Odd Ball: Unidentified Rolling Object
The Premise (from Apple Podcasts):
Odd Ball is a story about a UFO investigation, a mansion in the woods and how one shiny object sent a Jacksonville, Florida family into hiding. Each week host Lindsey Kilbride dives deeper into the 1974 mystery of the "Betz sphere."
Series or standalone:
Series
Begin listening to:
Episode 1: Darndest Thing I Ever Saw
Format:
Investigative reporting
Host(s):
Lindsey Kilbride of WJCT
Sound/production quality:
Very good
Rating/age suitability:
Appeal-wise, best for teens and up
Approximate length of episodes:
40 minutes
Curricular ties:
n/a
Similar recommended pods:
Astonishing Legends is referenced multiple times throughout this podcast. I haven't listened to that one, but it sounds good.
Podcast Librarian’s Review:
Weekends are my days to binge an entire series, and this was a fun one for a Sunday afternoon. This podcast is about a mysterious object that appeared on a family’s property in 1974 near Jacksonville, FL. It was the subject of interest for many years because it was suspected to be connected to extraterrestrials. This wasn’t just a local interest story—the Navy got involved in testing it, as did UFO experts from far and wide. The story isn’t as wacky as it may sound—many of the experts consulted then and now (for the podcast) are actual scientists who try to explain the oddities of the metal--likely stainless steel--ball that weighed about 20 pounds and had some interesting markings on it. The host explores all the possible explanations for how it appeared and talks to people close to the family. The middle episodes lost a little steam for me, but there are a couple reveals in the final episode that make it worth sticking with. The series ended in late 2019 and was expected to update with a new episode in 2020, but that may have changed considering, well, how 2020 went. I’m hoping we do get an update at some point. The podcast Astonishing Legends is frequently mentioned because that also covered the Betz sphere, as it's called, so if you end up interested in this topic, check out that podcast for more.
