Wide Atlantic Weird

It's 'Not Your Father's Fawcett!' The journey continues with our dive into the first part of EXPLORATION FAWCETT, the 1953 book of Colonel Percy Fawcett's own notes and journals, as tidied up, illustrated and edited by his son Brian Fawcett. Featuring:

-my visit to a Fawcett-related address in London

-the infamous giant snake sighting!

-Fawcett's links to living dinosaurs and other crypto-critters

-Lost cities, Atlantis (because of course), H.R. Haggard, 'white indians'

It's enough to make you never want to hear the name 'Fawcett' ever again!

LINKS

Buy Me A Coffee, you scoundrel!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic

Exploration Fawcett, Percy Fawcett, 1953

https://archive.org/details/explorationfawce0000fawc/page/n11/mode/2up?view=theater

Monster Mysteries, Rupert Matthews, 1989

https://archive.org/details/monstermysteries00matt

In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors, Karl Shuker, 1995

http://www.karlshuker.com/search_prehistoric.htm

In which we're asked to audition for Metallica, endorse the George Foreman grill, and wrestle over 365 days in a year. We also cover:

-Hogan's years at WCW

-the infamous Monday Night Wars between WWF and WCW

-the meta writing of Vince Russo

-Hogan's comeback match against the Rock

Buy Me A Coffee, Brother!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic

Part 1

https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/wide-atlantic-weird-777986/episodes/fake-news-the-fictional-life-o-70226830

Part 2

https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/wide-atlantic-weird-777986/episodes/the-fictional-life-of-hulk-hog-83212152

Dr Eoghan Aherne visits the cabin to talk about the early medieval period, and some things we might believe about it that might not be true! Topics include:

-modern myths about the medieval period

-were medieval people particularly credulous?

-a medieval flat Earth?

-classical ideas during the medieval period: the four elements

-the scientific revolution as continuity rather than revolution

-the importance of miracles and the Irish saints

-the distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘supernatural’

-Religious relics in Ireland

-Belief in the Devil, demons and possession

-St Colmcille and the Loch Ness Monster

-Pagan gods as demons

Buy Me A Coffee

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic

Bede and the Cosmos, Eoghan Aherne, 2020

https://www.routledge.com/Bede-and-the-Cosmos-Theology-and-Nature-in-the-Eighth-Century/Ahern/p/book/9781138365438

DISCOUNT FLYER for the book. 30% discount available, enter the code BC30 at checkout.

Why Can The Dead Do Such Great Things

Robert Bartlett

https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691169682/why-can-the-dead-do-such-great-things

Observation In the Margins, Katherine Park

https://www.academia.edu/7785602/_Observation_in_the_Margins_500_1500_in_Lorraine_Daston_and_Elizabeth_Lunbeck_eds_Histories_of_Observation_Chicago_University_of_Chicago_Press_2011_15_44

Arthur Conan Doyle and Professor Challenger make a welcome return to the show, as we turn once again to the worlds of Edwardian fantastic Imperial fiction, and the history of still-living dinosaurs in literature. Dr Richard Fallon joins us to talk all things LOST WORLD, in particular the vision Conan Doyle had for a subtle, restrained presentation of the tale via the illustrations of his brother-in-law PATRICK LEWIS FORBES, versus the more familiar, bombastic, monster-filled illustrations of HARRY ROWNTREE. Will the great writer get his way? Topics include:

-dueling visions of The Lost World through its illustrations!

-dinosaurs in lost race/world stories versus in Swiftian satire

-Conan Doyle's own supposed 'cryptid' sighting

-Professor Challenger as a representation of Conan Doyle's ideas about science

-the faked 'imposter' photos taken for the Lost World

LINKS

Buy Me A Coffee! It keeps me awake while hunting dinosaurs

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic

Creatures Of Another Age, Richard Fallon

https://www.valancourtbooks.com/creatures-of-another-age.html

Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World: Illustrating the Romance of Science, Richard Fallon (includes some of Forbes' illustrations)

https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/en/publications/arthur-conan-doyles-the-lost-world-illustrating-the-romance-of-sc

Reimagining Dinosaurs in Late Victorian and Edwardian Literature, Richard Fallon

https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/en/publications/reimagining-dinosaurs-in-late-victorian-and-edwardian-literature-

Call for Interdisciplinary Science Reviews Special Issue

https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issues/interdisciplinary-science-reviews-palaeoscience/?utm_source=TFO&utm_medium=cms&utm_campaign=JPG15743

Gallery of Lost World illustrations, including Harry Rountree's set

https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Lost_World

Cian welcomes Dr Edward Guimont back to the cabin for a chat about two seminal 1951 flying saucer movies. There'll be saucers skipping across water (whyever would you do that?), McCarthyism, and pulp-era sci-fi authors acting like jerks. Topics include:

-our history with both movies

-the short story 'Farewell To The Master' and 1930s pulp Sci-fi origins

-Robert Wise and Star Trek: The Motionless Picture

-The Star Wars Expanded Universe

-The classic flying saucer shape on film

-Klaatu and the Contactees

-Comparisons to Star Trek: First Contact

-John W Campbell and pulp sci-fi magazines

-Ancient astronauts and The Thing

-Mad scientist archetypes

-McCarthyism in 50s sci-fi

LINKS:

Support the show at Buy Me A Coffee

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic

Dr Edward Guimont on Twitter

https://twitter.com/edward_guimont

The Impossible Archive Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-impossible-archive/id1571034015

Worker's Cauldron episode on Soviet Sasquatch

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-workers-cauldron/id1527590843?i=1000553530547

Cian returns to the cabin to tackle a subject that he should have tackled long ago: the life and mysterious disappearance of Percy Harrison Fawcett. First part (fingers crossed) of a series attempting to contrast the various books about Fawcett that are out there. Featuring:

-extended thank yous to all the nice folks who've sent me books and things during the hiatus

-in-depth breakdown of the 2009 David Grann book 'The Lost City Of Z'

-audio from my trip to Spike Island, where Fawcett was stationed in the early 20thc

Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic

Tyler Greenfield visits the cabin to chat about sightings of supposed living extinct creatures. We discuss early 20th century origins of living Megalodon stories, the French Pterodactyl trapped in rock, the bizarre 'Triassic Kraken,' and how the mysterious Cadborosaurus got its type specimen. (Episode picture thanks to Tyler! It's a full-size replica of our titular beast)

Links:

Buy Me A Coffee

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic

Tyler’s Blog

https://incertaesedisblog.wordpress.com/author/incertaesedisblog/

Tyler on Twitter

https://twitter.com/TylerGreenfieId

Megalodon: Monster Of A New Mythology, Dr Edward Guimont

https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/2793

Cryptozoological Reference Library

https://cryptozoologicalreferencelibrary.wordpress.com/2019/10/22/welcome-to-the-cryptozoological-reference-library/

The French Pterodactyl: A Fortean Folly, Mick Goss

http://magoniamagazine.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-french-pterodactyl-fortean-folly.html

The Triassic Kraken

https://incertaesedisblog.wordpress.com/2021/07/03/the-triassic-kraken-revisited/

Ancient chalk figures, Arctic exploration, pendulums, and emotions 'recorded' onto the landscape: TC Lethbridge dabbled in them all, and remains an important figure in mid-20th century alternative thinking. Lisa from the Beer Ladies Podcast joins us at the cabin to talk about Lethbridge. We cover:

-Lethbridge’s early archaeological career

-Lethbridge as an institution figure vs an outsider

-The imperial era of archaeology and exploration

-The Mildenhall Treasure

-‘Lost white race’ theories

-The disputed Cambridge chalk figures

-Lethbridge’s pendulum ideas

-early takes on the ‘Stone Tape’ theory

-Colin Wilson promoting TC Lethbridge

-A ‘ghoul’ as a physical area of negative energy

Some links:

Buy Me A Coffee:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic

T.C. Lethbridge: The Man Who Saw The Future, Terry Welbourn, 2011

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21082097-t-c-lethbridge

Lisa on Twitter

https://twitter.com/lisagrimm

Beer Ladies Podcast

https://twitter.com/beerladiespod

Picture from Iron Man Records

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ironmanrecords/49818188947

Cian is joined at the cabin by David & Mercedas from the Worker’s Cauldron to talk about a variety of paranormal topics and their cultural/political influences. Subjects include:

-evolution of Wicca

-social context and the paranormal

-alien abduction in the 90s

-creating episodes

-David’s trip to Bluff Creek

-colonial literature’s influence on Forteana

-Demonic possession and economic anxieties

-Ghost-hunting groups

-The Ballinspittle Moving Statues

-70s Haunted House Stories

-Vampire as political satire

-Phantom helicopters

-Influence of the X-Files

Worker’s Cauldron Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-workers-cauldron/id1527590843

Books & Articles Mentioned:

Our Most Troubling Madness, Tanya Luhrmann

Drawing Down The Moon, Margaret Adler

Triumph Of The Moon, Ronald Hutton

They Know Us Better Than We Know Ourselves, Brigette Brown

Communion, Whitley Strieber

UFO Abduction Reports: The Supernatural Kidnap Narrative Returns in technological Guise, Thomas E Bullard

Explorers Of The Nile, Tim Jeal

The Great Orm Of Loch Ness, Ted Holiday

Hunting Dinosaurs In Central Africa, Edward Guimont

The Water Horses of Loch Ness, Roland Watson

Hostage To The Devil, Malachi Martin

Monsters Of The Market, David McNally

Sharon Hill joins us to speak about Spooky Geology and Ley Lines! We discuss the origins of the lines before they became associated with mystical ideas, leys as a way to connect with landscape, how they’re thought of in the paranormal community today, connections to UFOs (of course!), a little bit of Stone Tape Theory, and some real geological processes that might have been an influence on the idea.

Sharon’s Strange Times

https://sharonahill.substack.com/

Spooky Geology

https://spookygeology.com/

Sharon’s Twitter

https://twitter.com/IDoubtIt

Scientifical Americans

https://sharonahill.com/scientifical-americans/

Sharon discussing Paranormal Researchers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hgmTl12isA&t=1704s

Spooky Archaeology, Jeb Card

https://unmpress.com/books/spooky-archaeology/9780826359148

Analogue Ghosts of the 1970s and Hauntology

https://celluloidwickerman.com/2015/07/20/analogue-ghosts-of-the-1970s-and-hauntology/