Pod Only Knows #004 – UFOs as Religion – with Toby Ball
Toby Ball is the host and creator of the series Strange Arrivals, a production of iHeart Radio an Aaron Mahnke’s Grim and Mild.
The recently-concluded third season of his show looks at UFO researchers who developed theories to explain the phenomenon and the consequences those theories had for people who believed they had experienced the paranormal.
In the finale, Toby explores the ways in which belief in aliens via the UFO phenomenon functions as a modern religious movement, including the ways in which it pierce the boundaries of an obsession to become something more like a faith, and how UFO culture often bears the traits of a hopeful apocalyptic cult not unlike early Christianity.
Kelly and John talked to Toby about how his own religious perspective (or lake thereof) informs the series, how UFO culture is distinct from fully-formed religious identities, and if we have any reason to believe the latest guy with the “real story” of the US government and UFOs any more than the endless parade of similar guys who came before him.
You can find Strange Arrivals on the Grim and Mild website here: https://www.grimandmild.com/strangearrivals
You can learn more about Toby and his work here: http://www.tobyball.com/
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