Religion scholar David Halperin stops by to discuss his book Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO. David shares his own history as a young ufologist, and how he later came back to ufology as a scholar. Tangents include: the cover of Whitley Strieber's Communion, the Jungian quaternity, and "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel."
Links/sources mentioned:
David Halperin, Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO (Stanford University Press, 2020)
Carl Jung, Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Sky (1959)
Gray Barker, They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers (1956)
Frank Scully, Behind the Flying Saucers (1950)
Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia (1969)
Whitley Strieber, Communion (1987)
David Halperin, "Judaism and the UFO," in Handbook of UFO Religions (Brill, 2021)
William L. Dawson leading the Tuskegee choir in his arrangement of "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel" (1942): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51rIXqGxLOk (this is the arrangement Bill sang in high school)
Ray Bradbury, "Way in the Middle of the Air," in The Martian Chronicles (1950)
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53:41
Weird Documentaries (w/ Brad Abrahams)
Documentary filmmaker Brad Abrahams comes on the show to discuss his terrific films "Love and Saucers," "Telos or Bust," and "Do You See What I See?" Topics include alien abduction, Mt. Shasta, conspiracy theory rabbit holes, and Austin.
You can watch "Love and Saucers" (2017) on YouTube, "Do You See What I See?" (2021) on Vimeo, and the trailer for "Telos or Bust" (2021) on Vimeo. For more of Brad's work, go to bradabrahams.net. Also check out the Mt. Shasta episode he did with QAnon Anonymous.
more links/sources:
Budd Hopkins, "Missing Time" (1981)
Budd Hopkins, "Intruders" (1987)
Farah Yurdozu, "Love in an Alien Purgatory: The Life and Fantastic Art of David Huggins" (2009)
"We Believe in Dinosaurs" (2019)
"All Light, Everywhere" (2021)
"Welcome to Leith" (2015)
"Wrinkles the Clown" (2019)
"Sasquatch" (2021)
Brian Regal, "Searching for Sasquatch" (2011)
"Curse of the Man Who Sees UFOs" (2016)
Archives of the Impossible
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1:07:18
Ancient Astronauts
Bill and Eddie unpack the "ancient astronaut" theory popularized by Erich von Däniken. Why do so many people want to attribute the Pyramids or Teotihuacan to long-ago extraterrestrials? Tangents include: Nazi ghostwriters, cargo cults, and Superman.
They focus on the 1973 TV special In Search of Ancient Astronauts (narrated by Rod Serling), and also touch on the 1976 TV special Mysteries of the Gods (starring William Shatner).
LINKS:
In Search of Ancient Astronauts (1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJd756bz2Ak
Mysteries of the Gods (1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJl4O2CALbk
Transcript of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Lawrence Kasdan (1978): http://maddogmovies.com/almost/scripts/raidersstoryconference1978.pdf
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1:07:04
The Troy Sentinel
Bill reads today's issue (or at least this day in 1823) of the Troy Sentinel. The issue includes beekeeping tips, hogsheads of rum, an enormous pig, news on the Morales expedition, a Christmas poem from an anonymous reader…
Links/sources:
Troy Sentinel (Dec. 23, 1823): https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn83031777/1823-12-23/ed-1/seq-3/
Victor Herbert's Orchestra, "Nutcracker Ballet: Chinese Dance / Dance of the Mirilitons" (1913): https://archive.org/details/Voices_of_Christmas_Past_1898_to_1922/16_NutcrackerBalletChineseDanceDanceoftheMirilitons.flac
"O Tannenbaum": https://archive.org/details/78_o-tannenbaum_orchefter-mit-gloden_gbia0010664b
Ken Griffin, "Silent Night" (1950): https://archive.org/details/78_adeste-fideles-o-come-all-ya-faithful_ken-griffin-mohr-gruber_gbia0097796/03
Charles R. Cronhom, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear / Shepherd's Christmas Song / I Saw Three Ships a-Sailing" (1960): https://archive.org/details/78_it-came-upon-the-midnight-clear-shepherds-christmas-song-i-saw-three-ships-asai_gbia0034356a/
Ken Griffin, "O Come All Ye Faithful" (1950): https://archive.org/details/78_adeste-fideles-o-come-all-ya-faithful_ken-griffin-mohr-gruber_gbia0097796/03
Ernest Hare, "The Night Before Christmas" (1920): https://archive.org/details/Voices_of_Christmas_Past_1898_to_1922/15_NightBeforeChristmas.flac
Andrew Kostelantetz & His Orchestra, "Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71" (1924): https://archive.org/details/78_nutcracker-suite-op.-71a.-march---dance-of-the-sugar-plum-fairy_andre-kostelantetz_gbia0001232a
Edison Male Quartette, "Sleigh Ride Party / Jingle Bells" (1898): https://archive.org/details/Voices_of_Christmas_Past_1898_to_1922/03_SleighRidePartyJingleBells.flac
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21:32
The Megalodon
How did an extinct shark become a modern-day cryptid? Eddie explains.
Digressions include: U-Haul SuperGraphics, Yeti nomenclature, and 1990s Bin Laden.
Citations/links:
Edward Guimont, "The Megalodon: A Monster of the New Mythology," M/C (2021): https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/2793
Michael J. Gaynor, "The Town without Wi-Fi," Washingtonian (2015): https://www.washingtonian.com/2015/01/04/the-town-without-wi-fi/
Harry Turtledove's "State of Jefferson" stories: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove_bibliography#State_of_Jefferson_Stories
Steve Alten, "Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror" (1997)
Steve Alten, "The Trench" (1999)
Darrin Lowery et al., "Integrated Geology, Paleontology, and Archaeology: Native American Use of Fossil Shark Teeth in the Chesapeake Bay Region," Archaeology of Eastern North America (2011): https://www.jstor.org/stable/23265116
David G. Stead, "Sharks and Rays of Australian Seas" (1963)
Ben S. Roesch, “A Critical Evaluation of the Supposed Contemporary Existence of Carcharodon Megalodon," Cryptozoology Review (1998): https://web.archive.org/web/20131021005820/http:/web.ncf.ca/bz050/megalodon.html
Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle, eds., "Maneaters: Killer Sharks in Men's Adventure Magazines" (2021)
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