The Paracast -- The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio

Gene and Chris discuss movies, TV shows, pop culture and UFOs with Robbie Graham, author of "Silver Screen Saucers: Sorting Fact from Fantasy in Hollywood's UFO Movies." According to his bio: "Robbie Graham is a leading authority on the cultural and political interplay between UFOs and Hollywood. He has been interviewed on these subjects for BBC Radio, Coast to Coast AM, Canal+ TV, and Vanity Fair, among others. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications including The Guardian, New Statesman, Filmfax, Fortean Times, and the peer-reviewed Journal of North American Studies, 49th Parallel." Consider how the classic 1951 sci-fi film, "The Day the Earth Stood Still," influenced early flying saucer contact claims from George Adamski and others.

We welcome cutting-edge commentator Greg Bishop, of "Radio Misterioso," to talk about his fascinating new book, "It Defies Language." The book, with amazing illustrations from Red Pill Junkie, is "A collection of essays about the UFO subject and related phenomena. The first chapter discusses the U.S. Government's involvement along with the author's personal experiences with agents and military personnel. The text also includes historical perspectives on the subject, and theories and opinions on the current search for answers about UFOs from a viewpoint that is neither belief-based nor that of a doctrinaire skeptic. There are also entries about square craters on the Moon, black-eyed kids, and baseball games at Area 51." Nick Redfern wrote the foreword.

Gene and Chris present Chase Kloetzke, Deputy Director of Investigations and Special Case Manager for MUFON. Chase has a long career that qualifies her as an ace investigator, including a stint as a Master Trainer and Master Instructor with the U.S. Department of Defense. Her background includes assignments with the Department of Homeland Security. Chase is also certified as a private investigator and she is an author of two popular books; “Admissible — The Field Investigators Manual," with Richard Dolan, and a first of its kind children’s book about UFOs, “Are Aliens Really Real?"

Gene and Chris explore a crowd-sourced plan to launch a UFO detection satellite into low Earth orbit with Dave Cote, a project manager and software engineer for CubeSat for Disclosure. Plans call for launching the tiny satellite in 2017. It'll be run with open-source software, and will contain instrumentation to measure possible spaceborne UFO activity. The instruments include radiation detection, imaging equipment, including a scintillation counter and two high resolution cameras with parabolic lenses. If the project succeeds, Dave and his crew hope to launch more satellites. Other methods for detecting possible UFO activity will be discussed during this interview.

Gene and Chris focus on nuts and bolts UFO research with research scientist Phyllis Budinger. In 2013, Phyllis was named "Ufologist of the Year" and the MUFON International Symposium in Las Vegas. She holds two degrees in Chemistry: B.S. from Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio (1961) and M.S. from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio (1964). Her expertise in the forensic analysis of UFO related materials has placed her services in great demand among well known investigators throughout the world including Ted Phillips [Delphos, KS case], Nancy Talbott, Kathleen Marden (the dress worn by Betty Hill when she was abducted), as well as working with MUFON Star Team investigators.

Our listeners are just amazing, so we're proud to present yet another Listener Roundtable, this time featuring such popular forum regulars as Stonehart (Dave), Sue and Ufology (Randall). The discussion ranges from the state of UFO and paranormal research, and why women are less apt to listen and participate in paranormal forums or attend conventions. You'll hear about personal case histories, views about such controversial issues as UFO abductions, not to mention musical tastes, and even whether some psychics have genuine paranormal powers. Our guest panel also answers your questions.

We observe ten years of The Paracast with a special roundtable featuring two of our guest co-hosts over the years, Greg Bishop, of "Radio Misterioso," film producer Paul Kimball, and long-time forum participant and moderator Goggs Mackay. We talk about the state of paranormal research, how our views have changed over the years when it comes to individual cases, such as Roswell, and the possible causes of the UFO phenomenon. The panel also discusses things that might be done to make research more productive; what about the evidence contained in those UFO databases, what about free and transparent evaluation of all the evidence? The discussion also includes the plight of the experiencer, how their lives have been impacted by their experience, and where UFO abductions may fit in. And what about "panic in the woods" and the "Oz Factor"? The discussion continues on this week's episode of After The Paracast.

Gene and Chris present Peter Davenport, director of the National UFO Reporting Center, to join us for a UFO update. According to Davenport, "One of the issues I would like to discuss is the wild proliferation of sightings of clusters of red, orange, and yellow fireballs. It appears to be the most important facet to the current status of Ufology, and I strongly suspect that the overwhelming majority of those reports do not involve so-called 'Chinese' lanterns." Davenport will also discuss his ongoing plans to develop a UFO detection system using "passive" radar. First proposed 22 years ago, Davenport suggests that recent advancements in personal computer technology make the plans more feasible than ever.

A very special episode featuring best-selling fact and fiction author Whitley Strieber. During this session, Whitley will discuss his new book, "The Super Natural," co-authored with J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Religion at Rice University, Jeffery Kripal. According to the promotional notes, "[This] book looks at all kinds of 'impossible' things, from extra-dimensional beings to bilocation to bumps in the night. They contend that these phenomena are not impossible at all: rather, they are part of our natural world. 'The Super Natural' considers that the natural world is actually a 'user natural world' — and all we have to do to see this is to change the lenses through which we are looking at it and the languages through which we are presently limiting it."

The Paracast explores cutting-edge theories about the paranormal with Eric Ouellet, author of "Illuminations: The UFO Experience as a Parapsychological Event." In this book, Dr. Ouellet asks the compelling question, "What if UFO experiences are the result of large-scale, unconscious, psychic forces?" According to the promotional notes for the book: "In Illuminations, sociologist Eric Ouellet offers a novel approach to a phenomenon that has thus far resisted all other efforts to explain it, be it as extraterrestrial craft, time travelers, secret government projects, or natural phenomena." The author is a professor of Defense Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, and at the Canadian Forces College (Canada’s Joint Staff and War College). He has a Ph.D. in sociology from York University (Toronto, Canada).

The 2016 IUFOC features such luminaries as Jacques Vallee, Nick Pope, Nick Redfern, Douglas Trumball, and Chris Rutkowski. That's a lot of firepower for one UFO convention. Discussing the event, the state of UFO research and other hot topics, is Alejandro Rojas, from convention sponsors OpenMinds.tv, He'll also talk about the situation at MUFON and what he might do in the unlikely event he became director of that organization. Alejandro is also host for Open Minds UFO Radio, and emcee for the International UFO Congress. He is also a blogger for the Huffington Post.

In the tradition of our fascinating episodes with Mike Clelland and Walter Bosley, we explore synchronicity even further with Dr. Kirby Surprise, author of "Synchronicity: The Art of Coincidence, Choice and Unlocking Your Mind." Is synchronicity due to some external force, or is it an ability that we all possess? How does it impact the world in which we live, and our own lives? According to his bio, "Dr. Kirby Surprise received his doctorate in counseling psychology from the Institute for Integral Studies. He works in an advanced outpatient program for the State of California where he assesses, diagnoses, and treats clients with psychotic and delusional disorders."

We explore the amazing theories of alternate realities, parallel universes, as possible solutions to UFOs and other paranormal events with T. Allen Greenfield. In the 1960s, Allen and Gene, during an all-night brainstorming session, first hatched a theory meant to account for many of the anomalous elements surrounding the presence of UFOs in our skies. Allen is a past (elected) member of the Society for Psychical Research and the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (from 1960). He has twice been the recipient of the "UFOlogist of the Year Award" of the National UFO Conference (1972 and 1992).

When it comes to UFO researchers, Chris Rutkowski is a class act. He returns to The Paracast for a 2015 UFO sighting update, his reaction to Hilary Clinton's promise to look into UFOs, the "new" Ufology and other hot topics in the field. We also focus on pop culture and sic-fi. Says his bio: “Chris Rutkowski, B.Sc., Med, is a Canadian science writer and educator, with a background in astronomy but with a passion for teaching science concepts to children and adults. Since the mid-1970s, he also has been studying reports of UFOs and writing about his investigations and research.”

Have we made any progress at all in understanding our paranormal universe? For our first episode of 2016 invited Micah Hanks, of The Gralien Report, for a no-nonsense discussion about pop culture, the effects of myths on our society and other compelling topics. Micah is a writer, researcher, podcaster, lecturer and radio personality whose work addresses a variety of areas, including history, politics, scientific theories and unexplained phenomena. His research has examined a broad variety of subjects over the years, incorporating interest in scientific anomalies, cultural studies, psychology, sci-fi and pop culture, government secrecy, and the prospects of our technological future as a species as influenced by science.