app02 Wed, 12 Aug 2026 06:32:07 +0000 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Altered Mates - Episodes Tagged with “Conspiracy” https://www.alteredmates.com/tags/conspiracy Wed, 12 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0800 Altered Mates is a podcast where two mates, each fascinated by altered states, meet to discuss the psychedelic experience and its implications for society, culture, health, science, and philosophy. Alejandro is novelist and a teacher of english and psychology. Tobias is an academic and a lecturer in social work and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Our conversations are always grounded in our own direct experiences with a range of ‘altered’ states of consciousness. Hero of the podcast, William James, suggests that, “Our normal waking consciousness… is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different… No account of the universe in its totality can be final which leaves these other forms of consciousness quite disregarded.” You could say that we are trying to construct a better account of our universe, and we are taking James’ advice to heart, by seriously regarding those “other” forms of consciousness. Through our research and our subsequent discussions, we seek to find, update, and/or create, working models of the mind, and of reality, that help us to make sense of our world. We endeavour to integrate our own psychedelic experiences through the power of conversation. But we also seek to integrate the revelations of “the” psychedelic experience, and come to terms with the implications, from cultural, philosophical, and spiritual perspectives. Having said all that, we’re also just two normal blokes who enjoy each other’s company. And our fancy Socratic dialogues are filtered through our own unique brand of Australian banter. After all, we’re just two mates trying to enjoy our limited time on this planet, and to create a more meaningful life for ourselves and our community while we’re here. en-us episodic Two mates navigating altered states Altered Mates Altered Mates is a podcast where two mates, each fascinated by altered states, meet to discuss the psychedelic experience and its implications for society, culture, health, science, and philosophy. Alejandro is novelist and a teacher of english and psychology. Tobias is an academic and a lecturer in social work and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Our conversations are always grounded in our own direct experiences with a range of ‘altered’ states of consciousness. Hero of the podcast, William James, suggests that, “Our normal waking consciousness… is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different… No account of the universe in its totality can be final which leaves these other forms of consciousness quite disregarded.” You could say that we are trying to construct a better account of our universe, and we are taking James’ advice to heart, by seriously regarding those “other” forms of consciousness. Through our research and our subsequent discussions, we seek to find, update, and/or create, working models of the mind, and of reality, that help us to make sense of our world. We endeavour to integrate our own psychedelic experiences through the power of conversation. But we also seek to integrate the revelations of “the” psychedelic experience, and come to terms with the implications, from cultural, philosophical, and spiritual perspectives. Having said all that, we’re also just two normal blokes who enjoy each other’s company. And our fancy Socratic dialogues are filtered through our own unique brand of Australian banter. After all, we’re just two mates trying to enjoy our limited time on this planet, and to create a more meaningful life for ourselves and our community while we’re here. yes altered states, psychedelics, ayahuasca, DMT, therapy, mushrooms, magic, spiritual, spirituality, religion Altered Mates alejandro.tuama@outlook.com Episode 38: They Live, We Sleep...On John Carpenter's 'They Live' https://www.alteredmates.com/38 3f2d02eb-4583-4e43-b132-396c7efff857 Wed, 12 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0800 Altered Mates full Altered Mates On John Carpenter's 'They Live' 1:51:02 yes <p>John Carpenter is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor, most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. In this episode we discuss his 1988 cult classic and much-memed sci-fi horror film, <em>They Live</em>.</p> <p>The film <em>They Live</em> is based on Ray Nelson’s 1963 short story, <em>Eight O’Clock in the Morning,</em> and despite the low budget, dubious acting and general cheesiness, is fertile ground for chats about how to see through the ideology of our ruling capitalist overlords.</p> <p>In this discussion, we draw heavily upon Sophie Fiennes &amp; Slavoj Zizek’s documentary film, <em>A Pervert’s Guide to Ideology</em>, in which Zizek analyses the film, <em>They Live</em>.</p> <p>We also find time to discuss psychosis, aliens, conspiracies, exploitation of the masses, and even whether there is any way to ethically pressure someone into a psychedelic experience.</p> <p>And for those of you who are wondering what this film has to do with altered states, take into consideration that the sunglasses that hulking protagonist Nada dons were made using ‘Hoffman’ Lenses…</p> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <ul> <li> John Carpenter (1988) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live" rel="nofollow noopener">They Live</a></li> <li> Behind the scenes of ‘They Live’: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yhkofGlIj4k&amp;pp=0gcJCWQCo7VqN5tD&amp;ra=m" rel="nofollow noopener">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yhkofGlIj4k&amp;pp=0gcJCWQCo7VqN5tD&amp;ra=m</a></li> <li> Ray Nelson (1963) <em>Eight O’Clock in the Morning</em></li> <li> Susan Green — <a href="https://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2011/07/fiendish-slumber-party-movie-about.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Fiendish Slumber Party: A Movie About Perpetual Shut-Eye</a></li> <li> The Wachowski’s (1999) The Matrix</li> <li> Rage Against the Machine — ‘Down Rodeo’ — <em>Evil Empire</em> (1996)</li> <li> For the full version of Tobias’ ayahuasca experience, listen here: Altered Mates — Episode 18 — <a href="https://www.alteredmates.com/18" rel="nofollow noopener">Coming out of the psychedelic closet</a></li> <li> Sophie Fiennes &amp; Slavoj Zizek — <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TVwKjGbz60k&amp;pp=0gcJCWQCo7VqN5tD&amp;ra=m" rel="nofollow noopener">They Live Clip</a> from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pervert%27s_Guide_to_Ideology" rel="nofollow noopener">A Pervert’s Guide to Ideology</a> (2012)</li> <li> Altered Mates — <a href="https://www.alteredmates.com/34" rel="nofollow noopener">Episode 34</a> — ‘Your scientific illiteracy makes me shudder!’ on The X-Files: Jose Chung’s From Outer Space</li> </ul> <p><strong>Links</strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.alteredmates.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">Altered Mates Website</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/altered.mates/" rel="nofollow noopener">Altered Mates Instagram</a></p> <p>Altered Mates <a href="https://alteredmates.substack.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">Substack</a></p> <p>Altered Mates <a href="https://patreon.com/AlteredMates?utm_medium=unknown&amp;utm_source=join_link&amp;utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&amp;utm_content=copyLink" rel="nofollow noopener">Patreon</a></p> <p>Music for the show by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wildmarmalade/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener">Si Mulumby</a></p> <p><strong>A Glimpse of Eternity by Alejandro Tuama</strong></p> <ul> <li> Purchase the novel <a href="https://books2read.com/u/m2eWjG" rel="nofollow noopener">here</a> (hard copy, ebook and audiobook).</li> <li> Listen to the free serialised audiobook <a href="https://www.patreon.com/collection/560595?view=expanded" rel="nofollow noopener">here</a>. </li> </ul> consciousness, DMT, ayahuasca, psychedelic, psychonaut, altered states, altered mates, conspiracy, aliens John Carpenter is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor, most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. In this episode we discuss his 1988 cult classic and much-memed sci-fi horror film, They Live.

The film They Live is based on Ray Nelson’s 1963 short story, Eight O’Clock in the Morning, and despite the low budget, dubious acting and general cheesiness, is fertile ground for chats about how to see through the ideology of our ruling capitalist overlords.

In this discussion, we draw heavily upon Sophie Fiennes & Slavoj Zizek’s documentary film, A Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, in which Zizek analyses the film, They Live.

We also find time to discuss psychosis, aliens, conspiracies, exploitation of the masses, and even whether there is any way to ethically pressure someone into a psychedelic experience.

And for those of you who are wondering what this film has to do with altered states, take into consideration that the sunglasses that hulking protagonist Nada dons were made using ‘Hoffman’ Lenses…

References

Links

Altered Mates Website

Altered Mates Instagram

Altered Mates Substack

Altered Mates Patreon

Music for the show by Si Mulumby

A Glimpse of Eternity by Alejandro Tuama

  • Purchase the novel here (hard copy, ebook and audiobook).
  • Listen to the free serialised audiobook here.
]]> John Carpenter is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor, most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. In this episode we discuss his 1988 cult classic and much-memed sci-fi horror film, They Live.

The film They Live is based on Ray Nelson’s 1963 short story, Eight O’Clock in the Morning, and despite the low budget, dubious acting and general cheesiness, is fertile ground for chats about how to see through the ideology of our ruling capitalist overlords.

In this discussion, we draw heavily upon Sophie Fiennes & Slavoj Zizek’s documentary film, A Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, in which Zizek analyses the film, They Live.

We also find time to discuss psychosis, aliens, conspiracies, exploitation of the masses, and even whether there is any way to ethically pressure someone into a psychedelic experience.

And for those of you who are wondering what this film has to do with altered states, take into consideration that the sunglasses that hulking protagonist Nada dons were made using ‘Hoffman’ Lenses…

References

Links

Altered Mates Website

Altered Mates Instagram

Altered Mates Substack

Altered Mates Patreon

Music for the show by Si Mulumby

A Glimpse of Eternity by Alejandro Tuama

  • Purchase the novel here (hard copy, ebook and audiobook).
  • Listen to the free serialised audiobook here.
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