Bureau of Lost Culture

26/05/2026

There were books that came out of the counterculture that became massively popular.
Books like:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Fear of Flying
Trout Fishing in America
Slaughterhouse-Five
Catch 22
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Do they still hold up?

11/05/2026

My recent interview with Jason Burke: 'The Revolutionists: How The Counterculture Turned to Terror' has prompted more than the usual number of responses.

The episode - and Jason's book - isn't in support of any of the groups we talk about. It is an exploration of how various groups that used violence in the 1970s had roots in a radical fringe of the 60s counterculture

Some responses seem to have been in reaction to the title or the images of Che Guevara or Leila Khalid rather than the interview itself. One implication was that Jason and I are right-wing, reactionary capitalist bootlickers, another that we are left-wing radical supporters of terrorists :)

To be fair, It is a complex subject and as ever, there have been some thoughtful responses. One friend wrote:
,
'Your new episode on the Revolutionists reminds me of something we came across while living in Ecuador .... we opened our Thai restaurant and we ended up hiring a young cook, still in culinary school. He's still a good friend who enjoys DJing dance music. Very cool guy, somehow wise for his age. We later learned that his father was ... a member of ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo!, a leftist terrorist group.

In 1985, (the father) and another man and woman kidnapped the CEO of a bank, (the father) and the other man were arrested and tortured in jail. Luckily for him, the other man had a wife connected to politicians and was eventually released. One evening, (the son) ... pointed him out to us, sitting at a table behind us while dining at an Italian restaurant. ... says he now makes a living selling medical journals.

We were not introduced. (the father) is still on a no-fly list for the US.'

I'm always keen to hear people's thoughts!

08/05/2026

In reference to the post below, thanks to Kenneth Lyons for introducing me to this toon! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9bm0K17WcU&fbclid=IwY2xjawRqaNxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFDRmRxbTRweGN3cFMwRGRKc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHm4rTyUeJMomygjOu6NPx3FG-xc6qnTszKxH6RBrvASX8Bw5wPYOE6TObAJD_aem_StpCAaSz08MRpXABGBxu_w

From the 1981 album entitled Wilder. Leila was a 1970s Palestinian revolutionary.

03/05/2026

Primal Therapy: In Search of the Real You.

I'm really keen to make a show about Primal Therapy, but just can't find anyone to talk about it!

19 likes, 6 comments. "Primal Therapy: In Search of the Real You (1973) "

27/04/2026

Heads up for the end of May if in or around London, ticket link in comments

02/04/2026

S*x - Men - War
Writer , author of the beautiful book Men at War, came to Bureau to talk about how the social upheaval of wartime had a profound effect on the s*x lives of British men in particular— in the city, in barracks, in prison of war camps.

Link in comments for our conversation

With millions of young men and women on military service, the transitory nature of life under threat of sudden and violent death created a charged atmosphere in which conventional boundaries loosened. In London, the darkness of the blackout became both cover and catalyst.

Written in rare memoirs, or in letters and diaries never meant to be read by us, this is a story that feels less like military history and more like testimonies from an underground scene — secret, transgressive, forbidden, usually invisible - and later to be deliberately repressed

Images: Cecil Beaton / Imperial War Museum

01/04/2026

Great archive of Anti-War songs set up by a couple of Italians as the Iraq war started, seems very prescient right now

Un grande database di canzoni contro la guerra

02/09/2025

Super looking forward to on September 13 when I’ll be in conversation with and on the subject of death, psychedelics and the healing potential of fungi

02/09/2025

1967 guide

Do we need one of these for parents of ‘Hipsters’?

suggestions please!

01/09/2025

Ghost, Trolls and the Hidden Folk

Ethnologist Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir came to the Bureau to talk about the role of mythical and supernatural beings in Icelandic society and landscape.

Link in comments to listen

Iceland is one of the last remaining Western countries where a substantial proportion of the population believes in the presence of other beings - The Hidden Folk.

For centuries, and until fairly recently, ghosts, revenants, trolls and elves were regarded as an integral part of everyday life. Their stories were shared during the long nights of winter gatherings, and they felt just as real to Icelanders as the people sitting beside

We hear about her own family’s ghost, how to recognise a magical being, how to scare off a troll and how construction projects in Iceland can still be delayed or rerouted in order to take account of the Hidden Folk.

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