{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Ep. 6: Murder Mystery: G. A. Smith and the Society for Psychical Research","description":"This episode examines the late-19th-century Society for Psychical Research through its key figures\u2014Henry Sidgwick, Frank Podmore, Frederic W.H. Myers, Edmund Gurney, and future filmmaker G.A. Smith\u2014focusing on the intersection of psychical research, early psychology, personal ambition, and scandal. It revisits Smith\u2019s early career as a mesmerist and telepath whose performances with journalist Douglas Blackburn led to paid work and prestige within the Society, before Blackburn\u2019s flawed 1911 confession cast doubt on their experiments and the Society\u2019s credibility. Central to this controversy are Podmore\u2019s belief in telepathy despite his skepticism toward mediums, Myers\u2019 influential but controversial theories of the subliminal mind and survival after death, and Gurney\u2019s crucial contributions to psychology and hallucination research, later marginalized due to psychology\u2019s rejection of its occult roots. The episode culminates in the mysterious 1888 death of Gurney following the critical failure of Phantasms of the Living, exploring competing theories of suicide versus accidental chloroform overdose amid professional humiliation, personal betrayal, and mental illness. Despite internal conflicts and public criticism, the Society continued to shape early psychology, while Smith\u2014after Gurney\u2019s death and his own departure from the Society\u2014returned to theatrical spectacle and soon helped pioneer cinema, carrying the intellectual, ethical, and imaginative tensions of psychical research into the emerging medium of film. Check out our website at https:\/\/www.rhapsodyin35mmpodcast.com\/ and subscribe so you don\u2019t miss a new posting. Please make sure to follow us on the social media platform of your choice (or all of them!) Rate and comment so more people can find us. See the blog post for credits:  https:\/\/www.rhapsodyin35mmpodcast.com\/post\/ep-6-remixed-murder-mystery-g-a-smith-and-the-society-for-psychical-research Until next time! ","author_name":"Rhapsody in 35MM","author_url":"http:\/\/rhapsodyin35mmpodcast.com\/","html":"