The Paracast

Gene and Randall present Fortean researcher and writer Brent Raynes, editor of Alternate Perception. In this episode, Raynes focuses on his 2019 book, “John A. Keel: The Man, The Myths, and the Ongoing Mysteries.” Keel’s theories about paranormal phenomena have inspired many researchers to consider new possibilities that might explain what’s going on, and Raynes has done an extensive study into Keel’s life and work. Raynes has traveled extensively across the U.S. and Canada interviewing numerous witnesses and researchers. He has taken a comprehensive global and historical perspective on the Ufological landscape. Raynes has also participated in Native American rituals and ceremonies, gaining valuable insights and information from his interactions with these wisdom keepers. His work has given him a broad perspective into interrelated experiences and disciplines of parapsychology, shamanism, Jungian archetypes and Ufology.

Gene and Randall present a Paracast favorite, author and researcher Kevin D. Randle. During this episode, he discusses Calvin Parker and the 1973 Pascagoula UFO abduction, and how his memories might have been altered through the misapplication of hypnotic regression. Kevin goes on to talk about his efforts to “chase the footnotes” and take a new look at some of the key evidence for the Roswell UFO crash. Kevin has written more than 80 fact and fiction books, including a recent work, “Encounter in the Desert: The Case for Alien Contact at Socorro,” which recounts the classic 1964 sighting. He also served for years in the military, which included deployments during the Vietnam War and the second Gulf War. He retired from the Iowa National Guard as a lieutenant colonel in 2009.

Gene and Randall present a return visit by UFO abductee Calvin Parker, one of the two men who claim to have been abducted by a UFO in Pascagoula, Mississippi on the evening of October 11, 1973. Parker and a friend, Charles Hickson, claimed that they were “conscious but paralyzed” while three “creatures” took them aboard an oval-shaped  craft and subjected them to an examination before releasing them. Parker has written two books about the encounter, the first “Pascagoula — The Closest Encounter: My Story,” and the second, “Pascagoula – The Story Continues: New Evidence & New Witnesses.” Both are published by Philip Mantle. The second book also includes transcripts of hypnotic regressions of Parker that were conducted by Budd Hopkins and Kathleen Marden.

Gene and Randall present Mack Maloney, a prolific author of military fiction with a long-time interest in UFOs and the paranormal. He has, so far, written three fact books on these subjects, including “UFOs in Wartime” and “Beyond Area 51.” In addition to his books, Mack was also a columnist for Turner Broadcasting’s TruTV.com Conspiratorium website, 2012-2015, worked as a consultant to the U.S. government on anti-terrorist programs and is a member of the rock band, Sky Club. Mack is a native of Dorchester, Mass. and a graduate of Emerson College.

Gene and Randall present a fascinating visit with George P. Hansen, author of a trendsetting work, “The Trickster and the Paranormal.” George was professionally employed in parapsychology laboratories for eight years — three at the Rhine Research Center in Durham, North Carolina, and five at Psychophysical Research Laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey. His experiments included remote viewing, card guessing, ganzfeld, electronic random number generators, séance phenomena, and ghosts. He has been active in a number of psychic, UFO, and New Age organizations, and he helped found a skeptics group. His papers in scientific journals cover mathematical statistics, fraud and deception, the skeptics movement, conjurors in parapsychology, and exposés of hoaxes. He is also member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. With such a wide range of potential topics, this is a show you won’t want to miss!

After 12 years, Gene and Randall present the return of Jeff Belanger, an author, adventurer, and considered one of the most visible paranormal researchers today. He’s the Emmy-nominated host, writer, and producer of the New England Legends series which debuted on PBS in October of 2013, and the weekly New England Legends Podcast. Since 1997, Jeff has interviewed thousands of eyewitnesses to paranormal occurrences, and has written a number of books on these subjects, including such best-sellers as The World’s Most Haunted Places. His beat includes ghosts, Bigfoot, UFOs and other strange phenomena. Jeff is considered the ultimate insider and knows how to connect with people from all walks of life when it comes to the unexplained.

Gene and Randall presents paranormal investigator John Olsen, who says he grew up in a haunted house! John has spent the last 25 years interviewing and documenting first-hand accounts of those who have witnessed all kinds of strange and unusual phenomena in the western United States. The Stranger Bridgerland series, currently consisting of three books,  contains firsthand accounts of everything from ghosts, monsters and hauntings, to glitches in the matrix, Sasquatch and UFOs. But just hearing about the personal paranormal encounters of John and his family may be quite enough to demonstrate that something really strange is going on.

How does a teenage UFO investigator from the ’60s mature into a professor of religious studies specializing in the traditions of heavenly ascent? You’ll find out as Gene and Randall present David Halperin. According to David, the UFO phenomenon is about us–our hopes, our longings, our terrors. Some of it is emerging … With messages for us? Perhaps, if we just need to learn to decode them. David taught Jewish history in the Religious Studies Department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill from 1976 through 2000. His perspective on UFOs is that like religion, they are a human construct that has nothing to do with space travel or life on other planets. According to David, they are alien, but instead of coming from space, they come from within our own minds, our own souls, where there’s enough alienness to fill a universe. During this episode, David will offer insights into both sightings and abductions, including former Beatle John Lennon’s sighting of a UFO over New York City in 1974.