#022 – Cryptozoology & Science, Part 2

THIS WEEK, MonsterTalk continues its discussion of the intersection between science and cryptozoology. The hosts interview Dr. Donald Prothero and Daniel Loxton, who are working on a book (Abominable Science!) that will give a deep overview of the field of cryptozoology and how it intersects with actual science. This interview was recorded at The Amaz!ng Meeting 8 in Las Vegas. Topics discussed […]

#021 – Cryptozoology & Science, Part 1

DARREN NAISH is a palaeozoologist, freelance author and science writer of the Tetrapod Zoology column (and Podcast!). Affiliated with the university of Portsmouth, he obtained a degree in geology and then gained a PhD in vertebrate paleontology at this institution. He mostly works on Cretaceous dinosaurs and pterosaurs, and “also messes around with swimming giraffes, fossil marine reptiles, British big […]

#020 – The Columbus Poltergeist

FRAME 25: Famous photo of Tina Resch and the “flying phone.” Copyright © 1984 by The Dispatch Printing Company. Photographer: Fred Shannon. James Randi (1928 – 2020) Early in March of 1984, the Ohio newspaper The Columbus Dispatch began to tell the tale of a 14 year old girl who was undergoing a terrible ordeal. Objects in her house began to fly across […]

#019 – Cthulhu Rises

That is not dead which can eternal lie And with strange aeons even death may die. —H.P. Lovecraft,The Call of Cthulhu The literary work of Howard Phillips Lovecraft is dark and macabre. It casts a long shadow in American Literature, influencing such writers as Rod Serling, Steven King, Bob Howard, Robert Bloch, and many others. In his stories he wove a tapestry […]

#018 – Bringing Light to a Moth

In this episode, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly CSICOP) investigator Joe Nickell joins the MonsterTalk crew for a look into the West Virginian legend of Mothman — allegedly a human-sized creature with wings and glowing red eyes. Nickell discusses the ways monsters evolve following a community’s initial reports, and the cyclical nature of spates of sightings. About this episode Joe Nickell is the senior […]

#017 – Monsters from the Lab

In this week’s episode, MonsterTalk looks once again at genetics and creatures created in the laboratory. Dr. Marcus C. Davis joins the hosts to discuss what constitutes a “monster.” In his work, Davis deals with paleontology, as well as embryological manipulation — which, by some definitions, means he literally creates monsters. What kinds of creatures are scientists making in labs today? What […]

#016 – Historical Ghost Investigations Part II – Sinking the Watertown

This week, MonsterTalk continues its two-part discussion of historical ghost investigations. Blake Smith describes his investigation into a famous photo that allegedly shows two dead sailors floating off the side of a 1920’s oil tanker. Methodology for conducting historical investigation is detailed, using Ben Radford’s upcoming book on scientific paranormal investigation as a basis for the talk. Did two sailors haunt their […]

#015 – Historical Ghost Investigations Part 1: Kimo/Therapy

Ghost investigations often feature in television shows and other media. Typically, these amount to people wandering around at night with EMF detectors, talking into the darkness and jumping at shadows and noises. But how does one do a scientific paranormal investigation? On this first half of a two-part MonsterTalk, the hosts review two past ghost investigations (Ben Radford’s “Kimo Theater Ghost” and Dr. […]

#014 – Ghost Bird

What happens when a creature thought to be extinct is spotted alive in the swamps of Arkansas? Can such a creature have survived? Can scientists verify the story? And when a town’s hopes and a school’s grant money are on the line, to what lengths will people go to find proof? This week on MonsterTalk we discuss these issues with Scott Crocker, […]

#013 – Getting into the Spirit of Things

What does neuroscience have to say about the possibility of consciousness or mind existing outside the body — or continuing on after the body has died? This episode’s guest is neurologist Dr. Steven Novella (veteran of on-site ghost investigations, and host of the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast, who shares his insights on brains, minds, and specters from beyond […]