Episodes
Each week on What It Means to Be Human, we dive into profound questions about consciousness, the mysteries of the universe, and the threads of connection that unite us all. From theories of mind and cutting-edge science to ancient wisdom and the unexplained, we explore how awareness shapes our reality and what extraordinary phenomena can teach us about ourselves.
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UFOs Are Just the Latest Costume | Joshua Cutchin on Fairies, Fiction & the Phenomenon
In this episode of What It Means to Be Human, Dan sits down with Joshua Cutchin — folklorist, paranormal researcher, composer, and one of the most original thinkers working in the strange today. Joshua has spent years tracing the hidden threads between UFOs, fairy lore, near-death experiences, altered states, ghost stories, and the deep symbolic structures that shape human experience. His work asks an unsettling but increasingly unavoidable question: what if these phenomena are not separate at all, but different expressions of the same underlying mystery? Together, Dan and Joshua explore the strange feedback loop between fiction and reality, and why stories may do more than…
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Thomas Jane Is Looking for Answers | Reality, NHI & The Hard Problem of Consciousness
In this episode of What It Means to Be Human, Dan sits down with Thomas Jane, actor, writer, and researcher… to explore a topic that sits at the edge of science, philosophy, and human identity: non-human intelligence and the limits of reality itself. This isn’t a conversation about lights in the sky. It’s about something far deeper. Thomas shares how a personal experience in 2011 shattered his worldview and sent him down a path of studying UFO phenomena, consciousness, and the nature of perception. Together, they explore: • Why our brains may be interfaces, not truth-tellers • The idea that consciousness could be fundamental,…
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A UFO Theory that Changes Everything: Chains of the Sea
This week, Dan takes a deep dive into Chains of the Sea — a little-known sci-fi novella from the 1970s that has quietly shaken the UFO world after being recommended by former Pentagon insider Lue Elizondo. On the surface, it’s a story about alien contact. But underneath, it presents something far more unsettling: Through the lens of this story, we explore a radically different framework for the phenomenon — one that moves beyond “nuts and bolts” craft and into something stranger, more abstract, and potentially far more disturbing. Could UFOs be polymorphic, shapeshifting intelligences? Could reality itself be layered in ways we don’t perceive?…
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UAP Update: Obama, Trump and the New Dirty Disclosure
This week, Dan and Roz dig into the strange new phase of UFO disclosure, starting with Trump’s claim that Barack Obama revealed classified information about aliens. From there, they trace the bigger picture: Obama’s long history of carefully provocative UFO comments, the buried records sitting in the Obama presidential library, and why Trump’s promise to “release the files” may be less straightforward than it sounds. Along the way, they unpack the difference between release and declassify, ask whether this is genuine transparency or dirty disclosure, and explore what Congress, Gillibrand, and the wider UFO community are actually doing with the moment. Also in this episode: This…
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UFO Encounters and the Stories Behind Blue Book with Michael Avon Oeming #paranormal #comics
What can comic books teach us about UFO encounters? In this episode, Dan speaks with Eisner and Harvey Award–winning comic creator Michael Avon Oeming, known for his work on Powers, Thor, and Hellboy. Michael joins the show to discuss his acclaimed series Blue Book and Red Book, which bring real UFO cases to life through powerful visual storytelling. Together they explore some of the most fascinating mysteries in UFO history. From the Betty and Barney Hill abduction to the strange events of Dyatlov Pass, sightings in China and Russia, and the challenge of separating fact from myth in the world…
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A Second Chance at Goodbye with Roz Mugford
What if death isn’t the end? And what if love finds a way to reach us anyway? In this deeply personal episode of Contact, producer and co-host Roslyn Mugford shares her own story. After the passing of her stepdad Jack in January 2024, Roz experienced something she still struggles to fully explain — a vivid dream filled with overwhelming love and what felt like an unspoken apology. Hours later, she learned he had died during the night. What followed were moments that felt less like coincidence and more like connection: signs, synchronicities, and eventually, birds landing gently in her hand…
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Michael Ian Black on UFOs, Consciousness, and Peter Thiel
What happens to the human story if we get conclusive proof we’re not alone? This week, we’re joined by comedian, actor, writer, and podcaster Michael Ian Black (Wet Hot American Summer, Have I Got News For Your Ears) for a wide-ranging, deeply human conversation about UFOs/UAP, consciousness, and the strange edges of reality. Michael shares a high school “orb/fireball” sighting that still haunts him.. made even stranger by the fact that the other witnesses don’t remember it. From there, we go big: why the “nuts and bolts” don’t interest him as much as what the phenomenon means for humanity, how testimony (especially near-death experiences) shifted his worldview, and why the most…
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UAP Update: Nazca Mummies Debunked, FLIR Orbs, Pluribus Breakdown
Season Two starts exactly how we like it: coming out swinging. Dan and Roz are back to break down the latest in UAP culture and credibility, starting with a military FLIR clip of “orbs” that might be something extraordinary… or might be birds (yes, we’re devastated too). Then we dive into the Nazca mummies saga, where the internet’s favorite “alien bodies” run headfirst into niche expertise: skeletal radiologists and bioanthropologists pointing out bone grafts, amputations, mismatched growth plates, and why “unknown DNA” doesn’t necessarily mean “alien”. From there, we take a sharp left into Pluribus (Vince Gilligan’s unsettling hive-mind thought experiment): a virus delivered through a decoded signal, a…
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Our Very First LIVE Show! New Years Extravaganza
In this episode, we’re doing something for the very first time: recording live. No script, no safety net—just an open, free-flowing conversation. We look back on the year behind us, wrestle with the big questions still hanging in the air, and explore where the ongoing conversation around UAPs, disclosure, and human curiosity might be headed. What unfolds is part celebration, part reflection, and part deep dive. The night is full of unexpected moments, a few technical hiccups, insightful questions from a live audience, and a series of familiar voices who drop in to share their stories, perspectives, and hard-earned wisdom. Joining…
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Season One: Greatest Hits!
Happy Holidays everyone! Whether you’re snuggling up by the fireplace with your pets, your people or just something warm in a mug… we’ve got the coziest kind of episode for you: a Christmas Eve “best of”, featuring Dan’s favourite moments from Season One. 🐾🔥 Today’s highlights include: ⏳ Richard Hatem (screenwriter, The Mothman Prophecies) on “time stuff,” precognition, and why questions about time can feel more unsettling than monsters. 🛰️ Maya Cowan (cultural anthropologist) on Indigenous perspectives, UAP in history, and why space exploration can mirror settler colonialism—plus the ethical responsibility that comes with “the final frontier.” 🐋 Dr. Michelle…
