In Research Of

Jeb and Blake continue their coverage of the influential film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Part two of this session is exclusive to our wonderful Patrons. Full show notes includes additional images and material with background on the science and nonsense behind this movie. Quftis: "men from the Upper Egyptian town of Qift who were trained and became skilled excavators and foremen who went on to work for other foreign missions in Egypt, as well as in Palestine" From OxfordHandbook article on Egyptian Archaeology and the Museum. Building the Ark today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGcdE5RllG0+ https://youtu.be/enbdsdKfhFo?t=2611 - featuring "scientist" John Hutchison of Canada. (Creator of "The Hutchison Effect" fiasco…) Archaeoastronomy - how the sky is tied to ancient sites (Map Room) The art of the Ark: https://www.thepropgallery.com/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-ralph-mcquarrie-the-power-of-god Jacques James Tissot's ark of the covenant Errors Removed in Digital Versions? According to this site the Cobra reflection was removed - which matches Jeb's recollection. But after famously negative responses to guns being replaced with mobile phones in digital releases of E.T., Spielberg claimed he wasn't going to be tinkering with his films. Well… people certainly change their minds. Movies knocked off from Raiders: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-indy-ripoffs-2008-pg-photogallery.html Video Games based on Indy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93ojbvhbqOI The idea that the Templars worshipped the mummified head of Jesus? Source: The Head of Godby Keith Laidler. The Dorade Box (Indy's hiding locale on freighter) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorade_box Kiss Me Deadly (McGuffin style copied in Pulp Fiction)

Jeb and Blake tackle the Ooky world of Monster Hunters. Nimoy in the forest shadows... Peter Byrne and Tim Dinsdale - two legendary monster hunters meet. Monsters in the intro to this episode are from the TV film Manbeast! Myth or Monster For reasons I can't explain, some of the images in this episode reminded me of 1970s album covers... Arch Buckley 2007 Obituary Warren Thompson 2013 Obituary Al Berry 2013 Reminiscence Ron Moorhead (Sierra Sounds) We have more material on Doc Shiels but that will be a different post for Patrons. Scientific American discussion on Bigfoot Language (by MonsterTalk co-host Dr. Karen Stollznow) Some supportive analysis of the Sierra Sounds recordings that we discuss in the episode. Another paper from Dr. Kirlin Ook Ook in Sierra Sound paper The most annoying font ever at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center?

Jeb and Blake discovered that S03E08 - The Great Lakes Triangle - has disappeared into a temporal anomaly. But we dare not leave you adrift in Lake Eerie, so instead we usher you through a mysterious temple to a VHS tape on a stone pedestal... as we go in research of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Discussed in this episode: The story conception tapes of Raiders (Lucas, Spielberg, Kasden) Same thing, but performed by actors Secret of the Incas (Affiliate Link) Whole film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K02U0CVoutE Map Room https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZJaIc1SDbQ The big scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzl4_ytmxDs The real Aztec Sun Stone The "protection of antiquities" act wasn't real yet when the film is set. The Nazis and the occult stuff alluded to the Ahnenerbe. Discussed on MonsterTalk before. Turkdean Barrows mentioned in the film were not a real place but during and after the filming, two barrows in similar area were excavated. Retcon doesn't work in real life guys. The Pan American sea plane LucasFilm & Trademarking the word "Nazi." Also mentioned: OG style gaming in the Raiders mileu: Raiders of the Lost ArtifactOG style D&D game

Jeb and Blake consider the possibility that the Tunguska Event was caused by an extraterrestrial atomic craft. An old friend returns. A SciFi icon cameos. Atoms are split. Mr. Leonard Nimoy! Charles Cole Ronald Oriti And Dr. Isaac Asimov News about Golden Globes scandals Asteroid Monitoring (NASA) Tunguska in Pop Culture (Wiki) Basic coverage of Tunguska and theories (Wiki) Leonid Kulik Thomas R. Atkins (A Fire Came By) Amz Author's Page (Affiliate Link) The Jomon Period (Japan) and some amazing Jomon Masks (3D Print) Henry Gris ("Psychic" author and early member of Hollywood Foreign Press Association) Alexey Zolotov Permafrost Links: https://spookygeology.com/the-hellmouth-batagaika-crater/ https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/siberia-s-gateway-underworld-grows-record-heat-wave-thaws-permafrost https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/blessing-curse-melting-permafrost-russian-arctic/ Finally - and I'm definitely not recommending this video to you - but am sharing it because it might be the disturbing thing you're looking for. Rabies in a Human Patient (1960) - Warning, Disturbing Imagery

AIPT Comics - is putting on a free online convention Sunday July 18th. The online convention starts at 10 am and I'll be participating in a couple of ways if you're interested. At noon, I've got a special interview with Stephen R. Bissette. You might know him as a key artist on Alan Moore's run of Swamp Thing in the 80s - but if you've been subscribing to BIG FOOTAGE the Patreon bonus cast, you'll know him as the author of CRYPTID CINEMA. I'll also be on at 3:30 pm with Jeb Card to discuss conspiracies and comics. Other guests include paleontologist Jim Lehane, psychologist Craig Foster, paranormal investigator Kenny Biddle, artist Celestia World, archaeologist David Anderson, and Matt Brady. author of THE SCIENCE OF RICK AND MORTY. A link to Cryptid Cinemais here: http://bit.ly/CryptidCinema The convention details are here: https://aiptcomics.com/2021/06/28/aipt-sciphi-fest-science-skepticism/ The direct ZOOM link is here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86109451697 I hope you can catch the show tomorrow but if you can't, I know that many of the interviews will end up on YouTube and I'm happy to report that Steve Bissette and I talked quite a while longer and the full version of that discussion will be up on YouTube *AND* will drop as a regular episode because it's all right up your alley, dear audience. Fun and informative stuff indeed - and chock full of monsters. Also chock full of monsters is also my favorite imaginary coffee.

Jeb and Blake head into cold as we look at the episode titled "Cryogenics." Yes, there is a lot of legitimate discussion of the science of freezing - but there's also a lot of optimistic coverage of "Cryonics," the much more questionable idea of freezing people for a later thawing and restoration. CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains images of dead people, frozen semen, animal harm, terrible puns, and some naughty curse words. (You're welcome.) Discussed in this episode: Cryogenics is NOT Cryonics Difficult early history of Cryonics (via Alcor website) The first US successful use of insanity plea (Sickles) The Artists Statement video that Jeb talked about The Cryonics Institute (in Michigan) Robert Ettinger - father of Cryonics Alcor Life Extension (Arizona) American Cryonics Society (formerly Bay Area Cryonics Society) Frozen Bovine Semen (History of) The history of alleged "eating ancient mammoth" stories This animal was revived using ratsuscitation. Dr. Paul Segall makes a return visit to In Search Of... Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you method acting: Who can forget this famous scene from The gRATe Escape?" UCLA's Dr. Josiah Brown (obituary 1985) Here's that mouse embryo gif I promised you. Mr. Leonard Nimoy!

Jeb and Blake crawl through the cobbled streets of 1978 television to find out what was going on when IN SEARCH OF went looking for Jack the Ripper. A lot of this episode is about "The Royal Conspiracy" - the idea that Prince Albert Victor (aka "Prince Eddy") was secretly Jack the Ripper. This was largely derived from a book called Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, an ironic title since it turned out to be neither final nor the solution. This was written by Stephen Knight, who appears in the episode. Shortly after this he will develop brain cancer and pass away. The story also involves Prince Albert Victor's surgeon, Dr. William Gull. We discuss the "modern plague" of Gin in London at the time. (That link is to the Pub Map.) Alert listener Dr. David Cockcroft sent us a link to the 1886 London Poverty Maps of Charles Booth. It's a treasure trove of information contemporary to the time of this case (and the upcoming Sherlock Holmes episode as well). Nimoy Fashion Alert! Did you notice that big book lying flat behind Nimoy's head? That's a book about Vincent Van Gogh. We'll hear more about him in Season 4. In our bonus episode about pop-culture of JTR we talked about a weird 6-part BBC crime series which pitted two fictional modern TV police detectives against the case. Wendy Sturgess was one of the writers. We discuss some of the appalling poverty of the area of London where the murders took place. This included discussion of Jack London's book about London. "The People of the Abyss" - that was the name of a work by American fiction writer Jack London. It's available online. A young Donald Rumbalow makes an appearance. We briefly discuss the "wizard money" of England at the time. The Police News vintage paper is shown several times in the episode. You can search these old papers on the British Newspaper Archive! I elected not to do dramatic readings of the JTR letters, but some of the most famous ones you can read about here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Boss_letter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saucy_Jacky_postcard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Hell_letter Dr. J. M. Cameron - chief pathologist of home office (1930 - 2003) makes an appearance. We're not done with the "foggy streets of London" either because we'll be looking into the real identity of Sherlock Holmes in just a few episodes, with return guest Dr. Kenny Feder.

Jeb & Blake discuss the ways that Jack the Ripper has been adapted in fiction and documentary over the years. The strange convergence of Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde merge into a weird mix of fact and fantasy through the decades. A variety of media are discussed. And you can be sure that in the foggy gas-lit, cobbled streets of London there lurk some puns as well. A few references we'll hit in the show (with affiliate links): Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Robert Bloch YouTube (Thriller! adaptation) Time After Time Jack the Ripper (1959) 6-Part BBC Jack the Ripper series (Amazon UK - Region 2) Read about it here The Lodger (1944) Gotham by Gaslight (Batman) From Hell (comic) Letters from Whitechapel mystery board game Bridge Across Time aka Terror at London Bridge - featuring The Hoff Wolf in the Fold - Star Trek S2 Michael Caine in Jack the Ripper (1988) Murder by Decree (1979) Sherlock Holmes vs JTR Jeb has some Ripper-related photos which I will add later.

Grab your sticks and join Jeb and Blake as they go looking for water flowing underground. Same as it ever was? Not hardly. Special content in this episode courtesy Sharon Hill. Be sure and check out her article on dowsing for water at Spooky Geology. The "earth, air, fire, and water" idea comes from Empedocles. Early in the episode Francis Hitching holds up a stack of paperbacks. I looked them all up (affiliate link to Amazon). The stack of books he puts down includes: Dowsing: One Man's Way by J. Scott Elliot Dowsing, Water Witches, and Divining Rods for the Millions by Howard V. Chambers Modern Dowsing: The Dowser's Handbook by Raymond Willey Practical Dowsing by A. H. Bell Pendulum Power (1977 edition shown) by Greg Nielsen and Joseph Polansky And finally: Dowsing: The PSI Connection by Christopher Hitching Tom Graves Author of "The Diviner's Handbook: A guide to the timeless art of Dowsing" (1986) Book online https://leanpub.com/needlesofstone/read He's still alive, still writing, and has a Twitter account. When he's not writing fiction and new age - he's an IT and Business consultant of 30 years. Inner London Educational Authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_London_Education_Authority The dry well belongs to John Mitchell. He calls in Dr. Arthur Bailey. Former president of British Society of Dowsers An article by Dr. BaileyDr Arthur Bailey was a senior lecturer in Electronics and Electrical Engineering at the University of Bradford. At some point he got very interested in botanical healing and founded Bailey Flower Essences - which sold plant essences and was closely affiliated with homeopathy. This episode really inspired me to some show-notes silliness. The episode had some stunning visuals in it. This looked like an album cover to me. We don't know who THIS guy is, but he probably was trying to hide from all the Muggles. Pat Lucas was the only professional British female dowser. The "biofeedback" device from the episode: And then there's THIS machine - the one used by Harry Lovegrove. New Scientist (New Scientist Feb 16, 1978) article discussing Lovegrove using child's dowsing kit for "amazing results" at "laying down dowsing lines." Whatever that means. The SPR has a lengthy article about dowsing that includes believer and skeptical content. Stan Shepherd - the dowser and well driller. We're of mixed opinions. I think it looks like he's having a heart attack, Jeb prefers the idea that he's having a fart attack. And Stan was just going with the flow. We also mentioned Martin Gardner and his book Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science.

We'll be taking a look at ISO's coverage of cloning in this episode. We'll be taking a look at ISO's coverage of cloning in this episode. Content warning (for ISO watchers) there is animal experimentation and surgery video in this TV episode. Jeb asked me to include a gif of the "groovy" 1970s video effects from this episode: In the 1970s the idea of "test tube babies" was still quite controversial, as evidenced by this opinion piece in the Berkeley Gazette (1978). The Weibe Twins (Josephine and Rozzalyn) appear prominently in this episode. Their shop (Twin's Armoire Boutique) shut down last year during the pandemic. Their outfits threw some serious Boohbah vibes my way. Nimoy fashion alert! We meet the Beernink Twins - brother gynecologists. They both passed away but former patients posted heartfelt remembrances of them. This look at twin gynecologists brought up the memorable film Dead Ringers and the strange, sad tale of the Marcus twins that inspired it. Learn to pronounce axolotl! (sounds like ash-sho-lote) You can learn more about these endangered and adorable amphibians here. You can't talk about eugenics without KHAN! We meet Dr. Clem Markert of Yale. He worked to make a chimera-mouse with genes from multiple mice. Not quite 20 years after this episode was filmed, we got Dolly the cloned sheep.

Get to your shelters and turn on your weather radios as Jeb and Blake watch IN SEARCH OF...'s episode on Tornadoes. Discussed in this episode: NOAA Dr. Ernest Agee National Severe Storms Lab (NSSL) Twister (1996) - Amazon Affiliate Link John Weaver Bob Davies-Jones Kelvin Droegemeir Edwin Kessler Poorly lit Nimoy Fashion:

Jeb and Blake have a close encounter of the In Search Of... kind. We look at two UFO abduction cases that you may not have heard of - and that definitely have more details to them than ISO covers. Flying Saucers and the Three Men (Amazon Affiliate Link) Communion (AAL) King Kong 76 animatronics Above Top Secret - Isaac Koi (UFO Barrister) Catalina UFO Case on YouTube APRO CUFOS NICAP MUFON They're not in the episode but if you'd like to learn about Betty & Barney Hill, Blake highly recommends checking out the podcast Strange Arrivals. We also talk a bit about the Travis Walton case. Nimoy Fashion Alert: Our weird "alien abductor" in this episode:

Season 2 of IRO is over and we take a few hours to talk about the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. There's three more hours of discussion beyond what's in this preview and you can get access to that as well as our other Patreon exclusives by subscribing here.

Jeb and Blake stare at spreadsheet graphs - and what could be better? Fashion Forensics. A look at season 3. Tease of our next Bonus Episode. And more! Note: The fashion forensics segment needs visuals. Those are in the attached PDF but if I can make time I will knock together a little video to make it better. If I manage it, you'll know first.

Jeb and Blake go looking for The Garden of Eden and bring along professor Nathan French of the Miami University, Ohio to shed some extra insight during the journey. Nathan is the author of And God Knows the Martyrs (affiliate link) and is Associate Professor of Comparative Religion at Miami. Meanwhile back in Eden... Nimoy walks in the Garden with a bible and his wholly white vestments. The Tomb of Eve Jedha in Star Wars Ashurban-appalling? Bahrain: Independent since 1971. UK Protectorate in 1892, with decades of playing Ottomans, Persians, and British off each other. Archaeologist P. B. (Peter Bruce) Cornwall "The first excavation at the site was carried out by a Danish archaeological expedition led by Geoffrey Bibby between 1954 and 1972, and later by a French expedition from 1977" Archaeological Excavations -- Bahrain Bahrain & WWII Bahrain experience of WWII US in Bahrain Post-WWII Maybe one of YOU good people can make sense of this? Technical Consultant was Gerald A LaRue of USC. Scholar of Religion & Gerontologist. (Apparently, LaRue would pass the ashes of a dead colleague around in class, with the dead colleague's permission, as a memento mori) Writer of this episode, Jim Kouf. "Patricia Gibbs, an English woman who runs Bahrain Explored, has done much to make the island accessible to the tourist She began four years ago, when a friend at British Airways asked her to show VIP guests on the inaugural Concorde flight around Bahrain. Now she has seven knowledgeable guides with cars and a minibus. Her stop-over package includes a sight-seeing tour of the spring-fed, relatively green northern coast of Bahrain, as well as some inland villages. You will see Arab dhows being built, by hand, with twisted mangrove limbs from India, before visiting the main archaeological sites dating to 2700 BC ."

Jeb and Blake are joined by climate scientist Dr. John Cook to discuss this infamous episode of In Search Of... You may have noticed that since the 1970s we did not descend into a frozen ice age. In fact - quite the opposite. Dr. Cook was kind enough to join us to talk about both the history of the science discussed in this episode, and the many challenges of dealing with science denialism. It's a treat of a discussion. In addition to his work teaching at George Mason University, Cook is also the author of the delightful science book CRANKY UNCLE VS CLIMATE CHANGE. (Amazon affiliate link) If you like John's work like this or his science advocacy, you can support him here financially. He's worked to provide a tremendous amount of clear and accessible science advocacy in this field and it is expensive and only funded through donations. Now let's get to the episode goodies: The episode may be available at YouTube but Discovery is working to take them all down and the few examples we've seen for this episode have all been posted by climate-change denialists and we don't want to support their channels. Blake suspects that the new streaming channel DISCOVERY+ may be considering making the original ISO series available through its streaming service at some point. That would be a good reason why they may be cleaning up all the YouTube instances - but it might just be copyright policing of the "due diligence" kind. Hard to say. The Blizzard of '77 Baffin Island's Surviving Trees Article about the 1970s idea of a coming ice age Dr. Gifford Miller Ernie Sieber (1926 - 2011) George Washington Bridge - NIMOY STOOD HERE Rotate that street-view for a surprise cameo from our old pal, the Trinity Church Cemetery in NYC. Discussion of Toba Catastrophe Theory. Dr. Chester C Langway his lost ice cores were found in 2018! Research Ship Vema (1953 - 1981) Dr. James D. Hays Dr. Stephen Schneider (1945 - 2010) Bio from Stanford.

Jeb and Blake discuss ants and the "deadly" fire ant invasion of the southern United States. Jeb struggles with ANTipathy towards the topic despite being an ANThropologist. (If you're looking for more wordplay like this in the episode, you'll find it ANTiclimactic.) It probably won't last but you can currently catch this episode of ISO on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXpM23ikcx0 Nimoy, outstanding in his field. The episode has some really nice photography, and I especially liked this shot of the ant battlefield at dawn. Show Topic Links: Footage of Azteca Ants in a Cecropia Tree YouTube of people moving a cecropia tree and the ant results. Smithsonian article talking about the similarities b/w ant war and human war. Huffpost article about documentary deception A map projecting what researchers think the likely spread of these ants could be in the US. AntWiki article on E. Burchellii - the Army Ant of South America The Ants by Holldobler and Wilson NYT Bugpocalypse Article Ed Yong response to Bugpocalypse Article Termites are a social cockroach Ants are related to Bees and Wasps Jeb would probably appreciate this video of molten aluminum being poured into a fire ant nest to cast the structure. Pop Culture Links/Resources: Henry David Thoreau famously wrote about a battle between red and black ants in Walden (1854). THEM! (1954) Amazon Escape! Adaptation of Leiningen vs The Ants YouTube The Naked Jungle (1954) Amazon The Secret of the Incas (1955) YouTube Empire of the Ants (1977) Amazon Phase IV (1974) Amazon

You can catch this episode of ISO on YouTube (for the moment). Warning: This episode contains major spoilers for the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Let's be honest - this episode of ISO wouldn't exist if it weren't for the classic film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. - certainly ended up with a bitter attitude towards them and accused them of all manner of shenanigans. Butch doesn't favor Paul Newman much, but it's good acting in the film. Here's Butch's mug shot: And here's Sundance and his girl Etta Place: History of Raindrops Keep Falling on My Headand its role in BC&TSK. We joke but you can actually get Manos Hands of Fate in HD streaming now on Amazon!? And you can catch the MST3K version (with all hilarity included) on YouTube. We talk a bit about the Pinkerton's and James McParland. There is a very, very mixed history around this company with some viewing them as heroes and others as despicable villains. The agent who hunted Butch & Sundance - Charlie Siringo - certainly ended up with a bitter attitude towards them and accused them of all manner of sheenanigans. Q-Ships of WWII. The amazing history of the Bandana. Average heights around the early 1900s. Ward Hill Lamon - Lincoln's bodyguard and biographer Female Pinkerton detective Kate Warne The Baltimore Plot - the first attempt to kill Lincoln? The Hole in the Wall Some of the "action" takes place in Baggs, Wyoming. Go drive around Baggs on Google's maps if you like. William Alfred Brassell (1897 - 1979) - we joke about him a bit because he reminded us of Torgo... but Brassell and his wife had 8 kids - some of whom may still be alive. His son Ray just passed away in 2017. From his photo on Ancestry.com - I assume he let his sideburns go after his wife passed in 1963. (Assuming they got their photo correctly associated with his file.) The Internet is a funny place - you can't meet Alfred but you can see his grave. Butch's sister Lula Parker Betenson (1884 - 1980) According to her obituary she: "...was active in politics and served as Piute County Democratic chairwoman for 28 years. In 1962 she was appointed by Gov. George Dewey Clyde to fill an unexpired term as state senator from Piute County. In earlier years, she worked with a traveling theatrical company and spent several years as drama director in local Mormon church auxiliaries. Born April 5, 1884, in Spry, she married Joseph A. Betenson Jan. 1, 1907. She had been a widow since 1949." Don't worry - here's a shot of the real star of the episode (below) and a beautiful example of the Model-T Ford (above). Okay - the big claim in the episode is (Per Larry Pointer) that Butch Cassidy looks a lot like William T. Phillips. Let's see them side-by-side. Cassidy (Left) and Phillips (Right): Now - in the 2012 book (also by Larry Pointer) the claim is that perhaps Cassidy's old fellow inmate William T. Wilcox was really the author of the Cassidy book The Bandit Invincible and later took on the name of Phillips. Let's see them side by side: The mouth shape, ears and chin are good matches. I'm not going to go full "Anastasia" arrow-crazy, but these two have more in common. There is a lot of heated criticism of Pointer's book - but you can read about that on your own.

Jeb and Blake watch In Search Of's take on the world of traditional medicine through the lens of "Witch Doctors." We were pleasantly surprised at what we found. YouTube continues to crackdown on "In Search Of" episodes. You can get the DVDs (just like Jeb and I use to make the show!) on Amazon. (Affiliate Link - a small % of sales from using this link goes to support my crippling coffee habit.) We're slapping an explicit tag on this one because we have potty mouths. If you'd like to look around a museum with lots of relevant materials, Jeb recommends the Pitt-Rivers 3D virtual tour. (It's amazing.) This episode has more guinea pig magic than any ISO episode so far. Nimoy is in a museum, safari as we can tell. We identified the town at the beginning of the episode as Oxkutzcab. The Yucatec Maya language is used frequently in this episode. The Badianus medicinal text - America's earliest medical text A lot of history on Aztec medicine Plants have long been the source of medicines. Aspirin, Digitalis, Ipecac, Quinine... it's a lengthy and fascinating topic and the object of intense ongoing research. We discussed the psychological (spiritual?) condition of Susto. See why Jeb was surprised that Xipe Totec is invoked. A contemporaneous look at the research of Ignacio Aguilar. The episode had Zapotec Urns. You know who else liked Zapotec urns? Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't make any "beating around the bush" jokes in this episode.

Jeb and Blake tackle the history of Heinrich Schliemann's legendary search for the ancient city of Troy. Content Warning - this episode of In Search Of contains footage that may be objectionable to some viewers. Viewers should be aware that A&E is pulling episodes of In Search Of... down off YouTube quite frequently. At the time of posting, you can see Part 1 of the episode here. Part 2 is here. Getting the DVD set is the best, legal, highest-quality route to watching these episodes. (That's an affiliate link to Amazon and in theory we get a small % of sales if you use this link.) Discussed in this episode: The Iliad The Odyssey The Aeneid Virgil Troy Hisarlik Heinrich Schliemann Sophie Schliemann Sample problems with the In Search Of special effects. A few flying ships is all. And some small issues with the sunbeams. Nothing weird to see here. I'm sure this is perfectly normal for ships left on the beach too long. Heinrich's Naruto Run... Schliemann did at least sometimes wear a pith helmet. The Wooden Horse used in the episode still exists today. (Built in 1975) Nimoy Fashion Alert The story of Jungle Hunt (aka Jungle King) and how "Tazan" got replaced with Random Explorer Dude. In case you missed it - I did put the footage of Schliemann running to the tune of Yakety Sax: https://vimeo.com/478182806

Warning: This episode does discuss suicide. If you're feeling any kind of despair or hopelessness, help is available. Call 1-800-273-8255 and talk to someone. You can't listen to our fine show if you're dead - so we don't want that! SOLVED - the mystery of the unknown cemetery has been solved. It's the Trinity Church Cemetery in the Washington Heights neighborhood of NYC. Thanks to patron Donald Mundis for helping figure that out! Yes - this episode is being released out of sequence because everyone involved loves Halloween way too much and honestly it seemed off-brand to wait when it would be so easy to just give the people what they need. So... turn out the lights, get under your blanket, and listen to Jeb, Blake and return guest Alex French talk you through the super-creepy extravaganza that is Haunted Castles! Remember - we're on the lookout for more information about this cemetery shooting location. Let us know if you find anything. Post in the comments, or send an email to [email protected]. (Note - we've pretty conclusively removed Los Angeles as a possibility so are focusing on San Francisco and New York for now.) The creepy ghost reminds us of a creepy villain. When you care enough about the role to put on makeup - but not quite enough to shave... Parts of the episode reminded Jeb of Darby O'Gill. A big part of the research on the ISO episode was contributed by Francis Hitching, who appears in the final segment. (Wikipedia) The Halifax precursor to the Guillotine. A look at Wolfeton House (home of Captain Nigel Thimbleby). Thimbleby's current struggle against local home builders involved the creator of Downton Abbey. Most of this episode takes place in Dorset. We really tried to find the farmhouse with the murderous ghost - but so far, no luck. Emma Leavesley - who told the family story - gave us a real Zoey Deschanel vibe. So - obviously if this segment became a movie... Robin Wordsworth owns Baglake House The older written version of the dead horseman and servant is much darker. (1883) 1910 research into the Screaming Skull MonsterTalk's recent coverage of Screaming Skull lore. Long article about research into the history of the Pinney family & Bettiscombe. (NSFW) Red Meat comic w/ Skull character. The strange history of Oliver Cromwell's skull. Bill Grundy - BBC filmmaker, and pint drinker. Haunted Pubs of London (just London, mind you) The George - the pub in this episode which still stands! Stone Tape Theory - explained by Sharon Hill The Stone Tape - the amazing TV movie by Nigel Kneale

Link to the ISO episode (YouTube) Jeb, Blake and return guest Alex French are getting sleepy... sleepy... as we fall under the spell of Leonard Nimoy discussing HYPNOSIS. Nimoy Fashion Alert: Mentioned in this episode: Trilby (novel) - the source of Svengali Dr. William Kroger (and his amazing red chair) Dr. Joseph Barber Franz Mesmer (of "mesmerism" fame) - the print is titled Le magnétisme dévoilé. I found references to it in the French national library. It's also reprinted in the book Science in the age of Sentimentality by Jessica Riskin. Dr. Ron Katz (obit) Van Pelt's mysterious "chair-camouflage" Ed Ray - hero bus driver. (obit) The Chowchilla Bus Hijacking story Let's learn French with hypnosis! Or should that be hypnose? The Clonus Horror (the MST3K version)

Watch this ISO episode on YouTube. Jeb and Blake figuratively return to the bayou to look for the mysterious legendary monster of Honey Island Swamp. Discussed in this episode: CB Radio and TV Bleedover It's not a perfect match, but this is the closest we've (so far) come to finding a Sears entry for Nimoy's clothing. He was probably shopping at a higher-end shop but the style was out there. How to see the MK Davis narrated documentary with the footprint making tool described in the episode: 1 - download the realplayer file from this site. 2 - take it to a RealPlayer to MP4 conversion site like convertio. Note: The resulting MP4 will look terrible, but stick with it (and don't try to watch it on some giant screen). About 6 mins in it gets really interesting. Comparing Harlan Ford to Tennessee Ernie Ford The Abita Mystery House (Archived) MK Davis on feline aspects of the monster. MK Davis says he found shoe for making track. Ranger Gavin Storter - RHOF Thesis paper by Frances Leary we talk about in the show - The Honey Island Swamp Monster: The development and maintenance of a folk and commodified belief tradition.

Watch the ISO ep on YouTube Jeb and Blake take a look at research into life extension including the therapeutic value of eating live embryos and having younger life forms surgically attached to one's body to leech off of their vigor. The running boom of the 70s Jim Fixx Fitness Culture Serge Voronoff John Romulus Brinkley Documentary NUTS by director Penny Lane Adventure of the Creeping Man 1971 article about Youth Doctor Lambs to revitalize humans Dr. Ivan Poplov People Mag - 1975 article Dr. Paul Segall Dr. Roy Wolford Parabiosis Dr. Leonard Hayflick Cryonics History of mistakes in Cryonics Nimoy Fashion Alert - we'll be seeing this again very soon.

Watch this episode on YouTube [Update: Thanks to @ClaytonFlesher for being the first to point out the weird audio issue on some of the post-mid-point audio inserts. An edit on one track nudged the audio a fraction of a second out-of-synch and caused the two tracks to make a weird echo through the rest of the episode. That's fixed in this 9/21/2020 3:15 pm modification.] Jeb and Blake are joined by Dr. Jennifer Raff (@JenniferRaff) who brings a heaping helping of DNA expertise to this life-changing episode! (Well, to this episode about the building blocks of life and how to change it.) Dr. Raff's blog - Violent Metaphors Her posts at Forbes 37.2 trillion cells in human body Genetics Explainer from NatGeo (if you need a video to better understand) The great RedWhiteBlue frozen treat wars. Mr. DNA bit from Jurassic Park Mr. Nimoy with DNA: Space Seed from Star Trek Jeb's "peekaboo" rodent: Howard Goodman (probable Unix user)

Watch the In Search Of... episode on YouTube. Jeb, Blake and special guest Alexandria "Alex" French discuss the In Search Of about they mystery whether a woman called Anna Anderson was really the long lost Russian Czarina Anastasia. (Narrator: She wasn't.) ***Highly recommended long-read about the lives of "Anna" and Jack Manahan.*** Russian royals not that cash-wealthy. Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and German Emperor Wilhelm II were all first cousins of King George V of the United Kingdom. Summers & Mangold book File on the Czar - holy crap make sure you buy it used if you get it! Nokolai Sokolov's investigation into the death of royals (Warning - VERY graphic descriptions) Wiki page on list of known Romanov royalty impostors. Ingrid Bergman Anastasia movie Animated Bluth Anastasia musical cartoon Grand Duke Vladimir bio 1977 WAPO article about Anderson/Anastasia Nimoy Fashion Alert - the professor will see you now! Biometrics Montage Eating 1 Battery or 5 Batteries? (source Dr. Strongbad)

(Watch this In Search Of... episode on YouTube.) This episode has so much content warning. Fish heads, shark assassination, pig sacrifice, child nudity, adult nudity, and Hawaiian shirts! You've been warned. Jeb and Blake have to fin for themselves as they mako lotta discussion about one of the odder episodes of In Search Of... we've watched so far. Annual shark attacks on humans ranked by species. History of the Solomon Islands. The island of Laulasi. The Solomon Islands. Langa Langa Lagoon Jersey Shore shark attacks Screenshot from Savage Shadows: History of Savage Shadows Henri Bource bio Facts on the sinking of the USS Indianapolis Shark Repellant The so-called shark "threat-response." Likely source of the silent-footage in this episode: News article about this voyage. Shark god Dakuwaqa Nimoy Fashion Alert! Shell Money Terry Hannigan

Have we already done this episode before? Have you already heard it? Jeb and Blake tackle Reincarnation featuring the surprise reappearance of "Doctor" Hans Holzer! Shirley Krepp says she spent past life as a witch, and her tale is quite a cliff-hanger. Today's topic is Reincarnation. (Wiki) Dr. Helen Wambach is behind a lot of the topic in this episode. She's the hypnotist who... ...will later perform group regression sessions. Some discussion on W.E.I.R.D. and samples in psych testing in Uni. Nimoy Fashion Alert - Nimoy is in "The Graveyard" - a setting we've seen before, and will see again! That shirt he's wearing isn't just blue - it's blue with pinstripes! The Old Chestnut Inn - was going to be a rehab center. Ruth McGuire who was variously involved in an Indian uprising and a Pilgrim voyage. Finally, we meet Dr. William Yaney - who Holzer wrote about in Fate. Special thanks to Maiken King for her assistance with the translation of Bob's hypnotic hieroglyphs.

Jeb and Blake discuss the two-millennia old archaeological treasure known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. (Watch this ISO episode on YouTube) The Dead Sea is not strictly dead. It has bacteria and freshwater vents in the bottom act similarly to how volcanic vents promote life in the deep sea. Jeb mentioned "the Aral sea" before & after shots - 1989 compared to 2014. A list of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth. Wikipedia entry on the Essenes includes this: Josephus later gave a detailed account of the Essenes in The Jewish War (c. 75 CE), with a shorter description in Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94 CE) and The Life of Flavius Josephus (c. 97 CE). Claiming firsthand knowledge, he lists the Essenoi as one of the three sects of Jewish philosophy[7] alongside the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He relates the same information concerning piety, celibacy, the absence of personal property and of money, the belief in communality, and commitment to a strict observance of Sabbath. He further adds that the Essenes ritually immersed in water every morning, ate together after prayer, devoted themselves to charity and benevolence, forbade the expression of anger, studied the books of the elders, preserved secrets, and were very mindful of the names of the angels kept in their sacred writings. Jerusalem The Six-Day War Temple Mount Al-Aqsa Intifada Spring at Ein Feshka Before we get to Nimoy Fashion Alert - we first find Nimoy high above some large body of water, but we are extremely skeptical (even with the flag) that this is Israel. The First Jewish-Roman War TV Mini-Series MASADA. The ruins of Qumran The initial discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls The MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE scrolls were fake. Copper treasure scrolls mentioned The Shrine of the Book now houses most of the known authentic scroll content. There is a discussion of the "Greater Israel" idea in our coverage. Check out the attachments for some contemporaneous DSS coverage from the news.

(Watch this ISO episode on YouTube) Jeb and Blake are surprised to find no aliens and almost no magic as we pursue PYRAMID SECRETS. Shabti (aka Ushabti) servant "robots" 3D Models of Shabti (Sketchfab) 3D Model - Great Pyramid of Khufu (aka Cheops) (Sketchfab) Frit - fused "glass batch" Faience - Egyptian ceramic like Frit Flood cycle of the Nile Three seasons of Akhet (Inundation), Peret (Growth), and Shemu (Harvest) Transamerica Pyramid Stanford Research Institute (SRI) Harold Puthoff (SRI) Jason Colavito on Puthoff & "flying saucer material" John B. Alexander (SRI) Doug Englebart and the "Mother of All Demos" Dolphin Lab at SRI Dolphin on Egypt More on Dolphin This excerpt gives some context to Dolphin's mixture of materialist science and desire for the numinous/spiritual. Biblical Archaeologists: Maximalists Minimalists Biblical Archaeology & William F. Albright Robert Schoch - Sphinx age controversy Schoch and Demons (Colavito Blog) Schoch and (take a drink) Theosophy Cosmic Rays and Remote Sensing (not Remote Viewing) Alchemy and Hermes Trismegistus Al-Ma'mun Al-Aziz Desertification of Egypt Pyramid Power (Loxton's resources) Pyramidion Benben Broken Pyramid (Meidum) - Either Djoser or Sneferu (reign 2613 - 2589) Bent Pyramid Red Pyramid Giza Consultant Gerald LaRue Nimoy Fashion - plus fabulous pyramid model Close-up reveals corduroy fabric Check out this Amazing "James Bond Safari Infographic" by Matt Spaiser. Here's a photo of Giza from the 1920s that we mentioned: Photos Jeb provided from various museum trips: Coffin Texts Book of the Dead: Imhotep (Left) with other gods in Ashmolean museum: Imhotep and faience tiles from Djozer (Ashmolean): Pyramidion:

Dive into the Great White North as we look beneath the surface of Lake Okanogan to see if we can find The Ogopogo Monster. Watch this episode of ISO on YouTube. The Ogo-Pogo: The Funny Fox-trot - via Karl Shuker's blog. (Note: The lyrics listed here are not the same as in the recording, apparently due to differences between the published sheet music and the actual recording. Chiefly, in the actual recorded song, the lyrics match this version.) The music was by Ralph Butler. The lyrics were by Cumberland Clark. Lake Okanagan (Wikipedia) Nimoy vs Blue Steel: Modern Coelacanths are larger than their fossil ancestors. Book: Lake Monster Traditions: A Cross-Cultural Analysis Tribal representatives give really interesting lore about the lake and its dangerous water spirit. Editors at ISO give us this "1970s calendar worthy" fade shot of the lake and First Nations representatives. The famous Three Wolf Moon t-shirt. Kelowna Museum - where we meet Ursula Surtees More on Ursula. Mid-Atlantic accent Mary Moon! (author) More on Canadian Dainty. Ben Radford & Joe Nickell's Lake Monster Mysteries The Lambton Worm song - not to be confused with the D'Ampton Worm Song from Lair of the White Worm (the movie, not the book). Galvanic Corrosion on boat engine casing. Alleged sighting of Ogopogo seen in ISO episode: Jeb compares photos from Loch Ness he shot: Willard Bascom, director of Southern California Waters Research Project appears as science expert. (and John McCain lookalike) Jeb describes IncEELs - apparently, there is something to this. Arlene Gaal - author and owner of the film shown at end of the episode. Nimoy Fashion Forensics:Are the shooting locations of Ogopogo and Astrology the same place? I think the yellow house with verticle exterior planking looks very much like it's the same building and setting. We will keep an eye on this to see if further clues emerge!

Jeb and Blake discuss the ISO episode: Hurricanes. The episode touches on some emotional memories for Jeb, who was directly impacted by Hurricane Katrina, the storm that devastated New Orleans in 2005. (Watch the ISO episode on YouTube.) (From NOAA - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) A tropical cyclone is a rotating low-pressure weather system that has organized thunderstorms but no fronts (a boundary separating two air masses of different densities). Tropical cyclones with maximum sustained surface winds of less than 39 miles per hour (mph) are called tropical depressions. Those with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph or higher are called tropical storms. When a storm's maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph, it is called a hurricane. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating, or category, based on a hurricane's maximum sustained winds. The higher the category, the greater the hurricane's potential for property damage. Tropical cyclones are categorized according to the speed of sustained winds. Tropical Depression - 38 mph or less Tropical Storm - 39 to 73 mph Hurricane Category 1 - 74 to 95 mph Category 2 - 96 to 110 mph Category 3 - 111 to 129 mph Category 4 - 130 to 156 mph Category 5 - 157 or higher mph The Maya god Hurakan. (Wikipedia) This one-legged diety is the axe who opens storms. Much of the ISO episode centers on Hurricane Camille, now considered the second most intense tropical cyclone to hit the United States. The most intense since the measurement scale began was Hurricane Carla in 1961. This is based on a ranking that combines Intensity and Size, leaving Camile (1969), Opal (1995) and Katrina (2005) all tied for third with a combined score of 36. Second place went to Betsy (1965). Jeb shares some photos from Katrina. The exodus as people flee the coming storm. Arial footage of floodwater damage in 9th ward: Coverage of the tragedy in the lower 9th ward. Mercenaries after Katrina. Camp Greyhound - post-Katrina Internment Camp, where people were given the option of labor or being stuck on cold concrete. Famous Mike Myers & Kanye fundraiser moment. Trump throwing paper towels in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Back to shots from the Episode: Inside the National Hurrican Center in Florida. You can see they're still mostly in paper mode. They have computers and advanced tools, but a lot of their work is still paper, feeding in report data and drawing projected paths and force on paper maps. ASCII computer map of the southern US coast. Richelieu Apartments BEFORE the Hurricane Richelieu Apartments AFTER the Hurricane Thankfully the hurricane party itself is a myth, but the tragic loss of lives was real. Prominently featured in the last third of the episode, but not so much in our coverage, is Dr. Neil Frank who was instrumental in making the National Hurricane Center the institution that it is today. On a more positive note, we did get some 70's beach fashion in our Nimoy Fashion Alert! Special thanks to Beth Patterson for allowing us to use her song Come Hell or High Water in this episode. Please check out this song and her other amazing music on Bandcamp.

[Correction: I've replaced the original audio file because I forgot to insert the Nimoy Fashion Alert! I feel like mission control launching the Apollo mission and then turning to ask the astronauts how the flight was going - then doing a spit-take as I see they're not on the space ship. Sorry!] Jeb and Blake look into the mysterious (well, not THAT mysterious) disappearance of Michael Rockefeller who disappeared while researching the Asmat people of New Guinea. (Watch the ISO episode on YouTube) Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande by E. E. Evans-Pritchard Thinking with Things by Esther Pazstzory The ISO episode title card: The original photo the title card is based on: Milt Machlin - the guy who goes looking for Rockefeller, former editor of Argosy men's adventure magazine. Machlin on location looking for Rockefeller Just saying... (Harcourt Fenton Mudd) Machlin investigated the theory that Rockefeller had been taken to the Trobriand Islands, a thousand miles from where the boat had capsized. The shots of the island reminded me of another fateful trip. Interior and Exterior Nimoy Fashion: The woodwork of the Asmat people is very impressive: Carl Hoffman on the case for cannibalism. Ostjanep chief Ajam of the Asmat region, who says that his tribe did not kill Rockefeller. Asmat person chewing gum. The writer of this episode, Alex Pomasanoff, also produced a NatGeo special called The Invisible World.

Jeb and Blake discuss horoscopes, planets, and one of the most pervasive beliefs in human history: Astrology. (Watch the ISO episode on YouTube.) Show Notes: The episode "Astrology" first aired on January 12, 1978 . It was written and produced by Peter Rosten. Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (Amazon) The Werewolves of Livonia - the witch-fighting werewolves of Italy The Witch by Ronald Hutton (Amazon) http://skepdic.com/fullmoon.html Short version is: despite anecdotal support, the actual data (of which there is plenty to look at) does not support increase in suicide, madness, murder, etc… during the full moon. Schwazenegger on Dating Game Chapman survey has 18% of Americans with psychics etc. (not just astrology), that's 60 million Prepping the show for posting, I did finally find a connection between Moses and Astrology in the form of a 1798 book titled Genethliacal Astrology Comprehending an Enquiry Into, and Defense of the Celestial Science: To which is Added an Appendix Containing Remarks on the Nativity of a Gentleman Now Living Paleolithic Bone Markings - like Alexander Marshack Alternative Maps Styles Ammassalik Wooden Maps Marshall Islands Stick Chart Gnomon - sundial part that casts shadow Tower of Jericho Mayan Zodiac Mesopotamia/Egypt Babylonian Astronomy Egyptian Calendar Egyptian Astronomy Nabta Playa Ptolemy Beth Alpha Star of Bethlehem Sydney Omarr (his IMDB page) George O. Abell, originating member of CSICOP, UCLA C64 Synth Sample We mentioned Equinox: Superpowers which turns out to be part of a British Channel 4 series Equinox. I wasn't able to track down this episode, but they also did a famous episode on psychics which was protested by Uri Gellar for showing how some of his effects could be done with stage magic. Karl Krafft Louis de Wohl - Useless for Britain but you will find lots of news stories about him. Jeane Dixon - one of the astrologers used by the Reagans. Dr. Hans Eysenck Dr. George Abell The Barnum Effect The "Cancer Dancer" lady: Nimoy Fashion Alert! Check out the gingham tie pattern! Nimoy reads astrology phone-call notes in a cul de sac. Nurse footage reused from season one and then re-used during this same episode: The "Bank of America" building in front of a dark high-rise during the "Man on the Street" segment in this episode may give us some "Fashion Forensics" type data to work on identifying the shot locale.

[some explicit language in this episode] Jeb and Blake look at the very strange coverage of Mayan Mysteries on In Search Of season 2. (Watch this ISO episode on YouTube) The term Blake was trying to remember at the beginning of the creation story was "ethnogenesis." This is a relatively new word, coming from the mid-20th century. We mention Star Wars and Tikal. The story from David Anderson is in this ArchyFantasies episode, about 5 mins in. The De Landa Letras - how we came to understand the Mayan alphabet http://www.famsi.org/ https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/maya/ Mural detail from the episode: The poet (and frequent speaker in this episode) Alurista. (Wikipedia) Some discussion in the episode is about the wheeled caiman or crocodile toy in the museum. This is a detailed screen-cap of that. We briefly discuss the United Fruit Company. The role of fruit companies in manipulating politics and behaving badly is long, depressing, and too much to fit into this episode. But it is worth reading about. Reenacment of an Auto-da-fe: We talk a bit about cacao and chocolate. I got curious and asked Jeb if he could help me find some somewhat authentic recipes for those audience members who want to try something close to the original drink. First (because, duh!) some background reading on the history of cacao in Mayan culture. And some thoughts about spicy, bitter takes on the drink. The latter link includes a lengthy video on the history of chocolate by Michael Coe (who we mention in the episode). Here are two recipes that Jeb described as "pretty ok": First, the "if you go to all this trouble I hope it doesn't suck" version: https://www.instructables.com/id/Mayan-Chocolate-Drink/ Second, the "you can totally knock this one out at a regular grocery store" version: https://www.newmexico.org/nmmagazine/articles/post/mesoamerican-chocolate-elixir/ Good luck! If you try these let us know how it turns out. Nimoy Fashion! Fashion Forensics! I think we've got a repeat use of the same denim shirt from the killer bees episode. Below are some comparison shots. Let me know if you agree or disagree. I believe in the bee episode Nimoy's unbuttoned collar is hiding the thick black buttons we see in the Mayan museum. And yes, I did make a joke about "author" Jackson Curtis, as depicted in the disaster film 2012. It is a very, very, very, very silly movie but I love watching it with my kids. So - no apologies. -B Extremely cool video example of what LIDAR can do to reveal lost jungle ruins. (NatGeo) Accompanying story about the LiDAR project. Snake Kings of the Maya (PayWall)

Jeb and Blake whip out the marshmallows and settle down by a big hot fire to discuss the In Search Of episode: Firewalkers. (watch this ISO episode on YouTube) From Wikipedia (on heat transfer): Advection Advection is the transport mechanism of a fluid from one location to another, and is dependent on motion and momentum of that fluid. Convection The transfer of energy between an object and its environment, due to fluid motion. The average temperature is a reference for evaluating properties related to convective heat transfer. Radiation The transfer of energy by the emission of electromagnetic radiation. Conduction The transfer of energy between objects that are in physical contact. Thermal conductivity is the property of a material to conduct heat and evaluated primarily in terms of Fourier's Law for heat conduction. The guy who trained Tony Robbins - Tolly Burkan used to train people to TEACH firewalking for just a mere $2000. Tolly said he learned about this from August 1977 Scientific American. Expedition Magazine mentioned by Jeb. Harry Price (famous Ghost Hunter) researched firewalking. The Skeptic's Dictionary lengthy entry on Firewalking More on the physics of Firewalking 2 Kings 17, v 16-17 (Bible verse discussed) And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. The symbolism filled story of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego Sydney Walter - hypnotist The Spanish fire walking of San Pedro Manrique I did notice (on rewatching) that not all couples crossing were heterogeneous, nor were they all young. The magician Chung Ling Soo, mentioned by Jeb, who died on stage with a botched bullet catch. Nimoy reminds us of The Police video for Wrapped Around Your Finger as he plays with candle fire. The Balinese shaman may be invoking the spirit of the Bali Pony, the local breed. Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers (Firewalking) 1973_newswire_story_about_firewalking_in_Sri_Lanka__Ceylon__.pdf Firewalkers_TV_Listing_04_JUN_1978.pdf

To prepare for S02E04, we present a quick overview of Maya culture we're calling Maya 101. Listen in awe as Jeb distills 3000 years of Maya culture down into 90 mins! An influential book mentioned by Jeb: A Forest of Kings Notes: Preclassic 1500 BC – 250 AD Early 1500-900 Middle 900-300 Late 300 BC – 250 AD Classic Period 250-1000 AD Early 250-600 AD Late 600-1000 AD Postclassic 900-1520 AD Early 900-1200 Late 1200-1520 AD The stunning pyramid complex of El Mirador Example of Olmec Heads mentioned (Wikimedia) Link to image of the stunning scale of El Mirador. (drawing by T.L. Rutledge) Yuri Valentinovich researcher Bishop Diego de Landa the priest who demanded Maya language be written for him (If David Anderson has his Star Wars story written down or recorded anywhere and I find it, I'll link to it here.)

Watch this ISO episode on YouTube [explicit] Jeb and Blake discuss the In Search Of... episode about the mysterious character known as The Count of St. Germain. We talk a little about the I AM movement and Mt. Shasta lore, but if you want a real deep dive, check out our 2-part Shaver Mystery coverage from MonsterTalk: Shaver pt 1 Shaver pt 2 Okay - you may have wondered about that insert about William Blake? That comes from Noel Fielding's TV series and you'll just have to watch it. It's very surreal and requires a bit of knowledge about WB's famous painting of the ghost of a flea. There was a 1975 TV movie titled "The Man Who Would Not Die" but it appears to be unrelated to the ISO episode. Mentioned in the episode:Jaguar Jungle Voltaire and the Great Rap Battles of history Madame de Pompadour The Doctor Who episode Blake mentioned (The Girl in the Fireplace) Elizabeth Clare Prophet Dr. Peter Reill Jeb's favorite scene of the imperiled lamp. Jeb's list of people in the age of "average life expectancy of 35:" Voltaire, 83 years Ben Franklin, 84 years Maria Theresa, 63 years Catherine the Great, 67 years George Washington, 67 years Thomas Jefferson, 83 years John Locke, 72 years Rousseau, 66 years Immanuel Kant, 80 years Louis XV, 64 years George III, 82 years William Blake, 70 years Episode written by Nicholas Webster - who also directed the cult classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) which introduced the world to Pia Zadora. If you want to dive in on St. Germain legends, plus hear a surprising cameo by a famous actor/comedian, Astonishing Legends did a 3-part series on The Count. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Nimoy Fashion Alert - Nimoy is almost upstaged by his setting, but not quite. My only complaint about his fashion is that the lighting on this set makes his skin look pale and yellow. But that Asssssssscot.

Watch this episode of In Search Of... on YouTube. Jeb and Blake go prospecting for the facts behind The Lost Dutchman Mine episode of In Search Of... beginning season 2 of IRO. Yes, there was a typo in the TV listing. "Professor" should have been "Prospector" but it was funnier (for me) to read it as written. An NPR story about how the Red Tailed Hawk became the voice of the "eagle." Reenactment at the beginning based on the story of Jacob Waltz. Much of the episode revolves around the geologic structure called Weaver's Needle. The hunt for GOLD! Some ghost-town details on Bodie, CA 3-Part series on the Dutchman Mine: https://arizonareport.com/lost-dutchman-gold-mine-legend/ (part 1) https://arizonareport.com/lost-dutchman-gold-mine-adolph-ruth-julia-thomas/ (part 2) https://arizonareport.com/lost-dutchman-gold-mine-glenn-magill/ (part 3) The Killer Mountains, by Curt Gentry Scooby Doo - Mine Your Own Business featuring "The Miner 49er" The Brady Bunch meet a crazy "prospector" Legislation mentioned in the episode to limit treasure hunting. 7 Cities of Gold (wiki) video game. Programmed by the amazing Dani Bunten of Ozark Softscape. You can play it at this Abandonware site. There is an updated version available at "Good Old Games" but I haven't played it, though it looks quite nice. Nimoy Fashion Alert! Author Robert Blair (Tales of the Superstitions) rocking the Elvis shades. TV Listing for Lust for Gold, a 1949 movie about the search for the Dutchman mine. PDF news stories related to the episode: 1956_Phoenix_story_about_secret_history_of_mine.pdf Adolph_Ruth_body_found_09JAN1932.pdf

Jeb and I are still chipping away at Season 2 of In reSearch Of... but we covered this amazing 1980 movie from the people who brought you The Search for Noah's Ark and The Man Who Saw Tomorrow. Hangar 18 (aka Invasion Force) stars Darren McGavin, Gary Collins, and Robert Vaughn. If this seems like a weird thing for us to cover, I think you'll see why it fits our theme when you give it a listen. Yes, you can watch Hangar 18 in full on YouTube. See you next week with Season 2 - Episode 1 of IRO: The Lost Dutchman Mine! Some attachments for your reading pleasure are included. false_advertising.pdf Hangar_18_texas_coverage_during_prod.pdf Hangar_18_movie_review.pdf

Well, I don't know about you - but for me and Jeb, Season 1 of In reSearch Of flew by. We're hard at work on Season 2 and hope you enjoy it! Those should start dropping in two weeks. Check the show notes for the attached PDF of our "Fashion Forensics" work. This is a project I'm not done with so I may drop some Patreon bonus research in the future as time allows, but we'll definitely be diving further into Nimoy's fashion and the secrets it reveals about the behind the scenes world of In Search Of... Thanks so much for sticking with us as we revisit this show and its impact on weirds#!t culture. I can't drop tables into the show notes, so I'm pasting some data work that Jeb did in as image files. We cover this data in the audio, but in case you wanted a view of it later you'll have it. Our breakdown of ISO topics for the first season: Top 5 eps for Entertainment: Worst 5 eps for Entertainment: Mentioned in the episode, Hackers by Steven Levy. The season 1 Fashion Forensics PDF should be attached, but here is a link in case it's missing.

Hey folks, we hope you enjoyed season 1 of In ReSearch Of. We've got a special oversized season wrap-up episode coming but I'm going to have to push it out a week. I just need a breather. Lots of stuff going on - but hey, the whole world's got problems right? Hang in there! Jeb's book Spooky Archaeology is on sale through April. Use code "16SPRING20" when you checkout. 25% off plus free shipping when you order through UNM Press. Want to read a story about a terrible prank I pulled back in the 90s? I finally wrote it down so you don't have to get me two cocktails in to hear it. We'll be back next week with our Season 1 finale and Fashion Forensics.

Watch this ISO episode on YouTube Jeb and Blake discuss the real archaeology of Stonehenge in the final episode of Season One of In Search Of... Alexander Thom and Gerald Hawkins argue for Stonehenge as a "computer" or "observatory" but it doesn't really hold up. (We discuss in episode.) Check out these SketchFab projects for the Newgrange tomb. (Interactive 3D models.) Druids! Druids! Druids! Nimoy Fashion Alert The Battle of the Beanfield - Counterculture vs The Police Video about the battle. Some history of the meaning of the "Sarsen" stones. The Blue Stones come from the Preseli Hills in Wales. This stone is being quarried and turned into a variety of art, alt-med, and meditative purposes. The work of Francis Hitching is discussed. Some sites mentioned: Litany of sites Devil's Heel is the Heel Stone at Stonehenge Nine Maidens Tingle Stone Long Barrow in the Cotswolds Stanton Drew Durrington Walls Ley Lines? (great overview by Sharon Hill) Alfred Watkins Alexander Thom Ley Lines in Question

Watch this ISO episode on YouTube. The In Search Of... camera crew follows an expedition to find a lost Inca city. Jeb and Blake discover that ISO isn't quite as entertaining without the weirdness. There is a Gold Museum in Lima, Peru. However, there is some concern about some of the museum's exhibits. Saksaywaman is a temple, not a fortress Jeb mentioned the Chile Chinchorro Mummies. Inca leaders Atahualpa and Huascar (discussion of civil war) Tupac Amaru II - the namesake of Tupac Shakur Explorer Hiram Bingham found Machu Picchu Peruvian historian Edmundo Guillen documented the resistance and Vilcabamba. Valley of the Rio Pampacona Expedition to Vilcabamba Gene Savoy, explorer. And while researching I found this dubious newspaper photo of a 129-year-old man from Vilcabamba: Nimoy Fashion Alert:

In Search Of… Voodoo (YouTube) Jeb and Blake follow the In Search Of team to Haiti to learn about the mysterious religion of Voodoo. No zombies were harmed in the making of this episode. Body Ritual among the Nacarima Wikipedia on Hatian Vodou. The 1864 voodoo panic via Smithsonian, by friend of the show Mike Dash. The 1915 US Occupation of Haiti The Haitian Revolution - a deep and complicated history The New Orleans funeral scene from Live and Let Die 7-Up commercial featuring iconic actor Geoffry Holder Sugar Hill (1974) voodoo blaxploitation horror Marjoe - documentary about charismatic evangelical fraud Serpent Handling religion can be fatal Papa Legba song by Talking Heads Zora Hurston - precursor to Wade Davis's Serpent and the Rainbow ethnographic work. Serpent and the Rainbow horror movie Baby Doc Duvalier Papa Doc Duvalier Veve Designs Baron Samedi Loa Spirits Rada Loas - part of what the episode calls "White Voodoo" Petro Loas - part of what the episode calls "Red Voodoo" Ghede Loas - not included in the show Other books mentioned: Uncommon Ground (early African American archaeology) Crossroads and Cosmologies (how African Americans preserved their African religious identity) Terms: Syncretism - the merger/combining of different beliefs Ethnogenesis - formation/origin of an ethnic group Nimoy Fashion Alert

Jeb and Blake discuss the Season 1 episode of In Search Of... on the topic of UFOs. Watch this ISO episode on YouTube. Mentioned in this Episode: Kenneth Arnold and the first "Flying Saucers" Mellen, Wisconsin case - covered by NICAP report. Reported by Phillip Baker (and family). This is the artist sketch of what they reported: (And this is the Legion of Doom headquarters from the animated Super Friends.) You never know what kind of data you'll uncover when researching ISO eps: Please see attached PDFs for related news stories from contemporary papers. Ted Phillips doing serious amateur science while wearing the best outfit of Season 1 (IMHO -Blake). Ted's Physical Trace Catalogue is online. Obit for Edward Zeller (1925 - 1996) the scientist analyzing samples in the episode. Janet and Helen Kay's case comes from Medford, Minnesota. The artist sketch of their sighting follows. The title card for this episode shows the dead grass associated with this case, but it doesn't seem like compelling evidence of a landing to Jeb and me. We briefly discuss the difference between ground damage from alleged landings and the geometric shapes that become known as "crop circles." The Critchfield sighting from Big Chimney, West Virginia. According to NICAP reports for 1975: June 12, 1975; Big Chimney, WV Shortly before 10:00 p.m. A diamond shaped object landed on a gravel road in a mountainous area. It was witnessed by four members of the Crichfield family. Four landing gear imprints were found at the site. (Sources: Center for UFO Studies case files, letter dated August 3, 1975; Larry Hatch, U computer database, citing Alan Landsburg, In Search of Extraterrestrials, p. 8) Nimoy quotes a 1973 Gallup Poll about UFO beliefs. A contemporary write-up of those findings is attached below. Jeb was familiar with the thermoluminescence research done in this episode, but we also reached out to Dr. Chris Cogswell of the "Mad Scientist Podcast" to talk about the process and I thought his explanation might further illuminate the matter. I quote here from November 16, 2019 correspondence: Solid materials in their normal state have imperfections in their crystal lattice. Think about the grain of a piece of wood. The wood is solid, however the grain is not continuous necessarily throughout the wood sample. This is also true of solid materials. At the atomic scale these grain boundaries and other similar imperfections in the lattice of a crystal create areas where electrons cannot easily transport. Note that this isn't true of metallic solids, where electrons have enough "space" to move freely throughout. The essential principle of thermoluminescence is that when a solid crystal lattice is exposed to radiation some of the electrons will become trapped in an excited state, and the amount of electrons trapped in this way will correspond to the intensity of the radiation dose the sample is exposed too. Normally after excitation an electron will de-excite and release a photon after a short period of time. However, due to the defects in ceramic crystal structures some of those electrons cannot de-excite normally, leaving behind electrons trapped in the excited state as well as holes where electrons would normally sit. To fix this, we can re-heat a sample of the solid and all of those trapped electrons will de-excite, releasing photons in the process. The test being performed in the episode is a process where a solid sample is heated in a chamber to de-excite those trapped photons. The goal is to collect the trapped photons and use those to determine the relative intensity of radiation the sample was exposed too. The relative number of photons released correspond to the intensity of some past radiation exposure, and so in this way they can tell if the soil was exposed to a high dose of some kind of radiation by comparison to other soil samples in a similar non-affected area. In archeology they can use this method and knowledge of the natural decay of trapped electrons in materials to estimate the date of the radiation exposure. Some caveats here though. The radiation a sample is exposed to could be the kind that creates giant hulking monsters (or not…), however it could also be extreme heat. In fact it looks like it is the date of the firing of a clay pottery sample that archeologists determine using this test. Current testing looks to suggest that the type of radiation will change the "glow curve" as it's known, however at the time I don't know if they were doing those sorts of tests. Based on all of that, the testing can tell them if the ground was exposed to some kind of intense heat or radiation of some kind. However, there is no way to tell from the curve they showed if the data is remarkable, since we would need background curves to normalize against sunlight, heat, environmental effects, etc. Nimoy Fashion Alert: UFO Edition PDF Attachments: ISO_UFOs_Fergus_Falls__MI_20_MAR_1975.pdf ISO_UFOs_Racine__WI_20_MAR_1975.pdf ISO_UFOs_Kenosha__WI_

Jeb and Blake are joined by Daniel Loxton, co-author (with Donald Prothero) of Abominable Science!, and the regular author of the Junior Skeptic portion of Skeptic magazine. It's a deep dive into Loch Ness to look for the creature(s) said to inhabit the lake. Watch this episode of ISO episode on YouTube. Discussed: Robert Rines, Inventor & Lawyer Robert Rines - Appreciation from MIT Academy of Applied Science The Rines Photos critiqued by Darren Naish (the Tetzoo blog & podcast) The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) The "real" Dinsdale footage The Water Bailiff (Alex Campbell) is the first journalist who covered this story. Loch Ness A. Shine video for Google Maps Ness Toyota commercial with Shine Jeb's own video of wake ness monster Nimoy Fashion:

Jeb and Blake discuss Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and the In Search Of episode titled "Life After Death." Watch this episode of ISO on YouTube. Dr. Charles Garfield: (Still involved with palliative care) https://charlesgarfield.com/about-charles-garfield.html https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-garfield-compassion-20171024-story.html https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_keys_to_good_death Mentioned: Sam Parnia's AWARE study. Hypoxia and NDE link. NDEs and Skepticism Nimoy Fashion:

Jeb and Blake look into an alleged haunting in Port Clyde, Maine as we go in research of Ghosts! The episode opens with Hans Holzer looking to possible haunting at Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving. Holzer was a prolific author and media figure around paranormal and fringe topics. Mentioned: The terrible, stupid "alien interview" video posted on YouTube as a "Blue Book interview." (this is not real) Sally Landsburg (producer's ex-wife) obituary (August 18, 1933 - March 11, 2019) Hans' daughter Alexandra now has her own paranormal TV (The Holzer Files) show along with Dave Shrader, formerly of Darkness Radio (now Beyond the Darkness podcast). Nimoy Fashion Alert: From This House is Haunted (Holzer) - on the Ingrid Beckman problems that led to the dissolution of their partnership. Excerpt from Bear's Guide to Earning College Degrees Non Traditionally regarding the school Holzer got his "PhD" from. Holzer_15_mins_pt1.pdf Holzer_15_mins_pt3.pdf Holzer_15_mins_pt2.pdf Excerpt_on_Ghost_episode_from_ISO_Promotional_press_release_Dec_1976.pdf Holzer___pity_the_poor_ghost.pdf

Watch the ISO episode on YouTube Jeb and Blake are joined by Dr. Carl P. Lipo to talk about "The Easter Island Massacre" episode of In Search Of. Our guest, Dr. Carl P. Lipo, is the author (along with Terry Hunt) of The Statues that Walked and conducted research that demonstrated a very plausible method for how the statues of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) were moved from their stone quarry. (See some of the history around testing various methods at this link.) NatGeo video of The Statues that Walk presentation with Lipo and Hunt. Jump to the "good stuff" and see a Moai walk NOVA special on Easter Island (via Amazon Prime) Dr. Edmundo Edwards is profiled in the episode. Nimoy seems to be wearing a very similar outfit to the Dracula episode, and we'll be looking back at this data in our Season 1 wrap-up feature in a few weeks. And - achievement unlocked - we've hit another image from the show's title sequence. Curiously, of the images in the title sequence (Earhart, a Galaxy, Moai, Castle Urqhart, Druids, and Crystal Skulls) I think only the Crystal Skulls fail to get their own coverage this season. I need to double-check that, but I think we cover the galaxy in the SETI episode, we'll get to Nessie and Druids too, and we've already covered Earhart. So... we'll see what's up (if anything) with the crystal skulls. Some of the Moai are truly massive - but calling people "flyspecks" by comparison is a bit of a poetic stretch. There are some really great photos at the Thor Heyerdahl page on the Kon-Tiki website. The sheer mass of these things is quite stunning. Expand your vocabulary! The orographic effect is a change in atmospheric conditions caused by a change in elevation, primarily due to mountains. What are the Moai? (from Wikipedia) Moai are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the island's perimeter. Almost all moai have overly large heads three-eighths the size of the whole statue. The moai are chiefly the living faces (aringa ora) of deified ancestors (aringa ora ata tepuna). The statues still gazed inland across their clan lands when Europeans first visited the island in 1722, but all of them had fallen by the latter part of the 19th century. Pukao - the "hats" on the top of some Moai Rongorongo - the still undeciphered language remnants found in the Pacific islands. Counting coup was mentioned - this is explained here but it was a way to demonstrate bravery by daring feats. Tiki Sidebar: Don's Beachcomber (the original chain) is gone (closed 1985) and as of 2018, the sites that had taken up the torch of keeping the brand alive were struggling. Donn Beach obituary Trader Vic's Vic Bergeron obituary 1947 coverage of Kontiki Expedition Check out http://TikiRoom.com for some fascinating photos and memorabilia from peak Tiki. Begs The Question: A couple of times in the episode the phrase "begs the question" is used. Since this is a show that caters to some degree of pedantry, it's worth mentioning that we are aware that the fallacy of "begging the question" is not the same as the colloquial usage which means "raise the question." Raising a question has little to do with rhetorical usage. However, leaning into the prescriptive interpretation of the phrase must be done by disregarding the vast popular tendency to use the phrase to mean "raise the question." "Begging the question" rhetorically is a kind of circular argument wherein one's premise is unsupported within the argument save through conversational assertions. You can read all about it over at Merriam Webster. One can be adamant about the proper usage of the phrase but would do so at the risk of being obliterated by the power of the general public to mutate the meaning of words and phrases. It would be awfully egregious to ignore the changes that are happening to language all the time, and I'm unlikely to call for militant adherence to the Aristotelian version of this phrase. Want to try and change my mind? Go for it.