On Monsters

FromMonsterTalk

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On Monsters

FromMonsterTalk

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Length:

58 minutes

Released:

Nov 3, 2010

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

This week on MonsterTalk, author Stephen Asma (Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago) speaks about his comprehensive book surveying Western monster-lore.
Is humankind’s fascination with monsters broader than any single cause? Asma’s On Monsters examines hundreds of legends — and their cultural, psychological and social implications.
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Released:

Nov 3, 2010

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

MonsterTalk: The Science Show About Monsters is a free audio podcast that critically examines the science behind cryptozoological (and legendary) creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or werewolves.

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Bigfoot DNA: Our panel (Ben Radford, Dr. Karen Stollznow and Blake Smith) interview Professor Todd Disotell, PhD. Todd has been a guest on multiple television shows to examine potential Bigfoot and Yeti DNA. We ask him about the science of DNA analysis, his... by MonsterTalk
75 min listen
I'm Gonna Get You, Goat Sucker!: The most famous of the Latin American cryptids is El Chupacabra, the goat sucker. This episode of MonsterTalk examines the lore behind this slinking, sinister, blood-sucking creature. Is it a real animal? A creation of secret scientific experiments?... by MonsterTalk
54 min listen
Cryptozoology & Science: Part 1: What is cryptozoology? Is it science? Is it folklore? Does it make predictions? In part 1 of a 2-part series, MonsterTalk examines cryptozoology as a field, including speculation on the cryptids most likely to turn out to be real. Guest Dr. Darren... by MonsterTalk
68 min listen
Darwin vs. the Wolfman: In this week's Halloween episode, MonsterTalk ventures into the realm of the werewolves -- and asks what Charles Darwin's Origin of Species implies for this fearsome monster's plausibility. Guest Dr. Brian Regal (Assistant Professor for the History of... by MonsterTalk
68 min listen
Fins & Fossil Footprints: Did a Japanese fishing vessel catch the body of a prehistoric aquatic dinosaur? In this week's MonsterTalk, we interview Glen Kuban to discuss the 1977 case of the Zuiyo-Maru, dinosaurs, paleontology, cryptozoology and why so many creationists want to... by MonsterTalk
60 min listen
Horrifying Hybrids: In this episode, MonsterTalk examines monsters that genetically blend humans with the other. Hosts Blake Smith, Ben Radford, and Dr. Karen Stollznow explore the plausibility of alien-human hybridizations, dig into the real science of genetics -- and... by MonsterTalk
69 min listen
They Came From Outer Space!: Are creatures from other planets visiting the earth, trampling our crops to create cryptic messages, violating people in their sleep, and doing terrible things to our livestock? How plausible is it that we are being visited by intelligent beings from... by MonsterTalk
55 min listen
Historical Ghost Investigations Part I: Kimo / Therapy: Ghost investigations often feature in television shows and other media. Typically, these amount to people wandering around at night with EMF detectors, talking into the darkness and jumping at shadows and noises. But how does one do a scientific... by MonsterTalk
64 min listen
The Iceman Goeth: Late in the 1960s, in the era which gave us the famous Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film, fairgoers in Minnesota were confronted with a marvel: a hairy, primitive-looking humanoid frozen in a block of ice. Was it an anthropological relic? Was it a... by MonsterTalk
76 min listen
Cryptozoology & Science, Part 2: This week, MonsterTalk continues its discussion of the intersection between science and cryptozoology. The hosts interview Dr. Donald Prothero and Daniel Loxton, who are working on a book that will give a deep overview of the field of cryptozoology... by MonsterTalk
36 min listen
Tracking the Chupacabra: This week MonsterTalk co-host Benjamin Radford becomes the interviewee! Radford discusses his newest book, Tracking the Chupacabra. The culmination of a five-year investigation, this book may provide an actual solution to these mysterious humanoid... by MonsterTalk
45 min listen
On Monsters: This week on MonsterTalk, author Stephen Asma (Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago) speaks about his comprehensive book surveying Western monster-lore. Is humankind’s fascination with monsters broader than any single cause?... by MonsterTalk
58 min listen
Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum!: Giants appear in cultures around the world: Biblical tales of giants more than ten feet tall; Roman and Greek stories of titans and heroes; European stories of giants of mountain and hill. They all have one thing in common: enormous monsters. On this... by MonsterTalk
77 min listen
Bigfoot: First Impressions: In the world of Bigfoot, good evidence is hard to come by. Anecdotes and blurry photos keep the documentaries coming, but most skeptics agree that a body or a living specimen are needed to confirm the existence of a large North American mystery... by MonsterTalk
83 min listen
The Rise of Bat Boy: In the pantheon of American monsters, only one truly dominated the newspapers of the 1990s. Checkout lines everywhere were haunted by the bald-headed, wide-mawed visage of Bat Boy. What was Bat Boy, and where did he come from? The MonsterTalk team... by MonsterTalk
63 min listen
Historical Ghost Investigations Part II: Sinking the Watertown: This week, MonsterTalk continues its two-part discussion of historical ghost investigations. Blake Smith describes his investigation into a famous photo that allegedly shows two dead sailors floating off the side of a 1920’s oil tanker.... by MonsterTalk
63 min listen
Pterosaurs: Paleontologist Dr. David Martill joins us to talk about prehistoric flying reptiles and his visit to Papua New Guinea with the TV show MonsterQuest to search for the legendary Ropen, an animal which some say is a modern day surviving Pterosaur. Dr.... by MonsterTalk
54 min listen
Getting into the Spirit of Things: What does neuroscience have to say about the possibility of consciousness or mind existing outside the body — or continuing on after the body has died? This episode’s guest is neurologist Dr. Steven Novella (veteran of on-site ghost... by MonsterTalk
70 min listen
Cthulhu Rises: In this special literary edition, MonsterTalk ventures into a dark domain that can be confidently called fiction: the monstrous, genre-defining oeuvre of horror writer Howard Philips Lovecraft. Joined by noted Lovecraft scholar Robert M. Price and... by MonsterTalk
80 min listen
Anatomy of a Beast: In this week's MonsterTalk, we interview Michael McLeod, a writer, producer, and director who has created documentaries for PBS, the PBS series Frontline, the Discovery Channel, and other national venues. His book "Anatomy of a Beast" is an in-depth... by MonsterTalk
59 min listen
The Plesiosaur Hypothesis: Is there a mysterious prehistoric "living fossil" lurking beneath the waters of Loch Ness? The idea that a colony of Plesiosaurs might have survived into modern times in the deep dark waters of Loch Ness has long captured the imagination of... by MonsterTalk
69 min listen
Monsters from the Lab: In this week’s episode, MonsterTalk looks once again at genetics and creatures created in the laboratory. Dr. Marcus C. Davis joins the hosts to discuss what constitutes a “monster.” In his work, Davis deals with paleontology, as... by MonsterTalk
75 min listen
The Columbus Poltergeist (featuring James Randi): In 1984, objects began to fly around the room in the presence of a Columbus Ohio teen named Tina Resch. The local paper claimed this was a poltergeist attack, and published photos to prove it. Tina’s story caught the attention of a young... by MonsterTalk
54 min listen
Unmasking the Ninja: This week the hosts of MonsterTalk take on the mysterious, mystical, legendary menace of the ninja! Should ninjas be considered monsters? They come out at night, have mysterious powers and use fear and lethality to wreak havoc. But to be sure, we Ask... by MonsterTalk
55 min listen
Tracking the Manbeasts: Renowned investigator Joe Nickell returns to MonsterTalk to discuss his latest book Tracking the Man-beasts: Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies, and More—a survey of a human-like monsters that runs the gamut from Almas to Zombie. The book covers... by MonsterTalk
55 min listen
Is The Skookum Fair Dinkum?: In the year 2000 startling claims of a body cast of a Bigfoot emerged from the deep woods of Washington State. More than a decade later, MonsterTalk interviews Bigfoot researcher Daniel Perez about the facts behind this contentious artifact —... by MonsterTalk
66 min listen
Just Scratching the Surface: MonsterTalk frequently explores tales of imaginary monsters — creatures of myth, fiction, and folklore. Today, the hosts consider a real creature, one that preys on humans and their closest animal companions. It is often invisible. It drinks... by MonsterTalk
76 min listen
Ghost Bird: What happens when a creature thought to be extinct is spotted alive in the swamps of Arkansas? Can such a creature have survived? Can scientists verify the story? And when a town’s hopes and a school’s grant money are on the line, to what... by MonsterTalk
69 min listen
The Big Bad Wolf: CHANCES ARE IF YOU LISTEN to MonsterTalk you probably like nature documentaries. No doubt you’ve seen stories about wolves and heard words to the effect that wolves are often maligned and that wolves have an undeserved reputation for being... by MonsterTalk
74 min listen
Ethnobiology - A Lizard's Tale: IN THIS EPISODE, the MonsterTalk crew interviews Dr. Tony Russell, a professor at the University of Calgary who studies evolutionary and functional morphology in geckos. Dr. Russell’s work includes ethnobiology — the utilization of... by MonsterTalk
71 min listen

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S03E16 - The Toronto Tunnel Monster: with Jeff Dupuis by MonsterTalk
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S03E14 - 2023 Weird in Review by MonsterTalk
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S03E02 - Parapsychology with Chris French by MonsterTalk
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On Monsters

On Monsters

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from MonsterTalk

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