Whitley Strieber's abduction, and the film it inspired

We're back, baby. With cowbell! Seriously, though, we're ready to walk through one of the most famous abduction stories of the 1980s, the influential story of author Whitley Strieber and the aliens who brought him along for a quick visit. We also talk about the film version, which yes, stars Christopher Walken. As Strieber. So it's Christopher Walken dancing with aliens. Fun!

New! Unidentified--Christopher Walken dances with aliens

How the way we look at abductions changed between the 1970s and the 1990s

We're done with Betty and Barney, but not with the subject of abductions. Not by a long shot. This episode, we talk about two different pieces of media, and how they talked about abductions. Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind has a more optimistic view, but by the time Mulder and Scully came around, alien abduction had become a completely terrifying experience. Why is that? Well, you'll have to wait for next episode to find out...We're taking one episode off, so we'll see you at the end of April.

New! Unidentified--Close Encounters of the X-Files Kind

Barney and Betty Hill, part 5

The final part of our story of the Hills' strange encounter. We discuss the cheap hatchet job that Saint Carl Sagan did on the Hills' story, which came out quite tawdry in spite of Sagan's good intentions. Plus, we provide our suggestion for the best bet as to the real-life phenomenon that generated the Hills' legendary experience.

New! Unidentified--What Barney and Betty Hill actually saw (it wasn't a UFO)

Barney and Betty Hill, part 4

This episode, we deep dive into a TV movie adaptation of the Barney and Betty Hill story, starring and produced by James Earl Jones. An interesting film, and well intended, we examine the ways that it compromised the Hills' own conclusions about their experience in favor of a story designed to normalize interracial couples for a mainstream 1970s US audience. Enjoy! theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain

New! Unidentified--The aliens attempt to kidnap Darth Vader

Barney and Betty Hill, part 3

Barney and Betty's story goes public, and the US media decides they made up this alien story because of how hard it was to be an interracial couple in 1960s America. It's infuriating. Enjoy! theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain

New! Unidentified--Interracial relationships and alien abduction in 1960s America

Barney and Betty Hill, part 2

Barney and Betty Hill had a weird night on September 19, 1961. Of that there's no doubt. But in this episode we investigate how the mid-century embrace of hypnosis as a psychological tool may have helped to generate the abduction story that would set the stage for the abduction mania of future decades. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain

New! Unidentified--Dreams, hypnosis, and the first American alien abduction

Barney and Betty Hill, part 1

We're ready to take on the story of Barney and Betty Hill, whose UFO encounter launched the abduction phenomenon, and whose personal story is even more fascinating. More on the Hills in two weeks. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain

New! Unidentified--Barney, Betty, and the UFO they saw

We're back for 2025. This episode, we wrap up the story of The Seekers, the failure of their 1950s UFO prophecy, and the book that made them famous. We also dive into the ways cognitive dissonance theory interacts with other prophetic movements, including the early Christians. See you in two weeks. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain

New! Unidentified--No ETs for Christmas

The last part of our encore presentation. hope you enjoyed it--see you next week. In which Fletcher slowly loses what matters most to him, secures his legend, and goes down, senselessly, in a hail of bullets. Full lyrics, credits, and gorgeous fold-out album style artwork (it's a .zip file): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zj0Mbk4JNrHajuAwHC3fOGzY8ZHeTDOg/view?usp=share_link theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-v-shutting-down" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-v-shutting-down</a> patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word.

Encore: Upon a Red Horse, Part V

The podcast that explains conspiracy theories to normal people

The podcast that explains why so many people believe ridiculous conspiracy theories.

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