In the first hour, George Knapp was joined by the Foundations of Mind project founder Seán O Nualláin, who asserts that the proper study of mind is the most important scientific venture in which humanity has engaged. Consciousness at its most exalted is part of something bigger, getting to know itself through the individual mind, he explained. It tends to have certain signatures, he continued, such as gamma brainwaves associated with meditators. Further, when the brain is in the meditative state, it uses a lot less energy, which is healthy for the overall physical being, he added. Foundations of Mind is presenting a conference on Friday, January 27th in San Francisco, entitled: Quantum Mechanics Meets Neurodynamics-- An Emerging 21st Century Science of Consciousness.

Following in the second hour was Prof. James Secord, who discussed how the first half of the 19th century witnessed an extraordinary transformation across many fields, and the fascinating ways that science was written about and viewed in that time period. By studying certain key books of that era by authors such as Charles Babbage (who originated the concept of a computer) and Thomas Carlyle, he reflected on the meaning of science, and how at one time it was tied to literature, poetry, and philosophy. The word scientist first came into use in this era, and tended to refer to all kinds of knowledge, and there was some debate about what it should include, he noted. Curiously, in its early usage in the UK, the word "scientist" was actually a put-down, and didn't take off as a reputable designation until the second half of the 19th century and later.

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In the latter half, UFO and paranormal researcher Paul Stonehill talked about the mysterious uninhabited island of Matua (related video), a tiny volcanic land mass in the Pacific. The six-mile long island, which is dominated by a powerful volcano, has been under control at different times by Japan, Russia, and the Nazis, he reported. In the 1930s, Japan fortified the island, carving into its rocks, and was said to store heavy weapons there. According to rumors, Russia's recent investigation of Matua found an underground city that extended 54 stories down, said Stonehill, adding that secret weapons or research could still be hidden on the island.

In 1944, during WWII, an American submarine was lost near the island, and was just discovered by the Russians in 2016, and no one knew how the craft was sunk. In 1989, a powerful green-colored projector beam was observed searching the island, and the Soviets send a detachment to investigate, yet found nothing. Additionally, Stonehill continued, Soviet border guards have disappeared from the island under unusual circumstances. He also talked about the Monchegorsk UFO case of 1987, in which a small shuttle-like object was found in the Soviet Union's Monche Tundra, and it was determined that the craft was designed for very small pilots, and had no doors or exits.