Soder Podcast Ep 63: "Cryptids and the Paranormal" with Henry Zebrowski & Ed Larson

Date: January 7, 2025
Host: Dan Soder
Guests: Henry Zebrowski (Last Podcast on the Left), Ed Larson, Marcus Parks, Katie

Episode Overview

In this lively, freewheeling episode, comedian Dan Soder welcomes Henry Zebrowski and Ed Larson (of the Last Podcast on the Left) along with Marcus Parks and Katie, for a deeply irreverent and highly entertaining discussion on the paranormal, cryptids, aliens, museums as colonial trophies, and the weirdness of the modern media landscape. The conversation ping-pongs from recent news stories to wild speculation about extraterrestrials, interdimensional beings, underground societies, and the role that information overload plays in our collective numbness.

The group’s signature dark humor and philosophical curiosity make this a must-listen for fans of both comedy and fringe lore.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Social Media & Modern Fame (00:05 - 00:13)

• The guys riff on social media "trainers" as the new Pokémon, lampooning influencer culture.
• Ed: “People are just going to start searching for social media people like their Pokemon.” (00:05)
• They joke about viral “What do you do for a living?” street interviews (00:14).

2. News, Outrage, and Dark Humor (00:18 – 04:22)

• Ed recounts a sensational news story about the United Healthcare CEO’s assassination in NYC and the Internet’s mixture of outrage and schadenfreude (00:18 – 01:36).
• Discussion turns to why billionaires might actually want strict gun laws for their own safety (04:02).
  • Henry: “They’re coming. Those guns are aimed at you.” (03:59)
• They marvel at the irony of museum artifacts as the spoils of British colonial conquests.
  • Ed: “Museums are—people have been bringing this point up a lot—but museums really are like, England went and took everything, dude.” (04:24)
  • Marcus: “They don’t really apologize much. As they say, we stole this and it ain't going back.” (06:18)

3. British Museum & Colonial Loot (04:22 – 08:34)

• Extended riffs on the surreal experience of visiting the British Museum—with its pilfered treasures and grim histories.
  • Henry: “They basically had the leader of a tribe flip on his own people... and they bring it back and now it’s here.” (06:27)
• Their comedic imagination conjures Pete Davidson and Travis Scott sword-fighting among the artifacts.

4. British Life, Heatwaves & Coffee Woes (08:34 – 10:35)

• Ed describes struggling to get iced coffee in a London café during a heatwave, poking fun at British resource management.
  • Ed: “How did you guys dominate the world?” (10:20)
• Guy Ritchie-style movie about criminal ice trafficking is proposed (10:37).

5. UFOs, UAPs & Alien Anxiety (10:53 – 17:14)

• Henry gives a rapid update on a recent, global wave of UFO/UAP sightings—highlighting official confusion and widespread public indifference (11:52).
  • Henry: “The third wave of UFO and UAP activity in the last two days is out of control.” (12:15)
• The British government is allegedly shutting down citizen filming of UAPs (13:21).
• Speculation on whether UFOs are reverse-engineered human creations, true aliens, or both (13:56 – 14:06).
• Henry and Marcus theorize: are aliens from space, from the ocean, from other dimensions, or possibly “people from the future”? (15:28 – 15:49)
  • Henry: “I like the concept of consciousness drives reality creation... the universe is held together by pinion points of consciousness.” (15:40)

6. Consciousness, Simulation Theory & Cosmic Perspective (16:14 – 22:17)

• The group detours into simulation theory, cosmic consciousness, and Gnostic/Biblical mythos.
  • Henry: “We are in... the dream of the Creator.” (20:06)
  • Ed: “We’re the volcano in the kitchen, and your mom's going over—okay, next time, we're not doing it this much.” (21:35)
• Humorous takes on aliens misunderstanding religion and accidentally sparking Earth’s conflicts (17:01 – 17:29).

7. Alien Lore, DNA & Jimmy Carter’s Secret (22:32 – 25:10)

• The infamous (urban legend) tale of President Carter being traumatized by secret alien knowledge is discussed (16:25 – 16:40).
• Wild UFO lore: Eisenhower makes a treaty with "the Grays" in exchange for technology, humanity is given up as test subjects (24:12 – 25:10).
  • Henry: “Eisenhower signed an agreement with the Grays... you’re going to give us Wi Fi and we’re gonna give you 250,000 test subjects.” (24:48)

8. Government Secrecy & Public Apathy (25:57 – 36:40)

• The “cover-up” around UFOs: the government spends as much energy debunking as suppressing (22:32 – 22:49).
• “Why do we not care about the biggest revelations?” The group explores public indifference to both aliens and important news, thanks to a deluge of content (35:04).
  • Henry: “We could not possibly give a f---. If there are aliens, the psyop was done, and I do believe that it was done.” (35:10)

9. Social & Media Saturation (46:24 – 51:16)

• Discussion of online discourse, Reddit communities, and the decline of trustworthy information.
  • Henry: "Reddit... is the last true bastion of the actually independent product review." (44:13)
• Problems with Twitter’s “wild west” environment, paid verifications, and cultural divides between platforms (45:13 – 45:41).

10. 24-Hour News Cycles, Outrage Fatigue & Information Overload (49:05 – 53:19)

• Sports journalism and news as endless content engines—losing meaning in the noise.
  • Henry: “We have the Internet, which is 24 hour news... It is in our pocket.” (49:23)
• Ed: “You gotta do a research paper to just find out the weather...” (50:05)
• Overlap with health/fitness misinformation: the simple truth obscured by endless advice (50:36 – 50:58).
  • Henry: “They’ve had the answer for 100 years, which is exercise and watch what you eat.” (50:45)

11. Absurdity of Modern Outrage & Desensitization (52:32 – 55:06)

• The flattening of emotional response: everything from alien disclosure to assassination is swallowed by the feed in days.
  • Henry: “It’s a staccato rage.” (53:17)
• They note the rapid, cyclic nature of modern news, making even the most shocking stories quickly disposable.

12. Final Thoughts: Aliens Among Us, DNA, and Cosmic Weirdness (57:17 – 61:55)

• Final theories: are some people aliens and don’t know it? Is alien DNA part of the human genome? Is this what would shock the public the most? (57:17)
  • Henry: “My theory is that there are people walking around that are aliens that don’t know that they’re aliens.” (57:18)
• 23andMe, DNA tracking, and bio-data: more jokes about finding your dark doppelganger (58:44).
• Contemplating the Fermi paradox, biological rarity, or us as possible “first consciousness.”
  • Henry: “I still think... if it’s all biological aliens, we are one of the first... consciousness points.” (61:44)

13. Bonus: Would You Have Sex with Your Alternate-Universe Self? (62:02 – 63:39)

• The group ponders an R-rated classic sci-fi question with a comic twist.
  • Henry: “If I met another Henry, we’d just score like it’s the hug scene from Step Brothers.” (63:07)

14. Wrap & Shoutouts (63:55 – end)

• Dan Soder shouts out the Last Podcast on the Left, recaps book recommendations, and shares a personal story about driving through Ukiah, CA, near Jonestown’s origins, thanks to LPOTL research (64:25 – 65:18).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Henry Zebrowski: “Be afraid. Or be unstoppable.” (02:43)
• Marcus Parks: “They don’t really apologize much. As they say, we stole this and it ain't going back.” (06:18)
• Ed Larson: “How did you guys dominate the world?” (10:20)
• Henry Zebrowski: “I like the concept of consciousness drives reality creation... the universe is held together by pinion points of consciousness.” (15:40)
• Ed Larson: “We’re the volcano in the kitchen, and your mom's going over—okay, next time, we're not doing it this much.” (21:35)
• Henry Zebrowski: “My theory is that there are people walking around that are aliens that don’t know that they’re aliens.” (57:18)
• Ed Larson: “You gotta do a research paper to just find out the weather...” (50:05)

Timestamps For Important Segments

• 00:05 – Social media and influencer satire
• 00:18 – United Healthcare CEO assassination story
• 04:22 – Museums, colonial artifacts, British elitism
• 10:53 – Recent UFO/UAP sightings and alien government paranoia
• 15:28 – Space, ocean, time-travel, and consciousness theories
• 20:06 – Simulation, Gnosticism, “dream of the Creator”
• 22:32 – Government debunking and public suppression about UFOs
• 35:04 – Public apathy/drop in reactions to shocking revelations
• 44:13 – Why Reddit remains (sort of) trustworthy
• 49:23 – Death of cable news, rise of info-overload
• 57:17 – Are aliens already here and in our DNA?
• 62:02 – Would you sleep with your alternate-universe self?
• 63:55 – Shoutout to Last Podcast on the Left; book recommendations

Tone & Style

• Warm, darkly humorous, unapologetically irreverent.
• Fluid banter filled with pop culture, history, science fiction, and “dad energy”.
• Self-awareness of shifting between profound and frivolous.

Final Thoughts

This episode is a sprawling, philosophical comedy session about how the absurdities of human civilization—from our artifacts, media cycles, and conspiracy theories to potential cosmic neighbors—are funnier, weirder, and more complex than any news bulletin can capture. If you want to hear what smart, hilarious people actually talk about when their guard is down and the mics are on, this episode is quintessential Soder Podcast.