Podcast
Desert Oracle Radio
Hosted by Ken Layne · EN
Desert Oracle Radio is a weekly road trip through the weird American desert from the publisher of Desert Oracle, the pocket-sized field guide published in Joshua Tree, California. Hear tales of mysterious lights, missing tourists, lost mines, venomous creatures, weird history and weirder people. Hosted by editor Ken Layne and featuring a cast of intriguing mystics, oddballs, scientists and artists, Desert Oracle Radio is your soundtrack for a desert night. The program is broadcast on Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in the Mojave high desert, with field reports from around and across the desert lands, and is distributed by Public Radio Exchange (PRX).
26episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Summer Solstice Verse & the Desert Doctor's Weird Bird
3d ago00:28:00Tap to summarizeWe're back with Midsummer Tidings from the Mojave, with solstice verse from Sam Clemens & Shakespeare, too. Plus a new campfire story from our recently concluded springtime series in Joshua Tree. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Campfire Tales on a Half-Moon Night
4w ago01:00:00Tap to summarizeFrom our Campfire Stories in Joshua Tree on May 23, 2026, here’s a special one-hour edition of Desert Oracle Radio live from the desert behind the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, with the High Desert's own Herb Benham IV opening the campfire festivities with a couple of proper cowboy songs. Ravens, rattlesnakes and other characters appear early and often in the stories & fables that follow.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Pentagon's Latest UFO Files
May 1200:28:00Tap to summarizeIf you love flying saucers, maybe you’ve been following the release of a bunch more UFO files. Maybe you're disappointed that E.T. isn't in there, signing a treaty with F.D.R. But it's a very interesting window on the American UFO era, which is now 80 years old! PLUS: A tale from Death Valley, told at our recent Campfire Stories event in Joshua Tree. Desert Oracle Radio (C)(P) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Plague of the Crane Fly + Campfire Tales From Skinwalker Ranch
Apr 2000:28:00Tap to summarizeTonight's episode features a previously secret recording of Campfire Stories from years gone by, plus an examination of the so-called "Mosquito Hawk" (or Skeeter Eater), which does not eat mosquitos. It doesn't really do anything but fly into your mouth while you're driving, or eating, or just trying to walk through your own house. Information regarding our May 2 / May 16 / May 23 "Campfire Stories" in Joshua Tree is also provided, with more details at DesertOracle.com/event-calendar/ Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Artemis, Pyramids, Tatooine & Death Valley
Apr 400:28:00Tap to summarizeWe still live in the Time of Ancient Gods. At this very moment, in memory of a mission named for the god Apollo, astronauts of the Artemis mission are aboard the Orion spaceship, headed for La Luna. The mission is named for Blessed Artemis, goddess of the night, of the hunt, of the Moon. Daughter of Zeus. And just south of Death Valley National Park, one of the world's three Deep Space Network bases is bringing in the data from Artemis by radio. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Meteor Nights on the Road to Graceland
Mar 2700:28:00Tap to summarizeWhat's going on with all these meteors & fireballs in the dark skies above? Where did Elvis Presley see a big UFO hovering over the Mojave Desert? And what drives so many people to the pilgrimage shrine of Graceland? Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Springtime in the Desert Mountains
Mar 600:28:00Tap to summarizeIt's the magical time when the cold winter desert becomes an Eden of Wildflowers, as we luxuriate in the the spring warmth of the Sun & the birds are all delirious. Just like that, way up here in the Mojave mountains. ALSO: We dedicate this episode to the memory of Ray Barnes. PLUS: It's the 50th anniversary of the desert-fanatic classic The Monkey Wrench Gang. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Mountain Mysteries & Edward Abbey’s 99th Birthday
Feb 700:28:00Tap to summarizeCelebrating Ed Abbey's 99th Birthday with a road trip to Arches National Park, setting of his beloved 1968 book, Desert Solitaire. AND: What's going on within the federal government's "experimental forests" in Sasquatch Country? New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Black Widow Babies & Early Blooming Joshua Trees
Jan 2600:28:00Tap to summarizeIt’s time for Strange & Unusual Facts. Mostly about the desert, the wilderness, critters and criminals. We are not using our usual flurry of em-dashes because we've heard that's a sign of AI-slop writings. New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver, for this new year and new springtime on the way.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Yucca Yuletide: A Desert Holiday
Dec 2000:28:00Tap to summarizeJoin Desert Oracle Radio for an audio tour of how the American Desert celebrates Christmastime, or Christmastide. With festive soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2025 http://DesertOracle.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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