Gandalf And The Ice Wall: You Shall Not Pass?
In this episode, I explore the shifting landscape of conspiracy culture and what I've been noticing about an emerging "conspiracy canon."
Recording from my new apartment in Paraguay, I dive into observations from my recent event with Greg Carlwood in Florida, examining how conspiracy thinking has evolved from political analysis to metaphysical questioning.
Using Charles Fort's framework of "dominants," I discuss how we're witnessing a paradigm shift toward a more meaning-centered worldview as a response to scientific materialism.
Whether you consider yourself a conspiracy person or not, this episode offers insights into epistemology, metaphysics, and our relationship to meaning in the cosmos.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction and setting the scene from Paraguay
02:15 - Recent event with Greg Carlwood in Florida
04:30 - The concept of a "Conspiracy Canon"
07:10 - Observing alignment among respected thinkers
09:05 - When brilliant people question fundamental assumptions
12:30 - Robert Anton Wilson on conspiracy culture shifting from left to right
15:45 - The "Alex Jones era" and libertarian influence
18:20 - The 80s-90s "Lone Gunman Era" conspiracy canon
21:40 - Today's conspiracy canon: no virus, flat Earth, aliens as demons, Tartaria
24:15 - The internet's "hold my beer" effect on conspiracy thinking
27:50 - Shift from "how things are" to "who we are in the cosmos"
31:10 - Natural drift toward meaning-seeking
34:30 - Pushback against scientific materialism
37:50 - Charles Fort and reality paradigm shifts
40:15 - Fort's "dominants" and "damned data"
43:40 - Accumulated "damned facts" challenging mainstream narratives
46:20 - The "religious dominant" as initial framework
49:30 - The "scientific dominant" and its exclusionist tendency
52:45 - Fort recognizing scientism's limitations ahead of his time
56:10 - The emergent "dominant of wider inclusions"
59:25 - Visit to Cassadega and Greg's psychic reading experience
01:02:40 - Kelly Brogan and Mark Gober's alternative cosmology
01:05:15 - Being "80% flat earther" on meaningful universe principles
01:09:30 - Flat Earth as Biblical literalism seeking meaning
01:12:45 - Critique of Tartaria theories
01:15:20 - Meme culture and uncritical sharing of conspiracy content
01:18:40 - "Realm theory" as a container for anomalous data
01:21:25 - Being "Gandalf among the hobbits" during paradigm shifts
01:24:50 - Fortean flow model for approaching change
01:27:30 - Closing thoughts on being a container for transformation
Rune Soup
Rune Soup is a podcast channel that platforms the most important discussions at the cutting edge of magic, animism and spirit work.
Gordon is chaos magician, shamanic practitioner, podcaster, author and permaculture designer with a background in data and analytics gained at some of the world's largest media companies. He is the author of four books on magic, animism and star lore: Star.Ships: A Prehistory of the Spirits, The Chaos Protocols, Pieces of Eight and Ani.Mystic: Encounters With A Living Cosmos.
When not travelling, Gordon hosts his weekly show, Rune Soup, from a small permaculture farm in southern Tasmania.
- No. of episodes: 369
- Latest episode: 2025-05-16
- Religion & Spirituality Society & Culture Philosophy Spirituality
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