32: Great Balls of Fire

With every paranormal event or object, there are the questions of how did this happen or what was this thing? But the equally important issue is, how would this affect me? Because when something seemingly impossible happens, we have no context unless it had interaction with somebody. It becomes meaningful when we ponder the implications to our own human experience. As much as the Betz Sphere created a scientific mystery it also created a family story. Tonight, we're fortunate to present an exclusive interview with a member of the Betz family who was there to witness the entire ordeal and who has generously agreed to share their family story and set the record straight. Someone or something secretive created this sphere and while its operation and purpose remain unknown to the public, how it became known to the world and how that affected their lives is their story alone. For more information on this episode visit our website!

20 Jan 20191h 47min

Sometimes people come into our lives that change everything. Sometimes that change can come from an object. In March of 1974, the Betz family of Fort George Island, Florida found such an object, while investigating their property for wildfire damage. It appeared to be a shiny steel ball, measuring 7.96 inches in diameter and weighing 21.34 pounds. Being a simple, yet so out-of-place item in the middle of nowhere, it caught the attention of the eldest Betz son Terry, who took it home as a souvenir. The family, and eventually the rest of the world, would soon learn that this was no ordinary metal ball. The sphere would demonstrate highly unusual properties, like rolling that would indicate self-guidance, vibrating and emitting high-pitched frequencies, and a strange magnetic quality. These actions would be witnessed not only by the family but by the military, scientists and news media, all eager to determine who made this thing and why. While most authorities would go on record as believing the sphere was human-made, all would admit that it was no doubt weird, and no group could come forward to claim it was positively theirs. In the end, it would not be the sphere so much that would change the lives of the Betz family, but the people who were interested in it. As one might expect, if you possess an item that breaks the laws of physics, some organizations will go to great lengths to acquire it. For more information on this episode visit our website!

14 Jan 20191h 47min

Researchers have now documented thousands of personal accounts from Near-Death Experiencers. Logic would suggest that it's unlikely that all NDE stories are fabrications and that at least some of these experiences are real and accurately described. And if so, then examining the commonly experienced features of the NDE seem to indicate that these defining perceptions are universal, while remaining a uniquely relevant and personal occurrence to the individual. Most NDE experiencers have described sensations like being in a tunnel leading to a brilliant light, floating away from our bodies, reuniting with deceased friends and loved ones, of a peaceful and loving communion with a higher power, while some have described a hellish event. On the other hand, skeptics would argue that these features are standard because the human brain is the same for everyone. Some researchers have claimed to produce these sensations by external stimuli, such as electric current, extreme G-force, and psychoactive drugs, or conclude that these perceptions are merely scenes of a final movie played by a dying brain starved of oxygen. In the second part of our discussion of the Near-Death Experience with Richard Hatem, we discuss the points of this debate, and whether the skeptical viewpoint can fully explain the phenomenon or if it falls short of an explanation of the personal context of these experiences. At the heart of this debate is the question of whether consciousness is a product of the physical brain or if it can reside apart from the body. If consciousness exists independently of the brain and this could be scientifically proven, then the possibility of living beyond our physical world – the reality of an Afterlife, changes the debate and how we think about our own lives. Perhaps this is something that can never be proven, something we are not meant to know, but those that have gone through an NDE will tell you that it has changed them, usually for the better. To them, the NDE was a message, and whether a good or bad experience, it was a message of hope or a reminder that redemption is possible, and that a greater awareness awaits us. And what message could be better at the close of an old year and the beginning of a new one? For more information on this episode visit our website!

23 Dec 20182h 9min

The question that every one of us has at least wondered about at some point in our lives, is not if UFOs and aliens exist, or where's Bigfoot, or even if ghosts are real (although that question is connected) but a question about the biggest mystery of all: "What happens to us after we die?" You may not care about the other unknowns, but death comes for us all, and whether or not there's an afterlife, we'll all know in due time. It's the grandest question there is, because it may lead to all other answers. Any evidence of an afterlife may seem beyond our view to most of us; however, there seems to be a great abundance of credible accounts from people who may have seen a glimpse of what awaits us on the Other Side. These people have either been in a state of "Clinical Death" or some unusual physical circumstance and upon recovering, claim to have experienced something known as a Near-Death Experience, or, an "NDE." Tonight, we sit down with our good friend, screenwriter Richard Hatem, who has studied the subject extensively, to discuss the fascinating and distinctive characteristics of the phenomenon. In Part One of our two-part series, we first look at the researchers, definitions and a few case studies of the NDE. Before you think you can dismiss these numerous anecdotes as coming only from a particular type of attention seeker, consider that these testimonies come from the believer, the agnostic and the atheistic alike, from people of all faiths and walks of life, with stories of striking similarity from every culture, and going back to when people first started dying. These Experiencers were all profoundly affected, their lives changed, and the commonalities of their experiences would suggest that this ultimate truth doesn't care what you believe, and indeed a reality beyond the one we know does exist. For more information on this episode visit our website!

16 Dec 20182h 23min

The Horror Movie genre, like any other genre of cinema, has its classics and its forgotten, its masterpieces, and its failures. But while the highbrow, serious films enjoy praise or at least critical analysis from the intellectual set, lowbrow horror offerings are often ignored by the academic-minded critics and in many cases even despised. Not so from our guest tonight, pop-culture icon, author, performer, and movie reviewer, Joe Bob Briggs. Joe Bob (John Irving Bloom) has made a name and a storied career for himself, starting first as a newspaper journalist and then finding himself adopting the persona of "Joe Bob Briggs." Joe Bob is a Texas "good ol' boy" who watches B-grade (and much lower) horror movies with you and as your "Horror Host," has a lot of funny and thought-provoking things to say about them, as well as commenting on what they reveal about our culture. What Joe Bob has taught us, is that watching even the most schlocky of shock cinema doesn't have to be a guilty pleasure, because even films below the grade of A can also reflect who we are as a society, and like it or not, have their place. Joe Bob Briggs is the movie critic for the rest of us. For more information on this episode visit our website!

10 Dec 20181h 39min

What we'd heard is that witnessing a single paranormal event can change one's life. What we know now is that this is true and often it happens when you're least expecting it. It also doesn't matter if the experiencer receives validation from others of their encounter because they don't need anyone to tell them what they experienced. On the other hand, we'd all like to share our stories with like-minded individuals, partly to gain some comfort in thinking that we've not gone insane and also to learn more about what happened to us. In that regard, tonight, in the final installment of our series on the Sallie House, we'll hear from our last two interviewees. First, Dr. Sean Daley, a professor of anthropology who has done extensive paranormal investigations at the Sallie House will discuss the overwhelming evidence he and his team have collected there. Next, we'll also hear from Taylor Pickman, whose parents Tony and Debra were on the receiving end of the most intense activity while living there. It appears that the house isn't done with them yet. Our experience at the Sallie House has been a milestone for us on this podcast, and whatever your feelings about this story, we hope that you'll continue this journey of exploration and understanding with us, with minds a little more open to the possibility of the impossible. For more information on this episode visit our website!

19 Nov 20182h 57min

When it comes to the Paranormal and Supernatural, everyone wants proof.  And yet, not everyone can seem to agree on what would constitute this proof.  So what about evidence that might lead to proving the existence of a spirit world?  Well, not everyone can seem to agree on what is considered actual evidence either.  Since the invention of technologies like photography, and audio & video recording, there have been many purported instances of these recording capabilities capturing occurrences of a spectral world interacting with our own.  For many, this is still not enough.  We certainly didn't expect to get any evidence ourselves when we visited the Sallie House on July 20, 2018.  But now that we've captured something that at least could be considered anomalous with our audio recorder, we want to know exactly what it is and how it got there.  While we may never get a definitive answer as to what that sound is we captured, what we know is how hearing it made us feel.  We've also received a wide range of responses from listeners who have told us how hearing it themselves has affected them.  Some have perceived within the audio file a sense of rage, frustration, and sadness, and some merely regard it as random static.  Those perceptions have spurred their own emotional responses, ranging from fear and queasiness to even anger because some listeners can't accept it as anything but noise.  In some ways, it doesn't matter to us what that audio may be or if there are no words in it because a message was felt, loud and clear. For more information on this episode visit our website!

12 Nov 20184h 11min

Belief is a very personal thing. Challenging beliefs can lead to war amongst nations or a war within one's self. Having to reconsider what we believe about our spirituality or lack thereof, can be a very disquieting exercise but often a fruitful one as it leads to growth. But what obligation does the believer have to convince the non-believer of their story? Does it matter if the believer doesn't care what you think? In a way, our egos and skepticism protect us from feeling the discomfort when considering the impossible, because if the impossible is possible and we're not in control of our world, then who, or what is? If an experience like what you might find at the Sallie House can change your beliefs and thus change who you are as a person, how would you handle it? If one day you're challenged to stand up for your beliefs, what will you do then? For more information on this episode visit our website!

31 Okt 20182h 26min