In the first portion of the interview, we find out about Loren's background and how he came to become such a huge name in cryptozoology. We discuss the "kill or no kill" debate with regards to Bigfoot. Loren's concept of three "types" of Bigfoot that may be found in North America. Loren tackles questions sent in by BoA writers, Lesley and Khyron, dealing with the giant bears of Siberia and the story of the footage of giant squid that came out last year. We get Loren's take on the "million dollar bounty" on Bigfoot from last fall and where that story has gone since it first developed.

Would the capture of Bigfoot hurt cryptozoology in the long run ? How cryptozoology is becoming mainstream. How the capture of Bigfoot may influence religion. How long, after we capture one Bigfoot, would a second Bigfoot probably be captured. The initial Bigfoot capture, how it may play out differently depending on the way Bigfoot is captured. Loren's take on the paranormal aspects of Bigfoot and how his earlier work influenced his stance today. How Coleman feels about dealing with all the fraudulant work in the Bigfoot field (from both researchers and debunkers) and his response to being a "go to" guy to settle these affairs.

Loren explains how the Chupacabra became a media sensation in the 1990's, despite having been around for decades. Will Loren see the capture of the Bigfoot in his lifetime ? The Loch Ness Monster, has it lost popularity in the last few years or is that an effect of media coverage ? Loren's hugely popular blog Cryptomundo, how it came to be.

In the second portion of the interview, we discuss Loren's book "The Copycat Effect", We talk about The Sorrows of Young Werther, Suicide clusters including baseball and football suicide clusters and how Loren tried to warn Major League Baseball before a suicide cluster ended up happening. We talk about the nomenclature of suicide, which is a hotly debated topic among suicide experts.

We touch on school shootings and Loren makes a bold prediction for later this year. We hit on a host of media fads including shark attacks, mysterious kidnappings, teachers sleeping with students and other odd stories. The debate over the influence of entertainment on society is covered as well as the debate over prescription drugs and whether they influence school shootings.

We talk about how Loren balances being both a cryptozoologist and a nationally recognized expert on suicide clusters and whether his crypto work influences how he is perceived when dealing with the mainstream media and the topic of suicide clusters.

In total, this is a monstrous interview, covering both the world of cryptozoology and the world of media influence on society. A must-hear for any esoteric radio fan and easily a classic edition of BoA : Audio.

Loren Coleman is one of the world's leading cryptozoologists. An honorary member of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, and several other international organizations, he is also a Life Member of the International Society of Cryptozoology. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursue of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969.

Coleman has written seventeen books and more than three hundred articles, has appeared frequently on radio and television programs, and has lectured throughout North America, as well as in London and at Loch Ness. He has been both on- and off-camera consultant to NBC-TV's "Unsolved Mysteries," A & E's "Ancient Mysteries," History Channel's "In Search of History," Discovery Channel's "In the Unknown, " and other reality-based programs. He contributes cryptozoology columns, "On the Trail," to the London-based magazine Fortean Times, and "Mysterious World" to Fate, as well as regular articles to The Anomalist and Fortean Studies. In 2000, he served as the Senior Series Consultant to the new "In Search Of..." program which is scheduled for future broadcast on Fox and USA Network. During 2002, he was featured in the Sony Studios' "Search for the Mothman," available on the DVD of the movie The Mothman Prophecies.

Obtaining an undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Coleman majored in anthropology, minored in zoology, and did some summer work in archaeology. He received a graduate degree in psychiatric social work from Simmons College in Boston. Coleman was admitted to the Ph.D. programs, and took doctoral coursework in social anthropology at Brandies University, and in sociology at the University of New Hampshire's Family Research Laboratory.

Coleman has been an instructor, assistant/associate professor, research associate, and documentary filmmaker, in various academic university settings, since 1980. He gave one of the first credit courses on the subject of cryptozoology in 1990, and examined cryptozoology films in his popular documentary course he taught through 2003 at the University of Southern Maine. He has written extensively in human services, having authored, coauthored, or edited eight books, including the critically acclaimed Suicide Clusters (Faber and Faber, 1987), appearing on "The Larry King Show" discussing it. His work on the suicides of baseball players was covered in Sports Illustrated, the Sporting News, ESPN, ESPN Classics and by all the major media and wire services.

His websites are www.cryptomundo.com and www.lorencoleman.com.

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1 hr 46 min
2.25.06
121
Loren Coleman