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Weird Studies

Episode 199 – On Michael Jackson, with Shannon Taggart

Weird Studies

Phil Ford and J. F. Martel

Society & Culture, Arts, Philosophy

4.8688 Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2025

⏱️ 77 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Photographer and paranormal researcher Shannon Taggart joins JF and Phil to explore the phenomenon that was Michael Jackson. One of the most brilliant and successful musicians of the modern era, Jackson was also a liminal figure sans pareil, a shapeshifter who defied the binary categories through which we order the human world. His art and persona together enacted a transformation that can only be called shamanic. About Our Guest: Shannon Taggart is a photographer and author based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her photographs have appeared in Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal, and have been recognized by Magnum, Nikon, and the Alexia Foundation. Her monograph Séance was first published by Fulgur Press (2019) and reissued in a second edition by Atelier Éditions. Shannon is currently developing an illustrated history of SORRAT (the Society for Research on Rapport and Telekinesis) and hosts an annual symposium on the weird and the paranormal in Lily Dale, New York. Image by Daniele Dalledonne, via Wikimedia Commons. References George Hanson, The Trickster and the Paranormal Robert Chambers, The King in Yellow Rogan Taylor, The Death and Resurrection Show Pier Paolo Pasolini (dir.), Teorema   Phil Ford, “The View from the Cheap Seats at the UFO Show”  Michael Jackson, Moonwalker: A Memoir J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea Miguel Connor, The Occult Elvis Tim Powers, Last Call Weird Studies, Episode 186 on The Wedge Raymond Moody, Elvis After Life Sub Rosa, Spectra Ex Machina: A Sound Anthology of Occult Phenomena 1920-2017 Vol.2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Spectrevision Radio

0:02.0

Spectrevision Radio

0:07.0

Spectrevision Radio

0:10.0

How well do you know Japan?

0:18.0

Do you know why so many stone statues of Ogeizo and foxes wear red bibs and have pinwheels clicking softly beside them?

0:30.6

Are you familiar with the once popular beauty recipe of mixing rusty nails and iron scraps in a tincture of vinegar

0:41.3

and strong tea, all so you can dye your teeth the most stunning shade of black.

0:48.3

I'm author Teresa Matsura, and for over 35 years I've been exploring the hidden, fascinating,

0:57.0

and sometimes terrifying corners of a country I call home.

1:02.3

If you too are charmed by Japan and want to learn a little more about these obscure bits of culture,

1:10.6

or if you just want to put on your headphones,

1:14.6

close your eyes and relax,

1:17.6

while listening to me tell you about a yokey that licks the scum from your drain

1:23.2

with its disturbingly long tongue.

1:28.4

Then Uncanny Japan is for you.

1:32.1

Now broadcasting from Spector Vision Radio.

1:35.7

You can find and follow me on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

1:43.1

Dewa,また.

1:44.3

Welcome to Weird Studies,

1:44.6

an arts,

2:00.1

with hosts Phil Ford and J.F. Martell.

2:02.9

For more episodes or to support the podcast, go to weird studies. This is Phil.

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