Wide Atlantic Weird

Latest Episodes:

American Militia 2: The Shadow Of Waco (with Ali Keane) Mar 13, 2020

Show notes

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 the Waco siege as evidence that a sinister New World Order seek to control all patriotic free Americans. Join Cian and Ali to help you decide what you think.

Perhaps you see the Branch Davidians as child-abusing, gun-hoarding religious nuts who needed to be stopped for the safety of all concerned, before Waco became another Jonestown. Perhaps they were innocent Americans minding their own business, victims of a tyrannical government who wanted nothing less than to show that they could and would destroy their own citizens just to show their power. Or, just perhaps, the Feds are just as human, just as hubristic, and just as subject to petty, meaningless mistakes as the rest of us – except that when they screw up, they screw up big and people die. This episode of Wide Atlantic Weird will take you to the plains of Texas to find answers in THE SHADOW OF WACO.

The American Folkhorror Of The Blair Witch Project Mar 09, 2020

Show notes

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 Cian on the porch of the cabin for a beer and find out what exactly folkhorror is, why THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT is a legit example of it, and why, though it may be hard to get lost in America these days, it’s a lot easier than in Europe!

Haunting Atmosphere – CO.AG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI5U6aDcQEo

Folkhorror.com definition

https://www.folkhorror.com/

Filmschoolrejects.com definition

https://filmschoolrejects.com/folk-horror/

Sticks by Karl Edward Wagner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oua7ByrC6s

True Detective Season 1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Detective_(season_1)

Picnic At Hanging Rock

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picnic_at_Hanging_Rock_(film)

Chariots Of The Slobs: Jack London And The Ancient Aliens Feb 29, 2020

Show notes

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 history of the Ancient Astronauts theory is a strange one, so settle in for a tale that involves pulp horror, H.P. Lovecraft (of course), Swiss conman Erich Von Daniken, and even Jack ‘Call Of The Wild’ London, who provides us with jungle adventure, mysterious extraterrestrial visitors, and loads and loads of racism in CHARIOTS OF THE SLOBS: JACK LONDON AND THE ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS.

The Red One by Jack London

https://americanliterature.com/author/jack-london/short-story/the-red-one

Charioteer of the Gods by Jason Colavito

http://www.jasoncolavito.com/charioteer-of-the-gods.html

American Militia 1: The Road To Ruby Ridge (with Ali Keane) Feb 23, 2020

Show notes

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 movement. It’s a fascinating and tragic story of a family hiding out in a cabin atop a mountain that became a target for increasingly more militarised police and federal forces. To find out just how this insane situation came to be, why the full force of the US government came down on the Weavers, and how citizens across the country changed their view of their own government as a result of this disastrous siege, take a listen to AMERICAN MILITIA 1: RUBY RIDGE.

Along the way we meet such radical groups as the Aryan Nations and the Three Percenters, we discuss far-right white supremacist bible The Turner Diaries and murderous racists The Order, and amidst this grim tableau we even manage to eke a few laughs out of the life of irascible arch-conservative, anti-government warrior and all-round blowhard Colonel Bo ‘Rambo’ Gritz. And stick around for a made-to-order punk song about the militia movement!

The Scuts

https://www.facebook.com/DutchCourage2013

American Experience: Ruby Ridge (PBS)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/ruby-ridge-part-one-suspicion/

Bo Gritz’ Spike Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ9qpjA5AyU

Erase And Forget: Documentary about Bo Gritz

http://eraseandforget.com/

BONUS EPISODE: Pitching Bad Movie Ideas To The Asylum (with Ali Keane) Feb 16, 2020

Show notes

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 tell you that Asylum films are ‘hilarious,’ we’re here to set you straight.

Having disparaged the studio, our shameless hosts then reveal their own attempts to write movies for The Asylum, sharing their own mockbuster script ideas. See if you can guess what current blockbusters they’re hoping to cash in on with MAD BOYS, BONE ISLAND RUMBLE, and other non-classics. Jim Cameron won’t be beating down their door anytime soon, but this is a fun episode, a little off our usual beat, that WIDE ATLANTIC WEIRD is happy to present!

Haunting Atmospheric Soundscape - CO.AG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tShZcR-YEpc

Pied Piper by Shaolin Dub

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Shaolin_Dub

James Bond est mort ce soir by Circus Marcus

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/CIRCUSMARCUS/Au_revoir/Circus_Marcus_-_James_Bond_est_mort_ce_soir_MasteringBOX

Hard Fight by Tagirijus

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tagirijus/Hard_2018/manuel_senfft_-_hard_fight_1732

Cue 4 by Soularflair

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Soularflair/CUES_for_film_TV_games_etc_DARK/Cue_4_-_African_or_Jungle_vibe-Darker_feel_Soul_Purpose

Season Of The Slasher by Natural Snow Buildings

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Natural_Snow_Buildings/The_Night_Country/Natural_Snow_Buildings_-_06_-_Season_of_the_Slasher

The Ghost Trail Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyswG_oLkVQV9vQNnpJj1_A

Instagram @FayeSewell

https://www.instagram.com/fayesewell/

Cracked Article about The Asylum

https://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1698-5-ugly-realities-making-mockbusters-like-sharknado.html

The Scuts

https://thescuts.bandcamp.com/releases

The Witch (2015): Religion and Superstition In Movies (with Dónal Gill) Feb 10, 2020

Show notes

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 Simpson

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674987135

The Battle For God by Karen Armstrong

https://www.amazon.com/Battle-God-Karen-Armstrong/dp/0345391691

The Gillbillies on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/TheGillbillies/

Arnold The Pooch On Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/arnoldthepooch/

Contagion And Conspiracies: The Coronavirus (with James Lynch) Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

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

A Winter Weird Fiction: What Was It? –by Fitz-James O’Brien Feb 02, 2020

Show notes

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 to the work of the great H.G. Wells from over forty years later.

In What Was It, a brave New Yorker deigns to spend several nights in a haunted house in order to get to the bottom of the hauntings, only to find that the source of the poltergeist-like activity is something unique in the history of the supernatural (and science fiction of the time!). And for a bonus, for this story, O’Brien gives us a crash course in the kinds of weird literature that were popular at the time, and Cian digs out an old tune for a musical ‘treat’ at the end of the episode.

So if it’s a weird, windy, stormy night for you, wherever you are, find yourself a decent winter ale, start up the fire, and dive into the WIDE ATLANTIC WEIRD to find out … WHAT WAS IT?

Theme Music: by Kevin Gill and Cian Gill

THE GALLOWS TREE: Song by Cian Gill, lyrics from the poem ‘The Demon Of The Gibbet’ by Fitz-James O’Brien

Disappearances In National Parks Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

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, conspiracy-hiding Parks services, and maybe even a little Bigfoot. This episode features both true mystery as well as further musings on the conspiracy mindset and how it is consuming all before it - but this time, from a green and leafy setting! Special thanks to CO.AG for music (see below).

Sources:

Link to Paulides' Site & Books

Coast To Coast AM Interview

Dennis Martin Disappearance, Knox News

Music:

CO.AG - Encounters With A Shadowy Figure

CO.AG - Haunting Atmosphere

What's In The Cards: Testing Extra-Sensory Perception Using Zener Cards (with Faye Sewell & Ali Keane) Jan 13, 2020

Show notes

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 field of parapsychology along the way.

Rhine did succeed in creating one of the only actual university departments dedicated to studying the paranormal, so Cian and his team decide it’s high time they test his methods and see exactly WHAT"S IN THE CARDS for them! Back off man, we're scientists!

Links & Credits:

The Ghost Trail Series – Youtube

The Scuts – Bandcamp

Unbelievable by Stacy Horn

Tom Delonge Joe Rogan Interview

Original ‘Exorcist’ Case, Mark Opsasnick

I Am Grateful – Jared Elejorde