What if the most effective way to control humanity isn't force, but making us believe that surrendering our freedom is the next stage of our evolution? BT, host of Truth and Shadow, follows that unsettling question through a Shadow Short on alleged non-human intelligence, and on why these stories keep returning to the human body and mind.

Why do the beings in these accounts seem so little interested in our cities, governments or technology, and so interested in our bodies, our memories and our thoughts? The episode builds its case from named witnesses and documented events, while staying skeptical about what they do and don't prove.

In this episode of Truth and Shadow, host BT opens with a montage of movie clips about fear, death and the unknown. He then gives a solo essay on why people enjoy being frightened. The essay covers the psychology of safe fear, plus Aristotle, Freud, Kierkegaard and Becker. It argues that horror turns abstract anxieties about mortality and the unknown into monsters we can face. It also says horror gives us a comforting illusion of control. BT then turns to the ancient roots of vampire and monster myths. He is joined by returning guest Dr. Judd Burton, and they ask whether our ancestors invented these creatures or were describing something real. Their starting point is Mesopotamian blood-drinking demons like Lamashtu.

The Z-Files

The flood was supposed to wipe the slate clean. So why do the Nephilim keep showing up afterward, as the Anakim, the Rephaim, Og of Bashan, and Goliath? In Part 2 of the Nephilim investigation, host BT sits down again with William Blesch, author of In the Shadow of Goliath, to follow that thread. Blesh's answer is a military-minded one: a cosmic war between rebellious angelic factions and the divine order, fought with backup plans and counter moves, and Earth as the proxy battlefield. Then comes the question that makes it more than trivia. If Jesus already saved us, why does any of this matter? Blesh argues we were born into a war that is still unfinished, and that bad intelligence loses wars. He also makes a surprising case for why you should read, and even copy by hand, the text for yourself. William Blesch is the author of In the Shadow of Goliath, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org, and other retailers. Join his free community, The Watcher Files, on Patreon, or find him on Facebook as William Blesch.

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Will's Stuff: williamblesch.com