Some Other Sphere

Episode 124 - Greg Eghigian - After the Flying Saucers Came

My guest for this episode is Greg Eghigian, who joined me to talk about his new book After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon.
Greg is a Professor of History and Bioethics at Pennsylvania State University. An expert on the history of the abnormal and the paranormal in the modern world, his research has been supported by NASA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 
After the Flying Saucers Came begins with the 1947 Kenneth Arnold incident near Mount Rainier in Washington State and traces how that incident sparked an international drama involving shady figures, questionable evidence, suspicions of conspiracy, hoaxes, new religions, scandals, unsettling alien encounters, debunkers, and celebrities. It examines how descriptions, theories, and debates about unidentified flying objects and alien abduction changed over time and how they appeared in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Russia. It also explores the impact UFOs have had on our understanding of space, science, technology, and ourselves up through the present day.
In the interview I start off by talking with Greg about his background and what drew him to write a book on the subject of UFOs. We talk about Kenneth Arnold’s sighting, and the remarkable way that the term ‘Flying Saucer’ helped launch Ufology as the latest incarnation of humanity’s fascincation with visitors from the stars. Later on we discuss the way the book looks at the subject matter from a cultural context and talk further about how that viewpoint can help us to understand the human experience and meaning of encounters not just with UFO’s, but otherworldly, strange phenomenon in general.
Further information about After the Flying Saucers Came can be found at the Oxford University Press website here and to find Greg on X go to https://x.com/GEghigian.
If you like what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee please visit https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 123 - Ruth Roper Wylde - Researching Hauntings and High Strangeness

Joining me for this episode is returning guest, paranormal researcher and author Ruth Roper Wylde. Ruth has written extensively on strange happenings in Britain, beginning with her book The Ghosts of Marston Vale and continuing with titles such as The Almanac of British Ghosts, The Roadmap of British Ghosts and These Haunted Times, with the latter two titles extending into multiple volumes since I first spoke with Ruth back in 2021.
In the interview we talk again about her life-long interest in the paranormal, which began with poltergeist activity in her family home. We discuss her approach to researching reports of hauntings and recording those details and some of the bizarre experiences reported to her, including an encounter with a dog-man like entity, and a potential time slip experience at a long abandoned RAF airfield.
You can find details of how to purchase Ruth's excellent books here.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 122 - Dash Kwiatkowski - Comedy, Paranormal Investigation and Phil Gravy

My guest for this episode is paranormal investigator, writer and podcaster Dash Kwiatkowski.
Prior to their paranormal investigation career, Dash spent a decade as a touring stand up comedian, featuring in festivals around the United States. Now based in Providence Rhode Island, their latest project is the paranormal documentary series 'Liminal', in which Dash and their team search for the connection between queer identity and strange phenomena as they explore the mysterious and magical world of the rural south. 
In the interview I talk with Dash about their background and moving from a career in comedy to paranormal investigation. We also delve further into the Liminal project, the ideas behind it, Dash's investigation team and some of the cases they are involved with in the show - one of which features legendary actor Ray Wise, of 'Twin Peaks' fame.
You can find out more about Dash and the Liminal documentary series at https://linktr.ee/LiminalTV.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast.
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - ' Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 121 - Amanda Paulson -The Emotional Considerations of Paranormal Investigation

Joining me as my guest for this episode is paranormal researcher and investigator Amanda Paulson.
Amanda has been actively investigating paranormal phenomena since 2008 and since then has visited numerous places with haunted reputations across North America, including locations such as Waverly Hills Sanatorium and the Lizzie Borden house. She specialises in focusing on the emotional aspects of haunted sites and also how that is important in the act of investigating them, which can help to broaden the scope for understanding what might be happening at such places.
In the interview I talk with Amanda about how her career in the paranormal field has progressed, from the early days as part of an investigation team in Montana , to more recently working independently in Spokane, Washington in the Pacific Northwest. We discuss some of the type of places she has investigated, the importance of the symbolic and emotional components of haunted locations, and some of the imaginative techniques she has developed to help with her research.
Our conversation also includes her experience investigating an allegedly haunted doll, and we end the interview discussing the most famous otherworldly being in the PNW, Bigfoot.
You can find more information about Amanda at her website https://www.prettyfnspooky.com/. Her experience with the haunted doll mentioned in this episode is available to watch on YouTube here.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere, you can make a donation via Kofi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 120 - Matt Salusbury - Mystery Animals of Suffolk

My guest for this episode is journalist and author Matt Salusbury, who joined me to talk about his latest book, Mystery Animals of Suffolk.
This catalogues a wide range of yet-to-be identified animals reported in the English county, together with folkloric creatures from local tradition in the region.
It opens with an examination of the mythical entities of East Anglian storytelling, including hairy wildmen known as Woodwoses which survive as carved figures in some of Suffolk's churches. There are accounts too of dangerous freshwater mermaids, as well as encounters with baby-snatching fairies, in particular centered around the town of Stowmarket.
The book also includes reported sightings of Black Shuck – Suffolk’s phantom black dogs, which have been reported reported from ancient folklore tight up to the 1970’s.
The mystery animals surveyed then become progressively more plausible, with the final third of the book devoted to an account of over one-hundred and seventy mystery big cat sightings withing Suffolk.
I start off the interview talking with Matt about his background and the county of Suffolk. We then discuss Mystery Animals of Suffolk itself and some of the creatures that are included in its pages, following the structure of the book, beginning with the mythic Woodwoses and concluding with the multitude of big cat sightings in the county.
Further information about Matt's research can be found at https://bigcatsofsuffolk.com/. Mystery Animals of Suffolk is published by Bittern Books and can be purchased at their website - go to https://bitternbooks.co.uk/product/mystery-animals-of-suffolk/ for more details.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast - thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 119 - Thersa Matsuura - Japanese Folklore

My guest for this episode is author and podcaster Thersa Matsuura, who joined me to talk about her new publication, The Book of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yokai of Japanese Myth.
After a childhood living all over the U.S. - as far north as Fairbanks, Alaska and as far south as Jacksonville, Florida, Thersa moved to Japan to study. She would eventually settle there and has now lived over half her life in a fishing town in the country.
Her fluency in Japanese allows her to do research into parts of the culture - legends, folktales, and superstitions - that are little known to western audiences. A lot of what she digs up informs her writing or becomes fodder for her podcast, Uncanny Japan.
Thersa is the author of two short story collections, A Robe of Feathers and Other Stories and The Carp-Faced Boy and Other Tales, the latter being a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award in 2017. She’s had stories published in various magazines, anthologies and serialized in the Asahi English Newspaper.
I begin the interview by talking with Thersa about the events that initially took her to Japan and what those early experiences of living in a new country were like. We also discuss the cultural history of the country and how that has influenced and is expressed in the relationship between it's people, the natural world and the supernatural.
From there we focus on Thersa's new book itself, exploring some of the beings that are featured in it, which range from mythical versions of historical figures, through to supernatural foxes and wolves, giant spiders and full on Lovecraftian horrors. We round off things talking about ghosts and Thersa shares some of her own uncanny experiences.
You can find out more about Thersa, her writing and podcast at her website https://thersamatsuura.com/.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 118 - Gareth E. Rees - Sunken Lands

My guest for this episode is author Gareth E Rees, who joined me to talk about his latest writing project, Sunken Lands: A Journey Through Lost Kingdoms and Flooded Worlds.
In the book, he explores stories of flooded places from humanity’s past – and those disappearing before our eyes. Sunken Lands peels back the layers of silt, sea and mythology to reveal what the history and tales of such places can tell us about our imminent future as rising sea levels transform our planet once more and reflects upon how these underwater worlds can teach us important lessons about the unavoidability of change, the ebb and flow of Earth’s natural cycles, and the folly of trying to control them.
Gareth himself describes the book as "an anxiety-fuelled trip through enigmatic landscapes that conceal and reveal tales of trauma from the past present and future".
In the interview, I start off by talking with him about what drew him to this subject matter and how that fits with the sort of themes he has previously written about and is expressed through the psychogeographical context that features in his work.
From there we discuss Sunken Lands itself, the ancient origin of flood myths and some of the places and legends that feature in the book, such as Lake Bala and the lowland hundred in Wales, the Fens of Eastern England and of course, Atlantis. Towards the end of the interview, we talk a bit about if and how stories will be told which will preserve the memory of flooding and it’s effect on contemporary society.
Sunken Lands: A Journey Through Lost Kingdoms and Flooded Worlds is published by Elliott & Thompson - details on how to order a copy are available at https://eandtbooks.com/books/sunken-lands/. To find out more about Gareth and his writing go to http://www.unofficialbritain.com/.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 117 - Kingsley Dennis - The Inversion

Joining me for this episode is writer, researcher and publisher Kingsley Dennis. Kingsley has written extensively on social and digital futures, global affairs, and conscious evolution. He is the author of several critically acclaimed books including Breaking the Spell: An Exploration of Human Perception, Unified: Cosmos, Life, Purpose and Hijacking Reality: The Reprogramming & Reorganisation of Human Life. He also serves as Director of Publications for the Laszlo Institute for New Paradigm Research.
 
His latest book - which is the subject of this episode, is The Inversion. This is an exploration of the cultural trends and dominant ideas that seem to influence an increasing level of control in consensus reality and a distortion of the world we perceive around us.  It also examines the historical background of perceiving this manipulation, through schools of thought and occult philosophy such as Gnosticism and Hermeticism, as well as more recent examinations in literature, such as in the work of Philip K Dick.
 
In the interview I talk with Kingsley about his background and interest in these ideas and how his new book is the most recent expression of that. We discuss the premise of ‘The inversion’ itself, the connection to that of concepts such as consensus reality and reality constructs, how it can be seen via the dangers of movements such as transhumanism and unchecked technological progression and how society has expressed those concerns throughout human history through modes of spirituality, philosophy, and popular culture.
 
You can find out more about Kingsley and his writing at https://kingsleydennis.com/.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is provided by Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 116 - Laura Lewis-Barr - Psyche's Cinema

My guest for this episode is Laura Lewis-Barr. Laura is an award winning film-maker, who specialises in the medium of stop-motion to create short movies inspired by myths, fairy tales and the ideas of people such as Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. In her films, she uses dolls to portray an eclectic array of characters and does all of the costuming, set design, filming and editing. Her films are part of a larger project called Psyche’s Cinema.
Prior to her film-making, Laura was a graduate student in clinical depth psychology and her interest in Jungian psychology is an important part of her film making projects.
In the interview I stalk by talking with Laura about the origins of the idea for Psyche’s cinema, and what drew her to the medium of stop-motion film-making. We then discuss some of the mythic and psychological themes she has explored in her films, the importance and value of mythic ideas, and how they persist in modern human culture and can help us better understand paranormal phenomena.
You can find out more about Laura and her films at https://psychescinema.com/.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can do so via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 115 - Sharon Hewitt Rawlette - Coincidence, Synchronicity and Life after Death

My guest for this episode is Sharon Hewitt Rawlette.
Sharon is a philosopher who writes for both popular and scholarly audiences on the topics of consciousness, anomalous experience, ethics, and spirituality. She has a PhD in philosophy from New York University and taught at Brandeis University before launching her career as an independent writer and researcher. She is also the founder and director of the Mind & Meaning Institute, which brings together world-class researchers to explore new philosophical and empirical approaches to the deepest questions raised by human experience.
Soon after leaving academia for a career as an independent writer and researcher, Sharon became interested in the phenomenon of “coincidence” or “synchronicity”: strange, enigmatic experiences that aren’t blatantly paranormal but that seem so improbably meaningful that they make us wonder whether something more than chance lies behind them. Her May 2019 book, The Source and Significance of Coincidences, presents a wealth of evidence concerning the statistical importance of coincidences, their range of possible causes, and how we can best interpret their implications for our lives.
In November 2021, Sharon was named a runner-up in the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies essay contest for her essay “Beyond Death.” This essay summarises and analyses the best evidence for life after death collected over the last 150 years.
I begin the interview by talking about what first interested her in anomalous and strange experiences and how that developed as a student, into academia, and becoming an independent researcher. We then discuss her work on coincidences, before focusing on her essay Beyond Death, exploring some of the Third Person and First Person evidence that she collected for that and how scientific research might progress when it comes to investigating the survival of human consciousness.
Further information on Sharon and her research can be found at https://sharonrawlette.com/.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub', by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.