Somewhere in the Skies - Ask Me Anything! : Volume One

Episode Date: November 12, 2018

On episode 82 of SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES, Ryan answers your questions. From the weird and unusual, to UFOs, to the most personal of questions... it's all here and all uncensored! This episode serves as a doorway into the heart and mind of the host. It's a loose interview by YOU, the listeners. What does Ryan make of UFO conferences? Does he have psychic abilities? Was he the once famous and eccentric Howard Hughes in a past life? But most importantly... does he wear boxers or briefs? It's all here in the first of many upcoming volumes of Ask Me Anything! Oh... and a very special guest drops in to answer some listener questions as well!  Patreon: www.patreon.com/somewhereskies Website: www.somewhereintheskies.com Official Store: CLICK HERE Order Ryan's Book by CLICKING HERE Twitter: @SomewhereSkies Instagram: @SomewhereSkiesPod Opening and Closing Theme Song, "Ephemeral Reign" by Per Kiilstofte SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES is produced by Third Kind Productions, in association with eOne Entertainment SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES is sponsored by HelloFresh. To receive 50% off your first order, use promo code: SOMEWHERE50 at checkout by visiting www.HelloFresh.ca Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey y'all, Ryan Spreck here. As you all know, the Somewhere in the Skies podcast is always free to consume. But it isn't free to create. That's why I've started the Somewhere in the Sky's Patreon campaign. On a monthly basis, you give what you think the show is worth. You'll be helping the show continue, grow, and to be something truly communal. And remember, there are rewards for each level of contribution, and the list is only growing. So please, help Somewhere in the Skies now by becoming a page.

To contribute and to learn more, visit www.patriot.com backslash SomewhereSkies. Thank you for your support. And now, on with the show. Welcome to a very special edition of Somewhere in the Skies. I'm your host, Ryan Sprague. So this episode is releasing as I'm heading back from Alien Khan, Baltimore. Rest assured, you are in for some amazing content coming your way in next week's episode. But for today, I decided to let loose a little bit. and let you ask me anything. That's right. This is an AMA, as the Reddit kids call it.

I put it out there and you responded with some really interesting questions to ponder. Some very serious, some very mind-bending, and some personal and even funny. So, without further ado, here is the first installment of the Somewhere in the Skies, Ask Me Anything. This is Somewhere in the Skies with Ryan's Berg. All right, let's get these questions and answers going. This is a grab bag, a little bit of everything. We're starting with a question from Kane. Kane asks, do you have any type of psychic abilities?

Well, I've had several, I guess you could say, pre-cognitive moments, Kane, but I believe them to be, you know, just coincidence, nothing really more than that. But according to my friend and colleague John Tenney, coincidence is the paranormal in both its simplest and most complicated forms, so I guess I'll take that for what it's worth. I guess I'm kind of psychic or paranormal. Either way, yeah, that's all I got for that one. James asks, have you ever studied or experimented with consciousness and mindfulness? And have you ever had any interesting experiences with out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, remote viewing, and so on? Well, James, I have not.

I've had very strong sensations of deja vu, however, in which I felt more aware of my existence than ever before, but I don't quite know what to make of it. I've never actually meditated or anything, but during several acupuncture appointments, which I swear by, by the way, I've fallen so deeply into a relaxed state that I completely lost track of time, body, my surroundings. It was incredible. I think I'd like to try remote viewing someday. So if you know someone who can properly and responsibly train me, I am definitely down for that. Maybe I can even make it a Facebook Live event. Who knows?

Cody asks, Do you believe there's enough anecdotal and circumstantial evidence to support past lives and reincarnation? Um, well, after reading Leslie Keen's book surviving death, I am convinced more than ever that our energy is in a constant cycle when the body ceases to, you know, just be. The evidence and the amount of cases were staggering to me. I highly suggest people give this book a read and tell me that you don't at least question if past lives exist.

In fact, I've attempted to tap into my past lives several times to no avail. But I'm going to keep trying, and hopefully I can report back that I was indeed Howard Hughes. That's my hope at least. Tommy asks, If you had to have an encounter with one of the following, what would you pick, and why? Black-eyed kids, shadow people, or poltergeists? I think I'd have to go with poltergeist on this one.

After speaking with the original Black-Eyed kids' encounter witness, Brian Bethel, his story freaked me the hell out, worse than any horror movie or scariest story ever has. that is in the archives for anyone that wants to give that a listen. I'm sure it'll impact you the way it did with me. If Brian's encounter is real and genuine, there is not a chance in hell. I want to be anywhere near one of those soulless little punks. Shadow people seem to be omnipresent during severe hauntings and sleep paralysis experiences,

which, again, scare the shit out of me. So no, on the shadow people. No, just no. As for Poltergeist, while some stories of them are pretty messed up and promote evil energy, I think I could make friends with the Poltergeist if I really gave it my all. And it would be fun to play around with it. But I'm sure the game would turn bad eventually, and I'd have to call in a parapsychologist and exorcist to take care of it for me.

But hey, they need work too, you know. Maureen asks, if you could be one cryptid, what would it be, and why? Mothman, no doubt in my mind. It's always been my favorite, and if John Keel is at all right, I would love to be a harbinger and warn people of things to come. Also, who doesn't want to have the power of flight? It might be a tough life since everyone would probably be scared of you, but once they got to know me and look past my red eyes, wingspan,

and prophetic abilities, I think they'd come to embrace me. Maybe. I don't know. But yeah, Mothman, definitely. All right, let's move on to UFOs. James asks, have you ever looked into the strange case of David Hamill? I actually have, and it's really interesting, James. So David Hamill was sitting down watching the Waltons on TV in 1975,

and the TV starts going snowy, and then this craft, it appears, in his yard. And apparently he was abducted by aliens from the planet Click. who told him to build a spacecraft that would help the world. You know, this energy used would replace fossil fuels and ensure the future survival of our planet. David claimed that the technology and instructions to build the craft were implanted into his brain. Pretty cool.

An instant download of sorts. What's most interesting is that the drawings he made are extremely detailed and littered with very savvy tech. in science-driven language, something I would never be able to do. My favorite part, though, is when people would ask David how the craft would propel, and he would get so frustrated with explaining it that he would eventually just answer by saying, fucking energy. Do you understand now, or are you just too stupid?

I love it. He was clearly too busy for trivial questions like that. Unfortunately, David died before the craft could be compromised. But if you get a chance, Google David Hamill UFO and check out the images of this craft. It's a very interesting case and may be perfect for an upcoming Patreon bonus episode. I'll keep you posted on that. Daniel asks, what do you think about these so-called UFO experts profiting from the UFO community? Recently, they had a UFO convention in my area in Southern California.

They were charging a ridiculous amount for entrance fees. I called them out on it on Instagram and they blocked me. I told them they were ruining the UFO community and making it into a business. I believe they come up with false information just to stay credible. What is your take on this, Ryan? Well, Daniel, I know exactly which conference or convention you're talking about. And, yeah, I know the experts you're speaking about as well. Here's my stance on UFO conferences.

They all are in it to me. make money. There's no doubt about that. All of them. I don't care if it's the secret space program conference, the UFO Congress, AlienCon, or anything in between. For mostly every location where a conference takes place, there are unforeseen costs and foreseen costs even that add up really quick. I can't even imagine. Speakers have to be flown in, housed, paid for their time, and the electricity needs to be purchased along with the venue, taxes, parking, the list goes on and on and on and on. I have absolutely no problem with conferences making their money back and maybe even profiting. I also have no problem with UFO researchers making money as well.

If we can make money doing what we love, then it gives us more time and freedom from mundane jobs just to pay the bills. I don't want to be making lattes for rich people. Not what I want to do with my life. So if we can focus on our research and dig deeper than ever before, that is what I think is cool and important. But with money comes expectations as well. In this particular conference you're speaking of, Daniel, enlisted the likes of very, very questionable speakers with absolutely no documentation of the claims they make.

They are sensationalists who need to up the ante each time to stay relevant. And that is the problem with the UFO. field in general. Most of it is just stories, and we rely on those stories sometimes as evidence. It's a very flexible field of study that we can only hope gets a more rigorous

litmus test at some point. Here's to the future of UFO conferences, and that those who lie and make up stories eventually get what's coming to them. Bill asks, now that everyone has high-quality cameras on their phone, has the number of

UFO reports with photograph evidence increased or stayed flat? And if it has stayed flat, why do you think that is? So after my interview I conducted with Cheryl Costa, she told me that UFO settings have decreased significantly, which I can understand. While we now have the technology right in our pockets to snap photos and video, these machines also distract us. Watch any person on the street or even in their car, and they're glued to that screen rather than what's right in front of them in the flesh. Car accidents occur on a daily basis because of our phones.

People fall off curbs. They walk straight into buildings or one another. Or they wouldn't even notice if the apocalypse was occurring all around them. And I can't ignore the fact that I fall victim to this as well. Constantly, whatever is on that phone needs to be addressed immediately. And everything depends on me sending that one text or posting that photo. of my coffee I had in Portland. The world must know now.

Anyway, we aren't looking up in the skies. That's what it comes down to. We aren't spending hours in the middle of nowhere looking into the vastness of space and marveling at the stars, the planets, or perhaps even the unknowns out there. We also live in a drone age. This needs to be addressed.

While phones might be dumbing people down, we're also smarter in many of them. ways as well. And with a younger generation knowing that drones are up there, they aren't reporting them as UFOs. They aren't reporting them at all. Technology has both helped and hindered our reporting of UFOs. There's no doubt. But I think it's helped as well. We have the technology to monitor the skies and the ground now more than ever. Look at the work being done by Mark D'Antonio, you know, monitoring UFO activity and sending rapid response remote humvies out to record data, or you look at what Chris O'Brien is doing in the San Luis Valley, constant streaming

with the most advanced camera equipment of a truly anomalous area. Hopefully, he can capture some really interesting stuff out there. I understand the pros and cons of those little computers in our pockets, and the best I can do is advocate safety when using them in dangerous situations, but also, if UFO event is occurring, if you feel compelled to To capture it, do it. Otherwise, I honestly feel that a UFO event is happening for you in that moment. And however you react or respond is deeply personal. You, do you.

The rest of us will follow. Tamara asks, scientists think Omuamua is a piece of ancient technology, such as a solar cell or debris. What do you think Omuamua is? I've actually been reading up a lot on this lately tomorrow, so thanks for bringing this up. The name of the object, you know, from Hawaiian, means scout or messenger of the past. It was discovered by the Pan Stars 1 telescope in Hawaii in 2017, so it's very fitting that they gave it a name. Since then, many scientists and astronomers, even astrophysicists, have been theorizing on its origin, its makeup, its possible controllers even.

A couple things I want to point out about the object first. It travels at tremendous speeds, unlike most objects in our solar system, which means it probably ain't from around here. So if it is in fact interstellar, it's probably old as hell. At first, I didn't think it was real. I woke up to this blinding light, and I was transported to another place. Pluto TV! Then I heard a voice.

Come with me if you want to live. There were thousands of movies and shows, and they were all free. The truth is our city. It's just so beautiful. On Pluto TV, free streaming of Terminator 2, Fringe Arrow, the 100 N-EX files may cause excitement, loss of sleep, and sudden belief in extraterrestrials. No credit cards or alien encounters necessary. Pluto TV, stream now, pay never. Also, it's huge.

The fact that we could even pick it up on the telescope as a light form, at the distance it truly is, shows how amazing our telescopes actually are. But whatever it is, it's massive. It's also 10 times as long as it is wide, which is very unnatural for space debris. Still don't know what to make that. So here's where things get interesting. A few days ago, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics published a paper in which they posed

that Omuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to the Earth vicinity by an alien civilization. Yeah, Harvard. They proposed this because of the object's excessive acceleration and unexpected boost in speed as it traveled through and ultimately out of our solar system in January of 2018. And like you mentioned tomorrow, it could be a light sail floating in interstellar space as a debris from an advanced technological form of equipment. It could be propelled by solar radiation.

They even say that perhaps the actual equipment is dead. and its speed and trajectory are at the discretion of the solar radiation, now propelling it once again out of our solar system. This is all very fascinating, and the fact that the telescope just happened to originally capture this object is serendipitous at best. While we may never know what it was, if it meant to be here, or what it represents in terms of more interstellar objects coming at us full force, It's exciting to know that it is perhaps the first object from outside our solar system to come here, and that scientists are entertaining the possibility that it is or was intelligently controlled by another civilization. Personally, I don't know what it was, but it piqued my interest and makes me want to continue looking up in the skies. So, oh, Muamua, success in my eyes.

Thanks for stopping by. asks, undoubtedly there are lots of hoaxes and conspiracy theories within this field. Is there anything you've initially dismissed as ridiculous, but have a nagging feeling that there might be some truth to this? All right. Honesty time. The most contentious aspect of the whole UFO phenomenon, its subtopics, all of that, for me is and always has been alien abduction. I was on the fence about even covering it in my book. But I met so many genuine, credible, and completely stable individuals who claimed to have had some sort of unexplainable experience relating to a non-human intelligence. This truly came to life for me when I started meeting these people face to face.

I met a woman in a diner with her husband, and she recalled her abduction experience. She was crying and gripping her husband's hand and recalled the event in such great, detail like she was living it right there. Whatever happened to her, it was real. To her, she was convinced this happened. No hypnotherapy, no contamination by an outside source to influence her, no knowledge of alien abduction prior to this event. And her husband firmly believed and supported her. No matter what actually happened to her, I was the first she told the story to, other than her husband. It was a moment I'll never forget when she was. she entrusted me with her story. And this would happen several other times when I met with those

who claimed similar experiences. This didn't seem to be fantasy or concocted stories to gain attention. It took a lot for them to come forward, and they had a lot to lose in doing so. I'm so appreciative of that, and I respect them for having the courage to do it. And while it's a very fine line of enabling people who clearly are covering up past trauma, are indeed making they stories up or just are trying to fill some sort of void in their lives. I met far too many people who don't fall into that category. Their stories are terrifying, beautiful, muddy, and detailed. But in the end, I'm keeping an open mind and heart. There is a truth to it all. What that truth may be, I both anticipate and fear that answer. But I'm going to keep looking. David asks, if the overlords

of the UFO abducted you and gave you, you knowledge of the key to unlimited energy, if you knew that this knowledge would destroy the world you know, would you keep it secret, release parts of it, or release all of it, and damn the consequences? Wow, that is very philosophical of you, David, thank you. If I was given that power, I would probably keep it to myself until I had a strategy to release parts of it in digestible ways to the world. I do not want the fate of humanity resting on my shoulders, I could tell you that much. I'm way too over-caffeinated and distracted to hold that kind of power. I think I would rather get a group together of people I trusted in every facet of science, health,

academics, art, religion, everything in between, and separate the knowledge to them, you know, figure out how we could bring it to the world at large. I think the overlords would appreciate that strategy and would see how it all plays out. Please don't give me the responsibility. Pete asks, we all know space pancakes taste like greasy cardboard, but what do you think space steak would taste like? Hmm, never really thought about that. I'm guessing space steak would probably taste like a frozen Salisbury steak from 1963, microwaved,

and still a little cold in the middle. Throw some alien gravy on there and some brusso sprouts from Venus, and you've got yourself an intergalactic TV dinner Pete. Eat up, brother. Scott asks, have you ever personally seen a UFO? What was that experience like? All right, so I've told this story a couple times, but it never hurts if there's new listeners out there.

So the short answer is, yes, I have seen a UFO. The more detailed version is this. If you've heard this before, fast forward. But here we go. It was 1995, and I was 12 years. old, and I was on a weekend getaway with my parents to the St. Lawrence River, which runs all through

upstate New York and separates the New York border from Canada. I was fishing off a dock one night, listening to Green Day on my headphones, but near sort of in the time period here, and I noticed three white lights reflecting in the water. At first I thought they were actually in the water,

but then, you know, common sense struck, and I deduced that they were a reflection, so I look up, and there's this massive triangular formation above me. It's the three white lights and this fuzzy orange, red sphere in the center of the formation. I couldn't see any type of structure, but I also couldn't see the stars behind it. So I'm guessing they were all connected somehow.

So I ripped my headphones off, my disc men goes flying down the dock, and I'm expecting to hear this thing above me, but there was nothing. All I could hear was the water hitting the dock, and I could feel this sort of low vibration running behind my ears, stunned my neck into my chest, and I was just frozen. Couldn't move. Finally, I'm able to yell for my dad to come out, and he sees this thing slowly disappear off into the distance. He told me it was just a plane, tried to calm me down. He saw the tail end of it, so to him it was a plane, to me, I knew much, much differently from what I had just experienced moments before that. But yeah, anyway, I slept at the foot of my parents' bed that night at the motel,

and the next morning, we asked the front desk attendant if anyone had ever reported anything strange, you know, especially that night. And he said no, but the people do see weird things in that area over the water all the time. That did not help me at all, and I became terrified and obsessed after that. I'd have nightmares about that silent, triangular formation for many years after. started going to the library, taking out book after book on UFOs. I would write essays to myself about UFOs. I would interview people in my hometown of Syracuse, New York, about local sightings, and it all just sort of snowballed from there. I still don't know what it was I saw. Probably never will. But it led me on the path I am on today and to this very podcast episode you're listening to right now.

So thank you St. Lawrence River. Thank you, Green Day. thank you to the motel owner for making things worse for my 12-year-old fears that night. The rest, as they say, it's history. Ged asks, having seen some compelling videos where people have discovered previously unseen aerial objects with infrared camera equipment, why hasn't this type of camera equipment been used more widely by researchers and investigators? If we are to believe they technologically may be using some sort of cloaking device? It's a really good question, Ged. If we are to believe that UFOs may control visible light reflections and refractions as some sort of cloaking defense.

I think our best chance of finding, seeing, and tracking them would be some sort of thermal or infrared technology, which translates the heat signatures into energy we can, you know, see. Again, I'm not that tech savvy. I don't know how all the science behind this works, but probably one of the best examples is when I took part in night skywatches with former FBI investigator, Ben Hansen. Ben works with a company called Night Vision Ops with some of the most state-of-the-art equipment to monitor our skies. And I can tell you this. I have seen some incredible activity out there that could be both explained and some that were truly anomalous. But both were equally as exciting. If we could somehow get this equipment out to the masses, I think we'd have a huge spike in UFO

reports. But alas, I still think a lot of this technology is, out of the reach financially for the pedestrian researcher or skywatcher. What I would suggest is that people do their own research into the technology, the company's providing it, and then fundraise to purchase it. Sometimes dicks a village, guys, and gals. Scott also asks, what do you believe should be the goal of a UFO podcast? Are you a documentarian, propagandist, or entertainer on the subject? Ooh, scathing an indictment.

I'd like to think of myself as every layer of stories. So I think I'm some weird hybrid between an audio documentarian and an entertainer. There's no shame in admitting that the UFO topic is extremely entertaining. And I think we should embrace that. But I also try to remain serious most times because these events are literally life and death for some people. It's not easy to tread that line of when to be serious and when to laugh at the fact. that aliens landed and gave some dude pancakes in exchange for water. That's pure comedy gold right there. But it could have happened. I wasn't there. I think that's sort of what it boils down to,

for me, all of this, actually. I can be a messenger or outlet to get these stories out there. I can give educated opinions. I can interview witnesses, researchers, investigators, and just curious people. But I think my main goal is to remain objective and open mind. Prove to me it's not real. And I'll accept that. Just because I have a UFO podcast doesn't mean I'm a true believer. In fact, I have become more skeptical the more I do this. And I think that's good. Because at the core of it all, I still believe there is a shred of possibility we have been visited, continue to be visited, and possibly will be again in the future. And if my podcast can contribute at all to keeping the conversation going, the curious mind staying active,

and the signal being separated from the noise, I feel as though I've done a service to the UFO community and beyond. The podcast has led to resources of information I never would have had without its reach and its continued growth, and I'm truly thankful and feel very fortunate for that. But I've earned it. I can say that. I've spent so many years dedicating my time and life to this topic. and the podcast is sort of my coming out party, as it were.

I'm loud and proud when it comes to UFOs, and I always will be. Never let people tell you that what you do isn't important. If you love it, pursue it, contribute to it, and know that you're not alone. Start your own podcast, blog, website, documentary, write a book, a movie, a play, do a presentation at your school or university. Keep the world going in perpetual growth and learning. and maybe we'll get those answers we seek someday. Okay, off my little inspirational pedestal there. Scott's last question is,

which case are documented citing do you believe to be the most credible in why? This one is actually pretty easy for me. The Tehran case of 1976 remains my favorite case, and it provides multiple witness testimony, radar returns, visual reports, and documentation. and I actually got off my lazy ass and made an FOIA request on documentation for this case, because I was told that the U.S. military had been involved with this one. And they did, in fact, get back to me with a pretty standard list of what happened.

But it's pretty cool nonetheless. So, the Iranian Air Force had gotten reports of a huge luminous object over the city, so they sent up fighter jets to investigate. The jets lost all instrument and equipment functions, the closer they got to this thing and the pilot turned around and headed back. So the general on the base, Pervious Jafari, took matters into his own hands. He went up there himself, and the closer he got, the clearer the object was. He stated that it was multicolored, it was diamond-shaped, and was absolutely massive.

As Jafari moved in, another object descended from the larger object and started to head towards him. Suddenly his weaponry and instruments started to malfunction, and that, That's when defense mode kicked in. It started to tell Jafari and he was getting scared, you know, of whatever this thing was, it was going to get a lock on him. So he makes a negative G nose dive outmaneuvers this thing and starts to follow it before it disappears. The large object also disappears and a loud explosion could be heard. So Jafari and other members of the Air Force, they investigate this area where the explosion was heard,

but they couldn't find anything. Locals heard it, but nothing was ever seen. Apparently, the DIA, NSA, and CIA all got involved because our jets were being leased to the Iranian Air Force at the time, and they wanted to know what the hell this thing was doing. Jafari would go on to speak about the entire event at the National Press Club in 2007, and was very outspoken all the way up to his death recently.

It's just an incredible case. No other way to put it. I have an article about it on the Somewhere in the Skies website. If you want to get a closer and more detailed examination of it, check that out at somewhere in the skies.com. Marco asks if you had unlimited resources, what would you change in the field of uphology? I would start by putting unlimited funding behind NASA

and the Environmental Protection Agency. While you begin to explore the furthest reaches of space, we must also be highly, highly, concerned with the damage we are causing back here on Earth. Could we find another habitable planet to eventually thrive on? Possibly. Is that a reason to destroy the planet we're on, knowing there's somewhere waiting in the wings?

No. The Earth is a living, breathing thing with the most amazing abundance of diverse life we can possibly imagine. We need to explore that more than we need to start looking for aliens out there. The out there is right here. begging to be discovered. I don't want to buy the answer to the question, are we alone? I want to use those unlimited resources to save our planet, explore new ones,

and create a harmony we can all prosper from. There are far too many things out there way more important than euphology. Yes, I said it. So, let's help one another, help our planet, and then we can start going back to the moon and Mars and Planet X, Or, have we already been to Mars and Planet X? Just ask Corey good. Sorry, Corey.

Actually, no, I'm not sorry. Moving on. Kevin asks, have you come to terms with the possibility that once we have some sort of solid disclosure, the field will be ripped from the hands of researchers we have respected and thrust into the hands of undeserving mainstream media folks? I expect those that have worked so hard will be kicked to the curb. Well, that is depressing, but I do believe that as well. I actually wrote a play a while back about a UFO researcher who was hired by the White House to tell them all he knew about UFOs, and that he would be the poster boy for disclosure, along with the president.

It was a fantasy that a lot of UFO researchers fall victim to. Our life's work played out on the world stage for the grand reveal and arrival of an extraterrestrial president. The play was a comedy, as I think it should be. I don't believe that UFO researchers will be the ones to educate the government. They may ask us to contribute information and point them in certain directions, but at the end of the day, I believe that, like most things in the United States at least, the military and politicians will use this event and this topic to serve their own needs. But I also believe that knowledge truly is power, and all of the people.

All we can do is fight the perceived ignorance of the public with what we have discovered and what we know to be fact. I really like the term that investigative filmmaker Jeremy Corbell often uses. Weaponize your curiosity. I firmly believe this. And I think it's the only weapon we have that can empower us. Andrew asks, based on your experience, what work of fiction, if any, do you believe comes closest to representing alien life and technology? I would have to say that a rival is the best representation of what alien life could be. Let me stress that this work of fiction is a hypothetical in terms of what I personally believe would happen,

if aliens landed and we attempted communication. The movie showed how difficult it would actually be to make any sense of this civilization. Having absolutely no experience with their genetic makeup, their ways of communicating, their experience with mathematics, time, space, everything in between. It would be so foreign to us that it would not resemble anything remotely human. The film was a huge test in philosophy, science, religion, communication, knowledge, time, space, and so, so much more. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. I would have to put it at the top of my list of alien-themed films, and probably in my top three films in general. It gave me hope for the future of humanity and our place in the stars.

Chris asks, for a non-believer, how do you differentiate a religious belief from a belief in alien existence? I honestly don't have an answer for this one, Chris. I think it really depends on the individual. I remember when I was very young and just starting to research UFOs, I went into confession at my Catholic Church, and after I confessed my sins for the week, I asked the priest be. beyond the partition, if I could believe in aliens as a true Catholic. He told me, quote, you can believe what you want to believe. The church doesn't have a stance on alien life.

My personal thoughts are that if there is alien life somewhere else beyond our world, then it only strengthens the power of God and his creation of life. End quote. That really stuck with me. I found it very interesting. I could believe in God. I could believe in the scriptures. And I could also believe in the existence of other life that perhaps was, or wasn't made in God's image.

I think what's most important is that we have free will, most of us. So we should be extremely thankful for that. I personally believe in a higher power and in alien life. But I do think they stand on their own as well. I cast no judgment on either end of the spectrum. I think it's important to believe in something, whether it's God, aliens, destiny, free will, or any of them. Or none of them.

We get one crack at this life in this body and this mind. So do what you want. Believe what you want to believe. And let others do the same. Just be good to one another and the rest should fall into place. I hope that somewhat answers that, Chris. A different Chris asks, Do you think companies like To the Stars Academy would be entitled to use or sell the fruits of alien technology?

if they do find it. Hmm, that's a quandary. I think they deserve a large say in what the technology is used for. I'll put it that way. And we can only hope that if they did somehow discover and reverse engineer that technology, that there would be some sort of board of ethics to decide what to do with it. My biggest concern, honestly, Chris, is that the military wouldn't let this happen. They would somehow find a way to get involved,

and confiscate the technology and science and militarize it. If the ambitions of TTSA's mission ever come to fruition, we can only hope that it remains altruistic. I certainly have my doubts, but I'm also eager to see what happens along the way. I'm personally going to continue to cover their progress, their blunders, and their discoveries as time goes on, but from a distance. And if they do come across that alien technology, I'd love to somehow use it on my upstairs neighbors who have been stomping at 3 a.m. for the past three days. Just saying.

MJ asks, E.T.H. or interdimensional or spiritual, mystical? All of the above, MJ, I know that's an easy answer, but honestly, they all fit into the ever-expanding puzzle somehow. And I think that's the beauty of it all. I'll be exploring this in my upcoming book. So stay tuned for that. Shameless plug. Patrick asks, how do you get started as a UFO investigator? Well, I started by reading every UFO book I could get my hands on.

I then reached out to several of the authors and asked for guidance. The most notable of these would have to be Peter Robbins, my personal mentor. So, my suggestion, if you're interested in the U.S. UFO topic and you want to get involved, read the books, find some people to get into contact with, and just take it from there. People are a lot more open and willing to help you along the way. Trust me. If you want me to be that person, Patrick, let's do it, man. Contact me at the website at somewhere in the skies.com. And let's start a dialogue. All right, so we're going to sort of round things out here with some personal questions I got. The first is from Sam. He says,

I recently bought Kim Carlsberg's book Beyond My Wildest Dreams on eBay for 99 cents. I also recently bought a signed Bud Hopkins Intruder's Hardback for $4.99. What's been your best or most interesting bargain on the UFO alien subject? Well, I was recently at a flea market in my hometown with my father, and I happened to spot underneath a table of books tucked beyond many other decaying books a first edition, 1965 copy of Jacques Valet's Anatomy of a Phenomenon. The dude gave it to me for $1.50. I felt like I'd struck gold with that one.

The other one would have to be a first edition of They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers by Gray Barker. That was gifted to me by listener Scott. The condition of the book is pristine, and I am afraid to even breathe on this thing. I will treasure that one for many years to come. Another gift I received was an autographed copy of intruders, just like yourself, by Bud Hopkins. No matter my personal thoughts on alien abduction, it was an amazing story, and to have it signed and given to me by Bud's assistant and my personal mentor, Peter Robbins, was a gift I'll never forget.

I'm sure I have other rare ones that I'm not thinking about right now. Someday I will make a complete list of my UFO library and post it online. It's only growing and it's become expensive, yet highly rewarding. So we'll leave it at that. Rob asks what UFO event would make the best musical? Roswell, no doubt in my mind. The cast of characters, the 70-year timeline of events and exploits, the point of views, just so many possibilities and promise.

Speaking of which, Rob, if you've never seen the film waiting for Guffman, stop everything you're doing right now and go watch it. It's a Christopher guest mockumentary about a town putting on a musical about their town's history. In the town, they had a famous UFO crash, and they do an amazing musical number all about it. It is clearly inspired by the Roswell event, and they do it with such utter comedic brilliance and dedication. It's amazing. And just saying, there may be a UFO musical. in the works back in New York in the very near future?

Stay tuned. Jamie asks, where do you personally see your future in uphology going into the next year or so? Ah, man, I see my future within the UFO research community as pretty bright, actually. I know that it is a self-proclaimed field, it's the Wild West, it's highly subjective at times and objective at others,

and it's wrought with disinformation, con men, con women, staunch believers and skeptics alike, and to top it off, it is still the butt of many jokes when it comes to true science. But I still love it. The wonder and awe I hear in people's voices when they recall UFO sighting, the inquisitive nature when I tell strangers what I do and what I've learned along the way, that alone keeps me going. So personally, I am working on a follow-up book to somewhere in the skies. It's going to be a real big stretch for my researcher skills and my own personal beliefs in a very big way. I am embedding myself into situations I normally wouldn't. I'm opening myself up to some pretty powerful stuff.

But that's a challenge I've wanted to take on and one I hope will yield some interesting results. Be on the lookout for that book sometime in 2019. I'm also working on a book project with my good friend and colleague, Jason, McClellan and several other writers and researchers. That will be compliments of Jason's company, Rogue Planet, again in 2019. I've also been doing some projects that I can't talk about just yet. But be sure to keep a lookout for me on your big and small screens in the near future. That's really all I can say.

Wish I could be more specific, but I'll have the MIBs coming after me if I talk about it. So yeah, just stay tuned to the Twitter page and Facebook group for info. as it trickles in. Oh, also, exciting news, I'm moving back to New York City. My time in Los Angeles was quick, but extremely rewarding and well-needed. It afforded me opportunities both in my professional and personal life. I never would have had if I didn't give it a try, but it's time to come home. So get ready, East Coast, I am coming back for you.

I'm very much looking forward to getting back into my passion of playwriting and seeing bold and new theater and embrace the theater community once again. Speaking of which, expect some UFO-related plays and films by me in the near future. It's happening. Chris asks, what is your favorite band? No one would expect that you like, and what are your favorite potato chips? Okay, so for bands, you have to know this about me. I am a product of the 90s, 90s rock, to be exact.

So all those, you know, one-hit wonders you remember from the 90s, they are my life's playlist, specifically that of the band Tonic. For some strange reason, I bought their first album Lemon Parade in 1996, and I was hooked. Emerson Hart, the lead singer, resonated with me, and his lyrics always got me wanting to follow his stories throughout every song. In fact, several of my plays I've written were directly inspired by Tonic songs. song Soldier's Daughter and know that I shamelessly crafted an entire play around a few lines from the chorus. I also became obsessed with the band called Amberland after I interviewed their lead singer for a website I was writing for at the time. I started attending all of their concerts and have never felt more at home than when they would play for small crowds of which I was a part of. I even

have a tattoo that includes one of their song titles. It says dismantle, repair. It says dismantle, repair, which I think is a great message to live by. When life gets you down or challenges you in its many ways, you dismantle the problem or challenge, and you repair it in whatever way you can, and you move on. As for potato chips, I am going to have to go with ruffles, cheddar, and sour cream. They are like crack for me. If you happen upon industrial-sized bags of them anywhere, let me know, and I will send you my personal shipping address. Tommy asks, what are some of your favorite albums? Most definitely have to go with cities by Amberlin,

Lemon Parade by Tonic, The Color and the Shape by Food Fighters, so much for the Afterglow by Everclear, take off your pants and jacket by Blink 182, Bleed American by Jimmy World, Nothing Gold Can Stay by Newfound Glory, and New Wave by Against Me. A little more old school,

I'd have to go with Legend by Bob Marley and anthology by Steve Miller. Jack and MJ both ask, briefs or boxers. Well, I am a boxer briefs kind of man. All about the hybrids. Thank you, gentlemen, for that deeply personal question. Mike asks, why are you so handsome? Hmm. All right, well, I guess it's hard to stay humble on answering this, but I will try.

Okay, proper hydration, going to sleep early, a healthy moisturizer, daily activity, including exercise and proper nutrition. And I guess I can thank my parents for their genetics. I honestly don't know what to say to this, Mike, because I break all of the suggestions I just made every day with junk food, insomnia, way too much coffee and whiskey and television. Just ask my girlfriend. Netflix and Hulu should be paying me for how much I pinch their content. Anyway, I'm flattered by the question, and I can tell you this.

I'm starting to feel my age, even though I still get ID'd when buying alcohol. For those who guess my age correctly on the Facebook group or on Twitter, you'll get a special prize. No cheating. Family and close friends are exempt from this contest. And our last question of the AMA, how does Jane feel about the topics you cover? Is she interested as well? Well, Kevin, I never like to put words in my significant other's mouth, so I thought, it would be cool to get her on to answer your questions. So, for the very first time ever, Jane, welcome to Somewhere in the Skies. It only took 82 episodes.

Hey, what's up you guys? Hi. So, Jane, how do you feel about the kind of work that I do? Well, when we first met, I think it was one of those things that really stood out to me about you. So obviously it was definitely a pull factor in getting to know you better. I've always been interested in cryptozoology. Uofology was never my thing really, but cryptozoology was always really big in my life. And so when you said Ufology, I had a little bit to draw on when you said that Ufology was what you did.

Right. And I was working on my book at the time. Right, yeah. And you even knew who my publisher was, is that correct? Oh, yeah. Richard Dolan, yeah, of course. I mean, I had read a lot about USOs and those sorts of objects like, how do you say, falls from the sky and things like that, that kind of skirt the whole cryptozoology, uophology thing. And of course, inevitably Richard Dolan's name comes up. So you said his name,

and I definitely have read something of his at some point, sometimes somewhere. Okay, so when we first met, you thought it was, I guess, kind of interesting that I was into it, but I don't know if you really knew how deep I was really involved with it. Was there ever a moment where you're like, okay, this is a little too far? You know, from our first meeting, I just kind of off the cuff asked you a question, which was, oh, so what's the deal with the UFOs shutting off nuclear power plants or turning on, you know, nuclear power plants? Weaponry, yeah.

Yeah, et cetera, et cetera. and you immediately had a response to that. And I thought it was just this little obscure thing that I'd heard of. And I wasn't expecting a serious answer. And you had a book recommendation for me, Fated Giants. Yeah, yeah. There's been several books written specifically only on that topic. Yeah, you came at me with book recommendations, you know,

a sort of like background and explanation of, you know, possible theories as to why that was. and it was very much eye-opening. It made me realize just how much you knew and how deep into the subject you were. And I thought it was great. So since then, you have attended UFO conferences with me. You've come to see me speak. Several other things like that.

You've been there when I've interviewed people. The biggest one was probably the International UFO Congress, the first time I publicly spoke about UFOs. Thank God you were there to get me through that. but what did you make of that whole thing, that whole sort of cultural aspect of the whole UFO thing, these UFO conferences? I thought it was pretty cool to be at the, like, the San Diego Comic Con equivalent of Uifology conventions. It felt very special and you could tell that everybody was very serious and passionate about the work that they were doing and the things that they felt and thought about uifology.

I loved when we talked to Clifford Mahoudi and of course Jason McClellan. I learned a lot from them. And on top of... Greg Bishop. Greg Bishove! Yeah. Oh, he was great. Greg and I shared a table in the vendor room, so Jane got to know him pretty well that weekend.

Yeah, and he was great. I was a total newbie and had no idea what was going on at any given time. And it was people like him and Clifford Mahoudi who really kind of got me. into it while I was there. And on top of that, being able to attend Travis Walton's talk. And then, of course, your talk, Ryan, was very enlightening. Yeah, I had to follow Travis Walton, like, the superstar of Euphology, like the best known person. Then they throw me up there right after. No pressure or anything. It was a tough act to follow, but you did okay. I tried. Yeah, it was very cool to sort of get a firsthand look into what your life is like and what the life of a UFO researcher or

enthusiast is. I don't think many people ever really get that experience. So it was very, very cool, and I'm really glad that we could fly out there and experience it together. Yeah, absolutely. And I guarantee it's not going to be the last time. I drag you to one of these, but I don't even think it's dragging you. I think, you know, everyone has like a poll and a curiosity for these sort of things. And there's a lot of misconceptions when it comes to UFO people and these conventions that it's all tinfoil wearing hat people. But, I mean, you saw you've got a Zuni tribe member.

And then you've got a geologist and a scientist and people with military backgrounds. It really is like the breakfast club of this UFO mystery when you go to these things. So, yeah, I'm so happy you could be a part of that, that you embraced it, and that you remained open-minded. I think that's really all we can ask of people with this. Yeah, it was great. It was a very rewarding experience for sure. And yeah, I hope we do it again soon. Oh, we will. Okay, so you did mention crypto zoology, which is something I wasn't too familiar with. So it was really cool to have those conversations early on with you in our relationship. And we continue to have them up until today, sort of the more I've dug deep into that topic and learned a lot. I mean, you knew who Lauren

Coleman was. And he was on my periphery, you know, sort of growing up with the unexplained and whatnot. He's the man. He is the man. I can't even, he's an icon. He's like the Jacques Valet of cryptozoology for us, euphologists out there. So I want to know what really drew you to Cryptozoology? And what is your favorite cryptic? Well, I got into Cryptozoology at a pretty young age. I remember picking up a bunch of Cryptozoology books in the public library in Hawaii. And most of them were written by Daniel Cohen or Lauren Coleman. Those were definitely my gateway books into sort of the larger world of Cryptozoology. Your marijuana of Cryptozoology has a word. Exactly. And I really...

took a liking to the ocean and lake cryptids, especially the ones that are a little more far-flung and remote, but that are pretty compelling nevertheless. For example, Navelito in the Patagonian mountains is an Argentinian lake cryptid that I think has a really great history and there's definitely something to it and I think it deserves a little more, a little more respect. And as for ocean cryptids the Conritte, which is a Vietnamese ocean cryptid. That's C-O-N-R-I-T. It's allegedly a giant centipede-esque ocean cryptid. Oh, nothing. And I love hearing accounts of it and, of course, the illustrations of it are really interesting and unique and I just certainly hope there's something to it.

I guess so see, this is the thing. Cryptozoology scares me, and I think that's what really veered me away from it growing up. Like, give me ghosts, give me aliens, I'm fine. It's when we come to these like undiscovered hominids and sea creatures and insect-like things or birds. I think it scares me more than any of the other stuff. I think it definitely speaks to the fact that, you know, there's some often cited statistics. that, you know, less of the ocean has been explored than our galaxy. Something like that, something that's really astounding when you think of it, just how little of the Earth has still been explored and documented. And I think maybe that's why cryptosology is so exciting for me.

But, you know, it's also, you know, it's pretty fraught out there. There's all sorts of things that could be and are happening and it could be as close as in our own backyards. And I think that's what's cool and creepy about cryptozoology for sure. Yeah, we often fear what we don't know. And I think the more we discover and find out, the less fear and the more wonderment we can have when we make those discoveries, for sure. The last question I have for you here, Jane, have you ever had any significant or memorable experiences with the weird or something you'd consider unexplained or paranormal? Anything you're comfortable sharing with us? Yeah, a few years back, I was studying in Denmark and we went to

Ohus, which is a very, very old city in sort of central Denmark. And I and my friend visited Ohus Cathedral, which was built in the 12th century, so had a lot of history. And we were in the center of the cathedral was this little courtyard area. And I was looking through my camera, trying to get a shot. And while looking through my camera, I saw this strange, I guess it was an orb, but it was in broad daylight, and it was sort of the look and texture of a bird's wing

when the light shines through the bird's wing, in that it was almost opaque, but not quite. It was just this kind of little gray, slightly translucent ball that was kind of dipping into view from around the roof. And I was staring at it through the camera for a good five seconds maybe before I finally realized I wasn't going to be able to figure out what it was. And I sort of took the camera away from my face and I was just staring at it sort of dip in and out of my view hidden by the roof again. And-

dipping in and out of your actual view or in the camera? Yeah, it was. It was, No, at this point I had taken the camera away from my face. And it was visible. And it was visible. Yeah. And it was, you know, it was a gray, cloudy day, but it was still light out. So I saw it plain as day. And it was only the roof that was kind of at times obscuring it.

And there was this really immense stillness around the courtyard. There wasn't a single person around except my friend who was in the next little room on the inside of the church. And then, you know, as quickly as it came, it just sort of dipped out of view, and I was standing there just waiting for it to come back. And I was so perplexed. And I just went back inside and I was kind of mulling it over in my head, just very confused and not scared, not creeped out or anything, but I had seen something that was so inexplicable that my brain was just like in overdrive trying to figure out what it was. And I explained to my friend, she was, I think, in a pew or something inside the cathedral. And, you know, she was confused for me.

And then I said, that was creepy. And I realized immediately after saying that was creepy that, yeah, it was actually very, very strange and unsettling. And that feeling just kind of caught up with me, I think, once my brain realized, it couldn't possibly comprehend what I'd just seen. that nothing in my experience or anything could figure out or sum up what I had just seen. So it's kind of an unorthodox ghost-siding maybe or paranormal encounter, but one that I've never experienced before or since. Yeah, yeah, they always say like your perception of what's happening is often clouded by everything you knew before it happened and possibly even after.

I always do wonder, like, if the brain can't really process what's going on in that moment, does it just come, go to some prosaic explanation or, you know, people react so differently when they have these experiences. Some people, like, embrace it, so are just like, oh, that was interesting to move on. But, yeah, I thought it was interesting that you kind of, you had the experience, didn't think much of it. And then later came to the conclusion that it was, like, creepy and almost paranormal. It's not that I didn't think much of it because it was very impactful, but I think what I was trying to do, even subconsciously, was find some sort of way to quantify or explain to myself what had happened,

because it was so weird. It was just so weird that I couldn't think about anything except what could it be, what could it be? And then when I realized I had no exception, explanation for what it could be a couple minutes after the sighting, then all of a sudden, like, the feeling set in with like, oh, my God, what was, what just happened? That was, that was really scary and I kind of want to get out of here and I need, I need to know if this place is haunted or if I'm alone in this experience. Yeah, it was such a strange, you know, sort of,

such a strange time for sure. Yeah, that's really, really interesting. I'm happy I wasn't because I probably would have freaked out. Well, thank you so much for sharing that with me, Jane, for giving your thoughts on all of this, for sticking with me for over four years now. Oh, my gosh. And our anniversary is this week. It is this week.

And the fact that you are still here is living proof that you can have a girlfriend or boyfriend in uphology. It is possible for those of you out there. And you can be successful with having a UFO podcast because of all the amazing people that sent their questions for this AMA, I can't thank you enough. I'm going to keep doing this. It was a lot of fun. Thank you to all of you for listening. Thank you to Jane for being here. And remember, keep your feet on the ground, but never stop searching. Somewhere in the Skies.

Somewhere in the Skies is produced by Third Kind Productions in association with the Entertainment One Podcast Network. To learn more, visit Entertainment One Podcast.com.