Little green men from the red planet. For years, b-movies shaped our view of alien life. But where did the stories come from? Could there really be life on other planets? Has life from other planets already visited us? This week, we’re talking all about aliens: from ridiculous tales of anal probes to the probability of life on other planets…
We begin the episode talking about what introduced us to the concept of alien life, and then…we waste no time discussing whether or not we believe aliens exist. After establishing that (spoiler alert) we believe we are not alone in the universe, we answer this question: Is there intelligent life in our own galaxy? Then we move on to those trying to find alien life and our thoughts about the more respectable searches.
But what show about aliens wouldn’t delve into the more outrageous aspects of UFOs and little green men? Next topic: find out if we think aliens have ever visited Earth at some point in history. Hell, find out if we think Roswell was an alien crash site or if aliens have visited us even more recently! Have we ever seen something in the sky we could not explain?
But what you really want to hear us talk about is alien abduction, right? Find out if we think alien abductions are real, a cry for attention, or a very specific mental disorder.
We wrap up the episode talking about whether or not we think we’ll see first contact with intelligent life in our lifetimes…and if we’d want to be around to see it.
Whether you look at the night sky and think of bigger things or are wearing a tinfoil hat at this very moment, there’s something for you in this episode! And, as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts about aliens in the comments.
And remember: any time you can’t explain something, it never hurts to go with the logic of Giorgio A. Tsoukalos:
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Bonus Photos!
After recording, the Gorillamen took a little trip to Aurora, Texas…where legend has it an alien vessel crash landed in the late 1800s. Not only do some believe a saucer crashed in the tiny Texas town — they say the alien died in the crash and was buried in an unmarked grave beneath a tree.
A few photos from that trip!
![Shawn [not quite] pointing to the alien burial site. (Put the pose is almost majestic!)](http://www.meningorillasuits.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/shawnpointing.jpg)
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The definition of life… that’s tricky. I’ve watched the definition expand over the past few years. I still think our definitions are too Earth-centric.
I’ve done the SETI boost thing too. 🙂
I’m more convinced than you guys that ancient aliens have visited. Not because of Tsoukalos or Däniken, but because of how (in my perception) humans don’t seem it fit as well on Earth as the rest of the Earthlings. I believe the human genome has been influenced by ETs. The why and how are a mystery. But ET influence would fit with the quirks of our genome, in my opinion. Of course I don’t *know” any of this, it’s just something I find believable.
As you might already know, my best friend is an alien abductee. She has no recollection of the actual abduction, just the post-abduction symptoms. I’ve also read a number of books describing alien abductions. I believe there’s something to this phenomena other that mass delusion. Not necessarily actual alien abductions, but something not yet understood…
Thanks for another great podcast!
I’m waiting for your “first contact” novel, Christopher. 🙂
The first contact novel involves disco…that’s all I’ll say about that… (I really should knock out a totally ridiculous novella a year…)
While the evidence holds up that we evolved without interference, it could happen: http://youtu.be/zPpQCarlncY
I don’t *disbelieve* abductees, contactees, experiencers, or those who think that aliens influenced human evolution. I personally don’t see those things as probable, but I definitely see them as possible. None of those have been proven to me, but the important thing is: they haven’t been *disproven*, either. So to my (admittedly) limited thinking, they’re not so much likely, but totally possible.
I’d actually love the Ancient Astronauts/Chariots of the Gods scenarios to be proven, but you run into the same problem there you do in “normal” history — there is just no way to know. Records (well, from the time humans started keeping them) are unrealiable and biased, at best. At worst, a lot of the history we believe is total fiction.
Out of curiosity, what is it about humans you don’t think fits? And keep in mind, I don’t disbelieve the possibility, so I’m not just asking so I can say “nuh-uh!” and lay out a bunch of counter-evidence… because I don’t have any. 😉
Quirks about humans which don’t “fit.”
We’re the only species on this planet:
1. hell-bent on destroying the planet in the quest to “live the good life,”
2. hell-bent on destroying each other over fairy tales,
3. with a oddly patchy distribution of body hair,
4. unable to simply live out in the open, as in day-to day living without carrying around any clothes or supplies.
We’re also the only ones with helicopters.
Also, we’re probably the least social animals on the planet, or at least the least communal.
If I was to peg one species as coming from outside this planet, though, it’d be bees.
So is it your idea that the building blocks of humanity came from another planet (as in microscopic hitchhikers on an asteroid), or were they engineered by another intelligence? I could see supporting cases for both.
Yes, we’re the only species with *a lot* of things.
“So is it your idea that the building blocks of humanity came from another planet (as in microscopic hitchhikers on an asteroid), or were they engineered by another intelligence?”
Good question. An ET virus could easily throw our genome off-kilter. It’s happened before with terrestrial viruses. Perhaps we are the result of a tribe of hominids getting too curious about an asteroid which barely missed their hunting-gathering ground. Or maybe we’re the result of a failed (or successful, depending on the intention) science experiment of some petulant ET. To my thinking, there has to be some explanation for our weirdness…