The Paracast

Gene and Randall present a return visit from the one and only Red Pill Junkie (Miguel Romero). On this episode, RPJ will discuss his recent article, “Man Overboard: One Year After Its Launch, To the Stars Academy’s Financial Situation Remains Stuck on the Ground,” which appeared in the Daily Grail. In late 2017, we learned of a Pentagon UFO study, covered by the likes of The New York Times and the Washington Post. There was great hope that the subject would finally be taken seriously by the mainstream media and science. But has the effort, spearheaded by rock and roller Tom DeLonge,  stalled after the initial onrush of publicity? RPJ explores this and other paranormal research topics.

Gene and Randall present a double header, first featuring Alejandro Rojas of OpenMinds.tv for a UFO update. He presents an update on the status of the James Fox UFO documentary formerly known as “701: The Movie,” plus the latest developments in UFO research that has garnered more attention by the mainstream media, along with plans for the 2019 International UFO Congress to be held near Scottsdale, AZ. You’ll also hear about the fascinating UFO culture from researcher Curtis Collins, who also covers the recently-formed Scientific Coalition for Ufology (SCU) of which Alejandro is a board member. Curt also expands the discussion about the participation of scientists in UFO research, which leads into this weekend’s episode of After The Paracast, an exclusive feature of The Paracast+.

Gene and Randall present Paul Kingsbury, a Professor of Geography at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. In 2015 Paul succeeded in winning a four-year SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) Insight Grant for a project called: “Situating the Growth of Paranormal Investigation Cultures: A Critical Study of the Lived Spaces of Organizations and Conferences.” That’s right folks, a bona fide University professor who thinks the cultural aspects of the paranormal are worthy of serious academic study. During this interview, you’ll learn how Paul became immersed in a number of areas of paranormal research, including crop circles, Bigfoot, UFOs and more.

Gene and Randall present Sharon A. Hill, who researches paranormal topics, pseudoscience, and natural anomalies with a special scholarly interest in how paranormal investigators use science and interact with the public. She has written Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers, published in 2017, the only comprehensive study of modern ghost investigators, cryptozoologists and Ufologists that assesses claims of the paranormal. A trained geologist with a Masters in Education, she has written for Skeptical Inquirer and Fortean Times, and created and ran the popular weird news website Doubtful News for many years, as well as producing a related podcast, 15 Credibility Street.

Gene and Randall present paranormal investigator Clarissa Vazquez, founder of the Colorado Coalition of Paranormal Investigators (CCPI). Its purpose is to provide genuine help to those frightened by a potential paranormal experience. Since its inception, the CCPI has grown to include dedicated members that conduct thorough and professional investigations. Known simply as “Fearless Leader” to the CCPI team, Clarissa takes a scientific and refreshingly skeptical approach to her research and created the popular “Phantom Hitchhiker Project.” She is also the author of six books covering a wide range of paranormal subjects that include “Debunking Common Paranormal Myths: Exploring Psychosomatic Pareidolia.”

Gene and Randall present Bryan Bonner of the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society. For over two decades Bryan, with a healthy dose of skepticism, has examined a wide range of reported paranormal phenomena, including ghosts, poltergeists, psychics, UFOs, conspiracy theories, urban legends, and much more. Unlike others in the field, Bryan has made sure not to run around cemeteries, screaming and scaring the group with over-active imaginations.  From the field to the lab, he tests bizarre beliefs and practices, conducts experiments and on-site investigations, and recreates unusual events. He has confronted hauntings, Ouija board activity, levitation, psychic readings, alien abductions, and telephones that try to talk to the dead.

Gene and Randall present a return appearance by UFO researcher and Biblical scholar David Halperin. His perspective on UFOs is that like religion, they are a human phenomenon. They have nothing to do with space travel or life on other planets. They’re about us–our hopes, our longings, our terrors. Particularly the greatest terror of all: the end of our existence. Are they alien visitors? Yes; but not in the sense of coming from outer space. Inside our own minds, our own souls, there’s enough alienness to fill a universe. Some of it is emerging … With messages for us? Perhaps. We just need to learn to decode them. From 1976 through 2000, David taught Jewish history in the Religious Studies Department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

On the evening of October 11, 1973, co-workers 42-year-old Charles Hickson and 19-year-old Calvin Parker told the Jackson County, Mississippi Sheriff’s office they were fishing off a pier on the west bank of the Pascagoula River in Mississippi when they heard a whirring/whizzing sound, and saw two flashing blue lights and an oval shaped object 30–40 feet across and 8–10 feet high. Parker and Hickson claimed that they were “conscious but paralyzed” while three “creatures” took them aboard the object and subjected them to an examination before releasing them. Gene and Randall present Calvin Parker to discuss this experience and another, 20 years later, as told in his book, “Pascagoula — The Closest Encounter: My Story.”