396 episodes
MonsterTalk Airwave Media
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- Science
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4.6 • 1.1K Ratings
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MonsterTalk: The Science Show About Monsters is a free audio podcast that critically examines the science behind cryptozoological (and legendary) creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or werewolves.
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Ancient Werewolves
Werewolves are an ancient idea, but the meaning and beliefs around the concept have changed over time. How were they viewed in the classical world and even earlier? Find out in this week's episode as we interview Dr. Tanika Koosmen.
Dr. Koosmen's thesis at Newcastle online archive
The werewolf story in Satyricon
Some movies mentioned:
Van Helsing (2004)
Deep Rising (1998)
Interesting terms:
Versipellis - In Roman mythology and literature, a "versipellis" is literally a "skin changer" and referred to someone who could change their skin or shape, similar to a shapeshifter. The term is derived from "versus" (changed) and "pellis" (skin).
Episode art by Team Smith (my kids worked together on this one)
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From Cryptids to Kaiju
We welcome back Dr. Justin Mullis to tell us about the interesting connection he found between Cryptozoology and the Godzilla franchise. He just appeared at G-Fest in Chicago where he spoke on this topic.
Justin's profile at Academia.Edu
Justin visiting with Cian at The Lost World Podcast talking Kong Skull Island
Justin writes for AIPT in NYC
The Impossible Archive podcast
Justin discussing "little people" with Cian Gill
Thanks to Stephen & William Smith for this week's episode art.
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The Real Swamp Monster
We're joined by mosquito and disease expert Dr. Louisa Messenger of the Las Vegas PARAVEC lab. It turns out that gators and snakes aren't the big danger in a swamp. And this monster isn't constrained to swamps. In fact, it's probably in your own backyard.
Mosquito problem in Las Vegas
How to fight Mosquitos
Dr. Messenger's Lab website
Additional Reading:
History of antimalarial drugs
Modern use of Quinine
The Color Mauve
History of Malaria
Lyle Blackburn's Sinister Swamps (affiliate link)
Theodore Sturgeon's IT!
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Silver Cliff Cemetery Ghost Lights
Karen Stollznow and Matt Baxter recount their journey to solve the mystery of the ghost lights of Silver Cliff Cemetery, in Colorado.
Silver Cliff Cemetery
Prisoner's Cinema
History Colorado
Karen's book Haunting America (Amz affiliate link)
Announcing the release of Karen's latest title:
bitch: The Journey of a Word
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What the BLEEP is up with Zimbabwe Goblins?
We answer a listener question that takes us down some interesting rabbit holes and face to face with the apparently never-ending tendrils of the Satanic Panic.
Photo of Tokoloshe statue courtesy Peter Aller.
Lots of show notes for this one:
South Africa’s Occult Crimes Unit: How Apartheid shaped South African attitudes toward Paganism and the Occult
Dr. Kobus Jonker
More on "Donker" Jonker
What is a Sangoma?
Wikipedia: Tokoloshe
A sample of The Daily Sun coverage of Tokoloshe
The SAPS Occult Unit was never truly disbanded?
How Apartheid shaped SA attitudes about Paganism and the Occult
Article about the 666 Gangs and the Occult Task Force
Frighteningly familiar SA Police web page about spotting Occult in kids
1999 article about failures of the Occult Task force
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Scary Query: Cassowary
The US Library of Congress says the Cassowary is the world's "Most Dangerous Bird!?" But is it? We talked with biologist Steven Portugal to find out.
Steven Portugal's search for the Cassowary trip
Cassowary (Wiki)
Darren Naish on the 2023 Cassowary Florida Relocation Event
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Customer Reviews
Great show!
Blake and Karen do a great job of balancing the fun of the mysteries with their skeptical approach. It never feels judgey; they don’t ridicule people or the paranormal — they genuinely seem to be interested in finding real answers. Good times!
Monster talk
I love this podcast. Open minded well intentioned skeptics. Heavy on facts and great back and forth with the hosts. Informed guests I have learned fantastic facts and fun history. Many thanks are long overdue and well deserved- Dan B
Informative
Having a skeptical podcast on monsters, aliens, and cryptids is refreshing in the sea paranormal podcasts. A lot of other podcasts that discuss the paranormal have a bad habit at taking things at face value and not really dissect the case they’re presented with. MonsterTalk provides a healthy dose of science and fact checking that I don’t see enough of in paranormal podcasts. Of course, MonsterTalk’s true goal is science, not belief in the supernatural. But I always feel that science needs to come first. The world is a big place, and we still don’t know a whole lot about it. But it can interesting without the existence of monsters.