What’s in a name? More than you might imagine, if you’re a scientist trying to officially name a new species. In this episode of MonsterTalk, we talk to Ichthyologist Ben Frable about the process (and many challenges) of scientifically identifying and naming new species. Benjamin Frable is an Ichthyologist and is the Collection Manager of the Marine Vertebrate Collection at Scripps […]
Is the little village of Pluckley truly the most haunted village in England? We interview skeptical ghost hunter Hayley Stevens (The Spooktater) about the curious little town more famous for its dead than its living. Pictured above is one of the many haunted buildings in Pluckley — St. Nicholas Church — said to be haunted by two ghosts of the […]
From ancient Greece to modern movies, monsters and villains often get their assistance from mindless mobs of maleficent minions. Are they simply plot devices, or do minions tell us something about the real-world role of the follower when loyal obedience is valued more than heroic ethics? In this episode of Monstertalk, David Perlumtter and Cait Mongrain join us to discuss Minions, Mobs and Myrmidons. Related […]
(Above) Jill Greeley (played by Jane Asher) in the The Stone Tape, a 1972 BBC drama by Nigel Kneale. In the movie, Jill can hear sounds and see the apparition of a young woman who apparently had fallen to her death here in the past. Read more about this story. In this episode, MonsterTalk welcomes back notable skeptic, scientist, researcher and author (and now […]
In this episode of MonsterTalk Blake Smith interviews Joe Gisondi, author of Monster Trek: The Obsessive Search for Bigfoot. A journalism professor takes us on a first-hand tour of Bigfoot Hunter culture. Music Monstertalk Theme: Monster by Peach Stealing Monkeys
Part 2 of our look at the Enfield Poltergeist brings together interviews with Chris French (@ChrisCFrench), Joe Nickell (@RealJoeNickell) and Deborah Hyde (@jourdemayne). We look at why skeptics tend to be so reluctant to accept the existence of poltergeists. Related Links Skeptic’s Dictionary: Poltergeist Nickell on Enfield Anita Gregory Video: Janet & Margaret return to Enfield The Conjuring 2 The […]
In this episode of MonsterTalk, we are joined by folklorist and author Mark Norman to discuss legends of black hounds. Mark is the author of Black Dog Folklore as well as the host of The Folklore Podcast. This is a special cross-over episode with The Folklore Podcast and contains a slightly different edit of the interview audio. Discussion ranges from the legends of dark hounds in […]
This MonsterTalk is another special literary/pop-culture episode as we take on the biggest topic in monsters: Giant City-Destroying Kaiju! Guests are Ed Godziszewski author of Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa (Oct 2017) and Michael Keller, co-author (with Edward Holland) of the magazine Monster Attack Team and the upcoming podcast Area 42. Special thanks to Darren Naish. His piece on the biology of Godzilla is well […]
In this episode of MonsterTalk we present an interview with Guy Lyon Playfair, one of the original investigators into perhaps the most famous British poltergeist case in modern times. Author and researcher Guy Lyon Playfair was one of the two primary investigators into the alleged poltergeist activity in Enfield in the 1970s. His book This House is Haunted was the basis for multiple movies and television […]
In this MonsterTalk, we’re pleased to bring you an interview with psychologist Ray Hyman, a long time skeptical activist and educator, a founding member of CSICOP (now CSI) and one of the key investigators into the US government’s program to develop psychic soldiers. Some of this story was revealed in Jon Ronson’s The Men Who Stare at Goats, but in this interview […]
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