MonsterTalk Blake Smith and Dr. Karen Stollznow

I've listened for 6 years now, and have loved it...an escape from the stressy world of the news. It was a place for everyone to relax, have a laugh and learn about monsters, and share an interest that can still bring us together. But that is changing. Comments about politics are beginning to break the spell, and a recent guest literally said Trump was a sign that we are on the road to Nazism. And the hosts gravely agreed. Seems quite and overreaction, but there it is...now we have to have a dose of "resistance" even when talking about UFOs, vampires and Bigfoot. What fun. But lately they've been heading in the "humans are the real monsters" direction, so they may be finished with the fun whacky stuff anyway. Watch for global warming and serial killers and sexual assault as topics soon. So much for stress relief.
BUT definitely go listen to the old episodes, they were fantastic! Well researched, intelligent. lighthearted fun.... and there are a lot of them. Djinn, Werewolves, Chupacabra, Hopkinsville, Grimoires, Spiritualism, Small Town Monsters, A. Crowley, Werewolves (and real wolves!) are some that I go back and listen to.

I really wanted to like this podcast. However, the recycled debunker rhetoric you spew in the Skinwalker Ranch episode about animal mutilations makes me question your knowledge of these subjects in general. It makes me question your motivation as well. Why do a podcast about something exciting just to complain and say it’s not actually that exciting? Why take something sexy and shroud it in boring? I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Read Stalking the Herd by Christopher O’Brien. Then tell your listeners that mutes are nothing and farmers can’t properly identify decay and scavenger activity. I guess it comes down to this: If you’re not an experiencer, you have no business making judgments. Cover what you know. Or at the least, read a book that gives the topic fair consideration.

Sorry for the low rating but this is a capital offense amongst experiencers, uninformed debunking that ignores the compelling points. I would’ve given only one star but I bumped it up to two because there is a female co-host who says smart and thoughtful things.

I understand there are annoying components of the paranormal fan community who say ridiculous things. But to liberally dismiss the stories of hundreds of thousands of others is not a rational response to these “Star Children”. 😆

I really have enjoyed these podcasts! Excellent interviews with scholars doing some really interesting work. I’m a conservative, and maybe it’s because I’m an academic, but I kind of expect to hear “my side” take a beating during the course of academic discussions. I think a lot of scholars want to find a reason for the “relevance” of their work—and their audience is typically left-leaning, so it usually doesn’t backfire to make comparisons between, say, Nazi pseudo scientists and “Climate Change Deniers.” Say whatever you want to say about politics—it might piss me off, but I wouldn’t want people downrating a podcast I did because of stray comments that betray my annoyance with the “other side” (or my own side). People are political animals, so these biases are going to come out, and that’s fine. I particularly enjoyed the one on grimoires, and I wish you all the best. Thanks for giving of your time and resources to make life a little more interesting for the rest of us.