What is it about mounds, monuments, and mysteries often being mixed up with ETs and UFOs? Mount Shasta in the US and Mexico's Popocatépetl seem to be, literally, UFO "hot spots." Cambodian Angkor Thom's Baphuon Pyramid carvings depict "Figures appear that do not match human anatomy," says Praveen Mohan, going on to conjecture about races of giants both humanoid and "hell-piggish." It's at the very least a rather fun and educational tour of this ill-known ancient site, and thanks to Rich Reynolds for this reference. Even former F-16 pilot Chris Lehto is asking What's Under Mt Nemrut? Ancient Tomb or Alien Spacecraft? Says Chris, "one of archaeology's greatest unsolved mysteries might also be connected to one of the most credible UFO cases in modern history," and goes on to relate that a contactee "claims beings told him an ancient spacecraft lies beneath" the artificial Turkish mountain built to honor (and perhaps entomb) an ancient king. This gets "punched-up" by UFO camera footage from the contactee. Moving on, Cristina Gomez reveals a Major Development in Revealing Crashed UFO. Congressman Eric Burlison has picked up on a claim by Ross Coulthart and others about "a massive UFO that is too large to extract or move, allegedly hidden inside a mountain in South Korea." Gomez has more details on that score, too. (WM)

Scientists at Northwestern University have been investigating how to utilize REM sleep to help our brains problem-solve. Ultimately, this "dream engineering" could have applications in maintaining human health and well-being. Dreams as part of a creative problem solving process may finally get the attention they deserve. That brings us to Where Was It Before the Dream? Time Loops and Interpretation, by Eric Wargo examines "the creative moments that spawned" great literary works, and the "unexpected future lives" of the authors.  The book describes the initial telling or writing down of an idea (a dream, if you will) as the setting of the first domino in a series. Wargo describes these moments of creativity as a type of precognition, and makes one wonder at the "serendipitous nature of experience," regardless of where the reader stands on psi, says the reviewer, Richard Reichbart, who "very much" recommends this book. (CM)

A journalistic coup thirty years ago is making news today, as George Knapp is publishing Soviet UFO-related documents he spirited out of Russia in the brief period of warming relations with the U.S. after the fall of the Soviet Union. This interview tells how George got hold of the stuff and that now, after his giving materials to Congress, he's going to publish them through 8 News Now and his Mystery Wire podcast. But commenters haven't apparently seen them yet. Shane Galvin of the New York Post seemingly saw some, writing UFO Intel Documents Stolen Out of Russia Reveal Decade-Long Probes Into Alien Encounters, Abductions. Galvin gives names and dates for four different USSR/Russian UFO studies, and has a spooky picture and the story of a "Jellyfish" UFO from 1989, plus two close encounters accounts. Jason Colavito isn't impressed, reporting the Pentagon Calls George Knapp's Russian UFO Files "Disinformation." Colavito calls the Galvin article "glowing," says it contradicts what Galvin's colleague Steven Greenstreet told him, and has a link to the 70-page "Thread 3" document, likely the best-known of the studies Galvin mentioned and which was covered in the Weaponized podcast Russia vs. USA - The Race to Crack UFO Technology we discussed previously. Probably the other available document features the 1982 incident in which a "Russian nuclear missile base in what is now Ukraine" found its launch control system activated in the presence of UFOs, available at Russian UFO Files Reveal Chilling Encounters, Near-Miss Nuclear Launch, reviewed in January. (WM)

Ever fancied hallucinating an army of miniature humans marching across your tablecloth and swimming in your soup? Christopher Plain reports on scientists at the University of Utah investigating Lanmaoa Asiatica, a Chinese mushroom that, when eaten raw, causes people to see tiny people, everywhere. Unlike the idiosyncratic trips offered by other psychoactive fungi, this mushroom delivers remarkably consistent visions of dozens of small figures appearing on clothes, dishes, and under furniture. The compound responsible remains unidentified. Side effects such as three day-long trips and week-long hospitalizations have dissuaded researchers engaging in any heroic self-experimentation. Psychedelic researcher David Luke offers a deeper dive into humanity’s long relationship with chemically-induced little folk: So Long As You've Got Your Elf. From Daoist texts referencing mushroom gnomes in the 3rd century CE to Terence McKenna’s confident assertion that DMT gives you “elves up the kazoo,” the evidence suggests tiny beings are a recurring motif across substances and cultures. Luke helpfully contributes his own field research, recounting a journey with mysterious old women on a Brazilian minibus and turquoise-colored warriors throwing spears—reminding us that that pushing the frontiers of consciousness studies is not always entirely dignified. (JS)

Yes, folks, there is a lighter side to this seriocomic, confusing, unregulated, and uninhibited world of ufology, and Miguel (Red Pill Junkie) Romero gives the curtain raiser for a brief look at it. RPJ's cartoons do resonate and his conclusion is being increasingly accepted by serious-minded people, such as those participating in this weekend's "UAP Detection and Tracking Summit. The nongovernmental academic and scholarly, scientific, and technical communities increasingly are getting the needed abilities to work on their own and together to investigate UFOs/UAP. But wait, there's going to be more from the US Government, according to this Bombshell: Trump Set To Announce UFO Disclosure on July 8, 2026. Some time ago Patrick Scott Armstrong relayed filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee's relay from a current Administration insider saying the "We Are Not Alone" speech will happen on this July 8th—unless Russia or China beats him to it. If blaring this information around therefore seemed on its face a rather doubtful idea, well, so does the prediction. Patrick saw "red flags" all over the place, and not just in The People's Republic—and Patrick is having none of it. Red Pill Junkie returns to close the curtain on this whimsical presentation with Listen to ‘The Roswell Song’ by Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren. Fantastic! (WM)

Or "What do ghosts have to say to us," a question posed by Lydia Eliza Trail in her review of a Swiss exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Basel where "ghost related artefacts" are on display. From the ubiquitous white-sheet representation to "a deconstructed replica of the Bates Motel," there's plenty to provoke spooky speculation. Similarly, an exhibition at the College of Psychic Studies in London posits that The Medium is the Message. To mark the College's centenary, "more than 100 artworks and archival treasures" are displayed that explore the "complex relationship between artistic practice and mediumship." (LP)

Jeremy Corbell and George Knapps' presentation of "new" footage is simply on its face, "the most extraordinary footage I've ever seen," according to defense analyst Marik von Rennenkampff. He painstakingly analyzes each segment of the 2021 video showing a "mushroom" over Syria that demonstrates at least one, and possibly three, of the canon "observables" characteristic of "true" UAP. Von Rennenkampff has even found a possible 2022 reference to this very event, and challenges Mick West and others to "debunk" this particular case. For just the footage, see SYRIA UAP 2021: Military-Filmed Footage. Cristina Gomez' This is Being Hidden But the Truth Is Coming Out has several "Wow" topics, one being Garry Nolan's confession that a recent re-study of the 1957 Ubatuba, Brazil "UFO explosion" materials indicates "Isotopes Beyond Human Tech" at the time of their purported collection; another being "Non-Humans Were Here First." One of the Jesse Michels Clips has guest Randy Anderson saying that when a Green Beret: "I Was Shown Alien Technology!" A levitating anomalously-appearing "metallic" sphere and a very dangerous "gauntlet" associated with extraordinarily-presented hieroglyphic characters constituted the now-standard kind of "reveal" we're hearing more of recently. Back to George Knapp, whose Mystery Wire stars Dr. James Lacatski in Defense Expert Explains Top-Secret U.S. UFO Investigation. And, for our last mind-blowing excursion, Harvard's Avi Loeb tells why it's excusable to ask Is There Life on 3I/ATLAS? (WM)

In the recent past, our favorite Nessie investigator set up a trail camera by Loch Ness (as is his habit whenever opportunity presents itself). After inspecting 18,000+ photos he realized he may have captured something of interest. As we have come to appreciate, he didn't immediately make the assumption "Monster!" and instead used his considerable investigative skill to determine what it was not. But it may now be appropriate to shout "Monster!" Next, if you've ever thought that they don't make things like they used to, you may have been right because a Decades-Old Monster-Hunting Camera Recovered at Loch Ness Restored. The camera was simply abandoned, but fortunately its waterproof housing remained impenetrable and repairs were possible. No photos of the Loch Ness Monster were recovered, but the camera is on exhibit at the Loch Ness Centre for those interested in the area's rich history. (CM)

Doug Skinner is back with three episodes covering a proposal John Keel made in around 1973 for a book on "a famous incident in which an airplane disappeared." But Part 1 shows Keel has a much wider and more grand net in mind for the projected tome, aimed at a readership beyond mere UFO-or-even science-fiction fans. At the outset, comparisons arise regarding Keel's predictions with not just the close of the 20th century, but extended to current "science, religion and occultism." Stendek (2) develops this thesis of a "paraphysical force," with shout-outs to Jacques Vallée's "control theory," and Keel's noting the apparent USAF "washing of hands" of the UFO situation, with a "transition" to "Scholars, historians and even theologians" entering the fray. And Stendek (3) outlines the outcome of science arriving "at a new understanding of the forces which create supernatural events," suggesting that "psychological constructs," rather than real physical places (dimensions) or a Creator, are causing UFO, demon, and such reports. "We can only wonder what the finished book would have been like," notes Skinner, but Keel's last paragraphs aren't very consoling. And in closing another multi-part discussion, we have Kevin Randle, one of the premiere ufologists, penning The Last of the Gilles/Randle Debate. David Rudiak chimes in with a strong defense of Kevin's position, and we may indeed hope this in fact ends this argument. (WM)

Knowledgeable people are increasingly raising doubts the US Government will share its UFO information with the people it's tasked with serving. Matt Ford interviews Rich Hoffman and Reed Summers, who, like a growing number of academics and private organizations, are doing something about it. Summers is "lead convener" of the February 7th-8th "2026 UAP Detection and Tracking Summit." It's an online meeting of "Leading Researchers, Technologists, Policy Makers and the Public" worldwide who've been, are, and/or will be dealing with and/or studying UFOs outside of government control. Reed and Rich enumerate topics such as aviation safety, first responders, USOs, and citizen reporting, with intense emphasis upon new techniques, technologies and communication networks between organizations and investigators. For an itemized list see 2026 UAP Detection and Tracking Summit. We will be watching. Billy Cox is looking for something to fill the USG's decades-long science and transparency vacuum. His States' Rights -- Whoop It Up! is a typically-Billy-style argument to go elsewhere for UFO answers than a tight-lipped Executive/Military/Industrial-Business/Congressional association. Says Billy: There are two "UFO camps"—those expressing the hard-data-driven approach and others promoting the UFO occupant witnesses, full of involvement but bereft of "material evidence." Billy describes filmmaker James Fox' January 20th National Press Club UAP (UFO) Press Conference, featuring witnesses of the 1996 Varginha, Brazil, UFO crash-retrieval-and-alien events. Billy also instances a Vermont government AARO-type initiative that seems chimeric were things not so bad in Washington (D.C.). And Jesse Michels brings the human experience component to the starkly personal level with Eyewitness Testimony from the Most Famous UFO Case in Modern History. Agree or not with some of their premises, these are three powerful different perspectives. (WM)

An ancient Egyptian papyrus in the possession of the British Museum has been cited as possible proof of biblical giants, reports Bob Waugh. The 3300-year-old document describes the Shosu people (who may have been Canaanites) as much taller than the Egyptian peoples. However, the British Museum cautions that this papyrus was intended as an account of military life and geographic awareness and should not be taken as evidence of supernatural beings. Further refutations of the giant theory come from Jason Colavito: Tabloids Revive an Old Claim That an Ancient Egyptian Text Mentions Bible Giants. Claims of giants are said to be "over blown," he said, and the text was not intended to be an accurate ethnographic account. Rather, it was intended as satire and used to train scribes. It's also possible the Shosu were the earliest worshippers of Yahweh or even pre-Israelites—most certainly not the Nephilim. (CM)

An archaeological find that challenges "a previously held assumption about stone tool use" has Owen Jarus' attention—and ours as well. A team of scholars from four continents announces that composite tools (made from two or more materials) were produced by East Asian hominins (species still unresolved) in the 160,000-72,000 BP era. This counters "the entrenched bias that East Asian hominins only produced 'conservative' tools," though Jarus explains some scholars quibble in other respects with that "East Asian cultural backwater" idea's accuracy. Note: three different, recent articles on European advances in the 400k Before Present period are linked to Jarus' article. Another stunner: Someone Was Writing Long Before Civilization. Michael Button not only challenges the "official story" about the antiquity and origins of writing but this podcast makes one wonder whether our "history" as taken from the writings we do have today accurately represents "historic" times. (H/T Rich Reynolds on this reference.) And Ruth Schuster takes one aspect of the preceding to a focused level as Halafian Art Suggests Simple Math System at the Dawn of Civilization 8,000 Years Ago. Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prof Yosef Garfinkel (not the British Museum PhD Irving Finkel in the Button podcast) believes that the Middle Eastern Halafian culture (c.6100-c.5100 B.C.E.) demonstrated communication in its vegetal art motifs that reveal an ancient mathematical system based on 2. (WM)

Recent reports of Unknowns are led by this extremely well-documented thermographic camera image of an aircraft appearing like nothing save silhouettes taken a dozen years before. While it's almost certainly "one of ours," The Aviationist Founder and Editor David Cenciotti reports some speculations about what the thing could be. A continent away, was a Flying Saucer Photographed in Chile? Tim Binnall says several folks in Curarrehue in the Araucania Region of southern Chile were puzzled and the nation's social media set afire. The image almost looks like the "Dorito" craft might from a different angle! Probably too much to suggest the same airframe had Aussie Miners Baffled After Spotting Bizarre Object in the Sky Above the Pilbara: 'Genuine UFO' being the photographer's diagnosis. The Solomon Mine location lies in the remote northwest part of Western Australia. We end our four-continent UFO tour as Mystery Lights Over Sri Lanka Spark UFO Debate. The North Western Province seacoast town of Iranawila, about 55 miles north of Colombo, featured a Voice of America transmission center that ceased operations and was handed over to the Sri Lankan government in 2017. So reports of the location being a "strategic site" seem overblown, save maybe to the shrimp farmer who unfortunately recently pointed a flashlight at it hovering in the sky at 3am, panicking when it later on "moved rapidly in his direction." (WM)

The journalistic duo responsible for some of the most earth-shaking news in recent UFO history shares impressions about a restricted meeting held in Washington five days before James Fox' January 20th National Press Club conference presenting new information on the 1996 UFO crash/entity events, featured in Fox' current film Moment of Contact: New Revelations of Alien Encounters. As one would expect from Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, it's an excellent summary of the main points made by the Brazilian witnesses and informed US notables. "There is no question that the Varginha case lacks hard data," Kean and Blumenthal write, listing what would constitute such, but they vigorously argue the strong points behind the witness testimony. A rather different tone about another recent documentary comes in Jason Colavito's post Bill Maher Claims Aliens Visiting Earth, "Want Us to Know That They're Here". As usual, Jason provides the actual Maher interview with Age of Disclosure director Dan Farah for reader comparison with Jason's takeaways. All of the preceding does bear upon the relationship/tussle between "Evidence–grounded in empirical data, rigorous analysis, and theoretical insight," and "Encounters–based on personal experiences that challenge conventional scientific paradigms." This is the theme of the Society for Scientific Exploration's upcoming 2026 Conference Evidence & Encounters: Two Paths to Exploring the Unexplained, June 17-21, in Westminster, Colorado. (WM)

People will pay to be frightened, as demonstrated by the success of the horror film industry. And they will pay more than the price of a movie ticket for the right spooky experience, notes Isela Madriz.. Referred to as Dark Tourism, this niche industry is essentially tourism to “sites associated with death, suffering and the seemingly macabre”. As bizarre and off-putting as this may sound, treated with the right level of respect and understanding, dark tourism boosts economies with jobs and injects money into local businesses. The next topic, by Sharon Hill, falls under this same umbrella. Pop Cryptid Sightings – the Cryptid Cup and Abominable Ball, both examples of how the acceptance of The Other has created a "new social space for cryptids to flourish." Team mascots that represent monsters, and cosplay dances where attendees dress as their favorite cryptids, are just examples of how this trend is becoming more mainstream, and more palatable in general. (CM)

Anthony Bragalia tells us all to forget, had we entertained it, the thought that the POTUS will come forth with UFO "Disclosure." Anthony has assembled a cornucopia of considerations behind his thesis. More good reason to doubt UFO/UAP transparency may come from Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp's Russia vs. USA - The Race to Crack UFO Technology. Jeremy and George discuss George's "haul" of Soviet documents and information from the first of two trips he made to 1990s' Russia, which George is now making publicly available via Mysterywire. The Soviets may have known more about US governmental UFO interest than do American citizens today. At podcast conclusion, George and Jeremy unveil another government UAP video: New Military Footage Shows UAPs Flying in Perfect Triangular Formation. Whitley Strieber is interested in a possibly-explosive aspect of the UFO/Government pairing, so offers Whistleblower Jeff Nuccetelli on UAPs and Nukes. Jeff's careful explanation why "whistleblower" is not legally correct illustrates his care for accuracy and how he's integrated previous and post-Congressional testimony experiences in his life. But Douglas Simpson has a story about three whole towns who've not come to terms with "Stranger Things," in We Live Near Secret UK Lab Claimed To Hide ‘Alien Bodies’ – Locals See UFOs But Our Biggest Fear Is More Down To Earth. Porton Down in Wiltshire, England, has a truly exotic secret history. But while locals are irked they don't really know what's going on there, they have unquestionably mundane problems caused by the facility. (WM)

In Michael Tymn’s view, psychical research had amassed “overwhelming” evidence and essentially “proved” for post‑mortem survival by about 1920. The real problem, he claims, is not data but a materialist culture with a severe attention deficit. Tymn thinks the classic mediumistic cases and early SPR research settled the matter. He is skeptical of the value future research on the topic may add. It seems the value he is after is moving the dial in popular culture. Even if we accept the veracity of the historical evidence, Tymn fails to engage properly with rival explanations such as living‑agent psi, super‑psi, or hybrid models, nor with the well‑rehearsed philosophical worries about what “survival” would have to mean in relation to brains, memory, and personality. A balanced review of an evidential record would surely conclude that the matter remains underdetermined. In a related extract for White Crow Books, Tricia J. Robertson recounts a wealth of evidence relating to mediumship: Excerpt From It’s Life And Death, But Not As You Know It! From The Unbelievable To The Bizarre. Robertson insists that consciousness is far stranger (and less local) than the usual brain-bound story allows. To illustrate, she focusses on the case of Gerard Croiset, a Dutch grocer turned clairvoyant who helped police find missing people, sketched future sitters in unassigned chairs weeks in advance, and seemed to challenge conventional notions of time, space, and probability. Meticulous experiments, double and triple blind, undermine the “cold reading” explanation, leaving us with a phenomenon that behaves more like a weird non-local mind than a Victorian survival fantasy. (JS)

In 2005, in Quantico, Virginia, a pair of Marines were participating in a field training exercise when they were ordered to exit the area and pick up a military vehicle less than a kilometer away. What they encountered in that wooded area frightened them more than anything they had run up against in their years as Marines, making them run for their lives with something very large in hot pursuit. More recently, a Thermal Video Captures Bigfoot Figure in Washington State. The images captured are from the chest up, and the figure captured appears to be swaying back and forth, perhaps aware of the presence of the couple recording. A footprint was later cast from the same area. (CM)