Our Strange Skies | Lore for Ufologists

 "Don't lick the Spaceships" - An Important PSA: Don't lick the UFO!!

Our Strange Skies is a podcast discussing the world of ufology and extraterrestrial contact. It is hosted by Rob Kristoffersen and releases biweekly and is available wherever you listen to podcasts.  

I think the paranormal is fascinating. Ghosts, Monsters, Bilocation, ESP, Spiritualism, Folklore, Premonitions, "Cursed" objects, Cryptozoology. All of these concepts are fascinating and while their credibility is suspect the ideas and stories behind them are always enjoyable. One realm of the strange and mysterious I have not explored is that of Aliens. 

I'm a fan of sci-fi and have seen pop culture hits such as Close Encounters of a Third Kind(1977) but if i'm being honest most of my exposure to modern ufology is in the form of pseudo-science proto contact conspiracy shows like History Channel's infamous Ancient Aliens. Ufology has often been seen as a crackpot fringe group so in celebration of spooktober I thought it might be fun to step outside of my comfort zone and explore the world of UFOs and Alien Contact. 

The Good Stuff

For the uninitiated the concept of U.F.Os seems like a rather small pond but throughout the podcast Kristofferson shows us how big the water really is. From historical events such as the Battle of Los Angeles to an hour long episode discussing Pre-Roswell Sightings, (such as the Nuremberg Lights) to interviews with academics and documentarians (such as Brad Abrahams who created the documentary Love and Saucers which follows the life and experiences of David Huggins, "an impressionist painter who has had life long experiences with extraterrestrials."). While a majority of the episodes feature a Lore-esque documentary style of  various abductions, sightings, and flaps, (a continuous sighting of a ufo by multiple people over multiple days), OSS also includes a variety of bonus episodes. The straightforward "minisodes" feature quirky or unique contact storys, (including my favorite one where a man receives extraterrestrial pancakes that taste terrible), "You were gone, but you never really left" which mostly are interviews or collaborations and "THE MELTDOWN" which is a more laid back review of various mainstream ufo pop culture, (the second one involves him roasting M. Night Shyamalan's Signs(2002) along with Brian Hastie from the Double Density Podcast). Our Strange Skies updates biweekly but it will take the average listener a while to get caught up as the episodes, an average are about a hour long while some episodes hit almost the two hour mark. The episodes lengths are daunting so I would not recommend this podcast to those who want a short enjoyable narrative for a morning commute. However this is the perfect podcast for long car rides or fans of long-form documentary style shows. 

OSS has an incredible laid back atmosphere as Kristofferson speaks earnestly about ufology in a manner that shows his personal passion. When there is another person in the booth Kristofferson is quick to shoot the shit about the topic at hand. I want to make clear that the show is educational in its topic matter and Kristofferson's discussion is well researched citing a wide variety of both historians and academic writers on the subject. The podcast feels like a conversation with a excited friend on they favorite topic getting into the nitty gritty as they explain the details to you. I will say that Kristofferson's editing and stage presents has become better over time as some of the earlier episodes are hard to listen to. Mostly due to the amount of filler words and stammered lines. The later episodes flow much better and you can definitely hear the host shine. The technical direction is rather minimal with the majority of the content being focussed on the conversation at hand. 

Our Strange Skies is not going to be for everyone with its longer episode length and the casual conversational tone of the host but for those who have an interest in the topic or those that want to learn more Kristofferson is a knowledgeable guide to exploring the heavens above.