Gods, Ghosts & UFOs

SpectreVision Radio
  • 5.0 (104)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Every week, we talk about all the things they said weren't real. Guided by strange headlines and ancient mysteries, Jordan, Tom, and Mal explore the paranormal, metaphysical, and supernatural with all the earnestness and insight three big-hearted nerds can muster. If you don't have a good time, then you don't know what a good time is.

  1. 5D AGO

    Energy Healing with Beth Williams | Episode 51

    Real quick real fast — You know how we're basically betting the farm on people who love the show sharing the show (hint hint nudge nudge THAT’S YOU RIGHT??), well, we’ve done our best to make that even easier with this episode. After the bulleted list of episode highlights, you’ll see a section called “Sharing made easy!” If you want to share this episode with someone, all you gotta do is copy and paste one of those suckers. So please do that! And thank you! Highlights: Beth Williams is a professional psychic energy healer - find her on Instagram @psychicintegration Mal’s seen several energy healers over the past 8–9 years, and Beth is her favorite Growing up deeply religious, and the framing for mystical experience Panic attacks in the middle of the night Yoga produced mystical experiences Cognitive dissonance - “Why now, when I’m doing nothing?” How “doing nothing” can be the thing you need to do the most The correlation between trauma and psychic ability — ”There is no healer who has not first been wounded” (Brother Richard) Quitting the job, leaving the religion, becoming a psychic healer Her husband and kids told her to go to all the yoga she wanted because she was so much easier to be around afterward Discovering that healing can feel easy is almost universal, against the common instinct is that growth is supposed to be hard Training in Reiki, and Beth’s first “clients” Her psychic massage therapist mentor The difference between feeling someone else’s energy and your own A message too private to share, and the realization she should have shared it anyway Saying what comes through, ignoring personal cost Three messages to a banged up mountain biker, who admitted to one, denied the other two, and then later called to confirm Psychics are only right 70% of the time. Discernment is important. It’s messy — real info has to get through the psychic’s own mind, then the client’s, with layers of assumptions and self-deception on both sides Western medicine saved Tom’s his son’s life, and his own vision, but traditional Chinese medicine saved his mother’s vision Messages seem adapted to clients’ existing belief systems: Jesus shows up for Christians; for non-Christians, he doesn’t How being Christlike is asking what the other person actually needs, which may not be what they want and may not be what you want to give them What Beth gets out of her own work How being yourself is the answer to the question of what you’re supposed to do with yourself And in the epilogue… Spiritual direction Mal’s own feet gave her Whether there are overlaps between Mormons and psychics (yes (many)) The prosperity gospel of art — craft still matters more than divine inspiration alone Sharing made easy! “Why am I experiencing this when I’m doing nothing?” (09:36) — Beth describes the cognitive dissonance of having mystical experiences in yoga after a lifetime of trying to earn them through religion, and Jordan reframes it: you weren’t doing nothing, you were finally doing the thing. “Psychic confirmation” (27:33) — After Beth delivers three very personal messages to an injured mountain biker, he denies the first two and confirms the third. Days later he calls to admit she was right, and that her advice saved his relationship with his daughter. “You’re not doing the science anymore” (46:18) — Mal’s observation that you’ve gotta stay open to do real science. And then of course there’s this neat little thing we made, if you want to send someone one of our more popular past episodes: The Sharing Kit Energized,Jordan, Tom, & Mal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 2m

  2. FEB 25

    The Chronovisor and the Problem with Time Scrying | Episode 50

    A Benedictine monk with training in quantum physics, Gregorian chants, and exorcism claimed to have built a device that could see into the past. This man was Father Pellegrino Ernetti, and he assembled his Chronovisor with a secret team high-profile scientists that allegedly included Enrico Fermi and Wernher von Braun. Fifty years ago, they told everyone they took pictures of Christ’s crucifixion. Unsurprisingly, the evidence didn’t hold up. But that didn’t stop the story from getting stranger. The Vatican itself refused to confirm or deny rumors that it had ordered the device dismantled, and Ernetti died without fully recanting. Maybe the problem with any supposed means of looking into the past is that you have to answer the question of who’s holding the camera, and how. Regardless of whether the thing ever actually existed, the Chronovisor did successfully get us talking about the Scole Experiment, Edison’s spirit telephone, and why the past might be genuinely incomprehensible even if you had the means to look. Welcome to episode 50, everyone. Highlights: An introduction to Father Pellegrino Ernetti (1925–1994), a “Renaissance monk” Ernetti’s music scholarship—reconstructing ancient sounds—led him to believe every event leaves behind energy traces, reminding us of the Akashic Record A secret team of 12 scientists (that makes a quorum, folks) began work around 1952 at the Catholic University of Milan The “chronovisor” was reportedly an array of specialized antennas tuned to “historical frequencies,” combined with cathode ray tubes and oscilloscopes Ernetti even claimed it could pick up thoughts What they allegedly saw Story went public in 1972 in Italy Ernetti presented a grainy black-and-white image he said showed Christ’s face during the crucifixion But the image matched a wooden crucifix sculpted under the direction of a mystic named Mother Speranza When confronted by his friend Father François Brune, Ernetti admitted the published photo was of the sculpture, but never explained why he let it circulate Also claimed he was forbidden to talk about it In a letter before his death, he said “everything about the device and Christ’s passion was the sacred truth” The Vatican has never confirmed or denied the Chronovisor’s existence Comparisons to this now-mythical device and remote viewing Perception is never objective (see: our conversation with Mark Turner in Episode 30) Is this why the sculpture of Christ inspired by Mother Speranza looks like a guy from 1960 instead of a first-century Jew? The tension between mystic technology and material technology: two different means of achieving the same ends, maybe? Tom wonders, offhandedly, Why the crucifixion? Why not the resurrection, or better yet, the Beatitudes? The Cottingley Fairies The Scole Experiment in the 90s (wild) Thomas Edison believed similar things to Ernetti, and also proposed a device “Physics is broken” This is not going to work the way you think it’s going to work An old filmmaker who had his actors wave their arms around nonsensically to represent the incomprehensibility of the past We end with some behavior calculated to baffle far-future audiences And in the epilogue… We’re joined by listener Brendan McKinney to talk about his experiences with synchronicities, which he wrote about here: https://ggupodcast.substack.com/p/authorial-intrusions *** SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    42 min

  3. FEB 18

    Mannequin Monsters in Mexico | Episode 49

    Way back during the COVID lockdowns, when the streets of Mexico City were quiet and empty of people, something else started walking them. Multiple witnesses reported encounters with humanoid entities that moved like mannequins. With stiff limbs, and lifeless arms, running on their tiptoes. Backwards. One guy got chased. Another got followed to a bus stop. Someone else watched one of these things lift a sewer grate like it weighed nothing and climb inside. After looking at three independent accounts, Tom gives some historical context, including the Golem of Prague, and a bridal mannequin in Chihuahua that stood in a shop window for almost a hundred years. It turns out there’s real science way down in Uncanny Valley, and it doesn’t make us feel any better about it. Neither does a certain “fantastic” YouTube video. No more almost-faces, mmmkay? Highlights: Mannequin-like entity encounters during the COVID lockdown in Mexico City A woman-shaped entity running backward on its tiptoes, arms outstretched like lifeless prosthetics, later appeared in the second-floor window of a derelict house A mannequin in an empty commercial space with its hand extended, then reappearing down the boulevard A mannequin-like figure crossed Reforma with clumsy steps, then lifted a sewer grate like it weighed nothing and climbed inside All three accounts independently describe unnatural movement Mexico’s most famous “living mannequin” was a bridal figure in a Chihuahua shop window from 1930 to 2024, rumored to be the embalmed body of the shop owner’s daughter The Golem of Prague, a 16th century clay entity brought to life with God’s name Talos, the bronze giant of Greek mythology European chess-playing automatons (which actually had a small person hidden inside) The term "uncanny valley” was coined by Japanese robotics professor Masahiro Mori in a 1970 essay published in an obscure journal called Energy Mori believed our affinity for humanoid things increases as they become more realistic, then plunges into revulsion when they’re almost human, then recovers when they’re indistinguishable from human Mori noted zombies are scarier than corpses because they move The pandemic was a perfect storm for uncanny encounters Spring-Heeled Jack was a Victorian London entity that assaulted people, breathed fire, and leapt over 10-foot walls Brother Richard’s idea that paranormal entities “clothe themselves in our imagination” makes us wonder if mannequins were the imaginative “clothing” available to people surrounded by empty shops and display windows Our revulsion to almost human things might be adaptive, helping us identify the diseased and dead Could also imply the existence of a predator that mimicked humans (good luck sleeping tonight!) The mountain lions that cry like human babies “I Feel Fantastic” - an impromptu watch party That track Tom mentioned at the end And in the epilogue… Monster mannequins in pop culture How 28 Years Later’s psychedelic zombie twist mirrors real-world partisan dehumanization “Playing in the ruins” when the systems around us are broken Subscribe now PS - If you want to join us on our no-kill run, we made this for you: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    37 min

  4. FEB 11

    Financial Crisis, Alien Disclosure, and the Honey Doctrine | Episode 48

    A former analyst for the Bank of England just warned that alien disclosure could throw global financial systems into crisis. Tom and Jordan can’t stop laughing. We’re already in financial crisis, aliens or no aliens. And if there was some official disclosure tomorrow, people would just go back to work and worry about groceries. Unless the revelation materially changes people’s lives, they won’t care that much. But what if there’s free energy technology? The analyst worries that would be a disaster. But, uh, for whom? ExxonMobil? Probably. You and me? No. The materialist scarcity mindset is transactional. If you get something, it must be taken from me. But there’s a more efficient way to structure our communities, and it’s about building for mutual benefit. Not easy, but definitely not impossible. Anyway, we’re still pretty sure we’re headed for calamity, thanks for a broad cultural inability to accept reality, which turns out to not care very much about our ideas about what it should be. The highlights: Helen McCaw, former Bank of England policy expert, warns that revelation of aliens could throw global financial systems into crisis The cases for and against this prediction Tom reads part of McCaw’s letter to Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey urging contingencies for alien disclosure (from The times of London article) How she even came to care about UFOs Internal memo from British Defense chiefs from 1997 discusses “technology acquisition” from alien tech Basically, same as America What if there’s free energy technology? For whom would this be a disaster? Where Lord of the Flies got it wrong (the real life kids who went through it) Materialism leads to scarcity mindsets and zero-sum transactional societies How mutual benefit structures the most efficient social models Buddha in the Dhammapada: “Therefore Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves, clinging to no external refuge, clinging to the truth as a refuge” Regardless of anything, we’re basically headed for disaster Why suffering and the acceptance (or rejection) of reality are closely correlated A practice of presence with the expectation of imminent cataclysm The Honey Doctrine Mindfulness and presence are the last words on living the fulfilled life After recording this episode, we did our very first Open Epilogue, which we unfortunately were not able to record. Don’t worry! We’ll do another one very soon. Don't miss the next one! PS - If you want to join us on our no-kill run, we made this for you: The Sharing Kit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    41 min

  5. FEB 4

    Celtic mysticism and the courage of compassion | Episode 47

    Brother Richard Hendrick is a Capuchin Franciscan friar and Celtic mystic. He comes from “a people who embrace faith but did not let go of magic and understand that one completes the other.” When Tom asks how to deal with anger and powerlessness in the face of cruelty, Brother Richard offers this: “Anger externalized is actually internalized fear.” Those moving in hatred WANT hatred in return because it justifies their action. They push and push waiting for the explosion. So the hardest practice is maintaining compassion even for those who hate you—because that’s when the other is actually disassembled and overcome. Three practices: Hold yourself in compassion. Take refuge in great teachers—we’ve done this before over thousands of years. And manage basic human needs—no good decision is ever made at 2am. Also, how can we grow up? Our culture is bad at helping people make the transition from adolescence into adulthood. What if the big missing piece in our development is transcendent experience? Are we doomed? Brother Richard says no! But you’re gonna have to start meditating. The good news is that he has some things to say that might help you finally start the practice. Brother Richard’s sternly non-political take on what’s going on in Minnesota Most hatred and anger comes from fear Choosing compassion means accepting vulnerability, even and especially when your compassion is rejected Hate wants hate, anger wants anger — it’s cyclical justification “No matter how much hatred they are pouring on me, fundamentally I have a brother or a sister in front of me” Three practices for holding compassionate solidarity People full of compassionate energy can often forget their own needs—they become tired, worn, anxious, and then make bad decisions How Brother Richard became a friar Celtic mysticism maintains the sacred nature of both the subtle world and ourselves, plus our venerable relationship with it What to look for in a good spiritual teacher The icon of the Ladder of Heaven shows monks climbing to heaven, and at the very top, just as one steps in, he’s falling Saint Augustine: “God wrote two books—the book of Scriptures and the Book of Nature. We have not read His word if we can’t read both.” When we’re in relationship with nature, the transcendent begins to happen The Dalai Lama: “Meditation over thousands of years becomes a laboratory of the mind and soul” If meditation stretches you with compassion and bestows peace, it’s real; if it makes you think you’re superior, it’s egoic The muscle of focus and inner attention is atrophied in the Western world Start with basic stillness practices, even just two minutes, because most people haven’t done it before Distraction is literally half of the practice of meditation And in the epilogue… What the Fae actually are (hint: it’s complicated!) Why believing everything a non-human intelligence tells you is dangerous Brother Richard’s take on a particular passage from the Gospel of Thomas (because of course Tom had to ask him) PS - We’re on a no-kill run. If you want to help, we made this Sharing Kit for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 2m

  6. JAN 28

    K-Pop Ghost Hunters | Episode 46

    Most people believe in ghosts. Always have. Always will. EJAE, the lead vocalist from K-Pop Demon Hunters, told a ghost story on Jimmy Fallon and nobody questioned her sanity, because it turns out people who DON’T believe in ghosts are the minority. Tom recorded in one of the most haunted studios in New Orleans in the ‘90s. And boy does he have stories. A distorted face in a window. A badly burned little girl pleading for help. A late night tryst with an apparition… Do artists see ghosts more often? Or does making art make you more sensitive to what’s already there? Regardless, when you make the effort to really say something—to write, to record, to create—there’s magic in it. Maybe you’re more that thing than you are the relentless cyclone of anxious thoughts you live with the rest of the time. Ars longa, vita brevis. Art is long, life is short. We’re here to play the long game. IMPORTANT UPDATE We promised to have our first virtual hang this week, but then we made a scheduling mistake, and so now it will officially be NEXT WEEK. Monday, February 2 1pm PST / 4pm EST. Do you see that? That’s an actual date, and an actual time. Which means it will be WAY MORE EMBARRASSING if we have to reschedule again, which we will not. All paid Substack and Patreon supporters can expect to get the link within the next couple of days. (And a quick reminder that the 1st 100 people get Founder status for $4/month for life — and not all those spots have been taken yet.) Okay, enough of all that. On to the highlights: The vocalists from K-Pop Demon Hunters saw a ghost and told Jimmy Fallon about it People who don’t believe in ghosts are in the minority—always have been, always will be Mal always asks people if they believe in ghosts at parties We love people who say “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I saw a ghost” Tom’s was in a swing band in the 90s and has lots of other recording studio ghost stories King’s Way Studio in New Orleans was (is?) famously haunted by Germaine Cazanave Wells, Queen of Mardi Gras, total party girl from the 1950s/60s who fell, hit her head, died, never left Tom’s friend saw a distorted, glaring face appear in the window Tom made deals with Jermaine in the clawfoot tub: “Listen, don’t show up now—I don’t want to slip and fall while naked” Another band’s bass player (an EMT) was awakened by a young woman badly burned, pleading for help—turned out to be Jermaine’s daughter who died in a fire And, uh, another story, which you’ll have to go ahead and just listen to Tom tell it Creative people seem to encounter ghosts more often—artists, musicians, people in heightened emotional/creative states Are ghosts attracted to creativity, or does creativity make people more sensitive to what’s already there? What it’s like to re-read own old writing Maybe we’re more than the stuff that constantly spins in our brains The more you create, the more you pin down and make substantial, the more that you ARE There’s a magic to making the effort to really express yourself in some tangible way, going on the record, so to speak, even if you’re wrong, even if you’re full of crap Tom loves himself and his friends as individuated people, even while recognizing we’re expressions of Brahman He also talks to his peach trees, so And in the epilogue… What it’s like to prank a prankster That one time Mal got kicked out of girl’s camp A truly horrific story about fried chicken *** SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    48 min

  7. JAN 21

    We're rejecting the algorithm | Episode 45

    Today, we’re doing something ambitious and maybe a little bit stupid, but hopefully the right kind of stupid. We’re rejecting the algorithm. No clips for the feeds. No farming for engagement. Because social media is antisocial. Tom wrote a book about the Chapel Hill music scene in the ‘90s. Before discoverability tools and doomscrolling. Before music became something you listen to by yourself. Back when people listened together, and told their friends. After all, word of mouth is the OG algorithm. So that’s how we’re gonna do it. It’ll be slower, but it’ll be better. So go tell your friends, and come on up to the house. ~~~NEWS!~~~ We’ll be having our first virtual hangout next week for all paid subscribers and Patreon supporters — speaking of which: THIS IS THE LINK TO OUR PATREON1st 100 people get Founder status for $4/month for life. You might be wondering what the difference will be between Patreon and Substack.Here’s the breakdown: Paid supporters of either will get access to ad-free episodes and epilogues. For the Patreon folks, there will be more bonus video content, as well as access to a private Discord, which we will be launching as soon as the first 100 people sign up. On Substack, there will be more written work (essays and supplements), some of which will be behind a paywall, as well as access to a paid-subscriber chat, which will go online once we reach 100 sign-ups there. The world is full of people asking for your money. Anyone who supports this show with actual dollars will have our undying gratitude, and we’ll do everything we can to return the love. Highlights: The algorithm is killing us. We have the data. Social media melts attention and connection How and why Jordan got into podcasting Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History proved millions of people will listen to 4-hour deep dives, despite the TikTok-ification of everything How do we produce stuff that earns thoughtful attention without marketing it on platforms that absolutely ravage attention How posting on socials violates the creative instinct If you build your platform on social media, you don’t get to leave David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water”: we’re all actively worshiping something—the passive viewing sneakily changes our personalities Tom’s book (A Really Strange and Wonderful Time) about the Chapel Hill music scene in the 90s became a manifesto for “scenius”—Brian Eno’s term for the genius of community, not individual artists We used to listen to music publicly, with friends, talk about it Now music is private, instantly available, and we listen alone The Great Deceleration: we’re trying to build something that encourages depth over virality, connection over “engagement” (whatever the hell that is) We can’t fail. We’re already on the path. First 100 Patreon supporters get Founding Member status at $4/month for life If we can grow successfully without bowing to the algorithmic feeds, it’ll chart a path for other creators Complete transparency and monthly updates (at least) on the numbers, tracking the OG algorithm of word of mouth If we’re not giving you what you want, tell us If we ARE giving you what you want, tell your friends And in the epilogue… Tom’s dog chorus What the word “whoredoms” really means (and why the world is full of whoremongers) The implications of a theory that ancient pyramids started as industrial chemical factories Once again, here's a link to our freshly-minted Patreon. And a reminder that the first 100 supporters will get Founder status for $4/month, forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    40 min

  8. JAN 14

    12 Psychic Factors and the Great Turning of 2026 | Episode 44

    Most (most!) people report having noetic experiences. Knowing who’s calling before you answer. Predictive dreams. Feeling someone’s presence. Gut feelings that turn out to be true. The Institute of Noetic Sciences was founded by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, and it just released a study about twelve unique “noetic signatures” based on deep survey data from over four thousand people. Some of them know things in their bodies. Others get mental, emotional, or spiritual downloads. Everyone has a different signature. But what are the hazards of personal revelation without coherent social support? And what will happen to us if we keep replacing our latent human superpowers with technology? Still, we have high hopes for 2026. Maybe this is the year we heal from screen addictions. Maybe we’ll finally get some kind of blockbuster disclosure about non-human intelligences. Or maybe, if we all pull together, we can finally break free from the algorithm and move back into our enchanted world. Highlights: The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) was founded in 1973 by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell They study consciousness, human potential, and the intersection of science and subjective experience “Noetic” comes from Greek “noesis” meaning “inner knowing” that transcends the five senses and conventional notions of time and space (Examples: knowing who’s calling before caller ID, predictive dreams, feeling someone in the room, gut feelings that prove accurate) Most people report having these experiences, but they’re still stigmatized The Noetic Signature Inventory is a 44-item questionnaire measuring individual’s unique pattern of intuitive experience Four primary intuitive pathways: body-based (gut feelings), mental (sudden knowing), emotional (feeling into situations), spiritual (mystical experiences) Is “inner knowing” reliable without the support of a community? Why it’s so hard to balance social coherence against mystical experience Robin Lassiter said in the last episode that patriarchy and materialism might not have just been huge mistakes—we got amazing stuff from them, and now it’s time to turn the wheel In what ways are we trying to replace our noetic abilities with technology? Jordan abashedly hopes this is the year UFOs, NHIs, etc stop being laughed at on on CNN Mal hopes we heal from screen addiction (it’s actually possible!) Tom hopes we can free ourselves from the fetters of the algorithm and move back into an enchanted world The real magic is in interaction, intuition, knowing, and the gorgeous unpredictability of ourselves and each other And in the epilogue… How algorithms actually steal your personality A pretty MASSIVE decision about the future of the show Our first progress report on Jordan Crowder’s Law of Probability course *** SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    56 min
See All (58)

Trailers

5
out of 5
104 Ratings

About

Every week, we talk about all the things they said weren't real. Guided by strange headlines and ancient mysteries, Jordan, Tom, and Mal explore the paranormal, metaphysical, and supernatural with all the earnestness and insight three big-hearted nerds can muster. If you don't have a good time, then you don't know what a good time is.

Information

More From SpectreVision Radio

You Might Also Like