Brute Norse Podcast

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Ep. 23: Japan's Barbarian Past Nov 21, 2019

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In this episode Eirik recounts his Japonic yuletide odyssey of 2018. He takes a comparative, Scandifuturist look at the prehistory of Japan through the Jōmon, Yayoi, and Kofun periods. It's the story of how hunter-gatherer master potters met their demise at the hands of militant, kami-fearing, rice-farming, mound building, Iron Age settlers from the Asian mainland. Strolling backwards with a voyeur's gaze from the streets of Tokyo to the valleys of Gifu, as Japan is staged as a fellow barbarian periphery beyond the ghost of the Roman Empire, to question Classical and Post-Enlightenment assumptions about how humanity ought to cope with the terror of the past, handing out wedgies to the Western canon and national mythologies as we go. Support Brute Norse: www.brutenorse.com www.twitter.com/brutenorse www.instagram.com/brutenorse www.patreon.com/brutenorse www.teespring.com/stores/brute-norse Suggested reading: - Imamura, Keiji (2003). Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia. Routledge: London - Kolstø, Janemil (2007). Rethinking Yasukuni: From Secular Politics to Religious Sacrifice. Master of Arts Thesis. AHKR, University of Bergen: Bergen - Hardacre, Helen (2017). Shinto: A History. Oxford University Press: New York

Ep. 22: The Bronze Age Flasher (With Aksel Klausen) Oct 18, 2019

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Aksel returns to the podcast for banter-filled spitballing on ancient Scandinavia and new old news from European prehistory. Whatever happened to that frickin’ viking ship (?) from episode 14, and what's up with these Viking Era mortuary houses? Some of the subjects tackled: - The Crossroads exhibit at the Art & History Museum, Brussels. - Migration period identity. - Aksel's time travel hitlist. - Preliminary results from the Gjellestad ship excavation. - Democratization of Viking burial practice. - A phallic stone from Bronze Age Sweden. - Iron Age mortuary houses. - Eirik's dream burial. - Hollow promises of future podcast subjects. - The afterlife, reincarnation, and Germanic naming conventions. Support Brute Norse: www.Patreon.com/brutenorse www.teespring.com/stores/brute-norse -Topical links- Help name the new moons of Saturn: https://carnegiescience.edu/NameSaturnsMoons Why are adult daughters missing from ancient German cemeteries? https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/10/why-are-adult-daughters-missing-ancient-german-cemeteries The Crossroads exhibit at the Art & History Museum, Brussels: https://www.artandhistory.museum/exhibitions/crossroads The recent Gjellestad ship excavations: https://www.khm.uio.no/english/about/news/current-issues/we-are-digging-after-a-new-viking-ship%21.html "The Rollsbo Penis": https://www.thelocal.se/20190926/swedish-archaeologists-find-penis-statue-rollsbo-bronze-age A recently excavated Viking Era mortuary house: https://www.nrk.no/viten/arkeologer-ved-ntnu-vitenskapsmuseet-har-funnet-restene-fra-et-sjeldent-dodehus-fra-vikingtiden-1.14707210

Ep. 21: Discussing Dharma with Leornende Eald Englisc Sep 02, 2019

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What drives you? In this episode, Eirik sits down for a talk with Kevin from Leornende Eald Englisc, who makes educational youtube videos on Old English informed by his particular spiritual convictions. We talk about linguistics, the problem with translations, old Germanic languages, cosmic law, accepting the passage of history, devotinal service, and the importance of good intent and deeds. May we be reborn and do good deeds again! Watch Kevin's content here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLnwScGuOxVlaN5aV9in9ag Mentioned works: Peter Wessel Zapffe, The Last Messiah https://philosophynow.org/issues/45/The_Last_Messiah Bhagavad Gita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita Sallust, On the Gods and the World https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Sallust_On_the_Gods_and_the_World

Ep. 20: The Antenna on the Holy Mountain Jul 26, 2019

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The natural sciences talk avidly about the geosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and so on. Less so about the noösphere. The noösphere is the sphere of mind. A term that allows us to conceive of consciousness and information exchange, not just as abstract philosophical notions, but as a massively tangible cosmic force with a concrete, observable influence on the physical world. In this episode Eirik reads his essay "The Antenna on the Holy Mountain: Noöspheric meditations on the Norse cargo cult", originally commissioned by the Canadian artist Erin Sexton for the 2018 Noöspherics conference at Lydgalleriet in Bergen, where it formed the introductory chapter to the conference book. Written in the shadow of Norway's decision to abandon FM radio for new, digital solutions, this essay explores the noöspheric proposition that our intelligence extends beyond our physical bodies, drawing on crisis, technological collapse, extraterrestrial exploration, and religious ritual, and the noösphere's implications for Eirik's own experience of the antiquarian sciences, and his alienated yearning towards a better understanding of the pre-Christian Scandinavian worldview. - Erin Sexton's homepage: https://erinsexton.com - Topos Publications: https://topospublications.com Support Brute Norse on https://patreon.com/brutenorse or sweeten my coffee by purchasing a piece of fresh BN merch on https://teespring.com/stores/brute-norse

Ep. 19: Norway's Eternal Return Jun 30, 2019

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In this episode Eirik takes an eldritch look at Norwegian identity, from the mythology and dreams of Iron Age expansionists to the national mythology of state bureaucracy. He attempts to negotiate between the representation, artifice and organism of Norwegianness itself, drawing on Thure Erik Lund's oddball idea of the "True" versus "Norwegian" Norwegians and Nick Land's concept of hyperstition, realizing his own participation in the ongoing ritualization that keeps the Norwegian creature alive.

Ep. 18: Beer in Norse Culture pt.2 - "Baptized in Beer" May 04, 2019

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The saga continues with an exploration of the vocabulary, material culture, and social status of beer in Iron Age and Medieval Scandinavia. We look at different terms for beer in the Old Norse language and discern their differences, from Old Norse ǫl, mungát, and bjórr to modern ale and beer, with an intimate look at the "Nordic grog" of Scandinavian prehistory, before we venture up to the many festivities of Nordic peasants up until the bacchanalian festivals of Medieval guilds. Also more or less mentioned: - Household sacrifices - Ale runes - Yeast necromancy - The drunken Germanic war machine - No pets in the guild hall Support Brute Norse on: https://patreon.com/brutenorse https://teespring.com/stores/brute-norse

Ep. 17: Beer in Norse Culture pt. 1 - "Not All Ales Are Alike" Apr 26, 2019

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Join Eirik for an invigorating dip into the crooked creek that is the history of beer and brewing in Iron Age and Medieval Scandinavia, with some serious side-eye to the later Nordic farmhouse brewing tradition. In this episode we will cover what exactly beer is, and what separates the global industrial brewery from its historical household counterpart. Cheers! Support Brute Norse: www.patreon.com/brutenorse www.teespring.com/stores/brute-norse Music: Edvard Grieg, "Aa grisen hadde eit tryne"/ "Oh, the pig he had a snout" performed by Papalin

Ep. 16: Kinky Runestones from Outer Space Feb 22, 2019

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Join Eirik for a counter-cultural walk on the wild side as he looks at some of his favorite pieces of bogus and fringe literature on the subject of pre-Christian Scandinavia, from Kjell Aartun's runic sex cults to the seedy, folk-etymological mysteries of the so-called Bock Saga, before finally landing on the forgotten, acid drenched sci-fi works of Norway's favorite outlaw, the infamous Black Metal musician Varg Vikernes. To support Brute Norse: www.patreon.com/brutenorse www.teespring.com/stores/brute-norse

Ep. 15: Pagan Christmas Dec 14, 2018

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In this episode Eirik shares what the holidays mean to him as a homesick barbarian/contrarian, and covers some of the many yuletide horrors past folks had to put up with. And concerning the paganism of Christmas: Norse religious festivals were determined according to a lunisolar calendar, so when exactly did the vikings celebrate jól, what exactly is its relationship to the winter solstice, and why does any of that matter to you and me?

Ep. 14: The Archaeology of Evil Dead Nov 29, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Eirik and Aksel catch up after several months of disconnect and get up to speed with some of their favorite archaeological news of 2018. They speculate on the contents of prehistoric alcoholic beverages, muse on recent incidents on North Sentinel Island, analyze Danish gang wars in light of warlike honor-shame societies and Norse sexual defamation, look at the so-called Staffordshire hoard helmet, and find some odd historical parallels to the Evil Dead franchise.

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