Weird Studies – Details, episodes & analysis

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Weird Studies

SpectreVision Radio

Arts

Society & Culture

Frequency: 1 episode/13d. Total Eps: 244

Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring the anomalous, the luminous, and the numinous. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. ⁠spectrevisionradio.com⁠ ⁠linktr.ee/spectrevision⁠

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Data updated on 23/10/2026

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NakedLunch
6 shares
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AThousandPlateaus
6 shares
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsifal
6 shares

https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781585421619
11 shares
https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780877282686
8 shares
https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780231079891
7 shares

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Score global : 53%

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Episode 221 – On 'The Exorcist'

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 • Duration 01:21:16

In this episode, long overdue, Phil and JF discuss one of the great American horror films: WIlliam Friedkin's 1973 adaptation of Willam Peter's Blatty's _The Exorcist_. Music: "Nascent Red," from PY Martel's Weird Studies Vol. 1. For details on Quentin S. Crisp's upcoming Weirdosphere talk on literature and the supernatural, visit Weirdosphere. The event takes place on October 31 at 3 pm EST. Support Weird Studies on Patreon. References William Friedkin (dir.), The Exorcist Richard Donner (dir.), The Omen Fulton J. Sheen, On the Demonic William Blatty, The Exorcist Gyrus, North Don Siegal and Clint Eastwood (dir.), Dirty Harry Weird Studies, Episode 88 on Mr. Punch Joe Bob Briggs, American film critic Matt Cardin, "Teeth" Ryan Duns, The Theology of Horror Norman Mailer, "The White Negro" Ray Brassier, Nihil Unbound Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" Thomas Ligotti, The Conspiracy Against the Human Race John Lennon, "Imagine" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episode 220: The Dream of a Ridiculous Man: Live at the Dream Mapping Symposium

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 • Duration 01:54:51

On September 26, JF and Phil took part in the Dream Mapping Symposium, a three-day event organized by the Dream Mapping Project and the Dream Library Foundation, and held at the Brooklyn Public Library. Their mission was twofold. First, Phil was to read Dostoevsky's short story "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man," and then, he and JF were to have one of their conversations about it. Despite inclement weather, exploding lighting equipment and the labyrinthine NYC subway system, it went off like a dream. In this episode, we offer you the full recording of the event. Special thanks to Alisa Minyukova and Kelly Bulkeley for a thought-provoking weekend. To support Weird Studies, ⁠become a patron⁠ of the show. It's not too late to sign up to Erik Davis's Weirdosphere course, Do Androids Dream of Reading PKD? The first of two live Q&As with Erik is on Sunday, October 11, 2026. Music in this episode: "Springtime on Ganymede" from PY Martel's Weird Studies vol. 2. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episode 219 – Composing the Cosmos, with Meredith Rigby

Wednesday, September 23, 2026 • Duration 01:25:13

In this episode, JF and Phil are joined by their beloved assistant and invaluable collaborator Meredith Rigby (formerly Meredith Michael) to discuss her recently completed doctoral dissertation, Composing the Cosmos: 20th Century Musical Mythologies of Outer Space. Meredith explains how classical music, in the last century, became a privileged zone for exploring the meaning, threat, and promise of the starry void after the collapse of the old cosmologies. Music: "Fogcutter" from Pierre-Yves Martel's Weird Studies Vol 3. Support Weird Studies on Patreon. Upcoming Events Registration is open for Erik Davis's course on Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? , starting October 1, 2026, on Weirdosphere. On September 26, 2026, join JF and Phil at the Brooklyn Public Library for a live recording on dreams and Dostoevsky. Part of the Dream Mapping Symposium, organized by The Dream Mapping Project and the Dream Library Foundation. On October 3 and 4, ⁠HitchCon 26⁠ will feature talks on Hitchcock and David Lynch. Speakers include JF and Victoria Nelson. References Meredith Rigby, "Composing the Cosmos: 20th Century Musical Mythologies of Outer Space" Charles Taylor, A Secular Age Henri Bergson, Creative Evolution Jerry Goldsmith, Theme from Star Trek: The Next Generation Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra Gustav Holst, "Mars" and "Neptune" from The Planets Lili Boulanger, "Les Sirènes" Alan Leo, The Art of Synthesis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episode 218 — A Mighty Matter of Legend: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Two Towers'

Wednesday, September 9, 2026 • Duration 01:14:34

Having taken up the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in episode 207, Phil and JF turn to part two, The Two Towers. Together, they peel back the husk of familiarity to reveal the strange object underneath: a story about stories, about life and destiny in a storied world. Music: "Wotan Hangs" from Weird Studies Vol. 1 and "For the Sun" from Weird Studies Vol 3. Support Weird Studies on Patreon. Upcoming Events: JF's course on the metaphysics of the horror genre, The Awful Truth, starts September 17, 2026, on Weirdosphere. Erik Davis's course on Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? starts October 1, 2026, on Weirdosphere. Click here for details on JF and Phil's appearance at the Brooklyn Public Library on September 26, 2026. Part of the Dream Mapping Symposium, organized by The Dream Mapping Project and the Dream Library Foundation. Attendance is free. References J. R. R. Tolkien, The Two Towers Viktor Schlovsky, “Art as Technique” Arthur Machen, “A Fragment of Life” Joshua Cutchin, Fourth Wall Phantoms Cristina Campo “On Fairy Tales” J. R. R. Tolkien, “On Fairy Stories” Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Mid-Hiatus Bonus: A Door in the Fourth Wall

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 • Duration 45:19

Episode 218 will drop at the end of our summer break on September 9, 2026. Today, enjoy this recent audio extra, originally released for members of the Weird Studies Patreon. In the intro, JF announces two important Weirdosphere events: a talk on language in the age of AI by Emma Stamm, and a new six-week course on the idea of truth in horror cinema and literature. To learn more and enroll, visit Weirdosphere. The musical piece following the intro is "Hypnagogic," from PY Martel's recent album Weird Studies Vol. 3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episode 217 – Books, Spirits, and Hysteria, with Asti Hustvedt

Wednesday, August 5, 2026 • Duration 01:17:57

Researcher Asti Hustvedt joins Phil and JF to discuss a talk she gave at the Lily Dale Symposium this year entitled "Bibliophantoms." The question: What does it mean to "get lost" in a book? Asti's answer, drawing on her research in nineteenth-century neuroscience and spirit mediumship, amounts to a genuine weirding of the act of reading. Asti Hustvedt is an independent scholar and writer with a PhD in French literature. Her work examines the entangled histories of science, psychology, literature, and the occult, with a particular focus on hysteria and Spiritualism. She is the author of Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris, named an Editors' Choice by the New York Times and a Book of the Year by The Independent, and the editor of The Decadent Reader: Fiction, Fantasy and Perversion in Fin-de-Siècle France. She is currently writing a book on hysteria and the supernatural that examines how Eusapia Palladino and other mediums challenged—and helped shape—the emerging sciences of the mind. New Course! To learn more on JF's upcoming online course on truth in horror literature and cinema, visit Weirdosphere. Image: Detail of The Reader by Jacques-Émile Blanche (1861-1942) Music: "L'Esprit d'escalier" from Weird Studies vol. 3, and "Distant Early Warning" from Weird Studies vol 2. REFERENCES Asti Hustvedt, Medical Muses Jean-Martin Charcot, French physician Pierre Janet, French physician Lon Milo DuQuette, It’s All in Your Head Saint Catherine of Siena, Italian mystic Saint Augustine, Confessions Paul Auster, American writer Julia Kristeva, Bulgarian French philosopher Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights Lionel Snell, Introduction to Freya Aswynn’s Power and Principles of the Runes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episode 216 – Artworks Are People Too

Wednesday, July 22, 2026 • Duration 01:34:00

"Now and then, a mysterious life and potency will flicker out of an artwork and confront you." So began "Artworks Are People Too," a talk Phil presented at the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute earlier this summer. In this episode, JF and Phil discuss the implications of this idea that some artworks break the mould of the inanimate and act as persons in the world. Are artworks mere creations, or creatures too? To enroll in Questionable Cinema, our live summer series happening in August 2026, visit Weirdosphere. Music: "Hypnagogic," from Weird Studies Vol. 3. References Henri Corbin, Alone with the Alone Alfred Hallowell, "Ojibwa Ontology, Behavior, and Worldview" Martin Buber, I and Thou Charles Taylor, A Secular Age Rainer Maria Rilke, “Archaic Torso of Apollo” Peter Sloterdijk, You Must Change Your Life Carl Jung, “On the Relation of Analytical Psychology to Poetry” Alejandro Jodorowsky, Pyschomagic Dan Sperber, “The Causal Chains of Culture” Paul Stoller, In Sorcery’s Shadow Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky Ishmael Reed, Mumbo Jumbo Holly Cusack-McVeigh, Stories Find You Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind Ikea lamp commercial Sam Raimi (dir.), Evil Dead II Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Special Episode: Make Art!

Wednesday, July 8, 2026 • Duration 41:27

Owing to circumstances preventing us from releasing a new show this week, we are offering you one from the archives. This episode was originally released on our Patreon in March 2026. In it, we discuss the splendour and squalor of Victorian London, kung-fu bobbies, the (mis)alignment of society and technology, post-apocalyptic optimism, the emancipating genius of tabletop roleplaying games, the human after AI, and a reason for creating works of art. A new episode of Weird Studies will drop on July 22. For more information on Questionable Cinema, Phil and JF's upcoming online course, visit Weirdosphere. To listen to more tracks from Weird Studies Vol. 3 and purchase the download or LP, visit Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episode 215 – Where No One Can Hear You Scream: On Ridley Scott's 'Alien'

Wednesday, June 24, 2026 • Duration 01:29:15

In this episode, JF and Phil discuss Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror blockbuster Alien. Together, they wipe off the patina of familiarity that beclouds the film, restoring it to its original weirdness. What is the organism that terrorizes the Nostromo? What's its relation to technology, evolution, industry? How does it differ from the monsters of older horror classics? How does one interpret without explaining away? Music in this episode: "Hypnagogic," from Pierre-Yves Martel's Weird Studies Vol. 3. Events Shannon Taggart's Lily Dale Symposium (July 23-25, 2026Transcendence in the Age of AI, a Weirdosphere chat with Michael Garfield and JF Martel, hosted by Joel Gunz - June 25, 2026 Kickstarter campaign for Artist as Astronaut: The Otherworldly Art of Ionel Talpazan from Strange Attractor Press. The campaign closes June 27! References Ionel Talpazan, Romanian experiencer and artist Ridley Scott (dir.), Alien Peter Bebergal, All Our Famous Monsters (forthcoming) Malachi Martin, Hostage to the Devil Vilhelm Hammershøi, Danish painter H. R. Giger, Swiss artist Simon-Max, French entertainer Eric Wargo, Passion of the Space Jockey Weird Studies, Episode 213 on “Eric” Mel Brooks (dir.), Spaceballs Howard and Emerson, “Hello, Ma Baby” Beowulf Eugene Thacker, In the Dust of This Planet Graham Harman, Weird Reality Pierre Schaeffer, French musician Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episode 214 – Fortune's Fools: On Gordon White's Philosophy of Fortune-Telling

Wednesday, June 10, 2026 • Duration 01:15:11

It was with heavy hearts that Phil and JF learned of Gordon White's passing. Gordon was a force to be reckoned with: as an author and podcaster on all things occult, he offered unique perspectives and provocative interpretations at every turn. In this episode, your hosts discuss Gordon's thoughts on divination—or fortune-telling, as he preferred to call it... Click here to purchase tickets to the 2026 edition of the Lily Dale Symposium (July 23-25), organized by Shannon Taggart and closing this year with a live recording of Weird Studies. References Rune Soup Fortune’s Fools Oracle Deck Duns Scotus, Scottish priest Marshall Sahlins, The New Science of the Enchanted Universe Henri Bergson, Time and Free Will Ithell Colquhoun, Taro as Colour Lord Dunsany, The Gods of Pegana Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Weird Studies – Details, episodes & analysis

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Weird Studies – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

Wikipedia99+

Bookshop99+

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

Wikipedia99+

Bookshop99+