J.F. Martel
Co-Host of Weird Studies
J.F. Martel is an author, screenwriter, and film & TV director from Ottawa, Canada. His screen work includes French and English-language documentary series and features focused on culture and the arts. He is the author of Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice, a book about the nature and power of art published by Evolver Editions in 2015, and released in Spanish by Ediciones Atalanta in 2016. J.F.'s writings on art, culture and philosophy have appeared in Reality Sandwich, Metapsychosis, The Finch, Disinfo, and other online magazines.
J.F. Martel has hosted 198 Episodes.
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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."
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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."
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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.
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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"?
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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?".
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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.
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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."
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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Episode 8: On Graham Harman's "The Third Table"
Episode | April 4th, 2018 | 1 hr 12 mins
idealism, lovecraft, materialism, panpsychism, philosophy, zen
JF and Phil discuss Graham Harman's essay "The Third Table" and discover that even the most commonplace objects, seen in the right light, are strange to the core.
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Episode 7: The Unspeakable Mystery at the Heart of Boxing
Episode | March 28th, 2018 | 1 hr 5 mins
bloodsport, boxing, martial arts, sublime, violence
JF and Phil wrestle with philosophical issues surrounding violent sports.