The Paracast

By now, Dear Constant Reader, I'm sure you realise I tend to lean strongly towards scepticism. That doesn't mean I'm closed minded, nor do I pretend to have the answers. But I also don't really have any "beliefs". I like facts, which are hard to come by anywhere, let alone in the sphere of the anomalous. Another thing about me, which you may not know, is that I am a keen listener of podcasts. They help pass the time on my daily commute across London and back again. I listen to a lot of sceptical podcasts (Like The Skeptics Guide To The Universe and Skepticality, which I highly recommend for being entertaining and informative. And for kicking the butts of the antivax crowd and the like) and I listen to quite a few paranormal podcasts (which I won't link to as most I've found are self-indulgent pieces of promotion for the friends of the podcasters). But a few months ago I came across The Paracast.

The Paracast is a podcast with an interest in the anomalous (especially UFO reports). Hosted by Gene Steinberg and David Biedny, this podcast is not full of "true believers". These two guys truly seem interested in finding out the truth and are refreshingly open minded about what might cause sightings and encounters. And when I say open minded I don't mean the usual paranormal open mindedness that leads to weird beliefs in all sorts of bizarre and ridiculous things. I mean they truly seek to try to understand what is behind the phenomena be it Fortean or be it something more mundane.

They seem to have a reputation of being a bit harsh on their interviewees. Having listened to a lot of their shows, I have to say it's not deserved. What they do is talk to their guests like they are adults and have a conversation with them. Sadly, in this time of bad journalism and sycophantic interviews, this is interpreted by some as rudeness or abrasiveness. Personally I think it's great to hear them asking some pointed questions of crazy fundamentalists (who believe UFOs are piloted by demons) and, in their most recent show, trying to get a straight answer from the lamest sceptic I've ever heard. Honestly his answers were totally off the mark and made me ashamed to consider myself a sceptic. Get Dr. Steven Novella on, and then we might get a real debate going!

I cannot recommend this podcast enough, it's great entertainment and if they continue with the way they are going they might finally "separate signal from noise" and come up with some answers.

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist