Topic: George Hansen

The hosts reminisce about recommending guests to one another. White was reportedly frustrated by an interview with George P. Hansen (author of "The Trickster and the Paranormal") due to Hansen's rigid scheduling and coy nature. Other names mentioned include Tracy Twyman, Laura Eisenhower, and Michael Salla.

Soraya lists influential guests and researchers, including Patrick Harper (Demonic Reality) and George Hansen (The Trickster and the Paranormal). The discussion covers Nick Redfern’s theory that the Roswell crash involved human experimentation rather than aliens, and Douglas Dietrich’s claims regarding Japanese prisoners of war. These researchers are highlighted for their ability to provide cohesive frameworks for high strangeness.

Taggart discusses her work with the SORAT (Society for Research on Rapport and Telekinesis) archive, a seance group started by poet John Neihardt in Missouri that lasted 50 years. The archive contains massive amounts of spirit cinema, audio, and "entity letters." Taggart is currently restoring negatives from this collection, which was a primary inspiration for George Hansen’s book "The Trickster and the Paranormal." She compares her preservation efforts to Jeffrey Kripal’s "Archives of the Impossible" at Rice University, which houses discarded paranormal research.

Referencing the work of George P. Hansen, the host and guest discuss how religions use taboos to keep the "trickster" or demonic elements at bay. Dr. Kripal explains that sexuality is inherently disruptive to social systems, necessitating purity codes and inheritance controls. He argues that the demonization of sex is a universal human problem related to social stability rather than a specific failure of Western Christianity.

Host Greg Carlwood introduces George P. Hansen, author of the influential book The Trickster and The Paranormal. Hansen's background includes eight years of professional employment in parapsychology laboratories, including the Ryan Research Center and Princeton's Psychophysical Research Laboratories. His career spans experiments in remote viewing, electronic random number generators, and seance phenomena.

George P. Hansen mentions his current work involving the philosopher Jacques Derrida and the application of literary criticism to the paranormal. He admits the work is highly abstract but believes it will eventually be productive. The interview concludes with Greg Carlwood thanking Hansen for his time and reflecting on the milestone of recording a late-night session with a legend in the field.

Greg Carlwood asks if the podcast itself has generated an egregore, leading Stavish to warn against becoming obsessed with conspiracy theories that do not lead to self-knowledge. He references the injunction "Know Thy Self" from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, arguing that any pursuit—including psychic research—is only valuable if it aids in self-realization and the ability to act in the world.

The trickster is a structural component of the universe, appearing as Loki, Seth, or the "Crossroads Devil" in Hoodoo and jazz mythology, such as the story of Robert Johnson. While modern society sanitizes the trickster due to an anxiety regarding unpredictability, this archetype is where growth and "upside" originate. Magical practices for engaging with this force often involve Greco-Roman Hecatean rituals, such as leaving offerings at a crossroads and never looking back.