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.
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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
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