Topic: Richard Spence

The hosts address theories that James Shelby Downard was a fabrication or a "cutout" for other researchers. Bell recounts asking Michael Hoffman and Jim Brandon directly, both of whom confirmed Downard was a real person. He cites historian Richard Spence’s genealogical research, which concluded that while Downard's claims were wild, the man himself did exist and lived in an Airstream trailer.

Tobias Churton evaluates claims made by author Richard Spence regarding Aleister Crowley's potential role as a British intelligence asset. While J. Edgar Hoover and the Bureau of Investigation looked into Crowley's activities in 1918 and 1919, the results remained inconclusive. Churton notes that Crowley's lack of legal consequences upon returning to England suggests his controversial activities during World War I may have been sanctioned or at least known by high-level officials.