Volume 18 Archive
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 1 • January 3, 2021 •
It’s been a busy three weeks in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Happy New Year! As we get ready to begin yet another depressing year of claims about history, I invite you to take a look back at the past year in fringe history with my year in review blog post. It was a dark year, and there were few signs that things will improve significantly in the coming months. The COVID-19 pandemic and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election have driven conspiracy theories to new heights, and the cross-pollination of political conspiracy theories with pseudoscientific and pseudohistorical ones has reached a fever pitch. The man alleged to have bombed Nashville on Christmas was a Trump supporter obsessed with 5G, Reptilian, and alien conspiracies. A former treasure hunter from The Curse of Oak Island is now a leading “voter fraud” expert for conservatives in Georgia.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of December 14-January 3:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 1 • January 3, 2021 •
It’s been a busy three weeks in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Happy New Year! As we get ready to begin yet another depressing year of claims about history, I invite you to take a look back at the past year in fringe history with my year in review blog post. It was a dark year, and there were few signs that things will improve significantly in the coming months. The COVID-19 pandemic and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election have driven conspiracy theories to new heights, and the cross-pollination of political conspiracy theories with pseudoscientific and pseudohistorical ones has reached a fever pitch. The man alleged to have bombed Nashville on Christmas was a Trump supporter obsessed with 5G, Reptilian, and alien conspiracies. A former treasure hunter from The Curse of Oak Island is now a leading “voter fraud” expert for conservatives in Georgia.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of December 14-January 3:
- The Year in Review: 2020 in Ancient Mysteries, Modern Conspiracies, and Aliens
- Review of The Believer by Ralph Blumenthal
- Review of Ancient Aliens S16E05 “The Forbidden Bible”
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 2 • January 10, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Well, this was a week, wasn’t it? The mob of insurrectionists who invaded the U.S. Capitol building included many individuals who subscribed to QAnon conspiracy theories spread online. One of the invaders, Jake Angeli, appears to be the same man who posted a video on several websites discussing his belief that he had psychic powers that the government had deployed to combat Lovecraftian mind-parasites from other dimensions, destroying their ships with powers secretly disclosed in Marvel comic books. In 1954, Robert Lindner, the author of the psychological study Rebel without a Cause, reported a case (“The Jet-Propelled Couch”) of a mentally ill scientist who believed science fiction books were accounts of his own life in other dimensions, where he engaged in epic space battles against aliens on other planets. At the time, critics accused Lindner of making it up. I never thought I’d see it in real life.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of January 4-10:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 2 • January 10, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Well, this was a week, wasn’t it? The mob of insurrectionists who invaded the U.S. Capitol building included many individuals who subscribed to QAnon conspiracy theories spread online. One of the invaders, Jake Angeli, appears to be the same man who posted a video on several websites discussing his belief that he had psychic powers that the government had deployed to combat Lovecraftian mind-parasites from other dimensions, destroying their ships with powers secretly disclosed in Marvel comic books. In 1954, Robert Lindner, the author of the psychological study Rebel without a Cause, reported a case (“The Jet-Propelled Couch”) of a mentally ill scientist who believed science fiction books were accounts of his own life in other dimensions, where he engaged in epic space battles against aliens on other planets. At the time, critics accused Lindner of making it up. I never thought I’d see it in real life.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of January 4-10:
- NH Union Leader Newspaper: Cable TV Conspiracy Shows “Deserve Condemnation”
- Capitol Invader “Q-Shaman” Claims to Be Secret Military Psychic Space Warrior
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 3 • January 17, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of January 11-17:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 3 • January 17, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
- Federal prosecutors actually wrote the following sentence about “QAnon shaman” Jacob Chansley (a.k.a. Jake Angeli) in a court filing this week: “Chansley has spoken openly about his belief that he is an alien, a higher being, and he is here on Earth to ascend to another reality.” So, it’s been that kind of week in politics. The mainstream media finally started to acknowledge Chansley’s space alien beliefs, a week after I first reported them.
- Meanwhile, my agent and I have settled on a working title for my new book. We’re calling it The Unlighted Road: James Dean, Flying Saucers, and the Cold War Culture of Fear. The title derives from the title of Dean's last TV appearance but also references where he died, where people see UFOs and get abducted by aliens, and the dark path of McCarthyism and Cold War paranoia. The manuscript will start making the rounds of publishers in the coming week.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of January 11-17:
- NBC News Runs Story Exposing Anti-Semitic Origins of Reptilian Conspiracy Theory
- Fashion Designer Creates Map of QAnon / History Channel History Conspiracies
- Austrian Metal Band Releases Habsburg / Black Magic Alternative History Album
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 4 • January 24, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Almost as if once the fever dream of the Trump/QAnon conspiracy world had broken suddenly all the usual conspiracies that make up the standard media diet came flooding back, like a river refilling its banks once the dam holding it back breaks. This week we had UFOs and immortality in the New York Times, ancient astronauts in The New Yorker, and Atlantis on the History Channel. It’s almost like old times again. Or, more to the point: The media learned jack shit from four years of bottomless, dangerous conspiracy theories and is right back to pushing the same lies that got us here in the first place.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of January 18-24:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 4 • January 24, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Almost as if once the fever dream of the Trump/QAnon conspiracy world had broken suddenly all the usual conspiracies that make up the standard media diet came flooding back, like a river refilling its banks once the dam holding it back breaks. This week we had UFOs and immortality in the New York Times, ancient astronauts in The New Yorker, and Atlantis on the History Channel. It’s almost like old times again. Or, more to the point: The media learned jack shit from four years of bottomless, dangerous conspiracy theories and is right back to pushing the same lies that got us here in the first place.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of January 18-24:
- New York Times Puff Piece Celebrates Robert Bigelow’s Hunt for Life after Death
- The New Yorker Interviews Erich von Däniken, Whitewashing His Bigotry
- Review of The UnXplained S02E10 “The Search for Atlantis”
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 5 • January 31, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, controversy arose over the potential testimony of “QAnon Shaman” Jake Angeli at the forthcoming second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Sen. Lindsey Graham warned House impeachment managers and his Democratic Senate colleagues not to allow the testimony, claiming it would turn the trial into a “circus.” But, really, what would be more appropriate for our degraded age than to question a conspiracy theorist about his psychic space warrior fantasies and the connections he sees between History Channel “secret space program” advocates and Space Force creator Donald Trump? Surely, the impeachment would benefit from some discussion of ancient astronauts and Lovecraftian Old Ones. In all seriousness, though, Graham might actually be right this time. I can’t see how the testimony of a disturbed person with History Channel fantasies can do anything but make the insurrectionists seem less threatening and less dangerous than they were.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of January 25-31:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 5 • January 31, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, controversy arose over the potential testimony of “QAnon Shaman” Jake Angeli at the forthcoming second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Sen. Lindsey Graham warned House impeachment managers and his Democratic Senate colleagues not to allow the testimony, claiming it would turn the trial into a “circus.” But, really, what would be more appropriate for our degraded age than to question a conspiracy theorist about his psychic space warrior fantasies and the connections he sees between History Channel “secret space program” advocates and Space Force creator Donald Trump? Surely, the impeachment would benefit from some discussion of ancient astronauts and Lovecraftian Old Ones. In all seriousness, though, Graham might actually be right this time. I can’t see how the testimony of a disturbed person with History Channel fantasies can do anything but make the insurrectionists seem less threatening and less dangerous than they were.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of January 25-31:
- Avi Loeb Imagines Existentialist Aliens in His New Book Extraterrestrial
- Ex-QAnon Conspiracy Theorist Discusses Interdimensional Alien Beliefs on CNN
- James Dean and the Omelet from Hell
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 6 • February 7, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
On Thursday, Chariots of the Gods author and Ancient Aliens consulting producer Erich von Däniken released an official statement in which he attacked me for pointing out to media outlets such as The New Yorker that the ancient astronaut theorist has a long record of making racist, homophobic, and transphobic statements, often in print. Von Däniken argued instead that I am the real racist and think that I am “important” and “special.” Since my criticism is no different now than it has been for nearly twenty years, I can only conclude that his statement this week reflects new attention to his record either from those who profit from his “work” or those who interview him, particularly given the incontrovertible connections between ancient astronaut theories and the QAnon conspiracy.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of February 1-7:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 6 • February 7, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
On Thursday, Chariots of the Gods author and Ancient Aliens consulting producer Erich von Däniken released an official statement in which he attacked me for pointing out to media outlets such as The New Yorker that the ancient astronaut theorist has a long record of making racist, homophobic, and transphobic statements, often in print. Von Däniken argued instead that I am the real racist and think that I am “important” and “special.” Since my criticism is no different now than it has been for nearly twenty years, I can only conclude that his statement this week reflects new attention to his record either from those who profit from his “work” or those who interview him, particularly given the incontrovertible connections between ancient astronaut theories and the QAnon conspiracy.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of February 1-7:
- Erich von Däniken Puts Out Official Statement Attacking Me by Name
- Art History Professor in China Claims Egyptian Pyramids Are Modern Fakes
- Australian Astrophysicist Claims Pleiades Myth Is 100,000 Years Old
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 7 • February 14, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, I published an article in Slate magazine about masculinity, Joe McCarthy, Tucker Carlson, and UFOs. Be sure to check out my first major U.S. magazine piece.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of February 8-14:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 7 • February 14, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, I published an article in Slate magazine about masculinity, Joe McCarthy, Tucker Carlson, and UFOs. Be sure to check out my first major U.S. magazine piece.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of February 8-14:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S16E06 “William Shatner Meets Ancient Aliens”
- Erich von Däniken Puts Out Official Statement Attacking Me by Name
- Naomi Wolf Fudges More Facts about Victorian Homosexuality in New Outrages
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 8 • February 21, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science filed its latest SEC report, and the company announced that it would largely abandon its scientific and aerospace initiatives in favor of pursuing media and merchandising projects. This marks the completion of TTSA’s transformation from a much-hyped vehicle for pretended UFO “disclosure” to just another mediocre sci-fi infotainment company. For years they claimed that their History channel show Unidentified was only a tool to build toward their goals. It turns out that the show was the product. “Disclosure” was just a marketing opportunity.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of February 15-21:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 8 • February 21, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science filed its latest SEC report, and the company announced that it would largely abandon its scientific and aerospace initiatives in favor of pursuing media and merchandising projects. This marks the completion of TTSA’s transformation from a much-hyped vehicle for pretended UFO “disclosure” to just another mediocre sci-fi infotainment company. For years they claimed that their History channel show Unidentified was only a tool to build toward their goals. It turns out that the show was the product. “Disclosure” was just a marketing opportunity.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of February 15-21:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S16E07 “Impossible Artifacts”
- French Fashion Magazine Repeats Fake Claims about a Dean-Brando Relationship
- Was Mexico's Pyramid of Cholula Related to the Biblical Tower of Babel?
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 9 • February 28, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, Britain’s Daily Express tabloid published an article by Callum Hoare made up almost entirely of quotations from an old blog post of mine from 2016. The Express not only stole my content but failed to link to the original, presenting my five-year-old material as “new” and making it seem as though I had provided them with the news. This shoddy excuse for journalism was then translated into French and republished yet again under another author’s name.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of February 22-28:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 9 • February 28, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, Britain’s Daily Express tabloid published an article by Callum Hoare made up almost entirely of quotations from an old blog post of mine from 2016. The Express not only stole my content but failed to link to the original, presenting my five-year-old material as “new” and making it seem as though I had provided them with the news. This shoddy excuse for journalism was then translated into French and republished yet again under another author’s name.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of February 22-28:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S16E08 “The Space Travelers”
- “To the Stars” Falls Back to Earth, Refocusing as an Entertainment Company
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 10 • March 7, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I am delighted to announce that The Atlantic magazine has commissioned me to write an article about the presentation of historical topics on cable television. The Atlantic is one of America’s most prestigious publications, and I am honored to have the opportunity to contribute to its century and a half of quality journalism, alongside such luminaries as Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and many others who have appeared in its pages. I am also scheduled to record the Chauncey De Vega Show podcast this week, speaking with Salon.com’s political reporter, who usually interviews cabinet secretaries and Washington insiders. I’ll provide air date details when I get them.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of March 1-7:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 10 • March 7, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I am delighted to announce that The Atlantic magazine has commissioned me to write an article about the presentation of historical topics on cable television. The Atlantic is one of America’s most prestigious publications, and I am honored to have the opportunity to contribute to its century and a half of quality journalism, alongside such luminaries as Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and many others who have appeared in its pages. I am also scheduled to record the Chauncey De Vega Show podcast this week, speaking with Salon.com’s political reporter, who usually interviews cabinet secretaries and Washington insiders. I’ll provide air date details when I get them.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of March 1-7:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S16E09 “The UFO Pioneers”
- New Jersey Conspiracy Believer Charged with Vandalism of America's Stonehenge
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 11 • March 14, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
As I wrote on my blog Saturday: On Friday, The Atlantic magazine informed me that they would not be going forward with a planned article in which I would report on the influence QAnon conspiracies have taken from conspiracy theories airing on cable television shows like Ancient Aliens. [Per an agreement I signed with the magazine on March 15, I removed material now covered by a non-disclosure agreement.] They invited me to write something else for them in the coming months.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of March 8-14:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 11 • March 14, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
As I wrote on my blog Saturday: On Friday, The Atlantic magazine informed me that they would not be going forward with a planned article in which I would report on the influence QAnon conspiracies have taken from conspiracy theories airing on cable television shows like Ancient Aliens. [Per an agreement I signed with the magazine on March 15, I removed material now covered by a non-disclosure agreement.] They invited me to write something else for them in the coming months.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of March 8-14:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 12 • March 21, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I have not been blogging this week, but I’ve had a very busy week hustling behind the scenes to try to secure a future for my new book, The Rebel and the Fear. This week, my agent sent the manuscript to the bestselling celebrity biographer who wrote one of the most successful James Dean biographies. It looks like he will providing a blurb for my book, according to my agent. To be entirely honest, all the work it takes to position and market a book is a lot more exhausting than actually writing it.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of March 15-21:
Scott Wolter Asks: Did Templar Symbolism “Tap Into” Space Aliens?
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 12 • March 21, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I have not been blogging this week, but I’ve had a very busy week hustling behind the scenes to try to secure a future for my new book, The Rebel and the Fear. This week, my agent sent the manuscript to the bestselling celebrity biographer who wrote one of the most successful James Dean biographies. It looks like he will providing a blurb for my book, according to my agent. To be entirely honest, all the work it takes to position and market a book is a lot more exhausting than actually writing it.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of March 15-21:
Scott Wolter Asks: Did Templar Symbolism “Tap Into” Space Aliens?
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 13 • March 28, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
Because so much traffic has moved away from blogs and toward new platforms, particularly Substack and its competitors, I launched a Substack newsletter channel this past week to provide an additional outlet for my writing. I cross-posted my previous blog post there and received nearly four times the traffic as I did here on my blog. Given the disparity in audience size, for the time being I will be cross-posting archaeology and alien content both here on my blog and on my Substack newsletter. I will also offer on Substack cultural pieces that are not directly relevant to the topics that are covered here on my blog. You can read a Substack-exclusive article, "The Curse of the Black Widow Spyder," about the recent recovery of a piece of James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder here.
Everyone who subscribed to this newsletter has automatically been rolled over to Substack and will receive notice of new posts made there. For the time being, I will be running the old blog and newsletter and the new Substack versions together while I evaluate which platforms achieve the most reach and the most growth. In a couple of months I will evaluate which to continue and which will be pruned back.
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 13 • March 28, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
Because so much traffic has moved away from blogs and toward new platforms, particularly Substack and its competitors, I launched a Substack newsletter channel this past week to provide an additional outlet for my writing. I cross-posted my previous blog post there and received nearly four times the traffic as I did here on my blog. Given the disparity in audience size, for the time being I will be cross-posting archaeology and alien content both here on my blog and on my Substack newsletter. I will also offer on Substack cultural pieces that are not directly relevant to the topics that are covered here on my blog. You can read a Substack-exclusive article, "The Curse of the Black Widow Spyder," about the recent recovery of a piece of James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder here.
Everyone who subscribed to this newsletter has automatically been rolled over to Substack and will receive notice of new posts made there. For the time being, I will be running the old blog and newsletter and the new Substack versions together while I evaluate which platforms achieve the most reach and the most growth. In a couple of months I will evaluate which to continue and which will be pruned back.
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 14 • April 4, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Even against stiff competition for male viewers’ attention from NCAA basketball this week, History’s The Curse of Oak Island still drew nearly three million live-plus-same-day viewers. It easily outdrew timeslot competitor Hannity on Fox News by 100,000 viewers, and it even outdrew the top-rated broadcast on cable news, Tucker Carlson Tonight, by 2,000 viewers. The astonishing thing about these numbers is not that Curse is a popular show but that more Americans tune in to Templar conspiracy theories than GOP conspiracy theories. It’s not hard to find similarities between Curse’s claims that white Europeans secretly colonized and controlled the Americas long before Columbus and the white nationalist-adjacent rhetoric popular on Fox’s primetime shows.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts and Substack articles for the week of March 29-April 4:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 14 • April 4, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Even against stiff competition for male viewers’ attention from NCAA basketball this week, History’s The Curse of Oak Island still drew nearly three million live-plus-same-day viewers. It easily outdrew timeslot competitor Hannity on Fox News by 100,000 viewers, and it even outdrew the top-rated broadcast on cable news, Tucker Carlson Tonight, by 2,000 viewers. The astonishing thing about these numbers is not that Curse is a popular show but that more Americans tune in to Templar conspiracy theories than GOP conspiracy theories. It’s not hard to find similarities between Curse’s claims that white Europeans secretly colonized and controlled the Americas long before Columbus and the white nationalist-adjacent rhetoric popular on Fox’s primetime shows.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts and Substack articles for the week of March 29-April 4:
- The Curse of the “Black Widow Spyder”
- The Immoralists: André Gide, Michel Foucault, and the Philosophy of Abuse
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 18 • Issue 15 • April 11, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson seemed to endorse “replacement theory,” the white nationalist idea that racial and ethnic minorities will overwhelm former white-majority areas and “replace” whites as a culturally and politically dominant majority. While “replacement theory” is popular on the right today, it’s interesting to note that its historical originals go back to the immigration debates that emerged concurrent with the Mound Builder myth. As I discussed in my book The Mound Builder Myth, in the nineteenth century, the Mound Builder mythmakers claimed that an original white population of the Americas had been “replaced” by inferior Asiatic hordes who became Native Americans. Therefore, they argued, Italian and Latin immigration must be opposed to avoid a repeat of “replacement” by inferior races. It’s disturbing to see that a century and a half later, these same arguments still have currency.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts and Substack articles for the week of April 5-10:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 18 • Issue 15 • April 11, 2021 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson seemed to endorse “replacement theory,” the white nationalist idea that racial and ethnic minorities will overwhelm former white-majority areas and “replace” whites as a culturally and politically dominant majority. While “replacement theory” is popular on the right today, it’s interesting to note that its historical originals go back to the immigration debates that emerged concurrent with the Mound Builder myth. As I discussed in my book The Mound Builder Myth, in the nineteenth century, the Mound Builder mythmakers claimed that an original white population of the Americas had been “replaced” by inferior Asiatic hordes who became Native Americans. Therefore, they argued, Italian and Latin immigration must be opposed to avoid a repeat of “replacement” by inferior races. It’s disturbing to see that a century and a half later, these same arguments still have currency.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts and Substack articles for the week of April 5-10:
- Roundup: Pharaohs' Curse on Today, Greek Myths in the Bronze Age, and More
- Legendary Entertainment to Develop an Ancient Aliens Motion Picture
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
