UFOs & Nukes/ Southern Hoodoo

Hosted byGeorge Knapp

UFOs & Nukes/ Southern Hoodoo

About the show

Following the publication of his 2008 book, UFOs and Nukes, Robert Hastings has been approached by dozens of military veterans who were involved in UFO incidents at nuclear weapons sites. In the first half, he joined George Knapp to discuss these testimonies. UFOs have clearly made a point of monitoring and in some cases even tampering with nuclear weapons around the world, he noted. In many instances, he added, with the crafts' flashing lights or zig zag movements, it's like they want to be noticed or have attention called to what they're doing.

In a 1977 case, Mario Woods, a missile security policeman at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota may have been abducted by aliens in tandem with a sighting he had at the launch control facility, Hastings reported. He initially flashed security lights at an unknown aerial craft that seemed to be moving closer. There were suddenly alarms on one of the missiles, as the strange light was directly above the missile site. Woods described the object as spherical, silent, and a swirling orange in color. He and his partner went to investigate in a truck, experienced suffocation, and fell into a daze, and then Woods began to hear voices in his head, repeatedly saying "do not fear." He believes he saw little beings coming toward them. The two were recovered after four hours by other base members, but had no recall of what happened during their missing time, Hastings recounted. For more, check out his video, UFOs and Nukes, where you can use promo code 'C2C' to purchase the film for 50% off at Vimeo.

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In the latter half, author and ethnographer Tony Kail detailed the fascinating history of the Southern folk magic known as Hoodoo, which blends together various traditions, and developed across juke joints and Spirit churches across the deep South. Hoodoo, he explained, is a system of magic that typically focuses on matters relating to luck, love, protection, and in some cases revenge, whereas Voodoo is a religious tradition with a specific practice. Hoodoo, also called "rootworking' or "conjure" has been practiced for hundreds of years, and was brought to the US by African slaves who worked in southern plantations.

Hoodoo has been adapted to include different influences depending on the geographical region, Kail pointed out. Generally though, it follows the "doctrine of signatures," which suggests that roots and herbs which resemble different body parts can be used to treat those specific parts. Such items might be placed in a "mojo bag" to enable magic or spells, Kail continued. He has focused in particular on the Hoodoo culture of Memphis, and specifically Beale St., which was an influential nexus for African Americans, blues music, early rock 'n' roll, and Hoodoo.

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