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5.30.15

Joshua Cutchin

(2 Hours, 44 Minutes)


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Fortean researcher Joshua Cutchin joins us for a discussion on his new book A Trojan Feast, which examines the vast history of weird food exchanges between humans and otherfolk such as faeries, aliens, and Bigfoot. Over the course of this wide-ranging conversation, we look at the food exchange phenomenon from a vast array of angles, leaving no stone unturned in our quest to decipher what is really going on during these enigmatic encounters.

Amongst the topics discussed are faeries and their predilection for a mysterious foodstuff known as 'foyson,' the 'food taboo' and how it may apply in modern times, the famous story of Joe Simonton's alien pancakes, the paradox of aliens and faeries having human food despite not being human themselves, and the eerie similarities between faerie encounters and ET abductions.

Along the way we venture down a myriad of side roads discussing how salt seems to be kryptonite for faeries and other elementals, the mysterious edible known as 'soma' that has been lost to time, the Absorption Theory for how ETs may actually eat, the challenges of studying ancient accounts of entity encounters and modern controversial ET abduction accounts, how the exchange of sex factors into this entire realm of esoterica, and much, much more.

Altogether it is a cornucopia of esoteric insights previously left on the periphery of the paranormal which have now been freshly examined and collected thanks to the fine efforts of Joshua Cutchin in this new book A Trojan Feast.

Highlights: We kick things off with the standard bio / background on Joshua Cutchin and find out how he ended up researching Forteana and, specifically, food exchanges between humans and other entities. Jumping into the contents of A Trojan Feast, we find out why Joshua decided to focus on the trio of faeries, aliens, and Bigfoot. Next we have Joshua provide some background on the nature of faeries and how their contemporary portrayal in pop culture is far different from the historic depiction of these elemental beings.

Delving further into faerie lore, we discuss the perplexing and nebulous concept of 'foyson,' which is said to be the 'essence' of food that is consumed by faeries who then leave behind the actual food that subsequently contains no foyson and no 'essence.' We also ponder if there is any scientific analog to the concept of foyson that we can look at and identify the enigmatic source of this idea. We then circle back to the overall theme of A Trojan Feast and have Joshua provide a thumbnail look at the food exchange phenomenon as it has been reported over the years.

From there, we talk about the suspicious nature of food offered by faeries, where these offerings have been reported to look like real food but are actually pieces of bark and other natural detritus. This leads to us discussing the possible co-creative nature of these entity encounters and what it might mean about the reality of these events. We also find out if these food exchange events still take place today or if they are more of a remnant of faerie lore.

Joshua also ponders the nature of the 'food taboo,' which suggests that accepting food from faeries would trap the recipient in the faerie world and if that food taboo finds an analog in the after-effects of alien abduction events where consumables are forced upon the abductees. Unearthing on odd tidbit found in A Trojan Feast, we note how Joshua observed that Puerto Rico has an inordinate amount of food exchange cases and wonder what may be behind that odd trend.

We next mull over how the commercialized food of modern America, such as McDonalds and junk food, have not found their way into these food exchange scenarios, which suggests these may not be merely psychological phenomena. This segues into us talking about how there appears to be a greater agenda at work with these food exchanges beyond merely an entity providing sustenance to the witnesses. We then hear about the most famous ET food exchange case: Joe Simonton and his alien pancakes. This leads to some talk about the difficulty in analyzing alien-offered food if it was essentially made of the same ingredients of human food.

Looking at another strange paradox surrounding food exchange events, we discuss how, by their very nature, aliens and faeries should likely be eating food different from human food, but that isn't the case in these events. This leads us to talk about the Absorption Theory, which suggests that ETs consume food via absorption through the skin rather than eating it with their mouths. From there we discuss how sexual relations between humans and entities often feature into encounter cases. Examining another odd trend which seemed to emerge from A Trojan Feast is how salt appears to act as a deterrent from faerie and entity encounters.

Getting meta on the subject of food exchanges, specifically fairy lore, we talk about how research into these tales pose difficulty because they may be more laden with metaphor than facts. This segues into us talking about 'soma,' which is a mysterious edible that was mentioned in the Bible but the exact nature of which is unknown in modern times. Turning our attention to Bigfoot, we talk about the possibility that there are two types of scenarios at work: Bigfoot as a flesh and blood creature and Bigfoot as a projection of elementals or an elemental itself.

Waxing about the esoteric in general, we muse about the challenge of solving these mysteries and if solving them is even possible. This leads to some observations about the underlying but as yet unclear connection between faerie encounters and ET abductions. Looking to the future, we ask Joshua where food exchange research can go in the future, beyond collecting past cases. Taking a question from the chat room, we have Joshua discuss instances where entities are given food by humans rather than the other way around.

In light of the many cases from abduction research which inform the book, we get Joshua's thoughts on the challenges facing abduction research in recent years and how he wrestled with those suspicions when studying alleged accounts of ET interaction which involved food. Joshua reflects on the predictive nature of these food exchange cases and what that might mean to the greater phenomenon at work in these events.

Nearing the end of the live program, we find out what might be next for Joshua Cutchin after the whirlwind surrounding the release of A Trojan Feast. Since he mentioned at the very end of the book, we ask Joshua about food exchange cases between humans and ghosts. Taking another question from the chat room, we find out if Joshua has heard of any cases where someone takes food from an entity in a lucid dream. We also reflect on how the food exchange seems like it is an overlooked clue that may shed light on the true nature of the ultimate mystery that perplexes us all.

Moving across the nebulous border of the live program, we talk about how the work of David Paulides may connect to the faerie mythos. Beyond the food exchange element of paranormalia, we find out what other areas of esoterica interest Joshua and he details his thoughts on consciousness and synchronicity, which leads to him sharing his own weird sychronistic story. This leads into some random jamming about the nature of reality, the need for 'new stuff' in esoterica today, and a 4th wall smashing conversation about the nature of the interview that just took place.

Closing out the conversation, we talk about the challenges facing modern ufology and what the future may hold for the field. Joshua also shares another potential avenue of research which may be fruitful for future UFO researchers as well as the rickety foundation that the ETH provides for future researchers. Joshua also tells us about future online writing which may happen at his new website joshuacutchin.com. We also obliterate the 4th wall by talking about dealing with everyday stories about UFOs, the paranormal field, and even BoA itself!


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