those are lost to the din. Zero buzz factor. So we need to rethink... Support this podcast
Did the founder of Earth Day really murder his girlfriend and let her body rot in his apartment closet? Also: Why you should know more about our beloved apostle of the cacti, Minerva Hamilton Hoyt. Support the show.
Anna Merlan, Jeremy Corbell and Stephanie Tisza join us for a weird ride down the Conspiracy Highway, which is our main road out here in the desert. Suspicious events and the new book about our paranoid nation, Republic of Lies, are featured along with new soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Support the show.
Did a famous entertainer do something dumb in Joshua Tree? Yes. Support the show.
“I will never forget it.” That’s something you’ll hear, something you’ll hear quite a lot out here. “I know what I saw.” Do they know? Do you? Support the show.