

Occult Confessions
The Alchemical Actors
Discover the secret history of cults, witches, magicians, conspiracies and the supernatural with occultism scholar Rob C. Thompson. His crew of Alchemical Actors explore life’s mysteries with a blend of research, ritual, and old-fashioned radio drama.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 25, 2025 • 57min
27.6: Morgan and the Anti-Masons
The mysterious disappearance of William Morgan ignites a sensational scandal that unravels the power dynamics of secret societies. His claims against the Freemasons trigger a political movement that reshapes the American political landscape. Explore the rise and fall of the anti-Masonic party amid cultural tensions and personal ambitions of historical figures like Jackson and Adams. Unravel the complex web of conspiracy surrounding Morgan's abduction and the emotional toll it took on families. The quest for truth unveils the darker side of loyalty and betrayal.

Jul 11, 2025 • 38min
27.5: The Devil in the Machine
Dr. Rob is flying solo for this exploration of the spiritual, ethical, and educational ramifications of the rise of consumer artificial intelligence; namely large language models like ChatGPT. Rob talks about his experience as a teacher and researcher and explores the logical limits of a machine that promises to think for us.

Jul 4, 2025 • 0sec
27.4: The Book of Enoch (Interview Special)
Tobias Churton, author of The Book of Enoch Revealed, talks about how the texts ascribed to Enoch, most famously the story of the Watchers, came to the West. What is the significance of Enoch's ancient tale of angels and earth women?

Jun 27, 2025 • 46min
27.3: John Mandeville's Wild Ride
John Mandeville, who may or may not be a real person, claimed to travel the lands of Prester John where he saw chameleons the size of goats and hairy men who could swim really fast. Mandeville also made the argument that Christianity wasn't essential to earning God's favor, advocating for something like a natural religion.

Jun 13, 2025 • 53min
27.2: The Priest-King of Africa
In the twelfth century, Pope Alexander III received a letter from Prester John, a legendary Africa priest king rumored to be as powerful as the Great Khan. The letter made fantastic claims about the Prester's lands and power and may have been a hoax but then Alexander's own physician brought him news that he'd met the Prester's representative in the Holy Land. Could the Prester be the Pope's solution to his political squabbles with the Holy Roman Emperor?

May 30, 2025 • 57min
27.1: The Irish Witch Vanished
Alice Kyteler was the first woman to be tried for witchcraft in Ireland and her servant, Petronilla of Meath, was the first to be burned for heresy. Kyteler's stepchildren with her three deceased husbands accused Kyteler of being a black widow my supernatural means and sought to use Pope John XXII's recent decree that sorcery was a heresy to rid themselves of their stepmother once and for all.

May 16, 2025 • 52min
26.9: The Sacred Stage (Interview Special)
Renowned Renaissance Festival performers Judas and Magnolia return to discuss the sacred and spiritual components of performance. In a conversation that ranges from Plato to Georges Bataille, the theater becomes something more than just a place to see a show.

May 2, 2025 • 55min
26.8: The Moon Temple Mystery School (Interview Special)
Rob and Luke sit down with Tahverlee, founder of the Moon Temple Mystery School, to discuss the archetype of the witch, healing generational trauma, and her experience with the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Apr 18, 2025 • 52min
26.7: Occult Elvis (Interview Special)
Miguel Conner discusses his new book on Elvis's interest and involvement with occultism. From charismatic Christianity to theosophy, Conner traces Elvis's journey and the strange symbolism of Elvis's Vegas period.

Apr 4, 2025 • 0sec
26.5: The Michigan Prophet
James Jesse Strang presents a parallel prophet’s career to that of Joseph Smith. In some ways, a copycat of the Mormon prophet who literally attempted to succeed him despite their having had only a brief relationship, Strang also innovated on Mormon doctrine. Like Smith, he discovered a collection of ancient plates hidden in the earth and established a community of believers on the frontier that he moved to a still better frontier. But his revelations were significantly shorter and less involved than Smith’s. If Strang was less successful in matters of the spirit he was better than Smith at politics. Whereas Smith was always an outsider and his presidential run is generally regarded as a kind of self-delusion, Strang actually won political office, serving in Michigan’s nascent state legislature. More notoriously, both men preached and wrote against polygamy but ended up practicing and even promoting it and both men were assassinated by their rivals.