Garden of Thought

Bernie Taylor is back! And this time we explore the School of Athens through the works of Raphael. This leads us to Gods and legends and giants of history.

Many of you might have wondered where has The Gospel of Thomas episodes gone. Thomas and I do another podcast now and that show has been transformed into the Out of Character podcast. It's on the Sports Jedi Network (Sports Jedi Media Network onYouTube) with an expanded roster of cohosts and an expanded remit. This episode could have been out the OOCP. Returning Garden guest Keegan Demetrijevic is a professional wrestler, Master's Degree holder, PhD student, and comic book creator. We discuss all those things. New listeners may want to check out his prior episode which centered primarily on Canadian indigenous literature.

Terry M. Adair, author of Where are the Little Green Men?, and his newly published book Earth: The Goldilocks Planet. Building upon the famous Drake Equation, Adair introduces a compelling framework that examines not only how life begins, but how it survives, evolves, and eventually becomes intelligent. From the structure of galaxies and the nature of stars to planetary systems, photosynthesis, biological complexity, and technological civilization, this book traces the remarkable chain of events that made Earth possible. Blending astronomy, astrobiology, evolutionary science, geology, and thermodynamics, Earth: The Goldilocks Planet reveals why our world may occupy a uniquely favorable position in the cosmos.

Brace McKoy spent 11 years in the army after attending West Point. Thereafter, he was primarily in the defense industry. He authored a book in addition to other papers on the issues surrounding AI's emergence, the probability of aliens among us, and the forced reduction of population partly due to AI induced mass unemployment. He opines governments will have to take more control over the citizenry and consider a basic subsistence income. He also speaks on the role of religion. Specifically, his faith in Christianity. It's a conversation you don't want to miss.

In the latest crossover simulcast with Sweet and Good Torah, Laivi Shor rejoins us. Or did we join him? The chat says the latter. Anyway, you might not have thought that the Torah, Talmud, or Kabbalah opines on UFOs, Aliens, and the possible divine relationship. You were wrong.

Paul Skorpen has done a lot of things and has learned a lot of languages. He's learned Nepali. He's studied with a Shaman. He leads VIP tours. He also has a theory that relates from the Bronze Age back to the dawn of the Tepes. We discuss those theories. But along the way, we have to learn a bit about both Goddesses and Tepes.

Deborah Wilde is a global wanderer and hopeless romantic. After twelve years as a screenwriter, she was also a total cynic with a broken edit button, so, she jumped ship, started writing funny, sexy urban fantasy books and never looked back. She loves writing smart, flawed, wisecracking women who can solve a mystery, kick supernatural butt, banter with hot men, and still make time for their best female friend, because those were the women she grew up around and admired. Granted, her grandmother never had a to kill a demon at her weekly friend lunches, but Deborah is pretty sure she could have. Smart (ass) heroines. Epic magic. Red-hot romance. Tovah Silver runs Mad Queens Inc., an unlicensed magical problem-solving agency with her three best friends. They've built their reputation on grit, loopholes, and unrepentant competence, ignoring those who think their perimenopausal magic tops out at party tricks. They’re wrong but correcting them would be a felony. Every one of the Queens has a forbidden second magic buried deep—until an assassin golem forces Tovah to unleash hers. She thinks she got away with it. Then Nikolai Azarov shows up. Vancouver’s only golem-maker would call her story creative if he wasn’t too busy calling BS. Worse, once he figures out what she actually did to that golem, he doesn’t turn her in. He names his price. Now Tovah must honor a dangerous bargain with a man who’s already insufferable without leverage, outmaneuver the magic cops circling her agency, and hunt down whoever left a hand- delivered clay effigy on her bed. Middle age isn't a crisis. It's a weapon. Published by Te Da Media Inc and available worldwide in e-book, paperback, and audiobook on October 12, 2026. Purchase links: Deborah Wilde Books: https://www.deborahwildebooks.com/collections/mad-queens-inc Other retailers: https://books2read.com/u/3GB9vL

Horror and thriller actress, Amber Brooke, joins the Garden to talk about her projects and first hand spooky stories she's experienced. She's also a model, cosplayer and frequent attraction at Horror Cons. There's also a companion show on Sports Jedi (out of Character podcast) with Vinny Pacifico and Amber Brooke.

What's a Younger Dryas? What's a Glacial Maximum? Who was living in civilzations before Egypt and Sumeria? Turns out we have some names, places and archeology. So, Professor Emeritus John Hoopes breaks it down for us. Mezolythic, Neolithic, Holocene. among others are all terms we'll define and we'll fit some of those puzzle pieces between transforming to agriculturally based settlements from mobile hunters and gatherers.

J Scott Christianson is both capitalist and do gooder. He enjoyed great success in the private sector and has been a Professor at the University of Missouri. We discuss current events and trends surrounding this issue. Tech lords. Data centers. The threat from China. Job loss. Robots. Elon. It's all in here.

Stephen King is the most prolific horror author of the last several generations. Embedded within his works, is the connective tissue of The Wheel of Ka, or the King-a-verse. The dfining works that exemplifies this most is the Dark Tower series. There are at least 7 novels and it's inspired numerous other multiverses. In orderr to discuss this series, I call upon Matt Vincent. You might remember him from our Caprica episode.

A lot of people feel America's political system is broken. Tom Joseph believes he found a legal solution. This is that discussion.

Jon F. White of Crecganford returns to the show. The primary topic was what is a typical Indo-European pantheon of gods. Whilst we did cover that, we also learned and explored many related items as we navigated this Bronze Age world. Turns out, Greek mythology is not exactly typical for Indo European pantheons, although there is overlap. Ancient pre-Greece was very near East influenced. We - mostly me - keep jumping back and forth into the Bible. And yes, there's a lot of parallels and root stories there too. And for months, I've been asking Jon about my theories on the Odyssey and the Bible. No spoilers - of the discussion. We totally discuss aspects of this 3000 year old plus story. But neither of us saw the movie at date of recording so no Nolan alteration spoilers of significance.

Alex Coquito joins the Garden. He's a streamer, content creator, and independent thinker. He has a channel called Rican Reactions where he covers the current events and issues on Puerto Rico. We start with things we should know about Puerto Rico, and then move into our esoteric main event. We cover hive consciousness, parallel dimensions, deja vu, precognition, aliens, and much more.

My special guest is Ram's Fan and he suggested we each pick some creatures from myths, legends, lore and media, and discuss them. And that's exactly what we did. From Trolls to the Kraken. And way beyond. Casual and deep. As you'd expect from the Garden.

Our guest is Dr. Athena Lorin Hall and we discuss several aspects that are problematic in healthcare. Not necessarily limited to the US. With over nine years of experience as a pediatric hospitalist and two years in a global health fellowship serving resource-limited communities, I’ve gained an invaluable perspective on both the strengths and shortcomings of our healthcare systems—and the opportunities to reimagine them.I am deeply committed to advancing a community-centered, humanized, and equitable approach to healthcare, one that prioritizes mental health, prevention, and connection.Grounded in collaboration, trauma-informed care, and meaningful community engagement, my work focuses on transforming how care is delivered and experienced.To bring this vision to life, I founded ZNA Health Network, a platform that connects healthcare professionals, community leaders, and innovators to share ideas, co-create solutions, and strengthen the systems that support health and healing for all.

It's the 50th anniversary of Logan's Run. Me and Joey Restivo re-watched it and discuss it. Does it hold up? What issues does it explore? Hit play for a fun and interesting discussion.

The mental health crisis is an epidemic. Blame is cast while safety nets and resources or withdrawn. Those involved often feel like there's no way to get help. But there are routes. We talk to one of those routes. https://mentalhealthaddictionlawfirm.com Mental Health and Addiction Law Firm Boca Raton, FL: (561) 419-6095 Mental Health and Addiction Law Firm Boston, MA: (617) 272-9050 Baker Act Attorneys: (855) 429-0074 Fax: (561) 828-3856 Email: mark@astorsimovitchlaw.com

Jennifer Sutherland re-enters the Garden to discuss Greek plays. The history, the cultural context, some of the seminal playrights, and we discuss the myths and messages of many Greek comedies and tragedies. As always, your humble host asks questions both germane and often, goofy.

Raymond E. Foster went from the US Coast Guard to the LAPD (yes, we discussed the OJ case briefly), and joined the Freemasons. We discuss symbology, esoterica, and discuss many details ofthe Freemason Order(s). We also discuss his several books; including the latest: "The Temple Within".