This Week In Joe’s Basement, episode 40: UFOs

Air Dates: December 30,1991, January 6, 1992

Description:

The Mole drops into a cocktail party to induce the last remaining guest (Joan Polner) to “take off” in his flying saucer. Then the crew hits the streets to ask the public – “Do you believe in UFOs.”

Patrons at a laundromat and a McDonalds offer various shades of blind credulity, while a wizened UFO expert expounds at length about the color of alien auras.

Meanwhile, a mail carrier notes that belief in UFOs exposes the inherent difficulty of scientific observation.

For perspective, Mark Audrain’s Science Lecturer evaluates the popular UFO theories. He finds them scientifically tenuous, poorly documented, and very unpopular with the Little Green Men who live in his underwear

Production Notes:

Friendly and talkative, Chicago mail carriers generally made good interview subjects, as in the previous Search for King Zeke, This one was spotted walking home, in uniform, eating his groceries out of the bag. Later, we learn that he holds a Ph.D from the University of Chicago, though he’s always worked as a mail carrier. He reappears in subsequent episodes.