What if the fairy, the alien, the ghost, and Bigfoot are all the same thing — and that thing has something to do with death?
Joshua Cutchin is a folklorist, paranormal researcher, published composer, and rock tuba player. He holds two master’s degrees and has spent a decade asking questions that sound simple but turn out to be bottomless.
In this conversation we go deep on his latest book Fourth Wall Phantoms — the idea that fiction and reality are more porous than we think, that stories might actually summon things into existence, and that the phenomenon has been wearing different costumes for centuries, from fairy blasts to alien implants to New Jersey drones.
We also get into:
– Why ontological shock may have already peaked — and what should replace it
– The secret that authors keep about their own characters
– Why fairy folklore might be the best map we have for the UFO phenomenon
– What near-death research actually tells us about consciousness
– And what it really means to be human
And much, much more!
This one will rewire how you think about creativity, reality, and what’s waiting on the other side.
Find Joshua’s work here: https://www.joshuacutchin.com
Remember to be curious – the universe is bigger than we know!
Episode notes: http://www.tobehumanshow.com
✉️ Get in touch at:
hello@tobehumanshow.com
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
🛸 ✨ Support the Channel:
Patreon (ad-free, exclusive episodes & more) – https://patreon.com/tobehumanshow
Grab a shirt, mug, hoodie, stickers etc – https://www.redbubble.com/people/toinfinity/shop
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
👽 Follow the show:
Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/tobehumanshow.bsky.social
Twitter – https://x.com/ToBeHumanShow
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tobehumanshow/
Threads – https://www.threads.net/@tobehumanshow
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Chapters
00:00 Ontological Shock vs Boba Tea
01:50 Meet Joshua Cutchin
02:04 Music to the Paranormal
06:11 Where Do Ideas Come From?
09:00 Authors & Their Characters
12:05 When Fiction Becomes Real
15:32 The Culture Loop
21:10 UFOs Change Costume
27:49 Have We Lost Ontological Shock?
33:37 Why Lived Experience Matters
35:35 Is the Phenomenon Teaching Us?
40:04 Angels, Demons & Bad Labels
48:56 Fairy Lore & the UFO
54:47 Outer Space as a Misdirect
57:21 Food, Injections & Altered States
01:00:50 Death as Transformation
01:06:36 Are You Afraid of Death?
01:11:18 Shooting Down Souls
01:16:13 Are We Characters in a Story?
01:18:14 What Does It Mean to Be Human?
01:20:55 Outro
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Music:
Thunderbird
Culver Drive
Hayden Calnin
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
FAIR USE NOTICE
This video may contain copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. What It Means To Be Human distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment, and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107.
What it Means to Be Human is a Double Barrel Production
https://www.doublebarrel.ca/
