Special Presentation: Plodding Through the Presidents - Conspiracy Theories and the Corrupt Bargain with Mark Cheathem

In my last spooky episode for October, I look at the widely spread legend of a creature roaming the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The Jersey Devil is said to a monstrosity, with a horse's head and bat wings, borne of a witch and now preying upon the unwary traveler through the woods. Where did this legend come from? Finding its birth will take us from the early 20th century back to the colonial era, and along the way we'll meet monster hunters, hoaxers, astrologers, schismatic Quakers, and Ben Franklin!

In my first spooky episode for October, I look at the real, historical basis of Washington Irving's story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as well as the folklore on which he may have drawn in inventing the story's iconic vengeful ghost.

In this new episode, I explore the various claims about the origins of the Irish people and a certain legendary magical stone, which requires debunking the pseudohistories of British Israelism.

In the last part of my series on belief in the historicity of Atlantis, I look at the problems with all the many places proposed as the actual location of Atlantis.

In part 2 of my series on belief in the historicity of Atlantis, I look at how the myth was kept alive through the ages because it conveniently served the arguments of philosophers and lent weight to the fictions and racial ideologies of colonialists, mystic charlatans, and white supremacists.