MARS MESSINA PRESENTS

Episode 127 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS compels you to learn about the ancient rites of exorcism that have survived millennia and have been updated for more modern possessed folk and for those who wish to exorcise them. We will be swept away to ancient eastern cultures and learn of their shamans' various demon slaying ways, we will - of course - meet Jesus of Nazareth, and we will genuflect befor...

Episode 126 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS takes a cruise through The Sands and The Levee, the red light districts of Chicago during the turn of the 20th Century. Red Light Districts were neighborhoods that were dotted with houses of ill repute, dance halls, bars, and other seamier establishments. Those who lived in these neighborhoods, at the time, were often drunk, gambling, and selling their bodies....

For Episode 125 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we will be talking about recent goings-on in humanity's relationship with all things outer space. First, we will address Mexico's congressional hearing concerning 2 corpses found that were alleged to be that of ancient alien ancestors. Then, we will discuss two of NASA's latest endeavors - their hologram project, which can send a "human en...

Episode 124 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS ushers in the Spooky Season with a real life horror tale. We bring you back to late summer 2016, when people all around the nation and the world began seeing random killer clown appearances in incongruous settings. These sightings set off mass fear, vigilance, and even violence. We will talk about the psychological reasons why human beings are afraid of clowns,...

Episode 123 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS shares a timeline of events that begins with the reported genesis of the inferno that devastated Lahaina, on the island of Maui in the state of Hawaii. We will mention, of course, the high winds and downed power lines that reportedly ignited the fire. We will also talk about factors that the neo-colonizers on the Hawaiian islands would rather us ignore - at lea...

For Episode 122, MARS MESSINA PRESENTS shares a recent study out of USC's School of Gerontology that asserts that deep, controlled breathing reduces the proteins - Amyloid Beta 40 and 42 peptides - that are the "bad guys" and the catalysts that set off the progression of Alzheimer's Disease. The study states that deep, controlled breathing, done twice daily at 20 minutes each ses...

Episode 121 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS timelines the indictments made against the 45th President of The United States, Donald Trump. Four cases have been brought against him, with over 70 charges. We will timeline what happened when, and why. I am also predicting the outcome, whether he will be found guilty or not guilty. I am also predicting the winner of the 2024 presidential election. This episod...

For Episode 120 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we will talk about Leslie Van Houten, the now elderly ex-con, formerly the acid drenched, brainwashed, violent killer of the infamous Manson Family cult. We will talk about her surprisingly and comparatively normal, loving background and why she chose to turn her back on it. We will discuss the draw to Charles Manson and his commune and what propelled them...

The topic of Episode 119 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS is the conflagration that - per the laws of physics and chemistry - was a FIRE-NADO, known as The Great Chicago Fire. The fire began on the evening of October 8 and ended around midnight, October 10, of 1871. We will address all of the contributing factors that resulted in the firestorm that devastated Chicago, and we will unveil the mystery behind...

Episode 118 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS takes us to a relaxing mindscape, where we walk along the beach. Letting our physical and psychic tension melt away, we breathe in the air and the mists of tranquility and relaxation. We learn how to incorporate this creation of stillness into our daily lives. To send correspondence, email thisismarsmessina@gmail.com To donate to this podcast, Venmo @mdm773. Th...

Episode 117 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS asks the question: is it Consecrated Cash or Latter Day Lucre? In recent news, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (known colloquially as The Mormon Church or The LDS Church) has been accused of amassing more than $100 Billion in wealth and not using it for charity...or for anything, for that matter. Further, the Church was accused of evading taxes....

In Episode 116 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we will discuss how not only are the skills of critical thinking and faith complimentary rather than conflicting, we will talk about each vis-a-vis creationism and evolution. We posit that both of these skills can and ought to be present in the contemplation of each of these theories, and that these theories are NOT mutually exclusive. We will outline how c...

Episode 115 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS celebrates summertime by examining the history of amusement parks, from the very earliest pleasure gardens and right up to the virtual reality rides that thrill us today. We will talk about the different categories of rides and the various themes one finds in an amusement park. BEDTIME STORIES FROM THE ACOUSTIC BOOKSHELF concludes this episode with a reading of...

The idea for the topic of Episode 114 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS was a rather synchronous event; Mars chose this as a topic just before hearing the news of the missing submergible vehicle that reportedly imploded on its way down to the Titanic wreckage. Both are stories of how authorities cut corners on safety measures to save time and money...but ended up costing lives. We will discuss, in detail,...

Episode 113 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS reports the news that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is presently scoring higher in the polls than status quo candidates, President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump, who are pretty much in a dead heat for second place. While the election is about 17 months away, as of this writing, the poll shows a willingness of the average voter to consider a third option....

Who can be an expert at fianchetto, but has more stalemates than checkmates? Why, the chess player, of course. For Episode 112 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we will talk about the origins of the board game, Chess, and how this activity is an art, a science, AND a sport. As is wont on MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we will also discuss how playing chess is good for one's mental and emotional wellbeing, as...

Episode 111 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS is a True Crime episode devoted to the Leopold & Loeb homicide case. In an attempt to commit "the perfect crime", 19-year-olds Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb murdered Loeb's 14 year old cousin, Bobby Franks, in May of 1924. The case engendered worldwide fascination because of the viciousness of the crime, that the murderers were believed to b...

For Episode 110 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we will explore the history of the ancient Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl. He is described both as a winged, plumed serpent and as a tall man with a white beard. Believed to be the Creator of the Universe, humankind, and the earth by the ancient Aztecs, they believed he would return to them. Tragically, as the Spanish conquistadors landed on their shores, the Azt...

Episode 109 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS focuses on the similarities between the Man Made Of Clay in the Jewish mystical tale of The Golem, The Creature from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's novel, FRANKENSTEIN, OR THE MODERN PROMETHEUS, and current AI technology. We will speak to the benefits, but mostly of the dangers, of humans playing God and giving life to that which is dead. BEDTIME STORIES FRO...

Evil Gargoyles...Subterranean Lizard People....Prophecies of The Apocalypse...Headquarters of The Illuminati...these are only a few of the conspiracy theories that surround the Denver International Airport (DIA), and we will be talking about them and a few others for Episode 108 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS. We will end today's broadcast with a quote from Philip K. Dick. To send correspondence, em...

Episode 107 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS explores the Top 10 Most Depressing Jobs. We will talk about what makes them depressing...while realizing how much society needs these fields and these workers in order to function. Why is there even a such thing as the idea of a thankless job, with its comorbidity of feelings of worthlessness? We will also discuss different reasons why people might feel worthl...

Episode 106 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS devotes itself to the oft-sought-after but not-oft-voted-for "Outsider Candidate". We seem to thumb our noses at the independent candidate or a third party, yet we distrust the Two Party System in our representative democracy...or is that, our democratic republic...or....is it an oligarchy? We will revisit how often this nation chose an outsider for P...

For Episode 105 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we will discuss the emotion we call, Worry. We will draw attention to the distinction between healthy amounts of worry and incessant worry - or rumination - and an associated worry disorder known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Scientific research shows that most of the time, our worries never come to fruition and , when they do, we handle it much b...

Episode 104 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS takes a close look at OpenAI's newest, and 4th, version of its chatbot called, ChatGPT. ChatGPT-4 is a large multimodal model (accepting image and text inputs, emitting text outputs) that, while (generally) less capable than humans in many real-world scenarios, exhibits human-level performance on various professional and academic benchmarks. ChatGPT has onl...

Episode 103 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS celebrates the convergence of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, the Jewish Passover, and the Christian Lent/Holy Week/Easter. Every 33-ish years, these holidays all fall at the same time. We will discuss each holiday, individually, and regard them - collectively - as a powerful time for all people to come together and pray for peace. Together, we can bring peace...