Some Other Sphere Rick Palmer

My guest for this episode is author Gareth E Rees, who joined me to talk about his latest writing project, Sunken Lands: A Journey Through Lost Kingdoms and Flooded Worlds.
In the book, he explores stories of flooded places from humanity’s past – and those disappearing before our eyes. Sunken Lands peels back the layers of silt, sea and mythology to reveal what the history and tales of such places can tell us about our imminent future as rising sea levels transform our planet once more and reflects upon how these underwater worlds can teach us important lessons about the unavoidability of change, the ebb and flow of Earth’s natural cycles, and the folly of trying to control them.
Gareth himself describes the book as "an anxiety-fuelled trip through enigmatic landscapes that conceal and reveal tales of trauma from the past present and future".
In the interview, I start off by talking with him about what drew him to this subject matter and how that fits with the sort of themes he has previously written about and is expressed through the psychogeographical context that features in his work.
From there we discuss Sunken Lands itself, the ancient origin of flood myths and some of the places and legends that feature in the book, such as Lake Bala and the lowland hundred in Wales, the Fens of Eastern England and of course, Atlantis. Towards the end of the interview, we talk a bit about if and how stories will be told which will preserve the memory of flooding and it’s effect on contemporary society.
Sunken Lands: A Journey Through Lost Kingdoms and Flooded Worlds is published by Elliott & Thompson - details on how to order a copy are available at https://eandtbooks.com/books/sunken-lands/. To find out more about Gareth and his writing go to http://www.unofficialbritain.com/.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Joining me for this episode is writer, researcher and publisher Kingsley Dennis. Kingsley has written extensively on social and digital futures, global affairs, and conscious evolution. He is the author of several critically acclaimed books including Breaking the Spell: An Exploration of Human Perception, Unified: Cosmos, Life, Purpose and Hijacking Reality: The Reprogramming & Reorganisation of Human Life. He also serves as Director of Publications for the Laszlo Institute for New Paradigm Research.
 
His latest book - which is the subject of this episode, is The Inversion. This is an exploration of the cultural trends and dominant ideas that seem to influence an increasing level of control in consensus reality and a distortion of the world we perceive around us.  It also examines the historical background of perceiving this manipulation, through schools of thought and occult philosophy such as Gnosticism and Hermeticism, as well as more recent examinations in literature, such as in the work of Philip K Dick.
 
In the interview I talk with Kingsley about his background and interest in these ideas and how his new book is the most recent expression of that. We discuss the premise of ‘The inversion’ itself, the connection to that of concepts such as consensus reality and reality constructs, how it can be seen via the dangers of movements such as transhumanism and unchecked technological progression and how society has expressed those concerns throughout human history through modes of spirituality, philosophy, and popular culture.
 
You can find out more about Kingsley and his writing at https://kingsleydennis.com/.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is provided by Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

My guest for this episode is Laura Lewis-Barr. Laura is an award winning film-maker, who specialises in the medium of stop-motion to create short movies inspired by myths, fairy tales and the ideas of people such as Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. In her films, she uses dolls to portray an eclectic array of characters and does all of the costuming, set design, filming and editing. Her films are part of a larger project called Psyche’s Cinema.
Prior to her film-making, Laura was a graduate student in clinical depth psychology and her interest in Jungian psychology is an important part of her film making projects.
In the interview I stalk by talking with Laura about the origins of the idea for Psyche’s cinema, and what drew her to the medium of stop-motion film-making. We then discuss some of the mythic and psychological themes she has explored in her films, the importance and value of mythic ideas, and how they persist in modern human culture and can help us better understand paranormal phenomena.
You can find out more about Laura and her films at https://psychescinema.com/.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can do so via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

My guest for this episode is Sharon Hewitt Rawlette.
Sharon is a philosopher who writes for both popular and scholarly audiences on the topics of consciousness, anomalous experience, ethics, and spirituality. She has a PhD in philosophy from New York University and taught at Brandeis University before launching her career as an independent writer and researcher. She is also the founder and director of the Mind & Meaning Institute, which brings together world-class researchers to explore new philosophical and empirical approaches to the deepest questions raised by human experience.
Soon after leaving academia for a career as an independent writer and researcher, Sharon became interested in the phenomenon of “coincidence” or “synchronicity”: strange, enigmatic experiences that aren’t blatantly paranormal but that seem so improbably meaningful that they make us wonder whether something more than chance lies behind them. Her May 2019 book, The Source and Significance of Coincidences, presents a wealth of evidence concerning the statistical importance of coincidences, their range of possible causes, and how we can best interpret their implications for our lives.
In November 2021, Sharon was named a runner-up in the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies essay contest for her essay “Beyond Death.” This essay summarises and analyses the best evidence for life after death collected over the last 150 years.
I begin the interview by talking about what first interested her in anomalous and strange experiences and how that developed as a student, into academia, and becoming an independent researcher. We then discuss her work on coincidences, before focusing on her essay Beyond Death, exploring some of the Third Person and First Person evidence that she collected for that and how scientific research might progress when it comes to investigating the survival of human consciousness.
Further information on Sharon and her research can be found at https://sharonrawlette.com/.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub', by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

My guest for this episode is Dr Josh Bullock. Josh is a senior lecturer in the Criminology, Politics and Sociology department of Kingston University London and part of the team behind Weekday Worldviews, a sociological project which is investigating the relationships between personal worldviews and psychological well-being amongst those attending public psychic events in the UK.
It is the first project of its kind, and offers a unique look at this grassroots phenomenon using mixed methods (survey, observation, interview, comparison), which will allow the analysis of patterns of belief and their implication for understanding the relationship between science, spirituality, and well-being.
I begin the interview by talking with Josh a little about his background and the type of work he has done prior to Weekday Worldviews. We then discuss how he became involved with the project and the other people involved in it, before moving on to talk about the methods used to gather the necessary data and what will happen once that process has been completed, and the results analysed. I also talk with Josh about his perspective on relationship between studying the paranormal and both its place and perception within academia.
To find out more about the Weekday Worldviews project, and potentially participate go to https://www.weekdayworldviews.com/.
If you are in a position to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

My guest for this episode is Gary Opit. Gary is an Australian zoologist, cryptozoologist, and author. He also hosts a wildlife talkback radio show on ABC North Coast NSW Local Radio and between 1997 and 2015 conducted a citizen science project, collecting data based on the phone calls and emails he received during that time from people seeking assistance identifying wildlife they had encountered.
Often these would be turn out to be examples of rare known and existing species of animal, but a significant amount were not and indicated the survival of animals previously thought long extinct on the Australian mainland, such as the Thylacine and Marsupial Lion, as well as completely unknown species, including ape and hominid like creatures, commonly referred to in Australia as the ”Yowie”.
Gary has had an incredibly varied career, working as a State Park Ranger, as well as at a number of schools and universities, teaching subjects such as Anthropology, Ecology, Zoology and Botany. His knowledge of the wildlife of Australia is extensive as is that of the history of cryptid sightings in the country.
As you might imagine, our conversation in this episode is a wide ranging one. I talk with Gary about how his interest in Australian cryptids started, the fossil record of wildlife in Australia and the range of habitats that could potentially allow the survival of some of those species into the modern day. Gary talks about some of his own experiences as well as encounters that other people have had with an impressive array of unusual creatures.
Further details on Gary and his research are available on his Facebook page 'Australian Cryptozoology Gary Opit', which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/doolagarl/ and a Kindle version of his book 'Australian Cryptozoology' can be purchased via Amazon here.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can do so via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.