My guest for this episode is Eli Lewis-Lycett. Eli is a historian, researcher and writer from the Northwest Midlands of England who in 2020 started the Local Mythstorian project, a blog in which he delves into the legends and history of that area, which covers parts of Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. In his research he digs deep into historical records to find the connections between fact and myth, and how those things have influenced each other and been preserved through the local commu...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 77
For this episode I’m joined by writer, performer and podcaster Richard Daniels. Richard is the creator of the Occultaria of Albion, a part work zine and podcast series that explores a wide range of strange goings on in locations that feel familiar but exist in an alternate England, just beyond the horizon of the one we know about. He describes it as ‘a world designed by torch and moonlight, dedicated to revealing the truth about the paranormal’. In the interview we start by talking about how the...
Feb 23, 2022•59 min•Ep. 76
My guest for this episode is Kate Cherrell. Kate is a writer, editor and creator of the excellent Burials & Beyond blog, which she describes as being about "life, death and the weird bits in-between". She has a keen enthusiasm for cemeteries, unusual graves, death history, miserable Victorians, and the paranormal, all of which shines though in her writing. In the interview we start by talking about how she got interested in these subjects, and what makes cemeteries and graveyards such fascin...
Feb 09, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 75
In this episode, I talk with Caz Clarke, who was a first-hand witness to a spectacular UFO that appeared near where she lived in the small village of Pentyrch, South Wales, in February 2016. What has come to be known as the Pentyrch UFO incident was preceded by days of unusual aircraft activity in the area and escalated into what can really only be described as a full scale military operation to intercept the mysterious interloper, actions which resulted in reports of an explosion some miles awa...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 74
Welcome to the first episode of 2022! My guest is author Travis Watson, who joined me to talk about his recent book – Phantom Black Dogs: Walkers of the Liminal Way. Travis writes both fiction and non-fiction under the name W.T. Watson and has long been fascinated by the paranormal. In the interview we talk about what first interested him in the subject of Phantom Black Dogs, what he feels can be considered such a creature, the keys aspects of encounters with these entities, and the cultural and...
Jan 12, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 73
Welcome dear listener to the Some Other Sphere Christmas Special! My guest is paranormal researcher Matt Hopewell, aka AP Strange, who returned for his third visit to Sphere HQ. In the interview we discuss a range of Yuletide topics – some that have a familiar association with the festive season such as Santa Claus and others that don’t at first glance – for example, Vampires. Matt recommends some of his favourite Christmas movies, educates us with an interesting seasonal factoid and relates som...
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 72
My guest for this episode is author Genevieve Gornichec, who joined me talk about her recent novel the Witch’s Heart, a story set in the time of the ancient Norse myths and centered around the enigmatic witch Angrboda, who is crucial to the cataclysmic events of Ragnarok but only features briefly in the narrative we know from the Prose and Poetic Eddas. In the interview I talk with Genevieve about how she re-imagined Angrboda from her traditional counterpart and focused on some of the lesser-kno...
Dec 08, 2021•51 min•Ep. 71
My guest for this episode is Paolo Sammut. Paolo is a paranormal researcher, who practices a low tech approach when visiting haunted locations, where the experience is key in exploring unusual phenomena and methods such as psychic questing and techniques from systems of magic are used as part of the investigation. Prior to the interview he sent me an essay he has written, which discusses his methodology in more detail and is the focus of our conversation. It was a fun and wide-ranging chat, expl...
Nov 24, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 70
My guest for this episode is Douglas Batchelor. Douglas is a practicing magician and creator of the ‘What Magic is this?’ podcast where he discusses and explores a range of occult and Fortean topics with curious friends and guests. It’s both informative, engaging and fun - listening to an episode feels like being part of laid back but enthusiastic tutorial on the esoteric. In the interview I talk with Douglas about the beginnings of his interest in magic, and how his practice of it has changed a...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 69
Joining me as my guest for this episode is paranormal investigator Hayley Stevens, creator of the award-winning science blog ‘Hayley is a Ghost’. Hayley has been investigating paranormal mysteries for over fifteen years, conducting her research using a scientific methodology to seek rational explanations for the unusual happenings that people report to her. She has written for the Skeptic magazine and is also a fellow podcaster, producing episodes of the Spooktator Podcast as well as assisting w...
Oct 13, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 68
My guest for this episode is Amy Boucher, creator of the Nearly Knowledgeable History blog. In the blog, Amy explores the folklore and history of the people, places and landscapes of her native Shropshire in England, which is replete with tales of giants, ghosts, devils and witches, as well as an equally interesting cast of local heroes and villains. In the interview I talk with Amy about her love for these subjects, some of her favourite legends and notable Shropshire characters and the role th...
Sep 29, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 67
In this episode I’m joined by parapsychologist and author Dr Dean Radin. Dean has been a key figure in parapsychological research for nearly forty years and is currently Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) and Associated Distinguished Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Over his career he has worked at AT&T Bell Labs, Princeton University, University of Edinburgh, and the Stanford Research institute. He has given over six hundred talks and interv...
Sep 08, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 66
My guest for this episode is writer, novelist and cultural historian John Higgs, who joined me to talk about his latest book, a biography of the visionary poet and artist, William Blake. Perhaps best known as the author of the hymn Jerusalem, Blake’s creative genius was shaped by a lifetime of unusual visionary experiences and his ability to interpret and discern their meaning through his poetry, writing and artwork, building a mythology that blends religion, psychology and occult philosophy in ...
Aug 25, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 65
My guest for this episode is Dr Jack Hunter. Jack is an anthropologist whose research explores the borderlands between consciousness, religion, ecology and the paranormal. He is a tutor with the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and teaches on the MA in Ecology and Spirituality and the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology. His books include Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary Experience, Manifesting Spirits...
Aug 04, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 64
In this episode my guest is witch, artist and author Susan Demeter, who joined me to talk about her new book Cosmic Witch: Magic, Witchcraft and the Supernatural. Susan’s writing and research explores a wide range of themes connected to her lifelong interest in exceptional human experiences, nature, mysteries and magic. Cosmic Witch is both a guide to the history and practices of witchcraft, as well as a memoir of Susan's own experiences of the supernatural and the role they played in her path t...
Jul 14, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 63
My guest for this episode is journalist, lecturer and author Ralph Blumenthal, who joined me to talk about his latest book, The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science and the Passion of John Mack. This is a biography Of John Mack, a Harvard psychiatrist, ardent social reformer and Pulitzer Prize winning author who in the 1990’s risked his career and professional reputation investigating the phenomenon of human encounters with alien entities and tried to help a group of people who were adamant ...
Jun 30, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 62
My guest for this episode is Anna Björg Þórarinsdóttir, manager of The Icelandic Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft. The museum, located in Holmavik in the Strandir area of the country was opened in the year 2000 to promote and preserve the heritage of magical practice in Iceland, its methods and customs and tell the stories of the witches and sorcerers themselves. In the interview I talk more with Anna about the history of magic in Iceland, how it developed over the centuries and the changeable s...
May 26, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 61
In this episode I’m joined by the hosts of the Propagated Podcast, Daniel and Frankie. In their show they explore the history, science and folklore of our green world, understanding that plants themselves are wonderful storytellers, and that by learning from the history and relationships between plants and humans, a more sustainable future, one of coexistence is both possible and vital. Daniel and Frankie are huge plant nerds and their enthusiasm for the subject matter makes their show a really ...
May 12, 2021•58 min•Ep. 60
My guest for this episode is anthropologist and author Dr Holly Walters, who joined me to talk about her work researching Shaligram stones, sacred fossil ammonites found in a remote area of Himalayan Nepal. They are seen as direct expressions of the divine in the landscape and objects very much with their own agency, making pilgrimages through time and space, and their veneration has been a part of Buddhist and Hindu practice for over two thousand years. Interestingly the mystical nature of Shal...
Apr 28, 2021•56 min•Ep. 59
In this episode I’m joined by writer and esoteric researcher Stephanie Quick. Stephanie is the creator of the Ghost Dog is a Mystery Box blog, where she discusses her own experiences and investigations into a wide range of Fortean subjects. Her approach to engaging with the weird is a practiced one and as such she has a very thoughtful and insightful way of trying to understand subjects that can often be polarising. As you can imagine, when talking to someone with such an interesting life, this ...
Apr 14, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 58
My guest for this episode is author, historian and paranormal researcher Linda Zimmermann. Linda is a native of New York State’s Hudson Valley, and has written extensively on the history of that area, a subject which includes an intriguing array of paranormal phenomena. Perhaps best known of these are the sightings and encounters that local residents have had with UFOs, which date back decades to the beginning of the 20th Century, perhaps even earlier. Linda wrote her first book on the subject, ...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 57
My guest for this episode is author, artist and composer David Ditchfield. In 2006, David was dragged under a speeding train in a freak accident. Amazingly he survived this and as the surgeons fought to save him at the hospital, he had a profound near death experience. After this happened he soon found that he had acquired astonishing new abilities. He could paint dramatic paintings of what he had seen in the afterlife, far beyond any artistic ability he had before. He then discovered he could c...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 56
In this episode I’m joined by author and historian Dr Shane McCorristine, to talk about his 2018 book The Spectral Arctic: A History of Dreams and Ghosts in Polar Exploration. In the book Shane's research ventures beyond the familiar concepts of Arctic exploration in the 19th Century and reveals a wealth of strange stories and supernatural phenomena encountered by people travelling to the frozen north, as they partook in missions to find the near mythical Northwest Passage. Embodying that endeav...
Feb 24, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 55
My guest for this episode is artist, author, dancer and Witch Laura Tempest Zakroff. Laura’s artwork which includes drawings, paintings, jewellery and talismans embodies myth and the esoteric and has received honors and awards worldwide. She is also the author of the best-selling books Sigil Witchery: A Witches guide to crafting magic symbols and Weave the Liminal: Living Modern Traditional Witchcraft as well as the creator of The Liminal Spirits Oracle. In the interview we talk about how Laura ...
Feb 10, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 54
My guest for this episode is author Tanner F. Boyle, who joined me to talk about his book The Fortean Influence on Science Fiction. Charles Fort is an enigmatic character – part researcher, part writer, part philosopher. In the early twentieth century he extensively catalogued any reference he could find made to anomalous phenomena, which he would later go on to write about in a series of books, the most famous of which is The Book of the Damned. His writing includes ideas that would go on to be...
Jan 27, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 53
My guest for this episode is paranormal investigator and author Ruth Roper Wylde. Ruth has written extensively on supernatural happenings in Britain, beginning with her book The Ghosts of Marston Vale and continuing with titles such as The Almanac of British Ghosts and The Roadmap of British Ghosts. Her latest offering is the second volume of These Haunted Times, which covers a wide range of first hand accounts of encounters with ghostly entities. In the interview we talk about her life-long int...
Jan 13, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 52
In this episode i’m joined by Timothy Boucher and Jeremy Puma to discuss their work exploring the history and culture of the ancient, enigmatic Quatrian civilisation. This is no mean feat, as you will find very few direct references to Quatria on maps, in historical texts, or recorded in archaeological investigations. Imagination, legend and myth are the means by which it has survived the many millennia since it fell. This has informed the way that Tim and Jeremy have uncovered the story of this...
Dec 23, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 51
My guest for this episode is Dr Eric Wargo, who joined me to talk about his research into the nature of precognition, specifically its connection to dreaming, the unconscious and the scientific principle of retrocausation, which posits that events in the future can produce effects in the present, and present happenings can have a similar influence in the past. He covers this all extensively in his 2018 book Time Loops and next year sees the release of Precognative Dreamwork and the Long Self, wh...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 50
In this episode my guest is author Peter Bebergal, who joined me to discuss his 2018 book Strange Frequencies: The Extraordinary Story of the Technological Quest for the Supernatural. In that work he explores the various ways people have tried to use technology to better understand and communicate with the supernatural along with the engineers, inventors and seers who were fascinated by those mysteries. Peter has written extensively on a range of fringe and Fortean subjects, with essays and revi...
Nov 25, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 49
My guests for this episode are folklorists, paranormal researchers and authors Timothy Renner and Joshua Cutchin, who joined me to talk about their new co-written work Where the Footprints End: High Strangeness and the Bigfoot Phenomenon Volume One: Folklore. The book details Tim and Josh’s extensive research exploring the multitude of similarities between Bigfoot encounters and the folklore of other Fortean entities such as Fairies, Aliens, Witches and Ghosts. The connections they have found ar...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 48
