Radio Misterioso

Mac Tonnies appeared once before on Radio Misterioso on May 21st of 2006 when he and Paul Kimball were in Los Angeles to shoot segments for Kimball’s documentary Best Evidence: The Top 10 UFO Cases. Mac came on for a solo appearance on July 26th to update us on his recent projects.

His eagerly awaited book on the cryptoterrestrial hypothesis (due to be completed in November) will turn the UFO world on its ear by suggesting that the source of the phenomenon may be a non- or quasi-homo sapiens race that has been inhabiting the planet alongside us for millenia. Mac discussed his work on the book and read extended excerpts in an exclusive for the show.

We also discussed other alternatives to the extraterrestrial hypothesis and our human ideas about how another intellegence would appear to us and perhaps try to communicate. This led to a discussion about “asemic” writing and its relationship to so-called “alien writing,” which brought up the controversial CARET documents and the claim that the strange symbols on supposed UFO components were an integral component of their operating system. In other words, the symbols “booted up” the devices that they were printed on.

Mac suggested that UFO sightings are the visible incursion into our universe of intelligences that inhabit an existence of pure information–what I call the “symbolic realm”–a non-space and time bound dimension. This would explain the strange nature of many encounters and our seemingly futile efforts to comprehend them.

We also talked about influences on Mac’s theories, which include the works of John Keel, Jacques Vallee and William Burroughs.

In the last half hour, we took questions from the audience sent in by email, facebook and twitter.

 

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Meeting Keel in New York 10/28/02

Kenn Thomas recently sent along a recording of an interview he conducted with the late John Keel from 1992. I played the recording on the July 19th show. Due to many requests for a downloadable version, I have obtained permission from Kenn to post the file for free and perpetual public access.

The interview features Keel at his cranky best, skewering UFO fans in particular and paranormal dilettantes in general. He also mentions a few things that I found surprising, such as his contention that Kenneth Arnold originally witnessed only bright lights from at least 50 miles away when Arnold officially opened the modern age of flying saucers with his sighting on June 24th, 1947. Keel says that publisher Ray Palmer had Arnold add details that were not originally reported, and that UFO fans have been extrapolating the facts ever since. I believe that there are interviews with Arnold that include more details than just “bright lights” (or reflections) before he wrote about the experience for the first issue of Fate magazine ion 1948 and four years later in The Coming Of The Saucers, which were both published by Palmer.

Keel also argues for his fugo balloon theory of the Roswell crash, which should still piss off a lot of people, which is just how old John would have wanted it. Keel was in an adversarial position with the ufological rank-and-file from the beginning, which made him a bit impatient with those he thought were stuck in a hopelessly bankrupt belief system, but his theories are still valid with respect to things that have not been explained to everyone’s satisfaction. If you can find a copy of his landmark book Operation Trojan Horse, I would highly recommend that you read it.

The interview was conducted on July  12, 1992.

 

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Poised to release a new edition of his landmark book, The Shadow Over Snata Susana: Black Magic, Mind Control and the Manson Family Mythos, Adam Gorightly was in Los Angeles recently to scout locations for his upcoming promo tour.

Originally published in 2001, Gorightly’s book has entered the legendary ranks of the other “big two” in Charles Manson literature: Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi, and The Family By Ed Sanders. It is the most comprehensive look at the Masnson “family” and takes a longer view of events surrounding one of the most famous murder cases of the 20th century.

Adam talked with us about the events leading to the 1969 crimes of Manson and his band of crazies, and their involvement with the underside and celebrity worlds of Hollywood and Los Angeles. We also discussed possible coverup scenarios  involving the famous and powerful who got too close to Manson and were eager to distance themselves when news of the murders made the front page. We also mentioned Manson’s exposure to the ideas of Scientology while he was in prison.

Adam brought along rare recordings of Manson rapping during music recording sessions, parole hearings, outtakes featuring “Family” members singing backup vocals, and a phone interview with Harold True, a cantankerous man who lived next door to the house where Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were killed by a group of Manson followers in the early morning hours of August 10, 1969.

 

 Adam Gorightly 7/5/09: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Richard has been a friend for 15 years. We were plunged into the government / UFO quagmire at the same time, meeting a man who told us he was from Naval Intelligence and who related increasingly strange stories about what the authorities knew, and were keeping from the public. Richard has continued his study and contacts with government operatives, but is interested in the scenario for personal reasons, quietly working his way into areas that most never hear about. On May 31st, he came into the studio to share some of his insight with the Radio Misterioso audience.

We began the interview with a background on Richard’s life, growing up in New Orleans, a stint in the Army as an artillery officer, and a move out to Los Angeles, where he became a major cast member of the soap opera General Hospital for three years. He then moved into film production and worked on writing and pitching UFO-themed programs in the late 1980s through the mid ’90s, but he’s also been deeply involved in the subject in ways that few ever allow themselves to become.

After some background intros, we moved to a discussion of the UFO enigma itself, and how there are no simple, sound-bite answers, which segues into a “what does the Government really know” discussion with speculation that may surprise you, as well as a an aside about AFOSI agent Richard Doty and his role in the Paul Bennewitz affair.

One of the questions that are asked of those who pursue Government agents is “If they lie so much, why do you bother talking to them?” Richard answers this one eloquently, and in a way only someone who has been playing “the Game” for years can.

This show meant a lot to me personally.  I was allowed to talk with two people (Richard and former AFOSI Agent Walter Bosley) who have looked at the government secrecy problem from a sophisticated point of view that is almost never discussed in public. There were some important clues on this show. Maybe too many.

 

 Richard Sarradet 5/31/09: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download