{"id":18457,"date":"2026-11-07T11:27:41","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T16:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=18457"},"modified":"2026-11-07T11:27:44","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T16:27:44","slug":"episode-697-david-m-carr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-697-david-m-carr","title":{"rendered":"Episode 697 – David M Carr"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 697:
\nDavid M. Carr<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/virtualmemories\/Episode_697_-_David_M_Carr.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“I don’t think we can escape our programming completely, or even develop any level of freedom from it, unless we look at it with wide open eyes for what it is.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Biblical scholar David M. Carr<\/a> rejoins the show for a conversation about his fantastic new book, UNMAKING EDEN: Genesis and the Domestication of the World<\/a> (Cambridge University Press). We talk about how his close reading of the first 11 chapters of Genesis opened up a new understanding of how human beings related to non-human beings (animals, that is), the concept of onto-stories and how those chapters set up a world of subjugation and othering, how Tiger King<\/a> inspired him to write this book, and how God’s first idea of the world fell out of harmony and led God into becoming a genocidal maniac (my words, not David’s). We get into how we need to find a new story to change our domestication-programming so we can see what it means to live in relation to others and not just see everyone\/everything in terms of utility, how integrating indigenous, non-western traditions can help with that process (without just being a la carte cultural appropriation), how AI may accelerate our self-domestication, and how embracing a sabbath might be the first step in fixing our world. We also discuss David’s jazz-funk organ habit, his other project on scroll technology, his Quaker-Buddhist outlook and how he continues to pursue traditions that range farther from the Bible, what it means for something to be freely given, and more. Give it a listen!<\/a> And go read UNMAKING EDEN<\/a> and check out his new podcast, The Bible And The Living World<\/a>!<\/p>\n

“Genesis is far more interested in the question of how humans and animals relate than other ancient near-eastern myths.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n