In Research Of

William Blake Smith
  • 5.0 (26)
  • NATURAL SCIENCES

The show where we watch the 1970s TV show "In Search Of..." and look at possible explanations the producers didn't consider.

  1. 2025-12-09

    S04E24 - Past Lives

    Blake and Jeb go In Research Of PAST LIVES with Leonard Nimoy. Subjects include reincarnation claims, past-life regression therapy, and some truly baffling Nimoy wardrobe choices. Link to YouTube Episode (while it lasts) Topics we cover include: Nimoy wandering a Los Angeles graveyard in a strange quasi-military sport coat, and Blake's detective work tying the filming location to Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights. The famous Pollock twins case from Hexham, England, where two girls were said to be the reincarnations of their deceased sisters — and how later research complicates the story. Dr. Lucia Capacchione's art-therapy / inner-child work and how the show uses regression narratives to explain modern psychological problems. Playwright A.J. Stewart (Ada F. Kay), who became convinced she was James IV of Scotland and wrote Falcon: The Autobiography of His Grace James IV King of Scots as if from the king's own perspective. Whether past-life regression therapy produces evidence of reincarnation or just vivid, therapist-shaped fantasy, and why skeptics are so wary of hypnosis-based "memories."   NFA (Nimoy Fashion Alert): Cemetery Detective Work: Using the 2nd NFA shot, I was able to decipher the tex on the dark tombstone. It is a lot darker in real life with a modern shot. That "Find a Grave" entry includes the exact location where Nimoy was standing for this episode's cemetery shot. Jeb asked for an animated gif of the woman in the castle with secret doors: The cover of Robert and Loy Young's book about reincarnation: The twins at the heart of the British (Hexham!) reincarnation story: And I can't help but scream - DON'T GO NEAR THE EDGE!!! This episode is such a cliffhanger. Deeper reading & sources mentioned: Pollock twins case write-up at the Society for Psychical Research's Psi Encyclopedia Psi Encyclopedia on famous past-life claims (including A.J. Stewart / Ada F. Kay): Ada F. Kay / A.J. Stewart biography (reincarnation claim & Falcon background) Evergreen Cemetery (Los Angeles) – history and the Japanese "Garden of the Pines" section Lucia Capacchione and inner-child / expressive-arts therapy Skeptical overview of past-life regression therapy (Harriet Hall, Science-Based Medicine): General background on past-life regression and why psychologists consider it pseudoscientific

    2h 28m

  2. 2025-07-19

    S04E22 - The Bimini Wall (Explicit)

    Jeb and Blake ponder Atlantis and "healing holes" in the waters off the coast of Bimini. (Weirdly this is almost literally true as Blake ended up actually in Bimini just a week before this ep released. More on that soon.) Links for Shownotes: Roby Yonge on "The Beatles Paul is Dead" Neptune Memorial Reef "Psychic" Irene Hughes Bimini Wall Edgar Cayce Beachrock The Healing Hole More on the crystal ball from 2010 (Cayce related)   Nimoy Fashion Alert: Other interesting images from the episode: Hemingway's Healing Hole: Robey Yong and Irene Hughes re-enact their experiences. Doc Raymond Brown and his crystal ball Marcel Vogel and some crystals - he was also in S01E01 on talking plants.

    1h 49m

  3. 2025-07-14 · BONUS

    Alien Intrusion and the UTH

    Flashback to January 2018: In this episode of MonsterTalk, we return to discussion of the Ultraterrestrial Hypothesis (UTH) and what seems to be its growing influence in paranormal circles. It's been used to explain UFOs, mothman, bigfoot, fairies, dogman, ghosts and many other phenomena which defy scientific demonstrability. Now it crops up again in a new film event titled Alien Intrusion which turned out to be a stealth evangelical creationist film which suggests that aliens and UFOs are actually demonic. We are joined by MonsterTalk alum Joe Laycock, Natasha Mikles and Jeb Card to discuss the UTH and Jeb's Paranormal Unified Field Theory (PUFT) as it relates to this film and the work of John Keel and others. In Research Of… MonsterTalk Joe Laycock Natasha Mikles Jeb Card Music Monstertalk Theme: Monster by Peach Stealing Monkeys

    1h 19m

  4. 2025-06-08 · BONUS

    S4 Bonus: The Mothman Prophecies part 2

    This is part 2 of our 2-part coverage of The Mothman Prophecies movie. If you haven't listened to Part-1, please turn over the record and start again. Additional show notes available (for free) on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/s4-bonus-mothman-129987183

    2h 42m

  5. 2025-06-08 · BONUS

    S04 Bonus: The Mothman Prophecies Part 1

    This is part 1 of our 2-part coverage of The Mothman Prophecies movie. This is in lieu of S04E21 (see below) but we hope you enjoy the content and after part 2, we return to our regularly scheduled episodes list. "So... Air Disasters Predictions, Jeb? What do you think we'll get?" Well it turned out to be more than we expected. During our research for this episode we ran into a bit of a puzzle. It turns out that one of the key figures in the episode is still alive and has become an important figure in the world of conspiracy and out of an abundance of caution for our own sanity (as regards potential litigiousness) we've decided to shelve this one for a while. Will we come back and fill in the gap when we think the coast is clear? I don't know - but we didn't want to leave a hole in your listening so we decided to do something... more ambitious. So what we did instead was we recorded a 4+ hour deep dive into the 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies.   Extensive show notes available (for free) at our Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/posts/s4-bonus-mothman-126932315

    2h 17m

  6. 2025-02-19

    S04E20 - In Search of John the Baptist

    Jeb and Blake go in search of John the Baptist's resting place. Content Warning: Human remains on screen. Discussion of murder.   Beheading John the Baptist (wiki) Salome (play) In 2018 the murder of Bishop Epiphanius took place and rocked the religious community -- not important for this episode but it popped up a lot in my searching. San Silvestro "head" shown in intro Same - but wiki article Nimoy Fashion Alert  (NFA Wardrobe consulting by The Hogtown Rake, Pedro Mendes) The "head" of John the Baptist at San Silvestro: Art historian Michael Patroconni (Petroccione?) I think Jeb and I found this to be the most fun part of the episode: Gerald Larue obituary Herod Antipas (the Herod that executed JTB) Wadi El Natrun The Cave of John the Baptist

    1h 47m

  7. 2024-12-14

    S04E19 - Earth Visitors (Explicit)

    Blake tries to talk Jeb off the ledge as we return to the classic theme of "ancient astronauts" in this throwback episode titled: Earth Visitors. Some links relevant to our discussion: Dejah Thoris (character) MUFON/Harzan scandal Roman Dodecahedrons (archaeology) Frank Frazetta Boris Vallejo We mention Zecharia Sitchin. Research suggests humans grow more neurons than did Neanderthals. A bunch of this episode comes from the work of Maurice Chatelain, who we shall refer to as "Shadowlane." His book Our Cosmic Ancestors sports one of the more interesting book covers we've seen while researching this show. He also wrote Our Ancestors Came from Outer Space. Maurice Chatelain's credentials appear to have been somewhat overstated in the episode. We'll be talking about several "Out of Place Artifacts" or OOPAs in this episode. Let's start with the "Boot Print" aka The Meister Print. (pictured below) See also this article by Glenn Kuban. Very compelling stuff. I guess. I mean it sort of looks like show print. This interesting looking skull also sent us down some research holes. The text of the episode seems to be talking about the Del Mar Skull but the image doesn't look like a close match. A lot of "shapes on the earth" are discussed. The shapes require you to do a lot of work. We'll get into that in the episode. But one is the Maltese Cross that is absolutely stunning, so long as you ignore that some of the points are hundreds of miles from the alleged anchor points and that the temples allegedly at each point were centuries apart. Skeptical response via CSICOP. Also - this is supposed to be a "pyramid" but seems to be more of what geometry wonks call a "triangle." I'm trying to find the type of terminal behind our statistician. And - behind the scenes I've managed to contact him and he assures me that the episode required many takes and that his students reported they made him sound like he believes in the whole ancient astronauts thing... More on this if I hear back from a rather lengthy email I sent him today (12/13/24). Read even more about the Monte Carlo Method! Vintage ad for the The Outer Space Connection. According to Scientific American, the idea that indigenous Americans were here for a very long time (from across the Bering sea) really kicked off in the 1930s. Read more about The Elephant Slab hoax. This montage of Kachina dolls really impressed Blake: Nimoy Fashion Alert! Native Jewelry Artist Preston Monongye Engineer Charles Ruggles Could he be LARPing J. Allen Hynek? Finally we get to the Cosa Artifact. And - of course, The Jupiter Menace (1982)

    2h 41m

  8. 2024-10-18

    S04E18 In Search Of... The Ghost Ship

    Jeb and Blake head out to sea in research of the mystery of what happened to the crew of The Mary Celeste.  Links: The Dei Gratia Nimoy Fashion Alert  (NFA Wardrobe consulting by The Hogtown Rake, Pedro Mendes)  Attorney Fred Flood In 1913, The Strand Magazine provided an alleged survivor's account from one Abel Fosdyk, supposedly Mary Celeste's steward. The Mary Celeste (1913 article) Per "WhatTheFont" website identifier, that font is (appropriately):  JOLLY ROGER!  Meanwhile on Skull Hut Island...   Pop Culture: Dead Calm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_the_Mary_Celeste Read it, it's a time. Hammer film -Jeb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(Doctor_Who)

    1h 50m
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About

The show where we watch the 1970s TV show "In Search Of..." and look at possible explanations the producers didn't consider.

Information

  • Creator
    William Blake Smith
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    96
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © (c) 2019
  • Show Website
    In Research Of

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