Pop Apocalypse

Matthew J. Dillon, Center for the Study of World Religions

Pop Apocalypse explores gnostic, esoteric, and mystical currents in popular culture. The podcast features interviews with artists, musicians, and writers about the experiential and spiritual dimensions of their work. Music by Secret Chiefs 3.

  1. 16 OCT

    Mysticism and the Simulation Hypothesis – A Talk with Rizwan Virk

    Do we live inside a Matrix-like simulation? For Episode 17 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome one of the leading theorists behind the simulation hypothesis, Rizwan Virk, to discuss that question. Virk is an entrepreneur, videogame pioneer, and academic author of two major works on simulation theory:The Simulation Hypothesis (Tarcher, 2025) and The Simulated Multiverse (Bayview Books, 2021). In the interview (3:51), we discuss the technologies necessary to make a Matrix-like simulation possible and how close we are to achieving them. Then we turn to the religious and mystical dimensions of simulation theory (29:43), exploring reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, UAPs, angels, and the anthropocentrism and ethical pitfalls of simulation theory. Rizwan Virk bio A graduate of MIT and Stanford University,  Rizwan Virk, PhD, is a successful entrepreneur, video game pioneer, film producer, venture capitalist, professor, and bestselling author of The Simulation Hypothesis (Tarcher, 2025), Wisdom of a Yogi(Bayview Books, 2023), and The Simulated Multiverse (Bayview Books, 2021). Virk’s video games, including Tap Fish and Penny Dreadful: Demimonde, have been played by millions. He is the founder and executive director of Play Labs @ MIT, a video game accelerator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and currently teaches at Arizona State University. Rizwan Virk's Homepage Pop Apocalypse linktree

    1h 23m

  2. 21 SEPT

    AI, Hip-Hop, and the Digital Uncanny – A Talk with Paul Miller, aka “DJ Spooky”

    For Episode 16 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome composer, artist, and media theorist Paul Miller. Miller is best known for his music as DJ Spooky, the avant-garde turntableist who has collaborated with artists ranging from Chuck D to Yoko Ono. He has also re-scored classic films, such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and his art has been showcased in exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art.  In this wide-ranging conversation (6:12), we asked Paul to explore the eeriness of life in the digital age. We touch on the perils and possibilities of artificial intelligence, the role of the DJ, Japanese Butoh as a response to nuclear tragedy, re-scoring D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, and how Einstein, science fiction, and Sun Ra have shaped Miller’s work.  Paul Miller bio Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, is currently at work on two books: one about the impact of algorithms on how we think of storytelling, Digital Fiction for Duke University Press, and The Future of Food, about the impact of AI on how we think of the production of food in the twenty-first century. He was Artist in Residence at Yale University Center for Collaborative Arts and Media (2023-2024). He is a composer, multimedia artist, and writer whose work engages audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. Miller has collaborated with an array of recording artists, including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Metallica, Chuck D from Public Enemy, Steve Reich, and Yoko Ono, among many others. His 2018 album, DJ Spooky Presents: Phantom Dancehall, debuted at No. 3 on Billboard Reggae. Paul Miller links HomepageSongs of a Dead DreamerJapanese ButohRebirth of a NationRhythm ScienceSound UnboundPop Apocalypse links LinktreeYouTubeInstagramCSWR landing pageEmail us at popapocalypse@hds.harvard.edu

    1h 23m

  3. 29 JUL

    Gnostic Myth in Film - A Talk with Fryderyk Kwiatkowski

    For episode 15 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome assistant professor, Fryderyk Kwiatkowski, on to discuss the relationship between ancient Gnostic myth and modern cinema. Fryderyk takes us through the impact European intellectuals 20:29 Carl Jung, Hans Jonas, and Eric Voegelin on popular conceptions of Gnosticism. We then dive into analyses of the Gnostic elements in films 34:34 like the Matrix, Dark City, Truman Show, and more recent cinema like Free Guy, Chappie, and the television series Silo. BIO Fryderyk Kwiatkowski is an Assistant at AGH University of Krakow. He earned a joint doctoral degree from the University of Groningen and the Jagiellonian University in 2023 with a thesis entitled Gnosticism in Hollywood: From European Academia to American Popular Culture. His research interests encompass the cultural reception of late antique esoteric traditions, their intersections with discourses on utopias and dystopias, and the (not-so-obvious) intertwinement of popular media, philosophy, and religion. He is currently developing a project on the role of imagination in contemporary technoculture, with a focus on the feedback loops between transhumanism, science fiction, and esotericism. He has published his research in venues such as Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies, CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, Journal of Religion and Film. NOTES Fryderyk Kwiatkowski Academia.edu Gnosticism in Hollywood: From European Academia to American Popular Culture "Eric Voegelin and Gnostic Hollywood" "How to Attain Liberation from a False World? The Gnostic Myth of Sophia in Dark City."

    1h 47m

  4. 2 JUL

    Madness, Mysticism, and Philosophy – A Talk with Wouter Kusters

    For episode 14 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome the linguist and philosopher Wouter Kusters. Kusters is the author of Pure Madness (2004) and A Philosophy of Madness (2014), both of which won the Dutch Socrates Award for best philosophy book of the year. We discuss (5:26) how the experience of psychotic thinking challenges and illuminates our notions of language, philosophy, and mysticism. Along the way, we touch on the similarities between mystical and mad experiences, apophatic and psychotic uses of language, the phenomenology of time, and the impact of Kusters’ books on mental health specialists. Wouter Kusters, PhD, is a linguist and philosopher based in the Netherlands. Two of his books received the Dutch Socrates Award for the best and most inspiring philosophy book of the year: Pure Madness (2004) and A Philosophy of Madness (2014). The English version of this latter work was released in 2020 by MIT Press. In 2022, an Arabic version was released, and a Chinese translation is expected this year. Kusters writes on a range of themes in various outlets that explore perennial questions of meaning, madness, mysticism, and language. LINKS Wouter Kusters' homepage A Philosophy of Madness

    1h 19m

  5. 25 APR

    Photographing the Invisible: A Talk with Shannon Taggart

    For Episode 13 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome Shannon Taggart, an American photographer, writer, researcher, and curator known for exploring how photography can navigate boundaries between the seen and unseen. Her book, Séance (Fulger Press, 2019), offers hundreds of photographs documenting contemporary Spiritualism across the U.S. and Britain. We discuss (3:26) what sparked Shannon’s interests in Spiritualism, the intersecting histories of photography and Spiritualism, ectoplasm, what inspires people to become mediums, and the techniques she developed for photographing the invisible. Shannon Taggart Website Seánce Lily Dale Symposium, 2025 CSWR Events May 1, 6-8pm EDT: Peripheries Launch Event, Volume 7 May 15-17: Thinking with Plants and Fungi Conference

    1h 9m

  6. 27 FEB

    Black Metal and Orthodox Christianity - A Talk with Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix of Liturgy

    For our 12th episode, we welcome the philosopher, artist, and musician Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix. Haela is best known as the songwriter and singer behind the black metal band, Liturgy, which has released 1 EP and 6 full-length albums. We discuss Haela’s early relationships to Christianity and metal music, the growth of her philosophical interests, and her recent conversion to Orthodox Christianity. In the second part of our chat (42:33), we explore her philosophical system of Transcendental Qabalah and how it informs records such as H.A.Q.Q., Origin of the Alimonies, and 93696. LINKS Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix Substack YouTube Channel "Transcendental Black Metal essay" Liturgy records H.A.Q.Q. Origin of the Alimonies 93696 References Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey Into Christian Hermeticism Deleuze and Guattari, Anti-Oedipus Sergius Bulgakov, The Sophiology of Death

    1h 31m

  7. 14 JAN

    Women, Art, and the Spirit World - A Talk With Jennifer Higgie, Author of The Other Side

    For Episode 11 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome Jennifer Higgie. Jennifer is the author of several books, including Bedlam, a novel about the artist Richard Dadd; The Mirror and the Palette, a history of women’s self-portraits; and The Other Side: A Story of Women in Art and the Spirit World, a beautiful and personal study of the relationship between spiritual experience and art in the lives of modern women. In this career-spanning chat, Jennifer and I discuss her early career in painting, what inspired her to write Bedlam, and how the art world changed during her time at Frieze magazine. Then we dive into Jennifer’s latest book, The Other Side: A Story of Women in Art and the Spirit World. We discuss the spiritual and artistic lives of women like Georgiana Houghton (20:35), Hilma af Klint (34:06), Ithell Colquhoun (46:09), and Hildegard of Bingen (52:53). Along the way, we touch on topics like fairies, Spiritualism, gardening, Carl Jung, spiritual ecology, Theosophy, ascended masters, angels, and much else. LINKS Jennifer Higgie The Other Side: Women, Art, and the Spirit World The Mirror and the Palette: Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance: 500 Years of Women's Self-Portraits Bedlam Others Georgiana Houghton's Evenings at Home in Spiritual Seánce Amy Hale's Ithell Colquhoun: Genius of the Fern Loved Gully Julia Voss's Hilma af Klint: A Biography

    1h 15m

  8. 30/11/2024

    Music and the Esoteric Imagination - A Talk with Trey Spruance of Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3

    For episode 10 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome the musician, composer, and producer Trey Spruance. We discuss (3:42)Trey’s early musical and occult explorations and how reading the philosopher Henry Corbin changed the course of his life. Trey then takes us through the esoteric dimensions of Secret Chiefs 3 (22:59) and how albums like Book M and Book of Horizons are filled with correspondences to Kabbalah, astrology, Hermetic magic, and Pythagorean musicology. Along the way, we touch on Trey’s work with John Zorn and Kronos Quartet, his conversion to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and the afterlives of Saint Cyprian the Mage. LINKS Web of Mimicry website Book M Book of Horizons Book of Souls: Folio A The Book Beri'ah, Vol. 10: Malkhut Xaphan: Book of Angels, Vol. 9 Perichoresis Link to the G.I. Gurdjieff Conference at Harvard Divinity School, Dec 4-5th

    1h 47m
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About

Pop Apocalypse explores gnostic, esoteric, and mystical currents in popular culture. The podcast features interviews with artists, musicians, and writers about the experiential and spiritual dimensions of their work. Music by Secret Chiefs 3.

Information

  • Creator
    Matthew J. Dillon, Center for the Study of World Religions
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2023 --
  • Show Website
    Pop Apocalypse

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