web01.fireside.fm Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:03:02 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Weird Studies - Episodes Tagged with “Spirituality” https://www.weirdstudies.com/tags/spirituality Wed, 26 May 2021 10:00:00 -0400 Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." en-us episodic Art and philosophy at the limits of the thinkable Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." yes weird, art, philosophy Phil Ford and J. F. Martel admin@weirdstudies.com Episode 99: Curing the Human Condition: On 'Wild Wild Country' https://www.weirdstudies.com/99 016f2b2c-4341-403f-8d07-c7c77687c759 Wed, 26 May 2021 10:00:00 -0400 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 99 Curing the Human Condition: On 'Wild Wild Country' full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Phil and JF work through the differences between spirituality and religion in the context of the documentary series about Bhagwan Rajneesh. 1:30:19 yes In this never-before-released episode recorded in 2019, Phil and JF travel to rural Oregon through the Netflix docu-series, Wild Wild Country. The series, which details the establishment of a spiritual community founded by Bhagwan Rajneesh (later called Osho) and its religious and political conflicts with its Christian neighbors, provides a starting point for a wide-ranging conversation on the nature of spirituality and religion. What emerges are surprising ties between the “spiritual, not religious” attitude and class, cultural commodification, and the culture of control that pervades modern society. But they also uncover the true “wild” card at the heart of existence that spiritual movements like that of Rajneesh can never fully control, no matter how hard they try. REFERENCES Chapman and Maclain Way (dirs), Wild Wild Country (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7768848/) Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780618918249) Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780674212770) Carl Wilson, Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780826427885) Peter Sloterdijk, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sloterdijk) German cultural theorist Weird Studies, Episode 47, Machines of Loving Grace (https://www.weirdstudies.com/47) Slavoj Žižek, On Western appropriation of Eastern religions (https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/2/zizek.php) William Burroughs, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs) American writer Gilles Deleuze, “Postscript on the Societies of Control” (https://www.jstor.org/stable/778828?seq=1) Bhagwan Rajneesh/Osho, Speech on friendship (https://www.oshotimes.com/insights/lifestyle/spirituality/can-you-accept-the-master-as-your-friend/) Daniel Ingram, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781911597100) Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780060937133) James Carse, The Finite and Infinite Games (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781476731711) spirituality, religion, class, cultural appropriation, hipsterism, suffering, play, anthropotechnics, control, neoliberalism, social media In this never-before-released episode recorded in 2019, Phil and JF travel to rural Oregon through the Netflix docu-series, Wild Wild Country. The series, which details the establishment of a spiritual community founded by Bhagwan Rajneesh (later called Osho) and its religious and political conflicts with its Christian neighbors, provides a starting point for a wide-ranging conversation on the nature of spirituality and religion. What emerges are surprising ties between the “spiritual, not religious” attitude and class, cultural commodification, and the culture of control that pervades modern society. But they also uncover the true “wild” card at the heart of existence that spiritual movements like that of Rajneesh can never fully control, no matter how hard they try.

REFERENCES

Chapman and Maclain Way (dirs), Wild Wild Country
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste
Carl Wilson, Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste
Peter Sloterdijk, German cultural theorist
Weird Studies, Episode 47, Machines of Loving Grace
Slavoj Žižek, On Western appropriation of Eastern religions
William Burroughs, American writer
Gilles Deleuze, “Postscript on the Societies of Control”
Bhagwan Rajneesh/Osho, Speech on friendship
Daniel Ingram, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha
Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith
James Carse, The Finite and Infinite Games

]]> In this never-before-released episode recorded in 2019, Phil and JF travel to rural Oregon through the Netflix docu-series, Wild Wild Country. The series, which details the establishment of a spiritual community founded by Bhagwan Rajneesh (later called Osho) and its religious and political conflicts with its Christian neighbors, provides a starting point for a wide-ranging conversation on the nature of spirituality and religion. What emerges are surprising ties between the “spiritual, not religious” attitude and class, cultural commodification, and the culture of control that pervades modern society. But they also uncover the true “wild” card at the heart of existence that spiritual movements like that of Rajneesh can never fully control, no matter how hard they try.

REFERENCES

Chapman and Maclain Way (dirs), Wild Wild Country
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste
Carl Wilson, Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste
Peter Sloterdijk, German cultural theorist
Weird Studies, Episode 47, Machines of Loving Grace
Slavoj Žižek, On Western appropriation of Eastern religions
William Burroughs, American writer
Gilles Deleuze, “Postscript on the Societies of Control”
Bhagwan Rajneesh/Osho, Speech on friendship
Daniel Ingram, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha
Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith
James Carse, The Finite and Infinite Games

]]> Episode 69: Special Episode: On Some Mental Effects of the Pandemic https://www.weirdstudies.com/69 3b513b94-c9a1-4280-be15-264b035312a4 Wed, 25 Mar 2020 13:00:00 -0400 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 69 Special Episode: On Some Mental Effects of the Pandemic full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Phil and JF discuss William James's essay "On Some Mental Effects of the Earthquake." 59:08 yes What is there to say about the COVID-19 virus that hasn't already been said, over and over again, all around the world, in quaratined houses and on TV and social media and countless Zoom chats ... what can we say that you haven't heard? Well, probably nothing. But we are now at the point where we realize that the real importance of the things we say is not their content, but the mere fact of saying them. As Marshall McLuhan said, the medium is the message, and at a time when we have been driven into separate solitudes, we are discovering that the real meaning of our utterances might be something like "hello, are you there?" and "I am here, talking to you." In that spirit, Phil and JF have a conversation about William James's essay "On Some Mental Effects of the Earthquake," partly to discuss the ways that it's relevant to our present circumstances and the ways it's not, but mostly to make human connections, both with each other and with Weird Studies listeners. As JF says, stay close, but keep your distance. REFERENCES William James, "On Some Mental Effects of the Earthquake" (http://fullreads.com/essay/on-some-mental-effects-of-the-earthquake/) William James, Writings 1902-1910 (https://www.loa.org/books/66-writings-1902-1910) Noel Black (director), "To See the Invisible Man" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_See_the_Invisible_Man), 2nd segment of episode 16 of The Twilight Zone (1985-86) Weird Studies no. 29, “On Lovecraft” (https://www.weirdstudies.com/29) Weird Studies no. 64, “Dreams and Shadows: On Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea” (https://www.weirdstudies.com/64) Weird Studies no. 67, “Goblins, Goat-Gods and Gates: On Hellier” (https://www.weirdstudies.com/67) Martin Heidegger, “‘Only a God Can Save Us’: The Spiegel Interview" (http://www.ditext.com/heidegger/interview.html) Bruno Latour, "An Inquiry Into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns" (http://modesofexistence.org/) H.P. Lovecraft, “Nyarlathotep” (http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/n.aspx) covid-19, virus, pandemic, coping, William James, psychology What is there to say about the COVID-19 virus that hasn't already been said, over and over again, all around the world, in quaratined houses and on TV and social media and countless Zoom chats ... what can we say that you haven't heard? Well, probably nothing. But we are now at the point where we realize that the real importance of the things we say is not their content, but the mere fact of saying them. As Marshall McLuhan said, the medium is the message, and at a time when we have been driven into separate solitudes, we are discovering that the real meaning of our utterances might be something like "hello, are you there?" and "I am here, talking to you." In that spirit, Phil and JF have a conversation about William James's essay "On Some Mental Effects of the Earthquake," partly to discuss the ways that it's relevant to our present circumstances and the ways it's not, but mostly to make human connections, both with each other and with Weird Studies listeners.

As JF says, stay close, but keep your distance.

REFERENCES

William James, "On Some Mental Effects of the Earthquake"
William James, Writings 1902-1910
Noel Black (director), "To See the Invisible Man", 2nd segment of episode 16 of The Twilight Zone (1985-86)
Weird Studies no. 29, “On Lovecraft”
Weird Studies no. 64, “Dreams and Shadows: On Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea”
Weird Studies no. 67, “Goblins, Goat-Gods and Gates: On Hellier”
Martin Heidegger, “‘Only a God Can Save Us’: The Spiegel Interview"
Bruno Latour, "An Inquiry Into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns"
H.P. Lovecraft, “Nyarlathotep”

]]> What is there to say about the COVID-19 virus that hasn't already been said, over and over again, all around the world, in quaratined houses and on TV and social media and countless Zoom chats ... what can we say that you haven't heard? Well, probably nothing. But we are now at the point where we realize that the real importance of the things we say is not their content, but the mere fact of saying them. As Marshall McLuhan said, the medium is the message, and at a time when we have been driven into separate solitudes, we are discovering that the real meaning of our utterances might be something like "hello, are you there?" and "I am here, talking to you." In that spirit, Phil and JF have a conversation about William James's essay "On Some Mental Effects of the Earthquake," partly to discuss the ways that it's relevant to our present circumstances and the ways it's not, but mostly to make human connections, both with each other and with Weird Studies listeners.

As JF says, stay close, but keep your distance.

REFERENCES

William James, "On Some Mental Effects of the Earthquake"
William James, Writings 1902-1910
Noel Black (director), "To See the Invisible Man", 2nd segment of episode 16 of The Twilight Zone (1985-86)
Weird Studies no. 29, “On Lovecraft”
Weird Studies no. 64, “Dreams and Shadows: On Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea”
Weird Studies no. 67, “Goblins, Goat-Gods and Gates: On Hellier”
Martin Heidegger, “‘Only a God Can Save Us’: The Spiegel Interview"
Bruno Latour, "An Inquiry Into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns"
H.P. Lovecraft, “Nyarlathotep”

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