Weird Studies

By: Phil Ford and J. F. Martel
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • 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."
    © 2025 Phil Ford and J.F. Martel
    Show more Show less
Art Philosophy Social Sciences
Show more Show less
Episodes
  • Episode 187: The Affirmation of Imagination: On John Crowley's 'Little, Big,' with Erik Davis

    Episode 187: The Affirmation of Imagination: On John Crowley's 'Little, Big,' with Erik Davis
    Mar 26 2025
    John Crowley’s Little, Big is, at once, a family saga, a fairy tale, an occult thriller, an idyll, a dystopia, as well as a meditation on myth and history, the real and the fantasy, memory and imagination. Little, Big is also a book that JF and Phil have been planning to discuss for as long as Weird Studies has existed. In this episode, they are joined by writer and scholar Erik Davis to explore the enduring charms and mysteries of one of the greatest—and most underrated—American novels of the late twentieth century. Order Christian Bunyan's Weird Studies poster here (https://www.christianbunyan.com/Weird-Studies). Visit Weirdosphere (http://www.weirdosphere.org) for more details on Erik Davis's ongoing course, The Three Stigmata of Philip K. Dick. Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies). Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) and 2 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-2), on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com) page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia (https://cosmophonia.podbean.com/). Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! REFERENCES John Crowley, Little, Big (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780061120053) Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780142410318) Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781774640449) Eric Davis, interview with Neil Gaiman and Rachel Pollack (https://techgnosis.com/the-gods-of-the-funny-books/) David Lynch (dir.), Lost Highway (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116922/) America, “The Last Unicorn” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51Ez6ZVz68c&ab_channel=America-Topic) John Cooper Powys, [A Glastonbury Romance](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/959613.AGlastonburyRomance) J. R. R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780547951942) Patrick Harpur, Daimonic Reality (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780937663615) Lord Dunsany, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Dunsany) Irish novelist Special Guest: Erik Davis.
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 34 mins
  • Episode 186: Meeting at the Center: The Wedge, Part Two

    Episode 186: Meeting at the Center: The Wedge, Part Two
    Mar 12 2025
    In this episode, JF and Phil continue their conversation on the wedge, their figure for the epistemological divide between approaching reality from the heart and exploring it with the mind. As the discussion unfolds, the wedge begins to reveal itself not as a rigid binary but as a spectrum—one that stretches from ultimate thickness to ultimate thinness. Could thinking, then, may be the art of navigating this epistemic gradient, seeking the sweet spot where the self meets the world, each on the other's terms? Visit Weirdosphere (http://www.weirdosphere.org) for more details on Erik Davis's upcoming course, The Three Stigmata of Philip K. Dick. Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies). Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) and 2 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-2), on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com) page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia (https://cosmophonia.podbean.com/). Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! REFERENCES Weird Studies, Episode 155 on ‘The Unbinding’ (https://www.weirdstudies.com/155) Alan Chapman, Advanced Magick for Beginners (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781904658412) Quentin Meillassoux, After Finitude (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780826496744) The Principle of Sufficient Reason (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_sufficient_reason) Baruch Spinoza, Ethics (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780140435719) Weird Studies, Episode 139 on the power of art (https://www.weirdstudies.com/139) Phil Ford, “The View from the Cheap Seats” Arnold Schoenberg, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schoenberg) Austrian composer Jaques Vallee, Passport to Magonia (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780987422484)
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 29 mins
  • Episode 185: Intuition and Reality: The Wedge, Part One

    Episode 185: Intuition and Reality: The Wedge, Part One
    Feb 26 2025
    "The Wedge" is a key concept for Phil and JF. When exploring weird phenomena—from artworks to ghosts, and everything in between—one tends to emphasize one or the other "end" of the event. At the thin end of the Wedge, the focus is on subjective experience: how it felt, what it was like, and its personal significance. At the thick end, the emphasis shifts to what actually happened, independent of how it was experienced. Though their roles sometimes switch, Phil generally thinks from the thin end, while JF approaches things from the thick. In this episode, they begin unpacking the implications of the Wedge for making sense of reality’s stranger aspects. Header image by SavidgeMichael via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ForgottenMemoriesofExploringaLiminalSpace.jpg). _ Join the Weirdosphere (http://www.weirdosphere.org), our online learning platform Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies). Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) and 2 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-2), on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com) page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, _Cosmophonia (https://cosmophonia.podbean.com/). Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! REFERENCES Weird Studies, Episode 184 on David Lynch (https://www.weirdstudies.com/184) Phil Ford, “The View from the Cheap Seats at the UFO Show” Scene by Scene, 1999 Interview with David Lynch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0itTpuzzcQ&ab_channel=DidymusBibliophilus) Weird Studies, Episodes 76 on Henri Bergson’s Metaphysics (https://www.weirdstudies.com/76) Henri Bergson, Creative Evolution (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781420940435) Phil Ford, Dig (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780199939916) Johan Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781774642238) Lewis Lockwood, Beethoven: The Music and the Life (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/97803933263830)
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 17 mins

What listeners say about Weird Studies

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com reviews

Amazon reviews
No Reviews are Available