New Realities, May 30, 2026

New Realities with Alan Steinfeld Robert Schoch on the Sphinx, Lost Civilization, Solar Outbursts, and the Lessons of the Ancient Past Alan Steinfeld, author of the #1 Amazon bestseller Making Contact: Preparing for the New Realities of Extraterrestrial Existence, invites you into a world of UFO disclosure, ancient civilizations, consciousness evolution, and our true place in the cosmos. He is the longest-running emcee at Contact in the Desert, the largest UFO conference in the world, and a regular host at major expos across the U.S., Europe, expos at sea, and sacred land tours. Explore interviews, livestreams, and paradigm-shifting insights from leading-edge thinkers, experiencers, and truth-seekers. Read Alan’s book: Making Contact https://www.amazon.com/Making-Contact... Connect with Us: Official Website: http://www.newrealities.com Facebook: / alan.steinfeld Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alan_steinf... Welcome to NewRealities. Alan Steinfeld Welcomes Robert Schoch to New Realities In this episode of New Realities / Portal to Ascension Radio, host Alan Steinfeld welcomes geologist and author Robert Schoch for a wide-ranging conversation about ancient civilization, the Great Sphinx, John Anthony West, solar outbursts, and what the past may reveal about humanity’s future. Alan introduces Schoch as a geologist whose work helped bring geological analysis into controversial archaeological questions, especially through his redating of the Great Sphinx. Schoch explains that he teaches at Boston University, holds a PhD from Yale in geology and geophysics, and believes there was an earlier sophisticated cycle of civilization dating back to at least around 10,000 BC. John Anthony West and Symbolist Egypt Alan and Schoch spend significant time discussing the late John Anthony West, whom Schoch describes as both a close friend and research collaborator. Schoch explains that West was not a conventional academic Egyptologist, but had spent decades studying Egypt, astrology, symbolism, and the work of R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz. Together, they discuss the symbolist view of Egypt, which argues that the ancient Egyptians were not primitive animal worshipers, but encoded sophisticated spiritual, philosophical, and symbolic knowledge in their texts, monuments, and religious imagery. Schoch says West often criticized conventional academics for missing the deeper meaning behind Egyptian symbols. Meeting West and First Seeing the Sphinx Schoch recounts how he first met John Anthony West through a faculty member at Boston University who arranged for West to give a talk and then introduced him to Schoch. West had been looking for an open-minded geologist to evaluate whether the Sphinx showed signs of water weathering. Schoch says he was cautious at first and told West that photographs were not enough; he would need to inspect the site in Egypt. In 1990, West invited him to Egypt for a reconnaissance trip, and Schoch says that within seconds of seeing the Sphinx, he recognized weathering patterns that appeared to be caused by rainfall and runoff rather than Nile flooding. Water Weathering and the Recarved Head A major part of the interview centers on Schoch’s geological interpretation of the Sphinx. He argues that the body and enclosure show evidence of water weathering from precipitation, which would push the monument’s origins back to a much wetter period before the modern Sahara. He also says he immediately noticed that the Sphinx’s head was too small for its body and not weathered in the same way, leading him to conclude that the current head was likely recarved from an earlier, more weathered head. Schoch says he believes the original head may have been a lion or lioness, later reshaped into a dynastic human head when the Sphinx was reused or reappropriated. Egypt, Western Civilization, and Ancient Continuity Alan and Schoch also discuss Egypt’s influence on later civilizations. They note that Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato acknowledged learning from Egyptian traditions, and they connect Egyptian symbolism with later religious and cultural forms, including Judaism and Christianity. Schoch and Alan discuss parallels involving Isis, Horus, Osiris, the ark, the altar, the Virgin Mary, and the Christian mass, presenting these connections as part of a larger continuity between Egypt and the foundations of Western civilization. Schoch frames the ancient Egyptian tradition as one that preserved deep symbolic and sacred knowledge, not merely mythology or primitive belief. The End of the Last Ice Age and Solar Catastrophe The conversation then turns to Schoch’s theory that a major solar outburst around 9700 BC helped end the last Ice Age and devastated an earlier cycle of civilization. Schoch argues that the Sun became highly active, producing solar eruptions, coronal mass ejections, atmospheric disruption, radiation, vitrification, torrential rains, massive flooding, and rapid climate change. He distinguishes this from comet-impact theories, saying he believes the evidence better fits solar activity. In his view, the Sphinx’s water weathering, worldwide flood traditions, and the collapse of earlier civilizations may all connect to this solar-driven catastrophe. Atlantis, Zep Tepi, and Gobekli Tepe Schoch links his Sphinx work with broader questions about lost civilization. He discusses Zep Tepi, the Egyptian “first time,” and says that astronomical and geological evidence may point to a period around 10,500 BC. Alan asks about Atlantis, and Schoch explains that he treats Atlantis less as a single geographic puzzle and more as evidence, through Plato, of a sophisticated civilization or cultural memory that existed before the end of the last Ice Age. Near the close, they also discuss Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, which Schoch says provides independent evidence of sophisticated civilization before 9700 BC and helps answer critics who once asked for another early site comparable in significance to the Sphinx. Solar Risk, Technology, and Modern Vulnerability Alan asks whether a similar solar event could happen again, and Schoch says he believes another major solar outburst is not only possible but inevitable over geological time. Schoch warns that modern technological civilization is extremely vulnerable to coronal mass ejections, solar flares, and electromagnetic effects that could disrupt electrical grids, communication systems, electronics, satellites, cars, pipelines, and nuclear power facilities. He compares the potential danger to the Carrington Event of 1859, which damaged telegraph systems, and says today’s dependence on electronics makes modern society far more vulnerable than earlier cultures. Preparing Philosophically, Spiritually, and Practically Schoch says that although governments may be aware of solar risks, ordinary people face difficult practical questions because modern infrastructure is not easily protected. He suggests that going underground or shielding systems beneath rock could help preserve some technology, but acknowledges that society cannot simply move underground. He and Alan discuss the need for communities to think ahead, prepare mentally and spiritually, and consider both practical resilience and philosophical readiness. Schoch says ancient Egypt’s concept of sacred science may be important here because it joins science and spirituality rather than separating them. Closing with Ancient Knowledge and Future Questions Toward the end, Alan describes Schoch’s work as a bridge between alternative culture and academic research. Schoch says studying the past is not only interesting for its own sake, but may reveal knowledge, warnings, technologies, and spiritual insights left by earlier civilizations. He points again to the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx Temple, and Göbekli Tepe as evidence that ancient people may have possessed both spiritual and technological sophistication beyond what mainstream timelines usually allow. The episode closes with Alan directing listeners to New Realities, Robert Schoch’s website, and the Portal to Ascension Conference in Irvine, California, where Schoch plans to speak further about these themes.