Gregory Forth received his doctorate at Oxford and was a professor of Anthropology at the University of Alberta for more than three decades. In the first half, he discussed the hominoids of the remote Indonesian island of Flores, who locals described as somewhere between apes and humans. In 2003, skeletons of the Homo floresiensis (nicknamed the Hobbit) were discovered on the island-- small-statured hominids believed to have lived as recently as 12,000 years ago. Forth pondered whether these 3-foot-tall extinct beings were what the locals had retained a kind of ancestral memory of or if possibly some of them might still survive.
Some of the Lio people of Flores claim that the ape-men still live high up in the island's mountainous region, inhabiting caves and trees. According to the reports, the diminutive beings are said to be very strong but are not aggressive and generally steer clear of modern humans. Yet to most scientists, the idea of hidden or mystery hominoids is a taboo subject, Forth pointed out. He differentiated reports of Bigfoot from the Flores ape-men, noting that Bigfoot are generally considered more animal than human.
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In the latter half, cosmologist, planetary healer, futurist, and author, Jude Currivan, Ph.D., outlined why we should consider Earth as a living being, Gaia. Various scientific breakthroughs back up the Gaia hypothesis, she indicated, adding that the entire 13.8 billion-year history of the universe has meaning and purpose. "Gaia has evolved not just her biological life forms but her...entire 'Gaiasphere'-- her rocks, her minerals, her atmosphere," she said. Because the Gaiasphere has been relatively stable for eons, an increasingly complex array of life forms has been able to be nurtured. There is evidence that "cosmic consciousness" creates our universe as meaningful information, which is part of what we are, Currivan continued, adding that leading-edge science is converging with ancient and universal spiritual traditions.
Rather than the universe's beginning as the chaotic Big Bang, she refers to it as the Big Breath, "an ordered and exquisitely fine-tuned" moment that is an ongoing creation, as space has expanded and time has flowed forward. This ideation corresponds to the ancient Indian traditions-- "the out-breath of Brahma and Vishnu." She further suggested that the entire universe is a unified and innately sentient entity, and we are all connected to "a great thought of cosmic mind," which manifests as a hologram of meaningful 'in-formation.'
During the last segment, George shared a replay of a conversation with horror host Dr. Morgus.
News segment guests: Christian Wilde, Heidi Hollis