Second installment of a two-part, in-depth conversation with cultural engineer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge on the occasion of the publication of THEE PSYCHICK BIBLE: A New Testameant, a compendium of Gen’s writing on magick, the occult and sexuality. Part one is here.

Happy 2010! We’re starting off the new decade right with the first installment of a two-part, in-depth conversation with cultural engineer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge on the occasion of the publication of THEE PSYCHICK BIBLE: A New Testameant, a compendium of Gen’s writing on magick, the occult and sexuality. Part two will be posted next week.

In honor of David Tennant’s final Doctor Who episodes, here’s a repeat of Richard’s interview with the outgoing Time Lord and Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies, shot at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, CA in early August for Boing Boing Video. Read the original entry here. Dangerous Minds returns in the new year with Genesis Breyer P-Orridge

Part 2 of my interview with Philip Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Proctor, the legendary Firesign Theater. In the 60s and 70s, The Firesign Theatre’s smart, anarchic—and decidedly psychedelic—“theater of the mind” was embraced by the era’s counterculture. Their mind-bending humor paved the way for Cheech & Chong, Saturday Night Live and The National Lampoon. www.firesigntheatre.com

Author Charles Hugh Smith discusses his latest book Survival+, an indispensable guide to understanding global turmoil and transformation, weaving a full spectrum of intellectual disciplines—history, political economy, ecology, energy demands, marketing, investing, health and the psychology of happiness—into a uniquely comprehensive book that offers practical principles, not just for surviving, but prospering in the difficult decades ahead.
 

For the first time in a very long time, an interview with Philip Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Proctor, the legendary Firesign Theater. (Jan 8 & 9, 2010 shows in Whidbey Island, Washington, see www.firesigntheatre.com for more information)
 

Michael Panzner is the author of the new best-seller, When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era. He’s a former Wall Street insider himself and one of the very, very first writers to accurately predict where the economy was headed in his 2007 book Financial Armageddon. His views are refreshingly “agnostic” when it comes to matters of liberal vs conservative, and this prevents his analysis from being muddled by an ideological lens. Visit his Financial Armageddon blog. (Note: There are several spots of troublesome audio, but it’s worth getting past them to hear what Michael has to say in this fascinating discussion.)

Duncan Laurie, author of The Secret Art, is one of the world?

(Part 1 is here) In which Philip, Peter and Richard discuss the upcoming Firesign Theatre shows in Los Angeles (buy tickets here), the future, conspiracy theories and why everything you know is wrong, the health care debate and why the birthers are actually right about one thing: Obama IS an alien (from outer space. Peter’s got the proof).
 

(Part I) In which P&B announce the upcoming Firesign shows in LA (buy tickets here), Richard reveals himself to be a “baby of the Firesign Theatre” (it’s true!),  Phil tells how the Firesign Theatre were the original computer hackers and we discover why Surrealism makes you smarter. As Peter says near the end, “You either never heard of us, or you have us memorized.” I fall into the latter camp and this one is for all my fellow Bozos on this Bus. I have done hundreds of interviews in my career and this one is in my top five favorites. Hopefully, schedules permitting, I’ll be speaking to all four Firesign Theatre members next month. Stayed tuned for Part II next week. (You can listen to David Ossman and Phil Austin on Air America recently here)

The Process was the apocalyptic shadow side of the flower-powered 60s and perhaps the most notorious cult of modern times. Timothy Wyllie was the first member and the art director of the cult’s magazine. The group’s apocalyptic theology brought on accusations of sinister conspiracies as scores of black-cloaked devotees swept the streets of London, NY, New Orleans and other cities selling magazines with titles likes Love, Fear, Sex and Death. Timothy Wyllie is the author of Love, Sex, Fear, Death published by Feral House.

Richard Metzger interviews Joe Bageant, author of the (excellent!) book, Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America’s Class War. Joe offers insight into American redneck culture and tries to explain Birthers, tea baggers and how Republicans have become so infernally adept at convincing working class Americans to vote against their own self-interest, like now, with the health care debate. Do not miss this one. Furthermore do not miss Deer Hunting with Jesus, it’s essential reading if you want to understand the deeply ingrained psychological complexities that make up modern America, whether you are American yourself or not.

Richard Metzger interviews outgoing Timelord David Tennant and former Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, CA for Boing Boing Video.

“I’m one of those guys who downloads Doctor Who and Torchwood within seconds of them hitting the torrent trackers. Just a few hours after they air in the UK, I’m watching them in Los Angeles. My wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year and I said “A new Doctor Who episode, but I’m getting that already.” That’s how much I love the show (She’s a fan too, but drew the line at me using the TARDIS landing for my ring tone).

“So it was great fun for me to meet Russell and David. A real treat. They’re both friendly, charismatic guys who who were really easy to interview. They clearly enjoy each others company and there was a nice, loose banter between them that I think will be fun for the fans to watch here. They’ve got their double act down pat, let’s just say.

“This interview took place at an interesting moment in time for both men as they’ve only just left behind their respective starring roles in one of the biggest television successes in the world today. As difficult as that may sound, you can only imagine how much pressure is off them after four years of practically non-stop work. I think it shows in this interview, as they’re both very relaxed and jovial. David had just come from Comic Con where he was treated with fan adulation bordering on Beatlemania and Russell is starting a new phase of his life here in Los Angeles. The week we shot this he was just coming off the double whammy career high of Torchwood practically *taking over* British television for an entire week with his brilliant Children of Earth mini-series (read my review here) and then seeing it launch BBC America’s new HD service with a resounding success right afterward here. How lucky Hollywood is to have Britain’s answer to Rod Serling in such close proximity these days and I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re reading in Variety what David Tennant will do next. He’s an interesting actor and a lot of big people will want to work with him, so expect that it will be something worth watching! Like I say, I think it’s an interesting glimpse into a transitional time for both David and Russell and these were the questions that I wanted to ask them, not as a journalist on assignment, but as a big Doctor Who fan (“David, isn’t leaving Doctor Who like Sean Connery quitting James Bond?”), so I hope other Who fans around the world will enjoy this as much as I did.”

Richard Metzger interviews Ondi Timoner, two time Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning director of DiG! and the new doc We Live in Public about Josh Harris, “the greatest Internet pioneer you’ve never heard of.” A dotcom millionaire known for throwing wild parties, Harris had a desire for ever more elaborate social engineering events, culminating in Quiet: We Live in Public, a month long party held in December of 1999. Quiet saw more than 100 artists and weirdos under one roof in lower Manhattan in a Japanese style capsule hotel and captured the results with over 100 cameras. Nothing was off limits, not showers, not the bathroom, not sex, nothing. The participants also had to submit to fascistic psychological interrogations. Fun! After this, Harris and his girlfriend did a similar experiment which saw them webcasting their lives 24/7, ending the relationship and resulting in Harris’ nervous breakdown. Shot at Mahalo Studios, special thanks to Jason Calacanis and Alex Miller. Cut live by Alex Miller. Edited by Bradley Novicoff. Produced by Bradley Novicoff and Tara McGinley.

Satirist, counter culture icon and all around iconoclast, Paul Krassner, author of the new collection, Who’s to Say What’s Obscene?: Politics, Culture, and Comedy in America Today. Topics include the definition of obscenity in today’s America, the Obama presidency and what it means for political satire, Jon Stewart and The Daily Show’s influence on younger people, the state of the “underground press” today and a lot more. Recorded at Mahalo Studios, special thanks to Jason Calacanis and Alex Miller. Cut live by Alex Miller and edited by Bradley Novicoff. Floor manager Darren Dodge. Produced by Bradley Novicoff and Tara McGinley

What happens when a journalist runs afoul of shrill Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly and his marauding army of right wing viewers? Rick Perlstein found out when Newsweek published his think piece on Sarah Palin’s future in the Republican Party. Even before O’Reilly’s show ended that night, Rick’s inbox filled up with hateful and ignorant emails. Rick’s original piece is here and his post-Factor essay on the results is here. Rick Perlstein is the author of Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America.

Richard Metzger speaks with author and environmental activist Derrick Jensen via Skype from his home in Northern California. Derrick is the author of thirteen books including ?

Richard Metzger speaks with author and environmental activist Derrick Jensen via Skype from his home in Northern California. Derrick is the author of thirteen books including “Endgame” and “How Shall I Live My Life.” From the interview: “The industrial economy is killing the planet and we need to shut down the industrial economy using any means necessary because the most important thing is a living planet. The people who come after are not going to care if we voted, they are not going to care if we were violent or non-violent, they’re not going to care if we were nice people, they’re not going to care if we recycled. They’re not going to care if we wrote books or whether we did interview programs, what they are going to care about is the health of the planet. What they are going to care about is whether they can breathe the air and drink the water, because we can all have some great fantasy about how we want things to be in the future, but if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water, it doesn’t matter.”

Recorded at Mahalo Studios.

Special thanks to Jason Calacanis and Alex Miller.

“It’s almost like if Scorsese directed Hee Haw.” Richard Metzger interviews Julien Nitzberg, director of the amazing new documentary film, “The Wild Whites of West Virginia.” Shot over the course of eighteen months, the film follows the often comical, sometimes tragic antics of the hell-raising hillbilly White family of Boone County, WV. Surely the state’s most notorious clan since the days of the Hatfields and the McCoys, the Whites engage in a mind-blowing array of anti-social and criminal activities with barely concealed glee. Produced by “Jackass” maestros Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine through their Dickhouse production company and MTV Films, “The Wild Whites of West Virginia” takes no prisoners and it doesn’t tell you what to think about the Whites.  Local law enforcement hate them, but for the most part—barring a several day armed seige one younger White puts them through—but tend to want to stay out of their insane shenanigans. When one of the Whites gives birth and then snorts up ground painkillers in her hospital room while her infant sleeps nearby, the camera was there, okay? It’s intimate! Unlike anything you are likely to see unless you live in Boone County, WV. An incredible documentary. Highly recommended.

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