The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio

This episode features better audio and fewer ads: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present a return visit from the one and only Joshua Cutchin, a long-time favorite of listeners to The Paracast. He is an author, musician, husband, father, who has appeared on a wide variety of paranormal programs discussing his work, including the hit History Channel television show “Ancient Aliens.” He is the author of seven critically-acclaimed books: 2015’s “A Trojan Feast: The Food and Drink Offerings of Aliens, Faeries, and Sasquatch” (translated into Spanish as “Banquete Troyano”); 2016’s “The Brimstone Deceit: An In-Depth Examination of Supernatural Scents, Otherworldly Odors, & Monstrous Miasmas”; 2018’s “Thieves in the Night: A Brief History of Supernatural Child Abductions”; and 2020’s “Where the Footprints End: High Strangeness and the Bigfoot Phenomenon,” Volumes I & II, with Timothy Renner. In 2022, he released his two-part masterwork: “Ecology of Souls: A New Mythology of Death & the Paranormal.” 2023 marked the release of his first fictional novel, “Them Old Ways Never Died,” as well as his curated collection of essays, “Fairy Films: Wee Folk on the Big Screen.”Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

This episode features better audio and fewer ads: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz welcome back Hercules Invictus. A Lemnian Greek, he’s a proud descendant of Argonauts and Amazons. He is openly Olympian in his spirituality and worldview, dedicated to living the Mythic Life and has been exploring the fringes of our reality throughout his entire earthly sojourn. In this episode, Hercules pontificates about folklore, about the possibility that beings from other planets were active in so-called Biblical times. That is, unless an ancient civilization, such as Atlantis, was the home for a race of advanced beings. For over four decades he has been sharing his Olympian Odyssey with others. Hercules also recruits Argonauts and Heraklidae to help him usher in a new Age of Heroes. In the paranormal realm, Hercules currently produces and hosts several podcasts, a YouTube channel. He has also written numerous articles these subjects, and is an active author who has published two e-books on Kindle and contributed to over twenty paranormal anthologies. Hercules frequently conducts Olympian Workshops and serves as a guest speaker on multiple platforms.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

This episode features better audio and fewer ads: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present an entertaining pop culture look at "B" movies and movie serials with Brian Walker, creator and webmaster of Brian’s Drive-In Theater. He's been keeping memories of drive-in films and their stars alive since February 1, 1998. His love of films began in childhood with his first Super 8mm projector given to him by his grandmother who also bought him his first film, a four-minute excerpt of a W.C. Fields comedy. Over the last 50 years, he has assembled a film collection from such genres as horror and science fiction, comedy, and action with a special emphasis on B (low budget) movies. Currently calling Morgantown, West Virginia home, Brian is fortunate to live in proximity of a number of still-operating drive-in theaters in the southwestern Pennsylvania area and loves taking his convertible to the drive-in during the warm summer months. All told, this episode will provide a great look into pop culture over the decades, and its impact on society. As listeners to The Paracast know full well, the conventional memes in the UFO field about the origins and purpose of the phenomenon are infused in our culture, and sci-fi "B" movies, such as "Earth Versus the Flying Saucers," play a large part.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

This episode features better audio and fewer ads: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present another appearance from Keith Linder, who relates an extraordinary range of incredible paranormal experiences beginning in 2012. At the time, he and his girlfriend, Tina, moved into a house in the suburb of Seattle. The bizarre phenomena they witnessed would change their lives forever. The extreme ghostly activity started off when they heard what sounded to them like a child coughing. From there, things escalated quickly to strange noises, doors slamming, apparitions, things disappearing and dangerous fires. Objects would appear and disappear. One of the fires even burned a copy of the Bible. Keith eventually called in paranormal researcher Don Philips and British parapsychologist Steve Mera, who visited the house twice, spending several weeks and collecting extraordinary evidence. Keith is an IT professional for a popular IT company in Seattle, WA. He is author of the books "The Bothell Hell House: Poltergeist of Washington State," "Attachments: Poltergeist of Washington State Part 2," and "Poltergeist - The Night Side of Physics." His YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@KeithLdemonsinseattleBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

This episode features better audio and fewer ads: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present Brian Young — our resident skeptic — who makes a return visit to The Paracast to talk about Albert K. Bender, a curious character who became prominent in the early days of the modern UFO era and his experiences with the mysterious Men In Black. And what about their influence on UFO research and pop culture? Indeed, is there a group of government agents — rogue or otherwise — who travel around visiting innocent people whose only transgression was to see a UFO, telling to just shut up? What about Bender's strange sci-fi themed summary of his MIB encounters, "Flying Saucers and the Three Men"? Brian is a historian, cigar connoisseur, writer and researcher who, in addition to his paranormal studies, covers boxing and boxing history. He also co-hosts the Transatlantic History Ramblings podcast along with Lauren Davies, heard on Spotify and other streaming platforms. His book is "The Wrestlers’ Wrestlers: The Masters of the Craft of Professional Wrestling."Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

This episode features better audio and fewer ads: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz feature Chris Evers, owner and editor of Outer Limits Magazine a six times a year online publication dedicated to the paranormal world which we live in. He has had an interest in the UFO subject since his own strange experience in 1974. He is author of “THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME From Elsewhere:” Unidentified Flying Objects, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, Flying Saucers, Orbs, Cigar-Shaped, Flying Triangles, V-Shaped or Cross-Shaped, or even the alleged Adamski Venusian craft, the world of Ufology has seen them all. Why have there been so many different shapes associated with the world’s greatest unexplained phenomena? Do they all come from the same manufacturing plant based on a planet many light years from Earth? Will the truth ever be known? Evers presents mysterious tales and stories surrounding many of the above types of craft. Some will be well known accounts, which you have likely heard of; while many will be presented to you for the first time in this the authors first book from Philip Mantle’s Flying Disk Press.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

This episode features better audio and fewer ads: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present Lee Vander Boegh, an Emmy Award winning freelance writer, reporter and filmmaker based in Boise, Idaho. He spent nearly a decade at a local TV news station, where he helped produce "Ida-Haunts," a series of paranormal news stories (the promos he created for this series earned him two Emmys). The main focus of this episode is an article he wrote about cryptids, 10 Most Googled Monsters in the U.S. A self professed "Paranormal Agnostic," Lee doesn't discount the possibility of such phenomena, but wants irrefutable proof before calling himself a true believer. That said, he's had his fair share of "Did you see that?" moments, including an incident with a night-time aerial light so bright it burnt up his vehicle's alternator, and a one-year residency in a house that went bump-in-the-night on an uncomfortably regular basis. In his spare time he enjoys making horror films, acting, playing music and writing about himself in the third person. His horror short film, "Hinsdale," has won multiple festival awards including Best Horror Short at the 2019 Action on Film Festival and Best Horror Film and Audience choice award at the 2019 Twin Falls Film Festival.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

This episode features better audio and fewer ads: And now for something completely different: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present Christina Ward, an author, editor, and seeker. She is also the Vice President and Editor of Feral House, a publisher noted for their books on outré topics. The main topic of discussion is her book,  "Holy Food: How Cults, Communes, and New Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat." Religious beliefs have been the source of food "rules" since Pythagoras told his followers not to eat beans (they contain souls), Kosher and Halal rules forbade the shrimp cocktail (shellfish are scavengers, or maybe God just said "no"). A long-ago Pope forbade Catholics from eating meat on Fridays (fasting to atone for committed sins). Rules about eating are present in nearly every American belief, from high-control groups that ban everything except air to the infamous strawberry shortcake that sated visitors to the Oneida Community in the late 1800s. Even the followers of the Heaven's Gate cult had specific rules about food consumption. Ward's book also features over 75 recipes from religious and communal groups tested and updated for modern cooks.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present Mark Christopher Lee, a singer-songwriter in the cult indie band The Pocket Gods since 1998. As a filmmaker, he presents “God Vs. Aliens,” which looks into whether life as we know and perceive it is just a simulation designed and controlled by extra terrestrials for some unknown purpose. This theory would then make religion and even the idea of God as a construct of the computer game and thereby the Aliens controlling it. This films explores this theory and its impact on the world’s religions should we make first contact, and especially if that contact would actually negate our physical existence and any notion of God as real. Featured in the film are former UK Ministry of Defence staffer Nick Pope, Harvard astronomer Professor Avi Loeb, and UFO skeptic Seth Shostak. As a working musician, Lee has long advocated for fair royalties for artists, especially on such music streaming services as Apple Music and Spotify. He says that musicians routinely get underpaid for their work by the music industry and they have released albums of 30-second songs since 2015 to highlight the lack of fair royalties.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present author, producer, writer, lecturer, broadcaster, musician and artist Mark Olly, author of “Europe’s Roswell — 40 Years Since Impact.” This book contains detailed first-hand accounts of those involved, the best images of the crash debris available to date, up-dates from those same sources, how and where the original 25-year anniversary documentary was produced back in 2008, along with new international scientific analysis of the debris fragments. For over 22 years, Olly worked as a professional DJ, musician, and in music management founding Angelharp Music, Unicorn Entertainments Agency Ltd. and Legendthink Ltd. before moving on to pursue a solo career as writer, archaeologist and television presenter. This career has so far taken him to all parts of the UK, France, Egypt, Norway, Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and the Yucatan Peninsular Mexico in search of the ancient and the mysterious. He has several books in print, appeared on Carlton Television’s “The History Detectives,” wrote and presented three seasons of ITV Granada’s award nominated ‘Lost Treasures’ adventure archaeology series, is a regular presenter on Sky History Channel, writes, presents and directs DVD’s for U.S. media giant Reality Entertainments/Reality Films, and recently wrote and directed four Music Videos for international recording band Hayseed Dixie, and played sessions with atmospheric band Soul Path and rock bands Stone Cold Nero and Sacred Wind.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.