J. Allen Hynek was the astronomer, professor and father of UFOlogy who advised three Air Force UFO studies (Project Sign, Project Grudge, and Project Blue Blook) from the 1940s to late 1960s. He went from from skeptic to being an open minded advocate of unexplained phenomena who consulted with Steven Spielberg on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." But he was also a father to five children, including son Paul Hynek.
In the following interview, Paul talks about growing up with a media celebrity and UFO researcher, and about meeting Spielberg as a kid and again as an adult. He shares stories about spending two weeks on a cruise with astronaut Neil Armstrong (as well as sci-fi legend Isaac Asimov and a young Neil deGrasse Tyson). Paul also talks about his father's interest in the occult, his parents tolerance about his drug use, and now his own experimentation with psychedelics and how it applies to UFOs and other phenomena — which he'll likewise discuss at the upcoming Contact in the Desert event June 2-4, 2023, in Indian Wells, California.
Paul Hynek is also a movie producer and was involved in making Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes, Tintin, and numerous other movies and games. He was consultant on the History network’s show Project Blue Book, a fictionalized adaptation of his father’s cases. He also happens to be an accomplished author and entrepreneur in his own right, is a Wharton MBA, and an Adjunct Professor of Finance and Accounting at Pepperdine University.
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Talking Strange Paranormal Podcast with Aaron Sagers is a weekly paranormal pop culture show featuring celebrity and author interviews, with a weekly "Small Talk" mini-sode with reader submitted letters and spooky tales. Sagers is a paranormal journalist and researcher who appears as host of 28 Days Haunted on Netflix, and on Paranormal Caught On Camera on Travel Channel/Discovery+, and Talking Strange is part of the Den of Geek Network.
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