Journalist and author Josh Dean discussed his latest work on the incredible true story of the most massive covert operation in US history. The CIA, the U.S. Navy, and America's most eccentric mogul, Howard Hughes, spent six years and nearly a billion dollars to steal the nuclear-armed Soviet submarine K-129 after it had sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean; all while the Russians were watching. The 330 ft. sub set off on a routine mission in 1968 from Siberia to Hawaii when it suddenly disappeared, and the Soviets mobilized an intensive but unsuccessful search. By process of elimination, the Americans were able to figure out what they were looking for, and realized it could be a treasure trove of intelligence if they could retrieve it, Dean recounted.
The sub, which may have sunk due to a catastrophic fire, was located by the US Navy using a system of hydrophones on the ocean floor, a network of sensitive listening devices. To retrieve the sub, the CIA commissioned the most expensive ship ever built, but used a cover story that Howard Hughes was funding it so that he could mine rare oceanic minerals. The enormous 700 ft. ship had a giant claw built on the bottom of it to retrieve the sub. Eventually, in 1974, the completed ship sailed out to the location of the sunken sub. But a malfunction occurred with part of the claw, Dean explained, and they were only able to retrieve about 1/3 of the sub, which didn't include some of the targets they were after such as the missile tubes and cryptography.
----------------------------
In the latter half, electrical engineer Larry Arnold, who combines his scientific background with the world of Forteana and weird events, talked about his continuing research into spontaneous human combustion (SHC), and two recent cases from the UK. John Nolan of London, aged 70, died from a fire fatality in September 2017 but it was kept out of the media until December when officials pled for help to explain the localized fire. Nolan was said to be observed ablaze, but there was no surrounding emission source. Arnold corresponded with the local Fire Brigade Commander who indicated that it was currently thought that Nolan accidentally set his clothes afire.
Authentic SHC (such as the Mary Reeser case) involves rare instances where the human body is capable of igniting from within at temperatures akin to a crematorium, Arnold suggested, adding that it could be due to a kind of aberrant internal thermogenesis, or an unexplained biochemical or bioelectrical process. The other recent case from the UK involved a 60-year old man named Alan Graystone, who was described turning into a "human fireball" at his home, located near where other SHC incidents have historically occurred, Arnold cited. He also touched on the cases of Michael Faherty (Ireland, 2010) and Danny Vanzandt (Oklahoma, 2013).
News segment guests: Cal Orey, Catherine Austin Fitts, Peter Davenport
Couldn't catch this episode of the show? Sign up for Coast Insider to listen at your leisure and never miss another program again!