Explore every episode of the podcast In Research Of
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S05E02 - Faith Healing (EXPLICIT) | 20 Apr 2026 | 01:51:39 | |
Blake and Jeb discuss ISO's coverage of FAITH HEALING. The episode goes to places new and old. Jeb gives us historical context. Blake gets angry. Nimoy wears a lab coat.
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| BONUS: Weirdumentary with Gary Rhodes | 08 Mar 2026 | 00:55:37 | |
Weirdumentary has a forward by Stephen Bissette who wrote a book also likely to be of interest to listeners: Cryptid Cinema (affiliate link) I linked to Feral House's page for Weirdumentary above at the request of Gary. If you're curious about their catalog, we talked with their owner recently about monstrous food and they also produced Al Ridenour's new book about Carnival. This is not a complete list of the films in the book - and it also covers a few TV series including In Search Of... and Arthur C. Clarke's _____ (he had three ITV series covering topics similar to ISO with each season getting a slightly different name). 1970: Chariots of the Gods, The Unexplained 1971: The Hellstrom Chronicles, The Man Who Saw Tomorrow 1972: Bigfoot Man or Beast, Monsters! Mysteries or Myths?, The Devil's Triangle, The Legend of Boggy Creek 1973: In Search of Ancient Astronauts 1974: Deadly Fathoms, In Search of Ancient Mysteries, In Search of Dracula, UFOs: Past, Present and Future 1975: Mysteries from Beyond Earth, The Force Beyond, The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond, The Man of Miracles, The Outer Space Connection 1976: Beyond Belief, In Search of Noah's Ark, Mysteries of the Gods, The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena, The Legend of Bigfoot, The Legend of Loch Ness, The Miracle Healers, The Mysterious Monsters, World Beyond Death 1977: Aliens from Spaceship Earth, Journey into the Beyond, Mysteries of the Great Pyramid, The Lincoln Conspiracy, The Underground Doctors, The Unknown Force 1978: Are We Alone in the Universe?, Beyond and Back, Curse of the Mayan Temple, Manbeast! Myth or Monster?, Mysteries from Beyond the Triangle, Mysteries of the Mind, Mystery of the Sacred Shroud, Secret of the Bermuda Triangle, The Amazing World of Ghosts, The Late Great Planet Earth, The Lost City of Atlantis, The UFO Journals, UFO - Exclusive! , UFO: Top Secret, Unknown Powers, World of the Unknown 1979: Attack from Outer Space, Charles Berlitz's The Bermuda Triangle, Death: The Ultimate Mystery, Encounter with Disaster, Hypnosis and Beyond, In Search of the Historic Jesus, The Doomsday Chronicles, The Prophecies of Nostradamus, UFOs Are Real, World of Mystery 1980: Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World (TV), Land of Celtic Ghosts, Mysteries of the Mind, UFO Syndrome 1981: Search for the Titanic | |||
| S04E18 In Search Of... The Ghost Ship | 18 Oct 2024 | 01:50:20 | |
Jeb and Blake head out to sea in research of the mystery of what happened to the crew of The Mary Celeste. Links:Nimoy Fashion Alert In 1913, The Strand Magazine provided an alleged survivor's account from one Abel Fosdyk, supposedly Mary Celeste's steward. The Mary Celeste (1913 article) Per "WhatTheFont" website identifier, that font is (appropriately): JOLLY ROGER! Meanwhile on Skull Hut Island...
Pop Culture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_the_Mary_Celeste Read it, it's a time. Hammer film -Jeb | |||
| S01E16 - Dracula | 27 Jan 2020 | 01:12:37 | |
Watch this ISO episode on YouTube Was Dracula, the Bram Stoker novel, based on a real person in the form of Vlad Dracula? Jeb and Blake discuss. Discussed in this episode: Update 1/28/2020: Listener Justin Mullis spotted an error which has led to a correction in this audio and will lead to some additional material in another IRO content drop shortly. -B Bram Stoker's Dracula the novel John William Polidori's The Vampyre Varney the Vampire, a penny dreadful Carmilla by Joseph Le Fanu Dan Simmons Children of the Night vampire book Todd Browning's Dracula & Freaks Copola's movie Bram Stoker's Dracula Hammer's The Horror of Dracula (1958) Hellsing, vampire anime Shadow of the Vampire (2000) fictionalized story of the making of Nosferatu (sort of) Remastered Nosferatu (English, Scored, and free via YouTube) Dracula (in the novel) goes to The Scholomance to become a vampire. What's a Lich? Why did Hammer set most of its Dracula movies in Germany? It seems likely to be budget related, perhaps having sets ready? You'd have to ask script writer Jimmy Sangster to be sure, but I did uncover this passage in a book titled "Dracula Goes to the Movies," by Lyndon Joslin: "Due to the budget constraints of this version, Dracula doesn't take a sea voyage to London, not even via footage pirated from another film. Instead, he takes a hearse to the town of Karlstadt, wherever that may be. There is a Karlstadt in Germany, but in order to get there from Klausenburg in central Transylvania, Dracula would have to travel across modern-day Hungary and Austria. The movie depicts the trip as a mere overnighter, so Karlstadt is evidently a fictional town somewhere in Transylvania. There's a border crossing guard in the story, so Karlstadt must be in a neighboring 'state,' province or district. (The border crossing, we're told, is in 'Ingstadt,' itself apparently a fictional town and therefore not much help here.) Karlstadt here compares with the 'Carlsbruck' seen in the same year (1958) in Hammer's The Revenge of Frankenstein, and with the Karlstaad seen in 1964's The Evil of Frankenstein. The creation of a generic German archetypal town is what goes on here, comparable to Universal's having set part of its Frankenstein series in the never-land town of Visaria. It's ironic that in this, the first British adaptation of Dracula, the Count doesn't go to London, or even to England. In Hammer's series, he doesn't turn up in England until Taste the Blood of Dracula in 1970. Still, Horror of Dracula is so very British that articles have been written about it by reviewers who didn't notice that it isn't London Dracula invades. Seems the undertaker's address in the movie - on 'Friederickstrasse' - would've provided a clue." (Joslin, 2017)Castle Ambras - home of weird paintings and "cabinet of curiosities" Lot's Wife geological formations
She was a travel writer and novelist. Radu Florescu (obituary) co-author In Search of Dracula Vampire lore around the world varies in what the vampires do, and how they are created. The story of Budu
The Hardy Boys (and Nancy Drew) meet Dracula (part 1 and part 2) takes place in "Dracula's Castle" which I'm pretty sure features exterior shots of Bran Castle. This episode features Lorne Greene (Battlestar Galactica and Bonanza) and also singer/songwriter/actor Paul Williams (The Phantom of the Paradise, Rainbow Connection) The story about what was found in the church seems to be completely wrong. I think I solved this one. (-B): In October 1974, the AP released a news story about Dracula's grave and the island. The story tells that Rosetti investigated then immediately follows with the legends around the remains of Vlad. I'm betting this is the source because it closely matches the episode narrative and would have been easy to find or perhaps remember when this episode was made. The famous woodcut of Vlad dining in front of impaled victims.
Nimoy Fashion Alert
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| S01E15 - Amelia Earhart | 20 Jan 2020 | 00:57:38 | |
Watch this ISO episode on YouTube
Discussed in this Episode: Amelia Earhart, pioneering woman pilot Husband and publisher George Putnam Navigator Fred Noonan
AutoGyros/GyroCopters and how they are different from helicopters. Propaganda film Flight for Freedom (DVD) which fictionalizes the story of Earhart as spy. The Searchers: Joseph Gervais, the obsessive guy who believed an innocent New Jersey housewife was secretly Amelia. I'm not linking to his stupid book or to the woman he stalked and harassed, though she did pass in 1982. Even when she died, he tried to get to see the body. No. No, no, no, no.
Elgen Long - aviator and author of Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved
Fred Goerner, author of The Search for Amelia Earhart Nimoy Fashion!
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| S01E14 - Nazi Plunder | 13 Jan 2020 | 01:28:10 | |
Watch this ISO episode on YouTube Blake, Jeb, and guest Ken Hite talk about the search for Nazi Plunder - lost treasure and art following WWII. Thanks to Ken Hite for joining us on this episode. You can find a huge archive of Ken's excellent podcast (with Robin Laws) titled Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff. Highly recommended! Discussed in this Episode: About this rocket Jeb was asking about: It appears to say ПО РEЙXCTAГУ "Po Ree-stah-gu" Also, it appears to be a BM-XY launch system (not sure what values go in X or Y). Apparently, like the Brits called the V weapons "buzz bombs" because of their peculiar sounds, the Germans called this Russian rig "Stalin's Organ" because of its sounds. Per Ken, it translates into either "On to the Reichstag!" or possibly "to the Reichstag" like a package address."
Walter Horn - a "monuments man" Martin Bohrman - a Nazi. Hitler's secretary and confidant. Jeb, haunted by WORLD AT WAR series intro. Austria's Lake Toplitz (pronounced To-Plitz-Say) was a treasure dump - found in 1957 In Florence - Rudolpho Siviero continues the hunt... Rodolfo Siviero ( 1911 - 1983 ) Nimoy Fashion Alert Austrian fire-men (and treasure hunters) search a lake.
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| S01E13 - Learning ESP | 06 Jan 2020 | 01:30:13 | |
Wherein Jeb and Blake discuss the 13th episode of In Search Of... and fail to learn any ESP.
Notes: Edgar Mitchell (Wikipedia) Mitchell's Institute of Noetic Science Phenomena by Annie Jacobson (history of Gov't research into Psi) Nimoy Fashion Alert: One possible explanation of JJ's "psychic" powers is that he may have seen the images from the lens reflection. Joseph (JB) Rhine mentioned as creator of the experimenter. I know this is just a TV demo but a big problem w/ these tests is controlling for stuff like that might give away the card selection. Duke article on Rhine, including how he got involved in the Exorcist case and missing persons. SPR article on Rhine. Discussion of Rhine's motivations as being religious in style, but scientific in content. David Ossman (Firesign Theater) on Spoonbending from Lawrence Kennedy, an excerpt from Dr. Firesign's Follies. Robert Monroe of the "Monroe Institute" - home of the waterbed farm lab. The American Society for Psychical Research. UC Davis' Dr. Charles Tart David Zink (from the Tiwanaku finale of the episode)
Night Gallery Commentary: Percy Rodriguez (samples of his voice power) - wikipedia entry An article discussing Rod Serling & Jack Laird on Night Gallery The Sixth Sense TV show that was inserted into Night Gallery feed on syndication
Also Mentioned: Jason King - the character (and TV Show) that inspired Austin Power's fashion sense. His show was a spin-off from the series that first featured him, Department S.
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| S01E12 - A Call From Space (A look at SETI) | 30 Dec 2019 | 00:53:38 | |
Watch this ISO episode on YouTube The In Search Of show profiles the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and Jeb is not impressed. Blake & Jeb both relate Roswell/Black-Helicopter experiences near the VLA. Unmarked Helicopters (song by Soul Coughing) Green Bank West Virginia (radio free zone) William Proxmire (senator who killed funding of SETI) The novel Contact was written by Carl Sagan, but the novel was based on a screenplay by Sagan and Ann Druyan. Nimoy Fashion - what the heck color is his blazer? No, seriously! What color is this?
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| S01E11 - Psychic Detectives | 23 Dec 2019 | 00:46:05 | |
Jeb and Blake join Leonard Nimoy and a group of St. Louis clairvoyants as we go in research of psychic detectives. Watch this episode of ISO on YouTube. A quick thanks to Shane Gower for his helpful blog post from 2015 about this episode.
Nimoy Fashion Alert: First Sweater Sighting! | |||
| S01E10 - Atlantis | 18 Dec 2019 | 01:05:08 | |
Sharon Hill (Scientifical Americans) joins Jeb and Blake to talk about the Atlantis episode of In Search Of... Watch original In Search Of episode on YouTube. This is a kind of a disjointed mess of an ISO episode, so our notes are kind of all over the place as well. But here's a bunch of highlights and additional reading from our own prep notes for the show:
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| S01E09 - Martians | 09 Dec 2019 | 00:53:02 | |
[Note: Sadly, one side of the recording was lost due to massive Skype issues and some portions of this episode had to be reconstructed. This is why there are places where the audio sounds quite different. This appears to be the only episode of the season where this happened, but my apologies for the audio sounding inconsistent. -Blake] Jeb and Blake discuss "Martians" - wherein the In Search Of team examines the possibility that the planet Mars once had (or still contains) life on its harsh surface. The Viking missions as well as many Mars-related pop-culture topics are discussed. Watch the ISO episode on YouTube. A lot of the material in this episode dealt with the Viking program. The surprisingly lengthy introduction to our solar system embedded in the 1953 film War of the Worlds. A Trip to the Moon (1902) - colorized, restored, 720p Space 1889 - The early "Steam Punk" roleplaying game William Graves Hoyt's book Lowell and Mars Missing from this episode (but expected) Italian astronomer: Giovanni Schiaparelli The Difference Engine - by Gibson & Sterling (What if Babbage's Difference Engine had worked?) Fantastic Planet - French Animated Film The Silurian Hypothesis - Jeb mentions as an aside, lots to read there. Face on Mars & Cydonia (1976) Pyramids of Mars Doctor Who (1975) Pareidolia phenomena (Face on Mars is literally part of the article) Tonight Tonight Smashing Pumpkins Panspermia (directed and accidental) (I couldn't help but think about the Errol Otis' view of the Myconoids in D&D when looking at A Trip To The Moon. -B)
Dr. Gerald A. Soffen (February 7, 1926 – November 22, 2000) was a Viking project scientist and Mars geologist. Harold P. Klein (April 1, 1921 - July 15, 2001) was a chemist and microbiologist.
Leslie Orgel (January 12, 1927 - October 27, 2007) was a chemist interested in life origins.
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| S01E08 - The Mummy's Curse | 02 Dec 2019 | 01:08:57 | |
Jeb and Blake discuss the ISO episode The Mummy's Curse, and the strange and interesting facts behind the legend of "King Tut's Curse." Watch this ISO Episode on YouTube Reference Books: The Mummy's Curse Spooky ArchaeologyTV Listing Feb 11, 1977:
Photo mentioned by Jeb of Evelyn Beauchamp with Carter. Arthur Mace (Metropolitan Museum)
Dan Aykroyd used ASPR for Ghost Busters research Carter's "Saqqara Incident" described in The National: "Such was Carter's ascendancy in Egypt, where he soon cut his teeth as an archaeologist under the guidance of Sir William Flinders Petrie, that he was appointed chief inspector of antiquities for Upper Egypt in 1899. Carter was a surprising choice for the role given his limited archaeological experience and lack of formal qualifications, but he resigned six years later after French tourists clashed with Egyptian monument guards at the sacred site of Saqqara. "Loyal to his men and forever obstinate, Carter defended their actions and refused to apologise," Archaeology Magazine said of the incident in a story printed in 2005. Carter had accused the tourists of behaving rowdily and sided with the Egyptian workers. Ultimately, the incident prompted the Englishman to step down and spend time in self-imposed exile."MonsterTalk episode on the curse: The Call of Tuthulhu The "Dramatization" text we discussed (which appears to be added in later during syndication): I think it is safe to deduce from the palm tree that this graveyard is not in England. Nimoy's fashion is a light blue turtleneck and (probably) blue blazer.
Most of the curse victims are indeed tied to the curse. (22 deaths "associated" with the curse at time of this show) The suicide was a real thing, Lovecraft commented on a newspaper article about it. However, there is a longitudinal study showing people lived longer if they went into the tomb. Unlucky Mummy - 1889, Bertram Fletcher Robinson, 1904. We briefly discuss the films of Kenneth Anger. (To be clear, these are experimental movies he was making. I'm not recommending his work, but the "play" scenes in this episode definitely reminded me of some of his work.) The actual history of the music for the film Lucifer Rising is quite convoluted but involves Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, and convicted murderer Bobby Beausoleil, According to Time, Tut's penis is detached but not missing. Steve Martin's song about King Tut.
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| S01E07 - Earthquakes | 25 Nov 2019 | 00:48:31 | |
Jeb Card and Blake Smith are joined by "spooky geologist" Sharon Hill to talk about this classic season one episode of In Search Of... that considers various methods to predict earthquakes, and what we might expect if a large quake hits the San Francisco area. Watch this episode of In Search Of... on YouTube. Nimoy Fashion - once again speaking to us from a Los Angeles rooftop. Around the 9 min mark, we mistakenly say the Bay of Fundy is in Newfoundland. Nope - it's between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. (Does everything in Canada have to have "new" in its name??) 1964 Alaska Earthquake (Wikipedia) 2011 Earthquake/Tsunami (Disturbing Footage) 1936 Hollywood Movie about San Francisco Earthquake Tallest tsunami ever recorded. VLBI - Very Long Baseline Interferometry Quasars for VLBI type research (NY Times) 1989 Double-Decker Collapse (Wikipedia) Clips from 2015 San Andreas starring The Rock Listener Darren Bennett advises us that the 1982 "Syzygy" disaster referenced in the show as The Jupiter Effect. It was written by John Gribbin, a science writer who has apparently subsequently regretted it. (He's still alive and still writing science books - but tried to distance himself from his own book in a July 1980 issue of New Scientist.)
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| S04E17 - Wild Children (Explicit) | 12 Sep 2024 | 02:05:49 | |
Jeb and Blake go into the jungles of California and France in search of WILD CHILDREN! This episode of ISO contains a lot of disturbing content and our commentary is laced with expletives, hence the Explicit tag.
NFA - Wild Children: It's supposed to be a Bear but it has some other possumbilities. | |||
| S01E06 - Killer Bees | 17 Nov 2019 | 00:57:29 | |
Jeb Card and Blake Smith discuss the In Search Of episode: KILLER BEES. Will aggressive Africanized honey bees destroy the world? Is every problem a metaphor for colonialism? Tune in and find out!
I've attached some relevant articles from the time, one on bees and one on ISO. Also, I've set the episode to "Explicit" because of all the sexy, sexy bee talk. Radioactive Wasps (Correction: Location was at HANFORD not HANSON site - corrected here, but I'm not cutting out my joke about Hanson. -B) Jeb mentioned Japanese Giant Wasps - those are described here. (They're wasps, only giant - and from Japan. That's good marketing in the name.) Jeb was right to bring this beastie up in conjunction with bees. From the Wikipedia article: In Japan, beekeepers often prefer European honey bees because they are more productive than the endemic Japanese honey bees.[citation needed] However, it can be difficult to maintain a captive hive of European honey bees, as the giant hornets are devastating to the bee hives.[citation needed] Once a Japanese giant hornet has located a hive of European honey bees, it leaves pheromone markers around it that quickly attract nest-mates to converge on the hive. An individual hornet can kill forty European honey bees per minute, while a group of 30 hornets can destroy an entire hive containing 30,000 bees in less than four hours.[4] The hornets kill and dismember the bees, returning to their nest with the bee thoraxes, which they feed to their larvae, leaving heads and limbs behind. The honey and bee larvae are also taken to feed the hornet larvae.Another correction - I think I called them "hornet killers" or something similarly stupid, but I was talking about the very large American "Cicada Killer" wasps. But that's not what Jeb was talking about (see above). The Cicada Killer is big enough to - you guessed it - kill a cicada. They're not as insanely beefy as the Japanese hornets, but they're big beefy units. Frequently on-screen expert Dr. Norman Gary is a Bee Wrangler for Hollywood, working on Candyman, X-Files, etc. Dr. Gary playing clarinet covered in bees.
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| S01E05 - Bigfoot | 11 Nov 2019 | 01:11:24 | |
Lots of discussion as Jeb and Blake tackle a favorite topic of theirs... Bigfoot. Does a mysterious creature, part-ape, and part-man, lurk in the Pacific Northwest? The episode opens with the Ape Canyon re-enactment. If you'd like to read Beck's extended narrative, it is available online. His extended comments include a lot of descriptions of the spiritual aspect of these creatures and sound quite a lot like John Keel's ultraterrestrials. (IMHO -Blake)
Cranial hair and brow-ridges experiment mentioned in the show / Mankind Quarterly, 1973
You need to check out this very comprehensive article on Grover Krantz from his Alma Mater, Berkley. You should also definitely check out Brian Regal's book Searching for Sasquatch. He covers the rich and fascinating history of early Bigfoot research including the ties to the CIA, fabulous stories and really interesting characters. More on Sheriff Bill Closner (Facebook Page) Skamania County and its ties to Bigfoot FBI documents released about Bigfoot hair research (related to Peter Byrnes) We mentioned Ray Wallace's famous hoax tracks (aka the Jerry Crew case). Also mentioned Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend /> Tweed and Salmon, in lovely Los Angeles | |||
| S01E04 - The Bermuda Triangle | 03 Nov 2019 | 00:43:02 | |
Episode on YouTube
Show Notes: Larry Kusche's The Bermuda Triangle Mystery - Solved Who was the voice on the creepy radio broadcast? Bermuda Triangle movie based on Berlitz's book. Not covered in detail, but some additional info on collier ships in the triangle: The Case of the Bermuda Triangle (1977) - British documentary Nimoy Fashion:
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| S01E03 - Ancient Aviators | 27 Oct 2019 | 01:07:00 | |
In Ancient Aviators, ISO looks into the possibility that ancient cultures either had the power of flight or were aware of it from exposure to extraterrestrial cultures. The specifics of how are a little vague, but we return to our litany of archaeological sites for evidence that this might be the case. Sample TV Listing for the episode: VCRs (VHS) really started to come into early adoption by the general public around 1977. Betamax appeared in 1975, VHS in 1977 - and the format wars took some time to play out. (This is a common behavior for new, disruptive tech and has repeated for CDs, DVDs, BluRay and now the higher resolution successors. More on this if I ever finish my book. -WBS)
Swept-wing (not true delta-style) airplane design from 1936 adaptation of H.G. Wells' Things to Come French Mirage Delta-Winged aircraft.
An example of the Ica Stones.
Museum website mentioned in show (Spanish). Report on 2014 damage to Nazca Lines by Greenpeace. News report on 2018 damage to Nazca Lines by truck driver. Maria Reiche, Lady of the Lines, who spent years studying and popularizing Nazca site. | |||
| S01E02 - Strange Visitors (Mystery Hill, aka America's Stonehenge) | 20 Oct 2019 | 01:46:38 | |
Explicit Tag - this episode contains strong language. We are joined by Dr. Ken Feder to discuss Mystery Hill (aka America's Stonehenge) and the idea that this New Hampshire set of stone structures might have been built by ancient Phoenicians or medieval Europeans. (It wasn't.) Weirdly topical, as we prepared this episode the Mystery Hill site was vandalized with #QAnon themed graffiti, carved into the stonework. (Image source: Union Leader) Vandalism spells #WWG1WGA - "where we go one, we go all" a well known QAnon motto. Show Notes: Episode opens with visual revisit of Bimini (see Atlantis in previous episodes). Brief discussion of Nominative Determinism around the current owners of the site having the last name Stone. Re: Stonehenge
Hans Holzer wrote and produced (and starred in) this episode. A prolific writer about ghosts and the paranormal, he also wrote extensively about alt-archaeology. He billed himself as "Dr. Hans Holzer" but his degree appears to have come from a British diploma mill. You can read a posthumous critique of Holzer's work here by Dr. Joe Nickell, noted skeptic. Barry Fell was a zoologist turned amateur "archaeologist." His work on pre-Columbian North America is wildly unscientific and brutally criticized by actual archaeologists. Much ado is made of the tale of Bjarni Herjolfsson (but the timeline and story are muddled). There is a painful amount of euro-centric "moundbuilder myth" pseudo-archaeology in this episode. This is the idea that the mound builders could not have been the Native Americans that the colonists encountered but must have been some other (read that as "white") lost civilization. The simple stone site of Mystery Hill is compared to the ancient site of Knossos. Visually, there is not much similarity. Legitimate excavations at Mystery Hill were conducted by Gary Vescelius (obit). Vescelius, Gary S. 1956 Excavations at Pattee's Caves. Bulletin of the Eastern States Archaeological Federation 15:13–14. While registered as a student at Michigan, Vescelius conducted archaeological research that is still cited. This took place in the area of Pattee's Caves near Salem, New Hampshire. Patee's Caves are also known as "Mystery Hill" and "The American Stonehenge" because of claims that some three thousand years ago ancient Europeans settled in the area and created megalithic structures and astronomical alignments (Feder 1999: 113–122; Fell 2004 [1976]: 81–91). To test these claims, Vescelius was hired by The Early Sites Foundation, an organization that controlled Pattee's Caves. He excavated chambers purported to be ancient and demonstrated that the buildings were constructed and used in the first half of the nineteenth century (Feder 1999: 117–118; Vescelius n.d., 1956a, 1956b, 1982–1983). Although Vescelius no doubt displeased his employers, it is greatly to his credit that he tackled a controversial problem regarding transoceanic contacts and reported his findings frankly. He retained his interest in debunking claims of early European colonization until the end of his life (Vescelius 1980a; 1982–1983).
Discount Info for Ken's Archaeological Oddities book. Code is RLFANDF30 if you order off the publisher's site and use the coupon code. | |||
| S01E01 - Other Voices (Can plants talk? Are they psychic?) | 13 Oct 2019 | 00:48:52 | |
Can plants talk? Can Leonard Nimoy make this topic interesting? The answer to both questions will be discussed in this episode where we look at the first episode of In Search Of... which considers the question of plant communication. Show Links: Marcel Vogel - thought plants have feelings. Research chemist, San Jose, CA. Uses machines and the mind's "inner eye." Vogel was deeply interested in "crystal energy" and involved with the UFO work of Billy Meier. Meier's "UFO" images were the basis of the "I Want To Believe" poster in the X-Files. Conjuring Science by Christopher Toumey Does music affect plant growth and health?http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/plant_experiments.asp https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/bad-science.pdf Myth Busters did an ep on this too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZGDbA9HER4 - they found it plausible. (I'm still very skeptical - Blake) Plant Talk research: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagadish_Chandra_Bose Radiolab episode on talking plants: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/smarty-plants Kendall Johnson obituary. Cleve Baxter - Polygraph and CIA Interesting story on tree cooperation that we cut mostly because of a terrible pun. It is difficult to say when these episodes "first aired" because the listings are all over the place. | |||
| IRO PILOT: In Search of Ancient Astronauts | 28 Sep 2019 | 01:55:05 | |
This is the pilot episode of In Research Of, the show where we watch the original TV show IN SEARCH OF… and consider some of the explanations that the producers chose not to present. In our inaugural episode, we watch the TV Special In Search of Ancient Astronauts, a repackaged cut of a German documentary about Eric Von Daniken's book Chariots of the Gods. We want to thank Rachel and Chris Lackey for the theme music. They host the excellent show Rachel Watches Star Trek. Also, we want to credit Jason Colavito for his excellent research into this and many adjacent topics around the Ancient Astronauts and Ancient Aliens tropes of the past fifty years, including his book: The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture (Seriously - check out this link to Jason's article. He gives some great contemporary detail on the impact of this TV special such as "... within 48 hours of the program's broadcast, Bantam Books had sold 250,000 new copies of Chariots of the Gods." Amazing.) Oh - so as Jeb mentions, EVD is directly mentioned in the brainstorming session with Lucas, Spielberg, and Kasdan! You can check that out here. Walter Conkrite's UFO's Friend, Foe or Fantasy UFO documentary Show Notes:
Theme music (updated!) is by Rachel Lackey & Greig Johnson.
Keywords Ancient Aliens, Ancient Astronauts, Eric Von Daniken, Skeptic, Archaeology, Science, Rod Serling | |||
| S04E16 - Vincent van Gogh | 25 Aug 2024 | 02:29:51 | |
How could Vincent have been a creative genius - yet also "insane?" This episode deals with the topic of self-harm and suicide. If you're struggling with thoughts of self harm, please get help immediately. You can reach trained and empathetic counselors (in the USA) by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-TALK. We care about our listeners and want you to be around for many years to enjoy life - and our work.
Links for Show Notes: Nimoy's play VINCENT via Archive 81 Words - This American Life on the DSM Bullshit or Not? Was JTR really Nessie? Weird Al's Skipper Dan (YouTube) Doctor Who clip of Vincent at the art gallery
You can find all these and more at the online Van Gogh museum.
Meanwhile... | |||
| S04E15 - The Missing Heir (Explicit) | 31 Jul 2024 | 01:47:33 | |
Jeb and Blake learn all about the riveting world of stock certificates and inheritance law! It may not be the most mysterious episode of In Search Of... but it's certainly one of the episodes we watched. Show Notes: Nimoy Fashion Alert (red-shift corrected) The case of the missing hair! | |||
| S04E14 - San Andreas Fault [EXPLICIT] | 30 Jun 2024 | 02:00:03 | |
Jeb and Blake are joined by Sharon Hill to get shook by the San Andreas Fault!
Understanding the Richter Scale (logarithmic) Link (Netflix) to Earthstorm docu series YT video clip featuring geologist Dr. Kerry Sieh Classic Budweiser commercial from the 70s
San Andreas movie with The Rock (Amz affiliate link)
Cover to guide for SF geological tour:
Dr. Tim Hall - One of the founders of the San Andreas Fault Trail in 1977. Featured in 2011 documentary available on YT.
Dr. Kerry Sieh
The very sexy VT52 from DEC.
NFA San Andreas edition: | |||
| S04E03 - The Dark Star | 18 Jun 2024 | 02:32:10 | |
In order to understand In Search Of… The Dark Star, Jeb and Blake will first need to get Sirius; Sirius-B, that is!
Links from this episode:
Siris (A part of the Canis Major constellation)
Jeb discussed a couple of evocative artworks:
North African musket (Moukahla) The Hans Guggenheim art project The Tribal Eye BBC documentary series (YouTube)
Regarding Temple, Puhairich, Young, and The Nine The Sirius Mystery by Robert Temple Editorial letter about Temple from The Observatory Dogon Shame by Phillip Coppens Griaule's Legacy: Rethinking "la parole claire" in Dogon Studies Pop Culture References (affiliate links): Conjure Wife - aka Burn Witch Burn ===== Images: The "orbit" of the Dogon dark star. Nimoy posing with a tribal mask - our initial NFA image. Later we get to see his legs in this seated NFA supplementary: Hans Guggenheim initially appears in just a vest and pants. Later, he too is in more of a Safari look, and has a professorial pipe as well.
Dr Gary Chapman, Astronomer The man who first photographed Sirius B - Dr Lindenblad A little of the FORTRAN code that powers the orbit animation in the episode:
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| S04E12 - Ten Commandments (Explicit) | 29 May 2024 | 02:27:22 | |
Blake and Jeb look for the real location of Mt. Sinai, where Moses was supposed to have received the Ten Commandments from God. | |||
| S04E11 - In Search of D. B. Cooper | 02 May 2024 | 02:37:53 | |
Jeb and Blake extinguish our cigarettes, put our trays in the upright position, and head out the back of the plane in search of the elusive skyjacker known as D. B. Cooper. Nimoy Fashion Alert - dimly lit corporate office edition.
The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper (Movie) - if you buy it on Amazon we get a few pennies. Recent Netflix series on D. B. Cooper Blake's friend Rick Ollerman offered some opinions on vintage round parachutes.
Later we meet Nimoy outside where you can make out more of his ensemble.
Of course this is an episode about D. B. Cooper - who for Jeb and I, evokes the classic "MIB" look.
This ain't deal-a-meal. This is a different Richard Simmons.
There is some great photography in this episode. I liked seeing the reservoir and dam. Imagine landing there on a stormy November night without jump boots... Finally - kudos to the faceless Cooper stand-in who lugged stuff around in the anonymous re-creations. | |||
| S04E10 - Pompeii (Explicit) | 29 Mar 2024 | 02:14:30 | |
Jeb and Blake join Leonard Nimoy's search for Pompeii! (Well - is it really about finding Pompeii? Or is it about finding a possibly Christian cross in Pompeii? Tune in and find out!)
Links: Nimoy Fashion Alert!
Hey - it's NOT a Jumpsuit.
We complain but there really is WAY too much red-shift in the majority of this episode:
You need pumice? WE GOT BUCKETS OF PUMICE! | |||
| S04E09 - The Abominable Snowman | 23 Feb 2024 | 02:19:52 | |
Jeb and Blake track the last cryptozoology episode of the original In Search Of… as we join the late Peter C. Byrne in a search for "The Abominable Snowman." More on Tom Slick - MonsterTalk Monty Python "abattoir" sketch Searching for Sasquatch (affiliate link) Article about Byrne still "hunting" in his 90s. Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds (YouTube) Horror in the Heights - Kolchak Episode with Rakshasha
NFA - "Proof of Life"
Crevasse photo we mention from the episode.
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| S05E01 UFO Coverups | 29 Jan 2026 | 03:11:35 | |
Show less Jeb and Blake kick off Season 5 of In Search Of... by researching UFO COVERUPS! Links: Catalina UFO Footage and Reddit discussion of same Twilight Zone - A Small Talent for War Obit for Col. Donald Burggrabe Peter Gersten "the UFO Lawyer" Col. Robert Friend - and obit Doak VZ-4 (not a saucer!) Nimoy Fashion Alert! UFO Crash Sites in New Mexico:
There is a lot of Top Secret in this episode: Col Donald Burggrabe Raymond Fowler Peter Gersten Donald Ritter Jesse Marcel Sr. Col Robert Friend And was the model UFO in this episode a guest star from Lost In Space? | |||
| S04E08 - Mexican Pyramids | 01 Feb 2024 | 02:31:56 | |
Jeb is right at home as we go In Search Of... Mexican Pyramids! The Christmas Robbery of the Century Secrets of the Maya Temple (1958) Museo (2018) movie about the robbery - affiliate link Mystery of the Meridas Ciudad Maya nightclub Music/Art film tied to the nightclub site Operation PBSuccess - CIA and Guatemala Mystery film we think MAY have sourced part of this episode. Pyramid Comparison visual tool (wikipedia)
Nimoy Fashion Alert! Jungle Cotton Blend edition:
There are actually subtle stripes on that shirt!
This episode has some amazing models - so cool:
And - of course - it wouldn't be ISO without some reenactments...
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| Bonus: Joe Nickell on The Shroud of Turin | 17 Dec 2023 | 01:05:33 | |
Dr. Joe Nickell recalls his experiences working on the Season 4 episode of In Search Of… dealing with The Shroud of Turin. In Search Of… The Shroud of Turin (YouTube) Joe Nickell covered by The Daily Mail That's Incredible! segment on THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. (YouTube) Joe's Amazon Author's Page (affiliate link) | |||
| S04E07 - The Shroud of Turin | 22 Nov 2023 | 02:50:55 | |
Jeb and Blake unwrap the mystery of the shroud of Turin! (Which might, it turns out, be neither a shroud, nor from Turin - talk amongst yourselves!) The bucket brigade saves the shroud in re-creation... NFA - A return to "the Night Gallery?" Young Joe Nickell at work in Alan Landsburg's NYC apartment: The Rev. Francis Filas (1931 - 1985 - NYT OBIT) Overview of use of Christ in Medieval Art Secondo Pia, photographer who discovered the "negative effect" on Shroud.
Just saying...
More on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry
Dr. Harry Gove (Obit) The Shroud of Turin Research Project
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| S04E06 - The Lost Colony of Roanoke | 26 Aug 2023 | 02:07:27 | |
S04E06 - The Lost Colony of Roanoke The ISO team take us back to Colonial Virginia to investigate the cold-case of the lost colony of Roanoke. Jeb and Blake learn about armadas, plays, and rock diaries. Beach Action Nimoy Fashion Alert! The Money Shot...
Blake thinks the ISO actor is giving off Keenan Wynn vibes. And we've already discussed the ties between Rod Serling, Leonard Nimoy, Night Gallery, and more, so the visual similarities to this scene and Planet of the Apes might not be 100% coincidence. The famous "Dare Stones" preserved with all the decor and pomp appropriate their historical significance:
Links for this episode: History Channel's reboot of ISO covered this. Book by David Stick on topic | |||
| S04E05 - Immortal Sharks | 17 Jul 2023 | 01:35:29 | |
We're going to need a bigger boat! Jeb and Blake head to Australia to investigate the idea that Great White sharks are immortal! Links: Article about weird things allegedly found inside sharks. Henri Bource - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Bource NFA - on the beach! Sharks are famous for their teeth - and Nimoy's have improved since season one as well. Nimoy just walking on the beach manages to attract a diver's audience. Diving pioneer and explorer, Hugh Edwards.
Ray Keys at Sea World has lots of great shark information.
And don't forget researcher Dr. William Gladstone! (You can find him on twitter at @DrBillGladstone)
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| S04E04 - UFO Australia | 16 May 2023 | 02:04:52 | |
Jeb and Blake have a look at the Season 4 episode UFO AUSTRALIA which covers the Kaikoura UFO Sighting and the disappearance of Frederich Valentich.
Nimoy Fashion Alert shot on location at the San Fernando Aerospace Solar Observatory. | |||
| S04E03 - The Amityville Horror | 02 Apr 2023 | 02:33:37 | |
Jeb, Blake and Alex French go in research of The Amityville Horror! History vs Hollywood: Amityville Nimoy gives us the calm and rational look in the midst of so much weirdness! So many faceless re-enactors in this one!
Horror writer Jay Anson and his trusty typewriter!
And this episode is quite notable for giving us a look at Father Mancuso from the book. Aka Father Ralph Pecoraro. Aka Father Delaney. Aka "Jimmy the Shadow" . The Lutz couple at the table.
The two versions of Jodie the Pig: And we gotta include the super creepy ISO doll. Kudos to the prop dept.
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| S04E02 - Carlos, The Most Wanted Man in the World | 02 Mar 2023 | 02:13:45 | |
Jeb and Blake look back at the ISO team's coverage of the global manhunt for the terrorist known as "Carlos."
Nimoy Fashion Alert:
Carlos - aka The Jackal (Wiki) Raid on Entebbe (Wiki) Carnaby Street, England (Wiki) Friendship University, Russia (Wiki) News story about how Carlos got his name Nydia Toban (Obit) | |||
| S04E01 - Tidal Waves | 31 Jan 2023 | 01:48:50 | |
Additional background material on this episode is available for Patrons. Nimoy Fashion - Henley Shirt (we assume he's wearing pants below the cut?) To me, it looked like an AARP-style drug ad. The J.K.K. Look Laboratory (in honor of Mr. James K. K. Look - who's death in pursuit of scientific data is honored in the naming) Hokusai's famous "wave" - and yes, he really did pioneer "tentacle porn," but I'm not linking to it - nor judging.
This is only a simulation. If this had been an actual podcast, this guy would have tried to sell you some Bombas Socks or a subscription to Wondrium. NOAA monitoring lab
Steven Froehlich | |||
| Season 3 Wrap-up | 29 Dec 2022 | 01:15:56 | |
Blake and Jeb discuss their thoughts on the third season of In Search Of...
Things get... weird. | |||
| S04E24 - Past Lives | 09 Dec 2025 | 02:28:28 | |
Blake and Jeb go In Research Of PAST LIVES with Leonard Nimoy.
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| S03E24 - King Tut | 30 Nov 2022 | 01:42:53 | |
Jeb and Blake head out into the valley of the kings to learn more about King Tut. History of the Valley of the Kings Significance of pyramids (Benben) The Colossi of Memnon (the singing statue) Nimoy Fashion - in the desert Example of Cartouche: James Lew - martial artist & actor The complex history of the Noah's Ark Hoax (article by Jim Lippard) Same story covered by LA Times Contemporary article about mummy curse - but we've covered this before.
Jeb points out that the actor playing the priest Ay favors deceased paranormal investigator Ed Warren. James Brashler of Claremont College
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| S03E23 - Sodom and Gomorrah | 16 Oct 2022 | 02:07:33 | |
We're joined by Dr. Nathan French to discuss the Biblical tale of Sodom and Gomorrah and the ISO team's efforts to examine archaeological evidence supporting its actual historical existence.
Dr. Avrahamm Biran (1909 - 2008)
The concept of Biblical Maximalism The big dig at Ebla where the library of clay tablets was found.
In 1976 Giovanni Pettinato claimed tablets found at the dig contained the names of five cities of the plain including Sodom and Gomorrah. Modern scholarly consensus is that this was incorrect. I think this is archaeologist Paulo Matti (Pettinato's fellow researcher on the dig) alongside an unnamed female researcher.
As promised, the animated gif of the sinners in our "re-creations" of ancient Sodom.
Discussion of Baal in the episode doesn't hint that this Biblical "villain god" may actually represent an entire class of deities. About 17 mins into the episode there's a guy who runs a hot spring and his moustache reminded Jeb of a certain someone...
Doctor Bruce Bolt sitting in front of some truly fabulous old equipment.
Finally - one more thing - the link to the Atari E.T. fiasco documentary. | |||
| S03E22 - Brain Power | 17 Sep 2022 | 02:07:24 | |
We are joined again by Alex French to discuss "Brain Power." No kids were harmed, but some hosts were shaken. The ISO episode contains outdated wording about cognitive states that are now considered offensive. Our podcast episode steers clear of that but we wanted you to be aware if you decided to watch the original episode. Nimoy Fashion: Discussed in this episode: The Raimondi Stele (Jeb discusses flipping it to see different interpretation) Discussion of Haeckle's Embryos (Amazon Affiliate Link) The 1997 article that brought Haeckel back into fresh scrutiny Biorhythms (pseudoscience popular in late 70s/early 80s) Alleged Russian "psychic" Nina Kulagina
Robert Doman (brother of founder Glenn Doman) Orville Redenbacher called and wants his look back... Louise Emerson of The Morgan Autism Institute Art teacher Betty Edwards
What is Kirlian Photography? | |||
| S03E21 - Ghostly Stakeout | 27 Aug 2022 | 01:56:12 | |
Jeb and Blake drag Alex French back into the studio to endure a "ghostly stakeout" with the sultry voiced Sylvia Browne. The Dead Files - S01E09 Scandal in the South (episode set in Blake's hometown of Cartersville, GA) Sylvia Browne - self-proclaimed psychic - and she started a church!
Site of first "haunting" in renovated farmhouse (which burned in the 1980s) Near the village of Jenner
Antoinette May, freelance journalist, who worked the episode cases and co-wrote with Browne
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| S03E20 - Diamond Curse | 01 Aug 2022 | 02:22:35 | |
A look at the Hope Diamond and other allegedly cursed gems from recent history.
DeBeers slogan (1947) predates Bond book (1956) and is different: The Gift - anthro book about reciprocity Osiander's preface to Copernicus Robert Conrad (the actor) famous battery ads from 1979 David Trampier - artist for D&D PHB The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins Recent TV adaptation of same The Mark of the Beast - Kipling The Order of the Golden Fleece (NatGeo) Curator of Gems at Smithsonian Institution Paul Desautels Jeb alluded to trouble at the end of his career Link to "The Dollop" episode on the McClean family. We don't know if the Koh-i-noor diamond is related to Star Trek's Kolinahr. | |||
| S03E19 - Noah's Flood | 30 Jun 2022 | 02:12:05 | |
We're joined by Sharon Hill to look into the vital 1970s question: Was Noah's Ark Real? (And does it disprove Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection?) spoilers: No and No. The episode opens with "footage" (re-creations, repurposed footage) of the famous 1889 Flood. The footage in the movie appears to be from a short film called The World that Perished (1977) but we couldn't find a version of that to share. The 1976 film In Search of Noah's Ark is available (in poor quality) on YouTube. Nimoy reminds of us the other Ark with this library fashion-alert moment. The episode re-creates the famous "undressing in excitement" story of George Smith discovering the Utnapishtim version of the flood myth. (Later in the episode we get a better shot of Nimoy in the Library.) We discussed the "Ararat Anomaly" briefly. The many searches for Noah's Ark. Physicist Rainer Berger (1930 - 2003) puts a lot of fake evidence to rest with his radiocarbon dating skills. Creationist Henry Morris "an expert in the flow of water??" Jeb discusses Abzu briefly. The "Creation Research Society" is behind a lot of the content in this episode. The episode calls him "Dr. Clifford Burdick" but he doesn't appear to have actually been a PhD.
Burdick reminded some of us of Reverend Kane from Poltergeist 2. There is some mention of the Younger Dryas - a favorite of Hancockian enthusiasts. Many cultures around the world have flood myths. Many cultures around the world have floods. There may be some connection?
Discussion of the site called Doggerland. Warm Mineral Springs in Florida. The Black Sea Deluge hypothesis.
Burdick did look a little lost in the desert at one point... | |||
| S03E18 - The Angel of Death | 18 Jun 2022 | 01:35:04 | |
We follow Nazi Hunter Simon Weisenthal as he hunts the notorious war criminal Josef Mengele. Simon Wiesenthal - wiki Josef Mengele - wiki Dr. Ellen Lingens - wiki Juan Domingo Peron - wiki The Big Gun - Gerald Bull, Saddam Hussein and the Mossad Read about Escape from Sobibor - this is an amazing story There is the "real" ODESSA and then there's the fictional novel and film The ODESSA FIle. What really happened to Mengele? Britannica Return to that classic "season 1" aesthetic in our Nimoy Fashion Alert:
Who knew the factory tokens in Axis & Allies were so accurate? Another shot of Nimoy in the "Night Gallery." Will we see this set again?
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| S03E17 - Psychic Sea Hunt | 17 May 2022 | 01:18:28 | |
The In Search Of team heads of to Santa Catalina island to hunt for underwater archaeology guided only by "remote viewers" Ingo Swann and Hella Hammid. Nimoy Fashion:
Links from our Discussion: Robert Ballard Titanic search cover for military submarine research Stephan Schwartz paper on the use of remote viewing in Archaeology Alexander the Great's tomb (wikipedia) - it also recently showed up in a certain Marvel creative endeavor which I'm not going to mention because of "spoilers." HYCO submarine was a "Pisces Class" deep submersible and some of these went to depths of more than 8000 feet. The Taurus IS FOR SALE!!! Blake & Jeb discussing the video series Hellier with Hayley Stevens on her podcast The Spooktator. Lost Kingdoms of Africa: Great Zimbabwe Spiritual healer "Rolling Thunder" who some have accused of being a "Plastic Shaman." Ed Dames, famous for selling remote viewing training and making terrible predictions
Ingo Swann - pioneer of "remote viewing" (Ingo also wrote gay erotica as Hero Haubold)
Hella Hammid (1921 - 1992) Skeptical response to Ingo Swann's remote viewing
Anne Kahle - Jet Propulsion Lab and NASA
Thomas Cook from the Bureau of Land Management shows up - says there are 1,100 known wrecks and 53 around Catalina | |||
| S03E16 - The Money Pit Mystery (EXPLICIT) | 11 Apr 2022 | 01:31:20 | |
We include a warning in the intro to this one. It's got an explicit tag. That's for language because this one brought out some strong feelings, but that's all explained in the intro. What's not explained in the intro is that my audio is pretty awful in this one. Once again Skype decided to randomly use my laptop's microphone instead of my podcasting mic. This is the last time that will happen because I've ditched the laptop in favor of a more powerful machine with no internal microphone! My apologies for that, but hopefully you'll find more treasure in this episode than the searchers will ever find on Oak Island. How Howard Pyle invented our modern image of the pirate. The "real" Captain Kidd and Pyle's version: Poe's The Gold Bug (wiki) The Knickerbocker Tales (Amz Affiliate) The Oak Island Mystery, Solved! (book about explanation for literal geology of site) Nimoy Fashion Alert: So many re-enactors in this one.
So many shirtless re-enactors. FDR on Oak Island
The clay(?) model used throughout the episode:
The replica of the coded stone:
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