Zubrin & "Coast to Coast AM"

Ad Astra · 2003-03-27 23:42:03

Over the past year, Dr. Zubrin has twice been a guest on the popular "Coast to Coast" radio show. On one of these occasions, he sparred with RIchard C. Hoagland, the "rebel scientist" behind "The Enterprise Mission."

The question I pose is, do you think Dr. Zubrin should continue with radio appearances on this show? On the plus side, he's getting the Mars Society name out there and building support for our ideas. On the flip side, he may be discrediting the organization by appearing on a show that is noted for its sensationalism and its never-ending stream of crackpot guests. It's obviously a decision that has its benefits and risks. Which side outweighs the other?

Shaun Barrett · 2003-03-28 02:16:20

Knowing the way the mind of the average 'person-in-the-street' works, I think Dr. Zubrin's appearance on that show is probably detrimental to our cause.
It's hard enough, in the face of condescending tongue-in-cheek reporting of space news by scientifically illiterate TV journalists, to get the public to take space exploration seriously. If the Mars Society, however incidentally, becomes associated with people who are perceived to be (or are routinely portrayed as) 'flaky', then we will all be tarred with the same brush!

I believe this is the reason our own webmaster, Adrian (long may his tenure continue! ), confined talk about extraterrestrial intelligence at New Mars to one section. And it's also the reason he penned an elaborate disclaimer at the beginning of that section, where it enjoys pride of place, pointing out the true agenda of The Mars Society and placing distance between it and the world of the 'flying saucer fraternity'!

None of us here is likely to confuse the wise words of Dr. Zubrin with the wild rantings of the lunatic fringe. But, unfortunately, the rest of the world can't be relied upon to display the same critical discernment.

So ... my opinion? Somebody tell Bob to stop doing it!

Josh Cryer · 2003-03-28 02:39:38

I don't think his appearences discredit him or the Mars Society, per-say. I think that, in principle, he's better than that, of course, but as to how his appearences affect how people percieve The Mars Society, it's impossible to really say.

Those who listen to Coast2Coast are already assimilated. And those who feel totally alienated by people who go on Coast2Coast (and only because they go on Coast2Coast), aren't really objective anyway.

Palomar · 2003-03-28 07:14:44

None of us here is likely to confuse the wise words of Dr. Zubrin with the wild rantings of the lunatic fringe. But, unfortunately, the rest of the world can't be relied upon to display the same critical discernment.

*That is so true. I've seen and have personally known of so many instances of trying to put a thought, or thoughts, across -- and no matter how simply worded, clear and concise those thoughts are, they are distorted (perhaps deliberately) or totally misunderstood. Even allowing for interpretation differences and perhaps genuine communication gap, I'm often amazed at how even very simple and straight-forward concepts are misunderstood. Sometimes these "misunderstandings" are due to cranks and troublemakers who don't care either way and simply want to create some "static." But not always.

Despite the old saying "there's no such thing as bad publicity," I think it might be better, in this respect, to err on the side of caution.

It depends also on whether Dr. Zubrin is being allowed to fully explain his/our position without bombardments of abuse and/or ridicule -- if the discussion at hand is civil, with everyone being allowed to present their point of view (no, I didn't listen to the program myself; my husband and I were on an outing at the time). But if the situation only meets with ridicule and attempts to defame -- well, of course, avoid it.

BTW: Is the Mars Society still advertising in Sky & Telescope and similar astronomy and science-related magazines? I'm subscribed (via regular mail) to Astronomy magazine and I've not seen any ads by MS. I know it's expensive, but we need to maintain a presence in those pages.

--Cindy

MarsGuy2012 · 2003-03-28 09:54:41

Well, if people are like me they have never even heard of Coast 2 Coast. So, he's not being misunderstood, he's not even being listened to.

Can I tune in down in southern Colorado?

prometheusunbound · 2003-07-03 20:01:42

it doesn't matter how many people think he is a crackpot unless he actually is a crackpot. I know he is not based on the agruement in "The Case for Mars". most people will think with their hearts and think zubrin is crackpot if they hear him on coast to coast. If jesus (pardon my blashemy) appeared on jerry springer he would be considered to be (forgive me I pray) white trash. It is the perception of the viewer, not the agruement of the speaker that determines the outcome of such a meeting. if zubrin goes to this radio station, he will forever be smeared as a crackpot for time enternity. everyone before him thought they would be able to prove the listeners otherwise but none were able to. It would be a tragic mistake to assume that zubrin could do so.

Shaun Barrett · 2003-07-04 18:52:18

Cindy writes:-

Despite the old saying "there's no such thing as bad publicity", I think it might be better, in this respect, to err on the side of caution.

I believe Cindy is absolutely correct but, in my more cynical moments, I'd take it farther than that. I think there's some justification, in the case of space exploration, for coining a contradictory axiom: "There's no such thing as good publicity"!!

Has anyone else noticed how the average TV presenter, news reader, 'anchor man' or whatever, treats news items about space probes or SETI research? Most of them can't help being flippant about the subject.
"Watch out for little green men", they lamely jest with smirks on their faces, before turning to the much more serious subject of who won the big football match! - No flippancy here, though. Football is a life-and-death matter.

There's a very large percentage of people out there who live in a real-life 'Flatland', similar in many respects to the hypothetical world postulated to explain how manifestations of higher dimensionality would be perceived in lower ones. They live in the '2-D' world of Earth's surface, only dimly aware of the existence of anything above the clouds. Space isn't real to these people; it's the stuff of Star Trek, Star Wars and a thousand B-grade horror movies. Normal, rational, sensible people don't take "all that space stuff" seriously - "Get your head out of the clouds, get your feet back on the ground, concentrate on the important things that affect us here in the real world. ... By the way, did you see who won the football?"

As long as we have inanely humorous TV journalists helping to perpetuate the notion that space exploration is just an expensive joke, then how will we ever wake the 'flatlanders' from their sleep of ignorance and show them that the big picture really starts about 100 kms above their heads?!
It's one thing to have highly educated visionaries like Dr. Zubrin on the radio extolling the virtues of human expansion into space but, until we get a new generation of scientifically literate TV and radio personalities, their puerile, subtle and condescending mockery will continue to undermine our cause.

Unfortunately, I can't see this situation changing in the near future. We desperately need good PR but I'm not sure how best to get it. Maybe Ranger's idea of amalgamating all the space advocacy groups would help ... but not until we've lynched a few ignoramuses down at the local TV station!!
:angry:

Mars_B4_Moon · 2023-09-25 10:24:48

Post Malone, is an American rapper,

'What is Xenon'?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cukSI4wZYUs

During a trip to Canada in 2018, Malone was interviewed and when asked what the "biggest lie is", he replied "The biggest lie in the world is the U.S. government. It's a fucking reality show and I think there's gonna be a lot of weird s**t that happens within our generation that really changes the way of the world."
https://archive.today/20200322055328/ht … interview/

The current Coast to Coast type site seems to be 'Joe Rogan'

Richard C. Hoagland seems to still show up as a guest, he might also show up on these unexplained ancient aliens type tv shows
https://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/ho … rd-c-5605/

Some people said the best of Coast To Coast AM was with the years of Art Bell or Arthur William Bell III founder of Coast to Coast, I didn't know much of it other than a few weird internet clips, I didn't support the radio but I respected their right to say whatever crazy stuff they wanted to say, an era when Bush junior was passing a 'Patriot Act' or Obama wasn't much better and blocking or attacking liberty instead of uniting the USA. They would mostly do Bigfoot, UFO, Lochness, they would promote ideas of Ghosts, a Planet X, talking with dead and other Mediumship, Ectoplasm paranormal happenings, ESP precognition 'Magic' type Parapsychology and other 'out there' mystic supernatural stuff Coast To Coast AM w/ George Noory. They used to have fraudster psychics on their shows Sylvia Celeste Browne née Shoemaker an American author who claimed to be a medium with psychic abilities 2006, an explosion at Sago mine in West Virginia trapped several miners underground. The following day, Browne was a guest on the radio program Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. At the start of the broadcast, it was believed that twelve of thirteen miners trapped by the disaster had been found alive and, when Noory asked Browne if the reported lack of noise from inside the mine might have led her to think the men had died, she replied, "No; I knew they were going to be found." Later in the program, it was discovered that the earlier news reports had been in error; Browne said, "I don't think there's anybody alive, maybe one ... I just don't think they are alive", adding, subsequently, that she "didn't believe that they were alive ... I did believe that they were gone." Browne frequently made pronouncements that were later found to be false, including those related to missing persons, she maintained a large following until her death in 2013. Art Bell died in 2018 some say he did the best of Coast to Coast, for a while 'Bob Lazar' and Area 51 stories would feature. 'Joe Rogan' seems to have replaced Coast to Coast as one of the main sources of wacky, fringe, out-there radio discussions.

Most paranormal enthusiasts seem to be online and now host their own local web-based radio shows.
NASA seems to have taken a lot of taboo away from atmosphere events, the UFO is now called a UAP and a recommend a roadmap for UAP data analysis by NASA and other organizations. "Unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), formerly referred to as UFOs, in theory, could include alien spacecraft, but the two aren't synonymous."
https://web.archive.org/web/20230623171 … or-hawley/
the UAP Report and colloquially named the Pentagon UFO Report, is a United States federally mandated assessment, prepared and published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
The Department of Defense would eventually release three videos recorded by US Navy pilots that were part of UAPTF investigations, which became collectively known as the Pentagon UFO videos.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article … -know.html

it has no link to any so-called mystery Face on Mars

Hoagland might have otehr motivations, selling books, attention seeking or selling mugs and t-shirts or doing it for his own ego or trying to gain influence fringe pseudoscientist? Hoagland claims the "Face on Mars" is part of a city built on Cydonia Planitia consisting of very large pyramids and mounds arranged in a geometric pattern.
https://podcast.sjrdesign.net/shownotes_059.php
Hoagland has incorrectly and falsely claimed that the idea to drop a feather and a hammer simultaneously on the moon was his
https://dorkmission.blogspot.com/2017/0 … gland.html

Why 'UFOs' should be tracked in the water as well as the skies
https://phys.org/news/2023-09-ufos-tracked-skies.html

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-09-25 10:44:04)

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#1 2003-03-27 23:42:03

Re: Zubrin & "Coast to Coast AM"

#2 2003-03-28 02:16:20

Re: Zubrin & "Coast to Coast AM"

#3 2003-03-28 02:39:38

Re: Zubrin & "Coast to Coast AM"

#4 2003-03-28 07:14:44

Re: Zubrin & "Coast to Coast AM"

#5 2003-03-28 09:54:41

Re: Zubrin & "Coast to Coast AM"

#6 2003-07-03 20:01:42

Re: Zubrin & "Coast to Coast AM"

#7 2003-07-04 18:52:18

Re: Zubrin & "Coast to Coast AM"

#8 2023-09-25 10:24:48

Re: Zubrin & "Coast to Coast AM"

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