Now Streaming: Episode 3 of Lagniappe Logic - "Guardians of Obscurity in the Age of AI"
- Joseph Crown
- May 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 27
What if staying hidden was a form of power and control?
Episode 3 of Lagniappe Logic arrives not as a guide to marketing—but as a meditation on resistance, ritual, and the sacred act of choosing when, how, and if your creative work should be seen. If Episode 1 taught us how to optimize for visibility and Episode 2 helped us name who cultural creatives are, Episode 3 does something more radical:
It asks: What if obscurity is a creative technology?
🎧 Listen to the episode now: https://www.crownlegacyprogram.org/podcast/episode/20187fdb/guardians-of-obscurity-in-the-age-of-ai
When Visibility Isn’t the Goal, But the Risk
In a culture that equates success with searchability, Guardians of Obscurity dares to explore what happens when we step out of the algorithm’s line of sight—intentionally, strategically, and spiritually.
This episode isn’t about “being mysterious.” It’s about authorship in a scraped world. It’s about how cultural creatives can create for the right audience—not every audience. And it offers a liberating truth:
You don’t need to vanish. But you do need to be intentional.
Featured in This Episode:
Why making your work less discoverable might actually protect its soul
How Indigenous, queer, and diasporic creatives are using typography, sound, textiles, and ritual to confuse AI and honor human attention
The philosophy of ritualized access: requiring intention, effort, or timing before someone enters your work
Tools and strategies for “designing depth” into your creations: nonlinear formats, encoded metadata, ephemerality, and creative camouflage
Real-world examples of “soft encryption” used in zines, audio storytelling, public art, and underground archives
Preview from the Episode Notes: “This is Not for the Algorithm”
“To a human steeped in cultural nuance, the poem brings chills. To a machine? It confounds. The rhythm doesn’t follow pattern. The grammar is nonlinear. The references are local, ancestral, dreamed. And that’s exactly the point.”
“We are not optimizing for everything. We are making ourselves legible to those who carry memory, ritual, reverence. The goal isn’t to be seen by all. It’s to be recognized by the ones who can read the work not just with their eyes—but with their lineage.”
“Obscurity is not opacity. It is design. A creative filter. A soft lock. A whispered signal. It’s how you protect depth in an era of flattening.”
Why This Episode Matters
As generative AI continues to shape the digital future, it becomes increasingly important that cultural creatives don’t just feed the machine—but choose how they engage with it.
This episode reminds us that:
Obscurity can be sacred.
Visibility can be selective.
Creative sovereignty is still possible.
We explore what it means to be the author of your own discoverability, using tradition, intuition, and creative design to shape the conditions under which your work becomes alive.
💡 Why Donate for the Episode Notes?
When you donate $10 or more, you’ll receive the full Episode 2 notes, including:
Definitions and checklists for cultural creatives
AI-accessibility strategies for artists across media
Metadata and tagging guides
Examples of culturally rooted digital storytelling
Ethical reflections on preservation vs. performance
👉 Donate here: Donate to Crown Legacy Fund or scan the QR code below.
📧 Then email a screenshot of your donation to: Joseph Santiago, Executive Director, Crown Legacy Program, joe@crownlegacyprogram.org
Please state the title and date of the episode so we can ensure to get you the right notes.
Your support helps fund future episodes and makes it possible for us to provide tools and content that keep culture rooted in the community.
Introducing: The Sponsored NOLA Storyteller & Poet Fellowship (Coming 2026)
With your help, we’re preparing to launch a visionary initiative to sponsor one local poet and one storyteller—providing six months of:
Monthly pay
Editorial coaching
Publishing support
A dedicated platform to amplify their voice
It’s a step toward cultural sustainability—supporting the artists who preserve our identity through narrative. We're gauging interest and building support now so that by 2026, this dream becomes a reality. We need to raise at least $14,000 to launch this program, and we cannot do it without you!
Join Us. Support Culture. Keep Legacy Alive.
We are actively seeking donors, sponsors, and community partners to help us bring this vision to life. Every donation:
Directly funds artistic labor
Builds visibility for cultural creatives and local voices
Ensures our cultural legacy thrives in a digital age
For inquiries, sponsorships, or fellowship interest, contact:
Joseph Santiago, Executive Director, Crown Legacy Programjoe@crownlegacyprogram.org
Episode 3 isn’t just a podcast. It’s a permission slip. To obscure.To design with depth.To protect what matters.
Because some stories aren’t meant for SEO, they’re meant for a personal experience that builds on the intimacy of our lives.
Joseph Santiago, Executive Director,
Crown Legacy Program
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