But Have You Heard About‪?‬ Courtney and her cool friends

On this week's episode of But Have You Heard About, Matt and I talk about Starseeds, or star people. Have you heard about this awakening? There’s a growing group of people on Earth who believe they’re aliens, or descendants of former alien interactions with humans.  They are awakening to their Starseed origins and are here now to help in the transition of earth, where earth changes will precede our joining a greater star community of planets. The thought is that Starseeds originate from other planets and realms and possess spiritual and scientific knowledge dating back hundreds of thousands of years. There are two common thoughts among Starseed enthusiasts on how one becomes a Starseed. Whether they ARE aliens that are living on earth, a descendant of an alien, OR the descendant of someone that had alien interactions. Most Starseeds believe they have come to Earth from other dimensions to help heal the planet and guide humanity into the “golden age” – a period of great happiness, prosperity and achievement. Sounds like a groovy thing.

Matt and I go over the characteristics and traits of those that are believers. Get your checklist out and see if you are partially, or just a little bit of a Starseed.
We also go in depth on why anyone is suspectable to believing they're a star person, or the like--going into the Forer/Barnum Effect, source monitoring error, and the Einstein effect. All of these go hand in hand with how many people are led to believe they are Starseeds, or that horoscopes are real, or how psychics make generalized and vague statements that draw people in.

As we discuss, it isn't new-new, but started gaining traction with other New Age ideas in the 70s, and is attributed to Brad Steiger who wrote prolifically about the unknown and was keenly interested in alien life and extraterrestrials. In his 1976 book, Gods of Aquarius, Steiger introduced his notion that some people originate from other dimensions.

If you are looking for more information on Starseeds or what was discussed in this week's episode, I gathered a lot of my information from the below pieces:
https://medium.com/illumination/am-i-a-starseed-a17960247445
https://brill.com/display/book/9789004435537/BP000031.xml
https://theconversation.com/starseeds-psychologists-on-why-some-people-think-theyre-aliens-living-on-earth-197291
https://www.thebookstall.com/book/9781710780444 

But have you heard about the Lager Beer Riot that occurred on April 21, 1855 in Chicago? Maybe not, unless you're really into Chicago beer or politics. On this week's episode, we are talking about an interesting combo–politics and beer in Chicago. 

With rising immigrants settling in developing Midwest cities like Chicago and bringing much of their home country culture and past times with them. Germans brought with them their love of brewing beer and journalism, with many setting up taverns that many locals and immigrants frequented. Many of these immigrants had participated in the 1848 revolutions across Europe and were accustomed to demonstrations for political reasons. At the same time, all over the country there was a wide spread of distrust when it came to Catholics and immigrants. Many newspapers and politicians depicted immigrants as drunks, and part of a ploy for the Pope to take over the US if they were Catholic. Because of the drunken portrayal, many nativists gravitated towards anti alcoholism, or the Temperance Movement. In the city election of 1855, the Know Nothing Party Candidate Levi Boone won and almost immediately went to work on ways to punish immigrants for just living in the city--increasing the price for liquor license and suspending the sale of alcohol on Sundays. Take a listen and see how messing with German's beer can lead to a revolution.

Picture it: a 30 year old Michael Jordan has just won his third championship in as many years with the Chicago Bulls. He doesn't look to be stopping--and yet, he retires on October 6th, 1993 to the shock of so many. Why would the greatest athlete at that time retire? His father was murdered that summer, he had taken a physical beating in those playoff games, and emotionally he wasn't in it. All of that adds up. But...what if it had to do with the gambling stories that came out during the NBA Finals in 1993? Or maybe it was all a ruse for him to try out baseball so it could all be included in the critically acclaimed and life changing movie Space Jam.

In this week's conspiracy theory episode, Matt and I tackle how Black Jesus, per Reggie Miller, retired and did it really have something to do with a NBA suspension for gambling? He had a brush with federal authorities in 1992 that made his gambling known, and then the May 24th Atlantic City visit during the Knicks game series, and then Esquinas' book. So...I mean...maybe?

For more information on Michael Jordan's father's death.

On this week's episode  we are taking a little detour from fun, gripping, or little known history to dive into something a bit more…creepy?  We are talking about the history of haunted and creepy dolls. What makes so many of us shiver in fear of raggedy Anne and Andy? How long have creepy dolls been...a thing? And not just dolls being creepy…but things in general being creepy. 
Dolls have been around for AGES, and mean a lot to many people. Whether they taught young girls skills like sewing, or how to act in certain societal situations--dolls have been there. And dolls can be made of anything and for anyone--cue husk dolls and GI Joe. 
If you ask a group of 15 people what they’re scared of…at least one person will say dolls. And probably one other person in that group will collect dolls. Thanks to psychologists, we have some answers to this idea of what is creepy and why are we so alert to things we deem as creepy. 
But the creepiest thing? Cursed or haunted dolls. We talk briefly about Annabelle, Robert, Lily, Letta, and Okiku in this week's episode--in case you need to go see if you are indeed creeped out by plastic, real hair, and pitter pattering in the night. 

Check out this week's episode and let me know your thoughts about dolls and creepy things.

Maybe you have heard about the face on Mars, or maybe this is your first time...just like Matt. Whatever the case may be, this week we cover the idea of intelligent design, aka aliens/lonely left on Mars human, in regards to the face on Mars photos. If you've never seen the photos, check out this link with a story from NASA. There are also other photos that many claim to see OTHER images in the rock formations/shadows.

Matt and I talk about the conspiracy pusher, Richard Hoagland, and his credentials (or lack thereof.) Without Hoagland's book, The Monuments of Mars, there may not have been such a huge movement of those interested or believing that the Face on Mars was intentionally made. Take a listen and let us know if you liked our first dabble into aliens/space conspiracy theories!

Looking for more information? Check out some of these links below:
https://www.space.com/36751-space-conspiracies.html 
https://www.space.com/17191-face-on-mars.html
http://www.tampabayskeptics.org/Mars_morefaces.html 
https://gpposner.com/Hoagland.html 

When we think about the Vietnam War, most Americans think of the at home protests, Forrest Gump and other movies after the 70s that showed the war through different angles, the casualties of soldiers, forced draft and draft dodgers, PTSD and more that came with the conflict. And cue Fortunate Son by CCR with the montage.

But…why was the US even involved in what was going on with Vietnam? That wasn’t in the US’s sphere of influence, like South America was, nor was Vietnam a contender in WWI or II. THAT question is what I go over in today's episode of But Have You Heard About? Spoiler alert, this all has to do with colonialism...and a sprinkle of communism. But colonialism and the vacuum that was left by the colonizers leaving. Ho Chi Minh is not a hero in American history, but he is in Vietnamese history, and while I barely touch on his contributions in today's episode, I do strongly suggest reading more about him if you are so intrigued.

For more reading about this topic:
https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/lesson_plans/pdfs/unit12_1.pdf 
https://www.history.com/news/vietnam-war-origins-events 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_French_Indochina