Episode 195 – On John Keel: Live at the Lily Dale Symposium, with Erik Davis

Weird Studies

Phil Ford and J. F. Martel

Society & Culture, Arts, Philosophy

4.8 • 688 Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2025

⏱️ 111 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This marks the third year that Weird Studies is honoured to open the Lily Dale Symposium, organized each summer by photographer Shannon Taggart in the upstate New York community famed for its roots in Spiritualism. While J.F. wasn’t able to attend this year, Erik Davis joined Phil on stage for a conversation about the life and work of John Keel, the iconoclastic writer and investigator best known for The Mothman Prophecies. They were later joined by Keel’s friend, the writer and musician Doug Skinner, for a candid discussion of Keel’s legacy and style. If you enjoy Weird Studies, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Upper-tier goodies include exclusive writings, regular bonus episodes, and monthly hangouts with JF and Phil. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Spectrevision Radio
0:02.0	Welcome to Weird Studies, an arts and philosophy podcast with hosts Phil Ford and J.F. Martel.
0:20.0	For more episodes, or to support the podcast,
0:23.3	go to weirdstud J.F. Martel. If you're a regular listener of the podcast,
0:56.7	you've likely heard Phil and me talking about or even speaking at Shannon Taggarts Lillydale
1:02.2	Symposium. Shannon is a photographer and an independent scholar. In episode 113, she joined
1:09.7	us to discuss her marvelous photography book Seance,
1:13.3	reissued a few years ago in a revised edition by Atelier Books.
1:17.7	For the past three years, Phil and I have had the honor of recording a live episode
1:22.2	of the symposium Shannon organizes each summer in Lillydale,
1:26.2	a community in upstate New York that has been the
1:28.4	beating heart of spiritualism since the 19th century. The symposium has since been a highlight of our year.
1:35.8	By all accounts, this year's event was exceptional, with another finely curated lineup of thinkers,
1:41.5	seekers and artists willing to explore the margins of mind and life,
1:45.8	what Victoria Nelson, who was among the presenters, calls the Subzitegeist.
1:51.2	Sadly, circumstances were such that I couldn't attend the symposium this summer as planned.
1:57.1	A real shame. But as luck would have it, the great Eric Davis had already agreed to share the stage with us,
2:03.9	and as they say, the show must go on.
2:07.0	Eric, of course, is a dear friend of the podcast, having appeared in four episodes,
2:12.0	the latest being Episode 187 on John Crowley's Little Big.
2:17.1	Eric is the author of several books, including Technosis, myth, magic, and mysticism in
2:22.5	the Age of Information, and High Weirdness, Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in
	...

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