RALPH BLUMENTHAL is a renowned journalist, author, & lecturer. For more than 45 years, he wrote for the New York Times. His career there has been as illustrious as it has been varied, he's previously been an arts and culture news reporter, investigative and crime reporter, and foreign correspondent, amongst other things. More recently at the NYT, he's been working on breaking UFO related stories. He’s well known for being part of a small team to publish a 2017 article that changed the conversation on UFOs - "Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious UFO Program". Ralph has written several books, both fiction and non-fiction. His most recent publication though, is a biography of the late great Dr. John Mack, titled "The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack." John Mack was an eminent Harvard psychiatrist who was focused on making a positive difference in his community, and for individuals within it. His career was so diverse, his interests so wide ranging. He was a great mind that not only succeeded in the eyes of his peers, but unlike most people in his situation, he was able to break down the walls of the dominant paradigm of our time and truly think outside the box. He surprised himself by developing an interest in the alien abduction phenomenon, this interest grew and he risked his career and reputation to try to find out as much as he could about it. The later stages of his life and career were spent researching plenty of fringe topics, the kind of topics that most people are afraid to touch. TIMESTAMPS (clickable in some apps): [01:11] Ralph's early career [04:42] Other books & Miracle at Sing Sing [06:37] Ralph's intro to UFOs [07:35] How Ralph became fascinated by John Mack [12:22] Mack's varied interests [17:06] How Mack became hooked on alien abductions [30:37] What convinced Mack that something was going on [38:22] Betty & Barney Hill [40:35] Ariel School [46:50] Brooklyn Bridge abduction [51:21] The Dalai Lama's interest in alien abductions [54:54] Did Mack think abductions were happening in this dimension? [58:20] Other mysteries [01:12:06] NYT 2017 article, UAPs & UFOs [01:14:20] Recovered materials &reverse engineering [01:18:04] How have attitudes in the media towards UFOs? [01:22:45] OUTRO HAVE YOU MET... LINKS: All Links (Linktree) YouTube Full Episodes (out every Thursday) YouTube Clips (out most days) Website Instagram Anchor Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RALPH'S LINKS: Website Twitter Facebook Get The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack, or another of Ralph's book(s): B&N, indie bookstores, Amazon, or here: https://www.ralphblumenthal.com/books/ The most varied mixture of guests. Open minded & curious conversations. Just two people talking... Occasional blue-skying. https://linktr.ee/HaveYouMet

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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