Journalist and food writer Evan Rail considers himself a beer guy, but when a mysterious bright green spirit started shaking up the scene in the Czech Republic (where he lives) in the 1990s, he knew he had to learn more.

His latest book “The Absinthe Forger: A True Story of Deception, Betrayal, and The World’s Most Dangerous Spirit” looks back at the history of absinthe, why it was banned across Europe almost 100 years ago, and how its return to the market has inspired collectors, connoisseurs…and even conmen.

In August 1953, airstrip operator George van Tassel claimed he was woken up in the middle of the night by an intelligent lifeform from outer space named Solganda. George says Solganda told him to build an energy rejuvenation machine – so that’s exactly what he spent the rest of his life doing…

For more information on visiting the Integratron check out their website. Plus, take a look at some photos from one of George van Tassel’s UFO conventions.

If you want to learn more, George tells his version of the “encounter with Solganda” in a 1964 interview.

On a remote island 200 miles off the coast of Alaska, a community hunts for a single, elusive rat.

Read Daniel Wu’s original reporting on the rat strike team.

Thanks to Freesound user mmiron for the wave sounds in this episode.