Weird Studies

In this episode, JF and Phil discuss Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror blockbuster Alien. Together, they wipe off the patina of familiarity that beclouds the film, restoring it to its original weirdness. What is the organism that terrorizes the Nostromo? What's its relation to technology, evolution, industry? How does it differ from the monsters of older horror classics? How does one interpret without explaining away?

Music in this episode: "Hypnagogic," from Pierre-Yves Martel's Weird Studies Vol. 3.

Events

Shannon Taggart's Lily Dale Symposium (July 23-25, 2026Transcendence in the Age of AI, a Weirdosphere chat with Michael Garfield and JF Martel, hosted by Joel Gunz - June 25, 2026

Kickstarter campaign for Artist as Astronaut: The Otherworldly Art of Ionel Talpazan from Strange Attractor Press. The campaign closes June 27!

References

Ionel Talpazan, Romanian experiencer and artist

Ridley Scott (dir.), Alien

Peter Bebergal, All Our Famous Monsters (forthcoming) 

Malachi Martin, Hostage to the Devil

Vilhelm Hammershøi, Danish painter

H. R. Giger, Swiss artist

Simon-Max, French entertainer

Eric Wargo, Passion of the Space Jockey

Weird Studies, Episode 213 on “Eric” 

Mel Brooks (dir.), Spaceballs

Howard and Emerson, “Hello, Ma Baby”

Beowulf

Eugene Thacker, In the Dust of This Planet

Graham Harman, Weird Reality

Pierre Schaeffer, French musician
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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 interpretations at every turn. In this episode, your hosts discuss Gordon's thoughts on divination—or fortune-telling, as he preferred to call it...

Click here to purchase tickets to the 2026 edition of the Lily Dale Symposium (July 23-25), organized by Shannon Taggart and closing this year with a live recording of Weird Studies.

References

Rune Soup

Fortune’s Fools Oracle Deck

Duns Scotus, Scottish priest

Marshall Sahlins, The New Science of the Enchanted Universe

Henri Bergson, Time and Free Will

Ithell Colquhoun, Taro as Colour

Lord Dunsany, The Gods of Pegana
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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 involving elite cultists, post-apocalyptic cowboys, renegade magicians, and three-eyed djinn. In this episode, Manning's work serves as a shining example of what makes comics such a unique and potent art form. There's no need to have read the book before listening—but know that you'll probably want to do when you're done. You're welcome.

Visit the Weirdosphere website to sign up for the Weird Studies Vol. 3 listening party on May 30, 2026.

Join the Weird Studies Patreon and support the show.

References

Tom Manning, ERIC

Leslie Stevens, “So So Surreal”

“Beach Bum #1”

Mike Relm, “Change the Channel”

Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, What is Philosophy?

Sarah Heston, “Magical Los Angeles: An Interview with Tom Manning”

Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics

David Mamet, On Directing Film

Richard J. Lewis (dir.), Whale Music

Joel and Ethan Coen, The Big Lebowski

Darren Aronovsky (dir.), The Wrestler

Jorge Luis Borges, “The Garden of Forking Paths” 

Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time 

Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausea

Jean-Paul Sartre, The Transcendence of the Ego

David Lynch, Twin Peaks: The Return
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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 serves which, and to what end? In this episode, JF and Phil discuss Glenn Gould's style and vision of music through the lens of François Girard's memorable 1993 film, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould.

For details on the upcoming Weird Studies Volume 3 listening party, and to register for the event, go to the event page on the Weirdosphere website. The album will be released on May 22, 2026, on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp page.

⁠Click here⁠ to support Weird Studies on Patreon.

REFERENCES

Francois Girard (dir.), Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould

Rob Reiner, This is Spinal Tap

Weird Studies, Episode 31 on Gould’s “Prospects of Recording” 

"The Shining Recut"

"Glenn Gould Interviews Glenn Gould About Glenn Gould"

Phil Ford, Dig: Sound and Music in Hip Culture

Glenn Gould, "The Idea of North"

Weird Studies, Episode 124 with Duncan Barford

Francois Girard, Production of Wagner’s Parsifal

Richard Wagner, Parsifal (clip from performance conducted by Reginald Goodall) 

Spear of Longinus

Header image by Ana Pismel, via Wikimedia Commons.
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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 "chamber epic" to the modern weird in general, and the hosts' specific interests in particular. Well, as the Overlook Hotel's former caretaker Delbert Grady might put it, consider the situation corrrrected.

Visit Weirdosphere to enroll in JF's upcoming course on Deleuzian philosophy, starting May 7 2026.

Support Weird Studies on Patreon

Interstitial Music: "Corridors" from Pierre-Yves Martel's Weird Studies Volume 2.

REFERENCES

Stanley Kubrick, The Shining

Jan Harlan, A Life in Pictures

Stanely Kubruck, Killer’s Kiss

Alberto Giacometti, “The Palace at 4am”

Gilles Deleuze, What is Philosophy?

Reyner Banham, “The New Brutalism”

Mark Fisher, The Weird and the Eerie
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