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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast

@bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social
324 followers 267 following 345 posts

The internet's foremost expert on James Joyce and Nicolas Cage. Now in podcast form! linktr.ee/bloomsandbarnacles

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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Bonus Ep. 45 -Venus in Furs We read and discuss Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's novel Venus in Furs, the inspiration for Sweets of Sin in Ulysses Listen to the full episode on Patreon
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Bonus Ep. 45 - Venus in Furs (Video) | Blooms & Barnacles
We discuss Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's novel Venus in Furs.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Ep. 178 - For Raoul! We discuss the fake novel Sweets of Sin, its place in the grand tradition of Victorian flagellation fiction, and Joyce's love of the novel Venus in Furs #booksky
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
New blog post: Who were the real men in Barney Kiernan's pub? We play all the hits: tertiary characters, obscure historical figures, and and Joyce's personal drama #booksky bloomsandbarnacles.com/who-were-the...
A group of men gathered in a pub. Two are engaged in an argument. The bartender looks concerned. A dog snarls from under the bar.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Bonus Ep. 44 - Silken Thomas We tell the story of Silken Thomas' 1534 rebellion as a companion piece to this month's main feed episode
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Bonus Ep. 44 - Silken Thomas (Video) | Blooms & Barnacles
We tell the story of Silken Thomas' rebellion in 1534.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Ep. 177 - The Reverend Hugh C. Love What is the most historic place in all Dublin? bloomsandbarnacles.com/ep-177-the-r...
A reverend walks forward, a cheerful expression on his face, accompanied by to two friendly ghosts dressed in medieval clothing
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
We tracked down James Joyce's favorite board game and played it:
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Bonus Ep. 43 - Labyrinth | Blooms & Barnacles
Dermot and I discuss the board game Labyrinth -- a favorite of James and Lucia Joyce, and an inspiration for the "Wandering Rocks" episode,
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
New blog post: Ulysses & The Odyssey: Cyclops Just in time for Odyssey season! bloomsandbarnacles.com/ulysses-the-...
The Citizen, an angry, bearded older white man, drinks a Guinness next to a cheerful Cyclops monster
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Ep. 176 - Almidano Artifoni We talk about James Joyce's music career. #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ep. 176 - Almidano Artifoni - Blooms & Barnacles
I hope you didn’t expect us to know Italian. Topics in this episode include the real Almidano Artifoni, why he wears such stiff trousers, what he and Stephen are talking about in “Wandering Rocks,” Ja...
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Bonus Ep. 42 - Big Houses For this month's bonus episode, we discuss the history behind two historic houses in Ireland -- Aldborough House and Belvedere House
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Bonus Ep. 42 - Big Houses (Video) | Blooms & Barnacles
We discuss the history of two historic houses in Ireland -- Aldborough House and Belvedere House.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Ep. 175 - Father Conmee Join us for a most superior and reverent episode of Blooms & Barnacles! #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ep. 175 - Father Conmee — Blooms & Barnacles
What is Dublin without Church and State?
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
New blog post: Fuga Per Canonem Is a Sirens a fugue or should we just fugue-gettaboutit? We'll be Bach with another episode soon! #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Fuga Per Canonem — Blooms & Barnacles
“Since exploring the resources and artifices of music and employing them in this chapter, I haven’t cared for music any more. I, the great friend of music, can no longer listen to it. I see through al...
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
New blog post: Fuga Per Canonem Is a Sirens a fugue or should we just fugue-gettaboutit? We'll be Bach with another episode soon! #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Fuga Per Canonem — Blooms & Barnacles
“Since exploring the resources and artifices of music and employing them in this chapter, I haven’t cared for music any more. I, the great friend of music, can no longer listen to it. I see through al...
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Bonus Ep. 41 - The General Slocum We discuss the June 15, 1904 General Slocum disaster. Listen to or watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
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Ep. 41 - The General Slocum (Video) | Blooms & Barnacles
Ep. 41 - The General Slocum (Video) by Blooms & Barnacles on Patreon. Join Blooms & Barnacles's community for exclusive content and updates.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Ep. 174 - Wandering Rocks The first episode of our series on Ulysses' "Wandering Rocks" episode! #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ep. 174 - The Wandering Rocks — Blooms & Barnacles
Here be dragons.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Bonus Ep. 40 - Gas from a Burner In which, James Joyce scorches the earth, but poetically. #booksky
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Bonus Ep. 40 - Gas from a Burner (Video) | Blooms & Barnacles
Bonus Ep. 40 - Gas from a Burner (Video) by Blooms & Barnacles on Patreon. Join Blooms & Barnacles's community for exclusive content and updates.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Ep. 173 - Medical Dick and Medical Davy Learn the artistic and political legacy of Medical Dick and Medical Davy, as well as the secret behind Medical Davy's enormous bowl of gravy. #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ep. 173 - Medical Dick and Medical Davy — Blooms & Barnacles
…Gravy? Topics in this episode include the grande finale of Stephen’s Hamlet theory, he finally proves by algebra that Shakespeare is the ghost of his own father, dio boia, James Joyce’s reaction t...
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Bonus Ep. 39 - Henry V (1944) We round out our series on Shakespeare adaptations with a discussion of Laurence Olivier's take on Henry V. We will now never speak of Shakespeare again. Watch a preview on YouTube or watch the full video at patreon.com/barnaclecast
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Bonus Ep. 39 - Henry V [TEASER]
YouTube video by Blooms & Barnacles Podcast
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
New Podcast Episode - Lapwing Why does Stephen call himself a lapwing? And why did the medievals hate lapwings so much? #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ep. 172 - Lapwing — Blooms & Barnacles
Agenbite of Lapwing.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
New Blog Post in the use of the folk song "The Croppy Boy" in Ulysses. Enjoy Dermot's artwork that is likely causing St. Patrick to spin in his grave, on this day of all days #booksky
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“Sirens” Songs: The Croppy Boy — Blooms & Barnacles
This is part one of a two part series about select songs from the “Sirens” episode. You can read part one here.
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Ciara | Ciaraíoch 🎨 @ciaraioch.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
The amount of events and festivals around the country using genAI for their promotional images is slightly maddening. All about supporting local, except their local artists.
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Nick Roche @nickroche.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
I'm begging the small local community groups in Ireland to please consider reframing their use of AI design work this way. The amount of drama and theatre groups in my sphere that I see using AI posters now just makes me sad.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Ep. 171 - Richard and Gilbert and Edmund and Will Stephen alleges that Shakespeare's brothers were so terrible, that he wrote two of them as his worst villains. Apparently Gilbert was alright, though. Is there any truth to this? Were the Shakespeare boys a bunch of dirtbags? #booksky
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Ep. 171 - Richard and Gilbert and Edmund and Will — Blooms & Barnacles
What if the Shakespeares were really a bunch of crumb-bums?
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Ep. 170 - We explore Stephen's assertion that Anne Hathaway was a Puritan, what happened to Shakespeare's papers after his death, and who really wrote all those dang plays. #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ep. 170 - Rutlandbaconsouthamptonshakespeare — Blooms & Barnacles
In which, Stephen proves through algebra that Hamlet’s grandson is Shakespeare’s grandfather.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
New blog post, discussing Simon Dedalus' performance of "M'Appari" in the "Sirens" episode of Ulysses #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
"Sirens" Songs: M'Appari — Blooms & Barnacles
This is part one of a two part series about select songs from the “Sirens” episode. You can read part two here. (Part two coming soon!)
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Hello listeners, normally we'd have a new episode out today, but it will be delayed for a week. Basically I had too much homework last week to record. Our Feb episodes will come out the last two weeks of the month. Enjoy Dermot's Molly Bloom tarot card in the mean time. -KB
A woman with black hair, seated on a throne holding a book titled "The Sweets of Sin." Behind her is a black column labeled "M" and a white column labeled "B." Between the columns is a scroll of sheet music. At her feet are a black cat, a Plumtree's Potted Meat tub, and an orange-keyed chamber pot.
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Cethan Leahy @cethanleahy.com · 02/02/2026
James Joyce's Ulysses is cool. I wish Dublin was real :(
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Bonus Ep. 37 - Hamnet We review Chloe Zhao's 2025 film adaptation of the novel Hamnet. We've talked a lot about Shakespeare's family this year on the podcast, but this movie answers one question we neglected -- what if Shakespeare was magical? Listen and watch at the link in our bio
A white woman with brown hair snuggles against a white man with brown hair. They are surrounded by plants.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Ep. 169 - Pray for us, Saint Thomas Paging Dr. Freud. We'd like to have a word his thoughts on Hamlet and the Oedipus Complex #booksky
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Ep. 169 - Pray for us, Saint Thomas — Blooms & Barnacles
Ora pro nobis! Pogue mahone! Acushla machree!
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
stop using AI to do your research. it hallucinates too often. if you want an answer to something, post something arrogant on the appropriate subreddit. something like: "this item performs 10% better than everything else. only idiots deny this." this will bait nerds into doing your research for you.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Ep. 168 - Why Stephen Talks about Shylock We're back from hiatus with a great episode. Stephen Dedalus claims that Shakespeare based Shylock on himself, but is this true? #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ep. 168 - Why Stephen Talks about Shylock — Blooms & Barnacles
Isn’t Carrotty Bess great?
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
Keep up the good work, everyone!
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The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 31/12/2025
Fewer Irish people using ChatGPT than in other countries, OpenAI told Taoiseach
irishtimes.com
Fewer Irish people using ChatGPT than in other countries, OpenAI told Taoiseach
Micheál Martin was told application had been rolled out to all secondary school students in Estonia ‘to complement the curriculum’
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Who were the real people in the Ormond Hotel in "Sirens"? In this blog post, we explore the history of Dublin's Ormond Hotel and also the true story behind Ulysses' possibly most forgettable character. #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Who were the real people in the Ormond Hotel in "Sirens"? — Blooms & Barnacles
“ Sirens ,” the eleventh episode of Ulysses , is memorable for its musical prose, but it also stands out as an episode of revelry in the bar and restaurant of the Ormond Hotel. While Bloom cringes in...
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Ep. 167 - Secondbest Bed We get to the bottom of Shakespeare's second-best bed, Anne Hathaway, and how Stephen is wrong about everything. #booksky www.bloomsandbarnacles.com/episodes/ep-...
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Ep. 167 - Secondbest Bed — Blooms & Barnacles
Sometimes the secondbest bed is the better bed.
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
November's Patreon episode is up! We discuss Shakespeare's sonnets and Oscar Wilde's short story, "The Portrait of Mr. W.H." #booksky
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Bonus Ep. 35 - The Portrait of Mr. W.H. (Video) | Blooms & Barnacles
Get more from Blooms & Barnacles on Patreon
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
I read today that the "Do Not Remove" guy was taken down from the facade of the former Ormond Hotel a couple months back. Can any Dubliner confirm or deny this? #speirgorm
Street scene of Lower Ormond Quay in Dublin, showing a large painting of a man in a striped shirt, his head obscured by bricks, one of which reads "Do Not Remove"
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Gavan Reilly @gavreilly.com · 25/11/2025
Personally: James Joyce. Bringing Dubliners to the world, etc etc
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
I read today that the "Do Not Remove" guy was taken down from the facade of the former Ormond Hotel a couple months back. Can any Dubliner confirm or deny this? #speirgorm
Street scene of Lower Ormond Quay in Dublin, showing a large painting of a man in a striped shirt, his head obscured by bricks, one of which reads "Do Not Remove"
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hobart mariner @hobartmariner.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
*need* to find a copy of the austrian adaptation of At Swim-Two-Birds www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hvb...
youtube.com
In Schwimmen Zwei Vögel
YouTube video by MARKUS FISCHER FILM
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
The first blog post in our series on "Sirens" Who are the Sirens of Ulysses? #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ulysses & The Odyssey - Sirens — Blooms & Barnacles
“A musical episode was easy to place in Dublin, for Dublin is, or was, a musical town, with a particular passion for vocal music. A few Dubliners of the older generation meet in the lounge of the Ormo...
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
The first blog post in our series on "Sirens" Who are the Sirens of Ulysses? #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ulysses & The Odyssey - Sirens — Blooms & Barnacles
“A musical episode was easy to place in Dublin, for Dublin is, or was, a musical town, with a particular passion for vocal music. A few Dubliners of the older generation meet in the lounge of the Ormo...
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Paul @paul314.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Went to the Rosenbach today, where a highly knowledgeable librarian let me (carefully) leaf through their #Ulysses manuscript, as well as giving me a lot of fantastic background/insights. Of course I took a run at Scylla & Charybdis, with Hans Walter Gabler's favorite passage....
A page of slanting scribbles on old brown paper, with a wide left margin."Love, yes. Word known to all men."
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Episode #166: Synge We discuss the influence of J.M. Synge on James Joyce and Ulysses. This is a gossip episode! #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ep. 166 - Synge — Blooms & Barnacles
Why do we always fight most with the people we have the most in common with?
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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Remember: they used thousands of academic books too! If you’re a scholar, check for your books too. This isn’t just novelists and pop writers, it’s academic books too!
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
New Episode: Mr. W.H. Shakespeare's sonnets were dedicated to Mr. W.H., but who was he? The Fair Youth? Buck Mulligan? We have thoughts. #booksky
bloomsandbarnacles.com
Ep. 165 - Mr. W. H. — Blooms & Barnacles
“—Do you think it is only a paradox? the quaker librarian was asking. The mocker is never taken seriously when he is most serious.”
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
If you want to read Ulysses, just read it. The first two chapters are not as hard as you think. It's OK not to understand everything in Proteus. Just read it and note what you DO get. If you're skipping chapters, Ulysses may not be the book you're actually interested in, which is also OK.
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Phineas @phineas.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
New awareness campaign
A digital poster in the style of a World War II propaganda piece. Isolaed on a yellow background, a normal, squarish, 20-something guy with glasses is sitting working on a laptop. A ghostly figure of Hitler has his arm around the guy and is grinning and shaking a fist triumphantly looking at the laptop screen. On the lid of the laptop where an apple might otherwise be is an openAI logo, bright green, and dripping green ooze down the lid. Text on the poster, in combinations of sans-serif type and brush script reads: 
Using Generative AI?
You’re prompting with Hitler!
GenAI is a Fascist Project!
Try using your brain instead
Don’t surrender your creativity to the tech billionaire’s control
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
If you haven't already, check out our October bonus episode: We talk with author Eric Wagner about Robert Anton Wilson, James Joyce, and his new book about both #booksky
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Bonus Ep. 34 - Robert Anton Wilson w/ Eric Wagner (Video) | Blooms & Barnacles
Get more from Blooms & Barnacles on Patreon
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Blooms & Barnacles Podcast @bloomsandbarnacles.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Happy Halloween!
A swede with a jack o lantern face carved in it sitting on a mossy stone wall
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