Episode 221 – On 'The Exorcist'
In this episode, long overdue, Phil and JF discuss one of the great American horror films: WIlliam Friedkin's 1973 adaptation of Willam Pete...
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Arts
Weird Studies
Professor Phil Ford and writer/filmmaker 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 ar...
Episodes
20 of 244 episodes
Episode 220: The Dream of a Ridiculous Man: Live at the Dream Mapping Symposium
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 Drea...
Episode 219 – Composing the Cosmos, with Meredith Rigby
In this episode, JF and Phil are joined by their beloved assistant and invaluable collaborator Meredith Rigby (formerly Meredith Michael) to...
Episode 218 — A Mighty Matter of Legend: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Two Towers'
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. Toget...
Mid-Hiatus Bonus: A Door in the Fourth Wall
Episode 218 will drop at the end of our summer break on September 9, 2026. Today, enjoy this recent audio extra, originally released for mem...
Episode 217 – Books, Spirits, and Hysteria, with Asti Hustvedt
Researcher Asti Hustvedt joins Phil and JF to discuss a talk she gave at the Lily Dale Symposium this year entitled "Bibliophantoms." The qu...
Episode 216 – Artworks Are People Too
"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 Ph...
Special Episode: Make Art!
Owing to circumstances preventing us from releasing a new show this week, we are offering you one from the archives. This episode was origin...
Episode 215 – Where No One Can Hear You Scream: On Ridley Scott's 'Alien'
In this episode, JF and Phil discuss Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror blockbuster Alien. Together, they wipe off the patina of familiarity...
Episode 214 – Fortune's Fools: On Gordon White's Philosophy of Fortune-Telling
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 podcas...
Episode 213 – Comics, Surf Rock, and the Weirdness of Time: On Tom Manning's 'Eric'
Tom Manning's 2018 graphic novel Eric is that rarest of gems: the self-published masterpiece. Available only on the author's website, it's t...
Episode 212 – Beyond Music and Back Again: On Glenn Gould
The pianist, composer and sound artist Glenn Gould once wrote: "Art on its loftiest mission is scarcely human at all." What becomes of art a...
Episode 211 – You've Always Been the Caretaker: On Kubrick's 'The Shining'
In this episode, Phil and JF discuss Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Shining. That they are doing this eight years...
Special Episode: M.C. Richards's "Wrestling with the Daimonic," read by Phil Ford
We regret that we were unable to release a new episode this week. Episode 211 will drop on Wednesday, April 29, and will be devoted to Stanl...
Episode 210 – Angels & Daimons, with Cristina Campo and M.C. Richards
In this episode, JF and Phil bring together two visionary essays on the daimonic and the imaginal: Cristina Campo’s “On Fairy Tales” and M.C...
Episode 209 – At Home in the Labyrinth, with Murakami and Borges
In this episode, Phil and JF discuss Haruki Murakami’s “Cream,” from First Person Singular, alongside Jorge Luis Borges’s classic tale, “The...
Episode 208 – Unbridled Creation: On Kenneth Batcheldor's Theory of the Paranormal
Kenneth Batcheldor was a British clinical psychologist who, during the final two decades of his life, investigated the paranormal through di...
Episode 207 – Magic Mirror: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Ring'
This is the first of three episodes on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings to be released in the course of the next several months. Focus...
Episode 206 – On Ken Russell's 'Altered States': Live at Indiana University Bloomington
This episode was recorded before a live audience at Indiana University Cinema as part of Weird Academia, a series of events that brought muc...
Episode 205 – Discipline and Delight: On the Hierophant Card in the Tarot
In this episode of Weird Studies, we turn to the fifth Major Arcanum, the Hierophant, symbolizing tradition, instruction, and the exoteric a...