The Morbid Academy Series begins this month on February 25th with a conversation between authors and weird historians Mitch Horowitz and Robert Damon Schneck (that is, they study weird history; I can't speak to their personal eccentricities). The series will cover the "ill-considered and the unknown", as Horowitz, the host, invites scholars and artists alike to discuss the histories we don't talk enough about.

There was a point in time not so long ago when, for a nickel or so, one could enter a booth in the back of a seedy bookstore to watch a grainy film of a woman undressing. It wasn't quite porn but certainly wasn't family-friendly - it was a peep! Out of the remnants of this era M.M. (short for Mary Magdalene) Serra and Josh Lewis have created "Enduring Ornament", an avant garde take on bodies, sexuality, gender, and the medium of film itself.

The "criminally insane" defense and all its trappings (longer sentences, institutionalization and treatment, etc.) are not as old as you think they are. Judy Jackson tells us about the history of this diagnosis, and imagines what life in the asylum must have been like way back when.

4 German automatons changed music forever in the 70s. Stephen tells us how.

You can listen to Stephen's music here: https://soundcloud.com/stephen-vesecky

The Kraftwerk songs featured at the end of the episode are "Uranium" and "Hall of Mirrors."

Dia de Los Muertos was last week, and to celebrate, here's a short, sweet interview with Rosie Sharp (sarahrosesharp.com) on the ofrenda installation she did for the Detroit Institute of the Arts. She called it "The Spirit Post", and offered visitors postcards to send to their dead. After the exhibition came down, Rosie found her job as mailman for the spirits wasn't over yet.

Ilise Carter, a.k.a. the Lady Aye, tells me all about the history of sword swallowing - generally and personally. From mystical beginnings to low class entertainment to a revival in burlesque and sideshow, the craft has always been hard work.

Sorry for bad sound. Buy me a Tascam recorder if it bothers you! ;)

Registered patent attorney Eric Indin (not his real name) talks me through the weird world of patent research, namely the medical and "game and entertainment" divisions.

Ever wondered why Jesus is often depicted with his heart outside his torso, shining and on fire? No, it's not a congenital deformity, but rather a metaphorical depiction of... nobody's really sure. Sacred Heart enthusiast Peter Nevraumont tells me all about the mysterious appeal of the bloody, beautiful, blessed organ.

In which Andi Harriman convinces me to give The Cure another chance.

Note: This is a re-upload! The first version didn't include the intro audio; sorry for any confusion.

On this episode of the Morbid Anatomy Transmission we talkin' psychedelic psychology, birth trauma, reincarnation and all other kinds of trippy junk.