French Weird Wed, 29 Jul 2026 19:34:58 +0200 http://www.frenchweird.com en-gb © 2026 French Weird yes 42368a6c-4e13-533e-a4f4-e918d69102a9 russwilliams_uk@yahoo.co.uk 3fa88180-8a84-11f1-83a6-4b34022a930e russwilliams_uk@yahoo.co.uk Russell Williams episodic false Forget the accordion music, the cafés and the immaculate boulevards. There is a dark, uncanny and deeply strange texture pervading modern France—and it’s time to investigate.

Welcome to French Weird, a podcast dedicated to exploring the counterculture, obscure art and bizarre anomalies of contemporary France. Channeling cultural theory, esoterica and the love of a good book this shows investigates what falls through the cracks of mainstream French culture. We are tracking the liminal spaces, the bizarre subcultures and the beautiful freak-outs from the mid-twentieth century to the present day.

What exactly is the French Weird? It is the territory where high philosophy meets the profoundly bizarre. In each episode, we trace the threads of a proudly rational nation simultaneously digesting global weirdness and exporting its own brand of the mysterious.

French Weird explores how France's hidden eccentricities reveal the truths about its politics, literature, culture and - maybe even - identity.

Subscribe now, download, and join us. When the going gets weird, the pros turn French.


For more information, or to get in touch, visit www.frenchweird.com 

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) weird, art, literature, philosophy, France, French Russell Williams russwilliams_uk@yahoo.co.uk https://storage.buzzsprout.com/8ki60w107dsf4h606ai9ug71r81f?.jpg French Weird http://www.frenchweird.com What's Weird about Michel Houellebecq? What's Weird about Michel Houellebecq? In 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 list

Houellebecq, Michel. Whatever. Translated by Paul Hammond, Serpent’s Tail, 1998.

Houellebecq, Michel. H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life. Translated by Dorna Khazeni, Believer Books, 2005.

Houellebecq, Michel. Atomised. Translated by Frank Wynne, William Heinemann, 2000.

Houellebecq, Michel. The Map and the Territory. Translated by Gavin Bowd, Alfred A. Knopf, 2012.

Houellebecq, Michel. Submission. Translated by Lorin Stein, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.

Houellebecq, Michel. Annihilation. Translated by Shaun Whiteside, Picador, 2024.

]]> In 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 list

Houellebecq, Michel. Whatever. Translated by Paul Hammond, Serpent’s Tail, 1998.

Houellebecq, Michel. H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life. Translated by Dorna Khazeni, Believer Books, 2005.

Houellebecq, Michel. Atomised. Translated by Frank Wynne, William Heinemann, 2000.

Houellebecq, Michel. The Map and the Territory. Translated by Gavin Bowd, Alfred A. Knopf, 2012.

Houellebecq, Michel. Submission. Translated by Lorin Stein, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.

Houellebecq, Michel. Annihilation. Translated by Shaun Whiteside, Picador, 2024.

]]> https://frenchweird.com/ Russell Williams Buzzsprout-19436719 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0200 2815 Houellebecq, Lovecraft, books, France 1 2 full false Weird beginnings Weird beginnings This 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—and it’s time to investigate.

Welcome to French Weird, a podcast dedicated to exploring the counterculture, obscure art and bizarre anomalies of contemporary France. Channeling cultural theory, esoterica and the love of a good book this shows investigates what falls through the cracks of mainstream French culture. We are tracking the liminal spaces, the bizarre subcultures and the beautiful freak-outs from the mid-twentieth century to the present day.

What exactly is the French Weird? It is the territory where high philosophy meets the profoundly bizarre. In each episode, we trace the threads of a proudly rational nation simultaneously digesting global weirdness and exporting its own brand of the mysterious.

French Weird explores how France's hidden eccentricities reveal the truths about its politics, literature, culture and - maybe even - identity.

Subscribe now, download, and join us. When the going gets weird, the pros turn French.


]]> This 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—and it’s time to investigate.

Welcome to French Weird, a podcast dedicated to exploring the counterculture, obscure art and bizarre anomalies of contemporary France. Channeling cultural theory, esoterica and the love of a good book this shows investigates what falls through the cracks of mainstream French culture. We are tracking the liminal spaces, the bizarre subcultures and the beautiful freak-outs from the mid-twentieth century to the present day.

What exactly is the French Weird? It is the territory where high philosophy meets the profoundly bizarre. In each episode, we trace the threads of a proudly rational nation simultaneously digesting global weirdness and exporting its own brand of the mysterious.

French Weird explores how France's hidden eccentricities reveal the truths about its politics, literature, culture and - maybe even - identity.

Subscribe now, download, and join us. When the going gets weird, the pros turn French.


]]> https://frenchweird.com/ Russell Williams Buzzsprout-19432621 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0200 1232 French, weird, books, art 1 1 full false