Conspiracies have always been part of American culture, but with the rise of social media has come an increase in belief in nontraditional explanations of events. This book highlights a subset of conspiratorial beliefs that grew in popularity in the early 21st century. These beliefs and the growing cynicism of the media have left conspiracy theorists with deep distrust of those in authority. A number of theories that have arisen over the years are explored. From QAnon beliefs regarding the United States government to UFO reports and other hidden agendas, it is clear that we continue to challenge old ways of thinking.

Since the 1950s, there have been men and women around the world claiming to have had contact with human-like visitors from space. This book explores how the ""Contactee"" subculture has critiqued political, social and cultural trends in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Not merely quaint relics of the 1950s Atomic Age, Contactees have continued their messages of political and cultural transformation into the 21st century. Regardless of whether these alleged contacts took the form of physical meetings or channeled paranormal psychic communications, or whether they actually happened at all, Contactees have provided a consistently relevant source of commentary on this world and beyond.

Narratives based on conspiratorial and paranoid thinking have become increasingly prominent throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These stories range from sinister tales of malevolent reptilian beings infiltrating our government to fears that the forces of the New World Order rounding up patriotic Americans and putting them into internment camps. These concerns possess a long history in the United States and, often, have been bolstered by revelations of real conspiracies and cover-ups by private and public entities. From the prosaic to the outlandish, conspiracy narratives involve aliens and Nazis, underground bases and mind control technology. Conspiracy theories and the narratives constructed by those who believe them present a unique window into the history of the United States, highlighting fears both founded and unfounded.

In "The Chaos Conundrum," historian Aaron John Gulyas examines how the paranormal has intersected and influenced our culture in myriad ways, from the conspiracy beliefs of William Cooper and Exopolitics to the challenge that the stories of Gray Barker presented to our concept of self and time. He looks at the maelstrom of personalities, agendas, impressions, data, confusion, and contradictions that can be found in the world of the weird, and demonstrates how they have become an integral part of our lives, whether in the form of flying saucers, hauntings, religious revelations, psychic abilities, or dozens of other guises. Gulyas delves into the stories of the people who have attempted to create order out of the chaos. Along the way he recounts his own journey from enthusiastic believer in the "shadow government" and their underground bases to jaded academic skeptic, and then finally to someone who thinks there might just be something to the paranormal after all... but not what we have been led to expect or believe
"A compelling and very personal look at the impact the paranormal has had on the way we view ourselves and the world in which we live."
- Paul Kimball, author of "The Other Side of Truth"
"A major contribution to paranormal research and observation."
- Nick Redfern, author of "Final Events" and "Contactees"

Doctor Who has been a global phenomenon for half a century. In this brief, personal account historian and author Aaron John Gulyas explores his own fandom in the context of Doctor Who's growth and development from its initial end in 1989 to its resurgence in 2005 and through today. Embracing the various avenues the Doctor Who story took, from the 1996 television movie to the New Adventures series of novels, In Fandom's Shadow examines the role that fandom-writ-large played in shaping one particular fan's Doctor Who life.

"You there. Reading this. You don't have to you know. But I have succumbed to the narcotic tentacles of blogging and will be posting a daily mishmash of uncategorical mental rubbish to appease my strange and obscure urges to populate the info-sphere with my creative spoor."
So begins this first volume of Posthuman Blues, the edited version of the popular weblog maintained by author Mac Tonnies from 2003 until his tragic death in 2009. Tonnies' blog was a pastiche of his original fiction, reflections on his day-to-day life, trenchant observations of current events, and thoughts on an eclectic range of material that he culled from the Internet. The result was a remarkably broad portrait of a thoughtful man and the complex times in which he lived, rendered with intelligence, imagination, and a wickedly absurdist sense of humor.
"Posthuman Blues is of a piece with the Lost Generation of the 1920s and the Beat Generation of the 1950s. Tonnies spoke for his generation with passion, eloquence, and a rare insight."
- A. J. Gulyas, author of Extraterrestrials and the American Zeitgeist
"This book has the inventiveness and prose of a novel, but it's good, honest observation and speculation. From lambasting fakery to closing in on the true paranormal, Mac Tonnies takes us on a wild trip. Tonnies was mysterious, maybe because he always had an eye and ear for the mystery underlying our strange existence."
- John Shirley, author of Gurdjieff: An Introduction to his Life and Ideas and the A Song Called Youth trilogy
"Mind-stretching "
- Clifford Pickover, Ph.D.