Season Two | January, 2021 - Present
#33 - Psychedelics and Metaphysics
New research findings show that attending a psychedelic retreat causes significant changes in a person’s belief system. Psychadelic ritual attendees report increased confidence in the reality of supernatural worlds, the distinction between mind and body, and decreased confidence in materialism and free will. Is this because psychedelics give us access to hidden truths about the structure of reality; because they induce a permanent state of delusion; or are the belief-altering effects of psychedelics dependent on participating in certain kinds of rituals?
#32 - Why Not Think The Aliens Are Locals?
Dane advances the conversation about extraterrestrial visitation with a new argument that harkens back to an earlier age of space-alien enthusiasm. Now, we’ve all heard the objection that Earth is too far away from other stars for intelligent aliens to get here. But what if the call is coming from inside the house? It’s time we revisited the 19th-century assumption that extraterrestrials are native to our own skies.
In making his case, Dane relies entirely on cutting-edge, yet mainstream, astronomical research. This show’s critical appreciation for those talented writers and researchers who are unfairly derided as ‘fringe’ or ‘pseudo’ has been temporarily suspended for the sake of a timely public appeal. Reviewing publications on the watery moons of Jupiter and Saturn, partially-liquified plutoids, lost planets, and rogue worlds, Dane aims to persuade skeptics of interstellar travel that intelligent extraterrestrials probably originate from local space.
This is a special episode of Spectral Skull Session with an argument specifically addressing anyone who admits that there is something strange and unexplained behind military-documented UFO encounters but is unable to reconcile the possibility of alien visitation with the vast and unfathomable distances of interstellar space. Believers will find in this episode new ammunition for a novel line of argument. Let’s move the UFO conversation home into the ice-encrusted oceans of our own solar system!
#31 - Witch Hunters, Psychic Spies and Science Guys
In light of an uptick in witch-hunting vigilantism in Papua New Guinea, Dane takes a moderate stance on anti-witchcraft laws, arguing that while extra-judicial killings are always wrong, it is acceptable to prosecute certain kinds of witchcraft. He also discusses the strange case of the Belarussian anti-government activist, Roman Protasevich, who prophesized his own capture by government forces in a dream. The episode ends rebutting science guy, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s latest attack on the hypothesis that UFOs are extraterrestrials, in an article that recently appeared on CNN.com.
#30 - Leaking Underwater UFOs
A copy of the upcoming Pentagon report on UFOs and their threat to U.S. national security has been leaked to the New York Times. Meanwhile, the conversation about the proximate origins of these mysterious craft has shifted towards the Earth’s oceans. Dane reviews what we know about the Pentagon report and the rapidly changing nature of the UFO conversation.
#29 - Pentagon Disclosure & UFO Secrecy
UFO mania is reaching a fever pitch in advance of a highly anticipated U.S. governmental report, due June 1st. The pending briefing on UFOs and their possible threat to U.S. national security has millions asking whether 2021 could be the year America’s military discloses the reality of extraterrestrials to the public. In this episode, Dane argues that the very fact that Congress demanded this report from the military and intelligence communities heralds a monumental shift in U.S. policy on UFOs. After reviewing evidence that the U.S. military committed to UFO secrecy in the 1950s at the behest of civilian leadership which was itself paranoid about potential Soviet subversion, Dane predicts what the upcoming report will and won’t say about UFOs.
#28 - The Myth of Disenchantment
We are told that civilization is in the late stages of transitioning from an era of superstition to one of rationality. According to this story the U.S., Europe, and wider post-industrialized world have passed through dark ages of widespread belief in magic, gods, demons, and spirits and verge upon a glorious period of faith only in science and matter. But, in his 2017 book, “The Myth of Disenchantment,” Dr. Jason Josephson Storm, Professor of Religion at Williams College, gives the lie to this fable. Storm argues this story is plainly false – belief in the supernatural and paranormal is utterly normal in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Furthermore, the narrative of a decline in paranormal and supernatural belief is essentially a re-telling of an ancient piece of European mythology: the fabulous tale of the end of the era of the miraculous. In this episode, Dane reviews Dr. Storm’s book and explores some of the darker vicissitudes of European intellectual history to reveal the degree to which a handful of ideologues have sold us all on a false narrative about “progress” as entailing a rejection of belief in the paranormal, occult, and supernatural. In doing so, these intellectuals have only, inadvertently, perpetuated one of the most persistent myths of the European-influenced world – the myth of disenchantment.
#27 - News roundup for April 30th, 2021
Whether you’re gearing up for Beltane, Easter, or May Day, Dane starts this spring holiday weekend early, discussing Frazer’s speculation that the Celts celebrated human sacrifice; examining Harry Reid’s claim that the Russians are behind the UFOs swarming America’s navy; and calling for humans and Sasquatch to quit feuding and fly together in peace!
#26 - The "Good People" of Irish Folk Lore
Irish fairy tales can be surprisingly dark and macabre. These stories hint at a complex and parallel world populated by beings who are more often hostile than sympathetic to human aims. But what are the creatures euphemistically denominated as the “Good People”? After sifting through layers of lore, Dane proposes that Irish fairy myths constitute a unified account of various empirical and social phenomena. Recalling philosopher Thomas Kuhn’s notion of a scientific paradigm, Dane argues that the Good People need not exist to be real; as a central postulate in a unified worldview, the reality of Good People is a function of the explanatory power that belief in them confers.
#25 - News Roundup April 16th, 2021
Putin’s cryotherapy machine, Pentagon ‘confirms’ a pyramid-shaped UFO, the growing popularity of modern witchcraft, a lost book of the bible recovered? Dane reviews major stories related to news of the weird.
#24 - Reclaiming Skepticism
Watch out, debunkers. Back off, Michael Shermer. Weirdos are on the march to reclaim the banner of skepticism!
Dane sits down with Dr. Everett Fulmer, a professor of philosophy and expert on the history and philosophy of skepticism, to discuss what it really means to be a skeptic. As Dr. Fulmer explains, the dogmatic commitment to debunking that we associate with skepticism, and the American skeptical movement especially, has little to do with the tradition.Traditionally, skeptics were profound thinkers who discovered compelling reasons for doubting that humans know ANYTHING. These inquiring spirits developed razor-sharp arguments that challenge the Enlightenment view of rationality as the one true path to objective truth, even to this day. Tracing the roots of skepticism to Plato’s Academy and the struggle against the ancient Stoics, Dr. Fulmer outlines the personal stories and public beliefs of history’s greatest skeptics – from a man with the cruelly unfortunate first name “Sextus,” to an Italian monk who was executed after publicizing warnings about the apocalypse.
The second half of the show explores the risks and benefits of skepticism for lovers of the strange and unexplained: Is skepticism the key to tranquility? Can we doubt the material world’s existence without getting run over by that truck in which we refuse to believe? Could it help UFOtwitter chill out? Or does skepticism drive its own students into madness?
#23 - Sino-Wunderwaffen or Break-Away Civilization?
The Pacific Ocean is fast becoming a new locus of mystery for this planet. Dane reviews recent news stories with a focus on the region including: Are the Chinese building flying microwaves?; America’s Federal Aviation Authority attends ‘drone-a-puloza’; UFOs swarm Guam; the Japanese military moves to secure the home of the Yonaguni underwater pyramid.
#22 - The New 'American Cosmic' Religiosity
It is an undisputed fact that some of America’s top scientists log long hours and strange devotions to the suspected remains of crashed flying saucers. In her book, “American Cosmic: UFOs, Technology, Religion,” Dr. Diana Pasulka reports from inside this community of talented Americans obsessed with alien spacecraft. She also argues that, following the lead of their technogentsia, ordinary Americans are falling under the sway of a new popular religiosity devoted to extraterrestrials. Because Dr. Pasulka is chair of philosophy and religion at the University of North Carolina Willmington, we examine her incredible claims with the utmost seriousness. Is Dr. Pasulka a lucky scholar who beat the public to alien disclosure? Has she stumbled into the midst of a new “scientific” cult? or is she a pawn in our government’s cynical quest to control a budding new form of spirituality? If you listen to this episode, you will be able to decide for yourself whether aliens, angels, demons, madness (or none of the above) now obsess the hearts and minds of America’s most capable researchers. This is a rare episode at the crossroads of the future of the United States and the salvation of our own immortal souls!
#21 - Mysterious Panama
Sometimes called the “Hong Kong of the Americas,” the tiny tropical nation of Panama is known for its high-performing financial sector, canal, and commitment to liberty. But did you know it is also shrouded in secrets and mystery? During his own visit to this enigmatic land, Dane examines four mysteries of Panama: U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt’s involvement in the birth of Panama as an independent nation; a global money-laundering conspiracy that could send a pair of local lawyers to prison in Germany; the tragic disappearance of two Dutch visitors; the eldritch petroglyphs of Panama’s jungle-covered mountains. Dane also recounts his encounter with a machete-wielding man who may (or may not!) be a sanctified guardian of sacred runestones.
Show notes for episode 21
#20 - Interview with a Skunk Ape Experiencer
Dane and Chris interview Amanda, a Pennsylvania resident who encountered a howling, foul-smelling humanoid, while living near an abandoned strip mine outside Plant City, Florida in 2013. Amanda provides one of the most vivid and richly-detailed descriptions of a “skunk” or “swamp ape” we have ever heard. This episode will give you chills!
Episode 19 - DMT: A Gateway to The Occult? (part II)
The second part of Dane’s interview with Dick Khan author of “DMT and My Occult Mind.” In this segment, Khan digs deeper into his encounters with entities. He also discusses the links between his work and other occult research traditions including Theosophy and spiritualism.
Episode 18 - DMT: A Gateway to The Occult?
Many who smoke the potent hallucinogenic DMT report being transported to a hyper-realistic world where they encounter bizarre, otherworldly beings. But what is really happening to people who break-through? Dane talks to Dick Khan, a London-based writer, and researcher, who has a unique answer: using DMT attracts “occult entities” that lurk near the border of consensus reality. Dane and Khan discuss Khan’s interest in psychedelics and why he first began to suspect that a non-human intelligence influenced his DMT experiences, in this first of a two-part series.
Episode 17 - Robert Anton Wilson II: Synchronicities of Chapel Perilious
The exciting conclusion to our series on Robert Anton Wilson focuses on R.A.W.’s retreat from politics. Pursuing a mix of Leary-inspired shamanism and Crowleyan magick, Wilson was haunted by synchronicities, spectral visions, and telepathic messages purportedly broadcast by entities from the Sirius star system. Wilson would later call this era of his life “Chapel Perilous.” This is the story of how one great mind walked the line between open-mindedness and cosmic paranoia.
Episode 16 - Robert Anton Wilson: The Great American Conspiracist
Can you make a conspiracy true by getting others to believe in it? The author of the quintessential conspiracy theory novel – “Illuminatus!”, Robert Anton Wilson helped spread paranoia about the Illuminati in more ways than one. When his friend was unjustly accused of involvement in the JFK assassination, Wilson and the Discordians mobilized one of America’s greatest civilian-led counter-intelligence operations. The fallout would haunt Wilson for the rest of his life.
Episode 15 - Atlantis II
In the final part of a series on Atlantis, Dane builds his case for the reality of Atlantis. First, he defends Plato’s honor against those who claim he made the story up. Next, Dane reviews the work of the notable pro-Altantis researchers: Ignatius Donnelly and Graham Hancock. Synthesizing the best evidence from disparate sources, Dane argues that we can reasonably believe that Plato’s story of Atlantis was based on stories told by the survivors of a global super-flood that marked the end of the ice age.
This episode sponsored by: Happy Trees. Get your premium stash boxes at https://happytreessupplies.com/
Episode 14 - Atlantis
Was Atlantis real? After a brief round-up of occult and esoteric news, Dane begins a two-part investigation into the origins of Atlantis. Part I focuses on the story of Atlantis as covered in the works of Plato.