Weird Studies

Episode 23: On Presence

Episode  |  August 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 43 mins

event, presence, virtuality

Phil and JF meet in person to discuss the mysteries of presence and event.

Episode 22: Divining the World with Joshua Ramey

Episode  |  August 1st, 2018  |  1 hr 9 mins

joshua ramey

Phil and JF talk with American philosopher Joshua Ramey about his work on chance, contingency, and divination.

Episode 21: The Trash Stratum - Part 2

Episode  |  July 13th, 2018  |  1 hr 5 mins

art, camp, cinema, irony

Phil and JF continue to muse on Philip K. Dick's line, "the symbols of the divine initially show up at the trash stratum."

Episode 20: The Trash Stratum - Part 1

Episode  |  July 4th, 2018  |  1 hr 15 mins

Phil and JF muse on Philip K. Dick's line, "the symbols of the divine initially show up at the trash stratum."

Episode 19: Intermezzo

Episode  |  June 20th, 2018  |  1 hr 8 mins

art, ontology, phenomenology, religion

A discussion on the past and future of the podcast, and the nature of the conversation unfolding therein.

Episode 18: Does 'Consciousness' Exist? - Part Two

Episode  |  June 13th, 2018  |  1 hr 1 min

consciousness, pansychism, philosophy, william james

Phil and JF continue (begin?) their discussion of William James's essay "Does Consciousness Exist"?

Episode 17: Does 'Consciousness' Exist? - Part One

Episode  |  June 6th, 2018  |  47 mins 35 secs

consciousness, idealism, materialism, william james

JF and Phil do everything in their power to delay the moment where they will actually discuss William James' essay, "Does 'Consciousness' Exist?".

Episode 16: On Dogen Zenji's 'Genjokoan'

Episode  |  May 30th, 2018  |  1 hr 11 mins

dogen, genjokoan, metaphysics, religion, zen buddhism

Phil and JF discuss a classic work of Zen metaphysics.

Episode 15: On Tarkovsky's 'Stalker' - Part Two

Episode  |  May 23rd, 2018  |  1 hr 4 mins

chernobyl, liminality, samuel delany, stalker, tarkovsky

The second part of Phil and JF's conversation about Andrei Tarkovsky's masterpiece, "Stalker."

Episode 14: On Tarkovsky's 'Stalker' - Part One

Episode  |  May 15th, 2018  |  41 mins 3 secs

cinema, genre, stalker, tarkovsky, zone

The first part of JF and Phil's conversation on Tarkovsky's 1979 masterpiece, "Stalker."

Episode 13: The Obscure: On the Philosophy of Heraclitus

Episode  |  May 9th, 2018  |  1 hr 21 mins

death, dreams, greek philosophy, heraclitus, sleep, soul

Phil and JF riff on randomly generated fragments from the work of a truly weird philosopher, Heraclitus of Ephesus.

Episode 12: The Dark Eye: On the Films of Rodney Ascher

Episode  |  May 2nd, 2018  |  1 hr 28 mins

documentary, horror films, rodney ascher, sleep paralysis, the shining

Phil and JF discuss the work of American filmmaker Rodney Ascher, contemporary master of the weird documentary.

Episode 11: Art is a Haunting Spirit

Episode  |  April 25th, 2018  |  1 hr 15 mins

aesthetics, mezzotint, mr james, walter benjamin

A discussion of M. R. James' ghost story "The Mezzotint" turns into a disquisition on the nature of art in the modern age.

Weird Stories: M. R. James' "The Mezzotint"

Episode  |  April 23rd, 2018  |  27 mins 34 secs

mezzotint, mr james, story readings, weird fiction

An unabridged reading of M. R. James' classic ghost story, "The Mezzotint," read by Weird Studies co-host, Phil Ford.

Episode 10: Philip K. Dick: Adrift in the Multiverse

Episode  |  April 18th, 2018  |  1 hr 23 mins

multiverse, parallel universes, philip k dick, time

JF and Phil discuss Philip K. Dick's seminal essay, "If You Find this World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others."

Episode 9: On Aleister Crowley and the Idea of Magick

Episode  |  April 11th, 2018  |  1 hr 16 mins

aleister crowley, magick, occult

JF and Phil talk about Aleister Crowley's 1924 work, Magick in Theory and Practice.