Weird Studies cover art

Weird Studies

Weird Studies

Written by: SpectreVision Radio
Listen for free

About this listen

 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 creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial© 2025 Phil Ford and J.F. Martel Art Philosophy Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 207 – Magic Mirror: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Ring'

    Episode 207 – Magic Mirror: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Ring'
    Feb 25 2026
    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. Focusing here on The Fellowship of the Ring, our hosts discuss the first leg of Frodo's journey into darkness, paying special attention to Tolkien's prose style, his modernism, his commitment to a truly magical realism, and his penchant for the weird and the tragic. Image: "Lothlorien" by Tessa Bronsky, via Wikimedia Commons. References J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring Algernon Blackwood, English writer Weird Studies, Episode 204 on “On Fairy Stories” Peter Jackson (dir.), The Lord of the Rings Ursula K. LeGuin, A Wizard of Earthsea Friedrich Nietzsche, History in the Service and Disservice of Life Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel Kenneth Burke, A Grammar of Motives Carl Jung, The Red Book Lord Dunsaney, The King of Elfland’s Daughter Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto David Foster Wallace, “E Unibus Pluram” Steven Chow (dir.), Kung Fu Hustle Donna Tartt, The Secret History Lost Lakes, YouTube Channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 32 mins
  • Episode 206 – On Ken Russell's 'Altered States': Live at Indiana University Bloomington

    Episode 206 – On Ken Russell's 'Altered States': Live at Indiana University Bloomington
    Feb 11 2026
    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 Cronenberg (dir.), The Fly Michael Garfield, podcaster, writer, musician Weird Studies episode 205 on the Hierophant Victoria Nelson, The Secret Life of Puppets Neil Gaiman, American Gods J. R. R. Tolkien, "On Fairy Stories" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Episode 205 – Discipline and Delight: On the Hierophant Card in the Tarot

    Episode 205 – Discipline and Delight: On the Hierophant Card in the Tarot
    Jan 28 2026
    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 at Illuminated Brew Works Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Biographia Literaria vol. 1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 33 mins
No reviews yet