The Paracast Newsletter
August 15, 2021
www.theparacast.com
Explore the Impact of the Pentagon UAP Task Force Report with The Debrief's Micah Hanks on The Paracast!
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive podcast, After The Paracast, plus an enhanced version of The Paracast with the network ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Flash! For a limited time, you can save up to 40% on your subscription. Long-term subscribers will receive free Amazon gift cards for five-year or lifetime subscriptions. And PayPal now accepts cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, in payment, so act now! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: Choose Your Membership Upgrade
This Week's Episode: Gene and Randall present one of our favorite Fortean researchers, Micah Hanks. Micah has more than just a passion for knowledge. His study of world history, culture and philosophy over the years have helped shape his nonpartisan outlook on current events, and always with a nod to the lessons history can teach us. Among the topics on the agenda: The Intelligence Authorization Act for 2022 and its UAP provisions, analysis of the UAP Task Force's recent report to the ODNI, assessment of the situation: What do UFOs/UAP represent? What are the possible sources of UAP? The Galileo Project (Avi Loeb, Harvard University), understanding the significance of historical studies of UAP. Last but not least Micah is a fine musician and a Co-Founder / Creator & Science Writer for The Debrief.
J. Randall Murphy's Ufology Society International: Ufology Society International (USI) - Explore the UFO Phenomenon
Micah Hanks' Blog: Micah Hanks: Author, Podcaster, Researcher and Adventurer
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on August 15: We are rejoined by Fortean researcher Micah Hanks, Co-Founder / Creator & Science Writer for The Debrief. During this episode, Micah will talk about what the U.S. government may or may not know about the presence of UFOs in our skies. And what about the connections between rock musicians and UFOs? How has the mystery influenced hit songs by famous artists, such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and others over the years? Micah is a longtime advocate for scientific research into UFOs. As a frequent commentator and writer on this subject, he maintains an interest in the history, and possible scientific explanations for aspects of the phenomenon.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. Visit our new online shop for great branded merchandise at: The Official Paracast Shop, and check out our new YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOfficialParacastChannel
Curious Cases from the Early Flying Saucer Contactee Era
By Gene Steinberg
As much as people who are interested in UFOs are, by and large, expect that spaceships and extraterrestrials are among us, the real question is whether any of this makes a difference. I mean a real difference.
So there are people who claim to have had some interaction with possible alien beings. They meet up with them in the desert, or on a lonely road, possibly coming out of what appears to be a spaceship. They are conveyed information that is said to be critical to relate to humans, such as the need to give up the practice of war and fix the environment.
Similar messages are supposedly channeled to mediums, during which they succumb to a trance of some sort to engage in contact. Again, the messages are similarly dire about the future of humans.
But in such cases, the experiencers are by and large unknowns without any ability to influence more than a small band of followers. If they manage to convince the media to interview them, the questioners will generally react with smirks and silly asides. It’s not as if they are being taken seriously.
So the question comes to this: What’s the point? Are entities from other planets actually engaged in conveying the most critical information to total unknowns in the hope that one or more of these people will catch a wave and somehow manage to become popular and influential?
Why not someone with real influence such as a government leader or prominent politician?
Now in case this seems familiar, world religions may have been founded as the result of interactions with higher beings said to be God or emissaries from God. The similarities are striking even if the ability to influence our culture may vary from case to case.
So maybe some modern day interactions with alleged extraterrestrials will ultimately become religions in the making. Perhaps there will be bands of people who will continued to preach the teachings of the likes of George Adamski and others.
Think not?
Contactee George Adamski, in his portion of the 1953 book, “Flying Saucers Have Landed,” claimed to have met one Orthon, a Nordic entity that allegedly came here from Venus to spread a message of peace and brotherhood to Earthlings. The encounter purportedly occurred the previous year in the California desert.
The entire story smacked of absurdity in most respects. People who claimed to have witnessed the encounter were evidently too far from the scene to actually see anything significant. The flying saucer photos Adamski produced to demonstrate proof of his claims were silly fakes, readily duplicated. While Orthon’s message was certainly laudable, his supposed point of origin very much violated what we’ve discovered about our own solar system.
Venus, for example, has conditions that are quite hostile to life as we know to, or any kind of life for that matter. So Orthon, if he truly existed, was either lying about his origin, or Adamski made assumptions. Or, as should be quite obvious, the entire story was a poorly-crafted hoax.
Except that people, to this day, believe Adamski to be a genuine prophet of some sort. This despite the fact that he could never prove any of his claims, and when he described his trips to such locales as the Moon with his Space Brother friends, his grasp of the facts were lacking. It was pretty clear that he didn’t even do basic research about how space travel would proceed before he crafted his tall tales.
But, as I said, people still believe him.
He was one of a number of flying saucer contactees with similar encounters and similarly questionable descriptions.
Yet another contactee to gain some level of prominence was Howard Menger, who worked as a sign painter in New Jersey. Menger also said he met up with Nordic aliens from our own solar system, reporting ongoing meetings over the years in public venues, including Long John Nebel’s pioneer all-night talk show.
But the Menger case became quite confusing when, during an appearance on Long John’s TV show on WOR-TV in the early 1960s, he appeared to backtrack on his claims. He clearly upset Long John, who expected the usual spiel about contacts with attractive alien beings.
Instead, Menger began to suggest that maybe he was the subject of some sort of government experiment to test our reactions to possible extraterrestrial encounters. Yes, I’m old enough to have actually watched that show, and I did find what he said at least somewhat more credible than his original contact claims.
Not long thereafter, I was working a part-time job at Jim Moseley’s Saucer News magazine in New York City. One day, Jim received a call from Menger, whom we met a few days later at a diner across the street from the office at 303 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. During a long lunch, Menger detailed his belief that he had actually encountered government agents rather than extraterrestrials.
Over the years, Menger’s life took on a curious turn. He started building models of flying saucers, conveying the impression that he was attempting to develop an actual flying machine. He also began to assert that he had not, in fact, recanted his original contact claims, but simply altered what he claimed to be the origin of his visitors, that they had merely visited such worlds as Mars and Venus and had come from elsewhere, although it’s not as if their actual origin was so well defined.
His excuse: “It is my opinion that these space travelers may have bypassed or visited other planets (as we are planning) but were not native to those planets any more than our astronauts are native to the moon.”
But someone meeting up with a higher being that forms the basis of a new religion in relatively modern times is not unusual. In the early 19th century, a 17-year-old named Joseph Smith reportedly met an “angel of God” and was thus inspired to locate a set of writings that formed the basis of the Mormon religion.
Will any of the encounters reported by flying saucer contactees someday have similar impact? How will such claims be regarded in the future? How indeed!
Copyright 1999-2021 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
August 15, 2021
www.theparacast.com
Explore the Impact of the Pentagon UAP Task Force Report with The Debrief's Micah Hanks on The Paracast!
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive podcast, After The Paracast, plus an enhanced version of The Paracast with the network ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Flash! For a limited time, you can save up to 40% on your subscription. Long-term subscribers will receive free Amazon gift cards for five-year or lifetime subscriptions. And PayPal now accepts cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, in payment, so act now! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: Choose Your Membership Upgrade
This Week's Episode: Gene and Randall present one of our favorite Fortean researchers, Micah Hanks. Micah has more than just a passion for knowledge. His study of world history, culture and philosophy over the years have helped shape his nonpartisan outlook on current events, and always with a nod to the lessons history can teach us. Among the topics on the agenda: The Intelligence Authorization Act for 2022 and its UAP provisions, analysis of the UAP Task Force's recent report to the ODNI, assessment of the situation: What do UFOs/UAP represent? What are the possible sources of UAP? The Galileo Project (Avi Loeb, Harvard University), understanding the significance of historical studies of UAP. Last but not least Micah is a fine musician and a Co-Founder / Creator & Science Writer for The Debrief.
J. Randall Murphy's Ufology Society International: Ufology Society International (USI) - Explore the UFO Phenomenon
Micah Hanks' Blog: Micah Hanks: Author, Podcaster, Researcher and Adventurer
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on August 15: We are rejoined by Fortean researcher Micah Hanks, Co-Founder / Creator & Science Writer for The Debrief. During this episode, Micah will talk about what the U.S. government may or may not know about the presence of UFOs in our skies. And what about the connections between rock musicians and UFOs? How has the mystery influenced hit songs by famous artists, such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and others over the years? Micah is a longtime advocate for scientific research into UFOs. As a frequent commentator and writer on this subject, he maintains an interest in the history, and possible scientific explanations for aspects of the phenomenon.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. Visit our new online shop for great branded merchandise at: The Official Paracast Shop, and check out our new YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOfficialParacastChannel
Curious Cases from the Early Flying Saucer Contactee Era
By Gene Steinberg
As much as people who are interested in UFOs are, by and large, expect that spaceships and extraterrestrials are among us, the real question is whether any of this makes a difference. I mean a real difference.
So there are people who claim to have had some interaction with possible alien beings. They meet up with them in the desert, or on a lonely road, possibly coming out of what appears to be a spaceship. They are conveyed information that is said to be critical to relate to humans, such as the need to give up the practice of war and fix the environment.
Similar messages are supposedly channeled to mediums, during which they succumb to a trance of some sort to engage in contact. Again, the messages are similarly dire about the future of humans.
But in such cases, the experiencers are by and large unknowns without any ability to influence more than a small band of followers. If they manage to convince the media to interview them, the questioners will generally react with smirks and silly asides. It’s not as if they are being taken seriously.
So the question comes to this: What’s the point? Are entities from other planets actually engaged in conveying the most critical information to total unknowns in the hope that one or more of these people will catch a wave and somehow manage to become popular and influential?
Why not someone with real influence such as a government leader or prominent politician?
Now in case this seems familiar, world religions may have been founded as the result of interactions with higher beings said to be God or emissaries from God. The similarities are striking even if the ability to influence our culture may vary from case to case.
So maybe some modern day interactions with alleged extraterrestrials will ultimately become religions in the making. Perhaps there will be bands of people who will continued to preach the teachings of the likes of George Adamski and others.
Think not?
Contactee George Adamski, in his portion of the 1953 book, “Flying Saucers Have Landed,” claimed to have met one Orthon, a Nordic entity that allegedly came here from Venus to spread a message of peace and brotherhood to Earthlings. The encounter purportedly occurred the previous year in the California desert.
The entire story smacked of absurdity in most respects. People who claimed to have witnessed the encounter were evidently too far from the scene to actually see anything significant. The flying saucer photos Adamski produced to demonstrate proof of his claims were silly fakes, readily duplicated. While Orthon’s message was certainly laudable, his supposed point of origin very much violated what we’ve discovered about our own solar system.
Venus, for example, has conditions that are quite hostile to life as we know to, or any kind of life for that matter. So Orthon, if he truly existed, was either lying about his origin, or Adamski made assumptions. Or, as should be quite obvious, the entire story was a poorly-crafted hoax.
Except that people, to this day, believe Adamski to be a genuine prophet of some sort. This despite the fact that he could never prove any of his claims, and when he described his trips to such locales as the Moon with his Space Brother friends, his grasp of the facts were lacking. It was pretty clear that he didn’t even do basic research about how space travel would proceed before he crafted his tall tales.
But, as I said, people still believe him.
He was one of a number of flying saucer contactees with similar encounters and similarly questionable descriptions.
Yet another contactee to gain some level of prominence was Howard Menger, who worked as a sign painter in New Jersey. Menger also said he met up with Nordic aliens from our own solar system, reporting ongoing meetings over the years in public venues, including Long John Nebel’s pioneer all-night talk show.
But the Menger case became quite confusing when, during an appearance on Long John’s TV show on WOR-TV in the early 1960s, he appeared to backtrack on his claims. He clearly upset Long John, who expected the usual spiel about contacts with attractive alien beings.
Instead, Menger began to suggest that maybe he was the subject of some sort of government experiment to test our reactions to possible extraterrestrial encounters. Yes, I’m old enough to have actually watched that show, and I did find what he said at least somewhat more credible than his original contact claims.
Not long thereafter, I was working a part-time job at Jim Moseley’s Saucer News magazine in New York City. One day, Jim received a call from Menger, whom we met a few days later at a diner across the street from the office at 303 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. During a long lunch, Menger detailed his belief that he had actually encountered government agents rather than extraterrestrials.
Over the years, Menger’s life took on a curious turn. He started building models of flying saucers, conveying the impression that he was attempting to develop an actual flying machine. He also began to assert that he had not, in fact, recanted his original contact claims, but simply altered what he claimed to be the origin of his visitors, that they had merely visited such worlds as Mars and Venus and had come from elsewhere, although it’s not as if their actual origin was so well defined.
His excuse: “It is my opinion that these space travelers may have bypassed or visited other planets (as we are planning) but were not native to those planets any more than our astronauts are native to the moon.”
But someone meeting up with a higher being that forms the basis of a new religion in relatively modern times is not unusual. In the early 19th century, a 17-year-old named Joseph Smith reportedly met an “angel of God” and was thus inspired to locate a set of writings that formed the basis of the Mormon religion.
Will any of the encounters reported by flying saucer contactees someday have similar impact? How will such claims be regarded in the future? How indeed!
Copyright 1999-2021 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!