Welcome to “HORROR!”, a podcast by the researchers of the charity University of the Underground’s Horror Programme. This tuition free programme was led by speculative designer Agi Haines from November 2021 to March 2022, as a critical exploration into illicit societal fears and a dive into horror as a complex tool and genre. In every episode of this series we will explore research topics from our projects, with the help of experts, practitioners, artists, and much more. Our host throughout this podcast series will be Necro, our cheeky demonic guide on a nightly journey full of ghosts, shadows, and inexplicable monsters…but no need to worry, as all our guests, human and non-human, have promised to stay in the studio. Be prepared, though: these encounters might easily transport into your homes some uncanny perspectives on our present. Find the full HORROR! playlist here on soundcloud.

This is the final episode. During our audio journey, you heard many artists, theorists, and practitioners discussing dreadful aspects of our past, our present, and perhaps our future, challenging recommendations from Agi Haines and testimonies from otherworldly monsters. This time you are joining us for a round table. The voices of our researchers – Pauline Rip, Veronika Hanáková, Ludovica Battista, James Nola, Katharine Cosgrove, Lyndsey Walsh, Laila Saber Rodriguez, Emilie Alstrup – try to provide not only an insight on our experiences within this programme, but also a collective space to discuss horror, and how it can be grasped as a tool for artistic practice, and as a lens to mediate otherwise unmediated situations and problems.

Featuring:

James Nola as Necromantique or Necro, our demonic host who pays homage to 80s cult horror, that will get your bones giggling.

Emilie Alstrup

Ludovica Battista

Katharine Cosgrove 

Veronika Hanáková 

James Nola 

Pauline Rip 

Laila Saber Rodriguez 

Lyndsey Walsh 

Thank you for listening. We hope that this series will contribute to inspire, to communicate powerful messages, to expose enduring dynamics of the contemporary world and to challenge our understanding of its structures and taboos. If we didn’t scare you enough, and you want to know more about our projects, join us for more episodes or visit https://universityoftheunderground.org!

Coordination, proof-listening, scripting: Veronika Hanáková, Ludovica Battista

Production, editing, music selection: Ludovica Battista, Veronika Hanáková

Hosting: James Nola, Ludovica Battista, Veronika Hanáková

TRACKLIST:

CNN Predicts a Monster Storm – Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet

Bela Lugosi’s Dead (Official Version) – Bauhaus

Dance of the Dream Man – Angelo Badalamenti

Bloody Shadows from Afar – Lena Platonos

Not The News – Thom Yorke

Midnight Radio Track 1 – Bohren & Der Club Of Gore

No Tears – Tuxedomoon