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Post by kingstownted on Jun 19, 2012 18:55:59 GMT -5
Grab your tin foil hats and find your way to the panic shelter, we are about to take on some of the world's greatest conspiracy theories and we don't want the men in black to show up and haul you away before we uncover the truth. It's a deviation from the norm this week as Ted is joined by a special guest host to chat about some of history's great conspiracy theories including: the assassination of JFK (which we dedicate the first 20 minutes to), what was behind the death of Princess Di, is Paul McCartney an imposter?, Who is Jack the Ripper, UFO's, Roswell, Abductions, the Bermuda Triangle, the mystery of Oak Island, David Kelly, Snuff Films, Montauk Point and the Philadelphia Experiment, the Electric Car, Chemtrails, the Moon Landing, mind control... all the way up to the New World Order, Bilderberg Group and the Illuminati (plus much more). You don't have to keep looking over your shoulder while listening but don't say you weren't warned. Along the way, some fun supernatural and cryptozoology is tossed in such as the belief in spirits, posession, bigfoot and sea monsters. And somehow the Mission Impossible films came up (the scientology agenda at work?). Find more of Brent Holland's work at www.nightfrightshow.comAs always we welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com Voicemail (206) 337-5324 |
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yddy
Ghost in the Graveyard
Posts: 568
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Post by yddy on Jun 19, 2012 19:20:36 GMT -5
I am soooo excited to hear this one!
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Post by andreana2112 on Jun 21, 2012 23:22:37 GMT -5
A wonderful one-off episode
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Post by Scary Gary on Jun 22, 2012 1:44:36 GMT -5
Cool episode. It was like the Horroretc. version of In Search Of, without Nimoy (though the Shat. did get a shout out)  I'm hesitant to mention, but I am "that guy" with respect to nearly everything brought up on the show. I was a believer with many of these things years ago; but over time, I've come accept the "main stream" explanation. The last one for me to accept was the JFK assassination. I had even wrote a 40 page research paper on it for my technical writing class in college. A few years after that paper, I started listening to the "single gunman" explanations and it seemed to make more sense to me. For a great show discussing this side of the coin, see Penn and Teller's: BullShit! (Starts at the 20:30 mark) |
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Post by hammerhead on Jun 22, 2012 5:40:05 GMT -5
The biggest problem with CTs is that they are unfalsifiable. Any evidence you bring up to support an alternate explanation is simply chalked up to the grand omnipotent conspirators who planted said evidence to lead others astray. Worse, you may be labelled a shill or an agent for Them.
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Post by maffy on Jun 22, 2012 19:03:49 GMT -5
I really enjoyed this episode, but there were so many topics crammed into the show I'm going to have to listen to it again! I used to be quite into the UFO thing many years ago, but eventually came to the conclusion that it probably boiled down to a combination of experimental aircraft sightings and witness testimonies of the partially insane. There was one that always left me wondering though, and that was the Rendlesham Forest incident that occurred on a US military base in England in 1980 - there were so many testimonies from high ranking military personnel that it was hard to dismiss. There's a great book about it that came out about 10 years ago called You Can't Tell The People which I can thoroughly recommend, and there's a lot of YouTube stuff out there which is quite chilling, whether you're a believer or not. And good to know Stan Friedman is still with us! Paul McCartney didn't die in 1968. He died in 1984 when he released the Frog Chorus, artistically speaking at least... If the government wants to send out a message to the youth warning them of the dangers of long-term drug use they should just play them this hellish tune. Just say no, kids: www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0fuVoSa3dcIf you want some theories as to the identity of Jack The Ripper I strongly urge everyone out there to read Alan Moore's classic graphic novel From Hell (forget the movie) - even if you're not a comic book fan - it's a stunning and highly original work of art. But what I took away from this episode is the importance of keeping an open mind, whether or not you entertain many of the conspiracy theories mentioned, and how none of us should take the mainstream media at face value. And don't get me started on Google! I might just have to renew my subscription to the Fortean Times. |
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Post by kingstownted on Jun 22, 2012 21:45:12 GMT -5
There was one that always left me wondering though, and that was the Rendlesham Forest incident that occurred on a US military base in England in 1980 - there were so many testimonies from high ranking military personnel that it was hard to dismiss. Just an aside on that particular encounter, give the skeptoid episode on it a listen for a pragmatic perspective. I'm not saying I agree or disagree, but it's interesting how many elements of the story can in fact be given reasonable explanations: Skeptoid episode 135 |
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Post by xtrialbyfirex on Jun 23, 2012 1:23:06 GMT -5
Hey I thought this was a really fun episode and I had a great time listening to it while I was at work tonight.
I have a few thoughts to chime in on the discussion with: You guys were talking about how one child from the same family can end up a serial killer, and another can end up helping people and saving lives.
Nature and nurture is a serious issue when talking about things like that but, it somewhat oversimplifies things. Although genetics and environment can have an intense influence over a person's decisions, the individual does have the ability to create their own environment. We are active participants in our own lives, and to say our decisions are only nature vs. nurture is to say we are only passive observers, and that free will doesn't exist.
Also on the topic of paranormal experiences, I have had at least one and it was less than pleasant. I would just say keep an open mind about those sort of things. The more we know about the world we live in the more we realize we don't know.
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sidach
Creeping Corpse
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Post by sidach on Jun 25, 2012 7:17:51 GMT -5
I agree with the sceptical views expressed above. So many of these theories have to be based on a grand conspiracy because it is the only way their advocates can disentangle themselves from mundane counter evidence. I also love how many of the theories start 'they say...' i just wish i could have got away with such loose sourcing when i used to write my history essays
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Post by jamtomorrow on Jun 25, 2012 14:07:40 GMT -5
Although I don't believe in any conspiracy theories (I think), they're a fascinating topic to discuss, and this was a great episode. The discussion strayed off-topic in big ways, which isn't in itself a bad thing, but I think it indicates that an epsiode on cryptozoology would be a great idea.
As regards the conspiracies themselves, I've seen some fairly convincing debunkings of the multiple shooter theories of JFK's assassination; more troubling is the speed with which LHO ended up dead.
Paul McCartney isn't dead, he just sounds that way. And the album cover with the Beatles wallking across a road is "Abbay Road", not "A Hard Day's Night". And the British aren't in thhe habit of burying people without their shoes on.
Moon landing didn't happen? I think the Russians would have had something to say about it if that had been the case.
9/11 an inside job? Why not crash the airliners into a residential area, thus avoiding the economic chaos that followed the loss of the WTC?
The "murder" of Princess Di. Not a very relaible way to kill someone, given that the only person who wore a seatbelt, the princess' bodyguard, survived the crash.
"From Hell" doesn't say that a member of the Royal Family was Jack the Ripper (though some folks have said it was the Duke of Clarence, though on very scant evidence), but that it was the surgeon William Gull. Was the guy Ted was thinking of called Koszmynsky? Is that how you spell it?
Great episode, and I'm really looking forward to the serial killers one.
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Post by kingstownted on Jun 25, 2012 17:15:46 GMT -5
Just a few responses:
wholeheartedly agree. Is touching on Bigfoot, sea monsters and ghosts in the last 15 minutes deviating in a big way though?
That one has always struck me as one of the looniest of the loony theories.
Just wanted to reinforce that this was one we specifically and deliberately did not talk about. This one isn't fun to theorize about in my opinion... it's just pure insulting ignorance.
I understand, but felt it was the better part of valour to let that go. yes it could be corrected, but at the price of spoiling From Hell.
Yes, you got it (and I don't know about the spelling either)
As an aside, we got some cool emails about Ripper theories I was not familiar with - Jack the Ripper was in fact HH Holmes!?
Yeah me too, but much like the 9/11 nonsense, is it insensitive to discuss these criminals?
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Post by Scary Gary on Jun 25, 2012 19:06:07 GMT -5
Yeah me too, but much like the 9/11 nonsense, is it insensitive to discuss these criminals? The real trick would be to do the show in a way that is sensitive while not sounding like you are walking on eggshells. I've been a fan of bigfoot films, good and bad. The Legend of Boggy Creek, Creature from Black Lake, Snow Beast, Paper Dolls (2007), et al. Not to forget that Lance Henriksen took on the bigfoot in a trio of films (Abominable, The Untold, and Sasquatch Mountain). |
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Post by jamtomorrow on Jun 26, 2012 11:48:11 GMT -5
I guess with serial killers the thing to do is to focus on the srerial killer phenomenon, rather than the careers of individual serial killers (though, of course, you'd have to talk about individual killers in doing that). I would say that you're okay if you treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves, it is legitimate to look at extremes of human behaviour such as this as it raises a lot of important moral questions: are serial killers born or made? Is there such a thing as evil? How many people are out there who have the same moral tendencies as a psychopath, but who have never committed a murder?
I'd take exception to anyone who would treat the subject in a salacious or lighthearted way (and I know Horroretc wouldn't do that). Like these people who are offering tourist guides to the sites where Jeffrey Dahmer's victims were abducted from; there's nothing to be gained from that but freakish thrill-seeking, in my opinion.
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Post by jmodlinc on Jul 6, 2012 1:27:02 GMT -5
Sorry to hear Ted is a believer in the JFK conspiracy (and a slight believer in at least part of the Area 51 conspiracy, it would seem)... too bad.  Now, I think I am correct in saying that you do not believe in anything supernatural/paranormal/mystical/magical since, in short, there is no evidence to support any of it, correct? If so, I'd say you'd fall more or less under the definition of an "atheist" at least in terms of how this guy feels... or maybe this is more helpful... or, you may still prefer just not to be categorized (I myself am like that, mostly because of the excess political/cultural baggage that the term "atheist" still has)... Anyway, if you ever did see a "ghost" or something you couldn't explain, wouldn't someone like yourself first consider perhaps something has gone wrong physiologically or psychologically with yourself versus something actually supernatural happening? For the more rationally-minded, I'd think any magical explanation for something would be the very last thing one would go with. Just because something happens that is mysterious or unexplainable, obviously doesn't mean it has an otherworldly/wacky explanation. We humans are very irrational, so I guess one can't really blame anyone for tending towards such beliefs when we encounter something we don't understand or can readily identify, but... . Side Note: A couple of books you may have the slightest of an interest in checking out (but, as with all things, take with a big chunk of salt) are called "Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base" by Annie Jacobsen, and "UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record" by Leslie Kean. "Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base" by Annie Jacobsenwww.amazon.com/Area-51-Uncensored-Americas-Military/dp/0316132942www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/07/area-51-ufos-aliens-annie-jacobsen-nazi-soviet_n_869706.htmlwww.npr.org/2011/05/17/136356848/area-51-uncensored-was-it-ufos-or-the-ussrwww.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/annie-jacobsens-area-51-the-us-top-secret-military-base/2011/05/26/AGIZPLIH_story.htmlwww.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/05/13/the-truth-about-area-51-revealed-in-area-51-by-annie-jacobsen.html"UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record" by Leslie Keanwww.amazon.com/UFOs-Generals-Pilots-Government-Officials/dp/0307716848/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341576186&sr=8-1&keywords=leslie+kane |
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Post by kingstownted on Jul 6, 2012 8:10:56 GMT -5
Sorry to hear Ted is a believer in the JFK conspiracy (and a slight believer in at least part of the Area 51 conspiracy, it would seem)... too bad. Didn't know that I left the impression I believe there is anything at Area 51 but a military base - just questioned the hows & whys of 'credible' characters speaking out about about extreme things. And JFK - after 50 years of investigations, mountains of studies, and contradicting evidence... I had no idea the answer was so simple. I guess mafioso Jack Ruby was just really patriotic. After doing the podcast for this long I would like to think it's pretty clear I am a skeptic, but it makes for pretty poor broadcasting to just build walls and make guests try to break them down. |
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