The Micah Hanks Program - Micah Hanks

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04.13.20. Interstellar: Visitors From Beyond Apr 14, 2020

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In October 2017, a mysterious visitor was spotted by astronomers as it passed through our solar system. First believed to be a comet, the strange object was named 'Oumuamua, meaning 'scout' or 'first distant messenger.' Since its discovery, 'Oumuamua has continued to baffle scientists, displaying unusual acceleration and other capabilities that leave its identity and origins in question.

This week on The Micah Hanks Program, after news and analysis of a recent string of UFO sightings around the Great Lakes (along with some pretty lazy reporting in that regard), we take a look back at the strange "Dancing Plague of 1518," and what modern science has to say about it. Finally, the heart of our discussion deals with the search for interstellar objects in our solar system, and whether evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence might be found in this way.

Some have even proposed that 'Oumuamua might be an interstellar probe sent into space by some intelligent alien civilization, notably Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who drew some criticism for his proposal. We look at the scientific search for alien life, and the history of astronomers who spotted UFOs over the last several centuries in our exploration this week on 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.

04.06.20. Black Triangles Over Belgium Apr 07, 2020

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On the night of March 30, 1990, a Belgian gendarmerie placed a call to the Control Reporting Station at Glons to report a sighting of an unidentified flying object. The craft had three lights that could be seen changing colors from red to yellow to green, and within the hour a pair of F-16s had been dispatched to attempt to intercept the object, in what would become one of the most widely-discussed black triangle UFO incidents of all time.

This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we lead off with news about a stellar alignment that has recently had some stargazers wondering about the planet Venus, as well as how the current pandemic is preventing some astronomers from keeping tabs on the most perplexing object to pass through our planetary neighborhood since the enigmatic 'Oumuamua. Also, why is the coronavirus being blamed for UFO sightings around the world, especially in Belgium?

The end of March saw the 30th anniversary of one of the highest-profile UFO incidents of the last century, which occurred during a wave of similar black triangle UFO sightings over parts of Belgium. The intercept attempt that unfolded was just one of many such incidents involving large, often triangular-shaped objects that were observed by reputable members of law enforcement and government over Belgium. To this day, the origin of the unusual black triangle UFO craft remains in question, which leaves the events that occurred in Belgium's airspace among the most unusual—and convincing—in the larger inventory of modern UFO sighting reports. We look back on this unusual series of events and their lasting implications for UFO research, all on this week's edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

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03.30.20: Strange Survivors and Credible Cryptids Mar 31, 2020

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This week on The Micah Hanks Program, as we celebrate National Doctor's Day, we send a special thank you to doctors everywhere for their work in the midst of the current pandemic, along with hearing what advice a certain time-traveling Doctor had to pass along in light of current events. We then shift our attention to the news, and a quick check-in from Ryan Sprague of the Somewhere in the Skies podcast, who updates us on the current situation in New York.

Then we are joined for the rest of the program by Oné R. Pagan Ph.D., a biologist at West Chester University, Pennsylvania and author of books that include Strange Survivors: How Organisms Attack and Defend in the Game of Life, which looks at the unusual ways that organisms adapt to their environments in order to survive. In addition to survival mechanisms, we also get into the discussion of living fossils like the coelacanth, as well as animals like the Tasmanian tiger which many believe could still exist. We also look at what Pagan calls "credible cryptids" such as the Orang Pendek, a variety of small, hairy hominin alleged to exist in the remote jungles of Sumatra, all on this week's edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

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03.23.20. Outbreak: The Disease Detectives Mar 24, 2020

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On this edition of The Micah Hanks Program, after news and listener emails pertaining to strange things in our skies, we have an odd question about pandemics in mind: how are outbreaks like UFO flaps, and why do some similarities exist between the two?

To look at these questions, and how science applies to both scenarios, we are joined by retired epidemiologist Thomas Glass, Ph.D., an expert on outbreaks whose Ph.D. in medical sociology was obtained at Duke University. Over the last three decades, Glass has held faculty positions in epidemiology at Yale, Harvard and Johns Hopkins. Dr. Glass joins us both to share his interest in the building current interest in the UFO topic, as well as to lend his expertise with regard to the current coronavirus pandemic situation. With so much news building on public concerns about the coronavirus, Dr. Glass brings an informed message of hope--not hype--that presents both an engaging and interesting discussion of the current global pandemic situation.

When an outbreak occurs, how do viruses spread, and what kinds of factors do epidemiologists watch for as the situation unfolds? And why are there similarities between how an epidemiologist investigates and outbreak, and how UFO researchers investigate some sightings reports? We look at all of these questions, and more on this week's edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

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03.16.20. Bodies of Evidence: Death of the Sasquatch Mar 18, 2020

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For centuries, there have been stories about large, manlike animals in the Pacific Northwest and other remote parts of America. The creature known as Sasquatch or Bigfoot has long been searched for, but meager physical evidence has left its existence in question. Hence, many skeptics and advocates alike have proposed that only one thing will ever settle the debate: a body.

After catching up on news, we feature an update on the coronavirus this week, looking at its origins, and what scientists know about it as concerns about the virus spread. Then after getting caught up on listener emails, we turn our attention to the controversial question of killing Sasquatch. Many would dismiss the idea entirely based on the presumption that the creature is only a myth, but concerns over would-be Sasquatch hunters have resulted in legislation being passed in places like Skamania County, Washington, as a public safety measure. Even those who don't believe in Sasquatch can see how laws "protecting" the creature may be a good idea... but in the unlikely event that a body was ever discovered, what would that mean for science, and how would state and local government respond?

Even more unusual is the question over whether bodies of unidentified, manlike creatures actually have been recovered in the past, and lost. Claims of Sasquatch killings have been made for years, and yet no physical remains have been recovered. Is it time to close the book on hopes for the creature's existence, or is the merit to the idea of continuing the search... and even killing one, if it's necessary to prove they're out there? We weigh all of these questions on this week's edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

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03.09.20. Operation Saucer: Incident at Colares Mar 11, 2020

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In 1977, panic had struck the northern coast of Brazil. Many residents on the island of Colares and nearby locales like Belém were reporting nighttime observations of strange lights in the sky, which often cast bright beams of light toward individuals that left burns, unusual markings, and other physical effects.

The reports became so concerning that local officials requested aid from the Brazilian Air Force, who spent four months between 1977 and 1978 investigating the unidentified flying objects appearing over the island. The program, dubbed Operação Prato or "Operation Saucer", resulted in four pieces of film footage depicting one of the objects, along with hundreds of photographs representing unusual illuminations and aerial objects in the skies above Northern Brazil. The files were later released by the Brazilian National Archives, and comprise what some feel to be one of the most comprehensive government UFO studies in all history.

We examine this unusual period in Brazilian history, the "attacks" by UFOs that were allegedly occurring at that time, and what the government response to the affair had been on this week's edition of The Micah Hanks Program.

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03.02.20. Ghosts in the Sky: Mystery Aircraft of Area 51 Mar 03, 2020

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This week, biologists are excited about what might be a unique protein found inside an ancient meteorite, which could have tremendous implications not just for alien life, but also raises questions about the origins of life here on Earth. Astronomers have also located what is believed to be evidence for the biggest explosion ever found in the cosmos, and an unusual, anaerobic life form that lives in the living tissue of another aquatic creature.

We then turn our attention toward the topic of mystery aircraft and secretive black budget programs that the U.S. military has allegedly been involved with for decades. The history of spy planes and secret aircraft since the end of WWII begins at Area 51, the secret test facility at Groom Lake, Nevada, which has attained near-mythical status over the years for the rumors about UFO-like aircraft developed there. However, among the known kinds of aircraft that were built and flown out of the facility were the U-2 spy plane and its successor, the SR-71 Blackbird.

Since the SR-71 was decommissioned in 1990, many aerospace experts and UFO buffs alike have wondered what other kinds of top-secret, experimental aircraft might have been developed there over the years. Further questions surround reports of eerie, massive flying wings and "black triangles" seen in the skies over parts of the American southwestern deserts and various other locales. The Pentagon has maintained that no such aircraft exist... but if so, how can we account for the hundreds of sighting reports, which have led to investigations by organizations ranging from the Federation of American Scientists, to Robert Bigelow's National Institute for Discovery Science? Our deep-dive this week takes us beyond "Deep Black" as we go in search of answers behind the enduring mystery aircraft of Area 51.

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02.24.20. The Hynek Report: UFOs, Radar & Close Encounters Feb 26, 2020

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This week, we lead off with news about artificial intelligence, and the passing of an influential NASA mathematician, Katherine Johnson, before turning our attention to Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force study of UFOs, and its scientific consultant J. Allen Hynek.

During the early years of the Air Force's UFO investigations, Hynek, a professor of astronomy at Ohio State University, was tasked with lending his scientific knowledge as the astronomical consultant to programs like Project Blue Book.

As noted at the website of the Center for UFO Studies (which Hynek founded in 1973), "At first, Dr. Hynek was skeptical of the whole UFO business, but after examining hundreds of UFO reports by credible witnesses, he became convinced UFOs were worthy of serious study." Even for years after the close of Project Blue Book, Hynek would continue to pursue answers to the UFO mystery, instituting a system of classification comprising Nocturnal Lights, Daylight Discs, Radar Cases, and three different levels of "Close Encounter," the most rare and controversial of all the UFO sighting types. We explore all of these, as well as what Hynek had to say about Project Blue Book and his participation with it, on this edition of the podcast.

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02.17.20. The Real X-Files: Inside the Government's UFO Program Feb 18, 2020

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On this special edition of The Micah Hanks Program, after opening news pertaining to astronomy and the search by scientists for extraterrestrial life, we are joined by freelance investigative reporter Lt. Tim McMillan, who recently published an article in Popular Mechanics which gives us the most complete perspective to-date of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a mysterious Pentagon program that studied unexplained aerial phenomenon. McMillan gives us new details about the program's former director, Luis Elizondo, and his involvement with the Pentagon effort to study UAP, as well as the role of Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), which had been subcontracted for the study. More importantly, McMillan explains why much of what the program entailed has been kept off-the-books and had been intended to remain that way.

Then in hour two, we are joined by a pioneer in the field of UFO research, Bruce Maccabee Ph.D., a physicist and researcher whose investigations into UFOs began in the 1960s. Over the ensuing decades, he worked not only to apply science to UFO investigations, but also in appealing to the government for information it has on the topic of unidentified flying objects. This led to Maccabee's acquisition of FBI files, popularly known as the Bureau's "Flying Saucer File", which Maccabee calls "The Real X-Files."

The name is more than just a play on the popular 1990s television program The X-Files, however. As Maccabee notes, several of the files in the trove of documents he obtained from the FBI decades ago contained the label "Security Matter-X", which Maccabee notes had indicated there was information contained therein which might be deemed "unreliable"... in this case, pertaining to UFOs. We discuss Maccabee's history of research into the phenomenon, and what they mean more broadly for UFO studies, and the U.S. government's involvement in them over the decades.

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02.10.20. Strange Times at Skinwalker Ranch Feb 12, 2020

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This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we launch into this week's news with a look at the European Space Agency's ambitions to study our Sun. Meanwhile, something odd is sending messages to Earth... are we getting any closer to solving the mystery of fast radio bursts?

Then later in the program, there is perhaps no place in paranormal lore that has attracted more attention than Skinwalker Ranch, a property in Utah that is renowned for being a "hotspot" for UFO and other unexplained activity. Joining us to discuss the ranch and its odd history is journalist MJ Banias, an author whose work regularly appears in Popular Mechanics and VICE, and whose latest feature piece for the latter publication chronicles his trip to the fabled Utah ranch location. Banias is the author of The UFO People: A Curious Culture, and was a contributor to the anthology UFOs: Reframing the Debate. MJ's work has also been featured in Fortean Times, Mysterious Universe, and FATE Magazine.

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