In this episode, Phil and JF are joined by independent scholar Peter Bebergal, author of Strange Frequencies, Season of the Witch, and other books on the intersections of culture, religion, and the occult. The topic is Frankenstein—not Guillermo del Toro's latest but James Whale's 1931 talkie along with its 1935 sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, both starring Boris Karloff. The conversation touches on Gnosticism, alchemy, modern techno-hubris, the Gothic, and much more.
Peter's new online course, Hacking the Invisible: At the Intersection of Technology and Magic, begins on November 20th, 2025, and runs for three weeks on Weirdosphere. Visit the Weirdosphere website for details and to enroll.
References
James Whale (dir.), Frankenstein
Tobe Hooper (dir.), Texas Chainsaw Massacre
James Whale (dir.), The Bride of Frankenstein
Justin Sledge, Esoterica
Henry Bergson, Introduction to Metaphysics
David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
John the Apostle, The Apocryphon of John
Stuart Gordon (dir.), Stuck
Jennifer Kent (dir.), The Babadook
Stephen T. Asma, On Monsters
Thomas Paine, “The Age of Reason”
Jean Gimpel, Medieval Machine
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