THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
February 18, 2018
www.theparacast.com
The Paracast Presents UFOs From an Historical Perspective with Jerome Clark
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 A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! 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 a higher-quality version of The Paracast free of network ads, when you sign up for The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes, the Paracast+ Video Channel, episode transcripts, Special Features, Classic Episodes and there’s more to come! We also feature selected podcasts and videos from Paul Kimball’s “Other Side of Truth,” and we are now offering special access to the first two episodes of the ghost haunting show he cohosts, "Haunted." Check out our new lower rates, starting at just $1.49 per week, plus our “Lifetime” membership and special free print and eBook book offers! For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
This Week's Episode: Gene and guest co-host Curtis Collins present long-time UFO researcher and author Jerome Clark, who will discuss an article he wrote for Fortean Times entitled, "Mr. Wilson and the aeronauts of 1897," and whether some of those sightings were genuine events, an elaborate fiction or something else: what Jerry calls an "experience anomaly." He'll also cover the history of the field, and whether anything has been accomplished towards understanding the phenomenon . And why has he once again been drawn into the field after a period of relative inactivity? His books include the multivolume magnum opus, "The UFO Encyclopedia." He's also a songwriter whose music has been recorded or performed by musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Tom T. Hall.
Chris O’Brien’s Blog: Our Strange Planet
Curt Collins' Blog: Blue Blurry Lines
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on February 18: Gene and guest co-host Curtis Collins continue their discussions with long-time UFO researcher and historian Jerome Clark. In this episode, Jerry explains how a random meeting with a book publisher led to a deal to write the third edition of “The UFO Encyclopedia,” expected in the fall of 2018, and the hopes for a more affordable version. The discussion also focuses on the history of the field and some of the early personalities. There are insights into UFO hoaxes, such as the MJ-12 documents, and how Project Blue Book usually treated the cases it pretended to investigate. You’ll also hear Jerry explain how he expects some classic cases to survive in the new edition of the book.
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. Check out our new YouTube channel at: The Official Paracast Channel
Is Yet Another Flurry of UFO Interest Flaming Out?
By Gene Steinberg
Regardless of whether the news media covers such stories, UFOs are almost always around. Such researchers as Canada’s Chis Rutkowski, and the ones who work with MUFON and other organizations continue, to collect sightings. Some are mere lights in the sky while others provide far more compelling details that are downright strange.
Over the years, there have been UFO flaps, short-term increases in sighting activity. Having lived through a number of them, I used to feel that the time had come, if the government knew what was going on, to make them face the music and tell us. Well, at least until the flap ended.
Some researchers sought patterns in such activity. Maybe it had something to do with the distance of Mars from the Earth, believing the red planet was a possible source of the phenomenon. There was also a seven-year cycle repeated for a while before that pattern stopped.
Or maybe there was no pattern at all, and such events were mostly random, or followed a schedule that only visitors from other planets would understand.
Indeed, it sometimes seemed that the mere act of discovering a possible pattern of UFO waves was sufficient for things to change. Sometimes it was about UFO fans showing up at the location of fairly regular sightings only to see that particular pattern die down, or come to an end.
One possibility was that we were dealing with the so-called “publicity flap,” where one or more sightings capture the public’s imagination, receive extra news coverage, and encourage others to report their sightings. Since people were actually looking to the skies for something to happen, more strange things were reported. It wasn’t the result of some sort of intricate plan or schedule after all.
Obviously the expansion of UFO coverage increased hopes for serious attention from the government and scientists, but when the media turned its attention elsewhere, only the diehards stuck around. Indeed, one of my friends, who had a penchant for inventing hoaxes, remarked that he did it not for some nefarious purpose, but to keep up the interest in the saucers.
In the early 1970s, I was involved in publishing a magazine mostly focused on UFOs at a time when interest was at a low ebb. It had nothing whatever to do with me, but I saw the frequency of sightings increase once more. I was employed as the news director for a radio station located some 45 miles west of Philadelphia at the time. One day, between the usual coverage of entries in the local police blotters and town meetings came a bunch of UFO sightings.
Although they never talked about flying saucers with me, station management was happy to allow me to cover those events. Perhaps they felt it would somehow boost ratings, and they were always happy with that.
So the flying saucers were back, until they weren’t. The ebb and flow of sightings was the only thing on which you could depend. Even when hopes rose over the so-far unfulfilled prospects for disclosure, I could always accurately predict that it once again would come to nothing.
On December 16, 2017, it seemed the UFOs were back, but not because of a new saucer wave. America’s newspaper of record, The New York Times, ran a special feature on the subject entitled, “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious UFO Program.
One of the authors of the article was Leslie Kean, a journalist, author of a best-selling UFO book, and a sometimes guest on The Paracast. The article revealed how the Defense Department had spent $22 million on something called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. It may not have been obvious by the title, but this was a genuine UFO research project, operated in concert with hotel and space magnate Robert Bigelow.
The story partly focused on the military intelligence official who headed the project, one Luis Elizondo, who had since become associated with a private startup known as the To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science. Heading up the team is rock and roller Tom Delonge, listed as President and CEO. The company’s leadership also included a small number of scientists and former government officials that included Elizondo and Dr. Hal Puthoff.
While there’s reason to doubt Delonge’s credentials to head of such a group, was it possible his interest was mostly mercenary? According to the trades, he had amassed a fortune of some $60 million from his career as a performer, primarily for Blink182.
In passing, I barely heard of the group before Delonge came to my attention as a UFO enthusiast and someone who regarded himself as very well informed on the subject.
The story about the Pentagon UFO study got a fair amount of coverage early on, mostly serious. Leslie Kean served as a spokesperson for the group, and I did catch a couple of her interviews on cable TV news channels.
One thing was certain: By and large, that coverage was serious. The TV talking heads asked reasonable questions and received reasonable answers. Rather than make outlandish claims and promises, the presentation was largely straightforward. I even began to feel that there would continue to be snicker-free coverage. Did that mean that mainstream science might actually take it seriously?
But without new and compelling UFO events to cover, the subject faded from the headlines. Some weeks after the initial flurry of coverage, Leslie appeared on a Fox News program hosted by conservative firebrand Tucker Carlson. He handled the subject seriously, and I almost felt he had a personal interest in UFOs. But the main case discussed was the 2006 sighting of a UFO at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Was there nothing new to report, beyond the few sightings quoted from the Pentagon study?
The long and short is that, barring any sudden resurgence in news coverage due to a recent UFO event or some other development, the story has pretty much faded from the media. The To the Stars fundraising campaign has also stalled.
I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything more. This is what always happens in the UFO field. Why should this time be any different?
Copyright 1999-2018 The Paracast LLC. 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 18, 2018
www.theparacast.com
The Paracast Presents UFOs From an Historical Perspective with Jerome Clark
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 A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! 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 a higher-quality version of The Paracast free of network ads, when you sign up for The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes, the Paracast+ Video Channel, episode transcripts, Special Features, Classic Episodes and there’s more to come! We also feature selected podcasts and videos from Paul Kimball’s “Other Side of Truth,” and we are now offering special access to the first two episodes of the ghost haunting show he cohosts, "Haunted." Check out our new lower rates, starting at just $1.49 per week, plus our “Lifetime” membership and special free print and eBook book offers! For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
This Week's Episode: Gene and guest co-host Curtis Collins present long-time UFO researcher and author Jerome Clark, who will discuss an article he wrote for Fortean Times entitled, "Mr. Wilson and the aeronauts of 1897," and whether some of those sightings were genuine events, an elaborate fiction or something else: what Jerry calls an "experience anomaly." He'll also cover the history of the field, and whether anything has been accomplished towards understanding the phenomenon . And why has he once again been drawn into the field after a period of relative inactivity? His books include the multivolume magnum opus, "The UFO Encyclopedia." He's also a songwriter whose music has been recorded or performed by musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Tom T. Hall.
Chris O’Brien’s Blog: Our Strange Planet
Curt Collins' Blog: Blue Blurry Lines
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on February 18: Gene and guest co-host Curtis Collins continue their discussions with long-time UFO researcher and historian Jerome Clark. In this episode, Jerry explains how a random meeting with a book publisher led to a deal to write the third edition of “The UFO Encyclopedia,” expected in the fall of 2018, and the hopes for a more affordable version. The discussion also focuses on the history of the field and some of the early personalities. There are insights into UFO hoaxes, such as the MJ-12 documents, and how Project Blue Book usually treated the cases it pretended to investigate. You’ll also hear Jerry explain how he expects some classic cases to survive in the new edition of the book.
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. Check out our new YouTube channel at: The Official Paracast Channel
Is Yet Another Flurry of UFO Interest Flaming Out?
By Gene Steinberg
Regardless of whether the news media covers such stories, UFOs are almost always around. Such researchers as Canada’s Chis Rutkowski, and the ones who work with MUFON and other organizations continue, to collect sightings. Some are mere lights in the sky while others provide far more compelling details that are downright strange.
Over the years, there have been UFO flaps, short-term increases in sighting activity. Having lived through a number of them, I used to feel that the time had come, if the government knew what was going on, to make them face the music and tell us. Well, at least until the flap ended.
Some researchers sought patterns in such activity. Maybe it had something to do with the distance of Mars from the Earth, believing the red planet was a possible source of the phenomenon. There was also a seven-year cycle repeated for a while before that pattern stopped.
Or maybe there was no pattern at all, and such events were mostly random, or followed a schedule that only visitors from other planets would understand.
Indeed, it sometimes seemed that the mere act of discovering a possible pattern of UFO waves was sufficient for things to change. Sometimes it was about UFO fans showing up at the location of fairly regular sightings only to see that particular pattern die down, or come to an end.
One possibility was that we were dealing with the so-called “publicity flap,” where one or more sightings capture the public’s imagination, receive extra news coverage, and encourage others to report their sightings. Since people were actually looking to the skies for something to happen, more strange things were reported. It wasn’t the result of some sort of intricate plan or schedule after all.
Obviously the expansion of UFO coverage increased hopes for serious attention from the government and scientists, but when the media turned its attention elsewhere, only the diehards stuck around. Indeed, one of my friends, who had a penchant for inventing hoaxes, remarked that he did it not for some nefarious purpose, but to keep up the interest in the saucers.
In the early 1970s, I was involved in publishing a magazine mostly focused on UFOs at a time when interest was at a low ebb. It had nothing whatever to do with me, but I saw the frequency of sightings increase once more. I was employed as the news director for a radio station located some 45 miles west of Philadelphia at the time. One day, between the usual coverage of entries in the local police blotters and town meetings came a bunch of UFO sightings.
Although they never talked about flying saucers with me, station management was happy to allow me to cover those events. Perhaps they felt it would somehow boost ratings, and they were always happy with that.
So the flying saucers were back, until they weren’t. The ebb and flow of sightings was the only thing on which you could depend. Even when hopes rose over the so-far unfulfilled prospects for disclosure, I could always accurately predict that it once again would come to nothing.
On December 16, 2017, it seemed the UFOs were back, but not because of a new saucer wave. America’s newspaper of record, The New York Times, ran a special feature on the subject entitled, “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious UFO Program.
One of the authors of the article was Leslie Kean, a journalist, author of a best-selling UFO book, and a sometimes guest on The Paracast. The article revealed how the Defense Department had spent $22 million on something called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. It may not have been obvious by the title, but this was a genuine UFO research project, operated in concert with hotel and space magnate Robert Bigelow.
The story partly focused on the military intelligence official who headed the project, one Luis Elizondo, who had since become associated with a private startup known as the To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science. Heading up the team is rock and roller Tom Delonge, listed as President and CEO. The company’s leadership also included a small number of scientists and former government officials that included Elizondo and Dr. Hal Puthoff.
While there’s reason to doubt Delonge’s credentials to head of such a group, was it possible his interest was mostly mercenary? According to the trades, he had amassed a fortune of some $60 million from his career as a performer, primarily for Blink182.
In passing, I barely heard of the group before Delonge came to my attention as a UFO enthusiast and someone who regarded himself as very well informed on the subject.
The story about the Pentagon UFO study got a fair amount of coverage early on, mostly serious. Leslie Kean served as a spokesperson for the group, and I did catch a couple of her interviews on cable TV news channels.
One thing was certain: By and large, that coverage was serious. The TV talking heads asked reasonable questions and received reasonable answers. Rather than make outlandish claims and promises, the presentation was largely straightforward. I even began to feel that there would continue to be snicker-free coverage. Did that mean that mainstream science might actually take it seriously?
But without new and compelling UFO events to cover, the subject faded from the headlines. Some weeks after the initial flurry of coverage, Leslie appeared on a Fox News program hosted by conservative firebrand Tucker Carlson. He handled the subject seriously, and I almost felt he had a personal interest in UFOs. But the main case discussed was the 2006 sighting of a UFO at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Was there nothing new to report, beyond the few sightings quoted from the Pentagon study?
The long and short is that, barring any sudden resurgence in news coverage due to a recent UFO event or some other development, the story has pretty much faded from the media. The To the Stars fundraising campaign has also stalled.
I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything more. This is what always happens in the UFO field. Why should this time be any different?
Copyright 1999-2018 The Paracast LLC. 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!