Episode 200 – On 'The Call of Cthulhu'

Episode 200 – On 'The Call of Cthulhu'

Author: SpectreVision Radio October 29, 2025 Duration: 1:27:34
For their 200th episode, JF and Phil turn their attention to H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” a story foundational not only to modern horror fiction but to the very idea of the Weird. In revisiting this tale of forbidden knowledge and cosmic ambiguity, the hosts reflect on Weird Studies itself as a “slow piecing together of dissociated knowledge” that mirrors the work of Lovecraft’s own bewildered protagonists. Image by Antoni Espinosa via Wikimedia Commons. Upcoming Events: Peter Bebergal teaches on Weirdosphere starting November 20, 2025 JF Martel speaks at Back to Haunt Us in East London on November 8, 2025 Phil Ford speaks at the Durations Festival in NYC on November 7, 2025 Phil Ford hangs out at Archestratus Books and Food on November 8, 2025 References H. P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu  Weird Studies, Episode 2 on Garmonbozia  Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy  Phil Ford, “The Wanderer” H. P. Lovecraft, "Nyarlathotep" Weird Studies, Episode 74 on Jung Phil Ford, Jacob Foster, and J. F. Martel, “Care of the Dead”  Weird Studies, Episode 110 on The Glass Bead Game  Weird Studies, Episode 101 on Tanizaki  Graham Harman, Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy  Weird Studies, Episode 156 on Donna Tartt  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the heart of Weird Studies, a podcast from SpectreVision Radio, you’ll find long-form conversations between Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel. Their discussions aren’t simple reviews or straightforward analyses; instead, they wander through the tangled undergrowth where art and philosophy meet, giving generous time to concepts that resist easy understanding and to creative works that fracture our ordinary sense of the world. This podcast deliberately lingers in that ambiguous space, treating the “weird” not as a genre but as a particular mode of experience-one that reveals the cracks in what we comfortably assume is real. Each episode feels like joining a deep, meandering dialogue between two friends who are both deeply knowledgeable and endlessly curious, covering a vast terrain that includes literature, film, music, and esoteric thought. It’s a show for anyone who suspects that the most profound truths are often found in the shadows, the anomalies, and the strangely beautiful. As part of the SpectreVision Radio network, which specializes in content that explores the uncanny edges of creativity, Weird Studies builds a unique community of listeners who are eager to think differently. You won’t find pat answers here, but you will encounter compelling questions and a shared sense of exploration that makes each installment a distinctive journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 230

Weird Studies
Podcast Episodes
Episode 148: Mythos of the Moment: On 'Twin Peaks,' Season 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:14
David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks has been a touchstone of Weird Studies since the podcast's inception. Back in 2018, Phil and JF recorded Episode 1: Garmonbozia while still reeling from the series' third season, w…
Episode 147: You Must Change Your Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33:57
Rainer Maria Rilke's poem "Archaic Torso of Apollo" ends on a note that has puzzled and inspired readers for more than a century: "For there is no place that does not see you. You must change your life." In this episode,…
Episode 146: An Air of Great Power: On the Chariot in the Tarot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:49
Of the twenty-two figures that make up the major arcana of the tarot, the Chariot is probably the most commonplace. While the tenth arcanum is a wheel, it's The Wheel of Fortune, not just any old wagon wheel. But arcanum…
Episode 143: On UFOs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:34
In the 1950s, Carl Jung expressed frustration at the impenetrability of the UFO mystery, the "strange, unknown, and indeed contradictory nature" of this "ostensibly physical phenomenon" with "an extremely important psych…