Master builder and architectural designer, geological explorer and renegade scholar, Randall Carlson has four decades of research and exploration into the interface between ancient mysteries and modern science. He joined guest host Jimmy Church (email) to discuss his research into Earth changes and catastrophic events as well as ancient mythology, astronomy, paleontology, symbolism, sacred geometry and architecture.

"What do we, the human species, really need to know in order to survive on this planet successfully?" Carlson asked, noting it's this question of how to build prosperous civilizations that provides motivation for his studies. He suggested entrenched political institutions have a vested interest in keeping certain models of history intact, especially models that support the idea of humans as the dominant force for long-term global change. According to Carlson, human civilizations have very little effect on the discontinuities or concentrated changes which happen to the planet and, in fact, have been made extinct by such past upheavals.

"There is a... cosmic or geologic determinism to the rise and fall of civilization," he continued. The extreme nature of the changes easily erase the work of humans which is why, even though there may have been more than 7,000 generations of modern humans over 180,000 years of history, we don't find much evidence for them. The ancient Gobekli Tepe site is a rare exception and was preserved through the ages only because it got buried, Carlson revealed. He spoke about extinctions that are tied to global upheavals and those caused by cultural collapse. These extinctions are brought on by changes within the existing order of things to which a group has become adapted and they're not able to adjust their orientation, Carlson explained. He also covered the preservation of knowledge through periods of low population, as well as French alchemist Fulcanelli and the mystery of Gothic cathedrals.

The last hour of the program featured Open Lines.