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December 6, 2015 — Joshua Cutchin


Forums New posts
Gene Steinberg

Gene Steinberg

Forum Super Hero
Staff member
Be careful, be very careful, if strange entities or beings offer you food or drink. Will you survive, or is it more about being disappeared?

I worry more about getting food that's safe to eat at a local restaurant in light of the problems of food poisoning at the Chipotle Mexican Grill.

In any case, Chris and I had a great time talking with Joshua Cotchin, andI hope you found it enlightening, and just another example of how complicated these mysteries really are.

Your comments are welcomed.

We'll continue the discussion in this week's episode of After The Paracast, an exclusive feature of The Paracast+.

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Thanks for asking my questions.

Joshua always comes across as a great guy: intelligent, well read, optimistic, equipped with a healthy amount of scepticism and doesn't seem to take himself, or the field, too seriously.

What I also find interesting is Joshua, if I've understood his story correctly, has been strongly influenced by podcasts on anomalous subjects. A number of the hosts of these shows ( e.g. Greg Bishop, Tim Binnall and our own Chris O'Brien) have appeared to be openly disenchanted with the field, especially ufology, recently. Yet their work, in its own way, is inspiring original thinkers like Cutchin to put pen to paper and produce new ways of understanding this subject matter.

So, perhaps, the future for anomalous research isn't as gloomy as it might occasionally seem...
 
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Ravensfee said:
Thanks for asking my questions.

Joshua always comes across as a great guy: intelligent, well read, optimistic, equipped with a healthy amount of scepticism and doesn't seem to take himself, or the field, too seriously.

What I also find interesting is Joshua, if I've understood his story correctly, has been strongly influenced by podcasts on anomalous subjects. A number of the hosts of these shows ( e.g. Greg Bishop, Tim Binnall and our own Chris O'Brien) have appeared to be openly disenchanted with the field, especially ufology, recently. Yet their work, in its own way, is inspiring original thinkers like Cutchin to put pen to paper and produce new ways of understanding this subject matter.

So, perhaps, the future for anomalous research isn't as gloomy as it might occasionally seem...
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Aw, shucks. Alan Rickman once said something I'm fond of quoting: "I do take my work seriously and the way to do that is not to take yourself too seriously."

Regarding the disenchantment thing... that's a big, motivating factor of mine. If I can get anyone excited about some of these smaller, weirder aspects, and inspire others the way others have inspired me, then I consider it a job well done.

And who knows? Maybe that will reinspire some of those who inspired me.
 
Goggs Mackay said:
Well Hi there Josh, seems you've been a bit of a lurker re the forum, but now that you've been the guest of a show, can we draw you out of lurkdom a bit more often? I enjoyed your appearance and research - food and the paranormal/mythology etc is something I've keenly noticed myself.
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Hi Goggs! Indeed, a bit of a lurker... I will do my damnedest to pop out a little more often! :)
 
It was an excellent show. I gotta listen to the ATP too. I have several podcasts featuring josh and I'm currently listening to them all again to make sure I get everything. As someone interested in the entheogen angle to ufos/aliens it is hugely interesting.

I find the Garden of Eden myth to be congruent with these other tales of supernatural beings using edibles as a way to keep us on one side of the truth, or other.

On a side note, I think this is the episode when Chris OB reveals he's been chewing nicotine gum. To some who assumed he was gobbling lunch during the recording, this is not only a relief but also one thing all of us can relate to in some way, smokers or not.

Give Chris a break.

I am personally glad that Chris is having a better time on the show of late. He is making jokes and being lighthearted again. I think those of us who enjoy Chris on the show, or Chris in his books, owe him some slack.

If that's off-topic I apologize.
 
Vimana said:
It was an excellent show. I gotta listen to the ATP too.
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Glad you enjoyed it! Have a complete list of shows (and links) on joshuacutchin.com (feel like a shill, meh, whatever).

... also feeling like a shill, but I gotta say it—Vimana, if you like what I say, you'd love what I write (because, let's face it, I'm much more succinct in prose). ;) Not giving you a hard time at all—I'm notoriously bad about purchasing (new) Fortean books myself.

Thanks for the kind words about the show! I was quite nervous... much more than when I was on Coast to Coast!
 
Hey Josh, really nice show! I just had a thought for your third book, after you do your number on smell (which should be very interesting). Since you have expertise in music, how about a book focused on sound and the fortean. That would make a nice trilogy for you on three human sensations and the liminal world. Music and sounds made by humans, divinely inspired (psalms-chants), and sounds and music made by divine/supernatural/fortean/paranormal visitors. Not all UFOs are silent. I don't know if any UFOs have actually been reported making music, but I wonder where Spielberg came up with his repetition of five notes for his CE3K film. And aren't Fae folk reported to make music? Sky booms seem to be reported in increasing rates. Anyway, sound might be an avenue to consider in your future fortean investigations.
 
I haven't posted much lately, been a bit busy, but I just couldn't help myself in posting kudos to all involved with this excellent show.

Gene and Chris were on point as ever, with Chris displaying his encyclopedia like knowledge of paranormal case histories, which made for an informative and interesting interview. Seriously one of the best episodes I've heard in awhile, imo.

As for Josh, I admit to also listening to his Radio Misterioso and BOA interviews. I like his style, as stated above he takes his work seriously without taking himself too serious and he really comes across as a likeable, knowledgeable guy who's well grounded. I believe I heard him say on a previous interview that he's not as concerned with whether these events are objectively real, because whether real or not they still have meaning both culturally and psychologically, and I think that's a great position to take on such a strange subject as paranormal food and drink offerings. Josh has an excellent attitude and a wealth of knowledge that makes him a pleasure to listen to, and though I haven't yet had the time to read his book, I plan on doing so soon. I also see that he's another one of those guests with the gumption to come to the forums and throw himself to the wolves, per se, which also deserves kudos and recognition. I wish every guest would do so.

As to Chris eating on air, I've never noticed it, but even if I had, I certainly wouldn't bother to write in and complain about it. Binnall had a similar experience where someone wrote in to complain about him smoking during his show. Who are these hyper sensitive whiners and do they really have nothing better to do than finding things to bitch about? You're getting great shows from both BOA and The Paracast, for free (unless you're a plus member here) and all you can think to do is complain? How about a thank you and realizing that these are busy people going out of their way to provide you with interesting content, pretty much pro bono, so maybe you should cut them a bit of slack for something as trivial as smoking or eating on air.

TLDR: Shut the fuck up and go find some real issues to complain about.

Anyway, sorry for my little rant and harsh language, but the selfishness and self centeredness of someone who would write in to complain about something like that on a free podcast struck a nerve.

Fantastic show from both hosts and the guest is the bottom line here, if you haven't listened to it yet, I recommend you do so immediately. You'll laugh and you'll learn, and what could be better than that?
 
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William Strathman said:
Hey Josh, really nice show! I just had a thought for your third book, after you do your number on smell (which should be very interesting). Since you have expertise in music, how about a book focused on sound and the fortean. That would make a nice trilogy for you on three human sensations and the liminal world.
Click to expand...

Way ahead of ya on that... ;) Definitely envisioning this as a loose trilogy, since my interests can't quite be pinned down to one aspect of Forteana.
I'd love to do a Lyle Blackurn-esque take on the Hopkinsville goblins someday, but that's down the road.
Re: CE3K... take a gander at this: Where do the 5 tones with hand symbols in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" come from?
 
Muadib said:
I also see that he's another one of those guests with the gumption to come to the forums and throw himself to the wolves, per se, which also deserves kudos and recognition. I wish every guest would do so.
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Thanks for the kind words!
There's a great thing about admitting your own ignorance and agnosticism about this subject up-front—there's nothing to fear from coming onto message boards like this after a show.

After all, as Charles Fort said, "The outrageous is the reasonable, if introduced politely."

The real vs. not real thing gets less and less important as I go through my studies, mainly because the trends are so strong in what I tend to research. For example, I could throw out twenty cases of entity food as frauds, and it still wouldn't skew my conclusions—the prevalence of liquid in such encounters is so strong, the conclusions would remain the same. From the other side, if people are making up entity food cases, the fact that the trends have become a meme is equally important, in my mind. I think the types of foods offered (or smells smelled) have just as much to say about the experiencer as the entity.
 
Joshua, I haven't had a chance to listen to the show yet so maybe you touched on this but in fae lore wasn't food and/or drink offerings a two way street? Isn't there a custom to leave milk or tobacco outside ones home? It's mentioned that these were a sort of bribe in order to be left alone but have you any reason to think otherwise? Do you think there is any connection between humans offering food and drink and fae folk doing so?

Also do you touch on angel hair in your book? There seems to be a desire to connect the substance that has been reported in some ufo sightings (angel hair) as manna. From what I've read this substance has a very short shelf life and has yet to be figured out, is there any reason to think it is consumable or are there records that people did indeed try eating it?
 
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Wade said:
Joshua, I haven't had a chance to listen to the show yet so maybe you touched on this but in fae lore wasn't food and/or drink offerings a two way street?
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Hi Wade! Yes, fae offerings were almost like protection money, in a way. At best it, it encouraged the Good Folk to help around the house, at worst it kept their malice at bay. Each of the fae wanted specific offerings—certain ones preferred milk, others beer, some bread, etc. etc. And yes—looking at one direction of transmission (from them to us) naturally is tied up in a not with the other side of things (from us to them).

We talk about it a little on the show—it also comes up on a lot of the other shows I've been on (see link up-thread).

Definitely touch on angel hair in the book, in particular the idea that came out in the late '70s FSR issues about its possible connection to manna. I found the reason a bit suspect, since I'm not aware of anyone eating angel hair, nor any analysis that managed to examine the substance prior to its disappearance.
 
Really enjoyed the show, thank you for asking and answering my question.

During the show the eating of dog meat was discussed, my understanding is that in some places it is eaten for its "magic" properties (it is supposed to cool you down in hot summers) which made me think about other traditions such as the ingestion of Rhino horn, Shark fins, Bird nests, Snake hearts etc

What I am trying to say is that I think that Mr Cutchin is really on to something. I have to admit that before the show I had not realised how vast a topic "Magic food" is.

A truly inspiring show

I look forward to hearing his next appearance on the Paracast.

Best wishes.
 
@Muadib - howdy bud, I agree with your sentiments about people who would complain if they heard a few extraneous noises during a show. I mean, it's f****ng free! Gene and Chris can put out 2 hours of cow farts if they want, they are not beholden to anyone. Subcribers to the Paracast+ are of course another matter.

Anyone, anyone, anywhere, who bothers to get off their ass and spend time creating something of quality and then making it available to anyone online free of charge, week after week, deserves the utmost respect. I guarantee that those who complain the loudest are not contributing a single thing to the paranormal community at large and instead self-appoint themselves as a 'critic' to sit back and tell everyone what others have been doing wrong! The cheek!

Even crappy podcasts out there (well in comparison to the Paracast etc) deserve support and encouragement and I publicly doff my hat to anyone out there creating stuff for the enjoyment of others, for no reward and often lots of abuse.

The only criticism that these people should be writing is of the constructive kind. There is nothing wrong with telling people what you liked and what you think could be improved etc, it's just the mindless 'oh this is all shit...' that bothers me.

Oh well, rant over, I enjoyed it too because I love sticking up for the creative types out there who slave away to make stuff for people like us. I salute them.
 
first of all thanks for asking/answering my question(s) as far as the Henry Hudson/Gnomes issue Joshua mentioned it was 'deep rooted" (?) i'm not sure if he meant that it was rather obscure but I apologize for asking it in such a way it was common knowledge, I sort of thought it was as I've heard it from a couple of accounts but for context here it is

Henry Hudson and the Catskill Gnomes: From Ghost Stories at Americanfolklore.net

to be honest I felt this account is about as valid as the story about Stephen Decatur taking on the Jersey Devil but thought it was a entertaining read/thought. Even though it's not very realistic I thought the folklore of the story bared mentioning.

I do concur with everything that has been mentioned above but i'd like to touch on a separate matter. I thought that the way the program started should be mentioned here in which gene touched on the San Bernardino attack and the follow up confrontation in Redlands. Gene said that he didn't want to get all political but I think these things should be mentioned but not so much as a political statement but as a social and cultural statement. There are some social cultural aberrations such as mass shootings that are tempting to attach to a subject that I've heard Chris infer in discussions about the Trickster, that high strangeness shouldn't just include paranormal oddities but social and cultural abnormalities. Certainly Loren Coleman discusses these social "un-norms" at great length on his blog and I gather that Walter has come to a similar conclusion and will be touching on this in his upcoming appearance. While I don't necessarily agree with the terminology that Jack Forbes and Paul Levy use, the fact that there may be a cultural sickness that's spreading is an interesting idea to me. I would even suggest a cultural madness
 
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