Welcome to Strange Arrivals, where host Toby Ball unravels history's most famous cases of extraterrestrial encounters. This season three, we look at UFO researchers who developed theories to explain the phenomenon and the consequences those theories had for people who believed they had experienced the paranormal.
What a huge disappointment. In a dry and affectless tone, Toby Ball (from the excellent show Crime Writers On) recites the story of Betty and Barney Hill, two people who claimed to be abducted by aliens. On CWO, Ball brings a keen incite and critical analysis to the podcasts and shows they review. There is none of that here, no cultural context or analysis, no questioning of the narrative given by the Hills, no reporting on the case, just a straight retelling of a tired story that has been told over an over again. You've seen it on the Discovery Channel, The X-Files, Time-Life books and in many other places including podcasts. I was hoping to find some kind of dissection on the HIll's story and perhaps UFO encounters and our collective fascination with the phenomenon in general, but instead I was given the same old thing in a "produced" package.
This is a great history lesson about the rise of alien abduction lore in the 20th century. I thought the material was handled very fairly. Highly recommended.
