Evil: A Study of Lost Techniques with Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh

Evil: A Study of Lost Techniques with Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh

From WAKE ISLAND by Paul K

May 8, 2026 · 1h 20m

About this episode

The episode features a discussion with philosopher Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh about his book on the nature of evil as a set of techniques.

Wake Island is back. It’s been a long hiatus, a lot of life changes and transitions... the usual upheavals that seem to have hit everyone over the last year or so. We’re kicking things off with past guest of the show , Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh, a philosopher, writer, and teacher, and a vector for a lot of the ideas that shape the tone and approach of Wake Island. What I love about listening to Jason is that he comes at things from the perspective of the avant-garde, whether it’s the after-dark, mania, or the apocalyptic imagination, he brings a level of sophistication to these ideas that I admire. This episode we’re talking about his latest book, Evil: A Study of Lost Techniques from Scarlet Press. Jason doesn’t moralize evil in the ways we’re accustomed to. He treats it as a set of techniques that operate below the threshold of cognition, things that bypass your defenses, in the same way a lullaby ushers a child out of consciousness into the realm of sleep, or doomscrolling steals hours of your life before you realize they’re gone. It’s less a study of bad behavior than a diagrammatic map of how evil reclaims the world. Also thank you to Matti Bye and Mambo Noir Trio & OONA…

People in this episode

Host: Paul K

Guest: Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh

Topics covered

  • philosophy
  • evil
  • avant-garde
  • literature
  • cognition
  • techniques

Keywords

  • evil
  • philosophy
  • cognition
  • literature
  • avant-garde
  • techniques
  • Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Scarlet Press, Mambo Noir Trio, OONA Recordings

Books & works: Evil: A Study of Lost Techniques, Noir

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