More Like Ancient FAILiens

What if the entities that ancient peoples called gods were in fact aliens? Mind blown, right? It all started with Chariots of the Gods, the book by Erich von Daniken and then the film based on that book. Comedian John Hodgman joins Brandon and Toby to discuss the movie version and so much more. Witness the birth of the gods were aliens weirdness as the Ancient Astronaut Theorists did, with B-roll and weird 70s music.Subscribe to hear this and other great podcasts early and ad free at ⁠grabbagcollab.com⁠.For more about John Hodgman, visit: ⁠https://www.johnhodgman.com/⁠

On Saturday, January 10, the Godfather of Ancient Astronaut Theorists, Erich Von Daniken, died at the age of 90. In this episode of More Like Ancient Failiens, Toby and Brandon look at EVD’s life, from his time as a hotelier and embezzler to the successes of Chariots of the Gods and its sequels, to the final form of Ancient Astronaut Theory, Ancient Aliens. We look at the ups and downs, the dubious claims, and the short-lived theme park that was not as exciting as the Alps.We also have some exciting news about where we’re taking our show in 2026. We’re calling it The Pivot, and it basically means we’ll be reviewing movies, TV shows, and crappy ‘89s docs about UFOs to show just how deep (or high) this whole thing really goes.Subscribe to hear this and other great podcasts early and ad free at grabbagcollab.com.“Erich Von Daniken’s Genesis” in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/31/archives/erich-von-danikens-genesis.html“Scholars Will Call it Nonsense” in Expedition Magazine: https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/scholars-will-call-it-nonsense/Erich Von Daniken Explained: https://everything.explained.today/Erich_von_D%C3%A4niken/Short History Channel video on Erich Von Daniken:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc1QUbSN9uo

Part two of Brandon and Toby’s discussion with journalist Keith Kloor about the documentary film, The Age of Disclosure. In this episode, we discuss Lu Elizondo and The Observables (not a band, alas), the time Keith made Lu sad, and bubbles that warp both space and time. Plus, the culinary delights of roadkill.You can read Keith’s reporting about issues we talk about here:https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/ufos-once-consigned-to-conspiracy-theories-have-landed-in-mainstream-american-journalism/https://www.wired.com/story/will-the-new-york-times-ever-stop-reporting-on-ufos/https://gen.medium.com/americas-enduring-obsession-with-ufos-b582ca8f86cbhttps://issues.org/ufos-wont-go-away/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ufos-keep-appearing-in-the-news-heres-why-we-cant-quit-them/https://www.spytalk.co/p/star-drek-ufo-crank-luis-elizondohttps://theintercept.com/2019/06/01/ufo-unidentified-history-channel-luis-elizondo-pentagon/https://keithkloor.substack.com/p/why-ufos-will-never-ever-go-awayMore Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

What is "The Age of Disclosure" and why is legacy media so obsessed with it? Toby and Brandon venture into a space that's slightly less ancient, but no less alien, than "Ancient Aliens" as they dig into the new documentary by Dan Farah, "The Age of Disclosure." With the help of freelance journalist Keith Kloor, we ask why so many government figures are so gaga for UFOs, why everyone from The New York Times to CNN is so uncritically gaga for the documentary, and why "Disclosure" is now mainstream enough to include Stephen Spielberg and the Epstein Files. Turn off your nuclear missiles and tune in to us! Check out Keith's work at https://substack.com/@keithkloor More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.com Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Have you ever gone metal detecting and found a twisted piece of wire? Well, Giorgio Tsoukalos has and it was at a skip site near Roswell, NM! I know, right? Toby and Brandon are joined by podcaster Michel Gagne to get a handle on the Ancient Aliens episode “The Relics of Roswell” (S15:E2). This one has it all: a budding love story, some industrial grade aluminum and explosive cratering! Plus a dramatic Zoom call… For more about Michel, visit: ⁠https://www.paranoidplanet.ca/ More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.com Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Not satisfied with small floods or even big floods? How about a great flood? Polymathic Canadian Pedro Mendes returns to the show to help Toby and Brandon bail water on the Ancient Aliens episode “The Great Flood” (S9:E8). Yes, we’ve got Gilgamesh. Yes, fallen angels once again seduce “our girls.” Yes, there are microbeads. No, it’s still not clear how it all fits together. But we don’t want God or aliens or whoever to wash us away again so board the ark with the Failiens gang and float to safety. https://m.youtube.com/@PedroMendesMiniature More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.com Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

What is it like to be an academic, talking about your legitimate research only to have it woven into a story of extraterrestrial interference in human history? This bonus episode features two conversations that Brandon and Toby had with experts featured on Ancient Aliens who aren’t ancient astronaut theorists! First, they talk with Jonathan Young, the curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives. In the second interview they chat with Dominic Steavu, associate professor of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. You can learn more about our guests here: Jonathan Young Website: folkstory.com His congregation: LiveOakGoleta.org Mythological Studies: Pacifica.edu Campbell archives: opusarchives.org/joseph-campbell-collection/ Joseph Campbell Foundation: jcf.org Dominic Steavu Faculty page: eastasian.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/dominic-steavu/

Let's finally just ask the big question: Just exactly how does Bigfoot fit into this whole doggone UFO thing? That's what we're answering once and for all in our exploration of the Ancient Aliens episode "Aliens and Bigfoot" (S4:E7). Luckily Toby and Brandon get help from journalist and documentarian David Farrier, creator of such wild and fascinating dives into culture as the doc Tickled and the Netflix series Dark Tourist. Not to mention a whole podcast on mysterious critters called The Cryptid Factor. So we were well-prepared to figure out if Bigfoots are hybrids of humans and apes, or if humans are hybrids of Bigfoots and aliens, or if ... aliens are ... hybrids of Bigfoots and ... humans? Okay so we lost our way in the forest, but that's no reason not to listen, because after all, the greatest threat in the woods may not be Bigfoot ... it may be us. Find David's work here: www.webworm.co More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.com Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Ever notice that the Sphinx’s head is kind of small compared to its body? Unsurprisingly, the Ancient Astronaut Theorists are on top of it and so much more. Journalist Maggie Rahr joins Brandon and Toby to delve into The Mysteries of the Sphinx. That’s Season 9, Episode 2. Be amazed by the Blinking Eye of the Lord, intrigued by the theory that ancient sarcophaguses (sarcophagi?) might be teleportation devices to other dimensions, confounded by some English guy who thinks the Sphinx is actually a dog, and other weird stuff. Listen to Maggie’s award-winning podcast, Carrie Low Vs. here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/carrie-low-vs/id1589263927 More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.com Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Giorgios Tsoukalos and Nick Pope go on a sort of disappointing field trip to Britain’s Area 51 and Brandon and Toby are right there with them in spirit. It’s Season 12, Episode 3, The Mystery of Rudloe Manor. We’ve got a stately British manor house sitting on an underground complex that might or might not have UFO stuff, a teenager who seems to have basically run a town in Wales, and Giorgios displaying an excellent respect for the law by getting the hell out when the cops come. More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.com Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Supposedly there was a period in pre-history where the planet was like Lord of the Rings. Can this be true? Toby and Brandon are joined by Jack Brewer to look into this. It turns out the answer is that, no, it is not true. But it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. We meet the giant Denisovans, the little Hobbits (not the going-on-a-quest type), and a guy traipsing around Europe with a replica of a skull that someone else found in a cave. We’re talking about Protoypes, Season 11, Episode 10. For more about the Emma Woods case, listen to Strange Arrivals, season 3, episodes 6-8. For more about Jack Brewer, visit: https://ufotrail.blogspot.com/ and https://www.expandingfrontiersresearch.org/ More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.com Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

You ever run into a smart kid and think, hmm, probably a human/alien hybrid? If so, the Ancient Astronaut Theorists have some “facts” you can use at cocktail parties. Brandon and Toby are joined by Sarah Carradine to discuss The Star Children (Season 7, Episode 3). We meet a child who joined Mensa at age 2, which must have been awesome for him, along with the Dalai Lama, Pythagoras’ adoptive brother/slave, and the nefarious black-eyed children who once scared a guy hanging out in his car at a mall parking lot. Brace yourself!For more about Sarah Carradine, visit: https://robhasawebsite.com/author/sarah-carradine/More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

We are back at Skinwalker Ranch, where there is apparently an interdimensional portal somewhere, or something like that. Regardless, Toby and Brandon are joined by Erica Lukes for part two of their examination of The Mystery of Skinwalker Ranch (Season 15, Episode 10). We have a perp line-up of wolves, Skinwalkers who can alter their own DNA and an incident at Dead Man’s Curve! Also, dudes hanging out in fields holding guns.For more about Erica Lukes and Expanding Frontiers, visit: https://www.expandingfrontiersresearch.org/More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

More like the Secrets of Glibtalker Ranch, amiright? We have giant wolves, poltergeists acting like 10-year-olds and quantum jiu jitsu. Fortunately, we are joined by Erika Lukes, an expert on Skinwalker Ranch who keeps Brandon and Toby sane as the Ancient Aliens and Skinwalker Ranch universes collide. And this is just Part 1 of our conversation about The Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch (Season 15, Episode 10)! For more about Erica Lukes and Expanding Frontiers, visit: https://www.expandingfrontiersresearch.org/More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Brandon went to Antarctica, but didn't see any giant pyramids, under-ice Nazi cities, or even have his boat attacked by a squadron of laser-firing alien craft. That's not the Antarctica that the Ancient Astronaut Theorists hold dear to their hearts. Anyway, you get the picture. We're talking about the Pyramids of Antarctica on this week's More Like Ancient Failiens.More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Ah yes, the Book of Enoch. Where would Ancient Aliens be without it? It is a question for which there is no answer. Fortunately, Toby and Brandon are joined by podcast and radio documentarian Pedro Mendes, who studied early Christianity and has a lot of answers, most of which are “that is not correct.” We’ve got ancient Ethiopian bibles, an alien hybrid Noah, and giants mating with Neanderthals. Seriously, what else could you want?Check out Pedro’s miniature photography here: https://www.instagram.com/pedro.mendes.miniature/More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Ayahuasca and aliens, two great tastes that go great together? Maybe. While they don’t take ayahuasca or see any aliens, Brandon, Toby, and musician Aimee Mann try to work through an episode that is light on UFOs, but heavy on tenuous thematic connections. Other topics include whether angels’ wings depicted in art would actually work anatomically, poltergeists poppin’ bottles, and multiple universes.For more about Aimee Mann, visit: aimeemann.comMore Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Ever wonder what the academics on Ancient Aliens would say if they were given more than 20 seconds a clip? Well, wonder no more! Toby and Brandon are joined by Ancient Aliens subject matter expert Sabina Magliocco, from the University of British Columbia! They talk about the episode Magic of the Gods (Season 6, Episode 4) and what it’s like to be an expert on Ancient Aliens. Plus, the guy who did all the backflips in the Blues Brothers and a donkey you can fold up and put in your pocket!For more about Sabina, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabina_MaglioccoMore Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Are mummies, vampires and zombies extraterrestrials? Even the ancient astronaut theorists aren’t willing to go there, but it was time for a Halloween-themed show, so this is what they were left with. Fortunately, comedian and actor Rekha Shankar is here to help Toby and Brandon make sense of this mess. We have human sacrifices, King Tut, head binding, and Voodoo. Also, is Ancient Aliens the Imagine Dragons of the UFO World?For more about Rekha, visit https://www.rekhashankar.com/More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Is Earth the site of a war between different species of aliens? Hard to know, but both a retired Canadian military official and the sixth man to walk on the moon have a strong feeling that it’s happening. Toby and Brandon take a look at The Alien Wars, which are apparently less noticeable than the ones we are used to. Also, why would anyone lead an expedition into the Valley of Death?More Like Ancient Fail-iens is published early and ad-free over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.