Having discussed the first landmark cases of alien abduction in the last episode, this week we investigate the explosion of abduction claims in the 1980s and 1990s. We discuss the works of artist turned hypnotist Budd Hopkins, the strange encounters of author Whitley Streiber, the alien hybrid theories of historian David Jacobs, and the spiritual alien ideas of the late great John Mack. While alien abduction stories have existed since the 1960s, why did they become a pop-culture sensation during this era, with thousands of otherwise normal Americans claiming remarkable encounters with beings from other worlds?
Bonus content: When Baywatch went paranormal
Resources:
Jodi Dean, Aliens in America: Conspiracy Cultures from Outerspace to Cyberspace
Diana Tumminia (ed) Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Contact
Roger Luckhurst: The Science-Fictionalization of Trauma: Remarks on Narratives of Alien Abduction
Laura Thursby: The Trauma of Missing Time in Alien Abductions
Thomas Bullard: UFO Abduction Reports: The Supernatural Kidnap Narrative Returns in Technological Guise
Bridget Brown: The Know Us Better Than We Know Ourselves: The History and Politics of Alien Abduction
Wide Atlantic Weird Podcast: Budd Hopkins' Intruders: How Alien Abductions Got So Popular
The Oprah Winfrey Show: Siblings' "Bizarre" Story of Being Abducted by Aliens
An introduction to Frederic Jameson's ideas on postmodernity
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