For eight years, Ken Layne has been keeping desert wanderers company with his esoteric musings about the lore, legends, and landscape of the Mojave — by way of both his cult favorite radio show Desert Oracle, and a periodical of the same name.
A former newspaper reporter and political blogger, Layne left the world of hard news behind in 2015 to launch the quarterly periodical that celebrates the weirdness of the Mojave region he’s called home for nearly two decades.
“I started looking at what to do with the remaining useful years that I have — which is something we should all consider fairly often — and I thought, well, I already live in the desert. I love the desert. Let's just make everything about the desert,” says Layne.
Broadcasting each Friday at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM, his radio show draws inspiration from esoteric icons like KCRW’s own Joe Frank and Art Bell, who hosted the bizarre late night call-in show Coast to Coast AM.
In each episode, Layne digs into an eclectic array of tall tales and local history, exploring everything from UFO sightings to Yucca Man, a sasquatch-like creature that has been sighted in the area for centuries.
“I always thought the best weird tales were true,” he says. “So I wanted to take down the oral traditions, the local lore that inspires people to make bumper stickers and t-shirts.”
Layne says the desert — with its vast spaces and surreal, sparse environment — is the perfect place for eccentrics and storytellers like himself to thrive.
“Desert wilderness has always attracted people who need space for various reasons. Maybe they're an artist like Georgia O'Keeffe. Maybe they're a messiah like Jesus. They're all these people who end up playing outsized roles in history and culture, who are drawn to the weird landscape where nature is right in your face,” he says. “It's a good place to find out what you're made of.”