# Bad Astronomer vs. Nancy & the Zetans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053 "2003-05-13T21:00:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/1 "2003-05-13T21:00:09Z")
Tonight on [Coast to Coast](http://www.coasttocoastam.com/) with Greg Noory, Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer of his own site, and sometimes poster on SDMB, will debate Nancy Lieder “over whether a ‘Planet X’ will pass close enough to the Earth to cause a pole shift and spur many disasters in the next few weeks. Plait will then be the solo guest for the last two hours.” That’s at 11 pm Pacific, 2 am Eastern time. The show should be posted on the Coast to Coast website later. Nancy Leider believes, based on conversations with the alien Zetans, that a big ass planet is/will be streaking through the solar system. Phil Plait will present the opposite viewpoint: it isn’t there at all. If you’re too anxious to wait until the broadcast, here’s Plait’s newly updated page [The Planet X Saga: The Scientific Arguments in a Nutshell](http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/nutshell.html). Mods - I hope this is the best category for this note. Please move if needed. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/2 "2003-05-13T21:23:09Z")
Wow: I can’t wait to hear this. I love Plait. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/3 "2003-05-13T22:01:18Z")
2 AM? Man, I gotta stay up…oh, wait a minute, I have no job, I stay up that late anyways… On a more serious note, is this in NPR? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/4 "2003-05-14T09:24:52Z")
So the Zetans stutter, do they? :wally of course I mean Lieder, not Plait ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/5 "2003-05-14T09:41:18Z")
I am exhausted after that nasty little soiree. Hopefully I will be posting some fun after-debate tidbits on the site that didn’t come up on the program. Some of them are … disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/6 "2003-05-14T10:43:48Z")
I think the most powerful evidence that Planet X exists is that one episode of “Doctor Who,” where the Cybermen try to destroy the Earth to recharge their home planet of Mondas. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/7 "2003-05-14T19:10:24Z")
Weren’t the Zetans those wacky lights who mind-controlled Scotty’s girlfriend? Oh, wait, – that was Zeta_r_. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/8 "2003-05-14T22:21:29Z")
Way to keep the faith, Phil. You ever consider hitting Howard Stern? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/9 "2003-05-14T22:26:23Z")
… No, not a joke. Set up an interview like that, he’d probably love it, especially if you find someone _really_ wacky to debate. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/10 "2003-05-15T20:55:53Z")
The transcript and an mp3 of the Coast2Coast show are posted on this [page](http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=5335&sid=101b85005750242586ac1475c864d3af) of Phil Plait’s website. As well as this comment: > [@](#): > > Fluffycat also made an ([http://www.denonville.com/nancypuppy.mp3](http://www.denonville.com/nancypuppy.mp3)) of Ms. Lieder’s interview on KROQ (an LA radio station) where she admits to killing her 18 month old dog. Yes, you read that right. The whole interview is on the KROQ website. She killed her dog because she thought Planet X was coming. I’m speechless. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/11 "2003-05-15T21:11:28Z")
It killing a dog doesn’t prove to you that Planet X really exists, you’re hopeless. You just can’t reach some people. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/12 "2003-05-15T23:57:32Z")
Here I was considering starting a thread asking people how they intended to spend their last day on earth, and then I read this. Looking at my livingroom full of pets, I now realize I have much too much to do to fritter away any more time on the web. I’ll check back later, if we’re still here. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/13 "2003-05-16T00:48:24Z")
Stock up on those purple shrouds people!:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/14 "2003-05-16T01:29:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > \*\*So the Zetans stutter, do they? :wally > > of course I mean Lieder, not Plait \*\* 🙂 That’s the problem with transcripts of live interviews or court depositions. When people speak, they make a **lot** of "um"s and "er"s in the fractions of a second while they’re searching for the right word. If you write out each one of these, it looks like the speaker has a terrible stuttering problem, when in fact most of these "um"s and "er"s are sotto-voce and are hardly noticed by the listener. ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/15 "2003-05-16T01:34:19Z")
Don’t forget those hats made out of tin foil. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/16 "2003-05-16T03:03:07Z")
Wonder if she knows anything about Bill Clinton, Super Mexico, Mothman, and peanuts? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/17 "2003-05-16T03:13:13Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Rilchiam_ > **So the Zetans stutter, do they?** > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*That’s the problem with transcripts of live interviews or court depositions. When people speak, they make a **lot** of "um"s and "er"s in the fractions of a second while they’re searching for the right word. If you write out each one of these, it looks like the speaker has a terrible stuttering problem, when in fact most of these "um"s and "er"s are sotto-voce and are hardly noticed by the listener. \*\* Yes, I’m aware of that. But I made that post immediately after I heard Lieder supposedly “channel” the Zetans. I’m sure there were "um"s and "er"s when she was officially speaking for herself, but when she switched to “Zetatalk”, there was a **marked** increase. At one point, she was/“they” were actually groping for the right word, which hadn’t happened earlier. Listen to the mp3 and you’ll see what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/18 "2003-05-16T04:38:36Z")
After listening to the woman for a while, I came to understand that no amount of facts and logic would ever dissuade her because she’s freaking nuts. I intended to stay and listen to the rest of the show with Phil Plait, but it was already 3 in the morning, so I went to bed. Damnit, right now there’s a perfectly good lunar eclipse going on, but here in Atlanta it’s raining. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/19 "2003-05-16T04:43:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Papermache Prince \* > \*\*She killed her dog because she thought Planet X was coming. I’m speechless. \*\* She _claimed_ to have killed her dog. Big difference, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053/20 "2003-05-16T05:03:52Z")
Boy, I am enjoying this (i.e. the mp3 of the debate). I’m about 11 minutes into it. Phil, your patience so far is admirable. Will there be another debate after June 1st? Assuming we’re all still ok of course. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-astronomer-vs-nancy-the-zetans/175053.md?page=2)