Episodes
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Weirdumentary has a forward by Stephen Bissette who wrote a book also likely to be of interest to listeners: Cryptid Cinema (affiliate link)
(A follow-up to that book is under construction and will include research by your's truly about the "4-walling" tour of the PGF.)I linked to Feral House's page for Weirdumentary above at the request of Gary. If you're curious about their catalog, we talked with their owner recently about monstrous food and they also produced Al Ridenour's new book about Carnival.
This is not a complete list of the films in the book - and it also covers a few TV series including In Search Of... and Arthur C. Clarke's _____ (he had three ITV series covering topics similar to ISO with each season getting a slightly different name).
1970: Chariots of the Gods, The Unexplained
1971: The Hellstrom Chronicles, The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
1972: Bigfoot Man or Beast, Monsters! Mysteries or Myths?, The Devil's Triangle, The Legend of Boggy Creek
1973: In Search of Ancient Astronauts
1974: Deadly Fathoms, In Search of Ancient Mysteries, In Search of Dracula, UFOs: Past, Present and Future
1975: Mysteries from Beyond Earth, The Force Beyond, The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond, The Man of Miracles, The Outer Space Connection
1976: Beyond Belief, In Search of Noah's Ark, Mysteries of the Gods, The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena, The Legend of Bigfoot, The Legend of Loch Ness, The Miracle Healers, The Mysterious Monsters, World Beyond Death
1977: Aliens from Spaceship Earth, Journey into the Beyond, Mysteries of the Great Pyramid, The Lincoln Conspiracy, The Underground Doctors, The Unknown Force
1978: Are We Alone in the Universe?, Beyond and Back, Curse of the Mayan Temple, Manbeast! Myth or Monster?, Mysteries from Beyond the Triangle, Mysteries of the Mind, Mystery of the Sacred Shroud, Secret of the Bermuda Triangle, The Amazing World of Ghosts, The Late Great Planet Earth, The Lost City of Atlantis, The UFO Journals, UFO - Exclusive! , UFO: Top Secret, Unknown Powers, World of the Unknown
1979: Attack from Outer Space, Charles Berlitz's The Bermuda Triangle, Death: The Ultimate Mystery, Encounter with Disaster, Hypnosis and Beyond, In Search of the Historic Jesus, The Doomsday Chronicles, The Prophecies of Nostradamus, UFOs Are Real, World of Mystery
1980: Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World (TV), Land of Celtic Ghosts, Mysteries of the Mind, UFO Syndrome
1981: Search for the Titanic
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Jeb and Blake kick off Season 5 of In Search Of... by researching UFO COVERUPS!
Links:
UFO Crash at Roswell
Catalina UFO Footage and Reddit discussion of same
Twilight Zone - A Small Talent for War
Malmstrom UFO Incident
Obit for Col. Donald Burggrabe
Peter Gersten "the UFO Lawyer"
Raymond Fowler
Col. Robert Friend - and obit
Jesse Marcel Sr.
NASA Lifting Body
Northrop Flying Wing
Doak VZ-4 (not a saucer!)
Avrocar
Jupiter II (Lost in Space)
Nimoy Fashion Alert!
UFO Crash Sites in New Mexico:
There is a lot of Top Secret in this episode:
Col Donald Burggrabe
Raymond Fowler
Peter Gersten
Donald Ritter
Jesse Marcel Sr.
Col Robert Friend
And was the model UFO in this episode a guest star from Lost In Space?
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Missing episodes?
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Blake and Jeb go In Research Of PAST LIVES with Leonard Nimoy.
Subjects include reincarnation claims, past-life regression therapy, and some truly baffling Nimoy wardrobe choices.
Link to YouTube Episode (while it lasts)
Topics we cover include:Nimoy wandering a Los Angeles graveyard in a strange quasi-military sport coat, and Blake's detective work tying the filming location to Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights.
The famous Pollock twins case from Hexham, England, where two girls were said to be the reincarnations of their deceased sisters — and how later research complicates the story.
Dr. Lucia Capacchione's art-therapy / inner-child work and how the show uses regression narratives to explain modern psychological problems.
Playwright A.J. Stewart (Ada F. Kay), who became convinced she was James IV of Scotland and wrote Falcon: The Autobiography of His Grace James IV King of Scots as if from the king's own perspective.
Whether past-life regression therapy produces evidence of reincarnation or just vivid, therapist-shaped fantasy, and why skeptics are so wary of hypnosis-based "memories."
NFA (Nimoy Fashion Alert):
Cemetery Detective Work:
Using the 2nd NFA shot, I was able to decipher the tex on the dark tombstone. It is a lot darker in real life with a modern shot.
That "Find a Grave" entry includes the exact location where Nimoy was standing for this episode's cemetery shot.
Jeb asked for an animated gif of the woman in the castle with secret doors:
The cover of Robert and Loy Young's book about reincarnation:
The twins at the heart of the British (Hexham!) reincarnation story:
And I can't help but scream - DON'T GO NEAR THE EDGE!!! This episode is such a cliffhanger.
Deeper reading & sources mentioned:
Pollock twins case write-up at the Society for Psychical Research's Psi Encyclopedia
Psi Encyclopedia on famous past-life claims (including A.J. Stewart / Ada F. Kay):
Ada F. Kay / A.J. Stewart biography (reincarnation claim & Falcon background)
Evergreen Cemetery (Los Angeles) – history and the Japanese "Garden of the Pines" section
Lucia Capacchione and inner-child / expressive-arts therapy
Skeptical overview of past-life regression therapy (Harriet Hall, Science-Based Medicine):
General background on past-life regression and why psychologists consider it pseudoscientific -
Jeb and Blake ponder Atlantis and "healing holes" in the waters off the coast of Bimini. (Weirdly this is almost literally true as Blake ended up actually in Bimini just a week before this ep released. More on that soon.)
Links for Shownotes:
Roby Yonge on "The Beatles Paul is Dead"
Neptune Memorial Reef
"Psychic" Irene Hughes
Bimini Wall
Edgar Cayce
Beachrock
The Healing Hole
More on the crystal ball from 2010 (Cayce related)
Nimoy Fashion Alert:
Other interesting images from the episode:
Hemingway's Healing Hole:
Robey Yong and Irene Hughes re-enact their experiences.
Doc Raymond Brown and his crystal ball
Marcel Vogel and some crystals - he was also in S01E01 on talking plants.
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Flashback to January 2018:
In this episode of MonsterTalk, we return to discussion of the Ultraterrestrial Hypothesis (UTH) and what seems to be its growing influence in paranormal circles. It's been used to explain UFOs, mothman, bigfoot, fairies, dogman, ghosts and many other phenomena which defy scientific demonstrability. Now it crops up again in a new film event titled Alien Intrusion which turned out to be a stealth evangelical creationist film which suggests that aliens and UFOs are actually demonic. We are joined by MonsterTalk alum Joe Laycock, Natasha Mikles and Jeb Card to discuss the UTH and Jeb's Paranormal Unified Field Theory (PUFT) as it relates to this film and the work of John Keel and others.
In Research Of…
MonsterTalk
Joe LaycockNatasha Mikles
Jeb Card
Music
Monstertalk Theme: Monster by Peach Stealing Monkeys -
This is part 2 of our 2-part coverage of The Mothman Prophecies movie. If you haven't listened to Part-1, please turn over the record and start again.
Additional show notes available (for free) on our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/s4-bonus-mothman-129987183 -
This is part 1 of our 2-part coverage of The Mothman Prophecies movie. This is in lieu of S04E21 (see below) but we hope you enjoy the content and after part 2, we return to our regularly scheduled episodes list.
"So... Air Disasters Predictions, Jeb? What do you think we'll get?"
Well it turned out to be more than we expected. During our research for this episode we ran into a bit of a puzzle. It turns out that one of the key figures in the episode is still alive and has become an important figure in the world of conspiracy and out of an abundance of caution for our own sanity (as regards potential litigiousness) we've decided to shelve this one for a while. Will we come back and fill in the gap when we think the coast is clear? I don't know - but we didn't want to leave a hole in your listening so we decided to do something... more ambitious. So what we did instead was we recorded a 4+ hour deep dive into the 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies.Extensive show notes available (for free) at our Patreon page.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/s4-bonus-mothman-126932315 -
Jeb and Blake go in search of John the Baptist's resting place.
Content Warning: Human remains on screen. Discussion of murder.Beheading John the Baptist (wiki)
Salome (play)
In 2018 the murder of Bishop Epiphanius took place and rocked the religious community -- not important for this episode but it popped up a lot in my searching.
San Silvestro "head" shown in intro
Same - but wiki article
Nimoy Fashion Alert
(NFA Wardrobe consulting by The Hogtown Rake, Pedro Mendes)The "head" of John the Baptist at San Silvestro:
Art historian Michael Patroconni (Petroccione?)
I think Jeb and I found this to be the most fun part of the episode:
Gerald Larue obituary
Herod Antipas (the Herod that executed JTB)
Wadi El Natrun
The Cave of John the Baptist
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Blake tries to talk Jeb off the ledge as we return to the classic theme of "ancient astronauts" in this throwback episode titled: Earth Visitors.
Some links relevant to our discussion:
Dejah Thoris (character)
MUFON/Harzan scandal
Roman Dodecahedrons (archaeology)
Frank Frazetta
Boris Vallejo
We mention Zecharia Sitchin.
Research suggests humans grow more neurons than did Neanderthals.
A bunch of this episode comes from the work of Maurice Chatelain, who we shall refer to as "Shadowlane." His book Our Cosmic Ancestors sports one of the more interesting book covers we've seen while researching this show.
He also wrote Our Ancestors Came from Outer Space.
Maurice Chatelain's credentials appear to have been somewhat overstated in the episode.
We'll be talking about several "Out of Place Artifacts" or OOPAs in this episode. Let's start with the "Boot Print" aka The Meister Print. (pictured below) See also this article by Glenn Kuban.Very compelling stuff. I guess. I mean it sort of looks like show print.
This interesting looking skull also sent us down some research holes.
The text of the episode seems to be talking about the Del Mar Skull but the image doesn't look like a close match.
A lot of "shapes on the earth" are discussed. The shapes require you to do a lot of work. We'll get into that in the episode. But one is the Maltese Cross that is absolutely stunning, so long as you ignore that some of the points are hundreds of miles from the alleged anchor points and that the temples allegedly at each point were centuries apart. Skeptical response via CSICOP.
Also - this is supposed to be a "pyramid" but seems to be more of what geometry wonks call a "triangle."
I'm trying to find the type of terminal behind our statistician. And - behind the scenes I've managed to contact him and he assures me that the episode required many takes and that his students reported they made him sound like he believes in the whole ancient astronauts thing... More on this if I hear back from a rather lengthy email I sent him today (12/13/24).
Read even more about the Monte Carlo Method!
Vintage ad for the The Outer Space Connection.
According to Scientific American, the idea that indigenous Americans were here for a very long time (from across the Bering sea) really kicked off in the 1930s.
Read more about The Elephant Slab hoax.
This montage of Kachina dolls really impressed Blake:
Nimoy Fashion Alert!
Native Jewelry Artist Preston Monongye
Engineer Charles Ruggles
Could he be LARPing J. Allen Hynek?
Finally we get to the Cosa Artifact.
And - of course, The Jupiter Menace (1982)
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Jeb and Blake head out to sea in research of the mystery of what happened to the crew of The Mary Celeste.
Links:The Dei Gratia
Nimoy Fashion Alert
(NFA Wardrobe consulting by The Hogtown Rake, Pedro Mendes)Attorney Fred Flood
In 1913, The Strand Magazine provided an alleged survivor's account from one Abel Fosdyk, supposedly Mary Celeste's steward.
The Mary Celeste (1913 article)
Per "WhatTheFont" website identifier, that font is (appropriately): JOLLY ROGER!
Meanwhile on Skull Hut Island...
Pop Culture:
Dead Calm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_the_Mary_Celeste
Read it, it's a time. Hammer film -Jeb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(Doctor_Who)
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Jeb and Blake go into the jungles of California and France in search of WILD CHILDREN!
This episode of ISO contains a lot of disturbing content and our commentary is laced with expletives, hence the Explicit tag.
Tarzan is raised by a fictional ape species known as The Mangani
The story of Mowgli is LOOOOSELY based on the real-life person Dina Sanichar.
Frequently referenced ERB Zine article
Ian Jackson obituary
News coverage of David as adult (BBC)
2021 update on David
1985 story about search for "wild children" (and Sham Dev/Shamdeo)
Christopher Hitchens on Mother Theresa
Japanese quadrupedal runner
The Green Children of Woolpit
Victor of Aveyron
Disturbing story of Genie - more neglected than feral
NFA - Wild Children:
It's supposed to be a Bear but it has some other possumbilities.
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How could Vincent have been a creative genius - yet also "insane?"
Jeb and Blake take a look at Nimoy's very personal thoughts about this question.This episode deals with the topic of self-harm and suicide. If you're struggling with thoughts of self harm, please get help immediately. You can reach trained and empathetic counselors (in the USA) by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-TALK.
We care about our listeners and want you to be around for many years to enjoy life - and our work.
Links for Show Notes:
Nimoy's play VINCENT via Archive
81 Words - This American Life on the DSM
The Book of Kells
Bullshit or Not? Was JTR really Nessie?
Article on Jo Bonger
The Golden Gate Quartet
Weird Al's Skipper Dan (YouTube)
Doctor Who clip of Vincent at the art gallery
Early montage sequence shows:Self Portrait (1888)
Starry Night (1889)
Vase with 15 Sunflowers (1888)
Bedroom at Arles (1888)
Night Cafe in the Place Lamartine in Arles (1888)
Encampment of gypsies with caravans (1888)
Langlois Bridge at Arles (1888)
Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes Maries
Wheat FIeld with Cypresses (1880)
You can find all these and more at the online Van Gogh museum.
Meanwhile...
Could Manos be loosely based on Paul and Vincent? -
Jeb and Blake learn all about the riveting world of stock certificates and inheritance law! It may not be the most mysterious episode of In Search Of... but it's certainly one of the episodes we watched.
Show Notes:
Orson Welles Critic Clip
Lot 249
Texas Pacific Land trust 1980 article
The big 2014 Business Insider article
Pembroke:
http://www.oldlongisland.com/2008/02/pembroke.html
http://www.oldlongisland.com/2011/10/pembroke.html
http://www.oldlongisland.com/2009/07/pembroke-american-architect.html
Pembroke tour (video)
Alice de Lamar
Failed lawsuit
Contemporary article about the caseNimoy Fashion Alert (red-shift corrected)
The case of the missing hair!
Jeb was confounded by this man's barberian style choices. -
Jeb and Blake are joined by Sharon Hill to get shook by the San Andreas Fault!
Understanding the Richter Scale (logarithmic)
Link (Netflix) to Earthstorm docu series
YT video clip featuring geologist Dr. Kerry Sieh
Classic Budweiser commercial from the 70s
The Salton Sea
Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power
Nuclear activist Ray Vrana
Peter Gros of Wild Kingdom
San Andreas movie with The Rock (Amz affiliate link)
Cover to guide for SF geological tour:
Dr. Tim Hall - One of the founders of the San Andreas Fault Trail in 1977. Featured in 2011 documentary available on YT.
Dr. Kerry Sieh
The very sexy VT52 from DEC.
NFA San Andreas edition:
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In order to understand In Search Of… The Dark Star, Jeb and Blake will first need to get Sirius; Sirius-B, that is!
Links from this episode:
Siris (A part of the Canis Major constellation)
Jeb discussed a couple of evocative artworks:
Appeal to the Great Spirit (Dallin)End of the Trail (Fraser)
North African musket (Moukahla)
Colonial Williamsburg
Hoop Rolling
Jacquard Loom
Punched Cards technology
The Hans Guggenheim art project
Isaac Koi UFO archives
The Tribal Eye BBC documentary series (YouTube)
Regarding Temple, Puhairich, Young, and The Nine
The Sirius Mystery by Robert Temple
Editorial letter about Temple from The Observatory
Dogon Shame by Phillip Coppens
Griaule's Legacy: Rethinking "la parole claire" in Dogon Studies
Pop Culture References (affiliate links):
Conjure Wife - aka Burn Witch Burn
Bewitched
Bell, Book and Candle
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Images:
The "orbit" of the Dogon dark star.
Nimoy posing with a tribal mask - our initial NFA image.
Later we get to see his legs in this seated NFA supplementary:
Hans Guggenheim initially appears in just a vest and pants.
Later, he too is in more of a Safari look, and has a professorial pipe as well.
Dr Gary Chapman, Astronomer
The man who first photographed Sirius B - Dr Lindenblad
A little of the FORTRAN code that powers the orbit animation in the episode:
We don't have enough information to know who made Nimoy's safari clothing, but if you want to try and track down a very close approximation, this example from J. Peterman's (est 1987) is as close a match as I've seen. You would still need to find it in a vintage shop because at present they don't sell these. -
Blake and Jeb look for the real location of Mt. Sinai, where Moses was supposed to have received the Ten Commandments from God.
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Jeb and Blake extinguish our cigarettes, put our trays in the upright position, and head out the back of the plane in search of the elusive skyjacker known as D. B. Cooper.
Nimoy Fashion Alert - dimly lit corporate office edition.
D. B. Cooper - Wikipedia
The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper (Movie) - if you buy it on Amazon we get a few pennies.
Recent Netflix series on D. B. Cooper
Blake's friend Rick Ollerman offered some opinions on vintage round parachutes.
Later we meet Nimoy outside where you can make out more of his ensemble.
Of course this is an episode about D. B. Cooper - who for Jeb and I, evokes the classic "MIB" look.
This ain't deal-a-meal. This is a different Richard Simmons.
There is some great photography in this episode. I liked seeing the reservoir and dam. Imagine landing there on a stormy November night without jump boots...
Finally - kudos to the faceless Cooper stand-in who lugged stuff around in the anonymous re-creations.
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Jeb and Blake join Leonard Nimoy's search for Pompeii! (Well - is it really about finding Pompeii? Or is it about finding a possibly Christian cross in Pompeii? Tune in and find out!)
Links:
Depictions of the crucifixion in Medieval Art
People debating the cross at Pompeii
Christian graffiti at Pompeii
House of the Faun - Pompeii
About that "lost Legion" thing
Discovery and rediscovery of Pompeii
Giuseppe Fiorelli
Terentius Neo
Lupinar
Villa of Mysteries
Dinosyian Mysteries
Greco-Roman Mysteries
Thyrsus
Nimoy Fashion Alert!
Hey - it's NOT a Jumpsuit.
We complain but there really is WAY too much red-shift in the majority of this episode:
You need pumice? WE GOT BUCKETS OF PUMICE!
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Jeb and Blake track the last cryptozoology episode of the original In Search Of… as we join the late Peter C. Byrne in a search for "The Abominable Snowman."
Imagining the Wild Man: Yeti Sightings in Folktales and Newspapers of the Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills
More on Tom Slick - MonsterTalk
Monty Python "abattoir" sketch
Searching for Sasquatch (affiliate link)
Article about Byrne still "hunting" in his 90s.
The Eternal Return
Bigfoot Map
Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds (YouTube)
Horror in the Heights - Kolchak Episode with Rakshasha
NFA - "Proof of Life"
Crevasse photo we mention from the episode.
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Jeb is right at home as we go In Search Of... Mexican Pyramids!
Links from researchSacrifice City
Great Pyramid of Cholula
Templo Mayor
Ruz' Palenque Dissertation
The Christmas Robbery of the Century
Secrets of the Maya Temple (1958)
Museo (2018) movie about the robbery - affiliate link
Mystery of the Meridas Ciudad Maya nightclub
Music/Art film tied to the nightclub site
Operation PBSuccess - CIA and Guatemala
Mystery film we think MAY have sourced part of this episode.
Director Jean Chartier
Pyramid Comparison visual tool (wikipedia)
Nimoy Fashion Alert! Jungle Cotton Blend edition:
There are actually subtle stripes on that shirt!
This episode has some amazing models - so cool:
And - of course - it wouldn't be ISO without some reenactments...
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