Holiday Bonus: Scavengers in the Ruins of Heaven

Holiday Bonus: Scavengers in the Ruins of Heaven

Author: SpectreVision Radio December 31, 2025 Duration: 32:47
To tide us over as we prepare for a new season of Weird Studies, here is an "audio extra," originally recorded for our Patreon supporters, wherein we discuss imposter syndrome, the eternal inadequacy of the intellect, the perils of playing with swords, and the role of trust in creation. A new episode will drop on Wednesday, January 14th, 2026. Happy New Year to all. To join our Patreon, go to www.patreon.com/weirdstudies To enroll in the upcoming Moby Dick course starting on January 20th, visit www.weirdosphere.org. For information on the Weird Academia conference in Bloomington, Indiana, visit www.possibleminds.org/weird-academia Episode image: Caspar David Friedrich, Abtei im Eichwald (1808-1810). 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: en-us Episodes: 50

Weird Studies
Podcast Episodes
Mid-Hiatus Bonus: A Door in the Fourth Wall [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:19
Episode 218 will drop at the end of our summer break on September 9, 2026. Today, enjoy this recent audio extra, originally released for members of the Weird Studies Patreon. In the intro, JF announces two important Weir…
Episode 217 – Books, Spirits, and Hysteria, with Asti Hustvedt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:57
Researcher Asti Hustvedt joins Phil and JF to discuss a talk she gave at the Lily Dale Symposium this year entitled "Bibliophantoms." The question: What does it mean to "get lost" in a book? Asti's answer, drawing on her…
Episode 216 – Artworks Are People Too [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:00
"Now and then, a mysterious life and potency will flicker out of an artwork and confront you." So began "Artworks Are People Too," a talk Phil presented at the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute earlier this summer.…
Special Episode: Make Art! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:27
Owing to circumstances preventing us from releasing a new show this week, we are offering you one from the archives. This episode was originally released on our Patreon in March 2026. In it, we discuss the splendour and…
Episode 212 – Beyond Music and Back Again: On Glenn Gould [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:25
The pianist, composer and sound artist Glenn Gould once wrote: "Art on its loftiest mission is scarcely human at all." What becomes of art and humanity when they are allowed to vary independently of one another? Which se…