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." SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring the anomalous, the luminous, and the numinous. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevision
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About the host
Unknown Host hosts Weird Studies, a arts show with 239 episodes published.
Episode 217 – Books, Spirits, and Hysteria, with Asti Hustvedt
Aug 5, 20261h 17m
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
Jul 22, 20261h 34m
"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!
Jul 8, 202641m
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 214 – Fortune's Fools: On Gordon White's Philosophy of Fortune-Telling
Jun 10, 20261h 15m
It was with heavy hearts that Phil and JF learned of Gordon White's passing. Gordon was a force to be reckoned with: as an author and podcaster on all things occult, he offered unique perspectives and provocative interpr
Episode 213 – Comics, Surf Rock, and the Weirdness of Time: On Tom Manning's 'Eric'
May 27, 20261h 19m0
Tom Manning's 2018 graphic novel Eric is that rarest of gems: the self-published masterpiece. Available only on the author's website, it's the story of a washed-up surf rocker who stumbles into a cosmic conspiracy involv
Episode 212 – Beyond Music and Back Again: On Glenn Gould
May 13, 20261h 24m0
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
Episode 211 – You've Always Been the Caretaker: On Kubrick's 'The Shining'
Apr 29, 20261h 27m0
In this episode, Phil and JF discuss Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Shining. That they are doing this eight years after starting the podcast is weird in itself, so fundamental is Kubrick's "cham
M.C. Richards's "Wrestling with the Daimonic," read by Phil Ford
Apr 22, 202657m0
We regret that we were unable to release a new episode this week. Episode 211 will drop on Wednesday, April 29, and will be devoted to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, a film we have long wanted to revisit in depth. In the
Angels & Daimons, with M.C. Richards and Cristina Campo
Apr 8, 20261h 33m0
In this episode, JF and Phil bring together two visionary essays on the daimonic and the imaginal: Cristina Campo’s “On Fairy Tales” and M.C. Richards’s “Wrestling with the Daimonic.” What emerges is a conversation about
At Home in the Labyrinth, with Murakami and Borges
Mar 25, 20261h 33m0
In this episode, Phil and JF discuss Haruki Murakami’s “Cream,” from First Person Singular, alongside Jorge Luis Borges’s classic tale, “The Garden of Forking Paths.” Together, these two stories occasion a meditation on
Episode 208 – Unbridled Creation: On Kenneth Batcheldor's Theory of the Paranormal
Mar 11, 20261h 19m0
Kenneth Batcheldor was a British clinical psychologist who, during the final two decades of his life, investigated the paranormal through direct experiments in table-turning. The final fruit of that work was an essay, co
Magic Mirror: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Ring'
Feb 25, 20261h 32m0
This is the first of three episodes on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings to be released in the course of the next several months. Focusing here on The Fellowship of the Ring, our hosts discuss the first leg of Frodo
Episode 206 – On Ken Russell's 'Altered States': Live at Indiana University Bloomington
Feb 11, 20261h 21m0
This episode was recorded before a live audience at Indiana University Cinema as part of Weird Academia, a series of events that brought much high strangeness to Bloomington, Indiana, in January 2026. The discussion foll
Discipline and Delight: On the Hierophant Card in the Tarot
Jan 28, 20261h 33m0
In this episode of Weird Studies, we turn to the fifth Major Arcanum, the Hierophant, symbolizing tradition, instruction, and the exoteric aspect of spiritual practice. Drawing on Meditations on the Tarot and other sourc
The Perilous Realm: J.R.R. Tolkien's 'On Fairy Stories'
Jan 14, 20261h 16m0
For Tolkien, fairy stories are not stories about fairies, but stories that take place in Faerie. And in doing so, they make Faerie present. They are not escapist fantasies but disclosures of a real mode of being and invi
Holiday Bonus: Scavengers in the Ruins of Heaven
Dec 31, 202532m0
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, th
Distant Early Warnings: A Return to Marshall McLuhan's 'Book of Probes'
Dec 10, 20251h 26m0
Back in episode 112, Phil and JF devised a gimmick for a show: randomly select one of the many aphorisms in The Book of Probes, a compendium of Marshall McLuhan’s prophetic quips designed by David Carson, and see what ha
Episode 202 – The Human is Two: On 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'
Nov 26, 20251h 21m0
In this episode, JF and Phil discuss Robert Louis Stevenson’s Gothic classic, the tale that conjured the fog-shrouded London hellscape that has haunted the modern imagination ever since. Though written as a quick “Christ
On James Whale's 'Frankenstein' and 'The Bride of Frankenstein,' with Peter Bebergal
Nov 12, 20251h 10m0
In this episode, Phil and JF are joined by independent scholar Peter Bebergal, author of Strange Frequencies, Season of the Witch, and other books on the intersections of culture, religion, and the occult. The topic is F
Halloween Special: A Reading of Arthur Machen's "The White People"
Oct 31, 20251h 39m0
Originally released in 2018 but remixed for your listening pleasure, here's Phil reading Arthur Machen's classic weird tale, "The White People." Happy Halloween! Machen's "The White People" was discussed all the way back
Weird Studies has a verified contact on file. Create a free PitchCentric account to access it and generate a personalised pitch in seconds. Research at least 3 recent episodes first and lead with a specific angle that serves their arts audience.
Who is the host of Weird Studies?
Weird Studies is hosted by Unknown Host. The show is categorised under arts (society) and has published 239 episodes.
How many episodes does Weird Studies have?
Weird Studies has published 239 episodes.
What topics does Weird Studies cover?
Weird Studies regularly covers arts, society, culture. It sits in the arts category, with a society focus.
Is it hard to get booked on Weird Studies?
Weird Studies is accessible for guests with genuine arts expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
Is Weird Studies currently accepting guest pitches?
Weird Studies hasn't explicitly signalled guest openness in recent episodes. That doesn't rule out pitching. your hook just needs to be especially compelling and relevant to their recent content.
How long are Weird Studies episodes?
Episodes of Weird Studies average 79 minutes, giving guests a long-form format with plenty of time to expand on their expertise.
What guest credentials does Weird Studies typically look for?
Our data rates Weird Studies's guest bar at 80/100 (Premium tier). Established thought leaders with verified media credentials. Sign in to PitchCentric to see how your own Pod Score compares against this show.
Methodology. Booking Probability™ blends Listen Score, 30-day Virality, open-to-guests detection, and Apple ratings. Data refreshed every 60 minutes. Listen Score and Booking Probability are calculated by PitchCentric. Last enriched 7 days ago.