Wilhelm Reich’s ideas turn up in surprising places — sometimes as a direct influence, sometimes as an unacknowledged presence, sometimes simply as a lens that brings things into sharper focus. This conference brings together authors, artists, historians, and scientists to explore Reich’s relationship to music, film, yoga, breathwork, and contemporary culture.


F R I D A Y ,  J U L Y  3 1

K E Y N O T E
Wilhelm Reich’s Vienna
Richard Cockett
Senior Editor at The Economist and author of Vienna: How the City of Ideas Created the Modern World


A “Cloudbusting” Quest
Darrell Babidge
Chair of the Voice Faculty at The Juilliard School and host of a Kate Bush podcast, on his pilgrimage to Orgonon to interview Peter Reich and go running up that hill to explore the history behind the song at the place where the events originally took place

From the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to the Accumulator of Dr. Reich
Peter Reich
Son of Wilhelm Reich and author of A Book of Dreams, on how Weimar cinema in Europe and strong screen heroes of mid-century Hollywood subtly shaped Dr. Reich’s worldview and behavior

S A T U R D A Y ,  A U G U S T  1

From Communism to Work Democracy: The Social and Political Life of Wilhelm Reich
Philip W. Bennett
Professor of Philosophy, on his long-awaited, comprehensive new study, recently published by Brill



Loneliness Is a Weapon
Paris (P. E.) Moskowitz
Journalist and author, 2019 Knight Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard, writer for GQ, New York Magazine, and The Nation, on character armor and how loneliness is weaponized to support fascistic policies and cultures



The Mass Psychology of Fascism: Introducing the Fourth Edition
Håvard Friis Nilsen
Historian and Professor at Oslo Metropolitan University, author of Du må ikke sove: Wilhelm Reich og psykoanalysen i Norge (2022), on the new Orgonon Press edition resurrecting the original translation by Theodore P. Wolfe and featuring a new Foreword and other added material

S U N D A Y ,  A U G U S T  2

Reich and the Practice of Painting
Megan Bickel
Artist, writer, and Assistant Professor of Painting at the University of South Carolina, discussing Reich’s painting practice in conversation with her own




The Hidden Emotional Life of the Breath
Christopher D. Gilbert
Clinical psychologist, biofeedback specialist, and co-author of Recognizing and Treating Breathing Disorders, on how Reich’s insight that emotions live in the body informed his use of measurable physiological signals to make the emotional life of the breath objectively visible


Integrating Reich and Yoga Practice
Greg Tebb
Ashtanga yoga teacher, author, and long-term student and assistant of Ashtanga yoga guru Manju Jois, with whom he completed a 20-year teaching apprenticeship, and a student of Dr. Harry Lewis for the past eight years

Proceedings will begin each day at 12:00 noon ET
Each presentation will run for approximately one hour including questions, followed by a 15 minute break

Click to download a PDF of this conference program

Registration Instructions

  • Fees: The standard registration fee is $200. Students and those facing financial hardship may register for $125.

  • Optional Donation Levels: If you wish to help subsidize others, you can choose an optional registration level of $300 or $400.

  • Multiple Registrations: Only one person may be registered per transaction. If you need to register more than one person, please complete each registration separately. Then, email us with the names and contact details of any additional registrants



You are not currently logged in.

Choose your selection:

Choose Your Payment Method

Donate My Account