Desert Oracle

Tonight we are walking across the desert, out of the canyons, over the rivers, to another kind of country. Another place, another time. Trying to trail behind the slow-walking souls of the dearly departed. Even though we are still alive. Desert myths and strange tales for this hottest time of Mojave Summer. Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Thanks to our beloved patrons for making this show…

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Thanks to our beloved patrons for making this show possible. This is EPISODE #267: PETRIFIED FORESTS AND GHASTLY GOBLINS.

With every passing day, scorcher or not, we are on the march towards Autumn, towards cooler days and longer nights, the time of graveyards and ghost stories. But it’s always time for ghost stories, of course. Especially on Desert Oracle Radio. So tonight, after the exciting Monsoon Season forecast and report, we spend a chilling evening in an old mansion with a writer who just wants some peace…

We’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. With spooky summertime RedBlueBlackSilver soundscapes. Thank you for supporting this advertising-free program on our Patreon.com/DesertOracle page, where you can find dozens more live & Patreon-only…

From 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. David…

If you love flying saucers, maybe you’ve been following the release of a bunch more government 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. This is EPISODE #262: THE NEW UFO…

Tonight’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 just walking through your own house. Information regarding our May 2 / May 16 / May 23 “Campfire Stories” in Joshua Tree…

We 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…

What’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? This is EPISODE #259: METEOR NIGHTS ON THE ROAD TO GRACELAND/a>. Listen to the podcast now and on the radio Fridays at 10 p.m. on Z107.7 FM in Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley/29…

It’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. New soundscapes by…

Celebrating 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. This is EPISODE #257: ED ABBEY’S 99TH BIRTHDAY & THE TREES OF MYSTERY. Listen to the podcast now and on the radio Fridays at 10…

It’s time for Strange & Unusual Facts. Mostly about the desert, the wilderness, critters and criminals. New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver for this new year & new springtime on the way. This is EPISODE #256: BLACK WIDOW BABIES & EARLY-BLOOMING JOSHUA TREES. Listen now by podcast and on the radio Fridays at 10 p.m. on Z107.7 FM in Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley/29 Palms/Pioneertown/Wonder Valley ……

Join Desert Oracle Radio for an audio tour of how the American Desert celebrates Christmastime. With festive soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. This is EPISODE #255: YUCCA YULETIDE. Thank you for supporting this advertising-free program on our Patreon.com/DesertOracle page.

To mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, this is DESERT ORACLE RADIO’s new storytelling series: THE ELDRITCH REPUBLIC. Each episode covers a strange chapter in the history of America. We present these first three episodes to you, with original soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver, all written & hosted by Ken Layne. Thank you for supporting this advertising-free program on our…

Snowy mountaintops across the Western Mojave, all the transverse ranges have at least a dusting, with the big peaks covered in white. San Gorgonio looks so pretty right now, you can almost forget it’s a haunted mountain that eats people alive and is usually known by its grim local nickname “Old Grayback.” It must be Thanksgiving in the High Desert! An all-new episode with new soundscapes by…

Recorded live in New York before an audience of DOR Patrons & assorted Manhattanites, this is Desert Oracle’s special Halloween Ghost Stories. Thanks to our special guests Matt Welch from The Fifth Column and Nicholas Lowry from Antique Roadshows & the new Czech graphic-design documentary Identity. Special thanks to our patrons & listeners who told ghost stories, RedBlueBlackSilver for the spooky…

September 22 is the day and 11:19 a.m. is the hour when Fall finally arrives in the Mojave Desert. Add an hour for Nevada and Utah, which both share a little of the Mojave with California and Arizona. While it’s still hot on the desert floor, the mountains are cool and the aspens are changing color. Too far from the aspen groves? If you’re in the desert, there are Fremont’s cottonwoods somewhere…