Weird Studies

This episode was recorded before a live audience at Indiana University Cinema as part of Weird Academia, a series of events that brought much high strangeness to Bloomington, Indiana, in January 2026. The discussion followed a screening of Ken Russell’s 1980 cinematic fever dream, Altered States. In it, JF and Phil explore the weird intersection of mysticism, psychedelics, and institutional science, and they close with a brief Q&A with members of the audience. Visit Weirdosphere to enroll in Phil Ford's upcoming course, A Musical Tarot. References Weird Academia and the Center for Possible Minds Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Roger Penrose, physicist and mathematician Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy Samuel Delaney, Dhalgren Henri Bergson, Introduction to Metaphysics and Matter & Memory H. P. Lovecraft, American writer Herman Melville, Moby-Dick Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception Clement Greenberg, American essayist G. K. Chesterton, English writer David

In this episode of Weird Studies, we turn to the fifth Major Arcanum, the Hierophant, symbolizing tradition, instruction, and the exoteric aspect of spiritual practice. Drawing on Meditations on the Tarot and other sources, we question the easy opposition between tradition and revolution, exploring instead how inherited forms can foster genuine inner growth, and how an interior revolutions may renew traditions from within. To reserve seats for Weird Academia events, visit the website of the Center for Possible Minds. References Johann Sebastian Bach, F# minor Fugue from The Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 (played by Rosalyn Tureck)  Richard Wilhelm (trans.), The I Ching J. R. R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings P. D. Ouspensky, The Symbolism of the Tarot  The Catechism of the Catholic Church Our Known Friend, Meditations of the Tarot Plato, "The Seventh Letter" Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of Tarot Dogen, Instructions for the Cook Gilles Deleuze, Difference and Repetition Weird Studies, Live a

For Tolkien, fairy stories are not stories about fairies, but stories that take place in Faerie. And in doing so, they make Faerie present. They are not escapist fantasies but disclosures of a real mode of being and invitations to live in that mode. In this episode, Phil and JF explore the great writer’s radical claims about the nature of story, life, and reality. Upcoming Events Erik Davis and JF's six-week course on Herman Melville's Moby-Dick begins on January 20th. For details and to enroll, visit the Weirdosphere. For information on the upcoming Weird Academia events in Bloomington (Jan 27-29), visit the symposium web page at the Center for Possible Minds. Music in this Episode "What a Load of Gnosis," from Weird Studies: Music from the Podcast, Volume I "Springtime on Ganymede," from Weird Studies: Music from the Podcast, Volume II References J. R. R. Tolkein, “On Fairy Stories”  Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason  Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Idea  Franz Liszt, Tran

To tide us over as we prepare for a new season of Weird Studies, here is an "audio extra," originally recorded for our Patreon supporters, wherein we discuss imposter syndrome, the eternal inadequacy of the intellect, the perils of playing with swords, and the role of trust in creation. A new episode will drop on Wednesday, January 14th, 2026. Happy New Year to all. To join our Patreon, go to www.patreon.com/weirdstudies To enroll in the upcoming Moby Dick course starting on January 20th, visit www.weirdosphere.org. For information on the Weird Academia conference in Bloomington, Indiana, visit www.possibleminds.org/weird-academia Episode image: Caspar David Friedrich, Abtei im Eichwald (1808-1810). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in episode 112, Phil and JF devised a gimmick for a show: randomly select one of the many aphorisms in The Book of Probes, a compendium of Marshall McLuhan’s prophetic quips designed by David Carson, and see what happens. It proved lively enough that they’re trying it again nearly a hundred episodes later. The resulting conversation touches the weird across a range of themes: tourism, the two kinds of truth, advertising, Kubrick’s marketing savvy, technology, orality versus literacy, and much more. A fitting feast for the mind as the year draws to a close. From all of us at Weird Studies, happy holidays. • Sign up for JF Martel and Erik Davis's upcoming course on Moby-Dick. • Join Phil, JF, and composer Pierre-Yves Martel for Weirdosphere's Solstice Story Hour on December 21. • For dates, venues, and the full slate of Weird Academia events in Bloomington this January, visit the Centre for Possible Minds website. • To participate in the Weird Academia Colloquium, email organizers Emma Stamm and Mich

In this episode, JF and Phil discuss Robert Louis Stevenson’s Gothic classic, the tale that conjured the fog-shrouded London hellscape that has haunted the modern imagination ever since. Though written as a quick “Christmas crawler” to earn a bit of money, the novella has exerted an incalculable influence on art and literature. It also proved strangely prophetic, anticipating Freud and others who would soon make the fragmentation of the human psyche a defining concern of the new century. "The human is two" is a recurring refrain in the work of the scholar of religious thought, Jeffrey J. Kripal. References Dan Ericson, Severance Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde David Lynch (dir.), Mullholland Drive John Frankenheimer (dir.), The Manchurian Candidate Galen Strawson, British philosopher Juan Eduardo Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols Jeff Kripal, How to Think Philosophically Rouben Mamoullian (dir.), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Weird Studies, Episode 161 on “Fro

In this episode, Phil and JF are joined by independent scholar Peter Bebergal, author of Strange Frequencies, Season of the Witch, and other books on the intersections of culture, religion, and the occult. The topic is Frankenstein—not Guillermo del Toro's latest but James Whale's 1931 talkie along with its 1935 sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, both starring Boris Karloff. The conversation touches on Gnosticism, alchemy, modern techno-hubris, the Gothic, and much more. Peter's new online course, Hacking the Invisible: At the Intersection of Technology and Magic, begins on November 20th, 2025, and runs for three weeks on Weirdosphere. Visit the Weirdosphere website for details and to enroll. References James Whale (dir.), Frankenstein Tobe Hooper (dir.), Texas Chainsaw Massacre James Whale (dir.), The Bride of Frankenstein Justin Sledge, Esoterica Henry Bergson, Introduction to Metaphysics David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order Mary Shelley, Frankenstein John the Apostle, The Apocry

Originally released in 2018 but remixed for your listening pleasure, here's Phil reading Arthur Machen's classic weird tale, "The White People." Happy Halloween! Machen's "The White People" was discussed all the way back in ⁠Weird Studies episode 3⁠. Earlier this week, JF and Phil joined Conner Habib on his podcast to talk all about horror. It was a great conversation and we hope you'll give it a listen. Image: Photo of doll from Auckland War Memorial Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For their 200th episode, JF and Phil turn their attention to H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” a story foundational not only to modern horror fiction but to the very idea of the Weird. In revisiting this tale of forbidden knowledge and cosmic ambiguity, the hosts reflect on Weird Studies itself as a “slow piecing together of dissociated knowledge” that mirrors the work of Lovecraft’s own bewildered protagonists. Image by Antoni Espinosa via Wikimedia Commons. Upcoming Events: Peter Bebergal teaches on Weirdosphere starting November 20, 2025 JF Martel speaks at Back to Haunt Us in East London on November 8, 2025 Phil Ford speaks at the Durations Festival in NYC on November 7, 2025 Phil Ford hangs out at Archestratus Books and Food on November 8, 2025 References H. P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu  Weird Studies, Episode 2 on Garmonbozia  Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy  Phil Ford, “The Wanderer” H. P. Lovecraft, "Nyarlathotep" Weird Studies, Episode 74 on Jung Phil

Photographer and paranormal researcher Shannon Taggart joins JF and Phil to explore the phenomenon that was Michael Jackson. One of the most brilliant and successful musicians of the modern era, Jackson was also a liminal figure sans pareil, a shapeshifter who defied the binary categories through which we order the human world. His art and persona together enacted a transformation that can only be called shamanic. About Our Guest: Shannon Taggart is a photographer and author based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her photographs have appeared in Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal, and have been recognized by Magnum, Nikon, and the Alexia Foundation. Her monograph Séance was first published by Fulgur Press (2019) and reissued in a second edition by Atelier Éditions. Shannon is currently developing an illustrated history of SORRAT (the Society for Research on Rapport and Telekinesis) and hosts an annual symposium on the weird and the paranormal in Lily Dale, New York. Image by Dani

Since 2020, Phil and JF have been creating an on-again, off-again series on the major trumps, or "arcana," of the tarot. In this episode, they continue the series with a discussion of the second arcanum: the High Priestess, also known as la Papesse, the female pope. One of the most enigmatic and powerful cards in the deck, the High Priestess symbolizes duality, contemplation, and manifestation. Support Weird Studies on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠. Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes ⁠⁠1⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠2⁠⁠, on Pierre-Yves Martel's ⁠⁠Bandcamp⁠⁠ page. Visit the Weird Studies ⁠⁠⁠Bookshop⁠⁠⁠ Find us on ⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠ Get the T-shirt design from ⁠⁠⁠Cotton Bureau⁠⁠⁠. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, ⁠⁠Cosmophonia⁠⁠. REFERENCES Our Known Friend, Meditations on the Tarot Plancia Magna, Roman priestess Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth Leigh McCloskey, The Tarot Revisioned Henri Bergson, Matter and Memory Moina Mathers, French occultist Sallie Nichols, Tarot and

In a rare surfacing in the contemporary world, JF and Phil discuss a film that has just been released. Bryn Chainey’s Rabbit Trap is psychological horror in the tradition of Repulsion, Jacob’s Ladder, and Angel Heart. But it is more: a metaphysical film exploring the mystery of sound and the Otherworld of Faerie—an excursion into that weird country, so deftly explored by Arthur Machen and Algernon Blackwood, where wonder and terror perform their eldritch duets. Sign up for JF's new Henri Bergson course, starting September 18, 2025. Support Weird Studies on ⁠Patreon⁠. Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes ⁠1⁠ and ⁠2⁠, on Pierre-Yves Martel's ⁠Bandcamp⁠ page. Visit the Weird Studies ⁠⁠Bookshop⁠⁠ Find us on ⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠ Get the T-shirt design from ⁠⁠Cotton Bureau⁠⁠. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, ⁠Cosmophonia⁠. REFERENCES Bryn Chainey, Rabbit Trap Weird Studies, Episode 190 on “The Willows” Alan Crosland (dir.), The Jazz Singer Weird Studies, Episode 150 on “A Frag

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're breaking up our late-summer pause with an audio extra originally recorded for our Patreon supporters. This episode also includes an essay JF wrote on the philosophy of Henri Bergson. A whole course on Bergson's philosophy begins on Weirdosphere later this month. Weird Studies will be back with a brand-new episode on September 17th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Of all the flavors of horror, few are as dreadful as that of being lost in the wilderness. In this episode, JF and Phil revisit The Blair Witch Project, the classic 1999 found-footage film that inspired a thousand imitators. What makes this film so gripping, they argue, is the way it lingers over the subtle stages of disorientation in a hostile place, from blithe denial to devastating gnosis. The Blair Witch Project isn't a ghost story so much as a work of cosmic horror. Ultimately, the woods themselves—vast, indifferent, inescapable—are the monster. Support Weird Studies on Patreon. Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 and 2, on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp page. Visit the Weird Studies ⁠Bookshop⁠ Find us on ⁠Discord⁠ Get the T-shirt design from ⁠Cotton Bureau⁠. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. References Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez (dirs.), The Blair Witch Project Gus Van Sant (dir.), Gerry Martin Heidegger, Being and Time Weird Studies, Epis

This marks the third year that Weird Studies is honoured to open the Lily Dale Symposium, organized each summer by photographer Shannon Taggart in the upstate New York community famed for its roots in Spiritualism. While J.F. wasn’t able to attend this year, Erik Davis joined Phil on stage for a conversation about the life and work of John Keel, the iconoclastic writer and investigator best known for The Mothman Prophecies. They were later joined by Keel’s friend, the writer and musician Doug Skinner, for a candid discussion of Keel’s legacy and style. If you enjoy Weird Studies, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Upper-tier goodies include exclusive writings, regular bonus episodes, and monthly hangouts with JF and Phil. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Phil and JF are joined by Meredith Michael—musicologist, podcaster, and Weird Studies production assistant—for a conversation about animal songs. The phrase is intentionally slippery. Are we talking about songs about animals, or songs by animals? Both, as it turns out. Beginning with three very different human compositions—The Beatles’ “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey,” Hovhaness’s And God Created the Great Whales, and Björk’s “Human Behavior”—the hosts discuss the roles animals play in human music, mythology, and mind. Along the way, they touch on Pink Floyd, the Beatles' trip to India, heroin addiction, the indeterminacy of singing and screaming, the messiness of inter-species communication, the discovery of whale song, the problem of (not) projecting humanness onto animals, the Book of Genesis, and the porous boundary between the human and non-human worlds. All that (and more) for two of the songs! Phil’s pick will be explored in a forthcoming episode. Meredith

How do you become religious? What is a conversion experience? Does it happen all at once or gradually? What's the point of religion, anyway? These are questions that JF (a Catholic) and Phil (a Zennist) have often been asked since starting Weird Studies, and in this episode they attempt some answers. Image: "Small Candle Flame" by Le Priyavrat, via Wikimedia Commons Sign up to attend Shannon Taggart's Lily Dale symposium, July 24-26 REFERENCES Ross Douthat, Believe   Dogen, Shobogenzo   New Atheism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Atheism  Weird Studies, Episode 99 on “Wild, Wild Country” William James, Varieties of Religious Experience   George Steiner, Real Presences Patrick Curry, Art and Enchantment Max Picard, The Flight from God Charles Taylor, A Secular Age James Carse, Finite and Infinite Games Richard Wagner, Ring Cycle Gilles Deleuze, The Logic of Sense Weird Studies, Episode 183 on “Siddhartha” Charles Sanders Peirce, American philosopher Leonard Cohen, “Halleluja

Phil and JF first explored the mysteries of walking back in episode 59. That episode felt like a mere introduction—a tentative first step on a long and winding path. Now, 133 episodes later, they return to the theme as they prepare to lead a six-week course on the art of walking and its affinity with the Weird. This conversation touches on meditative walking, walking as dventure, psychogeography, wilderness mysticism, and more. References Weird Studies, Episode 59 on Walking Frédéric Gros, A Philosophy of Walking Kinhin, walking meditation Henry David Thoreau, “Walking” Randonautica, walking app Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This conversation was originally recorded in August 2024 and released for our Patreon supporters. Weird Studies will be back with a new episode on June 25, 2025. What is cultural theory? How is philosophy "a preparation for death?" What sort of planet is Phil Ford from? These burning questions and more find answers in this free-wheeling conversation, originally exclusive to members of the Weird Studies Patreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices