By Tim Binnall
UFOs and nukes, haunted dolls, and the possibility that artificial intelligence could lead to a 'viral apocalypse' were among the fascinating topics explored this past week on Coast to Coast AM. And, here at the C2C website, we told you about another turn in the spotlight for the 'alien bodies' unveiled in Mexico, a clown 'home invasion' prank that went wildly awry, and a human skull found for sale at a thrift shop in Florida. Check out our round-up of highlights from the past week ... In Coast You Missed It.
Haunted dolls took center stage on Wednesday night's program as Joshua Warren returned to the show to discuss his investigation into a particularly unsettling ventriloquist dummy dubbed 'Kennedy.' The unnerving doll, he explained, was given to him by C2C producer Tom Danheiser after he had experienced all manner of weird activity that seemingly came about when he brought the object into his home. Now studying the object himself, Warren recounted a recent incident wherein something roused him from his sleep by tugging on his blanket and, when he later checked a security camera that was watching Kennedy, he saw a pair of translucent orbs zip across the room when the moment occurred.
Government interest in UFOs was the subject of a pair of stories this past week, beginning with another hearing of the Mexican Congress in which they revisited the controversial 'alien bodies' that made headlines following their first gathering back in September. At Tuesday's event, journalist and ufologist Jaime Maussan presented politicians with an update on his study of the mysterious remains and insisted that they constituted some kind of new species, possibly from out of this world. Later in the week, it was announced that the head of the Pentagon's UFO office, Sean Kirkpatrick, will be stepping down next month as he plans to retire following a nearly three-decade-long career in the government.
Could artificial intelligence lead to the creation of an apocalyptic virus? On Monday night's program, author Jonathan Zap argued that advancements in technology are making it increasingly easier for rogue actors to cause such a worrisome scenario to unfold. Likening the mindset of such a sinister individual to a mass shooter, he warned that the creation of a self-mutating novel pathogen could be easily accomplished using open-source AI, a gene-editing computer, and a general understanding of biology. Regardless of whether such an event occurs, Zap mused that technological advancements have placed the human species on the cusp of a 'quantum evolutionary shift' that will forever alter life on this planet.
In something of a fitting finale for this year's spooky season, an anthropologist in Florida wound up making headlines this week when he stumbled upon a real human skull that was for sale in a thrift store. The macabre find came about when the unnamed scientist was visiting the shop following Halloween and perused their holiday section to see what might still be available. His attention was drawn to a skull and, upon closer inspection, he quickly deduced that it was genuine. The anthropologist subsequently alerted police, who arrived on the scene to collect the curious object and question the store owner, who explained that the specimen was among many other items bought at a storage unit auction years ago and they had no idea that it was real.
A rather troubling aspect of the UFO phenomenon involves reports of unidentified craft showing a keen interest in nuclear facilities. Former Air Force officer Robert Salas returned to the program on Thursday night to discuss these cases, including an incident that he witnessed while serving at Malmstrom AFB in March of 1967. On that occasion, he recalled, a staggering 10 missiles were rendered inoperative after a pulsating orange object hovered over them. Salas also noted that these incidents are not confined to America as a similar case occurred in Ukraine back in 1982, which led him to theorize that perhaps the UFO occupants are trying to warn the world about the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Perhaps the weirdest story of the week came by way of Wisconsin where cops issued a citation to a man who had a friend dress as a clown and 'break into' his home to scare his daughter and her friends. The ill-advised prank, which unfolded on the Saturday night before Halloween, failed to account for the fact that teenagers are never that far from their phones. As such, when the harlequin burst into the residence, one of the frightened youngsters quickly called 911, which led to cops being dispatched to the house. Although the dad who orchestrated the 'burglary' was apologetic for causing a commotion, police were not amused and cited him for disturbing the peace.
Coast Insiders can check out all this week's shows as well as the last seven years of C2C programs in our enormous archive. Not a Coast Insider yet? Sign up today.