Weird Studies

Exploring Donna Tartt's novel 'The Secret History' as a work of weird fiction, discussing its machinesque writing style and supernatural possibilities. Gratitude expressed towards patrons and listeners for their support. Origins of dark academia genre explored, highlighting Tartt's influence. Nostalgia for college experience and impending doom discussed. Metaphysical and psychological aspects of the novel analyzed, character as fate and absence of redemption explored. Loss of classical departments and performances in academia emphasized. Internal conflict of following the heart or conforming to society examined.

The hosts discuss the documentary 'The Unbinding', exploring the ethics of paranormal investigation and the significance of storylike experiences. They delve into the concept of a 'spoil sport' in games and intellectual life. The contrasting perspectives of religious rituals are examined. Eerie encounters with a moving statue are recounted. The limitations of evidence-based methods in understanding artworks are debated. The Orthodox tradition's view on witchcraft is explored. The ethical implications of interacting with non-corporeal entities are discussed. The concept of coldness and its ethical implications are examined. The significance of the unbinding ritual in witchcraft is explored.

This podcast explores the weird and captivating world of William Hope Hodgson's novel 'The Night Land', discussing its post-apocalyptic setting, the power of sound, the themes of mythologies and cosmic horror, and the appeal of post-apocalyptic landscapes and hierarchical societies. It also delves into the motifs of watching and spectator culture, the concept of acousticism and uncertain perception, and explores the imaginative possibilities of 'The Time Machine' within a Darwinian framework.

The hosts discuss the significance of the Temperance card and its connections to cybernetics, art making, and self-divinization. They explore the symbolism and interpretations of the card, challenging misconceptions and discussing its political connotations. They also delve into machines' agency, negative dialectics, and the importance of religion in awakening individuals to the mystery of reality.

In this episode, the hosts explore the impact of artificial intelligence on the arts, discussing topics such as early science fiction, the potential impact on artistic imagination, the existential threat to classical music posed by AI-generated music, the value of amateurism in art, and the importance of art and music in society.

The podcast explores the impact of large language models and artificial intelligence on art and society. It delves into the backrooms meme and corporate horror. The concept of affectations as a way to express personal identity is discussed, along with the value of sitting in Zen meditation. The chapter also delves into authenticity in spiritual practice and writing.

On the last week of July, 2023, Phil and JF were delighted to speak at Shannon Taggart's Science of Things Spiritual Symposium in Lily Dale, the nerve centre of the Spiritualist movement. As speakers, your hosts were part of an inspiring lineup of scholars, artists, and researchers committed to exploring the borderlands of art, science, religion, and the paranormal. They also had the honour of launching the symposium with a live recording held on the evening of the July 27th. The topic was Frederic W. H. Myers' autobiographical essay, "Fragments of Inner Life," first published in full in 1961, some sixty years after the author's death. Myers was one of the original members of the Society for Psychical Research in England. A poet and classicist, he remained committed to the scientific promise of paranormal investigation until the end of his life. His book Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death, also published posthumously, argues that psychical studies have confirmed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that death is just the beginning. In this talk, JF and Phil discuss Myers' relevance to 21st-century thinking on the Weird. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES The Science of Things Spiritual Symposium: July 27-29, 2023 Frederic Myers, Fragments of Inner Life Alan Bennett, History Boys Arthur Machen, A Fragment of Life Alan Gauld, The Founders of Psychical Research Donna Tartt, The Secret History Arthur Machen, The Great God Pan Frans de Waal, Mama’s Last Hug Daniel Dennett, American cognitive scientist Frederic Myers, Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death Gabriel Marcel, The Mystery of Being Phil Ford, Dig William James, Principles of Psychology Akashic Record, Theosophical idea Jeff Kripal, Authors of the Impossible Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light, the cultural historian William Irwin Thompson predicted the rise of a new form of knowledge building, a direly needed alternative to the Wissenshaft of standard science and scholarship. He called it Wissenskunst, "the play of knowledge in a world of serious data processors." Wissenskunst is pretty much what JF and Phil have been aspiring to do on Weird Studies since 2018, but in this episode they are joined by a master of the craft, the computational sociologist and physicist Jacob G. Foster of UCLA. Jacob is the co-founder of the Diverse Intelligence Summer Institute (DISI), a gathering of scholars, scientists, and students that takes place each year at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. It was there that this conversation was recorded. The topic was the Possible, that dream-blurred vanishing point where art, philosophy, and science converge as imaginative and creative practices. Click here or here for more information on Shannon Taggart's Science of Things Spiritual Symposium at Lily Dale NY, July 27-29 2023. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute "Deconstructing the Barrier of Meaning," a talk by Jacob G. Foster at the Santa Fe Institute William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture Frederic Rzewski, “Little Bangs: A Nihilist Theory of Improvisation” Brian Eno, Oblique Strategies The accident of Bob in Twin Peaks Carl Jung, “On the Relation of Analytical Psychology to Poetry August Kekule,, German chemist Robert Dijkgraaf, “Contemplating the End of Physics” Richard Baker, American zen teacher Gian-Carlo Rota, Indiscrete Thoughts William Shakespeare, Macbeth Shoggoth, Lovecraftian entity Special Guest: Jacob G. Foster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"A Fragement of Life" opens with Mr. Darnell waking up from a dream and going down to breakfast, where it is described that "before he sat down to his fried bacon he kissed his wife seriously and dutifully." He then proceeds to take the tram to visit a friend, with whom he has a long and tedious conversation about plants, clothes, kids, and how best to spend ten pounds. The story continues on in this mundane manner for quite some time, which is probably not what we would expect from Arthur Machen, virtuoso of the weird. But, as Phil and JF discuss, this writing style intentionally draws attention to the absurdity of modern, materialist life, creating a striking contrast with the mysterious other world that Mr. and Mrs. Darnell eventually begin to pursue. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Arthur Machen, A Fragment of Life Weird Studies, Episode 3 on “The White People and Episode 87 on “Heiroglyphics” Karl Marx, Capital James Machin, Weird Fiction in Britain Thomas Ligotti, “The Order of Illusion” in Noctuary Weird Studies, Episode 20 on the Trash Stratum Artur Schnitzler, Traumnovelle Weird Studies, Episode 59 on Walking Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Occasionally, JF and Phil do a song swap. Each host chooses a song he loves and shares it with the other, and then they record an episode on it. This time, JF chose to discuss "Jesus, Etc." from Wilco's 2001 album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and Phil picked Judee Sill's ethereal "The Kiss," from Heart Food (1973). It was in the zone of Time, in all its strangeness, that the two songs began to resonate with one another. Sill's song is a fated grasping at the eternal that is present even when it eludes us, and "Jesus, Etc." is a leap across time that captures, in jagged shards and signal bursts, the events of the day on which Wilco's album was scheduled to drop: September 11, 2001. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Judee Sill, “The Kiss” James Elkins, Pictures and Tears Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, “Surf’s Up” Weird Studies, Episode 148 on “Twin Peaks” Wilco, “Jesus Etc.” Jeff Buckley, singer-songwriter William Gibson, Forward to Dhalgren L. E. J. Brouwer, Concept of “two-ity” Dogen, Genjokoan David Bowie, “Heroes” Philip K. Dick, Valis Weird Studies, Episode 147 “You Must Change Your Life” Theodore Adorno, Aesthetic Theory James Longley, Iraq in Fragments Sam Jones, I am Trying to Break your Heart Number Stations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices