We start things out with a brief thumbnail bio from Jeff & Jeremy. We then find out about the origins of Paratopia, what the duo aimed for in creating the program, and their conscious decision to include a comedic element in the show. This leads to some discussion on the impending new direction of Paratopia, how the idea came about and what the goals are for the new style of program. The duo then explains how the new style of program will actually work and what kind of material listeners can expect from the program when the reincarnation of Paratopia launches in a few weeks.

Looking at perhaps the most discussed series of Paratopia episodes in their run: the programs which examined and detailed the now-infamous Emma Woods story. We first find out what the reaction from the paranormal community, as a whole, was to Paratopia covering the story. For those unfamiliar with the Emma Woods story, Jeremy provides a thumbnail look at how the story unfolded and why it generated a firestorm of controversy in the abduction research community. This leads to discussion on the problems of hypnosis in abduction research and the co-opting of hypnosis by the abduction research community is problematic for the field as a whole. Taking the conversation from there, we talk about how abduction research has gone largely unchecked by Ufology over the last few decades and, as such, the narrative of what abductions are has been allowed to develop without critical oversight. In light of the issues with hypnosis, Jeff puts forth an alternative route to investigating abductions.

The conversation then turns towards the world of Ufology and some of the problems associated with the field. We delve into issues surrounding the ETH, the segments of Ufology that "know" the ETH is fact, and why it represents a fundamental flaw in the field. Jeremy also looks at some of the big picture questions surrounding aliens such as how humans project their idea of consciousness and identity onto the aliens and how, if the aliens have been here for as long as some claim, how are they the aliens? Jeff addresses the idea of perception, how malleable it is, and how that throws an additional paradox onto studying UFOs.

Going down a different path, we talk about the Paratopia Ghost Hunting Road Trip that they went on last October. They explain how the project came together and how it all unfolded. Jeff shares some of the stories of really strange things that happened and that the group saw while on the ghost hunting trip.

Talking about another series of Paratopia episodes, we discuss the duo's multiple trips to the X-Conference in Washington, D.C. and how that all happened. Jeremy talks about how his impressions of the exopolitical movement changed over the course of attending multiple events in succession, the pair talks about the general mood of the events, and also recount some of the hijinks of attending the event. The conversation then organically turns back into a discussion on Ufology and belief systems.

Taking things to a meta level, we discuss the plethora of new paranormal podcasts so far in 2010 and get the duo's opinion on why that has happened, how its a reflection on the field, discerning the good shows from the bad, the motivations behind starting a podcast, and what it all says about the human condition.

Heading towards the close, we get a tease on what Paratopia 2.0 will be like when it drops for the first time. This segues into some discussion on the perils of being a public figure in a world of the paranormal. Closing out the show, we find out how folks can get listen to the complete Paratopia archive and when the new version of the program will debut.

Jeff Ritzmann has been actively involved in UFO research for just over 20 years. He refers to his involvement as a personal one, after several odd events in his life from age 5 on prompted him to explore the field of UFO research. In an effort to learn more he’s applied his work as a digital imaging professional to the ever growing pile of UFO photos and video and has become a recognized image analyst in the UFO field working on visual data. He was the primary image analyst in the O’Hare UFO case, and is cited in the NARCAP report of the event for his work. Jeff has also worked on landing trace cases, and “experiencer” support investigations. He was the official chat host on AOL for “Sightings” in the early days of the internet, and he founded the first experiencer support group (AES) on the internet through AOL’s “Parascope”, where he was the UFO related chat host after Sightings closed it’s operations on the service. Jeff has also provided footage and information on cases to the History channel and the Gulf Breeze UFO Conference. Working with abovetopsecret.com, the internet’s largest alternative topics message board community, Jeff has done examinations on multiple UFO cases as their image analyst. His experiences with the UFO phenomena continue to present day.

Jeremy Vaeni is a writer/producer kinda guy pumping out everything from books to music videos to feature films. He is also a columnist and editor for UFO Magazine as well as director of Culture of Contact, a New York-based conglomerate of artistic experiencer types who like to sponsor and produce events around the city. He is the author of "I Know Why The Aliens Don't Land!" and producer of the feature documentary, "No One's Watching: An Alien Abductee's Story." When not doing all of that, Jeremy is abducted by aliens, or something, and has this energy in him that made him become God once–it was awsome. You should have been there.

Paratopia
Topics Discussed
2 Hr 28 Min
6.22.10
525
Jeff Ritzmann & Jeremy Vaeni