February 27, 2017

Beyond Boggy Creek

1 hour 25 minutes

On this episode of Expanded Perspectives the guys start the show off talking about how Brazil's elusive tree boa, Corallus cropanii — also known as Cropan's boa — is one of the world's rarest boas, infrequently sighted and known from only a handful of dead specimens collected after the snake was first seen and described in 1953. However, the species is alive and well, scientists recently discovered. One of the slippery serpents was captured in January — the second living specimen ever seen, and the first glimpsed in 64 years. Then, humans have had music on the brain for most of our existence—cultures all over the world create, listen to, and experience pleasure from music. To study this phenomenon, researchers have surveyed people’s feelings, scanned the brains of performers and listeners, and even measured hormone production. Their findings thus far suggest that our enjoyment comes from the same two-phase reward process—a dopamine-driven anticipatory phase, followed by a dopamine- and opioid-influenced consummatory phase—that kicks into gear when you eat a tasty treat or experience a rush after an intense workout.

Then, according to a number of reports, a photograph reputedly of a reptilian alien taken outside of Luke Air Force Base was posted to 4chan on Thursday. Within minutes, the entire website was allegedly taken offline and all copies of the photograph mysteriously disappeared, except for one. 4chan is the highly controversial image board site associated with a wide variety of equally controversial and nefarious groups and famous for its pranks. According to various accounts, an anonymous thread titled “24489 Taken Aprox 24 miles north west of Luke Airforce Base Phoenix Az. Lab H4C” was begun between on 4chan’s /pol/ board between 12am and 2am on February 23rd. It included a picture of an alien which was said to have yellow scales, black eyes and small pursed lips and was looking directly at the camera in a classic selfie pose. Reports say the thread was only up for a few minutes before the 4chan channel went offline. When it returned, all traces of the photo and thread were gone. Then, a Pennsylvania construction worker says he photographed an unknown creature he believes “had the exact marks” of the Jersey Devil. 32-year-old R.W. claimed that on Friday he was driving on the highway about an hour outside of Philadelphia when he and his friend spotted the creature.

After the break the guys chat with researcher, author and rocker Lyle Blackburn about his latest book "Beyond Boggy Creek". Lyle Blackburn is an author, musician, and cryptid researcher from Texas. His investigative cryptozoology books, such as The Beast of Boggy Creek and Lizard Man, reflect his life-long fascination with legends and sighting reports of real-life 'monsters.' During his research, Lyle has often explored the remote reaches of the southern U.S. in search of shadowy creatures said to inhabit the dense backwoods and swamplands of these areas.

Lyle is also a staff writer for the monthly horror magazine, Rue Morgue, and founder of the rock band Ghoultown.

Lyle has been heard on numerous radio programs including Coast To Coast AM, has appeared on various television shows airing on Discovery, Animal Planet, Destination America, A&E, HGTV, and CBS, and served as consulting producer and special episode host for the tv show Monsters and Mysteries in America. Most recently, Lyle was featured in the documentary film, Boggy Creek Monster.

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