Gods, Ghosts & UFOs

SpectreVision Radio
  • 5.0 (105)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Every week, we talk about all the things they said weren't real. Guided by strange headlines and ancient mysteries, Jordan, Tom, and Mal explore the paranormal, metaphysical, and supernatural with all the earnestness and insight three big-hearted nerds can muster. If you don't have a good time, then you don't know what a good time is. 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

  1. 5D AGO

    The whole actual deal with Haunted Dolls - History, Science, and Spirit

    Highlights: How the Mexican City Mannequins inspired this episode Ushabtis: ancient Egyptian figurines (2600–2100 BC) placed in tombs to do labor in the afterlife, in place of killing servants The Louvre Doll: a bound female clay figure pierced with 13 needles Kolossoi: ancient Greek defensive effigies designed to contain hostile spirits Victorian mourning dolls: wax effigies made at funerals with the dead child’s hair and clothing What did Mal do to her Cabbage Patch doll? Robert the Doll “It was like a metal bar running down my back... That doll was listening to us” The connection to an apparition of a biracial girl Robert exhibits both Type A and Type B inhabitation, and he might be the only one Thousands of apology letters at the museum from visitors who took photos without asking permission Poppets The Nkisi tradition from the Congo Connection to the movie Weapons How Robert the Doll became haunted (possibly) — he might be a mourning doll? The Free Robert the Doll campaign The Kuleshov Effect Projecting consciousness onto human-shaped forms Tsukumogami and vengeful yokai The Hyakki Yagyō, the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons Djinn in Islamic tradition The etymology of pandemonium Michael Singer on not resisting the snake Knowledge vs respect And in the epilogue… Mallory’s gluten-free experiment Suspicious exercise equipment at the gym Pros and cons of Western vs Traditional Chinese Medicine Some of the grossest words we know To help you share this episode, we picked out three moments we all loved and tied them up with a little copy/paste-able bow. “Mal made herself a poppet” (~9:40) — Mal put a lost tooth into her Cabbage Patch doll’s mouth as a child, and Tom points out she was accidentally participating in an ancient ritual of fixing a part of yourself into an effigy. “Don’t go up the stairs!” (~12:12) — Why Victorian mourning dolls never seemed to get haunted, and how human carelessness drives the plot of every horror movie. “It’s not a monster story. It’s an ecosystem.” (~58:11) — Tom’s synthesis after connecting Mexico City mannequins, the Night Parade, jinn, and tsukumogami: when humans leave, something adjacent that was always there fills the space. And then of course there’s this neat little thing we made, if you want to send someone one of our more popular past episodes: The Sharing Kit *** SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 15m

  2. MAR 18

    What 2001: A Space Odyssey Gets Right About AI, Art, and Human Evolution

    Business! Our SECOND EVER Open Epilogue! Monday, March 23, at 1pm PST / 4pm EST. All paid supporters will get an email invite with a link. Be one of them! Episode highlights: Mal watched 2001: A Space Odyssey for the first time, and talked about it every day for three weeks Stanley Kubrick’s astonishing team and the mind blowing scale of the project He tried to purchase preserved human embryos from a Chicago biological supply company for research He applied for insurance from Lloyd’s of London against the discovery of extraterrestrial beings before the film’s release The movie came out in 1968, a year before the moon landing, with basically two pictures of Earth from space to work from Shots that still hold up 60 years later What makes this movie transcendent Why Kubrick told actors not to emote The book and the movie were written simultaneously by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, then diverged at the end Clarke was a techno-optimist atheist who envisioned transcendence through technology; Kubrick saw something darker The bad news monolith Also: the phone in your pocket Is evolution terrifying? Is it good? Kubrick collapses linear time Moon landing was…probably real 97% of people can’t identify human-made vs ai-gen music A friend who spent 20 years making about 500 songs — AI makes a thousand in an afternoon The communal difference between art and AI slop Provenance is the point The porn-pocalypse — news, politics, food, music, everything is porn now When we dehumanize art we don’t experience anything Why the viola is out of tune on purpose The Great Man theory of history is stupid The idea that you can’t make art because you don’t meet criteria for profitability is “the worst way to treat yourself” Idolatry is worshipping the thing you make The two basic human needs Speaking of which… another Open Epilogue on March 23rd! And in the epilogue… Grand Theft Auto cheat codes How to achieve the bliss of absolute focus A fierce and exhausting debate about patriarchy We picked out three moments we all loved and tied them up with a little copy/paste-able bow. “Everything is porn now” (46:18) — Jordan defines porn: taking something real, subtracting everything except one sensation, and reproducing it at scale for profit — and applies it to news, politics, food, movies, music…everything. We’re living in a porn-pocalypse. “The viola is slightly out of tune” (49:39) — Tom explains that orchestras sound beautiful precisely because they’re not perfectly in tune, in a gorgeous defense of imperfection as the actual source of beauty. “Is the terror because it’s bad, or because everything has to die?” (~28:00–27:20) — Mal wonders if maybe the dissonant horror the monolith inspires isn’t a warning, it’s just what evolution feels like from the inside. Or just open up The Sharing Kit *** SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 1m

  3. MAR 11

    Why Every Religion Suppresses Its Own Mystics | Rabbi Rami Shapiro on God and the Ego

    If you love this episode and want to share it with someone, we made it easy. Just scroll down to “Share this episode…” and pick a great moment to courageously copy and paste. Highlights: Rabbi Rami Shapiro is the author of nearly 40 books and co-director of the One River Foundation — find him on Substack “Religions are like languages. No language is true or false. The more languages you speak, the more nuanced your understanding of life becomes. Yet it is silence that reveals the ultimate truth.” Rami’s spiritual journey through Zen Buddhism and how he became a “zen rabbi” Why ten years of meditation practice didn’t work You already have it The point isn’t to be enlightened, it’s to be a decent human being Genesis 12:1 in Hebrew is telling the reader to journey inward and free yourself from conditioning “be a blessing to all the families of the earth” Narratives as addictions, Overeaters Anonymous, and Purim cookies “Narratives Anonymous” anyone? “Who’s craving the cookies?” (hint: not the one who’s aware of the craving) Heschel’s architecture of time Space is about having, time is about being “Being is infinite.” Good luck selling The Gospel of Thomas Tom’s researching and writing a book on the suppressed non-dualism running through all Abrahamic religions The divine feminine: wisdom (Hochma) in Hebrew, Dao in Chinese, Mary as Theotokos Rami’s constant mantra How the ego gets in the way writing Rami moved to Nashville and his ego told him to stop playing guitar The spiritual insights of Rami’s 10-year-old grandson And in the epilogue… The true Hebrew translation of what the burning bush said to Moses How your body literally spells the name of God What Jews and Coca-Cola have in common We picked out three moments we all loved and tied them up with a little copy/paste-able bow. “Because it doesn’t work” (~11:00) — Rami tells his Zen teacher he’s been meditating for ten years and nothing’s happening. The teacher says “because it doesn’t work.” Rami: “Why didn’t you tell me that ten years ago?” Teacher: “You wouldn’t have believed me.” “Who’s craving the cookies?” (~25:13) — Rami uses his Overeaters Anonymous experience and a kitchen full of Purim cookies to demonstrate self-inquiry in real time. “We’ll just keep waving” (~58:20) — Rami’s ten-year-old grandson processes the idea that God is like an ocean and arrives at his own theology of death and hope in about thirty seconds. Also, if you want to send someone one of our more popular past episodes, here's a Sharing Kit we made just for you. *** SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 7m

  4. MAR 4

    Energy Healing with Beth Williams | Episode 51

    Real quick real fast — You know how we're basically betting the farm on people who love the show sharing the show (hint hint nudge nudge THAT’S YOU RIGHT??), well, we’ve done our best to make that even easier with this episode. After the bulleted list of episode highlights, you’ll see a section called “Sharing made easy!” If you want to share this episode with someone, all you gotta do is copy and paste one of those suckers. So please do that! And thank you! Highlights: Beth Williams is a professional psychic energy healer - find her on Instagram @psychicintegration Mal’s seen several energy healers over the past 8–9 years, and Beth is her favorite Growing up deeply religious, and the framing for mystical experience Panic attacks in the middle of the night Yoga produced mystical experiences Cognitive dissonance - “Why now, when I’m doing nothing?” How “doing nothing” can be the thing you need to do the most The correlation between trauma and psychic ability — ”There is no healer who has not first been wounded” (Brother Richard) Quitting the job, leaving the religion, becoming a psychic healer Her husband and kids told her to go to all the yoga she wanted because she was so much easier to be around afterward Discovering that healing can feel easy is almost universal, against the common instinct is that growth is supposed to be hard Training in Reiki, and Beth’s first “clients” Her psychic massage therapist mentor The difference between feeling someone else’s energy and your own A message too private to share, and the realization she should have shared it anyway Saying what comes through, ignoring personal cost Three messages to a banged up mountain biker, who admitted to one, denied the other two, and then later called to confirm Psychics are only right 70% of the time. Discernment is important. It’s messy — real info has to get through the psychic’s own mind, then the client’s, with layers of assumptions and self-deception on both sides Western medicine saved Tom’s his son’s life, and his own vision, but traditional Chinese medicine saved his mother’s vision Messages seem adapted to clients’ existing belief systems: Jesus shows up for Christians; for non-Christians, he doesn’t How being Christlike is asking what the other person actually needs, which may not be what they want and may not be what you want to give them What Beth gets out of her own work How being yourself is the answer to the question of what you’re supposed to do with yourself And in the epilogue… Spiritual direction Mal’s own feet gave her Whether there are overlaps between Mormons and psychics (yes (many)) The prosperity gospel of art — craft still matters more than divine inspiration alone Sharing made easy! “Why am I experiencing this when I’m doing nothing?” (09:36) — Beth describes the cognitive dissonance of having mystical experiences in yoga after a lifetime of trying to earn them through religion, and Jordan reframes it: you weren’t doing nothing, you were finally doing the thing. “Psychic confirmation” (27:33) — After Beth delivers three very personal messages to an injured mountain biker, he denies the first two and confirms the third. Days later he calls to admit she was right, and that her advice saved his relationship with his daughter. “You’re not doing the science anymore” (46:18) — Mal’s observation that you’ve gotta stay open to do real science. And then of course there’s this neat little thing we made, if you want to send someone one of our more popular past episodes: The Sharing Kit Energized,Jordan, Tom, & Mal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 2m

  5. FEB 25

    The Chronovisor and the Problem with Time Scrying | Episode 50

    A Benedictine monk with training in quantum physics, Gregorian chants, and exorcism claimed to have built a device that could see into the past. This man was Father Pellegrino Ernetti, and he assembled his Chronovisor with a secret team high-profile scientists that allegedly included Enrico Fermi and Wernher von Braun. Fifty years ago, they told everyone they took pictures of Christ’s crucifixion. Unsurprisingly, the evidence didn’t hold up. But that didn’t stop the story from getting stranger. The Vatican itself refused to confirm or deny rumors that it had ordered the device dismantled, and Ernetti died without fully recanting. Maybe the problem with any supposed means of looking into the past is that you have to answer the question of who’s holding the camera, and how. Regardless of whether the thing ever actually existed, the Chronovisor did successfully get us talking about the Scole Experiment, Edison’s spirit telephone, and why the past might be genuinely incomprehensible even if you had the means to look. Welcome to episode 50, everyone. Highlights: An introduction to Father Pellegrino Ernetti (1925–1994), a “Renaissance monk” Ernetti’s music scholarship—reconstructing ancient sounds—led him to believe every event leaves behind energy traces, reminding us of the Akashic Record A secret team of 12 scientists (that makes a quorum, folks) began work around 1952 at the Catholic University of Milan The “chronovisor” was reportedly an array of specialized antennas tuned to “historical frequencies,” combined with cathode ray tubes and oscilloscopes Ernetti even claimed it could pick up thoughts What they allegedly saw Story went public in 1972 in Italy Ernetti presented a grainy black-and-white image he said showed Christ’s face during the crucifixion But the image matched a wooden crucifix sculpted under the direction of a mystic named Mother Speranza When confronted by his friend Father François Brune, Ernetti admitted the published photo was of the sculpture, but never explained why he let it circulate Also claimed he was forbidden to talk about it In a letter before his death, he said “everything about the device and Christ’s passion was the sacred truth” The Vatican has never confirmed or denied the Chronovisor’s existence Comparisons to this now-mythical device and remote viewing Perception is never objective (see: our conversation with Mark Turner in Episode 30) Is this why the sculpture of Christ inspired by Mother Speranza looks like a guy from 1960 instead of a first-century Jew? The tension between mystic technology and material technology: two different means of achieving the same ends, maybe? Tom wonders, offhandedly, Why the crucifixion? Why not the resurrection, or better yet, the Beatitudes? The Cottingley Fairies The Scole Experiment in the 90s (wild) Thomas Edison believed similar things to Ernetti, and also proposed a device “Physics is broken” This is not going to work the way you think it’s going to work An old filmmaker who had his actors wave their arms around nonsensically to represent the incomprehensibility of the past We end with some behavior calculated to baffle far-future audiences And in the epilogue… We’re joined by listener Brendan McKinney to talk about his experiences with synchronicities, which he wrote about here: https://ggupodcast.substack.com/p/authorial-intrusions *** SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    42 min

  6. FEB 18

    Mannequin Monsters in Mexico | Episode 49

    Way back during the COVID lockdowns, when the streets of Mexico City were quiet and empty of people, something else started walking them. Multiple witnesses reported encounters with humanoid entities that moved like mannequins. With stiff limbs, and lifeless arms, running on their tiptoes. Backwards. One guy got chased. Another got followed to a bus stop. Someone else watched one of these things lift a sewer grate like it weighed nothing and climb inside. After looking at three independent accounts, Tom gives some historical context, including the Golem of Prague, and a bridal mannequin in Chihuahua that stood in a shop window for almost a hundred years. It turns out there’s real science way down in Uncanny Valley, and it doesn’t make us feel any better about it. Neither does a certain “fantastic” YouTube video. No more almost-faces, mmmkay? Highlights: Mannequin-like entity encounters during the COVID lockdown in Mexico City A woman-shaped entity running backward on its tiptoes, arms outstretched like lifeless prosthetics, later appeared in the second-floor window of a derelict house A mannequin in an empty commercial space with its hand extended, then reappearing down the boulevard A mannequin-like figure crossed Reforma with clumsy steps, then lifted a sewer grate like it weighed nothing and climbed inside All three accounts independently describe unnatural movement Mexico’s most famous “living mannequin” was a bridal figure in a Chihuahua shop window from 1930 to 2024, rumored to be the embalmed body of the shop owner’s daughter The Golem of Prague, a 16th century clay entity brought to life with God’s name Talos, the bronze giant of Greek mythology European chess-playing automatons (which actually had a small person hidden inside) The term "uncanny valley” was coined by Japanese robotics professor Masahiro Mori in a 1970 essay published in an obscure journal called Energy Mori believed our affinity for humanoid things increases as they become more realistic, then plunges into revulsion when they’re almost human, then recovers when they’re indistinguishable from human Mori noted zombies are scarier than corpses because they move The pandemic was a perfect storm for uncanny encounters Spring-Heeled Jack was a Victorian London entity that assaulted people, breathed fire, and leapt over 10-foot walls Brother Richard’s idea that paranormal entities “clothe themselves in our imagination” makes us wonder if mannequins were the imaginative “clothing” available to people surrounded by empty shops and display windows Our revulsion to almost human things might be adaptive, helping us identify the diseased and dead Could also imply the existence of a predator that mimicked humans (good luck sleeping tonight!) The mountain lions that cry like human babies “I Feel Fantastic” - an impromptu watch party That track Tom mentioned at the end And in the epilogue… Monster mannequins in pop culture How 28 Years Later’s psychedelic zombie twist mirrors real-world partisan dehumanization “Playing in the ruins” when the systems around us are broken Subscribe now PS - If you want to join us on our no-kill run, we made this for you: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    37 min

  7. FEB 11

    Financial Crisis, Alien Disclosure, and the Honey Doctrine | Episode 48

    A former analyst for the Bank of England just warned that alien disclosure could throw global financial systems into crisis. Tom and Jordan can’t stop laughing. We’re already in financial crisis, aliens or no aliens. And if there was some official disclosure tomorrow, people would just go back to work and worry about groceries. Unless the revelation materially changes people’s lives, they won’t care that much. But what if there’s free energy technology? The analyst worries that would be a disaster. But, uh, for whom? ExxonMobil? Probably. You and me? No. The materialist scarcity mindset is transactional. If you get something, it must be taken from me. But there’s a more efficient way to structure our communities, and it’s about building for mutual benefit. Not easy, but definitely not impossible. Anyway, we’re still pretty sure we’re headed for calamity, thanks for a broad cultural inability to accept reality, which turns out to not care very much about our ideas about what it should be. The highlights: Helen McCaw, former Bank of England policy expert, warns that revelation of aliens could throw global financial systems into crisis The cases for and against this prediction Tom reads part of McCaw’s letter to Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey urging contingencies for alien disclosure (from The times of London article) How she even came to care about UFOs Internal memo from British Defense chiefs from 1997 discusses “technology acquisition” from alien tech Basically, same as America What if there’s free energy technology? For whom would this be a disaster? Where Lord of the Flies got it wrong (the real life kids who went through it) Materialism leads to scarcity mindsets and zero-sum transactional societies How mutual benefit structures the most efficient social models Buddha in the Dhammapada: “Therefore Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves, clinging to no external refuge, clinging to the truth as a refuge” Regardless of anything, we’re basically headed for disaster Why suffering and the acceptance (or rejection) of reality are closely correlated A practice of presence with the expectation of imminent cataclysm The Honey Doctrine Mindfulness and presence are the last words on living the fulfilled life After recording this episode, we did our very first Open Epilogue, which we unfortunately were not able to record. Don’t worry! We’ll do another one very soon. Don't miss the next one! PS - If you want to join us on our no-kill run, we made this for you: The Sharing Kit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    41 min

  8. FEB 4

    Celtic mysticism and the courage of compassion | Episode 47

    Brother Richard Hendrick is a Capuchin Franciscan friar and Celtic mystic. He comes from “a people who embrace faith but did not let go of magic and understand that one completes the other.” When Tom asks how to deal with anger and powerlessness in the face of cruelty, Brother Richard offers this: “Anger externalized is actually internalized fear.” Those moving in hatred WANT hatred in return because it justifies their action. They push and push waiting for the explosion. So the hardest practice is maintaining compassion even for those who hate you—because that’s when the other is actually disassembled and overcome. Three practices: Hold yourself in compassion. Take refuge in great teachers—we’ve done this before over thousands of years. And manage basic human needs—no good decision is ever made at 2am. Also, how can we grow up? Our culture is bad at helping people make the transition from adolescence into adulthood. What if the big missing piece in our development is transcendent experience? Are we doomed? Brother Richard says no! But you’re gonna have to start meditating. The good news is that he has some things to say that might help you finally start the practice. Brother Richard’s sternly non-political take on what’s going on in Minnesota Most hatred and anger comes from fear Choosing compassion means accepting vulnerability, even and especially when your compassion is rejected Hate wants hate, anger wants anger — it’s cyclical justification “No matter how much hatred they are pouring on me, fundamentally I have a brother or a sister in front of me” Three practices for holding compassionate solidarity People full of compassionate energy can often forget their own needs—they become tired, worn, anxious, and then make bad decisions How Brother Richard became a friar Celtic mysticism maintains the sacred nature of both the subtle world and ourselves, plus our venerable relationship with it What to look for in a good spiritual teacher The icon of the Ladder of Heaven shows monks climbing to heaven, and at the very top, just as one steps in, he’s falling Saint Augustine: “God wrote two books—the book of Scriptures and the Book of Nature. We have not read His word if we can’t read both.” When we’re in relationship with nature, the transcendent begins to happen The Dalai Lama: “Meditation over thousands of years becomes a laboratory of the mind and soul” If meditation stretches you with compassion and bestows peace, it’s real; if it makes you think you’re superior, it’s egoic The muscle of focus and inner attention is atrophied in the Western world Start with basic stillness practices, even just two minutes, because most people haven’t done it before Distraction is literally half of the practice of meditation And in the epilogue… What the Fae actually are (hint: it’s complicated!) Why believing everything a non-human intelligence tells you is dangerous Brother Richard’s take on a particular passage from the Gospel of Thomas (because of course Tom had to ask him) PS - We’re on a no-kill run. If you want to help, we made this Sharing Kit for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 2m
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Every week, we talk about all the things they said weren't real. Guided by strange headlines and ancient mysteries, Jordan, Tom, and Mal explore the paranormal, metaphysical, and supernatural with all the earnestness and insight three big-hearted nerds can muster. If you don't have a good time, then you don't know what a good time is. 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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