The Micah Hanks Program - Micah Hanks

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The UFO Problem | MHP 06.22.20. Jun 23, 2020

Show notes

What are UFOs, and what constitutes actual UFO study? While the term "UFOlogy" is commonly used for modern UFO research, there is very little science involved in the majority of the study of this once-taboo subject. Is there a path toward a more unified effort in studying and, perhaps, solving this mystery?

After Summer Solstice news and other headlines, we turn our attention to controversies surrounding a pair of "bombshell" leaked memos, one claiming to shed light on deep black special access UFO programs, and the other alleging that government crash retrievals might have occurred. Can these documents be believed? Not if one high-ranking military official mentioned in one of the documents is to be believed.

This brings us to some of the problems inherent to UFOs, and whether it is a subject that science can be applied to in a unified, constructive way. What is really at the heart of the mystery of UFOs? We explore these questions, and much more on this week's edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

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Music featured on The Micah Hanks Program includes songs composed by Caleb Hanks (The Clerk Chronicles), Decepticons (Dreamland, Start the Machine) and Micah Hanks. All songs are either in the public domain, Royalty Free, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0, or are used with permission of the creators. Please note that some links to books and other items on this page may feature Amazon Associate links.

Space Signals: Decoding the Mystery of FRBs | MHP 06.15.20. Jun 17, 2020

Show notes

Recently, astronomers have begun to notice something odd about a long-standing space mystery: the curious fast radio bursts (or FRBs) that were first discovered back in 2007. In recent weeks, the FRBs appear to be firing off light pulses on a schedule... but what could that mean?

This week, after news and the long-awaited announcement about an all-new supplemental podcast we have just launched, we turn our attention to what scientists have to say about the enduring mystery of fast radio bursts, and why some of them pulse strange signals on a clockwork-like schedule. Joining us to discuss this is science writer Becky Ferreira, a contributor to VICE/Motherboard, Wired, Popular Science, New Scientist, Bike Radar, and Sparknotes, among other publications. She gives us the latest on the FRB mystery, what their strange pulsations might mean, and a range of other questions this week on The Micah Hanks Program.

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Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode:

BECOME AN X SUBSCRIBER AND GET EVEN MORE GREAT PODCASTS AND MONTHLY SPECIALS FROM MICAH HANKS.

Sign up today and get access to the entire back catalog of The Micah Hanks Program, as well as "classic" episodes of The Gralien Report Podcast, weekly "additional editions" of the subscriber-only X Podcast, the monthly Enigmas specials, and much more.

Like us on Facebook

Follow @MicahHanks on Twitter

Follow Micah on Instagram

Visit Micah's Website and check out Our Podcast Page

Music featured on The Micah Hanks Program includes songs composed by Caleb Hanks (The Clerk Chronicles), Decepticons (Dreamland, Start the Machine) and Micah Hanks. All songs are either in the public domain, Royalty Free, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0, or are used with permission of the creators. Please note that some links to books and other items on this page may feature Amazon Associate links.

Mystery Booms: Tracking the Phenomenon | MHP 060820 Jun 10, 2020

Show notes

Mysterious sounds of unexplained origin have been documented in places all around the world. Such noises are often likened to thunder-like "booms" or explosions, and although a number of suggestions have been made as to what their causes may be, no conclusive determinations have been made. What are the "mystery booms," and what kinds of phenomena--natural or otherwise--might account for their occurrence?

On this edition of The Micah Hanks Program, we after news and updates on the discovery of the famous Forrest Fenn treasure (as well as several similar instances of "lost" treasures from over the years), we go in pursuit of answers to the mystery boom phenomenon. While many of the booms have conventional explanations, there may also be instances where natural phenomena can result in loud booms late in the evening or early morning hours. More tantalizing, however, is the idea that some of the booms might be related to unidentified hypersonic aircraft, for which there is a surprising amount of evidence. We look at that, and much more on this week's episode of The Micah Hanks Program.

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The Myth and Mystery of UFOs | MHP 06.01.20. Jun 03, 2020

Show notes

What are UFOs? Is there more than one answer to this question, and does new information forthcoming on the subject in recent years, which includes videos of unidentified objects or aircraft obtained by the Navy, change the fact that the UFO subject bears qualities of "mythic" proportions?

After news about the exciting achievements of SpaceX and their successful launch of astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station on Saturday, we turn our attention to the "Myth and Mystery of UFOs," which became the title of a book by our guest, Thomas E. Bullard, Ph.D. Bullard's doctoral research included searching numerous newspapers for accounts of the 1896-97 airships and other pre-1947 sightings. In 1987, Bullard completed a study titled, "UFO Abductions-The Measure of a Mystery," a comparative study on UFO abduction claims.

Bullard followed this study with articles published in the Journal of American Folklore, Journal of UFO Studies, IUR, the MUFON UFO Journal, and the 1999 MUFON UFO Symposium. He contributed several articles to the Abduction Study Conference held at MIT in 1992m and in 2010 authored the book, The Myth and Mystery of UFOs, published by the University Press of Kansas. We dig into this weighty topic with Dr. Bullard, and get his perspectives as a folklorist on the enduring mystery of UFOs on this edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

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Paleo-SETI: UFOs and Space Explorers in Antiquity | MHP 05.25.20. May 26, 2020

Show notes

Most historians of the UFO subject would recognize its beginning in 1947 with Kenneth Arnold's sighting of mysterious flying "saucers" over Mount Ranier, Washington. However, similar descriptions of unusual aerial phenomena have persisted throughout history. Many--if not most--of these incidents represent natural phenomena observed by people in prescientific times, although their study today may be helpful in understanding the broader idea of UFOs and human attitudes toward them.

This week on The Micah Hanks Program, after a look at the news we turn our attention toward what scientists over the years have had to say about aerial phenomena from classical antiquity that some compare to modern UFO reports, as well as extraterrestrial life, and even whether space explorers might have ever visited Earth in the ancient past. "What may surprise the serious student of the subject," wrote the late NASA scholar Richard B. Stothers in 2007, "is that, despite the numerous articles and books published by scientists on UFOs over the past six decades, almost no scholarly studies of the very early history of the phenomenon have appeared."

While some classical reports of aerial phenomena are indeed worthy of further study, even the famed astronomer Carl Sagan had once argued the statistical likelihood that Earth might have been visited in the ancient past by interstellar explorers... an idea he became increasingly wary of with the popularization of more dubious "ancient astronaut" theories. We look at how scientists have studied the question of Earth visitation and aerial phenomena in ancient times on this edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

Coronavirus Charities: If you are able, please consider supporting the following charities that are offering relief for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic:

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Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode:

NEWS: Millions of periodical cicadas to emerge in parts of US
Here's The Real Truth Behind That Viral 'NASA Finds Parallel Universe' Story
Scratching the surface: drones cast new light on mystery of Nazca Lines
The Building Blocks of Life Are Left-Handed, And The Reason Could Come From Deep Space
SPACE: SpaceX & NASA are ready to launch astronauts into space
Colonizing Mars may require humanity to tweak its DNA
PALEO SETI: SCIENCE AND THE SEARCH FOR ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS
Micah's Telepath Column: "Paleo-SETI: Should Science Rethink the Idea of "Ancient Astronauts"?
American Indian Oral Traditions and their Relation to the Paleo-SETI Community
NASA: "Unidentified Flying Objects in Classical Antiquity"
Carl Sagan's "Direct Contact Among Galactic Civilizations by Relativistic Interstellar Spaceflight"
Show artwork used for this week's episode appears courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech.

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Navy Encounters With Rogue Aircraft | MHP 05.18.20. May 19, 2020

Show notes

Between 2013 and 2019, several incidents involving unidentified "rogue" aircraft encountered by Navy pilots occurred in military airspace off the East Coast of the United States. The incidents, detailed in newly released "hazard reports" obtained via Freedom of Information Act request by The Warzone and other outlets, are shedding new light on the ongoing saga of the Navy's UFO encounters... but what do the new reports really tell us?

This week on The Micah Hanks Program, after giving a breakdown of the media's coverage of these new developments, we are joined in studio by writer Brett Tingley, a reporter for The Warzone--the publication that broke this story--and US Air Force veteran Jeff Smith, a retired C-130 navigator with close to 3000 hours in flight, who help us wade through the details of these hazard reports and what they mean. Are "unidentified" objects really the main concern, or should be more worried about technologies that are much closer to home? We'll ask these, and other questions about mysterious "rogue aircraft" on this week's edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

Coronavirus Charities: If you are able, please consider supporting the following charities that are offering relief for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic:

Enjoy The Micah Hanks Program? Check out Micah's other podcasts here.

Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode:

NEWS: Earthquake strikes near Area 51, felt from Utah to California
Doctor Recalls Hallucinations, 'deceased loved ones' While Battling COVID-19
Trump unveils U.S. Space Force official flag
NASA Just Released The Artemis Accords
Thousands of New Satellites Are Scheduled to Enter Orbit, And Astronomers Are Worried
NAVY UFO UPDATE: Navy Reports Describe Encounters With Unexplained Flying Objects
Will the New York Times Ever Stop Reporting on UFOs?
THE WARZONE: Here Are The Navy Pilot Reports From Encounters With Mysterious Aircraft Off The East Coast
Brett Tingley and Jeff Smith Supplemental Articles:
May 12, 2020: "Here Are The Navy Pilot Reports From Encounters With Mysterious Aircraft Off The East Coast" Ty Rogoway, The Warzone
May 14, 2020: "Protecting Against Rogue Drones" report is released by the Congressional Research Service (coincidence?)
June 2016: "The Alarming Case of the USAF's Mysteriously Missing Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles" Ty Rogoway, The Warzone
February 2020: "Internal Air Force Emails Show Confusion And Concern Over Colorado's Mystery Drones" Brett Tingley, The Warzone
March 2020: "Drones Have Been "Raining" Small Bombs On American Troops Guarding Oil Sites In Syria" Joe Trevethick, The Warzone
SpaceX Starlink constellation: "The Air Force And SpaceX Are Teaming Up For A 'Massive' Live Fire Exercise"
X37-B Space Plane: "X-37B Space Plane's Microwave Power Beam Experiment Is A Way Bigger Deal Than It Seems"
"Here Is What The Pentagon Is Not Answering About The Air Force And Recent UFO Encounters"

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NASA's "Secret" UFO Files | MHP 05.11.20. May 13, 2020

Show notes

What does the government really know about UFOs? Does our military possess information about unexplained aerial phenomena that remains unknown to the general public, and what are their attitudes toward it?

For several years now, we have slowly been getting a clearer picture of what the U.S. government does—and does not—know about UFOs. As shown by the recent "official" release by the Department of Defense of three UFO videos previously made available online in 2017, the government certainly has been keeping some information about the subject. However, they also admit that they still can't identify the objects in the videos.

Yet with all of the attention the Navy, Air Force, and other branches are getting these days with relation to UFOs, when it comes to asking what the "government" really knows, there is one agency that seems to attract a lot less attention: NASA. This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we delve into what the U.S. space agency has to say about unexplained aerial phenomena, as we go in search of NASA's "secret" UFO files, tucked away within a little-known aviation safety reporting database.

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UFOs, the Military and the Media | MHP 05.04.20. May 06, 2020

Show notes

In 2017, the New York Times featured the article "Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program," which initiated a system reset for public perception of the UFO phenomenon. However, UFOs weren't always considered among the ranks of "all the news that's fit to print" as far as topics covered by "The Gray Lady," which has remained for decades an American "newspaper of record." What has caused the shifting attitudes toward UFOs over the years, and what role has the New York Times played in influencing that?

This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we lead off in celebration of May the 4th, a favorite of Star Wars fans everywhere, before turning our attention to space news. Micah also recaps his recent appearance on Coast to Coast AM with researcher John Greenwald of The Black Vault to discuss the DoD's recent "official" release of UFO videos, before turning our attention to the history of media coverage of this subject, and the role newspapers like The New York Times have played in steering public perception of the UFO phenomenon.

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04.27.20. Big Footprints: Sasquatch and Science Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

For many, the idea of any large, unrecognized mammals still existing in North America would seem impossible; add to that that the words bipedal primate, and the subject goes from "impossible" to just plain crazy. That wasn't the case for Jeffrey Meldrum though, when he came upon the trackway of an animal that left an "enigmatic track of 15-inch footprints in Washington."

This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we lead off with news about the 30th anniversary of the Hubbel Space Telescope and other space discoveries, before turning our attention to a release posted at the Department of Defense website which gives their rationale for "officially" releasing a trio of UFO videos that have been in the public domain for years already. Then in the latter half of the program, we turn our attention to the subject of Sasquatch, and one scientist's search for proof that the creature is more than just a legend.

Dr. Jeff Meldrum holds a doctorate in anatomical sciences with an emphasis in physical anthropology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and is currently a Full Professor of Anatomy & Anthropology in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Anthropology at Idaho State University. In addition to being the leading scientific authority on the possible existence of "relict hominoids," his book Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science examines the case for a large, bipedal primate existing in North America. We discuss this with Dr. Meldrum on this special edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

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04.20.20. Death, Abduction and the UFO: A Modern Mythology Apr 22, 2020

Show notes

In 1958, psychologist Carl Jung authored one of the most unusual essays of his entire lifetime. Titled Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies, he both acknowledged the mytho-psychological components of the UFO mystery, while acknowledging that myths and symbols alone cannot be tracked on radar. But what does the study of the mythological element in UFO sightings tell us about the phenomenon, and maybe more importantly, ourselves?

This week on the Micah Hanks Program, after news about the search for habitable planets and the newest discovery vindicating Einstein's theory of general relativity, we turn our attention to the work of one man who, after a lifetime of interest in the UFO subject, believes that the answer to this mystery may exist within ourselves.

"Back in the 1960s, David Halperin was a teenage UFO investigator," his website states. "From 1976 through 2000, David taught Jewish history in the Religious Studies Department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Now retired from teaching, he lives in North Carolina with his wife Rose." The author of five non-fiction books on Jewish mysticism and messianism, and "the coming-of-age novel" Journal of a UFO Investigator, David joins us to discuss his latest offering, Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO this week on The Micah Hanks Program.

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