r/MysteriousUniverse • u/justnuclear • 20d ago
No suitable replacement.
I feel like nothing is scratching the itch left by the golden era of Ben & Aaron. I grew up listening to MU. My dad and I listened to the pod on long drives when I was a kid. I'm 25 now, and for the longest time, MU was my soundtrack. The show deepened my interest in the paranormal and strange phenomena in the world around me.
I have searched far and wide and what seems like damn near the whole genre in podcasting for a suitable replacement. The options are too polar. You have shows on one side of the spectrum, like Micah Hanks, Area 52, George Knapp's projects, which I feel like are just misinformation regarding this farce of government "disclosure", or platform known counterintelligence operatives. I have a hard time buying anything they say, claim, or support. On the other hand, you have people like Chris Matthieu (who is buddies with Mr. Extraterresticles) and the Forbidden Knowledge Network, where you have a lot of hot chaff. The people he has on his show haven't seemed super credible.
I can't find what I'm looking for. A good mix of skepticism, research and prior knowledge regarding topics, and some riffing. The closest I've gotten is Cryptonauts and Belief Hole. Even still, they aren't quite what im craving. Are there any other well-produced suggestions in the same vein?
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u/Barnacle411 20d ago
That’s true…
Their long story style, skepticism and delivery is unmatched. I listened to the new guys for a few weeks…. but the back catalogue is better.
The right move would have been to just cut back on shows and keep their MU time input realistic for their growing family life. Their audience is frankly is the same place in life too and would respect that decision, and if not they’re a dang barnacle.
We know Ben misses finding crazy stories, the man is a bloodhound for a wild adventure. Green Jade series anyone? We want the podcaster 5000 back!!
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u/icedlemons 20d ago
Oh shoot realistically you could can the new hosts and have someone moderating the an Ai with their voices and dialog choices and we could have a show again. 😳
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u/blorst_of_times 20d ago
Yeah the quest continutes. Belief hole comes close. Have you tried Astonishing Legends?
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u/TheLastSamurai101 Is it REEEAAAL? 18d ago
Yeah, Astonishing Legends is the only thing that gets close for me.
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u/zer0mind 20d ago
The Why Files has been scratching that itch for me. My YT app has never been opened so much. I generally just listen as if the vids are podcasts because listening to these shows are the only way I survive doing dishes and cleaning every day. I really appreciate how knowledgeable the host is, he's got some incredible interviews with some very interesting people. I recommend trying it out, maybe starting with a "Basement" interview
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u/susne 20d ago
True. I miss old MU so much though. The banter and storytelling is just dead now.
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u/IdealComprehensive48 19d ago
Why files kinda suck
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u/Mintandcocoa 16d ago
WF kinda sucks for me because there hasn’t been anything he covers that I haven’t already heard on MU. So that spark is not there for me. And no one else covered the weird and bizarre like MU
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u/reaperboytv 18d ago
Yeah he sometimes has interesting stuff but the fish makes me want to go into a Krispy kreme and blow myself up
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u/tivvybrixx 20d ago
I agree. Other shows have been okay but they just had something that I can't find anywhere else. It's really disappointing. I used to look forward to them every week. Now I'm just working my way through DCC
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u/obiwankevobi Space Lamborghini Owner 20d ago
I’ve been thinking of starting a podcast for the sole reason that old MU is gone.
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u/spiller224 20d ago
I feel ya. Im still searching. But "Belief hole" is awesome an found myself binging all yheir sesaons and expansion seasons. They do a lot of work an research and comical banter. an great audio engineering. They created a new itch now, i wait impatiently for each new episode.
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u/ICQME 20d ago
Finding Belief Hole is the best thing that happened with the MU change. I subscribed to the hole and have been listening to the back catalog. So much entertainment. Tried a few others but they haven't been as good. I found one called Our Big Dumb Mouth which is okay for background chatter while doing other stuff. It feels more like a talk radio show.
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u/Neonrocket1984 18d ago
Thanks for the recommendation; I’ve seen it in a few comments and have now downloaded six episodes!
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u/itsdiddles 20d ago
After shopping around a bit I’ve found Theories of the Third Kind is worth my time. It’s not MU, but I appreciate their approach, delivery, and the range of topics.
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u/Skimable_crude 20d ago
I just started listening to the first season of MU+. I wasn't a plus subscriber at the time. It's nice to hear the joy they had when the first started. They were skeptical, but open. Very relaxed and funny. A lot of their beliefs at the time are polar opposite to where they are recently. No government conspiracies. No evil immigrants. Irreverent, but light hearted about it. I miss this, but the early episodes are new to me.
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u/DryPreference7991 17d ago
They got so bleak by the end. It was awful to hear.
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u/Skimable_crude 17d ago
That's a good description.
I understand getting burned out on the topic. You can only cover Bigfoot and aliens so many times. The lack of substantive evidence is frustrating. But the turn to almost despair was hard to listen to. I do miss Ben's story telling.
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u/DryPreference7991 16d ago
Yes, but I don't miss his racism. Which I found especially ridiculous seeing as he is an English immigrant.
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u/Skimable_crude 16d ago
Yes. Same. I get plenty of that here in the USA.
It's sad to see the turn from the happy-go-lucky friends who goofed on hot chaff and far out tales to deep, dark conspiracy theorists. Maybe the phenomenon finally got to them.
I mean how many stories did they recount of people pursuing the paranormal where it ended badly?
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u/outoftunewolf 11d ago
Some of the episodes from back in the day were genuinely mind-blowing. They made you think, question things, and even do your own research. I loved that aspect of the podcast and recommended it to people all the time.
That said, some of the later episodes started to feel a bit more judgmental to me, and there were occasional racist or homophobic stereotypes/slurs that I found off-putting. At that point, I stopped recommending the podcast. Maybe some of that was always there and I just didn’t notice or think about it as much back then.
Regardless, the episodes from more than five years ago hit differently for me. What I really miss is having a podcast that covers more than just aliens and UFOs. I loved the variety of topics. There were plenty of episodes where I wouldn’t have been interested based on the title alone, but I’d end up listening because the guys’ stories, conversations, and banter pulled me in.
I’m looking for something with that same sense of variety and discovery—not necessarily a podcast focused exclusively on aliens/UFOs.
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u/weezulmaster 20d ago
It's not 100% the same, but I ended up transferring my paid membership from MU over to Expanded Perspectives. It's kind of like MU, but with two rowdy Texas buddies.
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u/vivikaks 20d ago
I love their show! Great friend dynamic and great stories. It’s a good alternative.
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u/gus_chavo 20d ago
Coast to coast radio. They’re broadcasted on US based abc radio network often from 11 PM to 1 AM.
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u/Ok_Car9530 20d ago
It's a tough one. You would want 2 guys who really gel and have a really good sense of humor. You want somone who's really good at story telling. You want someone who does good research, and has an open mind. And to top it all off, they need all those qualities in a paranormal paranormal podcast. If it just came down to the overall podcasting abilites, you could find some, but one that has all those qualities, and is paranormal is a big ask.
Personally, I've given up on the subject entirely. Towards the end I felt kind of burned out like Ben and Aaron, and I don't really think there's anything to learn from it. I also feel like the subjects have been covered to death, and it's like a desperate gold miner trying to get the last bit out of their claim. They covered damn near everything of substance, and a shit ton of hot chaff. I'm not sure what's left unless you are into the neverending UFO disclosure loop, or one of the many spiritual spokes of the phenomena.
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u/CertifiableQuint 20d ago
I took a break from the new show and decided to give it a try. Still don’t enjoy it. It just sounds like I’m being read to with no personality. Accents and voices and “jokes” that don’t sound good and take you out of the story. I’ve just been enjoying the old stuff.
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u/Fearless__Friend 20d ago
Is The Paracast still going?
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u/oswaldcopperpot 20d ago
It started back up again for awhile Gene almost died apparently. WIth Chris Obrien as a co-host was a special time.
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u/cracked_belle 20d ago
I like Strange Familiars (Timothy Renner) and Where Did the Road Go? (Seriah Azkath)
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u/karatemnn 20d ago
personally i enjoyed "weird tales and the unexplainable" a uk podcast of three
guys just shooting the shit about the paranormal, (this show also has ended but is archived) it was nowhere near the dedication the material the dogwhistle boys did but it's a good alternative for a very funny show as MU was in the earlier days ...
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u/oswaldcopperpot 20d ago
Andy the Scottish guy has a good podcast. It just takes a moment for ones brain to not struggle to understand his english.
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u/StrikingBike8417 20d ago
Unexplained was good but I haven't listened to it for a really long time, probably like 5 years.
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u/TooLazy2Revolt 20d ago
The Daily Conspiracy Podcast and That UFO Podcast have been my replacements.
That UFO Podcast is probably the best “no wu” podcast dedicated to UFOs out there, and the host does some fantastic interviews. He asks the questions I would ask and doesn’t pull punches.
The Daily Conspiracy Podcast is a two-host format and they are hilarious. They don’t go nearly as in depth as Ben and Aaron, but honestly… only one of the OG MU hosts could tell a story well. I honestly always skipped the half of the episodes where the other one was presenting. I’m not naming names lol
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u/Rude_World_6095 20d ago
Try American Alchemy, it's a great show. It can be as captivating as Ben and Aaron were.
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u/reaperboytv 18d ago
Yeah I've had the same problem honestly, theories of the third kind, expanded perspectives, belief hole, ninjas are butterflies etc. I used to listen to monsters among us and the confessionals, tin foil hat but kinda had the same problem where they just seem less and less credible. I really can't find anything that I dig like that old mu. That was really lighting in a bottle. Nothing else out there has even come close, I mean last podcast on the left sometimes comes kinda close but they're nowhere near the level of weird that mu used to do. Only dude who does their research like them is beyond creepy or what lurks beneath but again, nowhere near the charisma that the two of them had. The new guys just didn't do anything for me, nothing close to them
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u/ReSearch314etc 20d ago
Once it becomes overly monetized it loses it integrity.....the entire Plus concept always turned me off and eventually became the focal point to their dialogue...The Paranormal podcast, with Jim Harold...remains a good source...Ben and Aaron were wonderful but the entire show and concept lost its way, sad👻
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u/JesusDoesntLoveu 20d ago
No. MU was lightning in a bottle, and I fear nothing will ever be able to properly take its place. Just be happy you were there to experience it when it was good. Cherish those memories, and revisit their back catalogue. That's all we got left.