French Weird
French Weird is a podcast that explores the darker, uncanny, and bizarre elements of contemporary France, moving beyond clichés like accordion music and cafés. It investigates counterculture, obscure art, and strange anomalies, blending cultural theory, esoterica, and literature. The show tracks liminal spaces, bizarre subcultures, and beautiful freak-outs from the mid-twentieth century to today, highlighting where high philosophy meets the profoundly bizarre. Each episode traces how France, a proudly rational nation, both absorbs global weirdness and exports its own mysterious brand, revealing truths about its politics, literature, and culture.
Episodes
What's Weird about Michel Houellebecq?
If you’d like to drop French Weird a short voice note, you can do so hereIn our first deep exploration, French Weird discovers the unexpected Weird in the work of notorious novelist Michel Houellebecq. Our starting point is his devotion to the work of a certain H. P. Lovecraft.For more information, visit www.frenchweird.com Reading listHouellebecq, Michel. Whatever. Translated by Paul Hammond, Ser
An Introduction to French Weird
If you’d like to drop French Weird a short voice note, you can do so hereThis is where it all begins. Your host, Russell Williams, gives an overview of the sort of things you might expect from French Weird.For more information, visit www.frenchweird.com Forget the accordion music, the cafés and the immaculate boulevards. There is a dark, uncanny and deeply strange texture pervading modern France—a
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