
In Research Of
William Blake Smith · Blake Smith
Show overview
In Research Of has been publishing since 2019, and across the 7 years since has built a catalogue of 118 episodes, alongside 16 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 200 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a monthly cadence, with the show now in its 5th season.
Episodes typically run over ninety minutes — most land between 1h 13m and 2h 10m — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. Roughly 43% of episodes carry an explicit flag from the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Science show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 2 weeks ago, with 4 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2020, with 39 episodes published. Published by Blake Smith.
From the publisher
The show where we watch the 1970s TV show "In Search Of..." and look at possible explanations the producers didn't consider.
Latest Episodes
View all 118 episodesS05E03 - Lee Harvey Oswald
S05E02 - Faith Healing (EXPLICIT)

BONUS: Weirdumentary with Gary Rhodes
bonusWeirdumentary has a forward by Stephen Bissette who wrote a book also likely to be of interest to listeners: Cryptid Cinema (affiliate link) (A follow-up to that book is under construction and will include research by your's truly about the "4-walling" tour of the PGF.) I linked to Feral House's page for Weirdumentary above at the request of Gary. If you're curious about their catalog, we talked with their owner recently about monstrous food and they also produced Al Ridenour's new book about Carnival. This is not a complete list of the films in the book - and it also covers a few TV series including In Search Of... and Arthur C. Clarke's _____ (he had three ITV series covering topics similar to ISO with each season getting a slightly different name). 1970: Chariots of the Gods, The Unexplained 1971: The Hellstrom Chronicles, The Man Who Saw Tomorrow 1972: Bigfoot Man or Beast, Monsters! Mysteries or Myths?, The Devil's Triangle, The Legend of Boggy Creek 1973: In Search of Ancient Astronauts 1974: Deadly Fathoms, In Search of Ancient Mysteries, In Search of Dracula, UFOs: Past, Present and Future 1975: Mysteries from Beyond Earth, The Force Beyond, The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond, The Man of Miracles, The Outer Space Connection 1976: Beyond Belief, In Search of Noah's Ark, Mysteries of the Gods, The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena, The Legend of Bigfoot, The Legend of Loch Ness, The Miracle Healers, The Mysterious Monsters, World Beyond Death 1977: Aliens from Spaceship Earth, Journey into the Beyond, Mysteries of the Great Pyramid, The Lincoln Conspiracy, The Underground Doctors, The Unknown Force 1978: Are We Alone in the Universe?, Beyond and Back, Curse of the Mayan Temple, Manbeast! Myth or Monster?, Mysteries from Beyond the Triangle, Mysteries of the Mind, Mystery of the Sacred Shroud, Secret of the Bermuda Triangle, The Amazing World of Ghosts, The Late Great Planet Earth, The Lost City of Atlantis, The UFO Journals, UFO - Exclusive! , UFO: Top Secret, Unknown Powers, World of the Unknown 1979: Attack from Outer Space, Charles Berlitz's The Bermuda Triangle, Death: The Ultimate Mystery, Encounter with Disaster, Hypnosis and Beyond, In Search of the Historic Jesus, The Doomsday Chronicles, The Prophecies of Nostradamus, UFOs Are Real, World of Mystery 1980: Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World (TV), Land of Celtic Ghosts, Mysteries of the Mind, UFO Syndrome 1981: Search for the Titanic

S5 Ep 1S05E01 UFO Coverups
EShow less Jeb and Blake kick off Season 5 of In Search Of... by researching UFO COVERUPS! Links: UFO Crash at Roswell Catalina UFO Footage and Reddit discussion of same Twilight Zone - A Small Talent for War Malmstrom UFO Incident Obit for Col. Donald Burggrabe Peter Gersten "the UFO Lawyer" Raymond Fowler Col. Robert Friend - and obit Jesse Marcel Sr. NASA Lifting Body Northrop Flying Wing Doak VZ-4 (not a saucer!) Avrocar Jupiter II (Lost in Space) Nimoy Fashion Alert! UFO Crash Sites in New Mexico: There is a lot of Top Secret in this episode: Col Donald Burggrabe Raymond Fowler Peter Gersten Donald Ritter Jesse Marcel Sr. Col Robert Friend And was the model UFO in this episode a guest star from Lost In Space?

S4 Ep 24S04E24 - Past Lives
EBlake and Jeb go In Research Of PAST LIVES with Leonard Nimoy. Subjects include reincarnation claims, past-life regression therapy, and some truly baffling Nimoy wardrobe choices. Link to YouTube Episode (while it lasts) Topics we cover include: Nimoy wandering a Los Angeles graveyard in a strange quasi-military sport coat, and Blake's detective work tying the filming location to Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights. The famous Pollock twins case from Hexham, England, where two girls were said to be the reincarnations of their deceased sisters — and how later research complicates the story. Dr. Lucia Capacchione's art-therapy / inner-child work and how the show uses regression narratives to explain modern psychological problems. Playwright A.J. Stewart (Ada F. Kay), who became convinced she was James IV of Scotland and wrote Falcon: The Autobiography of His Grace James IV King of Scots as if from the king's own perspective. Whether past-life regression therapy produces evidence of reincarnation or just vivid, therapist-shaped fantasy, and why skeptics are so wary of hypnosis-based "memories." NFA (Nimoy Fashion Alert): Cemetery Detective Work: Using the 2nd NFA shot, I was able to decipher the tex on the dark tombstone. It is a lot darker in real life with a modern shot. That "Find a Grave" entry includes the exact location where Nimoy was standing for this episode's cemetery shot. Jeb asked for an animated gif of the woman in the castle with secret doors: The cover of Robert and Loy Young's book about reincarnation: The twins at the heart of the British (Hexham!) reincarnation story: And I can't help but scream - DON'T GO NEAR THE EDGE!!! This episode is such a cliffhanger. Deeper reading & sources mentioned: Pollock twins case write-up at the Society for Psychical Research's Psi Encyclopedia Psi Encyclopedia on famous past-life claims (including A.J. Stewart / Ada F. Kay): Ada F. Kay / A.J. Stewart biography (reincarnation claim & Falcon background) Evergreen Cemetery (Los Angeles) – history and the Japanese "Garden of the Pines" section Lucia Capacchione and inner-child / expressive-arts therapy Skeptical overview of past-life regression therapy (Harriet Hall, Science-Based Medicine): General background on past-life regression and why psychologists consider it pseudoscientific

S4 Ep 22S04E22 - The Bimini Wall (Explicit)
EJeb and Blake ponder Atlantis and "healing holes" in the waters off the coast of Bimini. (Weirdly this is almost literally true as Blake ended up actually in Bimini just a week before this ep released. More on that soon.) Links for Shownotes: Roby Yonge on "The Beatles Paul is Dead" Neptune Memorial Reef "Psychic" Irene Hughes Bimini Wall Edgar Cayce Beachrock The Healing Hole More on the crystal ball from 2010 (Cayce related) Nimoy Fashion Alert: Other interesting images from the episode: Hemingway's Healing Hole: Robey Yong and Irene Hughes re-enact their experiences. Doc Raymond Brown and his crystal ball Marcel Vogel and some crystals - he was also in S01E01 on talking plants.

Alien Intrusion and the UTH
bonusFlashback to January 2018:In this episode of MonsterTalk, we return to discussion of the Ultraterrestrial Hypothesis (UTH) and what seems to be its growing influence in paranormal circles. It's been used to explain UFOs, mothman, bigfoot, fairies, dogman, ghosts and many other phenomena which defy scientific demonstrability. Now it crops up again in a new film event titled Alien Intrusion which turned out to be a stealth evangelical creationist film which suggests that aliens and UFOs are actually demonic. We are joined by MonsterTalk alum Joe Laycock, Natasha Mikles and Jeb Card to discuss the UTH and Jeb's Paranormal Unified Field Theory (PUFT) as it relates to this film and the work of John Keel and others. In Research Of… MonsterTalk Joe Laycock Natasha Mikles Jeb Card Music Monstertalk Theme: Monster by Peach Stealing Monkeys

S4 Bonus: The Mothman Prophecies part 2
bonusEThis is part 2 of our 2-part coverage of The Mothman Prophecies movie. If you haven't listened to Part-1, please turn over the record and start again. Additional show notes available (for free) on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/s4-bonus-mothman-129987183

S04 Bonus: The Mothman Prophecies Part 1
bonusEThis is part 1 of our 2-part coverage of The Mothman Prophecies movie. This is in lieu of S04E21 (see below) but we hope you enjoy the content and after part 2, we return to our regularly scheduled episodes list. "So... Air Disasters Predictions, Jeb? What do you think we'll get?" Well it turned out to be more than we expected. During our research for this episode we ran into a bit of a puzzle. It turns out that one of the key figures in the episode is still alive and has become an important figure in the world of conspiracy and out of an abundance of caution for our own sanity (as regards potential litigiousness) we've decided to shelve this one for a while. Will we come back and fill in the gap when we think the coast is clear? I don't know - but we didn't want to leave a hole in your listening so we decided to do something... more ambitious. So what we did instead was we recorded a 4+ hour deep dive into the 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies. Extensive show notes available (for free) at our Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/posts/s4-bonus-mothman-126932315

S4 Ep 20S04E20 - In Search of John the Baptist
EJeb and Blake go in search of John the Baptist's resting place. Content Warning: Human remains on screen. Discussion of murder. Beheading John the Baptist (wiki) Salome (play) In 2018 the murder of Bishop Epiphanius took place and rocked the religious community -- not important for this episode but it popped up a lot in my searching. San Silvestro "head" shown in intro Same - but wiki article Nimoy Fashion Alert (NFA Wardrobe consulting by The Hogtown Rake, Pedro Mendes) The "head" of John the Baptist at San Silvestro: Art historian Michael Patroconni (Petroccione?) I think Jeb and I found this to be the most fun part of the episode: Gerald Larue obituary Herod Antipas (the Herod that executed JTB) Wadi El Natrun The Cave of John the Baptist

S4 Ep 19S04E19 - Earth Visitors (Explicit)
EBlake tries to talk Jeb off the ledge as we return to the classic theme of "ancient astronauts" in this throwback episode titled: Earth Visitors. Some links relevant to our discussion: Dejah Thoris (character) MUFON/Harzan scandal Roman Dodecahedrons (archaeology) Frank Frazetta Boris Vallejo We mention Zecharia Sitchin. Research suggests humans grow more neurons than did Neanderthals. A bunch of this episode comes from the work of Maurice Chatelain, who we shall refer to as "Shadowlane." His book Our Cosmic Ancestors sports one of the more interesting book covers we've seen while researching this show. He also wrote Our Ancestors Came from Outer Space. Maurice Chatelain's credentials appear to have been somewhat overstated in the episode. We'll be talking about several "Out of Place Artifacts" or OOPAs in this episode. Let's start with the "Boot Print" aka The Meister Print. (pictured below) See also this article by Glenn Kuban. Very compelling stuff. I guess. I mean it sort of looks like show print. This interesting looking skull also sent us down some research holes. The text of the episode seems to be talking about the Del Mar Skull but the image doesn't look like a close match. A lot of "shapes on the earth" are discussed. The shapes require you to do a lot of work. We'll get into that in the episode. But one is the Maltese Cross that is absolutely stunning, so long as you ignore that some of the points are hundreds of miles from the alleged anchor points and that the temples allegedly at each point were centuries apart. Skeptical response via CSICOP. Also - this is supposed to be a "pyramid" but seems to be more of what geometry wonks call a "triangle." I'm trying to find the type of terminal behind our statistician. And - behind the scenes I've managed to contact him and he assures me that the episode required many takes and that his students reported they made him sound like he believes in the whole ancient astronauts thing... More on this if I hear back from a rather lengthy email I sent him today (12/13/24). Read even more about the Monte Carlo Method! Vintage ad for the The Outer Space Connection. According to Scientific American, the idea that indigenous Americans were here for a very long time (from across the Bering sea) really kicked off in the 1930s. Read more about The Elephant Slab hoax. This montage of Kachina dolls really impressed Blake: Nimoy Fashion Alert! Native Jewelry Artist Preston Monongye Engineer Charles Ruggles Could he be LARPing J. Allen Hynek? Finally we get to the Cosa Artifact. And - of course, The Jupiter Menace (1982)

S4 Ep 18S04E18 In Search Of... The Ghost Ship
EJeb and Blake head out to sea in research of the mystery of what happened to the crew of The Mary Celeste. Links: The Dei Gratia Nimoy Fashion Alert (NFA Wardrobe consulting by The Hogtown Rake, Pedro Mendes) Attorney Fred Flood In 1913, The Strand Magazine provided an alleged survivor's account from one Abel Fosdyk, supposedly Mary Celeste's steward. The Mary Celeste (1913 article) Per "WhatTheFont" website identifier, that font is (appropriately): JOLLY ROGER! Meanwhile on Skull Hut Island... Pop Culture: Dead Calm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_the_Mary_Celeste Read it, it's a time. Hammer film -Jeb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(Doctor_Who)

S4 Ep 17S04E17 - Wild Children (Explicit)
EJeb and Blake go into the jungles of California and France in search of WILD CHILDREN! This episode of ISO contains a lot of disturbing content and our commentary is laced with expletives, hence the Explicit tag. Tarzan is raised by a fictional ape species known as The Mangani The story of Mowgli is LOOOOSELY based on the real-life person Dina Sanichar. Frequently referenced ERB Zine article Ian Jackson obituary News coverage of David as adult (BBC) 2021 update on David 1985 story about search for "wild children" (and Sham Dev/Shamdeo) Christopher Hitchens on Mother Theresa Japanese quadrupedal runner The Green Children of Woolpit Victor of Aveyron Disturbing story of Genie - more neglected than feral NFA - Wild Children: It's supposed to be a Bear but it has some other possumbilities.

S4 Ep 16S04E16 - Vincent van Gogh
EHow could Vincent have been a creative genius - yet also "insane?" Jeb and Blake take a look at Nimoy's very personal thoughts about this question. This episode deals with the topic of self-harm and suicide. If you're struggling with thoughts of self harm, please get help immediately. You can reach trained and empathetic counselors (in the USA) by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-TALK. We care about our listeners and want you to be around for many years to enjoy life - and our work. Links for Show Notes: Nimoy's play VINCENT via Archive 81 Words - This American Life on the DSM The Book of Kells Bullshit or Not? Was JTR really Nessie? Article on Jo Bonger The Golden Gate Quartet Weird Al's Skipper Dan (YouTube) Doctor Who clip of Vincent at the art gallery Early montage sequence shows: Self Portrait (1888) Starry Night (1889) Vase with 15 Sunflowers (1888) Bedroom at Arles (1888) Night Cafe in the Place Lamartine in Arles (1888) Encampment of gypsies with caravans (1888) Langlois Bridge at Arles (1888) Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes Maries Wheat FIeld with Cypresses (1880) You can find all these and more at the online Van Gogh museum. Meanwhile... Could Manos be loosely based on Paul and Vincent?

S4 Ep 15S04E15 - The Missing Heir (Explicit)
EJeb and Blake learn all about the riveting world of stock certificates and inheritance law! It may not be the most mysterious episode of In Search Of... but it's certainly one of the episodes we watched. Show Notes: Orson Welles Critic Clip Lot 249 Texas Pacific Land trust 1980 article The big 2014 Business Insider article Pembroke: http://www.oldlongisland.com/2008/02/pembroke.html http://www.oldlongisland.com/2011/10/pembroke.html http://www.oldlongisland.com/2009/07/pembroke-american-architect.html Pembroke tour (video) Alice de Lamar Failed lawsuit Contemporary article about the case Nimoy Fashion Alert (red-shift corrected) The case of the missing hair! Jeb was confounded by this man's barberian style choices.

S4 Ep 14S04E14 - San Andreas Fault [EXPLICIT]
EJeb and Blake are joined by Sharon Hill to get shook by the San Andreas Fault! Understanding the Richter Scale (logarithmic) Link (Netflix) to Earthstorm docu series YT video clip featuring geologist Dr. Kerry Sieh Classic Budweiser commercial from the 70s The Salton Sea Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Nuclear activist Ray Vrana Peter Gros of Wild Kingdom San Andreas movie with The Rock (Amz affiliate link) Cover to guide for SF geological tour: Dr. Tim Hall - One of the founders of the San Andreas Fault Trail in 1977. Featured in 2011 documentary available on YT. Dr. Kerry Sieh The very sexy VT52 from DEC. NFA San Andreas edition:

S4 Ep 13S04E03 - The Dark Star
In order to understand In Search Of… The Dark Star, Jeb and Blake will first need to get Sirius; Sirius-B, that is! Links from this episode: Siris (A part of the Canis Major constellation) Jeb discussed a couple of evocative artworks: Appeal to the Great Spirit (Dallin) End of the Trail (Fraser) North African musket (Moukahla) Colonial Williamsburg Hoop Rolling Jacquard Loom Punched Cards technology The Hans Guggenheim art project Isaac Koi UFO archives The Tribal Eye BBC documentary series (YouTube) Regarding Temple, Puhairich, Young, and The Nine The Sirius Mystery by Robert Temple Editorial letter about Temple from The Observatory Dogon Shame by Phillip Coppens Griaule's Legacy: Rethinking "la parole claire" in Dogon Studies Pop Culture References (affiliate links): Conjure Wife - aka Burn Witch Burn Bewitched Bell, Book and Candle ===== Images: The "orbit" of the Dogon dark star. Nimoy posing with a tribal mask - our initial NFA image. Later we get to see his legs in this seated NFA supplementary: Hans Guggenheim initially appears in just a vest and pants. Later, he too is in more of a Safari look, and has a professorial pipe as well. Dr Gary Chapman, Astronomer The man who first photographed Sirius B - Dr Lindenblad A little of the FORTRAN code that powers the orbit animation in the episode: We don't have enough information to know who made Nimoy's safari clothing, but if you want to try and track down a very close approximation, this example from J. Peterman's (est 1987) is as close a match as I've seen. You would still need to find it in a vintage shop because at present they don't sell these.

S3 Ep 12S04E12 - Ten Commandments (Explicit)
EBlake and Jeb look for the real location of Mt. Sinai, where Moses was supposed to have received the Ten Commandments from God.

S4 Ep 10S04E11 - In Search of D. B. Cooper
EJeb and Blake extinguish our cigarettes, put our trays in the upright position, and head out the back of the plane in search of the elusive skyjacker known as D. B. Cooper. Nimoy Fashion Alert - dimly lit corporate office edition. D. B. Cooper - Wikipedia The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper (Movie) - if you buy it on Amazon we get a few pennies. Recent Netflix series on D. B. Cooper Blake's friend Rick Ollerman offered some opinions on vintage round parachutes. Later we meet Nimoy outside where you can make out more of his ensemble. Of course this is an episode about D. B. Cooper - who for Jeb and I, evokes the classic "MIB" look. This ain't deal-a-meal. This is a different Richard Simmons. There is some great photography in this episode. I liked seeing the reservoir and dam. Imagine landing there on a stormy November night without jump boots... Finally - kudos to the faceless Cooper stand-in who lugged stuff around in the anonymous re-creations.

S4 Ep 10S04E10 - Pompeii (Explicit)
EJeb and Blake join Leonard Nimoy's search for Pompeii! (Well - is it really about finding Pompeii? Or is it about finding a possibly Christian cross in Pompeii? Tune in and find out!) Links: Depictions of the crucifixion in Medieval Art People debating the cross at Pompeii Christian graffiti at Pompeii House of the Faun - Pompeii About that "lost Legion" thing Discovery and rediscovery of Pompeii Giuseppe Fiorelli Terentius Neo Lupinar Villa of Mysteries Dinosyian Mysteries Greco-Roman Mysteries Thyrsus Nimoy Fashion Alert! Hey - it's NOT a Jumpsuit. We complain but there really is WAY too much red-shift in the majority of this episode: You need pumice? WE GOT BUCKETS OF PUMICE!