Pseudophiles

Inspiring myth, legend, and a Disney movie, Grigori Rasputin was, and is today, an anomaly. Having the eyes of lunatic, the beard of a wizard, and the attire of a peasant, Rasputin used his religious affiliation, mysticism, and above all else, his charm to befriend nearly every man and swoon the panties off nearly every woman. The latter would ultimately get him in trouble and lead to a nearly failed assassination attempt involving cyanide, stab wounds, multiple gunshots, and drowning. This week we are joined by expert Amber Black to talk about the history of Rasputin and the mysteries that surround his life.

This week we talk about the possibilities of the the imminent future. Robots, AI, cloning. What can we expect and what will the ethical and philosophical implications? Also can we put our heads on wolf bodies?

We have all seen them, the contrails in the sky left behind by airplanes. Most people would explain them to be vapor trails emitted from the engines, but others would rather you wake the hell up because not everything is as it seems. They would suggest that these trails are riddled with chemicals used for nefarious (somewhat ambiguous) purposes. This week Torrance, Sidney, and Ben discuss what some of these purposes are and whether this conspiracy is rooted in truth or baseless.

Shadow People are depicted across many cultures. Hovering right around your periphery may be some dark figures that are ever watching yet rarely seen. They are usually harmless unless sporting a hat but stories of their sighting are abundant. Take a trip with us as we are joined by the lovely Allie Simpson to explore our worst nightmares and tales of Shadow People.

Aleister Crowley was known for being an occult leader, a poet, novelist, mountaineer, painter, and alleged recruit of a British intelligence agency. However, a little known theory about Crowley is that he may have been responsible for summoning The Loch Ness Monster from his home on the shore of the loch. In this episode we are joined by Siloam Springs' own local business owner Joe Gibbens of Ash and Ember to go deeper into this theory and talk about the crazy intricate life of Aleister Crowley.

MKUltra... The project that validates almost every government conspiracy and makes them seem a little less insane. This project shows how capable the government is at keeping secrets from you and may make you wonder what they are hiding from you today. Join Torrance, Ben, and Sidney as they dig into what experiments took place as part of MKUltra and speculate on how it could still be affecting us today.

In this episode of Pseudophiles, the gang is joined by our reoccurring guest Alex and his lovely wife Angie to talk about Halloween. We get into a bit of the history of Halloween but when you get five people in the same room that love horror movies and the topic is Halloween, then there is no stopping us from sharing some of our favorite moments in horror.

Who knows what mysteries lie beneath our own feet? There could be undiscovered animals, plant life, and even entire civilizations below the earth's crust, if only someone adventurous enough could explore and discover for the rest of us! Join Ben, Sidney, and Torrance as they discuss the hollow earth theory.

Unless you're a cockroach, you'll want to be underground or dug deep into a hillside when the bombs start falling and humanity meets our seemingly inevitable fate of world-ending nuclear fire. World War 3 is one big explosion, and World War 4 is fought with sticks and stones, but what about the in-between? Humanity must survive somehow. So this week, Torrance, Sidney, and Ben talk about bunkers, video games, and where they would want to be when the end is nigh. 

Populated by greats like Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin, the 27 Club is one of the only "clubs" of music legends that no one wants to be a part of. Probably because they all died at 27, and more often then not, at the peak of their careers. This week we are joined by Chris Moore to discuss why the 27 Club exists, reminisce on some of their accomplishments, and reflect on how they inspired those who came after them. 

There is very little that we know about the afterlife. So little, in fact, that ancient civilizations guess on what the afterlife looks like is no less accurate than humanities ideas on it today. So, in this episode the gang takes a look at a few of those ancient ideas of what people once believed the afterlife to look like and also explore some studies done on what we can observe of an "afterlife." 

We all have heard of the mysterious and allusive creature residing in Loch Ness. But what you may not know is that there are tales of lake monsters all over the world. In this episode, Torrance, Ben, and Sidney pick a part a few different lake monsters and try to make sense of why these tales exist and if they are based in any truth. Are the stories an economical ploy to persuade tourists to visit their otherwise humdrum town? Maybe they are fishing tales that got out of hand in their constant retelling. Or perhaps there is some truth to some of these tales and we have a lot more to learn about our local lakes.

The Pseudophiles gang welcomes London Smith (.com) to use his knowledge as a medical student to attempt to understand some of the medical practices of old and some of new. In this episode we cover topics ranging from blood letting, to ice pick lobotomies, to fecal pills, and briefly to alcoholic enemas (butt chugging). You won't want to miss it.

We all have odd dreams that we cannot fully explained. Why are some dreams reoccurring? Can dreams really tell us something about ourselves? Why is it that there are themes that appear to be universal in dreams like falling or being chased. To answer these questions we called in our good friend Hannah to help us answer these questions and dissect some of our own dreams.

We know that the power of suggestion can be very persuasive. But how persuasive? Could it convince you to be more motivated, quit smoking, or bark like a dog? In this episode we are exploring the history and methods in which people can be hypnotized and try to find a conclusion as to whether it is effective or a parlor trick.

What's so interesting about a bunch of stones in a field? Well, when almost nothing is known about them, they can be either extremely fascinating, or exceedingly dull. Join the gang as they dive into what we do know, as well as struggle to stay on topic.

This week on Pseudophiles, Torrance, Sidney, and Ben discuss Atlantis, the lost colony of Roanoke, Easter Island, prehistoric floods, ancient structures, and more. Nothing captures the imagination more than pondering a lost groups of people who seemingly vanish over night. Sure there are some logical explanations, in fact, there are several of them. But for every logical ones there are 10 crazy ones. Listen and find out which you believe. 

This week Torrance, Ben, and Sidney take another look at a couple different forms of alternative medical treatments. On one hand you have the televangelist who makes a spectacle of laying on hands in the name of God while asking everyone for donations. On the other you have the unregulated homeopathic expert who essentially gives you sugar pills to heal you of your ailments. Is there any merit to either of these approaches? Find out this week on Pseudophiles.

Welcome to the second and final week of urban legends. This week Sidney, Torrance, and Ben discuss the different types of urban legends in video games and a slew of other video game related topics. Are some of our childhood games darker than we realized? Did the CIA enlist Atari to develop the most addictive game of all time? Was Fallout 3 able to predict the future? All these questions answered on this weeks episode of Pseudophiles.

Better not flash your lights at strangers on the road, unless you want to be a part of a bloody gang initiation. This week Ben, Torrance, and Sidney are joined by special guest Emily Moore to discuss urban legends. From the hook man to the death car, they get into the interesting stories we all seem to know and why we all seem to know them. So lock your car, turn up the volume, and join us for another episode of Pseudophiles.