Voxcali

Solid-state batteries, induction charging, charging over airwaves, and even hydrogen fuel-cell EVs are in development and expected to be affordable by 2030.

Transcript below:

Tom Kagy (00:00)

Hello, this is Tom Kagy with Unconventional Wisdom. I'm here today with Najla Zaidi, who is our expert on the advances that we can expect in electric vehicles. Hello, Najla.

Najla Zaidi (00:15)

Hi, Tom, it's a pleasure to talk to you today.

Tom Kagy (00:17)

Yes,

it's a pleasure to speak with you. So you have done quite a bit of research on the kind of advances that we can expect in EVs.

Najla Zaidi (00:25)

Yes, there are advances that are actually happening in the present time and in the future.

Tom Kagy (00:31)

Okay, so what is the most significant advance that you see affecting the kind of EVs we can expect in the next few years?

Najla Zaidi (00:39)

In the next few years, we're looking at solid state batteries. That seems to be something that's going to be happening by 2027 in lot of EVs.

Tom Kagy (00:50)

Okay, so what does that mean? mean, what does a solid state battery mean in terms of to the end user?

Najla Zaidi (00:57)

So basically a solid state battery is a battery that instead of using liquid or gel electrolytes in the lithium ion, it's a solid electrolyte. And this is going to make the batteries last much longer, be more efficient, and give a lot of mileage, much more mileage than they are now.

Tom Kagy (01:16)

So what are we talking about in terms of the mileage improvement?

Najla Zaidi (01:19)

It's quite an improvement. The mileage improvement they're saying is going to be up to 200 to 500 miles per hour. Like Lucid Motors is already doing a 500 mile per charge.

Tom Kagy (01:33)

So you're saying that the degree of improvement is 200 to 500 miles more, or are you saying that the total mileage will be 200 to 500 miles?

Najla Zaidi (01:42)

The

total mileage will be 200 to 500 miles on one charge and safety factors of they are not blowing up, they're not going to catch on fire, things like that.

Tom Kagy (01:52)

Okay, well as I understand it, we already have cars that are getting ranges of 300 to 450 miles. Does that mean these cars already have solid-state batteries?

Najla Zaidi (02:06)

The solid-state batteries, so far the only ones that is actually using it in 2025 is a high-end Mercedes, but Toyota is bringing it in by around 2027.

Tom Kagy (02:17)

What is the use of solid-state batteries due to the cost?

Najla Zaidi (02:21)

The cost is expensive right now. Normally for the lithium ion it's about $137 per kilowatt and for the solid state batteries the cost is approximately $400 per kilowatt but as technology moves forward it's going to go down and it'll be a significant lowering of price.

Tom Kagy (02:43)

Okay, and so when is there a timeframe when we can expect the cost of solid-state batteries to be at the same level as what we're paying for lithium-ion batteries?

Najla Zaidi (02:54)

Yes, they think that this, you know, according to research that I've done, it looks like it's going to be between 2027 and 2030 is when they're expecting for the cost to go down significantly where we'll be able to, you'll be, you know, in most cars.

Tom Kagy (03:11)

Okay, so it sounds like it's an improvement, we're going to have to wait several years before it's something that's going to be accessible to most consumers. Okay. Are there other advances in EVs other than batteries that should make the experience better for consumers?

Najla Zaidi (03:19)

Right.

Yes, like there's a lot of different materials that they're researching now in order to do batteries like besides the solid state batteries, they're doing lithium, iron, phosphate, oxygen, ion, and carbon nanotube electrodes.

Tom Kagy (03:43)

Okay, take each one one at a time. Take us through what advantages are offered by each of these battery chemistries.

Najla Zaidi (03:50)

So the lithium iron phosphate, they're called the LFP. These batteries are gaining traction because they're safer, they're lower cost, and they have a much longer lifespan compared to the traditional lithium ion. And then they have like, they already have a significant market share, especially in cattle like Chinese companies. And then there's sodium ion. Sodium ion is what cattle is actually using since 2021.

And they've already got 18.32 million cars equipped with this battery.

Tom Kagy (04:20)

So what, is there a drawback to either of these chemistries?

Najla Zaidi (04:25)

Not at this point, there's not. mean, even with oxygen ion batteries, as research is going forward, these batteries are becoming even more potential advantages, like they have life long, excuse me, lifespans. And the use of an abundant material is oxygen. We don't have to depend on rare materials to make it. And it's also incombustible.

Tom Kagy (04:45)

Okay, what about the weight factor? I understand that there's some differences in the weight of these types of different battery chemistries. Are these batteries heavier or lighter than the current lithium ion batteries?

Najla Zaidi (05:00)

These batteries right now the whole problem with with EV batteries are the weight. So various companies are working to make things lighter like for example a company called Grafino is developing graphene battery and it's you know it's going to have a 500 mile range and it can recharge in five minutes. But the nice thing is it's a lighter material and same with I think it's the the University of

I think it's Nawa Company in France. They've developed the ultrafast carbon electrode and this is much lighter and the lifespan is much, you know, it's over five times over a current battery.

Tom Kagy (05:39)

What about the cost factor? mean, that's always important.

Najla Zaidi (05:42)

The cost is still expensive at this point, as time goes on and research goes forward, the cost will certainly go down too.

Tom Kagy (05:49)

What kind of timeframe are we looking at for that?

Najla Zaidi (05:52)

We're thinking about around 2030 is when this is going to be more mainstream.

Tom Kagy (05:57)

Okay, so it sounds like these more exotic, more efficient battery technologies aren't really going to be available to most of us until around 2030.

Najla Zaidi (06:06)

Yes, I think right now the most, the closest one will be the solid electrolyte batteries, the various versions of them.

Tom Kagy (06:13)

Okay, and you said that was 2028 to 2030?

Najla Zaidi (06:15)

2027

to 2030.

Tom Kagy (06:17)

Right, and for the cost to become affordable.

Najla Zaidi (06:21)

Right, for the cost to become affordable. Because right now they're four to eight times more expensive than the current battery.

Tom Kagy (06:26)

Okay, now if cattle, the Chinese companies using lithium iron phosphate, what you call LFP batteries and sodium ion batteries, why aren't other companies using it? In other words, if they have the advantage of being safer and longer lasting, why aren't they being used by companies like GM and Tesla and so forth?

Najla Zaidi (06:48)

Right now, like all these various companies like Mercedes, Hyundai, Volvo, they're working together with various researchers on different ways. Everyone is trying to form their own battery. And Cattle's founder, Robin Zangs, has used sodium ion most because he thinks it's going to replace half of the market. But other companies are doing research on various ways. So everyone's trying to find

a solid state material that works better than the next.

Tom Kagy (07:16)

Okay, so you're saying there's a of a division of opinion as to what chemistries will have the best long-term potential.

Najla Zaidi (07:23)

Yes, and everyone's doing their own research.

Tom Kagy (07:26)

Okay, now what about charging times and charging technologies? Can we expect anything to significantly improve that?

Najla Zaidi (07:35)

All the companies are working on charging technologies. According to Dr. Fang at Michigan State University, she's working on a lithium metal battery, and she calls it the holy grail. And she says it's because it can provide the highest possible energy density and double that of the ion batteries. Plus, it gives the most mileage, and the charge lasts a lot longer. But then also research at

The University of California Riverside are working on battery technology that uses sand. And they're saying that this will be three times better performance than the current graphite-based lithium-ion battery. So.

Tom Kagy (08:14)

When you say sand, you're talking about they're using silicon?

Najla Zaidi (08:17)

Yes, pure silicone.

Tom Kagy (08:19)

with no exotic chemicals or metals.

Najla Zaidi (08:22)

No, and

even there's another company like I am, I love this, IBM is working with Mercedes-Benz and they've discovered a new battery chemistry that's free of heavy metals and it can outperform the lithium ion and materials are extracted from seawater. So these, they're much cheaper, they charge way faster than anything else and it's easy, it's seawater.

Tom Kagy (08:45)

and they have similar ranges.

Najla Zaidi (08:47)

Yes, they have similar ranges. In fact, they're believing it's going to be even better ranges.

Tom Kagy (08:51)

What about the cost?

Najla Zaidi (08:53)

I was not able to find anything on cost. They're not releasing that. But they're saying that because it's so much cheaper to make, the cost should be much less than the future.

Tom Kagy (09:03)

Okay, so what kind of time frame are we looking at for these types of batteries?

Najla Zaidi (09:07)

These

are again probably 2030.

Tom Kagy (09:09)

Okay. In addition to the charging, wait, one thing I forgot to ask you is you mentioned this sort nano-graphene technology that can charge quickly and hold the charge longer and have greater power densities. What is the timeframe for that?

Najla Zaidi (09:22)

Yes.

That one is the company working on that is Nawa in France. Now, initially they said that they would be able to have this ready for release in 2023, but now they're saying it's going to be released in 2025. And in fact, they're going to show this technology, I believe this month at the Paris Air Show. So.

Tom Kagy (09:50)

Okay,

so I assume that that's kind of at the prototype stage,

Najla Zaidi (09:54)

Yes,

it's at the prototype type stage, but they're looking at between 2027 and 2030 to be able to use these, you know, for mass production. Like, well, actually, they're talking about mass production now in 2025 to start it.

Tom Kagy (10:09)

Okay, what about the cost for those?

Najla Zaidi (10:11)

They've not revealed anything on the cost.

Tom Kagy (10:13)

Okay, so that could be a potential complicating factor, I guess. Okay, now in terms of charging the batteries, know, I mean, typically we have to get out of the car, you know, and plug in the charger and go through a bit of a rigmarole each time we want to charge. Are there any technologies that can save us, spare us from that type of inconvenience?

Najla Zaidi (10:18)

Yes.

All right.

Well, Whytricity is a company in Massachusetts and they've come up with this basically it's a charging platform that you can just put in your house and it's a wireless platform. It's they are using magnetic resonance works like they create kind of a wireless transfer of energy between the car and the platform. And so this is the first thing coming out. But of course, it's very expensive.

Tom Kagy (11:01)

Okay, and how fast does that type of, sounds like some sort of induction, right? Induction.

Najla Zaidi (11:05)

Right, yes,

it's magnetic resonance and it's an induction kind of wireless charger. And it's already in the market now, but it ranges from $1,500 to several thousand dollars because they're still working on it. But other companies like BMW and Toyota are also looking at this kind of thing.

Tom Kagy (11:11)

Okay.

What about the charging times with these induction plates? What kind of time frame are we looking at to charge up a typical EV?

Najla Zaidi (11:34)

Right now it's the same as plugging it in like a level two charger. Yes, five to 10 hours. But they are working on trying to make it faster.

Tom Kagy (11:39)

Okay, so five to ten hours depending on your battery.

Okay, so I take it that this will never be practical as a roadside charging station.

Najla Zaidi (11:51)

No, not for

long term driving because they may eventually be able to put plates in roads or like at the side of a road. But at this point, we're not there yet. Like it's just we would have to spend so much money in infrastructure, which we just are not there yet. But it would be good for like a home or an office.

Tom Kagy (12:09)

Okay. Now I understand you had discovered some exotic ways of potentially charging EVs in the future.

Najla Zaidi (12:18)

Yes, like there's some really interesting technologies on the horizon. You could be, you know, it's still a ways off. A research have developed a radio wave harvesting antenna where you could, you know, charge your car basically by just radio wave. And then we also have an ultrasound charging. A company called U-Beam is turning its power into sound waves so that you could be, you know, beamed to your your EV and then turn back into power.

And they're already experimenting on this with smartphones and laptops.

Tom Kagy (12:49)

Okay, so are these charging methods something that would require you to have your car be stationary or are these things that are going to be charging your car while you're driving all over the place?

Najla Zaidi (13:01)

While you're driving all over the places, it's like you would have access to wherever you have access to Wi-Fi and, you know, the air bear basically, they're going to transmit their, like, especially for U-beam company, they're transmitting the rechargeable power over the air through ultrasound. So you can go anywhere. And then also, you know, in terms of fast charging, this company called StoreDot, which is, out of, it was a nanotech department at Tel Aviv University.

They've already built a battery that uses biological semiconductors and they're building it now for EVs and they would be able to charge in five minutes. You would have an estimate range of 300 miles and be done in five minutes. And right now they can charge a cell phone in 60 seconds.

Tom Kagy (13:48)

Okay, wait, I'm not sure I understand. these batteries contain some sort of biological material.

Najla Zaidi (13:54)

Yes, what they're doing is they're using an organic peptide compound, which are basically the building blocks of proteins. So this results in a charger that can recharge your smartphone in 60 seconds. And now, of course, they're working on EV batteries where you'll be able to charge in five minutes and have a range of about 300 miles. And it's completely organic. It's non-flammable, and it's absolutely safe.

Tom Kagy (14:17)

So essentially, are they refueling this biological material into your battery? it kind of like putting gasoline into your car?

Najla Zaidi (14:27)

They've not specified that, but I believe that's how the technology would work.

Tom Kagy (14:31)

Okay, now just getting back to the ultrasound charging, which sounds almost fantastic. Now, how would, would they have to build sort of charging towers along roadways in order to, for that to work?

Najla Zaidi (14:45)

Well, the way that they're there, it's still a ways off right now, but the researchers have developed a radio wave that it's basically harvesting in a tunnel that's it's only several atoms thick and it can be used to recharge future EVs over electromagnetic waves. So that's what they're basically focusing on is electromagnetic waves.

Tom Kagy (15:04)

So you're saying that the cars would be coated with this thin charging surface that would receive these waves.

Najla Zaidi (15:09)

Right. You would have basically an antenna that

would be searching for the electromagnetic waves. And that would be down like an AC power would be downloaded from Wi-Fi and converted to DC power to recharge your battery.

Tom Kagy (15:25)

Okay, so you

would have to, I assume you would have to coat a fairly large surface area on your car.

Najla Zaidi (15:31)

Right, I think that that's the way that it would work.

Tom Kagy (15:34)

Okay. Now, one of the alternative EV technologies that, you know, back a decade ago was considered maybe even the front runner was the hydrogen fuel cell. And in fact, I recall that Toyota was kind of turning its nose up at the whole idea of lithium ion batteries because it was focused more on the fuel cell. And I know that GM also

Najla Zaidi (15:45)

Right.

Tom Kagy (15:58)

had developed a fuel cell vehicle. What's happened? Suddenly we're not hearing much about these hydrogen fuel cell cars.

Najla Zaidi (16:05)

They're not a dead end. They're definitely a viable option, but they're just off in the future. Like according to Argonne National Laboratory, we're going to be, you know, they'll be on par with the solid state batteries by around 2030. But there's just so much right now that we need to do in terms of production is a lot slower due to cost. The cost barrier is really high of hydrogen production. And then there's also the

There's just not availability. There's not that many fuel cell cars right now, and there's no availability to be able to charge them as you're driving down the road. There's not that many charging stations.

Tom Kagy (16:43)

Okay, so, but there is no, there has not been a final determination that they're not gonna be up to par with solid state batteries.

Najla Zaidi (16:51)

No,

not yet. Like they're just saying that right now it's the cost is higher and it's inefficient. So car makers are thinking of it at this point is a bad investment because there's no refueling stations. It's really expensive. And efficiency wise, EV batteries are at 90 percent at this point, but the hydrogen cells are only around 35 percent. So we still need to do a lot of research on it, but they should be on par around 2030.

Tom Kagy (17:18)

Okay, sounds like basically EV owners can look forward to some exciting breakthroughs in the four to five year time frame then.

Najla Zaidi (17:26)

Yes, absolutely. And with the breakthroughs, it's great for the environment. this is going to create jobs. It's good for the environment. And I think that once we have these new breakthroughs, it's going to be more people who actually want to buy these cars.

Tom Kagy (17:41)

Right. Okay, well, this has been very informative for EV owners and prospective EV owners. Thank you very much, Najla.

Najla Zaidi (17:49)

Thank you, Tom. It was so great to talk to you about EV cars, and let's look to the future.

Tom Kagy (17:54)

Yes, thank you. It's my pleasure.

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Ancient Indian texts, including the Vedas and Mahabharata, describe flying objects (Vimanas), advanced weaponry, and encounters with various extraterrestrial beings, supported by historical accounts and modern sightings in India.

Transcript below:

Title: India's Vedas Show Ancient Knowledge of UFOs and Aliens

Dek: Ancient Indian texts, including the Vedas and Mahabharata, describe flying objects (Vimanas), advanced weaponry, and encounters with various extraterrestrial beings, supported by historical accounts and modern sightings in India.

Keywords: Ancient India, UFOs, Vedas, Mahabharata, Vimanas, ancient texts, flying objects, aliens, extraterrestrial beings, Sanskrit, Indian lore, ancient technology, alien sightings, Project Blue Book, unexplained phenomena, historical UFOs, Indian archaeology

Tom Kagy (00:02)

Hello, this is Tom Kagy with Unconventional Wisdom. Today we have Najla Zaidi, who's our expert on ancient Indian ⁓ lore contributing to our understanding of UFOs. Hello, Najla.

Najla Zaidi (00:21)

Hi, Tom, it's such a pleasure to talk to you again today.

Tom Kagy (00:24)

Yes, it is. Okay, so you have all this Indian lore that you say supports our observations of UFOs.

Najla Zaidi (00:36)

Yes, actually, India has contributed in several ways. There's ancient texts that describe flying objects. There's ancient structures that are replicas of these flying vehicles. And they've had this belief since the beginning of time in beings from other worlds. And besides all of that, there's also actual instances of UFO sightings that have been investigated by authorities. So they have a lot of stuff that's gone on for centuries.

Tom Kagy (01:05)

Okay, well, what I'd like to focus on first are the ancient texts, which I assume is really the biggest source of our knowledge of what ancient Indians had observed.

Najla Zaidi (01:19)

Yes, so the most ancient are the Vedas, and these are basically, they were orally composed in northwestern India, which is called Punjab area, 1500 and 1200 BCE. And these were verbal, like verbally passed down, sages would go into meditation, and when they came out of the meditation, this was the information that they received, that's what they would say. And then besides the Vedas,

There were also three other ancient texts. One was the ⁓ Mahabharata, which is an epic, and another was the Ramayana, which is also an epic, and then a little unknown book that was called the Samarangana Suddhatra Hathra. And it's an ancient Indian treaty that was attributed to King Bhoja of Dhar, and it was written in the 11th century CE.

So those were the main ancient texts, but they've been around for over 2,500 years and have talked about aliens in addition to other things.

Tom Kagy (02:23)

Okay, so what I'd like to do is focus in on these texts because since these texts are really the main source of details about UFO sightings and knowledge, I'd like to see if we can nail down exactly when these texts were created and by whom. So you first mentioned that the Vedas, which I assume is sort of the generic word for all of the ancient texts, or is

Najla Zaidi (02:52)

Right.

Tom Kagy (02:52)

Are the Vedas a specific ancient text?

Najla Zaidi (02:56)

So there are four Vedas. They're broken up into different sections, but the main four, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Atra Veda, Vaveda. And each one has its own four subdivisions. But basically, these started between, in northwestern India, between 1500 and 1200 BCE.

And then they went on later on, they added some that came around 1200 and 900 BCE more eastward between the Yamayuna and the Ganges River. so it just kind of like that was the time that it went on. there was one person who actually took all of this information and he wrote it down. And his name was Vias. And Viasa was cut.

basically, Vedic Vyaso was also known as a sage with his prominent role in Hindi tradition was he was a compiler of all the mantras. So he actually sat down and wrote all the mantras down. they believe that he also wrote the Mahabharata along with 18 of the Puranas and the Brahman Sutras. So he's also the author of the Mahabharata. And they believe that he wrote these back in a small cave in the Himalayan Mountains near Amana village. And this was probably around the third century BCE is when they believe this happened.

Tom Kagy (04:30)

Okay, so how, again, what was the name of this author?

Najla Zaidi (04:36)

His name was Vyasa.

Tom Kagy (04:38)

Okay, so how was Vallarta or Vallata able to compile all this knowledge that you mentioned had originated sounds like about 32 to 3500 years ago?

Najla Zaidi (04:52)

It was like a tradition of passing down information or it was like an oral tradition. And so he basically was a sage himself and he's the one that sat down actually and wrote everything down.

Tom Kagy (04:58)

Okay, so he was kind of like Homer writing the Iliad.

Najla Zaidi (05:09)

Exactly.

And in fact, the Maharabharta is like twice the size of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Tom Kagy (05:16)

The Odyssey.

OK, yeah, I know that for probably for a few hundred years, scholars were very skeptical about the veracity of the action that was described in the Iliad and the Odyssey until I think about 150, 200 years ago, some German archaeologists, I believe, actually discovered the ancient city of Troy in northwestern Turkey.

Najla Zaidi (05:45)

Right and I believe that these stories come from some sort of reality because the Mara Bartha itself is roughly 10 times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined.

Tom Kagy (05:57)

Okay, so by Vyata then wrote this down in some sort of ⁓ couplets, some sort of poetic.

Najla Zaidi (06:07)

Right, they were like written in couplets. were like poems that were written down. And he did the Vedas the same way. So the Vedas were written first, and then he's basically the author of the Mahabharata, which is an epic about two fighting cousins that were basically fighting for control of the kingdom. And within it, were all of these, it's basically within it are all of the rules and regulations of culture and how to be and how to run life. So it was like storytelling but also telling you how to be as a human being and as a race.

Tom Kagy (06:49)

Okay, so it was incorporating all of the cultural knowledge that was existing at that time that had been, I guess, passed down for sounds like what for 1500 years.

Najla Zaidi (06:54)

Yes, exactly. 2500 years more than 2500 years.

Tom Kagy (07:06)

No, but I mean, you're saying that the oral tradition began about 3,500 years ago, and then Vyat wrote this down, what, about 2,500 years ago. Okay, so he was, sounds like he was ⁓ kind of ⁓ incorporating all of the Vedas that had been passed down for a period of about a thousand years before he actually set them down.

Najla Zaidi (07:11)

Yes, you're right. exactly. Yes. So about 1500 of you.

Right, exactly. He's also regarded by many Hindus as a partial incarnation of Lord Vishnu. And they consider him one of the immortals. And they believe that he's still alive in a current age known as the Kali Yuga. So that's why he was able to do this, to sit and write all this stuff down.

Tom Kagy (07:54)

Yeah, it sounds like a superhuman feat to write down something that long. Okay, so now it seems like from what you're saying that his Mahabharata and Vedas were actually intended to be more of a sort of a knowledge base, kind of an encyclopedia of

Najla Zaidi (08:01)

Exactly.

Tom Kagy (08:22)

The knowledge that had existed up until that time.

Najla Zaidi (08:25)

Yes, they absolutely were. And it was really interesting because there was such a wealth of knowledge on diverse topics. Like not, you know, besides the alien stuff, there was, they talked about celestial events and astronomy. They knew about the moon and the sun. They knew about, you know, they mentioned eclipses and predictions like that degree. So they had a degree of understanding of astronomy. And then they also talked about in one of the Vedas called the Dhanur Veda.

They talked about military strategy. They organized ancient military forces, ornaments, warfare strategies. So it was like a encyclopedia of how to handle things and how to manage life. Like they even had the Sama Veda was like a book of songs. It was all about musical chants and melodies and what kind of music to use in religious rituals.

And then they also had medicine there. There was like the Yajurveda. It's also known in the Book of Rituals. And that actually gave instruction on various religious ceremonies and rituals, including birth, marriage, death. And then they detailed the social structure that they carried, you know, had in the Vedic period, which a lot carried on to today.

Tom Kagy (09:45)

Okay, so it incorporated essentially objective knowledge and information and it was not intended to be some sort of a fanciful account of somebody's imagination.

Najla Zaidi (09:58)

No, absolutely not. Like the Atrava Veda, it also had spells in there and sorcery, but it also had medicine. It had explanations of how to manage diseases and how to, ⁓ like they even had plastic surgery in there, how to perform plastic surgery.

Tom Kagy (10:18)

Okay, so the accounts, but this also contained accounts of UFOs and aliens.

Najla Zaidi (10:23)

Yes, and the way that they set these accounts up, were very specific on saying that, like, they believe that, because the Vedic system of belief, not based on dogma, they believe it's knowledge, and they believe the Veda isn't actually a compilation of knowledge. They believe that if something existed in the Vedas, it actually exists, that there was nothing in the Vedas that was made up. And then one example is in the Padma Purana.

They're talking about 400,000 humanoid species that are within the universe. They're not talking only on Earth, they're saying the entire universe.

Tom Kagy (10:59)

Okay, just to make clear the context in which we find this information about UFOs and aliens, that information about UFOs and aliens would then be a fairly tiny part of these writings.

Najla Zaidi (11:15)

Yes, exactly. They go all the way back to the very first ⁓ Veda that was written down, which was the Rig Veda, had spoke about ⁓ gods and goddesses and vimyanas, or like their flying machines, their word for flying machines, that actually describe them looking like the saucers that we see today.

Tom Kagy (11:36)

Okay, so now moving on to their descriptions of these UFOs. What are some of their exact descriptions of what they look like and what they do?

Najla Zaidi (11:49)

Well, they basically, the flying objects were basically, looked like flying saucers. said that they were flying objects. They called them Vimanas, and they described them as capable of flight. they had, know, early descriptions where they looked exactly like a saucer like we see today. Some showed a saucer that was huge with two stories that could carry, you know, like a chariot in the sky that could carry like hundreds and hundreds of people.

And then, in fact, they also talked about the Vinyanas being used using Mercury as part of their propulsion system, which is exactly what NASA is doing right now. So they described them to be able to travel at high speed, carry large numbers of people. And then they also said that they had aerial agility, like they were capable of rising up into the sky vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.

And then they had incredible speed where they could travel and cover huge distances in a matter of hours. They could go from area to area in a planet or from planet to planet. And they even spoke about materials. And the materials, they said, it was fabricated with some special metals and alloys, which we don't even know what they are. But they were aware of some sort of material science at that time.

Tom Kagy (13:11)

So what are some of the characteristics of these materials?

Najla Zaidi (13:15)

They didn't go into any details, but they said that the materials were some kind of a metal, an alloy, and they could use solar energy to travel, and they could also use mercury for propulsion. that was like they didn't go in. They just said that there were some sort of metals, but they didn't describe them. It was something that was ⁓ outerworldly. It wasn't from within Earth.

Tom Kagy (13:43)

Okay, so in addition to carrying creatures around, did these ⁓ crafts do anything else? Were they used for other purposes?

Najla Zaidi (13:54)

Yeah, they were they were also used for weapons, which was very interesting. Like the Vimanas were armed with powerful weapons. So they may have been military implications because according to the Mahabharata, there were 46 different types of weapons. And like, for example, they had a weapon which was like a guided missile called Brahmastra, and that could target enemies accurately and devastating force. And this could be seen as evidence of advanced technology.

And then they also had Vishnu's weapons, was equipped to find their targets. So this was launched, and it would destroy everything that was moving. So it's kind of like a moving ⁓ motion detection weapon. And then there was another one, Pasaporta weapon, that basically would multiply into seven different arrows. So it hit seven different targets at the same time. So kind of like our missiles now. they were, so. Right, right.

Tom Kagy (14:47)

Right, our multiple reentry missiles.

Najla Zaidi (14:51)

And then they even talked about Salva was an anti-god that could make his vehicle disappear. So we see that in accounts today where people say there was a spaceship and then suddenly it disappeared. Right, there was invisibility and then they also, that same Salva could put people to sleep. So we were thinking perhaps that could be nerve gas.

Tom Kagy (15:02)

Right, so they had some sort of invisibility capability there. Or possibly some other form of energy that might cover people.

Najla Zaidi (15:16)

Right. And then they also,

you know, they had access to weapons that were suggestive of a nuclear weapon they called Diva Astra's because they described them that they could unleash high energy in the form of explosions, water, rain, storms, like an after effects of that would be like a nuclear weapon.

Tom Kagy (15:38)

So were there any accounts of actual wars and what kind of destruction was wrought by these wars?

Najla Zaidi (15:46)

There were accounts of wars that went on in the early days of India, in ancient India, where there were wars against gods and demigods. But they just spoke that they were wars in space where spaceships could knock each other down too. But they were.

Tom Kagy (16:03)

So were the wars ⁓ between or among the aliens as opposed to the aliens attacking humans?

Najla Zaidi (16:11)

Yes, they were among the gods or the aliens.

with humans at the time, humans witnessed that there were some, like they've also talked about different types of aliens in these texts. And some of these aliens that we know of today, like the reptilians, the big gray aliens with the big eyes, they discussed them back then and they talked about how they would come and harass humans all the time in that ancient time.

Tom Kagy (16:41)

Okay, so even though the wards were not actually against humans, but there were some malevolent aliens, it sounds like.

Najla Zaidi (16:47)

Right, there were malevolent aliens at the time.

Tom Kagy (16:50)

Okay. And what aside from the gray aliens, were there any other types of aliens that they describe in these?

Najla Zaidi (16:59)

Right, described, so they said that there were extraterrestrial beings, their aliens were categorized basically in three major types. They were called the suras, were the benevolent beings, and those were basically like the gods. And then the manusas are us, the mortal human beings. And then the suras were the malevolent beings. And they described these, which was very interesting, they're called crimias.

They were like bacteria, viruses, monosodular beings, larvae and worms. But they said in other planets, these beings could do everything that humans could do, that they could build cities, they could roam in spacecraft, and then they would come to Earth and create disturbances on Earth. then they had the ⁓ rudraanas was popular as a reptilian species. And they actually had clans.

And they were frequently mentioned in Mahabharata about doing all kinds of activities throughout Vedic history. And they were in clans known as the Nagas and Uragas. And they definitely had interactions with humans in the past because they would always cause some kind of a problem. But then they even went on to talk about ⁓ minutias or humanoid creatures. And in this, they talked about human beings, about half human and half beast.

creatures, ape-like creatures, which I'm thinking is probably like Bigfoot or, you know, what we know as the Yeti. And then there were, you know, other winged angels. They discussed angels and even Siddhas, which are considered superhuman beings, like we see as superheroes, but they actually believe that they exist.

Tom Kagy (18:42)

Okay, what interests me the most actually out of all that is the fact that they talked about viruses because how would they even be able to see or detect viruses unless they had some sort of access to microscopes?

Najla Zaidi (18:59)

Right, and that's what's so interesting that it's in the Vedas that these things exist and they even gave them a name. So it's really interesting that they knew about this, which I think this lends credibility to talking about all of the alien stuff.

Tom Kagy (19:15)

Okay, so it sounds like the texts were covering the entirety of the alien species. How many were there? How many alien species did the text actually describe?

Najla Zaidi (19:38)

They really described like four or five that were alien beings that came. But then they talked about other beings that were already on Earth, like deep fairies, deities, angels, that were in both in heaven and on Earth. But the beings that would come to visit us were like the virus type beings, and then the reptilian species, and then the big head and the big eye species.

So these are the same people that we've seen. And they've also actually talked about descriptions between wars, between the demigods, which were called devas, and demons, asuras, that were here on earth. And basically in the Mahabharata, humans, know, what our job is to do is to stay away from the negative and try to improve ourselves to become a higher being, like the higher beings, like the gods.

Tom Kagy (20:30)

So that is what was stated in the Mahabharata. By the way, these texts, what language were they written in?

Najla Zaidi (20:34)

Yes, and then Mahabharata. They were all written in Sanskrit.

Tom Kagy (20:42)

Okay, so is Sanskrit a language that is used, is it extant anywhere in the world?

Najla Zaidi (20:49)

I don't believe it's extinct anymore, it is. Like now, they usually, there's various dialects in India. There's Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, very different ones. But this is like the ancient texts are all in Sanskrit. And it's really interesting that there was an account of, there was an account basically where there was proof.

Of these, I'm trying to, sorry, trying to find in my notes, there was proof of these beings that were, that they had visited Earth with spaceships because there was a book written by Russian ufologist Paul Stonehill and British ufologist Philip Mantle called UFO Case Files of Russia and they actually found a space rocket that had Sanskrit inscriptions in the cockpit and this happened in 1948 in Kiev.

Vyhovoka was a famous ⁓ archaeologist at the time and he found this piece of a ⁓ space rocket and when he took it apart the language inside was Sanskrit. So this was

Tom Kagy (22:05)

So what does this suggest that maybe the rocket was actually built by the ancient ⁓ Indian or?

Najla Zaidi (22:09)

Yes, they were visiting the ancient Indians back in 2500 years ago, back in the time of the Vedas. And during that same time, also found, and there was a mention of another strange archeological discovery in Kiev, and that was basically, they found a chest containing 500 books written in Arabic, Greek, Sanskrit, and Slavic languages. So they may have been visiting us for years and were actually collecting our information and our, you know, text.

Tom Kagy (22:45)

Okay. What kind of, let's say, ⁓ correlative evidence do we have that the information in here is real? mean, do we have any other ⁓ signs or evidence that what is stated in these texts were actually attributable to actual events, to actual knowledge. I mean...

Najla Zaidi (23:20)

So there's actually architecture that shows that is in India and even in Colombia that shows that they were here, or we actually saw them. People in ancient India saw them because they had structures of replicas of flying machines. in, let's see, I totally lost my place here.

Tom Kagy (24:07)

So you're talking about the stupas then.

Najla Zaidi (24:09)

Yes, the stupas. They had stupas and they had buildings in, like in, they believe basically that there was the Somala River, which is in India. Around this river, was the most, it's an area where we have the most temples. And the temples are basically, supposedly according to,

research that the Indian government has done. They are exact replicas of the spaceships that were described in the ancient texts and the Vedic texts. the buildings are not only in the areas where there's always, these buildings are always where there's like three rivers that come together. For example, in India, it's in the Somala River. And then the same type of situation has happened

in Columbia at a river in Columbia in St. Augustine, our archaeological park. And in that, they have the same type of buildings there. And so it's possible, the only way that they would have known to build these temples around these places is if they had aerial surveillance. Because this is where the, this is where the aliens had come in the past and this is where the temples were built.

Tom Kagy (25:32)

Okay, so you're saying that they were able to spot a place where there's a confluence of three rivers.

Najla Zaidi (25:38)

Right, where they could find, and that's for some reason, again, it's the theme of water, because the entire universe, I guess, needs water. And that's where they would go, but they would make these stupas there. And then they also had designed, I'm trying to think of what they were called. They looked kind of like a...

Tom Kagy (26:04)

Are you referring to maybe the statues of the spacemen wearing helmets?

Najla Zaidi (26:09)

Yeah, it's like there were, well, and what happened was in Columbia, when they went to the archaeological part, there's a spaceman there wearing exactly the helmet with the big eyes and, and, you know, that was described in India. So they believe that these vessels went from India to Columbia in search of gold and they were digging for gold.

Tom Kagy (26:32)

Okay, so is there anything else that you were able to uncover that suggests that these texts are actually describing real events involving UFOs or aliens? ⁓

Najla Zaidi (26:50)

Yes, like we've actually had alien sightings in the US. So that's in India. There have been numerous sightings in India of ancient aliens arriving in those places. like, for example, the earliest one. And these are all sightings that I'm speaking about that have actually been investigated by the government or by a national investigative committee.

Because in 1951 in New Delhi, 25 members of a flying club, that George F. Float was the chief engineer. at 10, 20 AM, he actually saw a cigar-shaped spaceship come at the hangar, like around Delhi Flying Club's hangar. And 25 people came out to see it. And they watched it for several, for, you know, it was visible for several minutes. And it was faster than at the time that it was three times greater.

than the British vampire jet that was available at the time in 1951. But even to this day, Project Blue Book has evaluated this sighting and considers it unidentified because they still to this day aren't able to say what it was, but 25 people saw it and they were all legitimate people. George Float was the chief aerial engineer there. So that's the earliest one. And then on September 27th,

of 2024, a team of scientists and geologists were in Sambu Tapu. They spotted a white object resembling a snowman, and it looked like this three to four foot tall object was walking down a ridge. And all the scientists saw this at about 6.45 in the morning. And when they ready to, like they tried to take pictures of it, they reported it to authorities. The next thing they know, it disappeared and went up into the sky. But it looked like a snowman walking down.

The Hill.

Tom Kagy (28:48)

This is an organic creature or was it a some sort of a artificial machine?

Najla Zaidi (28:54)

No, they said it was an organic creature, but it looked like a snowman, like a walking snowman. And they actually ended up seeing it twice, once in 2024, and I believe the second time it was in 2027. they were... It was like kind of walking, bouncing down the mountain, like, you know, as if a snowman was walking. And then all of a sudden it flew up into the sky and disappeared. And these were like legitimate scientists and geologists who saw it.

Tom Kagy (29:06)

but it was able to actually fly without any assistance.

Okay.

Najla Zaidi (29:24)

and they completely believed that this was real and that no one has been able to explain it since then. mean, court...

Tom Kagy (29:31)

Maybe some creature wearing ⁓ a white suit, right, that has that aerial capacity.

Najla Zaidi (29:35)

Right, it could be, it could be.

Right, it could be, but they were, from what they saw, because it flew up in the sky afterwards, they were confused. What could it possibly be? And then in October of 2007, there was a fireball that was photographed in the skies of Kolkata, and they claimed it was shape-shifting, and it was reported by the Times of India, but so many people saw it, including Birla Duari, he was the Birla's Planetarium Director at the time. And he said that this natural phenomenon, like no natural phenomenon could have lasted for that long because this was visible. The fireball was visible from 3.30 a.m. to 6.30 a.m. So for hours it was there and then it flew up in the sky and vanished. And, you know, the entire city, including the Planetarium Director, witnessed this.

Tom Kagy (30:34)

Okay, well, it sounds like these Indian texts support the belief that we've had aliens visiting for at least a few thousand years. Okay, well, thank you very much, Najla. This has been interesting.

Najla Zaidi (30:43)

Yes, absolutely. Thank you, Tom. It was great to talk to you about this.

Keanu Reeves' impressive filmography, featuring The Matrix, John Wick, and earlier classics, underscores his lasting impact and continued relevance in Hollywood.

Keanu Reeves, 60, became a mainstream action icon playing Neo in the 1999 sci-fi film, The Matrix. The initial trilogy included 2 films released 6 months apart in 2003, which combined for a gross box office total of $1.6 billion. Reeves reportedly earned more than $250 million starring in the franchise.

Reeves plays the title role in the John Wick franchise, comprising 4 films that have grossed over $1 billion.  Lionsgate has announced that a 5th film is in development.

Reeves’ breakout movie is the 1989 comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, which led to two sequels.  He established himself as an action hero with leading roles in Point Break (1991) and Speed (1994), the latter of which earned over $350 million, about $800 million in 2025 dollars.

Reeves’ directorial debut, and sole project to date, is the 2013 martial arts film, Man of Tai Chi, in which he also starred. Reeves was born in Beirut and raised in Toronto. His paternal grandmother is of Chinese Hawaiian descent.

Dubbed the "Chinese Warren Buffett," Li Lu built a $15 billion investment firm with remarkable long-term bets, most notably his early and massively profitable investment in BYD.

In the investment world Li Lu is respected for his track record in long-term value investing.   At the relatively tender age of 59 he has earned the nickname “Chinese Warren Buffett.”

Lu founded Himalaya Capital in 1997 and built it up to $15 Billion worth of assets under management.  The company’s most important investment was in the then struggling Chinese maker of bicycles and batteries called BYD.  Lu had the foresight — or fantastic stroke of luck — to take a large stake at BYD’s 2002 IPO when shares were offered at less than HK$3, or about $0.37.

In July 2021 when BYD had established itself already as China’s leading maker of batteries for electric vehicles and a fledgling EV-maker, Himalaya Capital cashed in over $300 Million worth of BYD shares, with BYD share at HK $227.62 (about $28) — a return of nearly 76-fold.  Even better, Lu had the good sense to retain a 6% stake in the company.  Today BYD is the world’s leading maker of EVs and batteries, having recently surpassed Tesla.  Its stock is trading at over $150, putting a $9 billion valuation on Himalaya’s stake.

Lu’s successful picks let him grow an $88 million investment by late Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Charlie Munger to over $400 million.

Today Lu’s estimated net worth is well over $5.6 Billion, perhaps as much as $10 billion.

Born in China, Lu enrolled in Columbia University’s American Language Program to learn English.  In 1996 he simultaneously earned an economics BA, a JD, and an MBA from Columbia. Li Lu is actively involved in philanthropy and serves on the boards of several prominent institutions, including as a trustee of Caltech and Columbia.

The attention Russian Journalist Alina Salionova receives from Chinese media for her exceptional Mandarin fluency, depicted in this video excerpted from a China News Service broadcast, shows one aspect of growing cultural ties between Russia and China.

The other day my eyes became irresistibly drawn to the Tower 28 section at my local Sephora.  The juicy lip glosses and tinted sunscreen were showcased in the kind of colorful packaging that makes you think, “Maybe I do need this”. 

Tower 28 is formulated for sensitive skin but without affecting the products’ performance. What clinched my interest was the line’s creator: Taiwanese-American Amy Liu. 

Her 15 years in the beauty business, including stints as VP of Marketing at Josie Maran and a professor at the Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing (FIDM), prepared Liu to redefine clean makeup with the launch of Tower 28 in 2019 in Santa Monica, drawing the name from an actual lifeguard tower at the beach.

Makeup formulated as “clean” often do so at the expense of the pigments, with shades that are often too sheer or fade by noon.  Tower 28 is a different story. 

The brand’s products, made in the U.S. and Canada, are vegan, non toxic, and dermatologist tested, all without sacrificing coverage and color.  You can layer the products beautifully as they’re designed to be buildable, which is perfect for any makeup look. 

That means we get clean formulas from affordable products that actually show up and stay put. 

Tower 28 delivers not only quality, but also a bit of fun, with product names like BeachPlease Blush.  The ocean themes and eye-catching boxing makes the brand a breath of fresh air in the beauty industry. 

Liu has built Tower 28 on a foundation of inclusivity, no pun intended.  A problem consumers have with brands is finding their matching foundation.  Tower 28 offers a wider spectrum of skin tones. 

The Swipe Serum Concealer comes in numerous shades, all with flexible undertones, making it easy for anyone to avoid that orange concealer look. So we have inclusive shade matching, buildable coverage, and calming our blemishes?  How often can you say that about a concealer?

Liu understands that beauty has never been one-size-fits-all and collaborate with makeup artists and influencers to show off the brand's diversity.

Tower 28 is more than cute packaging and a viral TikTok moment. It’s a brand built with a purpose.  

The next time you’re at Sephora and you see that bright, beachy display, remember that Tower 28 is making beauty fun.  Trust me when I say your makeup bag will thank you. 

While China races ahead with massive investment in advanced public transit, the U.S. faces the urgent need to modernize its aging infrastructure.

China and the U.S. A tale of two transit systems. Public transportation. Millions all over the world use it to get from point A to point B every single day. But depending on where you live, that ride may not be too smooth. China has the world's largest high-speed rail connecting over 550 cities and can reach speeds of up to 217 miles per hour.

You could travel 663 miles from Beijing to Shanghai in a little over four hours. Meanwhile, in the United States, the only high-speed rail is the Amtrak-Acela line between Boston and Washington, D.C., which can reach high speeds of 150 miles per hour. On the West Coast, the Brightline West is currently under construction and is planned to be complete by 2028.

This new high-speed rail will provide travelers an alternative to flying or driving between Las Vegas and Southern California. China has also developed a system of smart subways that enhance passenger experience with things like tap-to-pay, free Wi-Fi, real-time crowd tracking, and even facial recognition for entry. Unfortunately, many systems in the U.S. still rely on cash or swipe cards, things no one wants to carry around.

Riders in China have it easy as everything is integrated into QR codes so you can see transit schedules and reserve e-bikes or scooters all in one single app. Here, every city would have its own app and even if it does have one, good luck trying to set up your payment methods. China is also a leader in electric bus adoption. In 2018, the world had 425,000 electric buses and 421,000 of them were located in China, completely crushing the United States, who owned around 300.

So why is China so far ahead?

The Chinese government is funding transportation accordingly as they see it as essential infrastructure. In 2024, China's total spend on transport infrastructure totaled around 1.2 trillion yuan, or $170.6 billion US dollars. The future of transit is already here, just not evenly distributed. China's already racing ahead and it's time for the US to rethink the ride.