Ufological legend Stanton Friedman returns to the program for our third annual BoA : Audio Holiday Special. We give Stan the floor for the first half hour as he goes over, in tremendous detail, a variety of elements to the Betty and Barney Hill abduction case including the role of the case in getting people interested in the UFO phenomenon, the importance of Dr. Simon to the veracity of the case, and why the Star Map aspect is key to the whole story. There's also a great discussion on Ufological history, especially the immediate post-Condon period of UFO studies and why things seemed to go so wrong for Ufology from there. Stan talks about the incorrect assumption by skeptics regarding repeatability as tantamount to studying UFOs, esoteric elements to the Hill case, his interest in pilot shoot-downs of UFOs in the 1950's, his next book which he dubs his "Magnus Opus", and, of course, tons more.

It's our fourth interview with Stan, his third holiday special on BoA : Audio, and another classic interview to stand alongside his previous visits to the show.

Full Preview : We kick things off with Stan talking about how he got interested in the Betty and Barney Hill case and the key significance of the Hill case to the greater picture of popularity for Ufology. Beating binnall to the punch, Stan answers the rhetorical question of "what's so special about the Hill case". This leads to some discussion on the importance of Dr. Benjamin Simon to the Hill case. Stan gives some background on Betty and Barney Hill and why they were a "special couple". Stan shares the story of how he ended up as consultant to the TV Movie about the Hill case in the the 1970's, by way of the US Air Force.

This leads to Stan talking about the Star Map element to the Hill case, including some great background on how he got involved in that aspect of the story and the evolution of the Star Map case. He also gives a great thumbnail look at what the Star Map is and how it came out of the Hill case. He also talks about how the Star Map is a key element to the Hill Case, since it would constitute new information that came from the abduction that was previously unknown. And all this is before binnall asks the first question.

We find out what the mood was like in Ufology as the Hill case was surfacing. This leads to Stan talking about the importance of dealing with the media with regards to UFO stories. This turns into a fascinating discussion on "apologist Ufologists" and how J. Allen Hynek was one. From here we get Stan's take on where things went wrong for Ufology, some great first hand perspective of the fall out from the publication of the Condon Report, and, most importantly, why things went wrong. He also shares a remarkable anecdote about J. Allen Hynek and Blue Book that provides a telling look at what was really going on with the US Air Force's study of UFOs.

Next Stan talks about the problem with most astronomers and how that, in turn, causes the media to be incorrect about the potential for UFOs. This segues into a discussion on Stan's masterful refutation of Carl Sagan claiming that "reproductability is the essence of science". Stan's response lays waste to the often used argument by skeptics who say that since UFO sightings can't be repeated then they can't be studied.

Jumping back to the Hills case, we talk about the Boston Traveler article that broke their story, against their wishes, to the mass public. This leads to talk about the book that resulted from the Boston Traveler article, "The Interrupted Journey", and how Dr. Simon had editorial control over the final content of the book. This leads to a bit of discussion on Betty's latter days in Ufology.

Looking at the big picture of trends in the esoteric, we talk about why it seems like the Hill case "fell off the radar" in the paranormal world over the last ten to twenty years. We also look at one the most bizarre elements to the Hill case, the "dried leaves / earrings incident" which occurred in November of 1961, two months after the abduction, and the big picture information we may be able to glean from this strange side story. This leads to some discussion on elements of the Hill case that give us information on what the aliens may have known, at the time, about humans, based on their actions during the abduction.

Moving into another realm, we talk with Stan about his interest in the stories of US planes scrambled to go after UFOs in the 1950's. Next we discuss Stan's take on the renewed debate in Ufology over the ETH theory v. interdimensional theories regarding where the UFOs originate.

Heading towards the close of the interview, Stan tells us about his "Magnus Opus" that he is working on now, his next book "UFOs and Science". We also find out if Stan has ever considered doing an autobiography in the future and what he'd like to do for a book after "UFOs and Science". We also find out what's coming up for Stan Friedman in 2008 and what foreign countries he'd like to speak at but hasn't had the chance to yet.

He has provided written testimony to Congressional Hearings, appeared twice at the UN, and been a pioneer in many aspects of Ufology including Roswell, Majestic 12, the Betty Hill-Marjorie Fish star map work; analysis of the Delphos, Kansas, physical trace case; crashed saucers, flying saucer technology and challenges to the S.E.T.I. (Silly Effort to Investigate) cultists.

He is the author of the books "TOP SECRET/MAJIC" and "Crash at Corona: The Definitive Study of the Roswell Incident". He is also the co-author of the new book "Captured", about the Betty and Barney Hill abduction case.

His website is stantonfriedman.com