One of the things I love the most about the Paradigm Symposium, is that it inspires the audience not only to think for themselves and reach their own conclusions, but also to take a more active stance in the search for answers.
A good example of this are my buds Darren Grimes & Graham Dunlop, whom I met on the 1st Paradigm in 2012. They drove all the way from Calgary to join in this event organized by my Cosmic Compadre Micah Hanks, and the Intrepid Magazine editor & religious historian Scotty Roberts; and even though I’d only interacted with Darren through the comment section on Mysterious Universe a few times, we all became fast friends almost immediately.
It was because of Mysterious Universe and Micah’s Gralien Report radio show, that the Canadian duo decided to start a podcast of their own. Now I’m going to be honest here: At the beginning I was uncertain on how they were going to pull it off, since they were both rather novice about the whole podcasting requirements, aside from the day jobs and other personal responsibilities they couldn’t neglect because of this new ‘hobby’; add to it the fact that nowadays there’s not exactly a shortage of Fortean shows trying to get a hold of the celebrities in the field, and you can see how The Grimerica Show had quite an uphill road in front of them…
But, as a testament to both their passion and commitment, in a short span of time the Grimericans have already managed to attain a good number of listeners all across the globe, a group of good bloggers writing for their webpage, along with a VERY decent list of guests under their belt –Grant Cameron, Stanley Krippner, Dennis McKenna, Rupert Sheldrake & Dr. Rick Strassman just to name a few.
Not bad for a couple of guys transmitting from a little igloo in the middle of the Canadian tundra 😉
This year Scotty Roberts & his new associate Dr. John Ward –known among the veteran Paradigm attendees as ‘the most interesting Egyptologist in the world’— offered Grimerica to be the official podcast of the symposium; it was just too good an opportunity to pass, and I’m proud to say Darren & Graham once again rose to the challenge like pros. On their table at the back of the vendors’ hall they had everything from T-shirts, flyers, business cards, and a banner (co-designed by yours truly) which was later signed by all the PS2014 speakers and now adorns their recording studio in Calgary. They also conducted on-site what they call ‘the Money Bomb’, which is a funding model they emulated from The Higherside Chats in which they ask for cash donations, and after reaching a certain sum they split half of the earnings with a lucky contributor. Someone left Minneapolis with a hundred bucks-worth of new books thanks to Grimerica!
Below is a list of all the interviews they recorded at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis, the beautiful building in which the conferences and the dinner banquet were hosted this year. If you’ve never listened to them, you’ll quickly notice that, although Grimerica took inspiration from MU and the Gralien Report, their ‘loose-cannon’ tone of casual conversation is actually closer to Joe Rogan’s, and is what probably distinguishes them from most of the podcasts out there –as such, the boys are not afraid of dropping a few ‘F-bombs’ here and there, something I hope won’t prevent you from enjoying the entertaining dynamic between Graham’s New Age-y enthusiasm on everything concerning Consciousness, in contrast with Darren’s nonchalant ‘groundedness’ and more skeptic attitude on these topics.
I also got to participate in a few of those recordings, as you might have probably deduced from the top image, in which you can see me sitting right beside UFO historian/researcher Richard Dolan. Having the chance to engage people you’ve admired for a number of years is a priceless opportunity, and I’m very grateful the Grimericans are taking me along for the ride. Hope you decide to join us as well!
