

Astral Flight Simulation
astral
Navigating the digital world through art and culture
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 1, 2022 • 2h 20min
The Art of Darkness
For todays episode I'm joined by the two co-hosts of one of my favorite podcasts, Art of Darkness. In each episode they do a deep dive, and I mean they really go deeper than most other podcasts, on an artist and their work. They've covered some of my favorite authors, like HP Lovecraft, Philip K Dick, William S. Burroughs, and Roberto Bolano - who they discussed with me as their guest! They also cover painters like Heironymous Bosch and Francis Bacon and the theater impresario Antonin Artaud.Here we have a wide ranging discussion of things from realism vs horror, publishing, and writing in the digital age. We spend a lot of time on Burroughs as well. Literary aficionados will love this episode.Follow their website and subscribe to their pod at Art of Dark PodFollow my substack Astral Flight Simulation for lots more content

Aug 28, 2022 • 1h 45min
Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th
We discuss two horror classics as well as Zantaes twitter account @mythoamerica. We use the films and the account to discuss the dark past of America, the archetypical imagery of both films, as well as their relationship to American nostalgia, coming of age stories, and our relationship to both the wilderness, the suburbs, religion, and sexuality.Follow me on substack at AstralFlightSimulationFollow me on twitter @AFScast

Aug 28, 2022 • 2h 11min
Event Horizon: Scrolling in the Abyss
We discuss Event Horizon as a metaphor for the cultural morass we find ourselves in in the digital ageFollow me on substack at AstralFlightSimulaitonFollow AV on substack at Rubedo ChamberFollow me on twitter @AFScast and AV @VitruVN

Aug 12, 2022 • 1h 36min
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of my all time favorite movies, and I believe its mytho and psychological significance can provide insight into the current predicament we face in America today, culturally and politically. By interpreting the film through The Golden Bough, Jung, Eric Neumann, and Greek Mythology, we hope to provide a deeper understanding of the imagery of American horror. We also hope its a lot of fun, this movie goes so hard.The Texas monthly article I reference can be found here, and is highly recommended Visit my substack, which has long form articles and podcast episodes that aren't available anywhere elseMy friend Remus is not on twitter, but you can follow my friend AV here

Aug 4, 2022 • 1h 50min
Lord of the Rings vs A Song of Ice and Fire
A few months back, my friend Conan made a popular and controversial thread about A Song of Ice and Fire, calling it among other things, a “failure.” His thread inspired me to think much deeper about the series and make the obvious comparison, to Lord of the Rings. This episode is the discussion these two threads inspired, almost two hours discussing the merits of the two series, as well as the cultural context from whence they sprang. What does Tolkein’s world say about LOTR and what does Martins say about GoT? And what do the series, in turn, say about their worlds? We discuss this an more in what I hope is the first of many with Conan.To read his tweets "The Failure of Song of Ice and Fire" and mine, "A Requiem for Frodo," visit my blog Astral Flight Simulation and follow us both on twitter!

Jul 31, 2022 • 1h 15min
Thaddeus Russel on the Post Left
Thaddeus Russel is one of my all time favorite podcasters, and as I tell him on this episode, he has the most intellectually diverse podcast on the internet. He had my friend and frequent guest Gio Pennichietti on his show and, for his online university they read Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher, a book beloved by the post left.I asked Thad to come on and discuss the book and politics in America today, particularly the left after Trump. His perspective is steeped in history and political theory, and his ideas are all very clearly his own. Even though I disagree with him pretty strongly on a couple things, I can’t help but admire someone whose not only an independent thinker, but someone whose able to weigh ideas on their own merits and accept or reject them with absolutely no recourse to ideology. This quality is very rare these days, so I am grateful he took the time with me to lay out his thoughts on the shifting sands of politics in America.If you’ve never heard his show before, I strongly recommend you visit his Patreon page. Among other things, he has book discussions with two guests of the Astral Flight Simulation: Gio and Curtis Yarvin!!As always, the beat that goes so hard at the end was made by my friend @edenicjesus. EP dropping in the fall

Jul 22, 2022 • 2h 18min
Darryl Cooper of Martyrmade Podcast
Today I'm joined by one of the two or three greatest podcasters in the world, Darryl Cooper of The Martyrmade Podcast. We recorded this episode a few days after the tragic and horrific Uvalde mass shooting, and we spend the first half discussing the psychology and archetypical significance of the spree shooter. In part two we discuss Oswald Spengler and Cormac McCarthy, particularly Spenglers concept of the Caesar figure and McCarthys book The Road. And as usual, of course, we pepper Nietzsche throughout. Follow Darryl and me on substack at Martyrmade and Astral Flight, respectively, and on twitter at @martyrmade and @AFScast

Jun 24, 2022 • 1h 59min
Internet Political Culture with Nightmare Vision
Nightmare Vision and I talk about the way the internet and online subcultures shape political discourse and cultural morality Follow me on substack at Astral Flight Simulation and Twitter @afscastFollow Nightmare Vision on Twitter @godclosedmyeyes

Jun 16, 2022 • 1h 47min
Art in the Digital Age
Is the work of art possible in the digital age? Ostensibly this is the topic Gio and I discuss, but as we often do, we veer off onto internet political subcultures and Nick Land, among many other things. We compare/contrast The Matrix and Ready Player One, discuss Walter Benjamins "The Origin of the Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," "Hauntology," and much more! Follow me on twitter at @afscastSubstack at www.astralflight.substack.comFollow Gio on YouTube at Content Minded and on twitter at @giantgio

May 16, 2022 • 2h 17min
The Demonology of the Internet
Helios and I discuss the occult and demonic forces shaping our culture through the internet, using it as a body to bring into being a God whose been sleeping since before time. The fiber optic cables are its Cthulu-like mind flayer appendages, the smartphones and laptop monitors its eyes, its users its brain cells. Dark forces have been transmitting messages to us from beyond the wall of sleep, giving us the form it needs us to bring into reality so it can raise its dark master.Follow me on twitter @afscastSubscribe to my substack for many more episodes, long form essays, and paid content;https://astralflight.substack.com