Episodes

  • Episode 222 – Art is Totally Objective: On Formalism

    Episode 222 – Art is Totally Objective: On Formalism
    Nov 4 2026
    In this episode, JF and Phi discuss formalism, a broad 20th-century movement holding that art has quantifiable structural characteristics that give it its own value and integrity, such that an artwork can be said to represent nothing but itself. The focus is on Igor Stravinsky's formalist doctrines and the essay "Formalism" by art critic Dave Hickey. Music in this episode: "Scavenger," from PY Martel's Weird Studies Vol. 3. For a limited time, Weirdosphere has reopened Matt Cardin's course, Writing at the Wellspring: A Course in Daemonic Creativity. For details and to enroll, visit the course page on the Weirdosphere website. Episode art: Svanen, No. 17, by Hilma af Flint (1915). REFERENCES Gilles Deleuze, Francis Bacon: The Logic of Sensation Dave Hickey, “Formalism,” Igor Stravinsky, Octet for Winds Igor Stravinsky, "Some Ideas about My Octuor” Reinburt de Leeuw, "Liszt – Via crucis, explained" D. H. Lawrence, English novelist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • Episode 221 – On 'The Exorcist'

    Episode 221 – On 'The Exorcist'
    Oct 21 2026
    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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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Episode 220: The Dream of a Ridiculous Man: Live at the Dream Mapping Symposium

    Episode 220: The Dream of a Ridiculous Man: Live at the Dream Mapping Symposium
    Oct 7 2026
    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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    1 hr and 55 mins
  • Episode 219 – Composing the Cosmos, with Meredith Rigby

    Episode 219 – Composing the Cosmos, with Meredith Rigby
    Sep 23 2026
    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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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Episode 218 — A Mighty Matter of Legend: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Two Towers'

    Episode 218 — A Mighty Matter of Legend: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Two Towers'
    Sep 9 2026
    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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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Mid-Hiatus Bonus: A Door in the Fourth Wall

    Mid-Hiatus Bonus: A Door in the Fourth Wall
    Aug 26 2026
    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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    45 mins
  • Episode 217 – Books, Spirits, and Hysteria, with Asti Hustvedt

    Episode 217 – Books, Spirits, and Hysteria, with Asti Hustvedt
    Aug 5 2026
    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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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Episode 216 – Artworks Are People Too

    Episode 216 – Artworks Are People Too
    Jul 22 2026
    "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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    1 hr and 34 mins