May 24, 2025
First we chat about a weird little chupacabra play Ben saw, then discuss the conspiracies that have metastasized from Joe Biden's prostate cancer and the resurgence of our old nemesis the Food Babe. For our main topic, we have esteemed historian of magic Owen Davies, who wrote the book (two, actually) on grimoires. In pop culture we see them in horror movies, comic books and even old children's movies like "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," but real (or "real") grimoires have been an ever-present relic for thousands of years. Grimoires are a mix of magic, marketing, fraud -- and sometimes blood -- and they have evolved along with the changes in ancient information technology, i.e., parchment and the printing press. From the Grand Grimoire of the early 18th century to Lovecraft to the pulp grimoires of the 1960s, magical words and demonic conjurations have gotten around one way or another.