DominicBunnell
New
I have to admit, I'm a big fan of a lot of the paranormal podcasts out there right now, especially the Paracast, Mysterious Universe, Binnall of America and Radio Mysterioso.
One thing I like is that, while they say (rightly) that skeptics, atheists and materialists often tend to be very ignorant, arrogant and closed-minded when it comes to psi and the afterlife, they don't try to make out that such people and such world views are responsible for all or most of the wickedness, greed, selfishness, war and violence in the world. It's really only Skeptiko and fundamentalist Christian podcasts that do this, and in both cases it's surely based on a deep-seated prejudice, hatred and fear of atheism and materialism.
Another thing I've noticed is that these podcasts tend to be very sympathetic to the views of John Keel and Jacques Vallee. That is, they tend to think that all paranormal phenomena are connected, and also that they're linked to various folklore and spiritual traditions. There's generally a desire to move away from nuts-and-bolts ufology and towards a more holistic approach to high strangeness.
Skeptics will immediately say that the reason these people want to move away from the nuts-and-bolts approach is that they're forced to do this in desperation, since there's still no good evidence for any of these things. Skeptics will also say that the trickster archetype is becoming fashionable in paranormal circles because it's the only way true believers can explain the fact that we still don't have any really good ufo or ghost photos or videos. For skeptics, the trickster thing is just a desperate ad hoc excuse, so true believers can protect their cherished beliefs by saying, "The aliens or ghosts love playing games with us, and love hiding from cameras and destroying evidence."
The skeptics have a point, but I still enjoy listening to these shows, and at least they don't try to demonize or caricature materialism and atheism too much.
One thing I like is that, while they say (rightly) that skeptics, atheists and materialists often tend to be very ignorant, arrogant and closed-minded when it comes to psi and the afterlife, they don't try to make out that such people and such world views are responsible for all or most of the wickedness, greed, selfishness, war and violence in the world. It's really only Skeptiko and fundamentalist Christian podcasts that do this, and in both cases it's surely based on a deep-seated prejudice, hatred and fear of atheism and materialism.
Another thing I've noticed is that these podcasts tend to be very sympathetic to the views of John Keel and Jacques Vallee. That is, they tend to think that all paranormal phenomena are connected, and also that they're linked to various folklore and spiritual traditions. There's generally a desire to move away from nuts-and-bolts ufology and towards a more holistic approach to high strangeness.
Skeptics will immediately say that the reason these people want to move away from the nuts-and-bolts approach is that they're forced to do this in desperation, since there's still no good evidence for any of these things. Skeptics will also say that the trickster archetype is becoming fashionable in paranormal circles because it's the only way true believers can explain the fact that we still don't have any really good ufo or ghost photos or videos. For skeptics, the trickster thing is just a desperate ad hoc excuse, so true believers can protect their cherished beliefs by saying, "The aliens or ghosts love playing games with us, and love hiding from cameras and destroying evidence."
The skeptics have a point, but I still enjoy listening to these shows, and at least they don't try to demonize or caricature materialism and atheism too much.