Narrative Machines
A podcast on memetics, myth and propaganda: how our narratives define the limits of our political and personal identity, how any era of civilization may be consigned to myth just as it was defined by it. Drawing on over a decade of interdisciplinary research, this podcast examines how ideas spread through the internet, shaping perceptions, reshaping societal norms, and constructing identities and politics—often without conscious awareness. By analyzing the narratives we create, consume, and reinterpret, Narrative Machines offers a timely exploration of the influence of narratives, encouraging listeners to reflect on how myths shape their lives, both consciously and unconsciously. Previous drafts of many of these ideas were published in 2017 in Narrative Machines (Mythos Media), in 2020 in Masks: Bowie & Artists of Artifice (Intellect/ University of Chicago), and various web publications. It is presented here in audio format for the first time with additional reflections and editorial. For more of the author’s work in various mediums and formats, visit JamesCurcio.com You can also find more podcasts and articles about RPGs and collective storytelling at ModernMythology.net
Episodes
In Episode 7 of Narrative Machines, "Remembered and Remembered Again," we interrogate the tension between the popular belief in linear societal progress and the inherently cyclical nature of revolution. Using the fall of the Berlin Wall as a symbolic entry point, we explore recurring patterns of upheaval, shifting power dynamics, and enduring social inequalities within...
Building on concepts from previous episodes, Narrative Machines Episode 6, "Literally Literary Suicide," explores the extraordinary life and dramatic death of Japanese literary icon Yukio Mishima. Renowned for intertwining artistry, identity, and nationalist fervor, Mishima's final act—his ritual suicide (Seppuku)—was as performative as it was political. This episode i...
David Bowie’s career exemplified the interplay of performance, identity, and mythmaking. Through personas like Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and the Thin White Duke, Bowie blurred the lines between artifice and reality, crafting an enigmatic, occult-tinged ambiguity that challenged perceptions of authenticity and selfhood.
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Narrative Machines, Episode 4: Masks All The Way Down challenges the notion of identity as a singular, stable essence, instead presenting it as a recursive performance—an interplay of masks, personas, and shifting narratives. From roleplaying games to professional personas, from instinct to artifice, we examine the idea that there is no final, unmasked self—on...
In an era of "post-truth," where narratives vie for dominance in a hyper-capitalist attention economy and even basic facts are contested, Narrative Machines Episode 3, "With Whose Voice Do We Speak?" explores the power of myths and stories in shaping our realities. This episode examines how narratives are wielded for political, ideological, and personal ends, influenci...
This episode argues that the commonly held belief that myth is dead - a relic of the past replaced by modern science and reason - is itself a framing myth of modernity. Instead, myth is alive and well, but often hidden within mediums that lack the traditional aura of the sacred.
The Sacred and the Pro...
This first episode of Narrative Machines argues that while we may call some stories myths and others not, all stories have the potential to become myths as they are repeated and embedded in our culture.
We use the analogy of strange attractors to describe how myths function. Just as a strange attra...
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