Creature Encounter: The 1909 Jersey Devil Panic | The Week Police Opened Fire — Ep. 61
In January 1909, the Jersey Devil legend stops being a campfire story and becomes a documented regional panic. State of the Unknown tracks h...
STATE OF THE UNKNOWN
Stories That Exist at the Edge of Explanation
State of the Unknown is a documentary-style podcast exploring strange encounters, unexplained events, folklore, and enduring mysteries.
Each episode follows the story first—through the people who lived it—before examining the evidence, the explanations, and the questions that remain.
From UFO sightings and creature encounters to haunted objects, disappearances, and local legends, these are stories that exist at the edge of explanation.
OUR PODCAST
Latest Episodes
Fragments | The Devil’s Footprints: The Tracks That Crossed Rooftops — Ep. 01
Welcome to State of the Unknown: Fragments. Every other Tuesday, alongside our full documentary episodes, I’ll be sharing a shorter story—forgotten newspaper accounts, enduring folklore, strange witness reports, and historical mysteries that deserve another telling. They’re not documentaries. They’r...
Introducing State of the Unknown: Fragments
Something new is coming to State of the Unknown. Every story doesn’t need thirty minutes. Some are too strange to ignore… too fascinating to forget… and too small to become full documentaries. Beginning next week, I’m introducing State of the Unknown: Fragments—a brand-new storytelling series featur...
Creature Encounter: The 1909 Jersey Devil Panic | The Week Police Opened Fire — Ep. 61
For one remarkable week in January 1909, communities across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware were gripped by a wave of reports unlike anything the region had experienced before. Police officers claimed to see something moving over rooftops. Families awoke to strange sounds outside their homes....
Men in Black: Albert Bender | The Visit That Silenced America's First UFO Bureau — Ep. 60
Join host Robert Barber as he explores the case that gave rise to one of the most enduring legends in UFO history—the Men in Black. In the early 1950s, Albert K. Bender founded the International Flying Saucer Bureau, one of America's first civilian organizations devoted to investigating reports of u...
Alien Abduction: Travis Walton | Inside the Abduction Experience Behind Fire in the Sky — Ep. 59
Join host Robert Barber as he explores the second half of the Travis Walton case, one of the most discussed alien abduction stories in American history. Five days after disappearing in the Arizona wilderness, Travis Walton returned alive. His coworkers had spent nearly a week under suspicion. Search...
Alien Abduction: Travis Walton | The Disappearance That Inspired Fire in the Sky — Ep. 58
Join host Robert Barber as he explores the disappearance of Travis Walton, one of the most discussed alien abduction cases in American history. On November 5, 1975, Travis Walton and six fellow loggers were driving home through the Apache–Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona when they reported seei...
FROM THE BLOG
Recent Posts
Men in Black: Albert Bender | The Visit That Silenced America's First UFO Bureau — Ep. 60
Albert Bender is a key name in Men in Black history because his story begins with ordinary paper, not a dramatic UFO crash. In early 1950s B...
Alien Abduction: Travis Walton | The Abduction Experience Behind Fire in the Sky — Ep. 59
Travis Walton’s story doesn’t begin with a grand cosmic message. It begins with disorientation: opening his eyes in a bright room that doesn...
Curious About Me?
I got my start in broadcasting while still in high school, working on-air at a local radio station where I introduced big band music and learned the fundamentals of audio production. That experience sparked a lasting interest in narration, recording, and the power of sound to create atmosphere. I'm also a guitarist, and over time, those creative threads have stayed central to my work.
By day, I lead training projects in the corporate world. But outside of that, I’ve always been drawn to the strange and unexplained—haunted places, forgotten history, and the kinds of stories that linger in the background. State of the Unknown brings all of that together. It’s where I explore what’s just out of sight—usually with my yellow lab Rosie close by.
Read MoreMy Blog“I listen to lots of paranormal/cryptid podcasts and this one is definitely top of the list. Thank you for making an amazing podcast!”
- Listener feedback (original Spotify comment)
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY
Reviews
We're grateful and humbled to get these types of reviews. We couldn't ask for more from our listeners. Read what people exactly like you are saying about our podcast
Apple Podcasts
Very, very interesting!
Just found you. Only listened to 1 episode so far. Very good ! I’ll be catching up . They all sound interesting. Thank you.
Apple Podcasts
New Favorite!
Fantastic, absolutely riveting podcast about the unknown that actually...keeps it real! Love the storytelling, the subtle effects, the delivery and the questioning at the end...Robert Barber does an excellent job of reflecting on each episode by questioning the validity, the possibility, the reasoning and the parallels while encouraging each listener to use their own personal beliefs and reasoning to come to their own conclusions~ and possibly reflecting on their own story a little as well...
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