Have you ever been haunted by an abandoned place? We are joined by multidisciplinary artist Blake Pfeil to talk about his experiences exploring abandoned places, how abandoned places are inherently queer, and why they haunt us the way they do.

Mutual aid recommendations for Gaza include buying eSims, urging U.S. representatives to call for ceasefire, and donating directly to calls for aid.

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of religious trauma, religious persecution, child abuse, imprisonment, Nazis, homophobia, imperialism/colonialism, and Gaza.

Guest

Blake Pfeil is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist. In his “day job,” Blake steps into the role of Operations & Programs Manager at the nonprofit storytelling organization TMI Project, where he also serves as a producer for The TMI Project Story Hour, winner of an International Women's Podcast Award. He hosts The Pfeil File on Radio Kingston/WKNY (107.9 FM/1490 AM in the Hudson Valley, NY) where he also manages the Community Podcast Program. In all his non-existent spare time, Blake is an associate producer for season 5 of History Colorado's Lost Highways, a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities. His current passion project is All-American Ruins, a multimedia travelog in which he fantastically recreates his experiences exploring abandoned spaces through multimodal storytelling. The podcast arm of the project, abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, was an Official Select at On Air Fest 2023, winner of the Top of the Rockies – Best of Podcasts (2023), and recently nominated for Best Indie Podcast at the Ambies (2024). All-American Ruins was also shortlisted for the Elevate Creatives Fund, the UK International Radio Drama Festival, and Hrvatska Radiotelevizija's 27th Prix Marulic. MA, Purchase College; BFA, Emerson College; Alumni, SUNY Stony Brook's Audio Podcast Fellowship.

Stuff we talked about:

- Blake’s interview in Atlas Obscura

- His appearance on American Hysteria

- Queer for Fear!

Housekeeping

- TOUR: Get tickets for our Rolling Bones Tour!

- Recommendation: This week, Julia recommends getting tickets for our tour before it’s too late!!

- Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests’ books, and more at https://spiritspodcast.com/books

- Call to Action: Check out Join the Party!

Sponsors

- The Future is an Aquarian lab, shop and community space in the Witch District of South Minneapolis. Find out more by visiting their website at thefuturempls.com

- Malliway Bros Magic & Witchcraft offers classes, rituals, and celebrations about the magical arts, as well as tarot and spellcasting sessions at malliwaybros.com/

Find Us Online

- Website & Transcripts: https://spiritspodcast.com

- Patreon: https://patreon.com/spiritspodcast

- Merch: https://spiritspodcast.com/merch

- Instagram: https://instagram.com/spiritspodcast

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/spiritspodcast

- Tumblr: https://spiritspodcast.tumblr.com

- Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/group/show/205387

Cast & Crew

- Co-Hosts: Julia Schifini and Amanda McLoughlin

- Editor: Bren Frederick

- Music: Brandon Grugle, based on "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod

- Artwork: Allyson Wakeman

- Multitude: https://multitude.productions

About Us

Spirits is a boozy podcast about mythology, legends, and folklore. Every episode, co-hosts Julia and Amanda mix a drink and discuss a new story or character from a wide range of places, eras, and cultures. Learn brand-new stories and enjoy retellings of your favorite myths, served over ice every week, on Spirits.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

HOT TOPICS | What Are They Hiding?! GOP Epstein Cover-Up? - July 15th, 2025