THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
November 18, 2018
www.theparacast.com
UFO Historian Jerome Clark Talks About the Third Edition of "The UFO Encyclopedia" 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 A PREMIUM 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 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! So act now! Check out Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio for more details about The Paracast+.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Randall present long-time UFO researcher and author Jerome Clark, who will discuss the third edition of his multivolume magnum opus, "The UFO Encyclopedia." You'll learn about the new material, the conclusions that were altered as the result of new research, particularly the Roswell UFO crash and how the case stands after all these years. Indeed, is any reported UFO crash credible? Randall and Jerry also debate the "experience anomaly," and its impact on certain cases, such as abductions. Are all UFOs physical craft, or are other forces at work here? Jerry is also a songwriter whose music has been recorded or performed by musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Tom T. Hall.
J. Randall Murphy's Ufology Society International: Ufology Society International (USI) - Explore the UFO Phenomenon
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on November 18: Gene and Randall are rejoined by UFO historian Jerome Clark as they continue the discussion that began on the November 18, 2018 episode of The Paracast. Jerry talks about what he regards as the mistakes newcomers to the UFO field typically make, suggesting that, to learn the ropes, they should expand their studies to other relevant topics. He also expands on what he calls the “experience anomaly,” and also focuses on a topic in which he disagrees with UFO researcher Jacques Vallee.
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
Forgetting the Lessons of History
By Gene Steinberg
When the original news coverage of that Pentagon UFO study appeared in newspapers and the broadcast media in late 2017, many of you no doubt felt that followers of UFO lore would at last be vindicated. Here we had what appeared to be proof of a renewed interest in the subject on the part of the U.S. government.
The media treated it as something altogether new, forgetting that the U.S. Air Force had been in the UFO investigation business, more or less, since the late 1940s. Maybe earlier. Even when they buried Project Blue Book in 1969, there were rumors that investigations were continuing.
Certainly this made sense, since the military was duty-bound to look into reports of strange objects in the sky, if only out of national security concerns. But precious little of it came to the public’s attention, beyond the occasional reminders that the Roswell crash was caused by a misbehaving Mogul balloon.
Even though many longtime researchers are in their golden years — such as yours truly — it is true that younger people continue to develop interest in paranormal mysteries. But when entering the UFO field to see what’s going on, to where do they turn?
Do they sign up with MUFON, still America’s largest UFO group, and become evangelized about the presence of extraterrestrials on our planet?
Or are they inundated with loads of fanciful claims about time travelers and “star beings” from Zeta Reticuli? Are they being told that our government will soon disclose the truth?
Over the years, there have been many predictions that the truth is not only out there, but will be revealed real soon now. In the 1950s, pioneer UFO book writer Major Donald E. Keyhoe clearly felt disclosure was imminent. After he took over a floundering UFO club, NICAP, he remade it as a lobbying group, devoted to convincing the U.S. Congress to hold hearings to reveal the truth.
Although NICAP’s governing board was heavily laden with retired military officials, including a former head of the CIA, Keyhoe seemed awfully naive about the inner-workings of the body politic. He believed legislators held hearings to reveal facts, rather than to advance agendas, and perhaps impress voters and donors to their campaigns.
Yes, there were hearings about the flying saucers, and it brought about the controversial Condon Report, regarded by many as a whitewash. Keyhoe was eventually fired by NICAP’s board over poor management and alleged financial irregularities, and the organization, though it still existed on paper, became mostly irrelevant.
Yes, I know there is still a NICAP web site and that some work is still being done, but it hardly attracts much attention.
The UFO disclosure movement that arose in the 1990s continued in various forms with the same unfulfilled promise, that the authorities were poised to reveal the truth. I suppose there was reason to be hopeful when Secretary Hillary Clinton, during her failed 2016 campaign for President, promised to look into the UFO matter.
More than likely, she was heavily influenced by campaign chief John Podesta, who actually wrote a forward to Leslie Kean’s book, “UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On The Record.”
But Podesta was also notorious for being the individual who had his personal email account hacked during the campaign, resulting in thousands of messages allegedly exposing campaign strategy and positions being posted on the controversial WikiLeaks site.
More recently, there were hopes that the To The Stars Academy for Arts and Scientists, headed by former rock and roller Tom DeLonge, might be able to deliver new evidence about UFOs that would hasten disclosure.
But it appears there hasn’t been much activity in recent months, just promises. Its campaign to lure investors to the cause doesn’t appear to have resulted in a significant amount of seed money. The site covers a number of ventures of which UFO, or UAP research appears to only be a part. Although a few interesting sightings were disclosed along the way, it doesn’t appear that an awful lot is being done.
If anything, all of the other ventures in which this company is engaged only appear to confuse any mission to bring about UFO disclosure, or to, in fact, discover any real answers to the mystery. It doesn’t even appear that the key executive making public appearances for the company these days, Luis Elizondo, is very knowledgeable about the long history of the UFO field before he got involved in the recent government UFO project.
By and large, people interested in UFOs are still regarded as ET believers, people who are convinced that we have visitors from other planets in our midst. That belief may, of course, be true, but it doesn’t mean real research must stop, or stick with the program.
While there have been some clever alternatives to the conventional wisdom, such as UFOs from our collective unconscious, perhaps accompanied by an individual’s participation in the manifestation of such phenomena, it’s not as if that’s terribly new either. Don’t forget that the key proponent of the collective unconscious theory, the late Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, had his book on the subject, “Flying Saucers : A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies,” published back in 1959.
I recall at the time that Major Keyhoe persuaded Dr. Jung to admit that he wasn’t necessarily dismissing the possibility of alien life, or that we might be visited by such beings.
Nonetheless, it’s difficult to doubt that we appear to have been there before whenever someone presents an original theory about UFO reality. The ETH is still dominant.
Unfortunately, people who are new to the field may only be exposed to reality TV, the occasional sighting report, and a book or two. In large part, UFOs are still just about possible alien visitors, and the rich history of investigation and alternative possibilities is often overlooked.
One way to get a compelling picture of the history of UFO research is to read Jerome Clark’s massive two-volume work, “The UFO Encyclopedia.” The third edition was released this past summer, but it’s best obtained at your local public library. Since it’s regarded as a reference work by its publisher, it’s expensive. Even with Amazon’s discount, it was still $145 last I checked.
If you want to be exposed to more of Jerry’s amazing knowledge on the subject, you’ll want to listen to the episodes of The Paracast in which he appeared, such as the one broadcast on November 18. The interview got into a variety of topics, and was continued in the companion episode of After The Paracast.
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!
November 18, 2018
www.theparacast.com
UFO Historian Jerome Clark Talks About the Third Edition of "The UFO Encyclopedia" 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 A PREMIUM 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 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! So act now! Check out Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio for more details about The Paracast+.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Randall present long-time UFO researcher and author Jerome Clark, who will discuss the third edition of his multivolume magnum opus, "The UFO Encyclopedia." You'll learn about the new material, the conclusions that were altered as the result of new research, particularly the Roswell UFO crash and how the case stands after all these years. Indeed, is any reported UFO crash credible? Randall and Jerry also debate the "experience anomaly," and its impact on certain cases, such as abductions. Are all UFOs physical craft, or are other forces at work here? Jerry is also a songwriter whose music has been recorded or performed by musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Tom T. Hall.
J. Randall Murphy's Ufology Society International: Ufology Society International (USI) - Explore the UFO Phenomenon
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on November 18: Gene and Randall are rejoined by UFO historian Jerome Clark as they continue the discussion that began on the November 18, 2018 episode of The Paracast. Jerry talks about what he regards as the mistakes newcomers to the UFO field typically make, suggesting that, to learn the ropes, they should expand their studies to other relevant topics. He also expands on what he calls the “experience anomaly,” and also focuses on a topic in which he disagrees with UFO researcher Jacques Vallee.
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
Forgetting the Lessons of History
By Gene Steinberg
When the original news coverage of that Pentagon UFO study appeared in newspapers and the broadcast media in late 2017, many of you no doubt felt that followers of UFO lore would at last be vindicated. Here we had what appeared to be proof of a renewed interest in the subject on the part of the U.S. government.
The media treated it as something altogether new, forgetting that the U.S. Air Force had been in the UFO investigation business, more or less, since the late 1940s. Maybe earlier. Even when they buried Project Blue Book in 1969, there were rumors that investigations were continuing.
Certainly this made sense, since the military was duty-bound to look into reports of strange objects in the sky, if only out of national security concerns. But precious little of it came to the public’s attention, beyond the occasional reminders that the Roswell crash was caused by a misbehaving Mogul balloon.
Even though many longtime researchers are in their golden years — such as yours truly — it is true that younger people continue to develop interest in paranormal mysteries. But when entering the UFO field to see what’s going on, to where do they turn?
Do they sign up with MUFON, still America’s largest UFO group, and become evangelized about the presence of extraterrestrials on our planet?
Or are they inundated with loads of fanciful claims about time travelers and “star beings” from Zeta Reticuli? Are they being told that our government will soon disclose the truth?
Over the years, there have been many predictions that the truth is not only out there, but will be revealed real soon now. In the 1950s, pioneer UFO book writer Major Donald E. Keyhoe clearly felt disclosure was imminent. After he took over a floundering UFO club, NICAP, he remade it as a lobbying group, devoted to convincing the U.S. Congress to hold hearings to reveal the truth.
Although NICAP’s governing board was heavily laden with retired military officials, including a former head of the CIA, Keyhoe seemed awfully naive about the inner-workings of the body politic. He believed legislators held hearings to reveal facts, rather than to advance agendas, and perhaps impress voters and donors to their campaigns.
Yes, there were hearings about the flying saucers, and it brought about the controversial Condon Report, regarded by many as a whitewash. Keyhoe was eventually fired by NICAP’s board over poor management and alleged financial irregularities, and the organization, though it still existed on paper, became mostly irrelevant.
Yes, I know there is still a NICAP web site and that some work is still being done, but it hardly attracts much attention.
The UFO disclosure movement that arose in the 1990s continued in various forms with the same unfulfilled promise, that the authorities were poised to reveal the truth. I suppose there was reason to be hopeful when Secretary Hillary Clinton, during her failed 2016 campaign for President, promised to look into the UFO matter.
More than likely, she was heavily influenced by campaign chief John Podesta, who actually wrote a forward to Leslie Kean’s book, “UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On The Record.”
But Podesta was also notorious for being the individual who had his personal email account hacked during the campaign, resulting in thousands of messages allegedly exposing campaign strategy and positions being posted on the controversial WikiLeaks site.
More recently, there were hopes that the To The Stars Academy for Arts and Scientists, headed by former rock and roller Tom DeLonge, might be able to deliver new evidence about UFOs that would hasten disclosure.
But it appears there hasn’t been much activity in recent months, just promises. Its campaign to lure investors to the cause doesn’t appear to have resulted in a significant amount of seed money. The site covers a number of ventures of which UFO, or UAP research appears to only be a part. Although a few interesting sightings were disclosed along the way, it doesn’t appear that an awful lot is being done.
If anything, all of the other ventures in which this company is engaged only appear to confuse any mission to bring about UFO disclosure, or to, in fact, discover any real answers to the mystery. It doesn’t even appear that the key executive making public appearances for the company these days, Luis Elizondo, is very knowledgeable about the long history of the UFO field before he got involved in the recent government UFO project.
By and large, people interested in UFOs are still regarded as ET believers, people who are convinced that we have visitors from other planets in our midst. That belief may, of course, be true, but it doesn’t mean real research must stop, or stick with the program.
While there have been some clever alternatives to the conventional wisdom, such as UFOs from our collective unconscious, perhaps accompanied by an individual’s participation in the manifestation of such phenomena, it’s not as if that’s terribly new either. Don’t forget that the key proponent of the collective unconscious theory, the late Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, had his book on the subject, “Flying Saucers : A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies,” published back in 1959.
I recall at the time that Major Keyhoe persuaded Dr. Jung to admit that he wasn’t necessarily dismissing the possibility of alien life, or that we might be visited by such beings.
Nonetheless, it’s difficult to doubt that we appear to have been there before whenever someone presents an original theory about UFO reality. The ETH is still dominant.
Unfortunately, people who are new to the field may only be exposed to reality TV, the occasional sighting report, and a book or two. In large part, UFOs are still just about possible alien visitors, and the rich history of investigation and alternative possibilities is often overlooked.
One way to get a compelling picture of the history of UFO research is to read Jerome Clark’s massive two-volume work, “The UFO Encyclopedia.” The third edition was released this past summer, but it’s best obtained at your local public library. Since it’s regarded as a reference work by its publisher, it’s expensive. Even with Amazon’s discount, it was still $145 last I checked.
If you want to be exposed to more of Jerry’s amazing knowledge on the subject, you’ll want to listen to the episodes of The Paracast in which he appeared, such as the one broadcast on November 18. The interview got into a variety of topics, and was continued in the companion episode of After The Paracast.
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!