I was not ready for this episode with Travis from
. I thought I was. I thought we were going to discuss his review of Vivienne by Emmalea Russo via , whose name I am sure I butchered. We did talk about that. But it ended up being a far more personal conversation about politics, philosophy, culture, religion, and the supernatural.
Travis has a brilliant, searching mind. He is sincere and inquiring. It felt like being in the presence of one of my old professors.
What is behind his review, our talk, and this book is the sense that the very narrow, materialistic conception of reason that has reigned for so long is insufficient and impoverished. There are truths in this world that cannot be verified in a lab and are as true as the blood in your veins nonetheless. Things that cannot be quantified with mortal instruments. The feeling you get when you are in the presence of a work of art—something that moves you—and, for a moment, you catch a glimpse of the divine. Something changes in your perception, and you know it is not merely a chemical reaction or hallucination. You can’t explain it and are embarrassed to try. But you know what you felt was real, even if it cannot be falsified.
That is why church pews are starting to fill back up in some corners. It’s also why things like paganism, numerology, astrology, tarot, and mysticism, in general, are on the rise as alternative methods of interpreting reality. What does any of this have to do with politics? That’s the red meat. The “value add.” It’s a good question, and I’m not sure about the answer. But I recall that Donald Regan, who served as chief of staff for President Ronald Reagan, claimed that virtually every decision the Reagans made during his time in the White House was first run by Joan Quigley, an astrologer out of San Francisco who consulted the stars to determine whether or not the conditions for what they wanted to do were auspicious.
Travis has a lot to say about these things as they relate to Vivienne and beyond. I hope you’ll enjoy this episode with him.
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