SOUNDS PECULIAR
BRIAN J ROBB PRESENTS THE FORTEAN TIMES PODCAST COLUMN
As a medium, podcasts have been enjoying something of a boom over the past few years. The democratisation of quality media production through high-specification computer equipment has allowed a plethora of previously marginalised voices their own access to what were once quaintly called ‘the airwaves’.
In the past, broadcasting (reaching a wide audience from a single source) was heavily regulated and controlled, mainly through frequency scarcity: only those authorised or licensed to have access to the airwaves were allowed to broadcast. In UK terms that, initially, meant the BBC, with commercial stations coming along in the 1960s.
In terms of radio, there have been amateurs since the invention of the medium, reaching a crescendo with the offshore ‘pirate’ pop stations of the 1960s that ultimately led to the BBC launching Radio 1. For the longest time, Radio 4 (or NPR in the US) has been the default home of quality ‘spoken word’ content, whether that was drama, current affairs, or documentary radio.
Now, anyone with a microphone and an iPad, laptop, or computer and the right software can produce a decent podcast and launch their work onto a waiting world. Not all of them are good, while many are far better than you might expect, sometimes surpassing the productions of ‘legitimate’ broadcasters like the BBC or NPR. When it comes to fortean topics, there are a host of podcasts out there, ranging from the polished and compelling to the amateurish and downright weird. SOUNDS PECULIAR is your insider guide to the best of the current podcasts dealing with fortean topics: all you have to do is sit back and listen...
Podcast: Our Strange Skies www.facebook.com/ ourstrangeskies/
Host: Rob Kristofferson Episode Count: Six main episodes + various miniepisodes
Format: Mix of solo presenter and guest interviews Established: December 2017 Frequency: Variable Topics: Ufology
Although ufology podcast Our Strange Skies has a mere handful of main episodes (six at the time of writing), that doesn’t mean host Rob Kristofferson is a slacker. Since establishing the podcast, which deals with all things flying saucer, back in December 2017, Kristofferson has deviated from the main show into a series of themed mini-episodes (often exploring significant UFO incidents), as well as parallel series such as his UFO abduction-focused instalments under the umbrella term ‘You Were Gone, But You Never Really Left’ and the selfexplanatory UFO Book Club specials. Like sightings of flying saucers in the 1950s, Kristofferson’s UFO podcasts have been proliferating like there’s no tomorrow. Thankfully, you can access all the instalments under the single
Our Strange Skies podcast feed.
Rob Kristofferson (no relation to Kris, as he is keen to point out) established Our
Strange Skies to discuss all aspects of the UFO phenomenon, making for a wide-ranging show covering all manner of topics. As he says: “On the Our Strange Skies podcast, we delve into the UFO events, incidents, and myths that contribute to the American identity in an attempt to figure out what they mean and what they say about ourselves. We do it with a splash of humour and a guest from time to time.”
Kristofferson has limited his show to covering only those sightings or UFO events that happened in the USA, which in one respect makes the podcast seem rather parochial, but – as he argues – he’s simply drawing from his own experience and his home environment. The upside is that there is no shortage of US-based saucer-related high strangeness to draw upon.
A great place to start is the 35-minute introductory instalment, dubbed Episode 0.5. Beginning where the modern phenomenon itself began, with the 1947 Kenneth Arnold sighting, Kristofferson proceeds to explain the origin of the term ‘flying saucer’, explores the rudimentary ‘facts’ of the UFO phenomenon, and expresses his admiration for the work of UFO-specialist J Allen Hynek, whom he refers to for definitions of various kinds of UFO encounters. Following a brief mention of the Socorro, New Mexico, case, Kristofferson moves on to a quick survey of alien types – Grays, Nordics, and Reptilians, among others – and explores the diversity of civilian UFO groups. There’s also a takedown of infamous History Channel TV show Ancient
Aliens and its big-haired champion, Giorgio A Tsoukalos. All in all, it offers a solid grounding in the background of the entire saucersphere.
The first full episode (just over 50 minutes), entitled ‘Old Time UFOs – Take Those Old Disks Off the Shelf’, delves into pre-Roswell UFO sightings and ranges further afield than the show’s general American focus, taking in such old favourites as Ezekiel’s Old Testament UFOs, the woodcut depiction of celestial phenomena over Nuremberg, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland, and others. The show then pivots to consider some of America’s early sightings, including a potential failed alien abduction and one of the USA’s first cattle mutilations.
The main episodes then go on to tackle major cases, such as the original 1947 ‘flying saucer flap’ (episode 3), the American government’s UFO investigation Project Sign (episode 4), the Roswell UFO crash (episode 5), and alien abduction experiences (episode 6). Alongside those main instalments, there are more than seven other Mini Episodes (dealing with such topics as Bigfoot and UFOs and the connections between rock music and UFOs), several UFO Book Club instalments, and assorted ‘Meltdowns’, ‘After School Specials’, and interview-based segments, making for a solid, diverse exploration of the strange and wide world of flying saucer lore. Remember – don’t forget to look up, because you never know what you’ll find in Our
Strange Skies. And don’t lick the UFO – you have no idea where it has been!
Strengths: Our Strange Skies has a nice, straightforward presentational style.
Weaknesses: Some of the humour, as always, can be hit and miss.
Recommended Episodes: Introductory Episode 0.5 for the basics of the UFO phenomenon; UFO Book Club: For the Love of Hynek, with guest and Hynek biographer Mark O’Connell; Episode 2: What the Hell Happened Here? – The Battle of Los Angeles; Mini Episode 5: Disinformation in the 1980s; Candid Conversation: My Time at MUFON.
Verdict: Wide-ranging account of the UFO phenomenon, although with a strong focus on American cases, laced with a healthy dose of humour and scepticism.