It's the most wonderful time of the year... to talk about aliens! On this holiday edition of #ParanormalTuesday, Mike and Wendy from the See You On The Other Side Podcast go live just after the winter solstice, when Jupiter and Saturn lined up in a rare conjunction that had everyone asking whether this was what the Star of Bethlehem looked like.
From there the conversation drifts into ancient astronaut territory. Over 50 years ago, Erich von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods suggested that humanity's ancient gods may have been extraterrestrial visitors, and the idea has never really gone away. Tom DeLonge even wondered aloud in 2020 whether the Star of Bethlehem could have been a craft rather than a star. Mike and Wendy pull on that thread, from Moses and the burning bush to why a guiding star would have to hover so low to point the way.
There's a detour through the Vatican Observatory and the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, which is why Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on a different day. Then things get darker as the hosts look at how the 1970s spiritual boom gave rise to new religious movements, including UFO-centered groups like Heaven's Gate, and why belief in something plausible can be the first step toward believing almost anything.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Sunspot holiday show without music, and the duo revisit some favorite Christmas songs with a few otherworldly new lyrics. Pour some eggnog, look up at the night sky, and decide for yourself what's really up there.