In Research Of
William Blake Smith
- 1 hour 47 minutesS04E20 - In Search of John the Baptist
Jeb and Blake go in search of John the Baptist's resting place. Content Warning: Human remains on screen. Discussion of murder.
Beheading John the Baptist (wiki)
In 2018 the murder of Bishop Epiphanius took place and rocked the religious community -- not important for this episode but it popped up a lot in my searching.
San Silvestro "head" shown in intro
Nimoy Fashion Alert (NFA Wardrobe consulting by The Hogtown Rake, Pedro Mendes)
The "head" of John the Baptist at San Silvestro:
Art historian Michael Patroconni (Petroccione?)
I think Jeb and I found this to be the most fun part of the episode:
19 February 2025, 2:48 pm - 2 hours 41 minutesS04E19 - Earth Visitors (Explicit)
Blake tries to talk Jeb off the ledge as we return to the classic theme of "ancient astronauts" in this throwback episode titled: Earth Visitors.
Some links relevant to our discussion:
Roman Dodecahedrons (archaeology)
We mention Zecharia Sitchin.
Research suggests humans grow more neurons than did Neanderthals.
A bunch of this episode comes from the work of Maurice Chatelain, who we shall refer to as "Shadowlane." His book Our Cosmic Ancestors sports one of the more interesting book covers we've seen while researching this show.
He also wrote Our Ancestors Came from Outer Space. Maurice Chatelain's credentials appear to have been somewhat overstated in the episode.
We'll be talking about several "Out of Place Artifacts" or OOPAs in this episode. Let's start with the "Boot Print" aka The Meister Print. (pictured below) See also this article by Glenn Kuban.
Very compelling stuff. I guess. I mean it sort of looks like show print.
This interesting looking skull also sent us down some research holes.
The text of the episode seems to be talking about the Del Mar Skull but the image doesn't look like a close match.
A lot of "shapes on the earth" are discussed. The shapes require you to do a lot of work. We'll get into that in the episode. But one is the Maltese Cross that is absolutely stunning, so long as you ignore that some of the points are hundreds of miles from the alleged anchor points and that the temples allegedly at each point were centuries apart. Skeptical response via CSICOP.
Also - this is supposed to be a "pyramid" but seems to be more of what geometry wonks call a "triangle."
I'm trying to find the type of terminal behind our statistician. And - behind the scenes I've managed to contact him and he assures me that the episode required many takes and that his students reported they made him sound like he believes in the whole ancient astronauts thing... More on this if I hear back from a rather lengthy email I sent him today (12/13/24).
Read even more about the Monte Carlo Method!
Vintage ad for the The Outer Space Connection.
According to Scientific American, the idea that indigenous Americans were here for a very long time (from across the Bering sea) really kicked off in the 1930s.
Read more about The Elephant Slab hoax.
This montage of Kachina dolls really impressed Blake:
Nimoy Fashion Alert!
Native Jewelry Artist Preston Monongye
Engineer Charles Ruggles
Could he be LARPing J. Allen Hynek?
Finally we get to the Cosa Artifact.
And - of course, The Jupiter Menace (1982)
14 December 2024, 9:53 pm - 1 hour 50 minutesS04E18 In Search Of... The Ghost Ship
Jeb and Blake head out to sea in research of the mystery of what happened to the crew of The Mary Celeste.
Links:Nimoy Fashion Alert (NFA Wardrobe consulting by The Hogtown Rake, Pedro Mendes)
In 1913, The Strand Magazine provided an alleged survivor's account from one Abel Fosdyk, supposedly Mary Celeste's steward.
The Mary Celeste (1913 article)
Per "WhatTheFont" website identifier, that font is (appropriately): JOLLY ROGER!
Meanwhile on Skull Hut Island...
Pop Culture:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_the_Mary_Celeste
Read it, it’s a time. Hammer film -Jeb
18 October 2024, 4:28 am - 2 hours 5 minutesS04E17 - Wild Children (Explicit)
Jeb and Blake go into the jungles of California and France in search of WILD CHILDREN!
This episode of ISO contains a lot of disturbing content and our commentary is laced with expletives, hence the Explicit tag.
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Tarzan is raised by a fictional ape species known as The Mangani
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The story of Mowgli is LOOOOSELY based on the real-life person Dina Sanichar.
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1985 story about search for "wild children" (and Sham Dev/Shamdeo)
NFA - Wild Children:
It's supposed to be a Bear but it has some other possumbilities.
12 September 2024, 11:50 am -
- 2 hours 29 minutesS04E16 - Vincent van Gogh
How could Vincent have been a creative genius - yet also "insane?" Jeb and Blake take a look at Nimoy's very personal thoughts about this question.
This episode deals with the topic of self-harm and suicide. If you're struggling with thoughts of self harm, please get help immediately. You can reach trained and empathetic counselors (in the USA) by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-TALK.
We care about our listeners and want you to be around for many years to enjoy life - and our work.
Links for Show Notes:
Nimoy's play VINCENT via Archive
81 Words - This American Life on the DSM
Bullshit or Not? Was JTR really Nessie?
Weird Al's Skipper Dan (YouTube)
Doctor Who clip of Vincent at the art gallery
Early montage sequence shows:
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Self Portrait (1888)
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Starry Night (1889)
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Vase with 15 Sunflowers (1888)
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Bedroom at Arles (1888)
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Night Cafe in the Place Lamartine in Arles (1888)
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Encampment of gypsies with caravans (1888)
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Langlois Bridge at Arles (1888)
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Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes Maries
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Wheat FIeld with Cypresses (1880)
You can find all these and more at the online Van Gogh museum.
Meanwhile... Could Manos be loosely based on Paul and Vincent?
25 August 2024, 5:08 pm -
- 1 hour 47 minutesS04E15 - The Missing Heir (Explicit)
Jeb and Blake learn all about the riveting world of stock certificates and inheritance law! It may not be the most mysterious episode of In Search Of... but it's certainly one of the episodes we watched.
Show Notes: Orson Welles Critic Clip Lot 249 Texas Pacific Land trust 1980 article The big 2014 Business Insider article Pembroke: http://www.oldlongisland.com/2008/02/pembroke.html http://www.oldlongisland.com/2011/10/pembroke.html http://www.oldlongisland.com/2009/07/pembroke-american-architect.html Pembroke tour (video) Alice de Lamar Failed lawsuit Contemporary article about the case
Nimoy Fashion Alert (red-shift corrected)
The case of the missing hair! Jeb was confounded by this man's barberian style choices.
31 July 2024, 4:31 pm - 2 hours 3 secondsS04E14 - San Andreas Fault [EXPLICIT]
Jeb and Blake are joined by Sharon Hill to get shook by the San Andreas Fault!
Understanding the Richter Scale (logarithmic)
Link (Netflix) to Earthstorm docu series
YT video clip featuring geologist Dr. Kerry Sieh
Classic Budweiser commercial from the 70s
San Andreas movie with The Rock (Amz affiliate link)
Cover to guide for SF geological tour:
Dr. Tim Hall - One of the founders of the San Andreas Fault Trail in 1977. Featured in 2011 documentary available on YT.
Dr. Kerry Sieh
The very sexy VT52 from DEC.
NFA San Andreas edition:
30 June 2024, 12:33 pm - 2 hours 32 minutesS04E03 - The Dark Star
In order to understand In Search Of… The Dark Star, Jeb and Blake will first need to get Sirius; Sirius-B, that is!
Links from this episode:
Siris (A part of the Canis Major constellation)
Jeb discussed a couple of evocative artworks: Appeal to the Great Spirit (Dallin)
North African musket (Moukahla)
The Hans Guggenheim art project
The Tribal Eye BBC documentary series (YouTube)
Regarding Temple, Puhairich, Young, and The Nine
The Sirius Mystery by Robert Temple
Editorial letter about Temple from The Observatory
Dogon Shame by Phillip Coppens
Griaule's Legacy: Rethinking "la parole claire" in Dogon Studies
Pop Culture References (affiliate links):
Conjure Wife - aka Burn Witch Burn
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Images:
The "orbit" of the Dogon dark star.
Nimoy posing with a tribal mask - our initial NFA image.
Later we get to see his legs in this seated NFA supplementary:
Hans Guggenheim initially appears in just a vest and pants.
Later, he too is in more of a Safari look, and has a professorial pipe as well.
Dr Gary Chapman, Astronomer
The man who first photographed Sirius B - Dr Lindenblad
A little of the FORTRAN code that powers the orbit animation in the episode:
We don't have enough information to know who made Nimoy's safari clothing, but if you want to try and track down a very close approximation, this example from J. Peterman's (est 1987) is as close a match as I've seen. You would still need to find it in a vintage shop because at present they don't sell these.
18 June 2024, 3:08 pm - 2 hours 27 minutesS04E12 - Ten Commandments (Explicit)
Blake and Jeb look for the real location of Mt. Sinai, where Moses was supposed to have received the Ten Commandments from God.
29 May 2024, 7:46 pm - 2 hours 37 minutesS04E11 - In Search of D. B. Cooper
Jeb and Blake extinguish our cigarettes, put our trays in the upright position, and head out the back of the plane in search of the elusive skyjacker known as D. B. Cooper.
Nimoy Fashion Alert - dimly lit corporate office edition.
The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper (Movie) - if you buy it on Amazon we get a few pennies.
Recent Netflix series on D. B. Cooper
Blake's friend Rick Ollerman offered some opinions on vintage round parachutes.
Later we meet Nimoy outside where you can make out more of his ensemble.
Of course this is an episode about D. B. Cooper - who for Jeb and I, evokes the classic "MIB" look.
This ain't deal-a-meal. This is a different Richard Simmons.
There is some great photography in this episode. I liked seeing the reservoir and dam. Imagine landing there on a stormy November night without jump boots...
Finally - kudos to the faceless Cooper stand-in who lugged stuff around in the anonymous re-creations.
2 May 2024, 12:38 am - 2 hours 14 minutesS04E10 - Pompeii (Explicit)
Jeb and Blake join Leonard Nimoy's search for Pompeii! (Well - is it really about finding Pompeii? Or is it about finding a possibly Christian cross in Pompeii? Tune in and find out!)
Links:
Nimoy Fashion Alert!
Hey - it's NOT a Jumpsuit.
We complain but there really is WAY too much red-shift in the majority of this episode:
You need pumice? WE GOT BUCKETS OF PUMICE!
29 March 2024, 7:28 pm - More Episodes? Get the App