Episodes
Despite NASA and the Pentagon intensifying their investigations into UAP, each agency maintains that no evidence of extraterrestrial technology has been found, and has presented only moderate results with their investigations. Meanwhile, civilian scientists are making significant contributions to our understanding of UAPs, with events like the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies and its 2024 AAPC conference bringing together leading researchers and academics to discuss the science behind UAP...
Published 06/05/24
Recent advancements in archaeology are expanding our knowledge about the ancient past, enabling scientists to date prehistoric sites more accurately, and revealing new insights into people's lives throughout the ancient world. However, with the new knowledge we are attaining, new questions are coming to light about our ancient past, as well as some controversial revelations that could lead to paradigm shifts in archaeology.  This week on The Micah Hanks Program, after an update on the...
Published 05/29/24
In 2017, Luis Elizondo, a former U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent and former employee of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, revealed that he had been involved with the U.S. Department of Defense's investigations into unidentified aerial phenomena. Since coming forward, Elizondo has remained a controversial figure, with some questioning his claims, as well as whether the program he said he ran, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, or...
Published 05/21/24
Skinwalker Ranch in Utah has long remained a focus of intrigue and controversy in UFO research. The famous alleged paranormal hotspot, marked by its geological history and the foreboding shadows of sandstone mesas, is haunted by legends of the Skinwalker—a malevolent shapeshifter from Native Ute lore. Over time, these myths have been joined by contemporary accounts of unexplained occurrences, from strange lights in the night sky to the mysterious disappearance of cattle, reinforcing the...
Published 05/13/24
Over the decades, many people who claim to possess knowledge of UFOs or have even seen these unusual objects themselves have alleged that threats, intimidation, or other efforts to silence them have been undertaken. But who are these mysterious "UFO silencers," and where does the line between fact and folklore fall on this contentious subject?  This week on The Micah Hanks Program, following an analysis of the latest controversies involving whistleblower David Grusch, we examine his claims...
Published 05/07/24
In January 2023, a U.S. military pilot reported an encounter with a group of unusual objects flying in a diamond formation over the Gulf of Mexico near Eglin Air Force Base. The incident, which eventually came to the attention of Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, became a matter of public record after Gaetz discussed it during a Congressional hearing in the summer of 2023.  Now, the DoD's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office has released its official report on the incident, claiming the...
Published 05/01/24
What do we really know about UFOs, following several decades of studying these phenomena? With the many questions that remain about unidentified aerial phenomena, how can science help us to implement new strategies that may allow us to broaden our knowledge about these aerial mysteries?  This week on The Micah Hanks Program, former R&D scientist Robert Powell joins us to discuss his nearly two decades of investigation into UFOs, culminating in his new book UFOs: A Scientist Explains What...
Published 04/23/24
On March 8, 2024, the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) released its historical report on UAP, shortly after briefing only a select group of journalists associated with seven mainstream media outlets, none of whom seemingly bothered to fact-check the error-ridden report. "The disappointing lack of critical press coverage of this important report prompted me to begin compiling the insights of UAP scholars and experts who have studied the history of UAP and the US...
Published 04/16/24
In the Autumn of 1957, a series of events unfolded that, for a time, left U.S. defense officials believing that the country was on the verge of war with the Soviet Union, as a pair of mysterious objects were tracked on radar systems making their way toward a series of high security facilities. Before action could be taken, the objects mysteriously vanished, and the story receded into the shadows of Cold War memories for decades, prior to a series of once-secret CIA files surfaced detailing...
Published 04/09/24
 In 1950, a bizarre story involving the alleged crash of a flying saucer near Aztec, New Mexico, and its subsequent recovery by the U.S. military, sparked one of the most notorious claims in 20th-century UFO studies. Although revealed to be a hoax, why might U.S. intelligence agencies have taken interest in the story, and its bizarre claims about alien bodies recovered from the wreckage? This week on The Micah Hanks Program, after an analysis of the current state of the UFO debate, we reveal...
Published 04/02/24
For years before the beginning of the modern UFO era in 1947, sightings of bizarre, cigar-shaped flying objects capable of unusual aerial feats were reported by pilots during World War II, as well as military and civilian pilots over the Americas. After the war, strange sightings continued involving aircraft that were mysterious for their time... but which look eerily familiar to us today. What were these mysterious objects, and do some of the "UFO" reports from decades past actually point...
Published 03/26/24
According to the findings of the DoD's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the object that crash-landed near Roswell, New Mexico in the summer of 1947 was a balloon used during a once-secret covert operation called Project Mogul. These findings, of course, are the same conclusions the U.S. Air Force came to decades ago which were detailed in a pair of official reports that sought to definitively explain what, for many, had once been deemed Ufology's "smoking gun"... but could there...
Published 03/19/24
A new Defense Department report detailing the United States government's involvement in investigations of unidentified anomalous phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs, was released late last week, resulting in divided opinions over the merit of the research conducted by the DoD's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we examine the mainstream media's coverage of the controversial new government UAP report before moving on to a fact-check of...
Published 03/12/24
In the 1970s, the existence of a once-secret program called "Project Moon Dust" first came to the attention of UFO researchers employing the Freedom of Information Act to obtain U.S. government documents about unidentified aerial phenomena. Although the U.S. Air Force initially denied its existence, it was later confirmed that Project Moon Dust, along with the similar Project Blue Fly, had been tasked with the acquisition of any fallen space objects believed to have originated within the...
Published 03/05/24
Since the late 1940s, stories about crashed flying saucers in the American Southwest have perplexed UFO researchers, and while many believe the stories have at least a grain of truth, others have wondered whether at least some of the tales could involve intentional efforts to mislead the public to help cover up legitimate secret programs maintained by the U.S. military. This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we look at the role of disinformation in the bizarre hall of mirrors of Ufology, and...
Published 02/27/24
Since the late 1940s, Americans have remained perplexed by stories of unidentified flying objects in our skies, a question that has also been viewed as a significant question--and a national security concern--by many who have held the office of the President of the United States.  This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we take a historical deep dive into investigations of aerial phenomena and their relationship to the Oval Office, separating the fact from fiction about past involvement of...
Published 02/20/24
On November 17-18, 2023, a symposium of academics, current and former government officials, and other leading voices in the study of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) convened for the inaugural Sol Foundation Initiative for UAP Research and Policy event in Palo Alto, California. The event’s stated objectives were to “propose tangible government policies, programs of research, and investment strategies that can meet the challenge of the phenomena,” along with elevating the dialogue and...
Published 02/12/24
For centuries, reports of strange lights moving through the skies have been reported around the world. Beginning in the late 1940s, popular reports of sightings involving mysterious aerial lights and other phenomena have formed the basis of the modern UFO phenomenon. But could some of these aerial apparitions have a natural explanation?  This week, we examine a new science paper that argues many modern UAP sightings could represent manifestations of plasmas in space and in the atmosphere,...
Published 02/07/24
In a recent opinion and analysis piece written for Scientific American, Sean Kirkpatrick, the former director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the Pentagon's official UAP investigative office, lashed out against what he characterized as "sensational but unsupported claims" involving UAP and an alleged secret program within government involved in withholding information about them from the American public.  This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we take a deep dive into the recent...
Published 01/31/24
Humankind continues to move steadily toward an uncertain future... one where advancements in artificial intelligence, the potential discovery of alien life, the prospects of contact with non-human intelligence (NHI), and global threats our planet may face are all becoming distinct potentials. For many, the idea of an apparent "quickening" resonates deeply in light of such future developments, but what do they mean for humanity, and how do they relate to the experiences of those who say they...
Published 01/23/24
Recently, several lawmakers on Capitol Hill received a classified briefing from the Intelligence Community Inspector General on allegations that first surfaced last year regarding an alleged UAP program that has been illegally withheld from Congress.  This week on The Micah Hanks Program, in addition to covering what we have learned since the intelligence community UAP briefing, we also look at new legislation that aims to increase pilot reports of UAP, a harrowing encounter with a...
Published 01/16/24
Since mysterious aerial objects were first encountered by pilots during World War Two, questions have remained among world leaders about whether there could be a technological presence on Earth of unknown origin. If so, what could they be, and where could the be from?  This week, we are joined by philosopher and computer scientist Bernardo Kastrup, the executive director of the Essentia Foundation. With Ph.D.s in philosophy and computer engineering, he is the author of several books,...
Published 01/09/24
What if world militaries were beginning to make detections with advanced sensory equipment that corroborated sightings of phenomena not unlike historic accounts dating back centuries that involve strange phenomena in our skies? And what if a growing number of observers were beginning to come forward and describe their sightings of these anomalous phenomena? This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we kick off the New Year with a brand new feel in this special first installment of the podcast...
Published 01/03/24
The National Defense Authorization Act has been signed into law by the President of the United States, but not without a few concerns, according to an official White House statement citing one of the massive bill's UAP provisions. This, following a showdown in Washington over a landmark bipartisan transparency provision put forward by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer that saw significant pushback from Congressional leadership that illustrated just how far we may have to go in the fight...
Published 12/27/23
In 1938, an infamous broadcast based on H.G. Wells’ classic War of the Worlds allegedly incited confusion and panic as listeners questioned whether a real alien invasion might be underway. While modern analysis of news from the period casts doubt on some of the “panic” claims, the question remains as to what would really happen if the existence of extraterrestrial visitation were revealed under uncontrolled, chaotic means, in a “catastrophic disclosure” of an ET reality? Recently, a retired...
Published 12/19/23