The Paracast Newsletter
January 12, 2025
www.theparacast.com
Paracast Staff Announcer Bob Zanotti Presents "Voices From the Past," the Greats and Near-Greats of the UFO Field, on The Paracast!
The Paracast is released every Sunday and available from our site, https://www.theparacast.com, your favorite podcast app, and the IRN Internet Radio Network. All episodes from 2022, 2023 and 2024 now feature better audio and fewer ads. We are also re-releasing some of our most popular classic episodes.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR THE PARACAST+ YET? PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARACAST+ SO YOU CAN SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive bonus podcast, After The Paracast, plus a special version of The Paracast with all the ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Episodes for subscribers to The Paracast+ are now released 24 hours earlier. Flash! Take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present our staff announcer, Bob Zanotti, with another episode of “Voices of the Past.” Bob has been interested in the UFO phenomenon from a very young age, back in the 50’s as a pre-teen. In the 1960’s he hosted a New York college radio talk show called “Coffee Klatsch,” which was devoted to the offbeat and the paranormal. As well, Bob often interviewed current UFO personalities. In this episode, you’ll hear exclusive audio segments from his radio show, featuring some of the greats and near-greats in the UFO field from the early days. They included Gray Barker, Yonah Fortner, Dominick Lucchesi, Jim Moseley, August C. Roberts, John J. Robinson, Ivan T. Sanderson, and Andy Sinatra, who was also known as “The Mystic Barber.” After broadcast journalism studies in New York and Montreal, his calling led Bob to Switzerland, where he was a full-time broadcast journalist and presenter at Swiss Radio International, Switzerland’s international shortwave station. During his 32 years with SRI, Bob also produced a number of features involving the paranormal and the esoteric. One of them featured infamous contactee Billy Meier, which is available for download to subscribers to The Paracast Plus. His website is: www.switzerlandinsound.com
After The Paracast — Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers: The staff announcer for The Paracast, Bob Zanotti, shares more exclusive audio segments featuring some of the lost voices in the UFO field from the 1960s. Speaking with Gene and cohost Tim Swartz, Bob presents the voice of paranormal researcher John J. Robinson with a story about one Steve Brodie, a friend of his, who may have been a captive of the deros, the same creatures written about by Richard S. Shaver. In another segment, you’ll hear an exclusive on-the-scene report at Wanaque Reservoir in New Jersey, the epicenter of a series of UFO sightings in 1966. Bob and UFO photographer August C. Roberts were on hand shortly thereafter to present eyewitness interviews. Bob has been interested in the UFO phenomenon from a very young age, back in the 50’s as a pre-teen. In the 1960’s he hosted a New York college radio talk show called “Coffee Klatsch,” which was devoted to the offbeat and the paranormal. After broadcast journalism studies in New York and Montreal, his calling led Bob to Switzerland, where he was a full-time broadcast journalist and presenter at Swiss Radio International, Switzerland’s international shortwave station. During his 32 years with SRI, Bob also produced a number of features involving the paranormal and the esoteric. His website is: www.switzerlandinsound.com
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. And look for @theparacast on Bluesky Social, Facebook, Threads and X.
Exploring UFO Beliefs
By Gene Steinberg
I am willing to bet that, if I was taken by time machine back to the 1950s, I’d find little different about the results of investigating UFOs.
All right, the names and places would be different, but the core of the message, particularly among those who believe in the flying saucers, would be almost identical. OK, some of the people alive then are still around, but, sadly, most are gone.
Now as most of you know, I’m a reasonably old guy. I started to chase the flying saucers in 1956, as a pre-teen. I’ve told the story before, about visiting my brother in his Brooklyn, NY apartment and borrowing a library book, “Flying Saucers From Outer Space,” by Major Donald Keyhoe.
I didn’t know it then, but this curious happenstance started me on a quest that has lasted my entire life. Sure, I’ve tried to give it all up a time or two, but always found something drawing me back. Or maybe I missed all the friendships I established in the UFO field. As an inhibited nerd, I wasn’t exactly the life of the party.
Through it all, I met a number of the greats and near-greats in the field. First there was the field’s court jester, Jim Moseley, who called me one night in response to a letter I wrote for his magazine, “Saucer News.” Jim was actually my first employer; I had a gig as his magazine’s Managing Editor. While I thought the salary to be modest for its time, if you calculate what $5.00 US per hour means in 2024, it amounts to over $50.00. Not too shabby for one’s first job.
After leaving Saucer News, I only rarely approached that pay level again. I left to pursue a radio broadcasting career at a far lower wage. Maybe I realized that editing gig would only last a short time, which turned out to be the case.
The others I met in the field included the author of the first UFO book I read, Major Keyhoe. You can add to that Greg Bishop, Jerry Clark, James Fox, Stanton Friedman, Allen Greenfield, Richard Hall, Rick Hilberg, Betty Hill, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Leslie Kean, John Keel, Kathleen Marden, Long John Nebel, Ray Palmer, Kevin D. Randle, Red Pill Junkie (Miguel Romero) Richard Shaver, Whitley Strieber, Jacques Vallee, and that’s just a start. Let’s not forget all the people interviewed on The Paracast over the years.
But what have I learned from all this? Well, so far at least, the UFO mystery remains unsolved. If you examine the viewpoints of the celebrated crew I’ve met over the years, you’ll find a wide range to consider. Still, most maintain that the phenomenon represents visits by one or more races from other planets. It is, by far, the most common belief in the field, and would seem the most logical.
So astronomers have discovered more and more exoplanets, worlds orbiting other star systems. Based on our limited ability to measure their compositions, some appear to be sufficiently Earth-like to support intelligent beings. From there it is only logical — one assumes — that some of those space people have advanced far beyond our civilization, and have perfected interstellar travel.
Indeed, some contactees and channelers claim that they’ve already met up with ET. It isn’t always a physical visit; some of it may happen in their minds, which presents the possibility that dreams are involved. At least in some cases.
But what about those who report meeting physical beings, beings you can see and touch?
There are other views. Some point to the magical properties of UFOs, such as winking in and out of sight, or engaging in impossible levels of maneuverability. Their behavior raises other possibilities, which include inter-dimensional or even time travel.
Now when it comes to doing things that appear to be beyond our concept of physics, maybe it’s not the multiverse or another time after all. We can only dimly imagine where science will be a few hundred years from now. True, sci-fi writers predict future technologies in their stories, movies and TV shows. Obviously , it’s all guesswork.
So consider Star Trek. Some of the 23rd century inventions depicted on the show are already here or being explored. Our smartphones far exceed the performance of their communicators, and, in fact, the tricorder. Even smart watches, such as the Apple Watch, contain many of these features.
Siri and other voice assistants can far exceed the performance levels of the Starship Enterprise’s computer when it comes to talking to the crew.
On the other hand, warp drive — allowing a craft to exceed the speed of light — is still a distant dream. But scientists continue to examine the possibilities. In the Star Trek universe, warp drive is destined to be invented by an eccentric scientist, Dr. Zefram Cochrane, on April 5, 2063. I suppose there will be lots of advances in the next 39 years, so that timeframe may not be unreasonable.
One assumes, though, that warp drive can ever be developed. I’d like to think it can be.
Assuming humans survive, where would technology take us in 500 or 1000 years? Our future selves might be capable of inventing things that far exceed the capabilities of anything shown in Star Trek; well, except for races, such as the Q-Continuum, that have ascended to another plane of existence. They are, in essence, pure energy and can manifest themselves or their surroundings in any way they want.
Many followers of UFO lore point to the 1947 Roswell crash as evidence that extraterrestrial transports exist. There are even claims that some Earthly inventions are based on alien technology, reverse engineered from the wreckage, though that seems very unlikely.
Consider, for example, what might happen if we sent a 2024 iPhone or Samsung Galaxy smartphone back to 1947. Would the best engineers and scientists of that era be able to make heads or tales of it? Well, perhaps they’d figure out how to turn it on, assuming battery power isn’t spent. But where would they go from there with no cellular or Wi-Fi networks to which to connect? Would they be able to take it apart, figure out what makes it tick, and approximate technology that embeds trillions of transistors in a tiny chip?
I don’t think we have to even guess.
In saying that, has there been any real progress towards getting a solid handle on the source or sources behind the UFO enigma? After all these years, I don’t see evidence of any major advancements. I can safely predict, I fear, that it’ll be years before we know what’s going on.
Or maybe we’re not destined to know.
Copyright 1999-2025 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
January 12, 2025
www.theparacast.com
Paracast Staff Announcer Bob Zanotti Presents "Voices From the Past," the Greats and Near-Greats of the UFO Field, on The Paracast!
The Paracast is released every Sunday and available from our site, https://www.theparacast.com, your favorite podcast app, and the IRN Internet Radio Network. All episodes from 2022, 2023 and 2024 now feature better audio and fewer ads. We are also re-releasing some of our most popular classic episodes.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR THE PARACAST+ YET? PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARACAST+ SO YOU CAN SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive bonus podcast, After The Paracast, plus a special version of The Paracast with all the ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Episodes for subscribers to The Paracast+ are now released 24 hours earlier. Flash! Take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present our staff announcer, Bob Zanotti, with another episode of “Voices of the Past.” Bob has been interested in the UFO phenomenon from a very young age, back in the 50’s as a pre-teen. In the 1960’s he hosted a New York college radio talk show called “Coffee Klatsch,” which was devoted to the offbeat and the paranormal. As well, Bob often interviewed current UFO personalities. In this episode, you’ll hear exclusive audio segments from his radio show, featuring some of the greats and near-greats in the UFO field from the early days. They included Gray Barker, Yonah Fortner, Dominick Lucchesi, Jim Moseley, August C. Roberts, John J. Robinson, Ivan T. Sanderson, and Andy Sinatra, who was also known as “The Mystic Barber.” After broadcast journalism studies in New York and Montreal, his calling led Bob to Switzerland, where he was a full-time broadcast journalist and presenter at Swiss Radio International, Switzerland’s international shortwave station. During his 32 years with SRI, Bob also produced a number of features involving the paranormal and the esoteric. One of them featured infamous contactee Billy Meier, which is available for download to subscribers to The Paracast Plus. His website is: www.switzerlandinsound.com
After The Paracast — Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers: The staff announcer for The Paracast, Bob Zanotti, shares more exclusive audio segments featuring some of the lost voices in the UFO field from the 1960s. Speaking with Gene and cohost Tim Swartz, Bob presents the voice of paranormal researcher John J. Robinson with a story about one Steve Brodie, a friend of his, who may have been a captive of the deros, the same creatures written about by Richard S. Shaver. In another segment, you’ll hear an exclusive on-the-scene report at Wanaque Reservoir in New Jersey, the epicenter of a series of UFO sightings in 1966. Bob and UFO photographer August C. Roberts were on hand shortly thereafter to present eyewitness interviews. Bob has been interested in the UFO phenomenon from a very young age, back in the 50’s as a pre-teen. In the 1960’s he hosted a New York college radio talk show called “Coffee Klatsch,” which was devoted to the offbeat and the paranormal. After broadcast journalism studies in New York and Montreal, his calling led Bob to Switzerland, where he was a full-time broadcast journalist and presenter at Swiss Radio International, Switzerland’s international shortwave station. During his 32 years with SRI, Bob also produced a number of features involving the paranormal and the esoteric. His website is: www.switzerlandinsound.com
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. And look for @theparacast on Bluesky Social, Facebook, Threads and X.
Exploring UFO Beliefs
By Gene Steinberg
I am willing to bet that, if I was taken by time machine back to the 1950s, I’d find little different about the results of investigating UFOs.
All right, the names and places would be different, but the core of the message, particularly among those who believe in the flying saucers, would be almost identical. OK, some of the people alive then are still around, but, sadly, most are gone.
Now as most of you know, I’m a reasonably old guy. I started to chase the flying saucers in 1956, as a pre-teen. I’ve told the story before, about visiting my brother in his Brooklyn, NY apartment and borrowing a library book, “Flying Saucers From Outer Space,” by Major Donald Keyhoe.
I didn’t know it then, but this curious happenstance started me on a quest that has lasted my entire life. Sure, I’ve tried to give it all up a time or two, but always found something drawing me back. Or maybe I missed all the friendships I established in the UFO field. As an inhibited nerd, I wasn’t exactly the life of the party.
Through it all, I met a number of the greats and near-greats in the field. First there was the field’s court jester, Jim Moseley, who called me one night in response to a letter I wrote for his magazine, “Saucer News.” Jim was actually my first employer; I had a gig as his magazine’s Managing Editor. While I thought the salary to be modest for its time, if you calculate what $5.00 US per hour means in 2024, it amounts to over $50.00. Not too shabby for one’s first job.
After leaving Saucer News, I only rarely approached that pay level again. I left to pursue a radio broadcasting career at a far lower wage. Maybe I realized that editing gig would only last a short time, which turned out to be the case.
The others I met in the field included the author of the first UFO book I read, Major Keyhoe. You can add to that Greg Bishop, Jerry Clark, James Fox, Stanton Friedman, Allen Greenfield, Richard Hall, Rick Hilberg, Betty Hill, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Leslie Kean, John Keel, Kathleen Marden, Long John Nebel, Ray Palmer, Kevin D. Randle, Red Pill Junkie (Miguel Romero) Richard Shaver, Whitley Strieber, Jacques Vallee, and that’s just a start. Let’s not forget all the people interviewed on The Paracast over the years.
But what have I learned from all this? Well, so far at least, the UFO mystery remains unsolved. If you examine the viewpoints of the celebrated crew I’ve met over the years, you’ll find a wide range to consider. Still, most maintain that the phenomenon represents visits by one or more races from other planets. It is, by far, the most common belief in the field, and would seem the most logical.
So astronomers have discovered more and more exoplanets, worlds orbiting other star systems. Based on our limited ability to measure their compositions, some appear to be sufficiently Earth-like to support intelligent beings. From there it is only logical — one assumes — that some of those space people have advanced far beyond our civilization, and have perfected interstellar travel.
Indeed, some contactees and channelers claim that they’ve already met up with ET. It isn’t always a physical visit; some of it may happen in their minds, which presents the possibility that dreams are involved. At least in some cases.
But what about those who report meeting physical beings, beings you can see and touch?
There are other views. Some point to the magical properties of UFOs, such as winking in and out of sight, or engaging in impossible levels of maneuverability. Their behavior raises other possibilities, which include inter-dimensional or even time travel.
Now when it comes to doing things that appear to be beyond our concept of physics, maybe it’s not the multiverse or another time after all. We can only dimly imagine where science will be a few hundred years from now. True, sci-fi writers predict future technologies in their stories, movies and TV shows. Obviously , it’s all guesswork.
So consider Star Trek. Some of the 23rd century inventions depicted on the show are already here or being explored. Our smartphones far exceed the performance of their communicators, and, in fact, the tricorder. Even smart watches, such as the Apple Watch, contain many of these features.
Siri and other voice assistants can far exceed the performance levels of the Starship Enterprise’s computer when it comes to talking to the crew.
On the other hand, warp drive — allowing a craft to exceed the speed of light — is still a distant dream. But scientists continue to examine the possibilities. In the Star Trek universe, warp drive is destined to be invented by an eccentric scientist, Dr. Zefram Cochrane, on April 5, 2063. I suppose there will be lots of advances in the next 39 years, so that timeframe may not be unreasonable.
One assumes, though, that warp drive can ever be developed. I’d like to think it can be.
Assuming humans survive, where would technology take us in 500 or 1000 years? Our future selves might be capable of inventing things that far exceed the capabilities of anything shown in Star Trek; well, except for races, such as the Q-Continuum, that have ascended to another plane of existence. They are, in essence, pure energy and can manifest themselves or their surroundings in any way they want.
Many followers of UFO lore point to the 1947 Roswell crash as evidence that extraterrestrial transports exist. There are even claims that some Earthly inventions are based on alien technology, reverse engineered from the wreckage, though that seems very unlikely.
Consider, for example, what might happen if we sent a 2024 iPhone or Samsung Galaxy smartphone back to 1947. Would the best engineers and scientists of that era be able to make heads or tales of it? Well, perhaps they’d figure out how to turn it on, assuming battery power isn’t spent. But where would they go from there with no cellular or Wi-Fi networks to which to connect? Would they be able to take it apart, figure out what makes it tick, and approximate technology that embeds trillions of transistors in a tiny chip?
I don’t think we have to even guess.
In saying that, has there been any real progress towards getting a solid handle on the source or sources behind the UFO enigma? After all these years, I don’t see evidence of any major advancements. I can safely predict, I fear, that it’ll be years before we know what’s going on.
Or maybe we’re not destined to know.
Copyright 1999-2025 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!