Cryptozoologist D.A. Roberts joined guest host Richard Syrett (Twitter) to recount his terrifying experience on a remote Missouri island where his team found evidence of a large creature. Roberts said his background in law enforcement honed his investigative skills, which he applied to cryptid research. Over the years, he noticed a pattern of remote campgrounds in Missouri being shut down by the Army Corps of Engineers with little explanation. One such location, Coombs Ferry, caught his attention due to its complete closure, lack of public information, and association with missing person cases. Determined to investigate, he assembled a team of ex-military and law enforcement professionals, all armed and equipped with night vision gear. Entering the area by boat under the cover of darkness, the team was met with immediate signs of unusual activity, including strange noises, eye shine, and small rocks being thrown in their direction.
According to Roberts, as they ventured deeper, the team discovered disturbing evidence of extreme destruction at the campsite. Concrete picnic tables, each weighing over a ton, were inexplicably shattered and displaced with no tool marks. The team also encountered fresh and gruesome animal remains, including a deer leg and a fish head placed strategically in trees—potentially as warnings or territorial markers. As they continued, the surrounding activity increased, with louder branch breaks and signs of being followed. Eventually, one of their members sustained an injury, prompting them to cut the mission short. Instead of returning to their original entry point, they opted for a closer boat ramp as an extraction point, all while shadowed by unseen entities, Roberts reported. He believes something powerful and elusive is inhabiting the area and it warrants further investigation.
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In the second half of the show, podcaster Joel Waldman elaborated on the renewed interest in Jack the Ripper, spurred by British author and researcher Russell Edwards' claim of identifying the infamous killer through DNA evidence. Edwards asserted that a silk shawl found at the crime scene of Catherine Eddowes, one of the Ripper's known victims, contains DNA linking Polish barber Aaron Kosminski to the crimes. Collaborating with molecular biologist Dr. Jari Louhelainen, Edwards traced mitochondrial DNA from the shawl to Kosminski's modern-day relatives. Waldman expressed skepticism from the scientific community regarding the authenticity of the shawl's origins and the reliability of the DNA analysis. While Edwards stands by his findings, Waldman noted that forensic experts and criminologists remain divided.
Waldman discussed Kosminski's background, addressing his mental health issues and the anti-Semitic attitudes prevalent in 19th-century London, which may have influenced police suspicions against him. Despite being a suspect, Kosminski was never charged, and key police files were lost during World War II, further complicating the investigation. Waldman touched on alternative theories, including speculation that the killer may have had anatomical knowledge or even royal connections, though he suggested such claims unlikely. He highlighted how forensic advancements, like investigative genetic genealogy, have solved modern cold cases, but the limitations of degraded 19th-century DNA make a definitive conclusion about Jack the Ripper elusive.
Waldman also delved into the controversial death of Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI researcher and whistleblower, which was officially ruled as a suicide by the San Francisco Police Department. Balaji's parents strongly believe he was murdered due to inconsistencies in the crime scene, including a lack of gun residue on his hands, blood spatter in unusual locations, and signs of a struggle. The family hired an independent pathologist who discovered head trauma inconsistent with a suicide, Waldman revealed. In addition, Balaji's apartment appeared ransacked, and a key piece of evidence—a thumb drive containing sensitive information—was missing. His death occurred shortly after he publicly criticized OpenAI's transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit model and was set to testify in a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft.