Podcast Episodes Themed "Islam"

Westward Ho! with Matthew Melvin-Koushki

We let the tape run, discussing languages, and what ‘the classics’ is supposed to mean, the contrafactual proposition that the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after the first world war was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the twentieth century, the question of the ‘wastebasket of history model’ of western esotericism and how relevant it is to the Greater West model, and the magical war being fought for the future, and the need for warriors to get the language right.

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Episode 201: Matthew Melvin-Koushki on Islam, ‘the West’, and Western Esotericism

We welcome Matthew Melvin-Koushki back to the show to discuss how we might improve our historical picture of western esotericism by including the vast majority of the surviving historical dossier of western esotericism. There's only one problem: in order to do this, we need to embrace the Islamicate world as a major part of the west.

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Episode 200: Introducing Islām

With Episode 200 the SHWEP has reached a milestone of sorts. We are in the seventh century, and the world-order suddenly changes irrevocably as a new political force arises from Arabia: the Believers. We discuss three main respects in which the history of Islam is the history of western esotericism.

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Into the Light-Worlds with Charles Häberl

Our interview with Charles Häberl gets some extra time, and we explore the life and work of the contemporary scholar of a living Gnostic tradition, with the challenges, pitfalls, and huge opportunities furnished by that job-description. Along the way we look at aspects of the Mandæan community in diaspora, introduce the Ṣābians, and address the question of Mandæan esotericism.

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Episode 145: Thinking through Monotheism, Henotheism, Polytheism, and Dualism in Late Antiquity

We wander through a bunch of important (but mushy) ideas helpful for understanding late antiquity and late-antique religion: monotheism, henotheism, polytheism, and dualism. Featuring the triumphant return of Rupert and Steve, and they brought some friends.

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Episode 123: Jason BeDuhn on Mani and Manichæism

We discuss one of the most anomalous, vexing, and fascinating religious movements in history, the first to span east and west, the elusive but crucial Manichæism, and its prophet, the great Apostle of Light, Mani. The eternal struggle between light and darkness is on, and minds will be blown.

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Matthew Melvin-Koushki on ‘The West’

What do we mean by 'the west' when we talk about western esotericism? In this special episode we discuss what a cogent model of the west might look like, in terms of the history of ideas, and arrive at a radical reorientation (or rather reoccidentation).

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