Desert Oracle Radio

Ken Layne
  • 4.8 (784)
  • PLACES & TRAVEL
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Desert Oracle Radio

Desert Oracle Radio is a weekly road trip through the weird American desert from the publisher of Desert Oracle, the pocket-sized field guide published in Joshua Tree, California. Hear tales of mysterious lights, missing tourists, lost mines, venomous creatures, weird history and weirder people. Hosted by editor Ken Layne and featuring a cast of intriguing mystics, oddballs, scientists and artists, Desert Oracle Radio is your soundtrack for a desert night. The program is broadcast on Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in the Mojave high desert, with field reports from around and across the desert lands, and is distributed by Public Radio Exchange (PRX).

  1. The Wonderful, Wonderful Cactus Wren

    2 DAYS AGO

    The Wonderful, Wonderful Cactus Wren

    Night has fallen on the desert, the desert spring is here, and that means the bugs are coming back, and that means we’ll be seeing a lot more of our beloved desert friend, the wonderful wonderful Cactus Wren. Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2025 Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
  2. Surrounded in the Night

    FEB 15

    Surrounded in the Night

    A winter storm cut loose from the mountains, the cold wind whipping around the creosote, rain dripping down through the swamp-cooler vent: 2025 came in like a Lion and it’s the Year of the Snake. We’ve got both out here, in the Mojave Wilderness. Mountain lions, or cougars. And snakes, too, although it’s still a bit early to see our reptile friends up here at 4,000 feet elevation. (Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver, written & hosted by Ken Layne.) Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2025  DesertOracle.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
  3. One Chants Out Between Two Worlds

    JAN 25

    One Chants Out Between Two Worlds

    It's a cold, cold night in the wind-blasted desert, and we hear there's snow a-comin', can't come soon enough. Listen to the harrowing sounds of the 1961 Bel Air Fire, prepare for Mojo Nixon's anniversary (of death), and join us in remembering our favorite Intermountain West surrealist, the late great David Lynch. Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Suitable for some families.   Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2025 http://DesertOracle.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
  4. Hills Are Filled With Fire

    JAN 12

    Hills Are Filled With Fire

    Another wild and windy night in these first strange days and nights of our new year. We are monitoring the infernos & catastrophes, but also celebrating the creation of Chuckwalla National Monument in the vast weird desert east of Coachella, all the way to the Colorado River. Plus: A phone call from our High Desert pal Herbie Benham, and soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2025 http://DesertOracle.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
  5. Christmas Amongst the Joshua Trees

    12/20/2024

    Christmas Amongst the Joshua Trees

    We've heard some weird news about Saint Nicholas that turns out to be a few years old, but that's all right. Christmas itself is old news, after all. That’s why we love it, because it’s ancient and beautiful, the time for silent walks in the cold night, just the sound of your boots crunching through the snow, the half-moon glowing through the Joshua trees. Plus: Which phrases and words shall be banned in the new year? And: Seasonal soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Thanks for supporting this advertising-free show at Patreon.com/DesertOracle. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2024 http://DesertOracle.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
  6. Ravens, Quail & Turkeys

    11/26/2024

    Ravens, Quail & Turkeys

    Is it Thanksgiving time already? Well let's pack up the car and head out to Joshua Tree, everybody's favorite Thanksgiving destination if they live exactly three hours away and don't have anywhere else to go. Plus: What are the ravens up to now? Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2024 http://DesertOracle.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
  7. Up From the Grave

    10/28/2024

    Up From the Grave

    Happy Hallowtide, the three-day festival of the Dead and their various souls & spirits. Tonight we are riding down the nocturnal highway, listening to ghosts of times past crackling through the car-radio speakers. With new soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Thanks for supporting this commercial-free show at http://patreon.com/desertoracle. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
  8. Strange Rituals of Halloweens Past

    10/08/2024

    Strange Rituals of Halloweens Past

    Be not a-feared of our yearly remembrance of the dead, of ghostly visits from our beloved and maybe not-so-beloved relations and ancestors. Know Death as an old friend who always eventually comes around, for you and everyone else. If your belief in the immortality of the soul is secure, do not shudder and sputter over the enjoyment of pumpkins and haystacks and comical gravestones made of scrap wood and whitewash. It's October, as long as you ignore the weather, and that means it's time for spooky tales on Desert Oracle Radio. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
See All (238)

Trailers

Hosts & Guests

4.8
out of 5
784 Ratings

About

Desert Oracle Radio is a weekly road trip through the weird American desert from the publisher of Desert Oracle, the pocket-sized field guide published in Joshua Tree, California. Hear tales of mysterious lights, missing tourists, lost mines, venomous creatures, weird history and weirder people. Hosted by editor Ken Layne and featuring a cast of intriguing mystics, oddballs, scientists and artists, Desert Oracle Radio is your soundtrack for a desert night. The program is broadcast on Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in the Mojave high desert, with field reports from around and across the desert lands, and is distributed by Public Radio Exchange (PRX).

Information

  • Creator
    Ken Layne
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2025
  • Episodes
    238
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Ken Layne
  • Show Website
    Desert Oracle Radio

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