The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio

A very special episode as Gene and guest cohost Tim Swartz present former New York Times reporter Ralph Blumenthal, co-author of the recent series of groundbreaking Times articles. coauthored with Helene Cooper and Leslie Kean, that revealed a secret Pentagon program to investigate UFOs and spurred serious discussions about the phenomenon by politicians, academics, and scientists. He is author of “The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack,” about the Harvard psychiatrist who investigated possible UFO abductions. Blumenthal also led the Times metro team that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the 1993 truck-bombing of the World Trade Center.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene and special guest cohost Tim Swartz present Paul Blake Smith, author of “President Eisenhower’s Close Encounters.” This is a controversial one listeners, but the main focus of the book is President Dwight Eisenhower’s alleged February 1954 meeting with extraterrestrials, initially kept secret from the public. When and how did that story first break? He previously authored “MO41, The Bombshell Before Roswell” and “3 Presidents, 2 Accidents: More MO41 UFO Crash Data. These were the first two books ever published about a possible April 1941 UFO event outside his hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Paul was a four-year Mass Communications Major with an English Minor at Southeast Missouri University in the 1980s and is a fan of history, sports, and the paranormal.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene and special guest cohost Curt Collins present Greg Eghigian. Greg is a Professor of History at Penn State University. In his research and teaching, he specializes in the history of science and medicine. He regularly teaches a course entitled “The History of Monsters, Aliens, and the Supernatural.” And he is presently finishing a book on the social history of the UFO and alien contact phenomena. Greg’s chief interest is in the human side of the paranormal – in other words, how individuals and societies in history have tried to make sense of these matters over time. During this interview, he’ll focus on the flying saucer field, and some of the fascinating characters who were deeply involved.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene and special guest cohost Tim Swartz present Zelia Edgar, author of Just Another Tin Foil Hat Presents. A lifelong Wisconsin resident, she was born in Green Bay, the state’s first city. Her family is from Southwestern Wisconsin, and the folklore of that region was a strong influence on her upbringing. Inspired largely by the rich history of weirdness throughout the Midwest, she has had a lifelong interest in the paranormal and has been seriously researching it for over a decade. In that time, she has worked as a certified field investigator and state director for Wisconsin MUFON, and currently runs the YouTube channel JustAnotherTinFoilHat. In addition to hosting a biweekly podcast by the same name on the Paranormal UK Radio Network, Zelia has also appeared as a guest on multiple podcasts and radio shows.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene is joined by special guest cohost Curt Collins as they present veteran UFO researcher Kevin D. Randle, here to talk about his latest book, “Levelland,” in which he provides extensive research into this classic sighting from November, 1957, which stalled cars and caused other mysterious electromagnetic effects. Randle began his study of UFOs while still a high school student. In 1972 he published his first article about UFOs in Saga’s Annual UFO Report. Throughout the 1970s, he published a number of articles concerning a variety of UFO sightings including tales of alien abduction, photographic cases, and those involving some sort of physical evidence. Randle’s writing is not limited to the UFO field. He is the author of more than 100 books that cover not just UFOs, but action-adventure, mysteries, and science fiction.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene and special guest cohost Curt Collins present UFO researcher and historian Jerry Clark. Clark has served as a writer, reporter, and editor for a number of magazines which cover UFOs and other paranormal subjects. He has been an editor of Fate magazine and International UFO Reporter, and a member of the board of directors for the Center for UFO Studies. Clark authored the multi-volume The UFO Encyclopedia: The Phenomenon From The Beginning with the first edition being published in 1992. In 1997 an abridged, one-volume edition of The UFO Encyclopedia, entitled The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial, was published as a trade paperback. In 1998, The UFO Book won the Benjamin Franklin Award in the Science/Environment category sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene is joined by special guest cohost Tim Swartz to present veteran paranormal researcher Steve Ward, who has been fascinated by the unexplained for over half a century. There were two events that had a major influence on Steve and set a course for his future path. Growing up in Michigan, the March 1966 UFO flap occurred virtually in his backyard. The following November, a winged humanoid chased two couples down a lonely country road near Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Influenced by John Keel and Jacques Vallee, Steve’s views on UFOs became unconventional and moved more toward a paranormal explanation. Steve’s main area of research is what some call “high strangeness” or “window areas” (as Keel dubbed them) where disparate types of paranormal phenomena all seem to occur in the same location. He is a correspondent on Mack Maloney’s Military X- Files radio show. He also has his own podcast broadcast on the Paranormal UK Radio Network called The High Strangeness Factor.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene and special guest cohost Tim Swartz introduce Keith Linder, who reveals what is regarded as America's most controversial poltergeist case. In 2012 Keith and his girlfriend and moved into a house right outside of Seattle. The phenomena they witnessed while there would change their lives forever. They're now living between two realities now. What he lived through and what he's willing to share. Robb Tilley of the Australian Institute of Parapsychology Research says Keith Linder's case "case is right up there with the most frightening of poltergeist cases: the Enfield Poltergeist, the South Shields Poltergeist, the Bridgeport Connecticut case, and the Matthew Manning case; all well-researched and detailed in various books and documentaries over the years." Keith Linder is author of The Bothell Hell House, Attachments — Poltergeist of Washington State Part Two, and Poltergeist — The Night Side of Physics books.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Gene and special guest cohost Tim Swartz present UFO investigator Tom Ferrario, who first experienced a close encounter with a possible gray alien at the age of six. Tom was a key member of the late Ted Phillip’s Special Investigations Unit known as S.I.U., which functions like the Navy Seals in that they are inserted into UFO portal areas armed with electronic and imaging equipment. A key research project was Marley Woods, a location much like Skinwalker Ranch, where all sorts of strange unearthly activity has been taking place. Ferrario has worked as a divemaster, machinist and electrical engineer on projects in the United States, China and Bermuda. He has been an independent UFO researcher who become a section director for MUFON. Later he would go on to be assistant state director for Missouri MUFON. He then co-founded the MUFON dive team with Debbie Zieglmeyer, after which he joined the late Ted Phillips on his Marley Woods research project.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

By special request, we present a fearless guest cohost roundtable, featuring Curt Collins and Tim Swartz. Curt is the author behind Blue Blurry Lines, the website focused on the UFO mystery, as well as its legends and hoaxes. After a career in retail management Curt began writing about UFOs, with a special interest in re-investigating the paradoxical 1980 Texas Cash-Landrum case. In 2015 Curt was on the investigative team, the Roswell Slides Research Group, that exposed the BeWitness alien photo fiasco. More recently, he launched The Saucers That Time Forgot with Claude Falkstrom, focused on unearthing “tales that UFO history has overlooked, or would rather forget.” Tim is an Indiana native and Emmy-Award winning television producer/videographer. He is also the author of a number of popular books including "The Lost Journals of Nikola Tesla," "America's Strange and Supernatural History," and "Time Travel: Fact Not Fiction!" And he is the writer and editor of the online newsletter Conspiracy Journal; a free, weekly e-mail newsletter, considered essential reading by paranormal researchers worldwide.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.