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PODCAST

Wide Atlantic Weird

Wide Atlantic Weird: an Irish podcast about why people believe weird things. Now defunct, enjoy these episodes of investigating the world of the strange, remaining critical, not cynical. And enjoy the final episodes under the guise of the Lost Valley podcast too!

science social sciences

All Episodes

00:35:38

All Of Them Witches: Margaret Murray And The...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/03/18

Reading Lovecraft is a great way to discover new writers and strange old pseudoscientific theories. In this episode I discuss how through Lovecraft I first learned of Margaret Murray and the infamous Witch-Cult Hypothesis – the idea that the ‘witches’ persecuted in early-modern witch trials were in fact the survivors of an ancient pagan cult. Yes, not only did people take this idea seriously, but they ran with it. Really ran with it. This episode of WIDE ATLANTIC WEIRD delves into what Murray

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00:59:41

American Militia 2: The Shadow Of Waco (with Ali Keane)

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/03/13

In the second of our American Militia episodes, we examine the horror that was the 1993 Waco Siege. In February of that year, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms bungled a raid on a religious cult, the Branch Davidians, and their leader David Koresh, who were living in a compound in Texas. What resulted was an hours-long shootout, a 51-day siege, a killer fire, and controversies that still rage today: who shot first and who started the fire? Anti-government conspiracy believers still see

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01:05:23

The American Folkhorror Of The Blair Witch Project

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/03/09

In 1999, a supposedly-real ‘horror film’ was released that showed us virtually nothing while filling us with a terror of virtually everything. Those of us who were young and impressionable at the time still owe our fear of camping to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, an upstart indie film that expertly utilised internet marketing, folklore and terrific world-building to create a movie that exists to this day within a kind of urban-legend mystique, proving that American folk-horror can be done right! Join

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00:47:10

Chariots Of The Slobs: Jack London And The Ancient...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/02/29

Sitting by a roaring fire in the Wide Atlantic Weird cabin, Cian delves into a potted history of the Ancient Aliens theory – once a fringe, almost-dead belief, it’s come back with a vengeance, now being one of the most popular paranormal worldviews out there. Statistically, you probably know someone yourself who believes that ancient non-white cultures around the world were incapable of building their pyramids and statues, and needed a little help from the (little green) men upstairs! But the

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01:30:13

American Militia 1: The Road To Ruby Ridge (with Ali...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/02/23

Cian and Ali begin their deep dive into the American militia (or Patriot) movement. There are some odd beliefs very particular to America at play here, so we crack a couple of cans and get stuck into the founding of the country and the constitution to find out exactly why grown men like to LARP at being military folks out in the wild woods of backwoods America. In this episode, we focus on the siege of Ruby Ridge in Idaho, 1992 – an inciting incident that helped to kickstart the modern militia

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00:34:18

BONUS EPISODE: Pitching Bad Movie Ideas To The Asylum...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/02/16

On a dark and stormy night, as London is pelted with rain and lashed by intense winds, the WIDE ATLANTIC WEIRD crew serves you up a BONUS EPISODE. Enjoy a true strange SCARY CLOWN tale from The Ghost Trail’s Faye, then Cian and Ali indulge in their old hobby of bad movie-watching. They discuss infamous mockbuster studio THE ASYLUM, running through the reasons why the likes of Sharknado just doesn’t cut it for veteran bad movie watchers the way Troll 2 or The Room does. If you’ve ever had someone

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00:57:07

The Witch (2015): Religion and Superstition In Movies...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/02/10

In 2015, a fantastic horror/historical film called The Witch made the rare decision to take the religion and worldview of its characters seriously. Cian and Donal discuss the film, the life and beliefs of 17th-century puritans, the difference between Catholics and Protestants, and other light subjects! This spoiler-ific take on The Witch also touches on (of course) witchcraft itself, the importance of the Salem witch trials, and what makes the film so bloody good. Permanent Revolution by James

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00:14:29

Contagion And Conspiracies: The Coronavirus (with...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/02/03

Wondering what all the hype is about? As the hype builds, Cian phones friend of the show and man of medicine James Lynch for a brief chat about the Coronavirus. Is it unique? Should we be scared? And are there any conspiracy theories about this one yet? (the answer to this last question is OF COURSE). Whether you're a sceptic or you've been prepping for the virus apocalypse for years, you'll pick up a few tips from this short episode of WIDE ATLANTIC WEIRD. Music by Kevin Gill and Cian Gill

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00:58:37

A Winter Weird Fiction: What Was It? –by Fitz-James...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/02/02

While a winter gale rocks the Essex woods, Cian stokes the fire and cracks out a remarkable story written in the mid 19th Century by a fellow Corkman. Allow us to introduce to you the remarkable (and unjustly forgotten) Fitz-James O’Brien: immigrant, man of letters, toast of the literary scene of both London and New York, Civil War fighter, and writer of classic tales of the mysterious. Barely remembered now, this astonishing Irishman once wrote stories of early science fiction that bear comparison

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00:28:55

Disappearances In National Parks

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/01/21

While driving across England, Cian reads some classic accounts of mysterious disappearances from wilderness areas and national parks in the US in an attempt to review the idea proposed by David Paulides that there are strange elements that link each of these cases. Full credit for this idea goes to Mr Paulides. From the forests and cafes of Southern England, Cian does his best to get lost, both physically and metaphorically as he goes down the rabbithole into a world of podcast-ready true crime,

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00:38:47

What's In The Cards: Testing Extra-Sensory Perception...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/01/13

Cian quits the cabin and travels to London where he’s joined by Faye from Youtube’s The Ghost Trail and Ali from punk band The Scuts to test whether any of them really have any psychic ability using the (infamous) Zener cards. Yes, the ones from Ghostbusters. Invented by Karl Zener for JB Rhine back in the 1930s, Zener cards were instrumental in Rhine’s decades-long attempt to get proper scientific evidence for what he termed ‘extra sensory perception’, and get real scientific recognition for the

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00:19:32

Forest Of Fear: The Dechmont Woods UFO Encounter

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/01/07

Cian leaves his Essex cabin in search of mystery: join our host on the first Wide Atlantic Weird road trip as he travels to Scotland to investigate the site of the famous Dechmont Woods encounter of 1979. This case has it all: a credible witness, a police investigation, and a sighting of craft and ‘creatures’ utterly unique in the UFO canon of alien greys and silver-suited Nordics. In all seriousness, it’s one of those classic ‘high strangeness’ cases that still baffles today, one so deeply odd that

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01:23:18

Monsters Of The Week: A Retrospective of The X-Files...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2020/01/03

NOTE: If you have a low tolerance for banter, you can safely skip the first 20 mins. In the early 90s, when we didn’t really have much to worry about but didn’t appreciate it, our collective unconscious fears manifested in the form of The X-Files, a TV show that took inspiration from supposedly real paranormal encounters, and in turn helped to perpetuate the belief in UFOs and government-alien conspiracies. Join Cian and Chris ‘Carter’ Joyce for a spoileriffic investigation into three classic (and

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00:46:36

Vegetable Horror: The Seed From The Sepulchre by...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2019/12/17

Cian digs out an old favourite from the days of pulp magazine adventure and horror: a short story by Clark Ashton Smith from 1933 about a trip down a South American river that goes very, very wrong. If you enjoy chaps in pith helmets going to forbidden lost cities and learning Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, if you like seriously disgusting body horror, and if you like Triffids and other kinds of vile, vicious vegetation that like to feast on man, then look no further! There's but a smidge of

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00:57:35

The Ghost Trail: The Making Of A Youtube Show (with...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2019/12/10

Things are getting about as festive as they ever do in the Wide Atlantic Weird cabin: the forest around is bare, and the fire is roaring. It’s the right time for some ghost stories, so Cian is joined by Faye from the Youtube show The Ghost Trail. They brew a batch of Columbian coffee and get comfortable. The Ghost Trail is all about visiting spooky locations and telling ghost stories, so it’s an ideal time to talk about it! Cian and Faye discuss the making of the series, as well as the state of

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00:35:43

All Those Who Wander: Unsettling Stories of Hiking...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2019/09/02

Stories of hiking and camping in remote places frequently feature elements of isolation and horror. On a sunny day on the porch of the Wide Atlantic Weird cabin, Cian explores a few campfire-worthy examples. Are they true? Your host offers his 2 cents, but you can decide for yourself. Cian brings you a few of his favourite scary (non-supernatural) outdoor tales, mostly culled from the darkest corners of Reddit. Loneliness, isolation, creeps, cultists and serial killers feature in this collection of

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01:21:09

The Coming Of The Greys: An Interrupted Journey (with...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2019/08/30

On a brilliantly starry, starry night, Cian leaves the Wide Atlantic Weird cabin to wander through the woods, sit by the railway tracks, and phone his friend Chris ‘Spooky’ Joyce. They have an important conversation to resume: The Coming Of The Greys! Yes, the interrupted journey is un-interrupted (?) at last in this sort-of follow-up to The Coming Of The Greys: One From The Vaults! So where do those darned alien Greys come from anyway –and why are they so interested in probing us? (Hint: the answer

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01:04:35

Fake News In Science: Tabloid Lies About Wildlife...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2019/08/27

Poor public understanding of science is leading to an overall dumbing-down of decision-making around the world; environmental, political, and otherwise. So Cian leaves the cabin to visit ecologist Neil Philips in the woods to find out how sensationalist ‘journalism’ and fake news is affecting wildlife in the UK and abroad. Is hunting good for conservation? Are seagulls and foxes a menace to society? Why do we insist on demonising any and all non-domestic animals? Cian and Neil investigate various

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00:48:55

Bigfoot Before 1958 Part 2: It's Evolution, Baby!

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2019/08/20

Cian thinks longingly of his days in the Pacific Northwest while sipping on a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale round the campfire at the Wide Atlantic Weird Cabin. Join him to learn of the wonder and mystery, the lies and intrigue, behind the 1958 Bluff Creek footprints – the case that kickstarted a legend. Is it true that prankster logging manager Ray Wallace really invented the Bigfoot myth using giant wooden feet? Did William Roe’s report of seeing a busty Bigfoot inspire cowboy Roger Patterson to fake his

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01:28:37

The Coming Of The Greys: One From The Vaults (with...

Wide Atlantic Weird ·

2019/08/11

We all know what aliens look like – small grey guys with big heads, right? Over coffee with sometime co-host Mr Chris ‘Spooky’ Joyce, Cian plans an episode about the origin of the grey alien trope. It’s going to be called ‘The Coming Of The Grays’ – but wait, it seems that some time ago, in early 2017, Cian and Chris already recorded an episode for an older ‘cast on this topic! On a windy day at the cabin, when recording is not possible, Cian enters the vault and dusts off the tapes. We are proud to

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152 results

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