On February 25th of this year, Airman Aaron Bushnell of the United States Air Force lit himself on fire outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. Prior to his self-immolation, he posted a message on Facebook: Many of us like to ask ourselves, "What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I d…

Does D&D succeed in translating the mythology of the vampire to the gaming table? Is the ritual of the tabletop role-playing game a rehearsal and practice for our own deaths? Today, we ponder these and other questions in our continuing discussion of combat as war vs. combat as sport with Harvard's own, Dr. Christopher Robichaud! Pick up the Robicha…

This conversation goes places I'd never imagined it going. Today, we discuss 1E vampires, whether combat is war or sport, Satanists at Harvard, and zombie pandemics with Dr. Christopher Robichaud, the senior lecturer in ethics and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Dr. Robichaud's TED talk is here. My interview with the Hick…

"Animate Dead: It is, of course, possible to animate the skeletons or corpses of demi-human and humanoid, as well as human, sort." -pg. 41 of the 1st edition Advanced Dungeon Masters Guide. Is that the worst sentence in the book? It is confusing, ill-constructed, and hideous to the ear. Or is it merely the worst sentence so far? Scott and Ben discu…

Scott & Ben continue their exploration of spells as described in the DMG, and discover more examples of spells with contradictory instructions in the two AD&D corebooks! We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! You'll get access to our Discord server, and have the pleasure of knowing that deep down, you really are the best.…

Regrettably, sources are confirming what we all fear: that Hasbro's digital future will leave little room for Dungeons & Dragons as we know it. Ben & Scott discuss. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! You'll get access to our Discord server, and have the pleasure of knowing that deep down, you really are the best.…

Last week, the empty position of CEO at Wizards of the Coast was filled. But does it really matter at all when Chris Cocks, the gentleman who thought ending the OGL was a good idea is still running Hasbro? Ben and Scott discuss, and also talk over the spell light from both the 1st edition PHB and DMG. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support u…

Today, we take time to talk to the third voice of our show, Madeleine Craig! Madeleine is an actress and long-time DM who got her start with 5th edition. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! You'll get access to our Discord server, and have the pleasure of knowing that deep down, you really are the best.…

Given the racist tropes baked into the fantasy genre, how does the institution of D&D move forward into a brighter, better future? Are there also questions of stories for children versus stories for adults to be weighed? And all that is bookended by a discussion on spells in AD&D 1st edition. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patr…

We read aloud "Tribal Spellcasting" from the 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide, and reflect on how it codifies racist stereotypes into the game. We also read sections from "Hack the Orcs, Loot the Tomb, and Take the Land" by Daniel Heath Justice, which you can and should read here. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! …

You will not hear a conversation like this anywhere else. Was the D&D magic system an extension of the existing Western occult tradition, or a break from it? To answer that question, historian of magic, author, and eldritch librarian Dan Harms joins Dr. Scott Bruner, TTRPG academic, & Ben Riggs, D&D historian, for a discussion that takes us from re…

When you cast Fireball, what really happens in the fiction of the game? Today, Scott Bruner & Ben Riggs take a look at that very question by continuing to examine the "Magic" chapter of the 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! You'll get access to our Discord server, and have the plea…

Today we'll be tracing the influence of dualistic cosmologies on the development of religious thought. In examining these historical narratives, we'll see how ancient beliefs influence modern religious thought. From there, we'll pivot to an examination of the concept of mind as it is understood in both historical and modern contexts. Challenging th…

Today, we talk with one of the most significant game designers of his generation: Jonathan Tweet. Best well known for being the lead designer on 3rd edition D&D, Tweet's D20 rolling fantasy game, 13th Age, is Kickstarting its second edition right now! Did you know that 13th Age, the premier D20-rolling fantasy TTRPG, is funding a 2nd edition right …

Scott & Ben read an ancient OSR oddity aloud with D&D and 13th Age designer Rob Heinsoo! The book is both deeply weird and incredibly inspiring. Imagine a TTRPG world with phasers, machine guns, ESP, evil wizards, demigods, and reincarnation. Did you know that 13th Age, the premier D20-rolling fantasy TTRPG, is funding a 2nd edition right now? Back…

Would anyone designing a magic system for an RPG today use D&D's fire-and-forget magic system? A reading from the DMG on how the Illusionist gets their spells spins into RPG history and, shockingly, a link to Scott's dissertation. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! You'll get access to our Discord server, and have the plea…

If you have not heard Dr. Joseph Laycock speak about the religious elements of tabletop role-playing games, prepare to have your mind blown. This conversation is like nothing you've heard before. Check out his book on D&D and other RPGs here. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! You'll get access to our Discord server, and h…

Cthulhu is an unknowable eldritch blasphemy. How many hit points does it have? Was it copyright infringement for this octopoid monstrosity to appear in an AD&D product? Find out today when Ben & Scott talk to Jim Lowder, TSR alumnus, master freelancer, and specialist on the big green guy. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon!…

A discussion on how 1st edition Wizards got their spells leads us down unexpected paths, and leads us to Dangerous Games... We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! You'll get access to our Discord server, and have the pleasure of knowing that deep down, you really are the best.By BCS Productions

Cynthia Williams is out at WotC, which begs the question: If you were hired as the new CEO, what would you do to right the ship of game and sail us all to safer waters? We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! You'll get access to our Discord server, and have the pleasure of knowing that deep down, you really are the best.…

Today, we examine how clerics get their spells, and discuss what did and did not influence Gary Gygax in the creation of the cleric. Ben's book, Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons is now only $2.99 for Kindle on Amazon! Buy it! Gift it! Love it! I assume this will only be for a limited time, so get it now! We enjoy you. Do y…

The word “sin” drips with centuries of religious baggage, conjuring images of fire and brimstone preachers and penitent souls begging for redemption. But what lies beneath the surface of this concept? In this episode, we’ll embark on a journey through the history and philosophy of sin, tracing its etymological origins, its central role in Christian…

This week, Scott & Ben look at a piece of text which has proved shockingly influential: "Time." Click here to read about Ben Robbins's original West Marches campaign. Click here to read more about West Marches. We enjoy you. Do you enjoy us? If so, support us on Patreon! You'll get access to our Discord server, and have the pleasure of knowing that…

In 1992, TSR attempted to acquire the rights to produce Lord of the Rings roleplaying products. How much do you think they offered for the rights? Thanks to Tolkien scholar John Rateliff, we now know the answer! Ben & Scott read aloud the actual correspondence between TSR and Tolkien representatives that reveals the shocking answer. We enjoy you. D…

In December, Wizards fired numerous key members of the D&D team. Ben, of course, has been interviewing them. In another episode in which we fail to so much as read a single sentence of D&D aloud, Ben and Scott discuss the truth of what has been happening at Wizards these past 10 years... Let's talk on Discord! Join our Patreon here and for the pric…

A historian and an academic read and talk over the intro do the 2nd edition Player's Handbook for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons! Let's talk on Discord! Join our Patreon here and for the price of a cup of coffee per month, keep the show up and releasing episodes weekly, and chat with Scott and Ben on the Discord! Ben promises to talk, even though he h…

Within some cleft of history emerged the fallenness of humanity. Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support

Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support

Transcript available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support

Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support

Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support

Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support

Another episode of A Satanist Goes to the Movies. As I mentioned in the episode on Hitchcock's Rope, this is a project I've been wanting to do for a while, a look at the religious themes in the films of Martin Scorsese and in particular at a trilogy of films, The Last Temptation of Christ, Bringing Out the Dead, and Silence. This episode will focus…

Transcript available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support

In this episode I'll be delving into film criticism with an analysis of the 1948 film Rope, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring John Dall, Farley Granger, and James Stewart. Rope has fascinated me since I first saw it earlier this year; it's now one of my favorite films and, in my opinion, and although it enjoys considerably less…

For this one we’ll be focusing on the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as it appears in the second and third chapters of the Book of Genesis. Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support…

I thought it might be fun to revisit the topics and themes of my earliest episodes, starting with my first essay, "Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath." It's been almost five years now and both my knowledge and my writing skills have improved immensely, and my perspective and positions have shifted as well. The circumstances certainly warrant a se…

A Satanist Reads the Bible continues today with our series on the rising threat of Christian fascism in America. Today we'll be looking at the thought of two Christians, one early 20th century German and one from our own day, respectively, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Eric Metaxas.Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Sup…

In this essay, we’ll see some striking and deeply troubling parallels to Germany in the 1920s, parallels which should be of grave concern to anyone who doesn’t want to see genocidal fascists take control of the most powerful economy and military in the history of the world. Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com. --- Supp…

Today I’ll be arguing that this progression is amplified by a dialectic within certain threads of modern Christianity, an internal contradiction that pushes those threads further and further in a fascist direction. Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asa…

As I’ve mentioned before, ecumenical phenomenology has an enormous capacity to answer a wide range of difficult philosophical questions. This episode will be exploring some of those questions and the answers that ecumenical phenomenology provides. Transcript with citations available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://po…

Human activity involves the redistribution of resources, including informational resources, to meet individual and collective needs. This process occurs through various systems, including biological, technological, and social systems, and is driven by the laws of thermodynamics and the increase of entropy over time. A distribution system is defined…

Many of my recent episodes have been focused on explicating my central philosophical doctrine, ecumenical phenomenology, a transcendental and phenomenological idealist ontology of abstract reality. This episode continues that series, but I have at this point a complex net of ideas spread over several episodes and so I think it would be worth, as my…

People in modern societies and especially in modern Western societies tend to value individualism over conformity. This is certainly a paramount value for we Satanists, Satan being effectively the first individualist. But if we draw a simple equation between individualism on the one hand and freedom and good on the other, I think we’re being catast…

This essay begins a series on dystopian films, a series which will explore the way our present circumstances are related to and portrayed in such films, as well as the ways in which such media actually disguise and reinforce those circumstances rather than waking us up to them or inspiring us to work against them and change things for the better. T…

I mentioned in a prior episode that my theory of ecumenical phenomenology, which I’ve been exploring over the last few episodes, is rooted in two separate theories—platonism and phenomenology—along with a third which, given a small tweak, translates between them, allowing the phenomenological ideas to answer the questions posed by the platonist ide…

Transcript available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support

Heidegger wants to redirect us from our normal ways of thinking about things and he does this by using language in ways both novel and tied to ancient Greek, ways that focus in particular on processes, and he focuses on processes because he had come to see the world as something active and dynamic but found the rest of his society looking at the wo…

Back in January of this year I released an episode, “Pema Chödrön and the Sublation of Mental Illness,” and mentioned that it marked a significant but nevertheless largely invisible shift of the trajectory of the show: instead of just collating the ideas of others, as I had mostly been doing since 2018 when I started this whole thing, I would start…

The story of Judas may have been the first thing I noticed about Christianity that didn’t quite add up. Transcript available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asatanistreadsthebible/support