Pod Only Knows

The modern UFO phenomenon - that of flying discs, gray aliens, middle of the night abductions, and international government conspiracies - has persisted in the background of American culture for more than 70 years. And many have attempted to shed light on the "reality" (or unreality) of it central claims.

And all of have failed.

But these stories and the real-time modern mythmaking they represent cannot be ignored, in part because they tell us so much more about the world we find ourselves living in than the whether or not we are alone in the cosmos.

This element of UFO lore is the basis of Toby Ball's terrific podcast Strange Arrivals, soon to enter its third season. John spoke to Toby about what shaped modern UFO lore, what claims of alien encounters tend to have in common, and, finally, whether The X-Files can more accurately be credited with shedding light on this cultural phenomenon or, rather, if it is responsible for fueling its worst impulses.

You can find Strange Arrivals here.

Toby Ball's website is www.tobyball.com

As promised, John reunited with #KeanuClub to discuss the latest (and almost definitely final) installment of The Matrix. Enjoy our loving discussion of The Matrix: Resurrections

In light of the anniversary of the January 6th terrorist attack on the Capitol, we're republishing our episode from September with Dr. Kelly J. Baker, in which we discuss the Klan, Trump, Christian Nationalism, and how all those thing coincided one year ago today.

The Klan is little more than a cultural joke at this point. Following its ill-fated attempts to gain public legitimacy by appearing on Donahue and Jerry Springer in the 1990s, the organization largely retreated to the internet. But there it metastasized and festered and eventually spawned new hate groups like the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer.

The Klan remains the template for and spiritual common ancestor to all of America's white nationalist hate groups, and importantly it was and is, at its very core, a Christian movement.

In our first post-hiatus episode, John is joined by scholar and author Dr. Kelly J. Baker, whose book The Gospel According to the Klan remains one of the most important and authoritative texts on modern white Christian nationalism, to talk about the Klan, Jesus, MAGA...and zombies.

Dr. Baker is on Twitter @kelly_j_baker

You can buy The Gospel According to the Klan here, or wherever you get your books.

John Masefield's 1935 novel "The Box of Delights" is a haunted Christmas fantasy very much in the tradition of the haunted Christmas fantasy that started them all - Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol".

And the 1984 BBC television adaptation is, for a certain group of people of a very narrow age, a beloved Christmas staple. But in spite of Masefield's wild fame in his time, he is largely forgotten today, and despite the numerous adaptations of the book over the decades, it remains a niche pop culture curiosity.

John happens to be of the very particular demographic for whom the 1984 adaptation was formative - as were Masefield scholar Philip W. Errington and acclaimed children's fantasy book author Piers Torday, who recently adapted "The Box of Delights" for the stage for the first time.

In the final episode of season two of Hard to Believe, John explores the story and legacy of John Masefield and his enduring, magical tale of Christmas.

You can find Errington's work here.

Piers Torday's website is www.pierstorday.co.uk

Even though the first Matrix and the last, Revolutions, are the films that contain my favorite scenes and moments from the trilogy, it’s the second film, Reloaded, that is my favorite.

Reloaded is where I fell in love with the Matrix – when I realized it had a lot more on its mind than the typical philosophical terrain of popular science fiction tends to.

Here, the series moves away from the ancient Eastern philosophical and theological roots of the first film and immerses itself in ideas borrowed mainly from ancient Greek myth and philosophy.

Here the series opens itself up to a much bigger world, drawing from a much deeper pool of historical and conceptual reference points. And it all brings us to the single best scene in the series – indeed, one of the best scenes in all of science fiction – Neo’s encounter with the Architect. 

This is part two of our reissue of KeanuClub - The Matrix: Revolutions.

This week, something I never thought would happen is happening – the release of a new Matrix movie.

The Matrix series means a lot to me – even though I have some conflicting opinions about it. Weirdly I didn’t go crazy over the first movie at the time of its release like everyone else did, but went on to love it more as I fell more in love with its sequels.

Which I know is an unpopular opinion that I hope I can help explain in what you’re about to hear.

Almost 5 years ago, on #KeanuClub, one of our network’s flagship shows, I was invited to join Joey Lewandowski and Mike Manzi to cover all three Matrix movies.

I have to say – I don’t agree with EVERYTHING 5-years-ago me had to say. I have changed my mind on some things, like the idea that the term “gnostic Christianity” is actually especially useful, but that’s a good reminder that you should never stop reading, learning, and changing your mind.

So over the next three days, leading up to the release of The Matrix Resurrections, I’m reissuing all three episodes on the Hard to Believe feed.

Enjoy.

And remember.

There is no spoon. 

You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen; Comet, and Cupid, and Donner, and Blitzen...and Rudolph and Mrs. Claus and the Elves, and on and on...but do you know Krampus, Pere Fouettard, or the Christkind?

Throughout the long and diverse history of Christmas, magical, mysterious characters have been woven into local folklores and traditions, especially in the the northern European countries.

But if you're like most people in the United States, you probably aren't too familiar with these darker, more murderous accomplices to Santa's night of forced entries and blitzkriegs of benevolence. So let's fix that!

Mike Manzi and Jess Collins join for one last time this season. So get the fire going, write some Krampus cars, and just wait until Ruprecht comes!!

John is on Twitter @ProbablyRealJB

Mike on Twitter @the_mikestir

Jess on Twitter @jayarekay_

For children all around the world, Saint Nicholas is the ultimate consolation prize - a way of letting kids down easy when they find out that *psst* Santa isn't real!

But, we tell them, there was a Santa Claus, long long ago!

And thus the story of Saint Nicholas, the 4th century Bishop of Myra, who became legendary for his generosity and care for children, lets modern kids hang on to that little bit of magic that Santa Claus had brought into the world for the earliest years of their lives.

Which is great! But...are we sure? Because, as it turns out, the deeper we dig into the story of St. Nick, the more we find a phantom, a shadow, with very little connection to history. And so, this week, the week of St. Nicholas's beloved feast day, we ask Joey Lewandowski and Teddy Smith that question - should we believe in Saint Nicholas, and what, if anything, changes if we come to the conclusion that he, like his modern counterpart, is little more than fantasy?