Desert Oracle Radio
Ken Layne
Recent Episodes
From Desert Oracle Radio, this is The Eldritch Republic, our new series about America’s strange history & uncanny folklore.
Tonight we visit the beautiful country estate of Clement Clarke Moore, the big house called "Chelsea" where he read his Christmas poem to the family. The poem is "A Visit From St. Nicholas," and the country estate is now the neighborhood of Chelsea, New York City.
Santa Claus, it turns out, is a New York City native. He was created from old Dutch traditions of St. Nicholas and Sinterklaas, by NYC boosters and literary men such as Clement C. Moore, Washington Irving and John Pintard.
Written and hosted by Ken Layne, with soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver.
Desert Oracle Radio © ℗ 2017-2025 https://DesertOracle.com
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Snowy mountaintops across the Western Mojave, all the transverse ranges have at least a dusting, with the big peaks covered in white. San Gorgonio looks so pretty right now, you can almost forget it’s a haunted mountain that eats people alive and is usually known by its grim local nickname “Old Grayback.” It must be Thanksgiving in the High Desert! An all-new episode with new soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver, this is Desert Oracle Radio Episode #253.
ALSO: Listen to the end, for important information on our Stocking Stuffer Special: a rare print edition of Desert Oracle (issue #11) & a DOR yellow vinyl bumper sticker, postage-paid to your mailbox for only $15.99.
Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2024 http://DesertOracle.com
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Recorded live in New York before an audience of DOR Patrons & assorted Manhattanites, this is Desert Oracle’s special Halloween Ghost Stories. Thanks to our special guests Matt Welch from The Fifth Column and Nicholas Lowry from Antique Roadshows & the new Czech graphic-design documentary Identity.
Special thanks to our listeners who told ghost stories, RedBlueBlackSilver for the spooky soundscapes that surrounded us all, and Jonathan Farber for hosting the event.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
From Desert Oracle Radio, this is The Eldritch Republic, our new series that’s all about America’s strange history & uncanny folklore.
Tonight we meet William Dunbar, frontier scientist on the Lower Mississippi, and hear his weird report to longtime friend Thomas Jefferson, regarding a large, low-flying mystery object that stunned the people of Baton Rouge in the Spring of 1800.
Written and hosted by Ken Layne, with soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver.
Desert Oracle Radio © ℗ 2017-2025 https://DesertOracle.com
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There were two attempted assassinations of President Gerald Ford in September 1975. Both in California, both by women, and both with strange connections to Charles Manson. And then there was third incident six months later, involving not the president, but First Lady Betty Ford. A very strange third incident.
This is The Eldritch Republic, a new collection of uncanny history and American folklore from Desert Oracle Radio. Just in time for the Halloween season, with new episodes throughout the U.S. Sestercentennial, 2026. Written & hosted by Ken Layne, with soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver.
Desert Oracle Radio © ℗ 2017-2025 http://DesertOracle.com
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.