Podcast UFO

The cattle mutilation mystery and its association with UFO activity didn’t get the attention of researcher investigators until the 1970s. There is an article on page 2 of the March 1975 APRO Bulletin, headlined “More on Mutilations,” discussing the findings of APRO Field Investigators Bill Pitt, Lee Spiegel, and Kevin Randle. It was the opinion of APRO at the time that “no satisfactory evidence has emerged which links UFOs to mutilated animals.” The first mutilation to get the public’s attention was that of a horse named Snippy found by its owners in the San Luis Valley of Colorado on September 8, 1967. Shortly after that, in his article (page 8 of the pdf) in the July/August 1968 Flying Saucer Review headlined “West Virginia’s Enigmatic Bird,” John Keel mentions that cow and horse mutilations are “now common” in the midst of sightings of the Mothman and UFOs in the area around Point Pleasant. However, there is a report far earlier than this that, by most accounts, appeared in the April 23, 1897, Yates Center Farmer’s Advocate. This involves a mystery airship caught in the act of abducting a cow right in front of prominent Woodson County, Kansas, citizen Alexander Hamilton (not the one on the 20-dollar bill).  While the Advocate article remains elusive, Redditt user Remseey2907 found an article in what appears to be the Globe Democrat that includes the details of and references the Advocate article. Read more →

Martin Willis and co-host UFO Jack welcome author and musician Mike Fiorito to discuss the intriguing relationship between music, consciousness, and the UFO phenomenon. Fiorito suggests that music may be a universal form of communication, pointing to birdsong and the presence of music in every human culture as evidence that intelligent life naturally expresses itself through sound. The conversation explores how music creates wordless connections between people, whether through performing, dancing, or shared listening. Fiorito describes music as a “thought form” that carries cultural history and emotional depth, often communicating ideas and feelings that language cannot easily express. The discussion then turns to the idea of sound as a kind of technology of consciousness. Fiorito explains how frequencies, rhythm, and musical immersion can shift awareness into altered or meditative states, potentially opening perception to deeper layers of reality where anomalous experiences sometimes occur. Referencing figures like Sun Ra and broader cultural traditions that treat musicians as healers, the conversation suggests that music may help bypass the rational mind and access a more expansive sense of awareness. While the UFO mystery remains unresolved, the guests conclude that music offers a powerful pathway into curiosity, wonder, and a deeper exploration of both inner and outer worlds..

SHOW NOTES

by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear On October 7, 1977, Prime Minister of Grenada Sir Eric Gairy gave a 90-minute speech during the 32nd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations urging the organization to create an agency that would monitor UFOs. This led to a presentation and panel discussion over one year later, organized and produced by Lee Speigel, that included Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Dr. Jacques Vallée, and Col. Gordon Cooper. While this was considered a high point at the time in terms of gaining respectability for the UFO Waldheim Meeting. Credit: ICUFON Archives subject (Grenada issued a set of stamps in 1978 commemorating Gairy’s efforts) and still is today, not everyone was happy about it, particularly the directors of the Scientific Bureau of Investigation, formed in January of 1979. Read more →

by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear For many people growing up in the 1970s (of which this writer is one), seeing a UFO documentary was their first in-depth look into the subject. These films often came along with books tied in, and major publishers such as Bantam were getting onboard. More and more people were willing to accept the idea that UFOs were worthy of serious consideration, and this meant that more and more people were willing to spend money on movies and books covering the subject. What had formerly been mostly confined to a subculture of enthusiasts, was now becoming a somewhat profitable entertainment industry. Indeed, it may come as a surprise to some readers, but between the summer of the saucers in 1947, and 1968, there were only two documentaries made in the midst of all the science fiction saucer films that became popular starting in the 1950s.The beginning of the 1970s wave of UFO documentaries can be traced back to the 1968 book Erinnerungen an die Zukunft (Memories of the Future) by Erich von Däniken published by Econ-Verlag in West Germany. The book not only whetted the public’s appetite for UFOs and aliens (especially ancient ones), but opened up the doors for all things strange and mysterious, including Bigfoot, the Bermuda Triangle, ghosts, and lake monsters. Read more →

Bryce Zabel and Brent Friedman, creators of NBC’s Dark Skies, join Podcast UFO to discuss the strange real-life event that sparked their new investigative podcast, Sound, Light & Frequency. They share how their personal interest in UFOs began (including Bryce’s childhood discovery of the McMinnville “Trent Farm” photos, and Brent’s startling “aliens are real” disclosure from a Reagan-era family friend), plus Brent’s more recent UFO-style sighting during the Perseid meteor shower on Vancouver Island, tiny star-like lights moving erratically and seeming to drop into the ocean. The conversation turns to why witnesses stay silent, including stories Bryce heard from strangers after Dark Skies aired, schoolyard sightings with dozens of witnesses that never made the news, followed by families insisting: “don’t ever talk about it.” From there, Bryce and Brent explain the premise of Sound, Light & Frequency: an active investigation into whether Hollywood has been part of a long “chicken-and-egg” feedback loop with UFO culture, did filmmakers invent ideas that later entered ufology, or were real narratives quietly fed into film and TV? They preview their central claim: a mysterious “Man in Black”-type figure crashed their Dark Skies premiere party in the 1990s, claimed ties to the Office of Naval Intelligence, and allegedly offered a “deal” connected to a slow-drip disclosure program, truth inserted into fiction. They won’t fully reveal the details here (they insist listeners start with Episode 1), but they confirm follow-up meetings occurred and that the encounter never stopped haunting them. They also reveal how Dark Skies was sold with an elaborate “top secret” style series bible mapping a multi-season timeline, then the eerie twist: the exact “cover of fiction to tell truth” concept they pitched to networks later appeared to boomerang back on them in real life. The episode closes with their plan to examine iconic UFO films and series (Close Encounters, Contact, The Abyss, The X-Files, V, and more), vet tips from insiders, and look for patterns, without claiming they already have the answers.
SHOW NOTES

THIS WEEK'S BLOG BY CHARLES LEAR: MR X