Episodios

  • Episode 191 — The Acid Queen, with Susannah Cahalan

    Episode 191 — The Acid Queen, with Susannah Cahalan
    May 21 2025
    Best known as the wife and partner of Timothy Leary, Rosemary Woodruff was in fact a central figure in the psychedelic movement in her own right—a political radical, underground fugitive, and neglected architect of the counterculture. In this episode, Phil and JF speak with journalist and author Susannah Cahalan about Woodruff Leary’s life and legacy. Cahalan’s new book, The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, brings its subject into focus as a complex and courageous individual whose story has been overshadowed for too long. The conversation follows the threads of the biography while branching into the weirdness of biographical writing, the ongoing relevance of the 1960s counterculture, the troubling figure of Timothy Leary, and the enduring promise—and peril—of psychedelics. Susannah Cahalan is the New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire, a memoir about her experience with autoimmune encephalitis. Her second book, The Great Pretender, which investigated a seminal study in the history of mental health care and diagnosis, was shortlisted for the the Royal Society's 2020 Science Book Prize. She lives in New Jersey with her family. Photo from the Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection at UCLA, via Wikimedia Commons. REFERENCES Coming soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 h y 28 m
  • Episode 190 – Here Be Shrubs: On Algernon Blackwood's 'The Willows'

    Episode 190 – Here Be Shrubs: On Algernon Blackwood's 'The Willows'
    May 7 2025
    In this episode, JF and Phil paddle into the marshlands of Algernon Blackwood’s 1907 masterpiece The Willows, a tale Lovecraft once called the finest weird story of all time. They explore how a narrative in which almost nothing happens can conjure a cosmic dread more potent than a legion of monsters, and how Blackwood’s genius lies in revealing the spiritual horror latent in landscape itself. Topics include zones, the limits of human reason, and the terror of brushing up against an otherworld that lies just beyond the riverbank—near at hand, yet somehow separated from us by an unbridgeable gulf. Photo by Derek Dye, via Wikimedia Commons. REFERENCES Algernon Blackwood, “The Willows” Weird Studies, Episode 55 on “The Wendigo” SCTV Algernon Blackwood, “The Psychology of Places” in The Lure of the Unknown Weird Studies, Episodes 14 and 15 on Stalker Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols Sue Clifford and Angela King, England in Particular Michael Dames, Pagans Progress J. G. Ballard, English fiction author Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 h y 15 m
  • Episode 189: Care of the Dead, with Jacob G. Foster

    Episode 189: Care of the Dead, with Jacob G. Foster
    Apr 23 2025
    In this episode, JF and Phil are joined by Jacob G. Foster—sociologist, physicist, and researcher at Indiana University Bloomington and the Santa Fe Institute—for a conversation about their recent collaboration in Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Their co-authored essay, “Care of the Dead,” explores how the dead continue to shape our cultures, languages, and ways of being. Together, they discuss the process of writing the piece and what it means to say that the dead are not gone—that they persist, and that they make claims on the living. The article is available here: https://direct.mit.edu/daed/article/154/1/166/127931/Care-of-the-Dead-Ancestors-Traditions-amp-the-Life **References** [Peter Kingsley,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kingsley) English writer Weird Studies, [Episode 98 on “Taboo”]) https://www.weirdstudies.com/98) John Berger, “12 Theses on the Economy of the Dead” in _[Hold Everything Dear](12 Theses on the Economy of the Dead)_ Bernard Koch, Daniele Silvestro, and Jacob Foster, ["The Evolutionary Dynamics of Cultural Change”](https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/659bt_v1) Gilbert Simondon, _[Imagination and Invention](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781517914455)_ William Gibson, _[Neuromancer](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780441007462)_ [Phlogiston theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlogiston_theory) George Orwell, _[1984](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780451524935)_ HP Lovecraft, [“The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”](https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cdw.aspx) Weird Studies, [Episode 187 on “Little, Big”](https://www.weirdstudies.com/187) [John Dee,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dee) English occultist Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, _[The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780195320992)_ Robert Harrison, _[The Dominion of the Dead](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780226317939)_ Gilles Deleuze, _[Bergsonism](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780942299076)_ Elizabeth LeGuin, _[Boccherini’s Body](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780520240179)_ Elizabeth LeGuin, [“Cello and Bow thinking”](http://www.echo.ucla.edu/cello-and-bow-thinking-baccherinis-cello-sonata-in-eb-minor-faouri-catalogo/) Johannes Brahms, _Handel Variations_ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 h y 35 m
  • Episode 188: Pioneers of the Untimely: On the Hermit Card in the Tarot

    Episode 188: Pioneers of the Untimely: On the Hermit Card in the Tarot
    Apr 9 2025
    In this continuation of their non-linear journey through the tarot, Phil and JF discuss the ninth Arcanum: the Hermit. Walking through darkness with his lantern and staff, the Hermit invites us to break from the collective and seek a direct relationship with the Real. This is the card of the seeker, the misfit, the sage, and the wanderer. As tends to happen in these tarot episodes, the hosts take the opportunity to range across many topics, connecting the Hermit to Jung’s Red Book, the Desert Fathers, angels and demons, the I Ching, contemporary politics, and more. Support us on Patreon Order Christian Bunyan's Weird Studies poster here. Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 and 2, on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast,Cosmophonia. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau REFERENCES Carl Jung, The Red Book Stanley Kubrick, American filmmaker Samuel Beckett, Irish writer Emily Dickinson, American poet Temptation of Saint Anthony Our Known Friend, Meditations on the Tarot Weird Studies, Episode 103 on the Tower card The Gnostic Tarot Nigel Richmond, Language of the Lines Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back John Minford, The I Ching: The Essential Translation of the Ancient Chinese Oracle and Book of Wisdom William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming" Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of the Tarot Wolfgang Petersen (dir.), The Neverending Story Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 h y 22 m
  • Episode 187: The Affirmation of Imagination: On John Crowley's 'Little, Big,' with Erik Davis

    Episode 187: The Affirmation of Imagination: On John Crowley's 'Little, Big,' with Erik Davis
    Mar 26 2025
    John Crowley’s Little, Big is, at once, a family saga, a fairy tale, an occult thriller, an idyll, a dystopia, as well as a meditation on myth and history, the real and the fantasy, memory and imagination. Little, Big is also a book that JF and Phil have been planning to discuss for as long as Weird Studies has existed. In this episode, they are joined by writer and scholar Erik Davis to explore the enduring charms and mysteries of one of the greatest—and most underrated—American novels of the late twentieth century. Order Christian Bunyan's Weird Studies poster here (https://www.christianbunyan.com/Weird-Studies). Visit Weirdosphere (http://www.weirdosphere.org) for more details on Erik Davis's ongoing course, The Three Stigmata of Philip K. Dick. Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies). Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) and 2 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-2), on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com) page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia (https://cosmophonia.podbean.com/). Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! REFERENCES John Crowley, Little, Big (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780061120053) Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780142410318) Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781774640449) Eric Davis, interview with Neil Gaiman and Rachel Pollack (https://techgnosis.com/the-gods-of-the-funny-books/) David Lynch (dir.), Lost Highway (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116922/) America, “The Last Unicorn” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51Ez6ZVz68c&ab_channel=America-Topic) John Cooper Powys, [A Glastonbury Romance](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/959613.AGlastonburyRomance) J. R. R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780547951942) Patrick Harpur, Daimonic Reality (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780937663615) Lord Dunsany, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Dunsany) Irish novelist Special Guest: Erik Davis.
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    1 h y 34 m
  • Episode 186: Meeting at the Center: The Wedge, Part Two

    Episode 186: Meeting at the Center: The Wedge, Part Two
    Mar 12 2025
    In this episode, JF and Phil continue their conversation on the wedge, their figure for the epistemological divide between approaching reality from the heart and exploring it with the mind. As the discussion unfolds, the wedge begins to reveal itself not as a rigid binary but as a spectrum—one that stretches from ultimate thickness to ultimate thinness. Could thinking, then, may be the art of navigating this epistemic gradient, seeking the sweet spot where the self meets the world, each on the other's terms? Visit Weirdosphere (http://www.weirdosphere.org) for more details on Erik Davis's upcoming course, The Three Stigmata of Philip K. Dick. Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies). Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) and 2 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-2), on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com) page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia (https://cosmophonia.podbean.com/). Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! REFERENCES Weird Studies, Episode 155 on ‘The Unbinding’ (https://www.weirdstudies.com/155) Alan Chapman, Advanced Magick for Beginners (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781904658412) Quentin Meillassoux, After Finitude (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780826496744) The Principle of Sufficient Reason (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_sufficient_reason) Baruch Spinoza, Ethics (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780140435719) Weird Studies, Episode 139 on the power of art (https://www.weirdstudies.com/139) Phil Ford, “The View from the Cheap Seats” Arnold Schoenberg, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schoenberg) Austrian composer Jaques Vallee, Passport to Magonia (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780987422484)
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    1 h y 29 m
  • Episode 185: Intuition and Reality: The Wedge, Part One

    Episode 185: Intuition and Reality: The Wedge, Part One
    Feb 26 2025
    "The Wedge" is a key concept for Phil and JF. When exploring weird phenomena—from artworks to ghosts, and everything in between—one tends to emphasize one or the other "end" of the event. At the thin end of the Wedge, the focus is on subjective experience: how it felt, what it was like, and its personal significance. At the thick end, the emphasis shifts to what actually happened, independent of how it was experienced. Though their roles sometimes switch, Phil generally thinks from the thin end, while JF approaches things from the thick. In this episode, they begin unpacking the implications of the Wedge for making sense of reality’s stranger aspects. Header image by SavidgeMichael via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ForgottenMemoriesofExploringaLiminalSpace.jpg). _ Join the Weirdosphere (http://www.weirdosphere.org), our online learning platform Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies). Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) and 2 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-2), on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com) page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, _Cosmophonia (https://cosmophonia.podbean.com/). Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! REFERENCES Weird Studies, Episode 184 on David Lynch (https://www.weirdstudies.com/184) Phil Ford, “The View from the Cheap Seats at the UFO Show” Scene by Scene, 1999 Interview with David Lynch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0itTpuzzcQ&ab_channel=DidymusBibliophilus) Weird Studies, Episodes 76 on Henri Bergson’s Metaphysics (https://www.weirdstudies.com/76) Henri Bergson, Creative Evolution (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781420940435) Phil Ford, Dig (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780199939916) Johan Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781774642238) Lewis Lockwood, Beethoven: The Music and the Life (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/97803933263830)
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    1 h y 17 m
  • Special Release: Poltergeists, Fairies, Skeptics, and the Managerial Class

    Special Release: Poltergeists, Fairies, Skeptics, and the Managerial Class
    Feb 19 2025
    Due to scheduling conflicts and a series of unforeseen events, JF and Phil have had to push the release of the next official episode of Weird Studies back by one week. To tide you over, we're unlocking a bonus episode previously available only to our Patreon supporters. It serves as the perfect preface to Episode 184, which will be released on February 26, 2025. Apologies for the delay, and thanks for your patience.
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    33 m
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