THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
February 10, 2013
Explore the History of the Paranormal on The Paracast
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 2:00 AM until 5:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Why It's Important for You to Donate to The Paracast: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough to pay your humble hosts decent wages. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network or local stations. So we hope you're able to help fill the gap, if you can, to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch and utility bills. No contribution is too small (or too large
. It’s easy to send a donation. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com. And if you’ve had a problem getting to our Donate screen, please try again. We just fixed a serious PayPal access problem, and it should work properly now.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present Richard Smoley, author of "Supernatural: Writings on an Unknown History." "Nostrodamus…channeling...Atlantis…divination. Most serious people consider such topics nonsense. But look again. Writing with intellectual verve and a deeply critical mind, religious thinker Richard Smoley explores and reconsiders the supernatural in history and today." Smoley is a graduate of Harvard and Oxford, and was a long-time editor of Gnosis Magazine.
Chris O'Brien's Site: Our Strange Planet
Richard Smoley's Site: Biography - Richard Smoley
Coming February 17: Gene and Chris once again explore the huge numbers of ongoing paranormal events in Pennsylvania with investigator Stan Gordon, author of such books as "Really Mysterious Pennsylvania: UFOs, Bigfoot & Other Weird Encounters Casebook One." During this episode, you'll hear about reports of small spherical UFOs that are sometimes even seen flying in people's homes.
Chris O'Brien's Site: Our Strange Planet
Stan Gordon's Site: Stan Gordon's UFO Anomalies Zone
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. We recently completed a major update that makes our community easier to navigate, and social network friendly.
Where Have All the UFOs Gone?
By Gene Steinberg
There’s an unfortunate misperception that the modern UFO era began with sightings in the late 1940s, and more or less died down in the 1980s. There have been sightings since then, to be sure, but they are nowhere as detailed or as spellbinding as the older cases. Where, for example, are the simultaneous radar/visual encounters that occurred from time to time, such as the classic 1952 sighting in Washington, DC? What about the high-speed chases involving UFOs, such as the January 1948 event that resulted a crash that caused the death of Captain Thomas F. Mantell?
All right, it’s possible that Mantell was actually chasing a Skyhook balloon, and not some alien craft, although that has been disputed by some UFO researchers. Regardless, the sightings of old, real or conventional, were somehow more, shall we say, mysterious than today’s UFO sightings. After all, we’re still talking about Roswell, and the 1947 Maury Island case is still rehashed and rehashed yet again, particularly by those who are involved in probing alleged conspiracies.
The theory goes that UFOs appear in waves. The sightings are reported at a fairly low level, but the level of activity suddenly spurts, as a particularly fascinating case receives national media coverage. More sightings are reported, and this wave, or flap, sends people looking at the skies in search of UFOs; at least until everything dies down and most skywatchers move on to other pursuits.
In passing, it may just be that these flaps are publicity-related, meaning that as soon as a sighting gets wide attention, others look to the skies and are sometimes rewarded with sightings of their own. It’s all about being there at the right time rather than an actual change in the number of UFOs flying in our airspace.
In other words, if there’s a pattern, it hasn’t been confirmed. Over the years, UFO waves allegedly occurred in five or seven-year cycles, but regularity is not a characteristic of UFOs. Just as soon as you feel you’re getting a handle on some sort of predictable pattern, things change.
But even without nationwide attention, UFOs are still being seen. High numbers of sightings were reported in 2011 and 2012 by MUFON. Veteran researcher Stan Gordon recently wrote a press release in which he said a large number of UFOs and strange creatures were cataloged in Pennsylvania in 2012. In fact, Stan said the state was besieged by paranormal phenomena.
One case that stuck out to me occurred during the morning of April 4th, when a 30 to 40 foot diameter saucer-shaped object, apparently metallic and with square windows, hovered some 30 feet above a home in a Pittsburgh suburb. I mean, this is fascinating stuff, and that’s why Stan has recorded a special interview for The Paracast, which will be broadcast on February 17th.
Indeed, if you go online and check the various sites run by UFO organizations and publications, you’ll find plenty of meat and potatoes to chew over. It’s not that UFOs have deserted us. The problem is that the newer cases aren’t always getting a high level of attention, with the possible exception of the sightings at O’Hare Airport in Chicago and Stephenville, Texas in recent years. Even when a case gets a fair amount of coverage by the local press and broadcast media, it doesn’t always make it to the networks.
Worse, reality TV shows that presume to cover UFOs tend to focus on the more sensational cases of the past, rather than more recent reports that may contain far more useful evidence. Based on many of these shows, you’d think the UFO mystery is mostly about Roswell and perhaps a few abductions. But that’s certainly not so.
Unfortunately, UFO organizations don’t always play well together, so there is seldom a full sharing of cases. So you may have to examine several sites to get a sense of how much activity is really going on. Some of the best reports may never be posted for one reason or another, though one of the reasons may be more about privacy than about reserving the best cases for a potential best seller.
Now it may be true that the shape of UFOs in 2013 isn’t always the same as the shape of UFOs in those early days. Part of that may just be the expected variations in eyewitness testimony. Part of it may be that the sources of UFOs have changed. If they are extraterrestrial, it’s always possible one species checked us out, and decided to take their ships and go elsewhere. Other aliens arrived to take their place, or it may just be the natural evolution of spaceship designs. Consider the difference between a 1969 Toyota Corona and the modern equivalent, a 2013 Toyota Camry.
The real problem, however, is not the level of UFO sightings, but whether we’ve made real progress towards getting a clue about what’s really going on. Many of today’s most popular theories might just as well have been written 60 years ago, since it’s hard to tell much of a difference. Yes, it’s also true that more than 90% of the sightings can be explained by conventional aircraft or other mundane causes. Secret military technology may have also been involved over the years.
But it’s that small residue of sightings that has always comprised the crux of the UFO mystery. These are the reports that confound all attempts at conventional explanation, unless the facts are totally twisted. But just calling them spaceships, and demanding government disclosure of what they allegedly know, probably won’t solve anything.
Is the truth out there? Is a solution at hand? Well maybe we’d just find it if we began to look in the right direction, and don’t dismiss the possibility that the UFOs, themselves, are meant to misdirect. Reminds me of how stage magicians work. You have to look elsewhere to find out what stunts they’re really pulling.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2013 Making The Impossible, Inc. 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!
February 10, 2013
Explore the History of the Paranormal on The Paracast
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 2:00 AM until 5:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Why It's Important for You to Donate to The Paracast: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough to pay your humble hosts decent wages. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network or local stations. So we hope you're able to help fill the gap, if you can, to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch and utility bills. No contribution is too small (or too large
. It’s easy to send a donation. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com. And if you’ve had a problem getting to our Donate screen, please try again. We just fixed a serious PayPal access problem, and it should work properly now.Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present Richard Smoley, author of "Supernatural: Writings on an Unknown History." "Nostrodamus…channeling...Atlantis…divination. Most serious people consider such topics nonsense. But look again. Writing with intellectual verve and a deeply critical mind, religious thinker Richard Smoley explores and reconsiders the supernatural in history and today." Smoley is a graduate of Harvard and Oxford, and was a long-time editor of Gnosis Magazine.
Chris O'Brien's Site: Our Strange Planet
Richard Smoley's Site: Biography - Richard Smoley
Coming February 17: Gene and Chris once again explore the huge numbers of ongoing paranormal events in Pennsylvania with investigator Stan Gordon, author of such books as "Really Mysterious Pennsylvania: UFOs, Bigfoot & Other Weird Encounters Casebook One." During this episode, you'll hear about reports of small spherical UFOs that are sometimes even seen flying in people's homes.
Chris O'Brien's Site: Our Strange Planet
Stan Gordon's Site: Stan Gordon's UFO Anomalies Zone
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. We recently completed a major update that makes our community easier to navigate, and social network friendly.
Where Have All the UFOs Gone?
By Gene Steinberg
There’s an unfortunate misperception that the modern UFO era began with sightings in the late 1940s, and more or less died down in the 1980s. There have been sightings since then, to be sure, but they are nowhere as detailed or as spellbinding as the older cases. Where, for example, are the simultaneous radar/visual encounters that occurred from time to time, such as the classic 1952 sighting in Washington, DC? What about the high-speed chases involving UFOs, such as the January 1948 event that resulted a crash that caused the death of Captain Thomas F. Mantell?
All right, it’s possible that Mantell was actually chasing a Skyhook balloon, and not some alien craft, although that has been disputed by some UFO researchers. Regardless, the sightings of old, real or conventional, were somehow more, shall we say, mysterious than today’s UFO sightings. After all, we’re still talking about Roswell, and the 1947 Maury Island case is still rehashed and rehashed yet again, particularly by those who are involved in probing alleged conspiracies.
The theory goes that UFOs appear in waves. The sightings are reported at a fairly low level, but the level of activity suddenly spurts, as a particularly fascinating case receives national media coverage. More sightings are reported, and this wave, or flap, sends people looking at the skies in search of UFOs; at least until everything dies down and most skywatchers move on to other pursuits.
In passing, it may just be that these flaps are publicity-related, meaning that as soon as a sighting gets wide attention, others look to the skies and are sometimes rewarded with sightings of their own. It’s all about being there at the right time rather than an actual change in the number of UFOs flying in our airspace.
In other words, if there’s a pattern, it hasn’t been confirmed. Over the years, UFO waves allegedly occurred in five or seven-year cycles, but regularity is not a characteristic of UFOs. Just as soon as you feel you’re getting a handle on some sort of predictable pattern, things change.
But even without nationwide attention, UFOs are still being seen. High numbers of sightings were reported in 2011 and 2012 by MUFON. Veteran researcher Stan Gordon recently wrote a press release in which he said a large number of UFOs and strange creatures were cataloged in Pennsylvania in 2012. In fact, Stan said the state was besieged by paranormal phenomena.
One case that stuck out to me occurred during the morning of April 4th, when a 30 to 40 foot diameter saucer-shaped object, apparently metallic and with square windows, hovered some 30 feet above a home in a Pittsburgh suburb. I mean, this is fascinating stuff, and that’s why Stan has recorded a special interview for The Paracast, which will be broadcast on February 17th.
Indeed, if you go online and check the various sites run by UFO organizations and publications, you’ll find plenty of meat and potatoes to chew over. It’s not that UFOs have deserted us. The problem is that the newer cases aren’t always getting a high level of attention, with the possible exception of the sightings at O’Hare Airport in Chicago and Stephenville, Texas in recent years. Even when a case gets a fair amount of coverage by the local press and broadcast media, it doesn’t always make it to the networks.
Worse, reality TV shows that presume to cover UFOs tend to focus on the more sensational cases of the past, rather than more recent reports that may contain far more useful evidence. Based on many of these shows, you’d think the UFO mystery is mostly about Roswell and perhaps a few abductions. But that’s certainly not so.
Unfortunately, UFO organizations don’t always play well together, so there is seldom a full sharing of cases. So you may have to examine several sites to get a sense of how much activity is really going on. Some of the best reports may never be posted for one reason or another, though one of the reasons may be more about privacy than about reserving the best cases for a potential best seller.
Now it may be true that the shape of UFOs in 2013 isn’t always the same as the shape of UFOs in those early days. Part of that may just be the expected variations in eyewitness testimony. Part of it may be that the sources of UFOs have changed. If they are extraterrestrial, it’s always possible one species checked us out, and decided to take their ships and go elsewhere. Other aliens arrived to take their place, or it may just be the natural evolution of spaceship designs. Consider the difference between a 1969 Toyota Corona and the modern equivalent, a 2013 Toyota Camry.
The real problem, however, is not the level of UFO sightings, but whether we’ve made real progress towards getting a clue about what’s really going on. Many of today’s most popular theories might just as well have been written 60 years ago, since it’s hard to tell much of a difference. Yes, it’s also true that more than 90% of the sightings can be explained by conventional aircraft or other mundane causes. Secret military technology may have also been involved over the years.
But it’s that small residue of sightings that has always comprised the crux of the UFO mystery. These are the reports that confound all attempts at conventional explanation, unless the facts are totally twisted. But just calling them spaceships, and demanding government disclosure of what they allegedly know, probably won’t solve anything.
Is the truth out there? Is a solution at hand? Well maybe we’d just find it if we began to look in the right direction, and don’t dismiss the possibility that the UFOs, themselves, are meant to misdirect. Reminds me of how stage magicians work. You have to look elsewhere to find out what stunts they’re really pulling.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2013 Making The Impossible, Inc. 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!
.