22 episodes

Technology and magic have a long, rich history together. Each Wednesday, filmmaker Heather Freeman guides us through this apparent paradox with technologists and historians from around the world. If you're into history, witchcraft, magic, social media, artificial intelligence, infotech, or ethics, this podcast brings them together with friendly familiars and malicious bots.

Familiar Shapes Heather D. Freeman

    • History
    • 4.9 • 15 Ratings

Technology and magic have a long, rich history together. Each Wednesday, filmmaker Heather Freeman guides us through this apparent paradox with technologists and historians from around the world. If you're into history, witchcraft, magic, social media, artificial intelligence, infotech, or ethics, this podcast brings them together with friendly familiars and malicious bots.

    1. Magnum Opus Postmortem

    1. Magnum Opus Postmortem

    What do you do when Covid-19 kills the context of your feature documentary film? You turn it into a podcast, apparently.

    Filmmaker Heather Freeman interviews Owen Davies (University of Hertfordshire), Marion Gibson (University of Exeter), Douglas Guilbeault (Annenberg School of Communication), Paolo Parigi (AirBnB and Stanford University), Samira Shaikh (UNC Charlotte), Tim Weninger (University of Notre Dame), and Samuel Woolley (University of Austin at Texas) about the early modern witch trials and the dangers lurking on social media.

    Addition sounds and thanks to:
    Voice of America
    Freesound.org
    Quinn Freeman Murphy

    Music from ccMixter
    Social Distancing (Extended Mix) (w/ Darkroom) by Whitewolf (c) copyright 2020
    Jerus by septahelix (c) copyright 2020
    Je suis un Phoenix by Bluemillenium (c) copyright 2020
    Morsbach,1954. by Bluemillenium (c) copyright 2012
    Solstice Contemplation by duckett (c) copyright 2011

    • 27 min
    2. Tay and John Walsh

    2. Tay and John Walsh

    Tay is a bot-gone-wrong and John Walsh was a cunning-man accused of witchcraft. Their stories are chased with a crash course in the history of information technologies. 

    Filmmaker Heather Freeman interviews Owen Davies (University of Hertfordshire), Susan Etlinger (Altimeter Group and The Centre for International Governance Innovation), Marian Gibson (University of Exeter), and Samuel Woolley (University of Texas - Austin).

    Addition Sounds thanks to:
    Freesound.org
    fromtexttospeeach.com
    child/crying/demonic/angry: They don't love me anymore. They don't love me I hate you by 11linda / AmeAngelofSin / Ashley Eddy 

    Music thanks to:
    cdk - Sunday by Analog By Nature (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/cdk/53755

    Time by Darkroom (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mactonite/29957 Ft: SackJo22

    Solitude by Entertainment for the Braindead is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.
    San Fairy Ann by Hypermagic is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.
    Right by The Insider is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.

    Traffic and Dark Alleys by Kai Engel is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

    The Fairy by Pk jazz Collective is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
    Urbana-Metronica (wooh-yeah mix) by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/jlbrock44/33345 Ft: Morusque, Jeris, CSoul, Alex Beroza
    Imagination; The Way You Talk; and A Childish World by Zebrat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License

    • 26 min
    3. Magical Networks

    3. Magical Networks

    What did early modern people really think about magic? And how do on-line spaces differ from real-world spaces?


    In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:
    Dr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and Scotland
    Dr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University 
    Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire  
    Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter Group
    Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter 
    Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol 
    Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology
    Prof. Sean McCloud Associate Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, and Communication Studies Faculty Affiliate at UNC Charlotte
    Dr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland.  
    Quinn Murphy, Heather Freeman’s eleven-year old son.
    Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas


    Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
    Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

    • 31 min
    4. The Cunning Folks' Commons

    4. The Cunning Folks' Commons

    Who were the early modern cunning folk, and what exactly were they doing with all those books? And how do we act ethically in a community and avoid the 'Tragedy of the Commons'?
    In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:

    Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Suffolk
    Dr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University

    Dr. Alexander Cummins, an independent historian researching early modern European and early American religion, philosophy, medicine, and magic.
    Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire  
    Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter 
    Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol 
    Prof. Sean McCloud Associate Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, and Communication Studies Faculty Affiliate at UNC Charlotte
    Dr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. 


    Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
    Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

    • 37 min
    5. The Well-Intentioned Bot

    5. The Well-Intentioned Bot

    We’ll look at how social bots interact with people in on-line social networks, and how sometimes people behave like, well, bots.

    In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:
    Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter Group;
    Alex Hogan Managing Partner in Etic Labs;
    Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;
    Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the  University of North Carolina at Charlotte;
    Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;
    Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.
    Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
    Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

    • 26 min
    6. My Buddy Luridan

    6. My Buddy Luridan

    We’ll see what early modern grimoires tell us about the magical beliefs and practices of that era. And then we’ll take a gander at summoning Luridan the Familiar. (You know. For kicks.)
    In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:

    Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Suffolk
    Dr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and Scotland
    Dr. Alexander Cummins, an independent historian researching early modern European and early American religion, philosophy, medicine, and magic.
    Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire  
    Dr. Daniel Harms librarian and author of  Of Angels, Demons, and Spirits: A Sourcebook of British Magic.
    Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol 


    Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
    Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

    • 27 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
15 Ratings

15 Ratings

vaimacaperu ,

Must listen

I learned about the podcast from a blogpost in Societas Magicas and I’ve been listening since it was released in this format. I believe this format does a much better service to the material exposed than in a visual documentary, as it was originally planned. If you want to understand what’s going on with our participation in the different social media platforms available to us, this podcast is a must. The bonus is the added gift that you will learn a lot of history related to magical familiars and how that history relates to our social media lives.

Top Podcasts In History

History's Secret Heroes
BBC Radio 4
The Rest Is History
Goalhanger Podcasts
American Scandal
Wondery
An Old Timey Podcast
An Old Timey Podcast
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
American History Tellers
Wondery