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.

From our Campfire Stories in Joshua Tree on May 23, 2026, here&rsquo;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 <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6FnN62XtbVwOAwAyXioCvU?si=Fq7ssxEBShaac3kl-RMzKg%20https://open.spotify.com/artist/6FnN62XtbVwOAwAyXioCvU?si=Fq7ssxEBShaac3kl-RMzKg">Herb Benham IV</a> opening the campfire festivities with a couple of proper cowboy songs. Ravens, rattlesnakes and other characters appear early and often in the stories &amp; fables that follow.

Desert Oracle Radio is a weekly road trip through the weird American desert from the publisher of Desert Oracle, the pocket-sized field guide published in Joshua Tree, California. Hear tales of mysterious lights, missing tourists, lost mines, venomous creatures, weird history and weirder people. Hosted by editor Ken Layne and featuring a cast of intriguing mystics, oddballs, scientists and artists, Desert Oracle Radio is your soundtrack for a desert night. The program is broadcast on Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in the Mojave high desert, with field reports from around and across the desert lands, and is distributed by Public Radio Exchange (PRX).

Desert Oracle Radio

Mysterious lights, missing tourists, lost mines, strange apparitions, magical rituals, false prophets & sinister characters. Weird tales from the wild places. This is Desert Oracle Radio, by Ken Layne, broadcasting from a Mojave mountaintop since 20&17.

Mysterious lights, missing tourists, lost mines, strange apparitions, magical rituals, false prophets &amp; sinister characters. Weird tales from the wild places. This is Desert Oracle Radio, by Ken Layne, broadcasting from a Mojave mountaintop since 20&amp;17.

Campfire Tales on a Half-Moon Night

Friends, this is one of two live call-in broadcasts we're doing for Halloween Weekend, 2026. You can listen live on Halloween Night (10/31) at 7 p.m. Pacific time to the next call-in show and join the spooky scene. Watch and listen at Patreon.com/desertoracle or on our Twitter/X accounts @KenLayne and @desert_oracle. Happy Halloween and please enjoy these creepy tales!

Friends, this is one of&nbsp;two live call-in broadcasts we're doing for Halloween Weekend, 2026. You can listen&nbsp;live on Halloween Night (10/31) at 7 p.m. Pacific time to the next call-in show and join the spooky scene. Watch and listen at <a href="http://Patreon.com/desertoracle">Patreon.com/desertoracle</a> or on our Twitter/X accounts <a href="http://x.com/KenLayne">@KenLayne</a> and <a href="http://x.com/desert_oracle">@desert_oracle</a>. Happy Halloween and please enjoy these creepy tales!

Halloween Eve Call-In Broadcast

It's Halloweentime in the Mojave and that means tales of madness, chaos, strange rituals in the mountains. A time of social contagion, evil behaviors at the tail end of Age of Dionysus. Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver.

Thanks to our beloved patrons for making this show possible. Become a patron tonight and support the radio show you love! 

Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.com

It's Halloweentime in the Mojave and that means tales of madness, chaos, strange rituals in the mountains. A time of social contagion, evil behaviors at the tail end of Age of Dionysus. Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver.
Thanks to our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle">beloved patrons</a>&nbsp;for making this show possible. Become a patron tonight and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle">support the radio show you love!</a>&nbsp;
Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.com

Madness and Dismemberment in the Time of Halloween

Night has fallen on the desert. So let’s settle ourselves around the campfire and maybe cook up a big cauldron of Hobo Stew . . . otherwise known as Slumgullion Stew! Our pot includes Gila Monster venom, Yucca Man tales, and the various mysteries of Divine Wisdom. Here's how ol’ Cactus Ed Abbey describes such a feast of scraps:

“Slumgullion stew is the name of a dish popular among hoboes and other knights of the open road. Into a big pot over an open fire, each man throws whatever he has to contribute: a stolen chicken, a hambone, a can of beans, a jar of salsa, an old shoe — anything edible. Like any serious stew, like human society itself, slumgullion should be stirred up frequently, or you’ll get a lot of scum on top.”

Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.com

Night has fallen on the desert. So let&rsquo;s settle ourselves around the campfire and maybe cook up a big cauldron of Hobo Stew . . . otherwise known as Slumgullion Stew! Our pot includes Gila Monster venom, Yucca Man tales, and the various mysteries of Divine Wisdom.&nbsp;Here's how ol&rsquo; Cactus Ed Abbey describes such a feast of scraps:
&ldquo;Slumgullion stew is the name of a dish popular among hoboes and other knights of the open road. Into a big pot over an open fire, each man throws whatever he has to contribute: a stolen chicken, a hambone, a can of beans, a jar of salsa, an old shoe &mdash; anything edible. Like any serious stew, like human society itself, slumgullion should be stirred up frequently, or you&rsquo;ll get a lot of scum on top.&rdquo;
Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.com

Campfire Tales on a Half-Moon Night

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