If you’ve heard me speak for more than five minutes you’ve probably caught me dropping a Robert Anton Wilson reference (or several). Wilson is one of the most interesting (and underappreciated) writers I’ve ever come across — a Nostradamus for modern times.

I was delighted to sit down with Gabriel Kennedy, author of the excellent biography Chapel Perilous: The Life and Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson. I could talk about this stuff for days, and we had a blast discussing Wilson’s ideas, influence and impact. Consider it a beginner’s guide to avoiding cosmic schmuckery.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack - https://8ca54796.streaklinks.com/CJPd0z7cXCh07hc4JAiMaKTC/https%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter.osv.llc%2F.

Important Links:

- Chapel Perilous: The Life and Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson - https://www.amazon.com/Chapel-Perilous-Thought-Crimes-Robert/dp/B0DK41G53G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JZ9Q1RO98E1N&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Czmhug9IMKKmy7KGG3nNIA.2ETXElpAiN7dFj6bcjbFRWmrhOrcf5QpUQhn9d8BfXo&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+life+and+thought+crimes+of+robert+anton+wilson&qid=1740658077&sprefix=the+life+and+thought+crimes+of+robert+anton+wilson%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1; by Gabriel Kennedy
- The Thinker and the Prover - https://thinkerandprover.com/617155c0ea874ca2a34c6983d3a52d14; by Jim O’Shaughnessy
- Gabriel’s Substack - https://gabrielpatrickkennedy.substack.com

Show Notes:

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:11 The most interesting man of the last fifty years?
0:08:21 How can we escape chapel perilous?
0:24:04 The anti-determinist, rock & roll philosophy of Bob Wilson
0:34:32 Tune in: a 30 minute masterclass on the influences, ideas and impact of Robert Anton Wilson
1:09:36 How to avoid becoming a cosmic schmuck
1:14:33 Who influenced Wilson the most?
1:23:30 Why you should read Wilson
1:29:37 Gabriel as World Emperor

Books & Articles Mentioned:

- The Thinker and the Prover - https://thinkerandprover.com/617155c0ea874ca2a34c6983d3a52d14; by Jim O’Shaughnessy
- Chapel Perilous: The Life and Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson; by Gabriel Kennedy
- Prometheus Unbound by Robert Anton Wilson
- Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You and Your World by Robert Anton Wilson
- The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea
- Cosmic Trigger Volume I: Final Secret of the Illuminati by Robert Anton Wilson
- The New Inquisition: Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science by Robert Anton Wilson
- Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson
- Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You and Your World by Robert Anton Wilson
- The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot
- From Ritual to Romance by Jessie L. Weston
- Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
- Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics by Alfred Korzybski
- On the Einstein Podolsky Rosen Paradox; by John S. Bell
- How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival by David Kaiser
- Character Analysis by Wilhelm Reich
- Man Meets Dog by Konrad Lorenz